The Last Day of the Year

It is hard to believe another year has already come and gone. This past year certainly had its share of ups and downs. We all have so much to be thankful for. My little girl has truly been a blessing in my life. My husband is alive and healthy. I could go on and on, but you get the point. I can only hope the new year ahead is better than the last because it was pretty good. :)

Okay, so a little about my baby. I mean big girl. Yesterday Summer started calling me "Mom." It was weird at first, but kind of cute. She also referred to Clint as "Dad" instead of "Daddy" - scratch that - "Daddio!" It is funny how she ended up calling Clint that. I don't know how it happened really, but I can remember a few cards from Josh and Amanda containing something similar - "Sir King Daddio!" Memories...

Summer did revert back to "Mommy" later in the day. I wonder what it will be today. She is really growing up so fast. I am trying to preserve her innocence, but it is hard in today's society. I must say I am very thankful for public broadcasting stations. They do provide educational shows that teach kids positive behaviors and a lot more. I couldn't imagine letting Summer watch Nickelodeon these days. Or, Cartoon Network for that matter. It is sad how the simple things in life have become so complicated. What happened to all the good cartoons? Nowadays the shows are just too grown up for little ones to watch. I guess with time, change comes too.

Time out.

Okay I'm back to finish this post off. Summer wants me to play with her. I might just see a day of playing house in my future. I think Lexie will be here in a little while. It should be fun with the three of us. Summer woke up and asked where Lexie was this morning. She hasn't been doing that lately, but today she did. She told me she wants to spend the night with Amanda and Lexie at Memaw's house. I doubt that will ever happen, but she is spending the night with Memaw tonight.

We are going to visit Clint's parents in a few weeks. My dad, Amanda and Lexie are coming with us. It should be a fun trip. We always get to eat at nice places in the casinos for free when we visit them!!! Plus we can go to the movies for free and I can play video poker!!!! Maybe I'll sit out of the movie and hit those poker machines!!! :) I can't wait.

Well, my little girl awaits me. Patiently. Thank God!!! Now maybe He can work on my patience. LOL

I hope you all have a great new year ahead of you! God bless us all!!!

P.S. She did start with "Mom" again this morning...followed by a few "Mommys." :)

Time to clean up the decorations!!!

I am putting off getting my house cleaned up. Mostly because every time I do clean it up, it is a mess in no time. I did get the decorations out of Summer’s playroom yesterday. We did a little reorganizing and packed up some toys to send off to my mom’s house. We also hung her Dora canopy over her bed. She absolutely loves it. She still keeps asking if there are any more presents, but there are not. Not here anyway. We do still have to do Christmas with my best friend and her family. Summer got lots of presents, of course. I’ll give you a quick run down.

Panda bear (Rod & Cade), Dress, (Grandad & Ella), Pink light-up teddy bear (Billy & family), Pink pig and book (Mark & Leisa), Princess Bucket with lip gloss & pink kitty cat (Santa), Art Easel, supplies & t-shirt with pic of Summer & Shelby (Memaw &* Nanny), Baby doll set, paints, and fuzzy art board (Paw-Paw), Candyland Castle Game (Wade, Amy & Katie), Puppy Dog (Jeff & Laurie), Ballerina Barbie (Alyssa), Princess clogs, Cinderella shirt, food for her kitchen (which she said was her favorite present), mini race track, walking & barking puppy, and 101 Bible songs (Mommy & Daddy). I think that pretty much sums it up, but I am sure there is something I am forgetting.

Needless to say, the girl is spoiled!!! She just now came in here and asked for another present. I actually do have one more thing that I did not wrap up, but I think I am going to wait a while to give it to her. It is more stuff for her art supplies. She has so much to play with now. She has already been painting this morning. Now she is at her art easel. It came with magnetic letters and it is amazing how many she knows. A LOT MORE THAT I THOUGHT!!! She even knew what "Y" was which surprised me.

Our other kids had a great Christmas too! Josh especially was happy with his gifts which makes it all worth it in the end. He got a silver chain which he said he had always wanted. Woohoo! I think Amanda and Lexie had a good Christmas too. I gave Lexie her blanket that I had crocheted for her. I forgot to take a pic of the finished product though. :( Maybe Amanda will bring it over one day when she comes. Hint, hint ;) I think Clint liked all his gifts too. I got a hair straightner which I love! I had never used one before yesterday, but it worked like a charm even though it was rainy outside. My hair is still straight today.

We had a White Elephant party at our friends house last night which was a lot of fun. We made homemade pizzas and everyone loved them. Several people helped put them together and they were each different, but YUMMY! It was a good time for all and something we should do more often. Everyone can probably use more fun in their life and spending time with friends is a great way to do it. New Year's Eve is coming up and should be another great night!!! I can't wait!

Santa's coming tonight!!!

I am so excited for Christmas to be here. Tonight we have our Christmas with my mom's side of the family. It is going to be different from previous years because we aren't doing any gift exchanging, but I am sure it will still be fun. The kids are still all getting gifts so it will be exciting to watch them. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins. I hope Summer is as excited as I am anticipating. I don't think she will be getting up an earlier than usual, but we will see in the morning. My dad is going to spend the night with us so he will be here for all of the excitement. I can't wait!!! We are going to my mom's afterwards for presents and breakfast. I am hoping we will also play some fun games while we are there. Then tomorrow night we have Christmas with Amanda, Josh and Lexie. I hope they like their gifts. It is always hard to know if they are going to like what they get or not. This year I think we did pretty good though.

I need to get my camera emptied and make sure all my batteries are charged and ready for the big day. I better get off here because I still have laundry to do, banana bread to make, and a book to read. I am reading the Twilight series and it is good. I am on the third book now. I can't wait to finish all my chores so I can hit the couch for a few hours!!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Two more days until Jesus's birthday

We went to my aunt's house for my dad's side of the family's Christmas gathering on Saturday. We had a great time over there. I think we were there almost 8 hours!!! Summer played dolls with my granny. She also peed in her pants. We all thought it was my cousin's dog, then discovered it was not. :( Luckily she was spending the night away from home so I had plenty of clothes on reserve. After dinner and presents, we played a game, "Catch Phrase," which was so much fun. (I hope that is the correct use of all those commas. LOL) We must have played it for hours. Finally after midnight, I decided to come home and go to bed.

Summer has opened three more presents, two of them yesterday. Her fourth gift was another puzzle - more difficult than the one before. This one has 24 pieces. Needless to say, she was a little frustrated with it. She rolled around and kicked a little while saying something like I can't do this. It's hard. It was cute, but I tried to explain to her to be patient that she would learn how to do it in time. I also told her I would help her. So, every time she wants to put it together, I help her. It is a picture of two lab puppies - a black one and a brown one. I didn't really think about the difficulty when I bought it, but just the fact that it had dogs on it (which she loves). I think it is good though to challenge her rather than her just being able to put it together in a minute or two.

Yesterday afternoon she opened a crafty gift where you pull pipe cleaner through a picture to make 3D art. She really liked it and caught onto it quickly. I guess I can take the pipe cleaners out so she can do them again, but I will wait to see what she thinks about that first. I don't want to ruin her works of art. LOL

She got to open another gift before bedtime since I am a little behind on the twelve days of Christmas. It was a set of ten Angels on Assignment books. Each book focuses on a different word that teaches her positive behaviors/thinking. We read three of them before bed last night. She learned about Hope, Joy and Charity. They are angels in the books. I am really glad I got them because she needs all the positive she can get in her life. We all do! Just look at the joy in her face as she anticipates me reading them to her. She really loves that a lot. We read "The Christmas Story" almost everyday before nap time. I am so glad she enjoys it and hope she will learn that Jesus is the real reason for the season.

The sun is out!

One Week 'til Christmas

I can't believe that in one week, I will be patiently waiting for Summer to get up to open presents. LOL

This month is flying by. Nothing unusual anymore. Times goes by so fast that sometimes I think I am not paying enough attention. Before I know it, my little girl will be all grown up.

I haven't done too good with the 12 days of Christmas this year. They just keep slipping away from me. Before I know it, it is bedtime and then another day begins. I'll have to make sure to go pick something out for her when I finish this post!

Today we are going to visit Josh who just had his second ad third surgeries on his leg. I am sure he is getting bored sitting in the hospital all day long, but hopefully he is resting and taking it easy. Wish there was something I could think of to take him that might help pass the time, but I don't have a clue of what that would be. Oh well. I did get him some Reese's cups which I think are his favorite.

We are also thinking about taking Summer to see "The Tale of Despereaux" today. The first showing is at noon and it sounds perfect to me! Although she did not make it entirely through the last movie, we are willing to try again. She is FREE for the next 6 months. I can't say I was completely upset about leaving the last movie. It wasn't my favorite movie or hers either, obviously. :) Anyway, I think it will be fun. It is something Clint and I both enjoy and we can do it with her, so that makes it perfect for us! I can still remember taking her to the movies when she was six or seven months old. That was NOT the perfect age to go to take her. She wanted to crawl around and stuff - anything but sit still. But, all in all I still have good memories of the occasion.

Not sure what else the day will hold, but I think I have enough on my plate to worry about to get me at least through nap time! I better get off here and go find that present.

Christmas Earrings, The "Ride", and PICTURES!!!

This morning Summer and I put on some Christmas earrings. I almost forgot that I had them. Of course, I got them from Avon. It is 10 pairs of holiday earrings sure to match any outfit you choose. I choose the snowflakes (yeah, I'm dreaming...) and Summer chose Christmas trees. Not sure what we are going to do today, but I doubt it will entail any trips to the mall. We went twice yesterday. After visiting one of my friends who just had a baby at the hospital, we headed to Hamilton Place so Summer could do the bungee jump trampoline thing (???). We were hungry so we stopped to eat at Smokey Bones which is one of Clint's favorite places to go. Although we rarely go there because we prefer to shop and dine in Hixson. Anyway, after our wonderful meal, we headed back out in the cold rain towards the mall. We made a few stops on the way to the "ride" trying to find the perfect gift for a Chinese/Elephant Christmas party we are attending the day after Christmas. No luck. :( When we arrived at the "ride" Summer wasn't really up for it. She wanted to play on the little merry-go-round ride instead. Go figure. We never put money in them, but she still loves to play on them. After a few minutes of coaxing, she agreed and headed to the big trampoline. The guy put her harness on her and her face was covered in fear, lips slightly quivering. We played it up telling her it was fun, acting excited to see her trying it (we weren't acting though). The fear quickly faded and was replaced with a small smile at first. The guy pulled her legs and she flew up in the air. He gradually made it go higher and higher as she got used to it. She swung and bounced for a few minutes before it was over. Overall, I would say she enjoyed it. She was a little small to do flips and bounce herself, but at least she gave it a shot. We were so proud of her. Clint is hoping she will do it again the next time we go back. I think he wants to raise a little daredevil. Well, at least not a scaredy cat. LOL

Happy to go back to the merry-go-round

Summer is with me in the office right now. Drawing on paper. She just drew a candy cane. It is very curly. :) She has made both Clint and I look at it several times.

I think she liked it!

We have opened three Christmas presents all together now. Maybe she will get another one today. She has been a good girl so far today. Of course, it is only 9:30. The third gift was a pair of princess shoes, two tiaras and some dress-up clothes. She looked so cute dressing up, but the sleeves itch on one of the dresses, so she wouldn't pose for a picture. When she decided it was coming off, it came off quickly! Maybe I'll just cut those itchy sleeves off!

The look of joy on her face

some looks are silly, yet still precious

My Princess Summer

Time with Daddy

Summer has gone to spend the afternoon with Clint. But, only after a horrible, crying tantrum about how she wanted to stay with me. In the end, she left happy as a lark her bear in tow. Clint was carrying her golf set and the diaper bag full of goodies I packed for her, I mean them. :) It is loaded down with two Handi packs of pretzels and crackers, a bag of grapes, two bananas, a jar of Del Monte spaghetti (yes, she still eats this one particular baby food!), two sippy cups (watered down apple juice and chocolate milk), and a bag of chocolate protein. They were also headed to Smoothie King, so I am pretty sure they are not going to starve before I see them again. I am hoping they will meet me at the mall this evening after my appt. and dinner with Selena. Maybe I will finish up my Christmas shopping! I only have about three more gifts to buy.

Make that five! We are having a couples Chinese Christmas party the day after Christmas. I think it will be fun, especially if people get creative with their gifts!

Summer got her second Christmas present today. A Crayola Color Wonder Glitter Coloring Set. She loved it. Her old sets are all used up. I really love these things because I don't have to stand around and make sure she isn't coloring the walls. Not that I have to do that anyway because she is a pretty good girl. I even trust leaving regular markers (washable of course) in her access at all times!!! She loves to paint, draw, color, whatever. She is so artistic! Unlike me. I have to try really hard to do something decent. I can color in the lines though. Mostly. LOL

The other day she brought me a book to read and I think I recall her telling me she wants to learn to read. She only knows a few letters, when she wants to of course. Some times she tells me "I am not a big girl right now." :) Anyway, they were the very basic baby books. "Happy Baby Colors" and "Happy Baby Words." I think these will be very good books to start with, although the learning to recognize the alphabet is probably the very best place to start. I do try to sometimes get her to learn to recoginize the first letter of some of the words. I think she knows "b" and "g" for sure. We have a long ways to go. But, she is only two. How important is it for her to know all that stuff now anyway?

Kicked Out

I just got kicked out of my two year old's playroom. :) She was calling me for help and when I came she decided she didn't need me after all and I could leave. She was putting the puzzle together that she got yesterday and thought she needed my help for a moment. But when I arrived, she had figured it out and had two pieces to go. It didn't take her as long as I thought to master it after all.

Now she is in the office with me, playing in the trash can. Don't worry. She DID take out the trash first! She put it all up on the desk...LOL Wish I had the camera close by, but I am way behind on pics anyway. I need to get them on my computer and post some before Christmas comes and goes and they are all old news. Well, I guess they are old news now anyway.

Summer is already looking forward to playgym on Thursday. They had the week off last week due to the holidays, and she must be having withdrawal. She has asked about it for the past two days.

She has decided that she wants to be a dancer when she grows up. She saw some little dancers performing on stage at the Grand Illumination last Friday night. She loved watching them and told me that she wanted to be a dancer too. She was talking about it at lunch today too. She sure had a lot to say which is not really unusual for her. On our way into the hospital this morning to visit Josh, she asked me why it was cold. I told her because it was winter now. She said that it wouldn't be cold in the hospital. It would be warm. She told me that the hospital probably had the heat on. Is that crazy or what?

Right now she is playing with a calculator. I wonder how long it will take for her to figure that out. I guess she needs to learn all her numbers first. We have been working on that a little with some books and flashcards, but she doesn't seem that interested in the actual number. She is learning to count though. Sometimes she loses her place in counting, but that is just a natural part of the learning process.

Okay, enough about Summer. I better get back to her anyway. Apparently she just "winned" on the calculator.

The first day of Christmas

I'm not sure if I had mentioned this before, but I am doing the 12 days of Christmas with Summer again this year. Of course, I've already messed up. It wasn't supposed to start until December 13, and I started today! Summer opened her first official Christmas present this morning. It was a puzzle (which she loved). She has been doing her puzzles a lot lately and I am glad I had gotten some puzzles for her because I really think it is time for some new ones. The one she got today is actually her first puzzle that has "real" puzzle pieces. You know, the cardboard kind. Not the thick or wooden ones or the plastic kind either, but the grown-up kind. She did a pretty good job of putting the puzzle together without much help from me. I did help her to look at the pieces a little bit when she was just trying to fit them into each other. Anyway, I would say the first present was a success. It will take her a few days to master, but I am sure she will do it. She is so smart!

Now I've got to figure out how to spread out the rest of these gifts....I thought about a system where we keep track of whining and if she does it too much, no gift???? Not sure we could keep up with that though. LOL. I'd be carrying around that chart everywhere! She might not get any more gifts. :) She really isn't that bad, but at times it does grate at my nerves slightly. I'm so thankful she still takes naps everyday! Without them, the whining might last all day!!! Yikes!

Our holiday getaway begins tomorrow

We are taking Summer to the Opryland Hotel tomorrow for what I hope will be a magical experience for us all. The hotel is all decorated up for Christmas and there is a lot of stuff to do and see while we are there. I am sure we will all be dead tired by the time we retire to our hotel room tomorrow night. I can't wait! Neither can Summer. She has been talking about it all day because we get to go swimming and ride a train!!!

I gotta go finish packing and get ready for bed. I hope I can sleep tonight. :)

The following morning...

she woke up and came to my bed and said, "Mommy, you are so beautiful!"

Man, am I lucky or what? :)

Picking names

We had the little bundle of joy, Lexie, with us again tonight. I still can't decide on a grandparent name so I decided to run them by Summer and see what she thought would be best. I asked her if she liked Lolly, Grandmama, or Nana better. Her reply, "Mommy." She likes Mommy best. LOL So, I guess I am no better off than before I asked her.

I just tucked her into bed after reading a few books, including two "Chica chica" books. She likes the number one better because it has a part which she can remember. She was actually reading them to me while I was crocheting. The only part she would say is "Chica chica 1, 2, 3...will there be a place for me?" It isn't even in one of the books, but she remembered it being part of the book from when we read it the other day. She remembers so much. I just hope that along the way she is starting to recognize some numbers and letters. I know she knows a few numbers, but the only letter she probably knows is G because it is a button on our elevator. :) She also definitely knows 1, 0 and 5. She can almost count to twenty, but sometimes she skips some of the teens. She can pretty much count to ten in Spanish....when she wants to....which is not usually when I want her to.

She is getting so independent, but at the same time she is dependent. I never know what to expect. She wants me to feed her more now. She also wants me to help her potty more than she did a month ago. Maybe it is because she sees me helping Lexie. Maybe it is just because she is two and it is her perogative to change her mind when she feels like it. Either way, I love her to death. Well, not to death, but forever.

She asked me today when she was going to go to Memaw's house again. I guess she is lucky I had already made plans for her to go there tomorrow afternoon. Not sure what we will do with the night off, but I am sure dinner at a restaurant will be involved. I just love my time away from her. It makes me appreciate her even more when I get her back. Although I enjoy my "free time," I love her hugs and kisses even more. She gives me lots of them and at random moments too. Its like she knows how much they brighten my day and every so often she just comes up and gives me a big bear hug...out of no where. Those are some of the most precious moments of my life, receiving love from my little girl. I guess I am reaping what I sow. At least I hope I am sowing seeds of love with her. It is sad all the people that grow up and never learn how love. I don't want her to be one of them so I shower her with hugs, kisses and kind words as often as I can. I see her doing it too so I think we are headed down a good path. Now I've just got to make sure to stay on it.

Another day, another dollar

Not sure what that means, but it just came to me. Sometimes titling these posts is a little hard and make me use my brain a little more than it is used to, so I just go with the first thing that pops into my head. Now that you know my secret, you can use it for your blog too. LOL

Summer is finishing up her nap while I am busy uploading new pics to myspace. Between that and facebook, I believe I have plenty of new family pics posted. There are so many good ones, it is hard to choose which ones to put on my blog now that I am limited to a few. Thank God for digital media!

We went to the library today to return our books and left with two more than we came with. :) So, we have eight new books to read over the next month. We have already read 4. I let her pick a few and I picked the rest. She really loves her reading time, so I like to go out and get new books that will hopefully be a little educational. Or, if not that, that I think she will enjoy. It is nice to be able to keep them for almost a month before returning them. It gives me plenty of time to get sick of them. LOL She usually has one or two favorites and the rest she could take or leave.

We also made a stop by the bank so I could make a deposit and she could get a sucker. Guess what? They were out of suckers!!! Yeah that was a bummer for her even though they did have SMARTIES instead. When we were leaving she said, "We will have to go to a different bank." She is so funny sometimes.

Tonight she is going to spend the night with my mom so Clint and I can have a night out. I can't wait although I'm not sure what we will be doing yet. I hope we have as much fun as she does. :) She always loves to go with Memaw and Nanny. They will be bringing her back in the morning though so I can take her to Playgym. We definitely don't want to miss that!

Check out this cute clip of Summer holding Lexie: Auntie Summer

Halloween and stuff

My little monster

Summer got a lot of candy on Halloween and we have been busy trying to eat all of it ever since. Well, today we have actually been gone all day, but now that we are home we will get back to the candy eating. LOL We went to a few of our friends houses again this year and trick-or-treated in their neighborhoods. Summer and Katie were some of the first trick-or-treaters in Hidden Harbor. We got an early start to try and beat the cold. It worked in the first neighborhood, but by the time we reached the other it was dark and getting chilly. About two blocks into the walk, Summer was ready to go back to Jeff and Lauries. We went a little farther though to see a house that we saw last year. They really go all out and it is pretty spooky. Summer did NOT go to the front door of that house and get candy. I happily let her skip it since she was ready to go back to Jeff and Lauries. At some of the houses, she would get two of one thing. Sometimes she would give me one of them for my basket since I was just using it to tote the camera. I thought it was really nice of her to share, although I had already been stealing candy from her basket all night. :) That is what I had for supper that night. CANDY. Summer had some yogurt, grapes and a pb&j after we were done trick-or-treating. Her sister stopped by her aunts house with Lexie while we were there. So we stayed and visited with her and Lexie. Lexie was a little bunny rabbit. She was precious! We took Amanda and her back to Amanda's truck on the way home. Summer was very upset when she realized Amanda was going to take Lexie with her. I guess since Lexie spent the night with us the night before, she assumed she would be doing it again. It was cute to see how attached she was to Lexie even though she acted a little jealous when Lexie was here. She wanted to be held and cuddled like she saw me do with the baby. I wish she was doing that now.

Today she is a big girl again. She didn't want to hold my hand at the zoo. But, she did let me carry her a little bit. When she started getting tired, she was ready for my arms. Holding her in my arms is one of those things I don't think I could ever get tired of -- at least emotionally. I might physically get tired of it. :)

She just brought up Lexie again while we are here on the bed watching Barney - Everyone is Special. I was asking her what her sister's name is because they were singing this song called "I Love My Sister." She didn't answer me so I asked her a few more questions. The last one was: Do you want a sister? Her reply was something along the lines of this: I thought we were going to bring baby Lexie back with us. Is that a yes???

She has such a good memory. She really is a smart little girl. I think she may have gotten my ability to remember things and pick up things quickly. I sure do hope so because it will make studying so much easier (and shorter) when she is in school. Of course that is still a ways off, but it is probably closer than I realize. I never did really have to study hard which made school pretty easy for me. Clint had to study a lot I think. I guess if Summer is like him, he can be the one to help her. Just kidding.

I finally have all my pictures uploaded to my computer. Time to go through all 384 of them. :O And that is just from the past two weeks. We really had a busy month and I took a lot of pictures (approximately 550 as opposed to about 150 last month). I better get to sorting them.

We were all smiles on my 31st birthday!!!

The last days

Tomorrow is the last day my old blog will be on the Internet. :( I am having some feelings of sadness because all of the pictures did not transfer onto this blog. In the beginning I was going to try to download them to all of the posts, but the picture system on this blog is entirely different. Not sure how I would put 47 pictures on one post like I did in my Aol blog. Last night I finally got all the pics (I hope) downloaded to my computer. I still need to back them up on CDs, but that can wait a few days. Anyways, if you want to check out my old blog (including awesome pics of my baby growing up), do it today because on November 1 it will be too late.

http://journals.aol.com/sashababydear/MyFirstPregnancy/

I'm am moving on.

Tonight Lexie is going to get to spend the night with us. Summer is going to be excited I bet when she wakes up and finds that out. That is unless I have to take her nightlight and use it as a monitor for Lexie. Hmmm. That might cause a little bit of drama. I guess I better find her a good replacement night light right away! :) I am sure we will have fun. Maybe we will have to make some cookies for Lexie. :) Do you think Clint will fall for that one? I doubt it. I am thinking we will be watching Barney at somepoint tonight. He hasn't been on very much lately.

I almost forgot to tell you that he taught Summer her days of the week! She knows them all now. She can sing them and say them. It is really cute. She says Sundee, Monday, Tuesdee, Wednesday, Thursdee, Friday, Saturday. Or something like that. So, so adorable she is!!!

Lately Summer has been a little whiny though. I just don't know what to do when she does it. I hope my instincts are telling me the right things because if not it may never end. I am not sure whether my 1, 2, 3 spanking system is working. I am sure she doesn't like the spankings, but they may not be doing the trick. Sometimes it even seems like she likes them. Hmmm. Of course, that is not the only system. I also use privilege denial, "If you do this, then this will happen", and other such means as to curb her appetite for whining. :) Maybe ignoring would work better? I don't know for sure what the answer is, but consistency is probably the most important factor. I guess that is what I will aim for. I know it sure DOES NOT work when you are INCONSISTENT. I can give you examples if you need them. Just let me know. :)

Today Summer had a Halloween party at Playgym. There were not many kids there today which surprised me since we were having a party. Summer and I were dressed up as Barney and a butterfly. We were both looking pretty snazzy in our cool costumes so we decided to walk through downtown dressed in them. I didn't get any cat calls, but that was probably because it was so early in the morning. LOL Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow night when we are out trick or treating, but I doubt it because we will be in a pretty nice neighborhood. I love going trick or treating in our friend's neighborhood. It is just so perfect for it. When I grew up my Mom drove us around the mountain and down through Trenton. We'd hit one or two of the nicer neighborhoods and head over to my Memaw's house for our big bag of candy. She always gave the best candy to us grandkids. We would get plastic baggies full of FULL-SIZE candy bars. Not the little ones, even though that is what I would prefer now. At least that is the way I remember it. She always had the best candy. That is the way I feel about my friend now. She always has the best candy and gives us lots of it!!! I guess maybe she's the reason behind my love handles. The past two years we sat on her porch and gave out candy with them after we trick or treated. It might be too cold for that this year though. I can't wait until tomorrow night. I hope Summer has a blast out getting candy. Of course, she might be finished after two or three houses. I hope not!!!

Disney On Ice

The night was a success! Minus the fact that Willow came down with welts all over her body. Needless to say she didn't get to go enjoy the show. As soon as I found this out, I called Alicia to see if Liliana and her would want to come. They did and met us there at showtime. The girls were in awe in the beginning. Summer got a little scared at first, but then climbed up into my lap where she stayed until I had to go to the bathroom. Then I passed her to her Daddy and she sat in his lap for the remainder of the show. I think the girls really liked it. We didn't buy any overpriced souvenirs, but our girls didn't give us a big fuss about it. Lucky us. I hope they stay this way, but as they grow older I think they might not.

We are off to the Discovery Museum this morning to our Playgym class. Summer has been painting since she finished breakfast. She just came in to ask me if we have any more purple paint. She just opened the pack of watercolors last night and the purple is already gone. Mostly into her Spongebob coloring book. She also painted a pumpkin that I drew on a piece of construction paper. It is on the fridge with some of her other artwork. She really does love art projects. I wonder what it will be today at Playgym. They do so many creative things there. I have quite a collection already.

Gotta run!

You've Been Warned...

I still haven't figured out the best way to share photos on this blog so the formatting it a little bad in the next post. I mean there is a huge empty space in the middle. Anybody have any suggestions???

Busy as bees!

Willow & Summer

It seems like this time of year is so busy. We have been running all over the place and doing all kinds of things.

Summer had a monster bash last Saturday. Her friends Willow and Liliana went with her. There were also a few of her friends from Playgym there - MaryBlake and Twily. She really enjoyed it. Especially dancing with the green M&M. I even got that on video. There was "worm dig" and a maze. I think Summer's favorite part was the pumpkin painting. She really loves to paint. Maybe we will have a little artist in our family. I don't know where she got the talent though. Clint and I can barely draw stick figures. LOL Anyway, on the way out of the museum we stopped to roast a marshmallow and have some popcorn, apples, and cider. It was pretty cool that Summer's party had a fire for marshmallows just like mine did a few weeks ago. I guess there are some similarities in our parties although I prefer mine to be kid free. Not that I don't enjoy her parties because I do. It is just that it is nice to have adult time sometimes too. That is one area in which my mom helps me out all the time. And for that, I AM VERY GRATEFUL!!! Not only for me, but also for Summer. She is such a blast to be around that Summer always wants to go to Memaw's house (all the grandkids do). Summer never fails to get excited about going there so I know they must be having a lot of fun. Which is another nice thing. Not only having someone to watch my child, but someone who loves to do it and makes my child truly happy while she is there. Definitely PRICELESS.

Ok, so we all know how awesome Memaw is now, right?

A few weeks ago we went to the New Salem Mountain Festival with some friends. We walked around looking at the all the local goods. I got Summer a pink ribbon hairbow that she will hopefully wear. I say hopefully because the last time I tried to get her to wear it, it was pretty much a fight. :( Well, maybe not a fight, but I'm sure it did involve bribery. lol We had a nice lunch (me-pork sandwich, Summer-chicken stew) and then went back through to see what else we wanted. We got our new Christmas ornament for this year. Summer saw some kids with their faces painted, so we found the face painting booth and made her wish come true. That never happens. NOT. The girls wishes almost always come true. But so do mine, so I don't feel too bad about it. :)

We also took a trip to the zoo. The girls liked it, especially the railing they could climb on. LOL Like every time we went to a new exhibit, there they went. It was cute, but probably not something we should condone. Awww, who cares? They are a little on the short side so they can't see over the fence like the rest of us unless they are standing on the rail, right? :) Lexie, Summer's niece, went with us, but slept pretty much the entire time. She did wake up as we were leaving though, but just long enough to let me know she was ready to eat. Here is a pic of some wild animals we saw there.

We went to the River Park. We also had a play date at Liliana's house. We rode bikes to Lupi's for pizza one night and went to get cupcakes another day. We have taken a walk on the riverfront with Paw-Paw and Gay. We have taken the tricycle out front for a lesson in pedaling. It seems the only thing she learned from the lesson though was that it is easier to get off and push. Maybe not, but at the time she thought it sounded better. We have done much more than that in the past month and still have a lot left to do. I hope November is a little less busy though. Otherwise I am going to be worn out in December!!!

Tonight we are going to see Disney On Ice. Selena and Willow are going to join us. I hope the girls (and adults) enjoy it!

A new beginning

This is my first post on my new blog, although it is pretty much the same blog as before with a new name and web address. Oh yeah, minus the pictures. :(

Summer woke up this morning wanting to go to the playground again. LOL I guess a child can never get too much of a good thing. She asked me if it was still raining, so I am guessing Clint was going to take her last night while I was teaching Jazzercise. He told me he tried to take her for a bike ride, but it started raining on them so they had to come home. We already have plans to go to the aquarium today with some friends, Katie and Amy. So, hopefully she will be happy with that.

Last night after my Jazzercise class, I headed to the Rush to meet my workout buddies. But I had to swing by the condo first to get Summer because she wanted to go with me. :) Makes me feel good to know she enjoys going somewhere I enjoy going. I guess she is a little socialite like me.

We have a Monster Bash to go to tomorrow night at the Creative Discovery Museum. Her friends Willow and Liliana are going too so I am sure it will be fun...as long as they all are happy in their costumes. I am still trying to decide if I am going to wear a costume or not. I think one of the moms will wear one and the other won't so I won't be the oddball either way. I borrowed a butterfly costume from a friend the other day that I am definitely going to wear on Halloween. Decisions, decisions.

I am being beckoned to go make breakfast. I am going to whip up some eggs, fried potatoes and pancakes. Should be yummy!

First the gym, then the playground

This morning we were all late getting out of bed.  I didn't get up until 8:30 and Summer didn't get up until after 9:00.   I heard her open my bedroom door and then call out "Mommy."  I replied with "Summer Julianna."  She ran to me and we gave each other some good morning lovin'.  Then she told me she wanted to go to the playground.  She also said she wanted to have a picnic.  We have been doing that about once a week lately and I guess today was the day she wanted to go.  It was cute.  It is amazing how grown up she acts and she is only two!!! 

Shortly afterwards she wanted some breakfast, and she decided on a bowl of cereal and a glass of apple juice.  Today I did not have to run through a list of a million things, all to be shot down.  Yeah!  After she ate, she went and got her shoes on, grabbed her bear and announced she was ready to go.  I told her we had to go to the gym first which she didn't seem to mind.  I finished getting ready and we headed out the door to the Rush. 

She really likes going there now.  That is nice because now I don't have to listen to her cry as I leave her to go workout.  When I got back from my workout, she was sitting in the floor with her cup in her mouth, twirling it around and staring at the wall.  She looked like she was in some kind of daze, but quickly snapped out of it when she saw me.  She is always so excited to see me when I show up which makes me feel good. 

She was hungry, so we stopped to get some food to take for our picnic at the park.  She wanted chicken noodle soup, but Subway didn't have any.  So, I grabbed us a sandwich, cheetos, water and a "big" cookie and we headed to the River Park. 

We hadn't ever been to that playground so it was exciting for us both.  She wanted to slide right away, but also needed to pee.  She thought she could make it through at least one time down the slide without having to pee, but that was not the case.  So, we ran to the bathroom so she could finish in the potty.  She rarely has accidents like that so I didn't make a big deal about it.  Supermom had an extra pair of panties and shorts.  LOL 

We sat down and ate our food, listening to the birds sing.  I asked her if the birds were singing to her and she said, "to me and you!"  She is so smart!  And did I also mention sweet?  And polite?  I can only hope she stays this way.  I try to make an effort to be all the things I want her to be so that she has a good example to follow.  It is not always easy, and I am NOT always perfect, but I do try.  I want to be the best example I can be for my little angel.  That way she will stay one. 

Good Lovin'

My little girl has to be the sweetest thing alive!  She gives me big hugs and kisses all the time.  She sometimes adds a little pat on the back with her hugs.  She will say, "I lub you so much!"  Today I asked her who was beautiful and she said, "You are!"  That was so sweet and just made my day because I was actually talking about her, not me.  I just don't know how I got so lucky to have such a sweet little girl, but she is absolutely adorable!  And, I am the luckiest Mommy in the whole world to have her! 

Gotta get back to saving all the pics off this journal to my computer!   

It's coming to an end!!!!

I learned a few days ago that Aol is doing away with its blogging services at the end of the month.  That means I only have a few more weeks to blog on this website!  :(  I have just finished printing out the entire and journal and am trying to figure out what to do with the pics.  I wish there was some way to get them printed off without having to do it individually.  Maybe I will figure something out.  There is a possibility they will be able to move my blog to another site, but I haven't heard any details.  So, it seems as this journal may come to an end.  It all started on Sept. 17, 2005, and now three years later it may be ending!!!  I must say it really doesn't seem like I have been doing it that long though.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens now.

As for Summer, the reason behind this whole blog, she is growing up more and more everyday.  The endless "Why?" has started.  Along with that, she now informs me when she does not want to "be quiet."   lol  She does know how to whisper though which makes me laugh.  Sometimes when she is on the phone, I will whisper something for her to say and she will then whisper it to the person on the phone.  :)  Busted!  It is cute though. 

She is very independent.  She can put on her clothes all by herself.  She can use the bathroom all by herself when she wants to.  Although sometimes she still wants me to help.  I guess watching is a big help b/c sometimes when she does say "Mommy I need you to help me go potty," she really does not want me to help.  It is confusing, but I try to just go with the flow and feel her out.  It does feel good when she wants me to help even though I know she can do alone.  I know one day there will be a time when she probably won't want me to help with anything.  I dread that day and pray it never comes. 

I need to get an appt. scheduled to get some pics made.  I have a coupon for Master Portraits and mightgive them a try.  I wanted to get her pics taken in her ballet outfit and her Barney Halloween costume.  Then comes Christmas pics.  I got a green shirt for me the other day that looks like a Christmas shirt. Summer has a red and black dress.  Gotta figure out what Clint will wear.  I broke down and cut Summer's bangs all by myself the other day.  I must admit they don't look too bad considering she did exactly the opposite of what I told her to do.  ;)  It helps that her hair is not straight.  It is so wild you can't tell how crooked they are!  Really, they are not that bad though for someone with no experience.  They are not in her eyes anymore and that is the most important thing of all!  I do hope she will let me put her hair up for her pics.  It is so cute when she lets me put it in pigtails!  I just wish she would leave them in longer.  It seems like when I do get her to wear them, she ends up wearing a jacket which must be zipped ("all the way up!") and the hood must be on her head.  Let's just hope that trend continues as it gets colder. 

She is napping right now, so I best try to get things straightened up before Amanda and Lexie come over for dinner.  I can't wait to see my granddaughter.  Man it feels weird to say that! 

Lexie Arrived Today

Amanda's water broke around 3:15 am while she was spending the night with Johnny.  Soon after that she and Johnny headed to the hospital.  She was 4 cm dilated when she arrived.  She received an epidural around 6:15 am and was 10 cm dilated by 6:30.  Lexie Autumn Boyle arrived at 6:52 am weighing 6 lb. 14 oz.  She was 19.5 inches long.  She has fuzzy blonde hair and it looks like blue eyes.  When we arrived at the hospital at 7:00 am she was still being cleaned up.  Then the pictures began.  I captured her first picture.  What a shock that is since her other Grandma is such a picture freak.  We stayed to visit for about an hour before heading off to pick up Summer at my sister's house.  I took a nap from 11 to 1:30 and then got up to cook Clint some lunch before heading off to the hospital so Summer could meet her niece.  I tried to let her hold Lexie, but she said she just wanted to look.  We stayed and visited for a few minutes.  She watched her big sister change Lexie's first diaper.  Then she was ready to leave.  Gotta love the attention span of a two year old!

I'm hungry! I'm very, very hungry!

That's what Summer says when she wants to eat, like this morning while we were watching cartoons.  Then she doesn't know what she wants, but lets me name off a million things before deciding on what she wants.  She just can't tell me what she wants, but makes me guess.  She'd still be starving if I didn't name the right thing.  She was on a big cottage cheese kick for a while.  She also likes yogurt a lot.  Her favorite flavor is blueberry.  Of course, if any of the yogurts have a pink lid, she wants that one instead.  LOL  This morning she finally decided on fried potatoes, but she only ate a few. Then she wanted a cookie, but her mean mommy said no b/c she didn't eat enough potatoes.  :p

Last night we found a Tigger puzzle which we did a couple of times.  She just found it again and brought it over so we can do it together.  She is so smart, she just might be able to do it by herself this morning.  She really is ahead of others her age which I guess it a good thing, right?  She remembers everything which is good and bad.  There are some things I hope she forgets....

Yesterday after my Jazzercise class, we saw some little girls her age having a ballerina class.  Well, now she wants to be a ballerina.  So I called the dance school last night and signed her up.  Now we just gotta get some pink tights and ballet slippers.  Her first class is Monday, but she wishes it was today.  I just hope she likes it as much as she thinks she will.  It will be cute anyway. 

We had a birthday party and a baby shower a week ago.  It was a very busy, but fun day.  One thing is for sure, it is hard to get kids to look at the camera when you want them too!!!  Especially when there is more than one of them.  Summer is pretty bad about avoiding the camera.  She might look at the camera for one pic, but after that she is turning her head and usually will NOT smile.  I don't understand why she does this, but she does.  Oh well.  Maybe she will outgrow that.  I hope so anyway.  Otherwise, I am going to have a lot of pics of the side of her face.  LOL

Here is a video of a conversation I had with Summer the other day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE9eaVa6rHw

I miss my baby!

Clint and I took a trip to Savannah this week - a late anniversary getaway.  It has been nice to be able to sleep until I want to get up.  We have had a lot of fun and even a near death experience.  But, I am missing my baby big time.  I really needed a break from the everyday joys and stress of motherhood, but now I want my baby back.  I had been feeling a little stressed and even a wee bit annoyed with Summer (if you can imagine that).  She talks all the time and has started to question things (over and over again).  Why she can't be happy with the first answer I give her I'll never know, but I guess she is at that age where one answer just isn't enough.  She also lets me know when she does not want to do something - over and over again.  I guess she doesn't understand that I heard her the first time and just because she doesn't want to do something doesn't mean she isn't going to do it.  She is slowly learning that she doesn't always get her way and sometimes she has to do things (or go places) she doesn't want to.  I am just hoping she learns that whining isn't going to make me change her mind.  We are on a three strike spanking system now.  When she gets up to three, then she gets them all at once.  I think it is working, but who knows.  Anyway, needless to say I get a little frustrated with her at times and I needed a break before I had a breakdown.  I wonder how many times in my life I will feel that way.  Probably more than I realize.  I mean she is only two years old.  I still have a long ways to go before she is grown.  I talked to her yesterday and she said, "I'm coming home!"  So, I know she is ready to see me too.  That makes me happy knowing she misses me like I miss her.  I can't wait to get home tomorrow and give her a big hug and a thousand kisses.  She will probably start pushing me away after the first five, but at least I will have her back in my arms.   

We did a lot of exciting things this month - Creative Discovery Museum's Playgym class every Thursday, birthday party at Playworld Downunder, trip to the zoo, trips to the playground and  many bicycle rides.  I can't wait to get back to her so we can make more memories together!

Summer's 1st Sleep over

I finally made it over to my friends house and got the pics off of my broken laptop.  Somehow Jeff managed to get the monitor half way working (as long as you don't touch it) so I could get a few folders of pictures I hadn't gone through yet.  I am so glad he did too b/c I almost lost the pics from Summer's 1st sleep over.  Anyway, here they are in addition to a few others.  Enjoy!

***found some time to add more...

How it all came about:  On July 8, I get a call from Alicia about 5 or so in the afternoon saying she is in labor and has no one to watch Liliana.  So, I met her at the hospital and picked up Liliana.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was already babysitting Amanda's little brother Ryan too (how that happened I won't even explain...lol).  I had called Jeff and Laurie to come over earlier, so they were here to watch Ryan while I went to get Liliana.  I got home with two little girls calling me Mommy instead of one.  It was odd, but I guess Liliana thought my name was Mommy since that was what Summer was called me.  It was funny.  She called me Mommy all night and the next day too (and a few times after that too). 

Anyway, the night went pretty good.  The kids played and had a good time.  Summer and Liliana watched Barney before bed (as Summer usually does).  They got up and Liliana was briefly alarmed that her Mommy wasn't there, but they were eating breakfast in no time.  Then it was back to playing again.  They even took a bath together which went pretty good as well.  I guess it is easier to take care of two kids who are the same age than two who are different ages since they do pretty much the same thing.  I guess I will find out soon enough when Amanda has Lexie if she brings her over for me to watch.  It won't be long now.  I think she has less than 8 weeks to go!  I wonder how Summer will act around her. 

The grandchild

I forgot to update about our grandson, Jaycee Leelan Cobb.  He was born July 17th around 10:00 p.m. and weighed 6 lb. 6 oz. and was 21" long...at least that is what they wrote down.  There was some confusion as to whether or not that was the correct amount they initially said, but I guess it doesn't really matter anyway, does it?  Oh, and can you say drama?  Because that night was full of it. First we wrecked our car on the way to the hospital and then when we get there the two sides of the family are in a little spat.  It was CRAZY!!!  It should of been a time of happiness and joy, but it was full of DRAMA!  Go figure.  Anyway, we haven't seen him since we visited him the day after he was born in the hospital.  Maybe we will before Christmas, but you never know.  I won't hold my breath!

As for Amanda, she is getting so big.  Her baby will be here in about two months.  I think they will name her Lexie.  That is what we all call her now anyway.  The middle name is still up in the air.  I remember with Summer, we weren't sure really until the last week and even then it wasn't positive.  At first I really wanted to name her Caprice, but it didn't end up that way.  I have decided though that if I were to ever have twins, I would want to name them Casanova and Caprice if they were a boy and a girl.  I doubt I would be able to get any man to agree to that though.  LOL 

I am getting excited about the next grandchild.  I went to visit my friend yesterday and she has a two year old and an almost 2 months old.  Holding the sweet little baby made me kind of want another one, but then I realized that is what grandkids are for.  I can play with them for a while and then send them home.  :)  I have been working on a blanket for Lexie and need to get on it if I am gonna get it done before she gets here.  We'll see.  I haven't been very committed to it.  I looked at the finishing directions the other day and I don't even have a clue how to put all of the 52 pieces together.  I will definitely be going to Wal-Mart for some advice from one of the fabric ladies. 

I better get off here.  I've got a million things to do before Saturday and they aren't getting done right now!

Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie

Today is the big day.  Clint and I will officially be grandparents!!! 

I never imagined I'd be 30 with a grandchild, but here I am.  It just goes to show you can't control your kids.  You can only control the type of environment you provide for them when you are around them.  It is hard to be a parent, but even more so when you have an ex who also has their own environment to contribute to the kid.  Unfortunately today, this is all too common.  Divorce is more than likely when people enter a marriage these days.  It is a sad, sad fact of life.  I'll get off my soap box for now.  :)  I'll save all the good stuff for my book (which I'm probably never going to get around to writing). 

Summer will be an aunt today at the age of 26 months to a nephew:  Jaycee Leelan Cobb.  At least that was the name before they went into the hospital to be induced last night.  We'll see if they stick to it or not.  We've already gotten a phone call requesting we bring a baby name book with us, but I don't have one here to take.  I doubt they will change it at this point, but consistency is not really common among this bunch.  Oh I could go on and on.  But, I won't.  Not that you would want to hear about all my crazy drama anyway.  LOL

Summer is napping getting ready to go to the hospital later.  She has already told me that she would like to hold the baby, so we will see if that really happens or not.  I am going to take my camera to the hospital just in case though so I can put the pic up here for everyone to see my new grandson.  Holy crap.....I can't believe I'm a grandma!

Where has this month gone?

Time is flying by as usual.  Summer is growing like a weed.  She is using the potty like a big girl - ALL BY HERSELF!!!  Even #2!!!  Not sure how good she wipes yet, but she tries and that is what counts.  She only wears diapers to bed now so that is awesome!  She doesn't even want to wear them then, but her diaper is always at least a little wet when she gets up in the morning so I don't let her.  She still loves Barney and her thumb.  I have just started calling her Thumbelina today.  I hope it will discourage her, but it might just end up making her want to do it more.  Not that she could want to do it more b/c (like I said earlier) SHE LOVES HER THUMB!  She also twirls her hair while she sucks her thumb while she watches Barney.  She does it all the time really and I don't know if it is a good thing or bad thing.  I can't decide if I should strongly discourage it or just let it go.  I've got to decide which battles are worth picking and I am just not sure about this one.  Manners, on the other hand, aren't an option.  I am strongly for them and she does an awesome job us them.  She makes me so proud when we are out.  Most of the time anyway.  She does still have an occasional melt down, but I can't remember the last one so that is good. 

Life is so good right now.  My family is healthy and happy.  I get to spend everyday with my little girl and husband.  I've also started going to the gym almost everyday which I enjoy.  It is a time truly for me to focus on me and no one else which hasn't happened in a long time.  Once you have a husband and child, you really give up a lot of yourself and almost all of your freedom.  (They don't tell you that beforehand for some reason...LOL).  I think I am doing a pretty good job as a wife and mother.  As long as everyone in the house is happy, I'd say I'm doing great!  But, of course, everyday can't be great.  The upside that is, they can't all be bad either.  Enough of my philosophy.

We have had lots of fun this summer.  We've been hitting the playgrounds and parks.  Today we went to the zoo with my sister and her kids.  Then they went to the riverboat while Summer napped.  They just got back so I gotta go!

Fireworks

Summer was a little scared of the fireworks the other day.  I had to bring her in from the balcony and we watched them from the couch.  The next day we saw a few from the window in Soddy, but we didn't really watch much.  I was more interested in the movie on TV.  It was the first time I have ever watched a Harry Potter movie, and it was pretty good.  Anyway, yesterday she woke up and wanted to watch more fireworks.  It is pretty crazy because I didn't think she really liked them, but I guess deep down she did. 

We went over to a friends house for a cookout on the 4th.  It was fun.  Summer and I swam in the pool.  At first she didn't like it and seemed scared.  About the 3rd time we got in, she started loosening up a bit and even sat on a few floats (which is a lot for her).  For some reason, it seems like she has always had a fear of floats.  She still does not like anyone else to be on her float, and if they try to get on, she is high-tailing it off to Mommy.  She likes to do "Ring Around the Rosies" in the water and also for me to spin her in circles with her body over the water.  She still holds my hands when she jumps off the side of the pool.  I don't usually let her go under unless I tell her first.  She usually does not want to do that again, but she doesn't get upset when I let her.  She is still pretty scared of the water which is good b/c she won't just go jumping in when no one is there to catch her or hold her.  She likes to kick on her back as long as I am holding her head close to me out of the water.  I doubt she will be swimming this year, but that was a pipe dream anyway.  I can't say that I mind though b/c I love the fact that she wants me to hold her close and protect her.  That probably won't last forever so I'm gonna enjoy it as long as she lets me. 

As you can see from a few of the pics, Summer has a big bruise on her cheek from falling off the porch at her Memaw's house.  It wasn't that big of a fall, but it did leave a bruise.  If that isn't bad enough though, a few days later she fell off of the bar stool and landed on her face - the same side.  It was awful.  She cried and cried and her lip was swollen and bleeding a little.  She let me put a wet rag with some ice in it on her face for a while.  We rocked and rocked until she felt better.  It was so sweet, but also scary.  I told her about how we used to rock when she was a baby while she was nursing.  It brought back a lot of good memories being in that rocking chair.  We stayed at our house this weekend which we haven't done in a long while and it was nice.  I think we need to go there for a few days next time.  It is such a relaxing atmosphere out there by the lake far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown.  We got to see a few of our neighbors and they were all amazed at how big Summer is now.  It was nice visiting with them until the mosquitos started biting me.  That's one thing I don't miss. 

Yesterday we had Sunday dinner at my Aunt Leisa's house to celebrate Grandad's birthday.  It was good as usual.  Lots of food and dessert too.  I actually ate dessert first yesterday.  I had two homemade oatmeal cookies and a piece of lemon cake before my meal.  I am glad I did though b/c I couldn't eat anything else when I finished my plate.  Clint got food poisoning or something though b/c he has been sick ever since then.  I don't think anybody else did though, so maybe it was something else.  It was a nice to visit with the family again.   When I was growing up, we had Sunday dinner EVERY Sunday.  But, after Memaw died, it stopped.  Now we do it maybe once every other month, sometimes twice.  Iam glad my aunt takes the initiative to plan them b/c otherwise we would only see the family at Christmas. 

I better go see what Summer is into.  It is a little too quiet in the other room. 

All is not lost!

So, I dropped my laptop at the airport yesterday.  The monitor is not working, so I am guessing it has seen its last operating days.  Thankfully, I had backed up all my pictures a couple of weeks ago, so I only lost a couple of weeks worth of pics at the most.  It still sucks though because now I gotta get a new computer.  Not that we don't need a few new computers around here anyway.  I feel like I have been in a computer junkyard for the past few months.  Now, I have one more piece of junk. 

Summer is doing awesome potty training.  Although she did just pee in her diaper right in front of me.  I heard her and asked her about it and she kept on peeing.  Now she has on a dirty diaper.  "dirty diaper"  And she is repeating everything I am saying. "saying"  As I type.  "type" 

I have just been informed that "bear wants to eat her chicken noodle soup."  So, I better go get her some.  :)

 

More of the same

By noon today, Summer had peed 4 times and pooped once - ALL IN THE POTTY!!!

She wanted to put on her big girl panties this morning after she went to the potty the first time.  She did really good with them on.  When she needed to poop, she came up to me and said "it hurts" and told me she wanted a diaper on.  So, I sat her on the potty instead and we read a couple of books.  When she got up, she had done #1 and #2.  SO EXCITING!!!  

While we were making her grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, she was sitting on the counter.  She told me her panties were wet.  I was scared she had made a big puddle on the counter, but she had caught herself when she started and it was dry.  So, off we went to the potty for her to finish.  When she was done, she was ready for a diaper so I conceded.  I mean, I can't expect it all to happen in one day so no need to pressure back into the panties.  I am seeing a lot of progress which makes me super happy!!!  Can you tell????

My mom said Summer did a pretty good job at her house this weekend too.  Peeing in the potty and grass (she would get out of the pool to go in the grass).  Hey - whatever works is fine with me.  :)

Potty Training 101

Well today is the third day in a row that Summer has actually used the big girl potty.  Two days ago, she pooped twice in one day in the potty.  Yesterday, she peed once.  Today, she peed again.  So, I would say we are making progress.  Yeah!!!  I know it is nowhere near perfect, but you gotta start somewhere.  We are all cheering in our household!

Yard Sale

Today is Summer's 1st yard sale.  I actually haven't been to one in a while, so it will be interesting to say the least.  I hope I am not too bored, but I made sure I would have plenty to do by suggesting a cookout after the yard sale.  So, I went and bought a whole bunch of food which I am about to pack up and take over there.  Summer and Clint are still in the bed, so I have to go get them up too.  I hope Summer can handle it out in the front yard, by the street and be a good girl and stay close to Mommy.  If not, I will have to send her inside to her daddy where he will, no doubt, be planted in front of the TV.  And that's all right with me.  I am just glad to be getting him off of our couch.  :)  I gotta go get the family ready to go.  Why is it always my job to do that?  Hmmmm.  Oh well I guess I signed up for it.  I really don't mind, it is just funny how it works.

Kisses

I think I gave Summer at least 200 kisses today.  We had an awesome day together that started with her waking up.  "MOMMY!"  Then her usual guessing as to whether or not Daddy is in the bed or on the couch (where he slept a lot after his surgery).  I carried her out to the living room, her snuggling me and hiding her eyes from the light.  "Turn the light off," she says.  I tell her it is just the sunlight and I can't cut it off.  She gradually peaks out as her eyes get used to the light (her room is pitch black).  Then I turn on cartoons for her and give her a pop-tart.  A little while later, I am ready to eat so she decides to eat cereal with me.  She had her frosted strawberry mini-wheats and I had my kashi.  She actually drank some of the milk from her bowl today before she even had a bite of cereal.  I am not sure who she saw do that, but there must have been someone.  She does like to drink soup out of a bowl sometimes and I think her daddy taught her that.  I taught her to use a straw when she does it at restaurants, so I guess I get a little credit for that too.  After that, we played a little and then got dressed to go to the playground.  She did a lot of climbing today, being the little monkey she is.  She swung on the swings too and almost got clobbered by a big kid swinging.  She doesn't always watch where she is going -- imagine that!  This morning she was wanting to eat her spaghetti out on the balcony, so we were headed out the door and she tripped over the bump on the way out.  She scraped her knee and also landed on her hands, but she wasn't sure whether or not she should cry or not.  So she just stood there looking at me.  She ended up in my arms, smothered in kisses.  They always make everything better.  :) 

After the playground, we went to lunch at Fridays and shared the Bruschetta Chicken Pasta which we both love.  She sat beside me in a chair - no high chair or booster seat.  And, she only got up ONCE during the entire meal!!!  She is getting so big.  I just can't believe how fast kids grow up.  Next thing you know, she won't even want to go to a restaurant with me...LOL.  So, since she was a good girl, she got to choose between going to the aquarium and playing in the water in front of the aquarium.  Guess what she chose.................................the water, of course.  She loves playing in it.  She wanted me to go in with her, so I did.  She was all smiles.  It is so amazing at how the littlest things can bring so much joy. 

When she started sucking her thumb, I decided to pack up and stroll back up to the condo.  I was wanting to take a nap and she needed one, so we both laid down in the bed.  She kept talking and saying stuff like, "Let me do it first".  I assume she was talking about going to sleep, so I would open my eyes and say, "Okay.  You do it first." And, she would close her eyes.  Then I would.  Two seconds later she was saying something else.  It really was cute so it was hard for me when I finallly had to put her in her bed so we could get some rest.  But before that happened, I kissed her head over and over.  I kissed her arms.  She would snuggle up to me so sweet, acting like she was going to go to sleep only to snap me out of my sleep a few seconds later with a few words.  Like I said, it was very hard for me to make her leave the bed, but I had to do it or else she would've kept at it for the next 20 minutes. 

She really is so adorable.  The people at lunch sitting at the table across from us were getting a giggle watching her eat.  She kept dropping noodles and they were on her chin....can you say MESSY FACE?  She would try to pick them up and eat them...off the table too they noticed.  LOL  I think I actually her them mention that specifically.  They told me she had the cuteness of at least 10 kids so I don't think they were too offended by it.  :)

After her nap, I was getting ready to go to work.  "Don't go workout Mommy," she said.  Over and over again.  I had to go though.  But, I brought her home a cheeseburger (which she wanted to pick the cheese off of - and not so she could eat it) for dinner so she was all good.  She also wanted to eat some of my chili and salad so of course I shared with her.  It seems like she wants to be just like me.  I just hope that I can live up to everything I want to be for her.  And then some.

Mommy's little helper

Summer loves to help me make stuff in the kitchen.  If I am cooking, she wants to sit on the counter and watch.  She especially likes to make cakes with me.  She pours the ingredients into the bowl for me.  She likes to stick her finger down in the dry cake mix and lick it while she is waiting on me to give her the rest of the ingredients.  It is cute...except for the mess, but that is not even that bad.  After we get it all mixed up, she wants the beaters.  She knows that is the good stuff.  I think she enjoys the spatula more than the beaters though because they are kind of hard to lick with her little tongue.  Her face is really messy by the time she is done licking, as you can see.  I do love baking with her.  It makes me so happy to see her dirty face, knowing she is loving every minute of it.  We have also made pancakes and scones together which she thinks the batter will taste good, but she soon finds out it doesn't.  LOL  Hopefully she will learn to cook as she grows up and will be able to make more than a sandwich or macaroni and cheese when she is a teenager.  Who knows...maybe she will cook for Clint and I in a few years....

Hey, I can dream can't I?

Here are a few videos for you to enjoy...

Jumping on bed

Happy Mother's Day

Eating Cake Mix

Silly Girl

 

Birthday Recap

Summer's second birthday was celebrated on several days.  On her actual birthday, we got up and she opened her gifts from me and Clint.  It was the rest of the rooms for her doll house.  She really loved them and played with those for a few hours.  Later that afternoon my mom and Tre came over and we went to let her play in the water in front of the aquarium.  She had a really good time.  Here is a video from that.

Playing on birthday

We tried to talk Clint into going out for a birthday dinner, but we ended up just cooking a frozen pizza for dinner.  She opened her present from Nona and Nono that evening which was Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls.  The next day I took her for her 2 year pics and then we met up with Clint and his parents for a celebratory lunch at Olive Garden.  It was nice even though Clint left to go sit in the car before we even got our food.  Summer pigged out on salad and ate a little lasagne and chicken parmigiana when they brought the meal.  She is such a good eater.

Her actual birthday party was not until the following Saturday.  We went to a place called Buddy Bear where they have inflatable slides and playgrounds.  The kids all had a good time for the most part.  My best friend's little girl was a little scared of the equipment though so she did not join in on the fun.  When it came time to eat cake and open presents, Summer was ready.  She got a tricycle from my mom which she (and the other kids) loved.  They fought over it.  Finally we ended up putting three of them on it.  LOL  She also got her first pair of skates, a few outfits, golf clubs, disney princess castle megablocks, a magnadoodle, and some art stuff.  I can't remember what else.  Everyone had fun.  My step kids (ages 18 & 22) even had a blast on the inflatable toys.  They were the last to leave with me and Summer.

The day was tiring, but she still wanted to play with her gifts when we got home.  It sure was nice to have so many friends and family to spend the day with.  We sure are lucky to have them all in our lives.