Can I send him to Neverland?

My little brother is officially no longer little.

He may be nine years younger than me but it's hard to see him as a kid after he boards an airplane for officers boot camp for the summer.

Because that's exactly what he did on Sunday.

The baby whose bottom I once wiped is going to be a soldier.

The toddler who lived in his cowboy boots will be lacing up a different kind of boot.

I'm incredibly proud of who he is and who he is becoming and I'm proud to be his sister. And anyone who has watched Madeline and him for two seconds knows just how much she loves him too.

This summer, my family will miss Peter tremendously even though we're excited for the adventure ahead of him.

Because who wouldn't miss a cool brother and uncle like this?

Sheer joy is available at Target

Quite possibly the best nine bucks I'll ever spend at Target. Or, at least, this summer.

P.S. Please note the open book in the background. I encouraged Madeline to jump in over and over because she was having so much fun but I didn't realize my library copy of sTORI Telling was getting completely drenched. It took two days and my 50-pound Complete Calvin and Hobbes set to make it resemble a book again.

But that look on her face? Totally worth it.

The reason I have Lionel Richie stuck in my head

Madeline started ballet this week. Can I just say looking at this grown-up girl in the black leotard makes me want to cry?

But I won't because a) she's so stinkin' adorable and b) she was so excited to begin dancing.

I had grand plans about her ballet shoes. I wanted to get them at the same dancewear store where my mom and I got my ballet slippers when I started my illustrious but short-lived ballet career.

(Sidenote: my strongest memory of ballet is looking around the room and realizing other girls could do the splits while stretching but my legs could only make a V-shape.)

Outside the ballet studio, I do remember very clearly walking into that store and being fitted for my slippers.

So I planned to get Madeline's slippers on Tuesday morning, an entire day before her class, and take the camera to take pictures of her during her fitting. (Gasp! Katie with a camera? I know.)

It was a great idea. Until my phone buzzed on Tuesday morning with a calendar reminder that her class was on Tuesday, not Wednesday.

Ensue chaotic morning of rushing to the store, discovering that the store doesn't have her size, trying not to turn beet-red when I say I can't order her shoes because her class is in, oh, 90 minutes, speeding up Carmel to another store to get her shoe size, and rushing back to her class.

Motherhood FAIL.

Since it wasn't quiet the serene and peaceful morning I had planned, I forgot to take the camera with me to the store which meant I didn't have it for her class.

Motherhood DOUBLE FAIL.

But it turned out just fine because she got her slippers, loved her class and was eager to show off her moves when she came home.

I know I've said it before but seriously, how in the world did I become the mother of a dancing 3-year-old who is also a photographer?

I'm pretty sure I was just given an infant yesterday.

Nap Time in Naptown: IndyGo and Kids

Last January, Madeline and I took a day trip to Chicago with my sister-in-law. I thought the highlight for my then 2-year-old would be visiting Shedd Aquarium.

I was wrong.

Madeline's favorite part of the trip was riding the bus and train around the city. Ya know, the part of the day that cost only $4.

(Do not be fooled by her expression and think she wasn't enjoying the ride. When she won't smile or look at the camera, it means she's enjoying something so much that she doesn't want to show it. I know.)

But for realz, we could have driven up to Chicago, parked, rode the bus around, rode the train around, come back home and Madeline would have had the time of her life.

Here in Indy, we get around in our car or by walking the Monon. We are definitely not a cool transit-savvy family.

But since Madeline is still talking about riding the bus five months later, I thought we should have a special IndyGo day and take the bus to the library.

Image credit: IndyGo

A single ride is $1.75 and kids ages 5 and under ride for free with a paying adult so our trip only cost $3.50. If we really wanted to make a day out of it and travel to several destinations, we would have bought a day pass for $4.

And I'm telling you, if you want to slingshot an ordinary trip into something super special, just take the bus. Madeline absolutely loved riding the bus to the library and I'm planned to do this again to The Children's Museum, downtown, Castleton Mall... anywhere the wheels on the bus will take us.

But I made a few mistakes for our first trip so please learn from us and don't make them on your own.

Tip #1: Bring exact change.
The machine doesn't give back change so make sure to bring the exact amount unless you're feeling generous and want to donate $.50 to Indianapolis public transportation.

Tip #2: Bring only the necessities.
When we left the house, we were cheerfully singing VeggieTales songs on the way to the bus stop, Madeline was happily swinging and carrying her Pooh Bear and I had a nearly empty library bag. We were filled with the joy and anticipation that only the naive can demonstrate.

On the way back, I was sweating from heaving a heavy bag filled with way too many books and movies and juggling our Target drinks while repeatedly telling Madeline "since YOU wanted to bring Pooh, YOU must be the one of carry him and "stay SUPER close to Mama because I can't hold your hand."

Needless to say, we were not cheerfully singing on the way back.

Tip #3: Plan for extra time. Lots of it.
Our library is a quick five-minute drive away. When I add up the time it took to walk to and from the bus stop, ride the bus both ways, walk to and from the bus stop to the library, it turned into a 35-minute trip one way.

Riding the bus can be lots of things like economical and fun but it's definitely not efficient with those little slow walkers we call our children.

Tip #4: Know the route and times. Like, really know it.
I'll be honest, it intimidated me when I hopped on IndyGo's site to figure out the routes. I'm totally unfamiliar with bus routes and made a colossal error for our ride back which meant we sat in the bus stop for 45 minutes. Not so fun. But now I know how to read the route maps and schedule for the next time.

Because even though we weren't singing on our way back, Madeline and I loved trying this new experience and plan to do it again.

Just without Winnie the Pooh and a 50-pound book bag next time.

Why my kid is awesome

She bikes while wearing pearls.

And that's enough to prove her awesomeness in my opinion.

The one with Beyonce, Teva's, Tim Gunn and Hick Katie

Have I mentioned before that I am heat wimp? I nearly melted this morning as I carried the groceries from the car to the house over and over again.

It may have only lasted four minutes but I'm pretty sure it was the equivalent to completing The Shred.

So, even though I'm in the mood to blog, I'm having a hard time sorting through my melted thoughts and think this will be about the most random post ever.

Here we go:

As a Harry Potter fan, I found this hilarious. Even if it's not true, it's still hilarious. Joe always finds the best stuff on the Web and keeps me very amused during the day.

I am addicted to Beyonce's Halo. It's been on repeat constantly. Thank goodness Madeline is a Sasha Fierce fan and hasn't committed iTunes mutiny. Yet.

And thanks to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Madeline loves to sing "Single Ladies." My favorite part is hearing her sing, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!" If you see her, you must request a performance. It's awesome.

(Side note: this was the only redeeming aspect about that movie. I do not recommend it for viewing pleasure.)

Madeline is really into pretend play these day which I love. Her most recent thing is to be Joe or me. She'll grab my wallet, stick it under her arm and walk around the house saying, "I'm Katie Mayes, I'm Katie Mayes."

Other times she'll pick up Joe's keys and wallet and says, "I'm Joe Mayes." Then she'll throw the keys and wallet on the kitchen table and yell, "I'm home and I'm gonna tickle you!!"

I certain it's the cutest thing I've ever seen. I may have declared that before but this time I really mean it. (At least until the next cutest thing comes along.)

Last week, we picked up McDonald's for dinner and went fishing at the White River. Since we were doing a McDonald's dinner at the White River, I didn't feel the need to dress up.

Instead, I changed into my 13-year-old Teva's with scorpions (which I thought were just so cool in the seventh grade) and a 7-year-old tie-dye Joe's Crab Shack shirt from when I was a waitress in college.

While Joe and Madeline fished, I put my chair directly into the White River so I could put my feet in the cool water and ate a huge box of fries.

Clearly not my classiest moment.

So, of course, even though we're out in the remote wilderness of Indiana, the only people we see all evening are an old high school friend and her husband. (Laura, you better not comment that I looked fine or anything; I'll own my hickness.)

But, seriously? How many times in my life am I wearing Teva's and eating fries while SITTING IN THE WHITE RIVER?!

That is a moment I would like to get as a do-over.

I'm not saying I would re-do with pearls and heels. I just mean that I would not choose footwear with Velcro. Or eat that many fries in one sitting. Or put my chair in the middle of a river.

Although I will confess that in the summer, it's not typical for me to be a classy dresser. For example, right now I'm wearing my swimsuit cover-up as a dress because it's just so comfy.

Don't worry, I don't leave the house in it. But I think Tim Gunn would disapprove of wearing it even behind closed doors. He might even need to call a caucus about it.

I think that's about everything. Y'all have a great weekend!