Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Rainy day catch up

Summer camp has come and gone. She made oodles of projects during the week. After the art show on Friday, we filled up a bag with all of her creations. She had a good time, but has not decided yet that she wants to go to another camp. I think we may go to Lake Winnie this week. Summer and I have been talking about a trip with just us two so we can ride all the rides together. I love this idea!!! A trip to the Discovery Museum and zoo would be fun too, as would a trip to play in the water around the aquarium. We'll have to see what we can fit in before the weekend gets here.

Yesterday, we returned her first set of library books for this summer. We have a goal to read 50 for the book club program they have going on at the library. Our first visit we got 13 books. We just checked out 18 more yesterday, so we are well on our way to achieving our goal. Lexie is lagging a little, but we did check out a few especially for her too. They enjoyed the end of the summer party last year, and I think this year will be even better since they are a year older. I just hope the weather isn't insanely hot. It makes the Popsicles and ice cream melt too fast!!

The first day of kindergarten is getting closer and closer. I must admit, I am NOT looking forward to it. I try to not think about it too much, but our life is about to drastically change. Too bad I don't have it in me to home school her, but what' s that Justin Bieber song again? LOL I guess it is time to let her go and spread her wings and fly. But, I am so NOT ready for it. She's my baby! My thumb sucking, Teddy toting, baby. I know I need to suck it up and get over it, but really the thought of school does make me tear up at times. She's going to love it though and learn so much. I just hope we don't have a repeat of her preschool days, the few she had. Sad drop offs are not my thing and I do not want to experience them again. Good thing Lexie will be going too. I think it will make it easier for Summer.

I'm sure I will quickly adjust to my new found freedom. I just hope I don't become a slave to my house! My dad has been doing a pretty good job of it though, if only I could get him to bring his labor indoors. Just kidding! Well, there is dusting, toilets.... He really is sparkling this place up though. Summer will have a swing down by the lake soon. She tried to help him paint it yesterday, but she could not operate the can. That was okay though because she joined Lexie and myself in the pool. We played with floats and all had a turn riding in the boat float. We swam through each other's legs and made whirlpools and waves. Good memories for sure!

Well, I'm being beckoned to make her hamburger helper for breakfast. We didn't get around to making it yesterday and she remembered I said something about it. The girl does not like normal breakfast foods, but she will occasionally eat cheese eggs. They must be VERY CHEESY though. I think I put 3 slices in 4 eggs for her and Lexie the other day. They ate them all up though. I wish I could remember what she's eaten the past few days, but I am drawing a blank right now. Maybe it'll come back to me while I'm cooking.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Summer Camp

I was really looking forward to Summer going to art camp up until the day rolled around. Then, I was a little nervous, as was she. But, so far, so good. We have not had any major withdrawals on our parts. She left Teddy at home yesterday. I did not take him when I picked her up either and she had to endure lunch without him. Or, is it a her? She did not miss him too much, but she did notice that he was not with me when she came out of the classroom. Today I let her put him in her bag rather than me have to carry it back to the car with me. In return, she promised to leave him in the bag the whole time until I picked her up. (That was a win-win!!)

When we left camp, we took a nice stroll through the art district. She wanted to go to the sculpture garden first, but it was hot and I convinced her to go eat first so we could cool down with some ice cold water. Her favorite! We enjoyed a nice lunch of pasta and salad. No one ate the bread but me. I couldn't resist. Summer did not like the lasagna at Tony's Pasta, but that was okay because that was what I ordered. She had some kind of noodles with marinara sauce. Then we mixed in some Alfredo to make it pink and yummy. She topped it off with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Then, we were off to see the sculptures. She led her daddy and myself to her favorite spot. She had us look off at the view. Then she led us through the rest of the garden. Her daddy and I hid from her once behind some columns since she was on a mission and leaving us in the dust. When she turned and looked for us, she was surprised not to see us. We quickly exposed ourselves and she smiled. On the way home, she got her daddy to carry her on his shoulders. I was the pack mule for everything else (my purse, Summer's camp bag, the Togo food, Clint's shirt and tea), but what's new? I was made for it!

Yesterday at camp, they made some cups out of clay. She told me she made a smaller one for Lexie and a bigger one for herself. I thought that was sweet. She usually does remember to get something for Lexie when we are at her doctor appointments too. Stickers and suckers are the usual treat and we've had our fair share of stops at the jars that hold them. I am not sure what all else they did at camp, but I think their artwork will be displayed on Friday after camp is over. I can't wait! Today they are working on self-portraits and looking at photographs in the the museum. Summer said she was not excited about that second part, but we will see what she thinks when I pick her up.

Which brings me to more exciting news. Summer is going to get to be in Chattanooga's Health Scope magazine as the model in the picture of the new CT scanner at our children's hospital. We go today after she gets out of camp. I am way more excited than she is. That is mostly due to what she is going to wear, but I hope she will just suck it up and put on the clothes and smile for the camera. We will see. She really does not like the shorts, which are super adorable and got lots of compliments when she wore them to her last MRI. Maybe the skirt she wore to camp today will work, but it is definitely not as cute as the shorts. I am anticipating a possible nap in her future should she give me a hard time and have a breakdown. I've promised her lunch anywhere she wants in return for her cooperation which means no whining or pouting. She also wanted to be able to pick a dessert place. LOL I told her she'd have to be perfect to get that. It could go either way, but I will be surprised if she manages that. In life anything is possible and as Justin Bieber's song goes: Never Say Never!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A fish in the water

Summer is a little fish in the water. She's been in the pool quite a bit since coming home from Florida. Last weekend, and this past weekend, she spent a few days at her Memaw's. We got her a pair of goggles just for her house so that she will have them whenever she is there. She still does not want to go under water without them, but I guess that is because she likes to open her eyes and it hurts without the goggles. We also got into the pool in our yard a few times during the week. Today we went over to my aunt Sandra's and hung out with my dad's family. It was nice and Summer showed off her swimming skills. They were all impressed with her not having to wear floaties or anything this year. I was a proud Momma for sure!!!

She got to spend a night this weekend and last with her cousins. As usual, she had a great time with them. I'm sure they will have a few more sleepovers before the summer is over. Memaw and PawPaw have already hosted one each so now it is my turn I guess. She actually told me today that she was going to need a nap because Faith and Jonathan wouldn't stop talking all night. Then she said when she woke up she and Faith were both sideways and Faith had all the covers. Love these childhood memories she's making!!! True to her word, she fell asleep in my lap during church and had to be woken up after the last song was sung. That was the only nap today so she did not put up a fuss to stay up when I put her to bed tonight around 8:30. After she and Lexie both had their books read to them, they snuggled up in their beds, smiling as I kissed them goodnight. I tell you those are priceless moments. Of course, the nights when I sing to them are even better. They just love to hear me sing to them sometimes. Summer's favorite goes like this:

Go to sleepy, go to sleepy, go to sleepy little baby.
Momma loves you, Momma loves you, Momma loves her pretty baby.
Go to sleep pretty babe, Momma loves you so much.
Go to sleep pretty babe, Momma loves you so much.

Other favorites are "You Are My Sunshine," "You Are So Beautiful," and "I Love You, You Love Me." Good thing they don't mind if they are slightly out of tune!

We also made some memories at the zoo last week. The girls both love to go there and see all the animals. The goats were a little frisky this visit so we will see if they want to go back in and pet them again next time. Summer really wishes they would get some meerkats and I would love to see a zebra there, but I guess we don't have enough pull to get the zoo to get them. LOL The zoo has a dinosaur exhibit right now that Summer thought was pretty cool. For a minute, she thought the dinosaurs were real because they were robotic with moving heads and eyes. Some of their mouths even opened and closed. We were surprised to see that the triceratops did not have any visible teeth with their mouths open wide. Guess it's a good thing they have those horns! She enjoys both Dinosaur Train and Dino Dan cartoons so I'm sure it was cool for her to have a close up look at some dinosaurs on a life size scale. We did not get to reach out and touch them though, but I'm not sure she would've wanted to anyway. The exhibit was refreshingly cool on a hot day, but that did not stop the girls from needing something to cool them down on the way out. Lucky for them, there was ice cream in the gift shop. Summer chose on ice cream sandwich while Lexie chose a banana popsicle. They were all smiles on the way to the car which is always good.

Of course, the week was not all smiles. They both had their share of moments in the corner, but that's just part of them learning boundaries and what is and is not acceptable behavior wise. But, I'm sure this is going to be an exciting summer for us. Summer has decided art camp sounds fun so she is going to one at the Hunter Art Museum next week. She's also decided to take the summer off from gymnastics. Maybe we will start back in the fall after she is adjusted to school. I can't say I'm ready for that. Kindergarten scares the crap out of me!! But, I'm sure we will both be fine.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Another present

The day after we got home, PawPaw surprised Summer with a birthday present. He had missed her birthday party due to work and was also not with us on vacation on her actual birthday. So when we returned from vacation, he got her a pool for the backyard which she loves. Once we started filling it up, she and Lexie were both ready to get in. After we got the wrinkles out of the bottom, we let them in the cold water. Summer didn't care one bit that it was freezing cold, but Lexie wasn't as enthusiastic. She did still manage to hang out in there for a little bit before getting out and heading off to her nap. Summer was in and out of it all day whenever she could get me or my dad to watch and/or swim with her. Yesterday she enjoyed it too. She got in twice - once with her daddy and once with me. After the last time, she was still wanting to play in water so she asked for a bath. She wanted me to take one with her, but my hands were to wrinkly so I opted out. She settled for a bubble bath and played happily for a while. She washed and conditioned her hair herself, but I did dispense them for her. After she was finished, she asked me to put on her pj's for her. Usually she does this herself, but I was happy to help since she doesn't need me as much as she used to anymore. That's just part of growing up though. She brushed her hair all by herself and was happy to report that the conditioner did its job and made her hair soft and not too tangly. We have just recently started using a brush on her hair and I must admit my buddy was right about it being better than a comb. :)

Today she had an MRI on her brain to make sure there is no cancer hanging out in there. We should get the results of it Monday afternoon. I'm not worried though since she shows no signs of having any problems. On Tuesday, she will have a CT scan to check out her chest and abdomen. She will get to use the new scanner they have at children's hospital so I am excited about that because it means she will be exposed to less radiation (I think). Monday she has a dentist appointment so it has been like overkill on the doctor visits coming back from vacation, but that's just part of it. We've got fun to look forward to tomorrow when Summer will go to Camp Lookout with the kids from church. Can't wait to see what she thinks of that!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Paradise is gone

Our month long vacation has come to an end to mine and Summer's dismay. Neither of us were ready to leave, but after a long, long, long drive yesterday we are home. The kids were ready to be home 5 minutes into the trip which I thought was a bad sign, but we did not have any breakdowns the entire trip. Lexie did wake up from her 2nd nap crying about her ankle. The last few days we were there the bugs came out and ate us all up, her especially. So we've all had our share of itchiness the past few days. We stopped twice to eat and made a couple of pit stops at rest areas. It took us a little over 11 hours and we were lucky not to hit too much traffic when we passed through Atlanta. The car is still not unpacked, but I will get around to it eventually.

There were lots of adventures on the trip, and we all managed to avoid getting sunburned. The girls and I came home with great tans thanks to the beautiful Florida weather and good skin pigmentation. It was in the 80's the first 3 weeks and the 90's the last week. I think it only rained 2 or 3 times the whole months and that was not for very long. A lot of the days were spent in the pool and hot tub. The girls were less thrilled about the beach than I was, but they did have some good times playing in the sand, collecting shells, and building castles. The best times for them were at sunset when it was not too hot.

We took a ferry to Caledesi Island which turned out to be a 45 minutes hike north from the beach where we stayed. With the kids, I am glad we took the ferry instead. We swam in the ocean for a bit before we ate a picnic lunch at some tables they had shaded with palm trees. Then some of us hunted for pretty conch, whelk and cockle shells which were more prevalent on the island than where we were staying. The kids tried to play on the playground with Memaw and Nanny but the equipment was too hot. So, they played in the showers and sand instead.

Summer got to parasail on two different occasions. The first time she and I went with my friend Christina. She was a little nervous about doing it, but I reassured her and once we were up in the air she was all smiles loving the ride. When they dipped us down to get our feet wet, she raised her feet so she wouldn't get wet. On the way back into the bay to dock the boat, the guy jokingly told us we were going skydiving next. She asked me what that was and I told her jumping out of an airplane with a parachute. She asked if we would land in the ocean and I told her no we would land on the ground. She was ready to go! LOL She wasn't too disappointed when I broke it to her that we weren't really going to do that. ;) The 2nd time she went with her Auntie Erin and cousin Jonathan and again raised her feet so they wouldn't get wet.

On our next to last day, we headed to the pool to try out the water slide which was closed every other time we tried to go during the month. It was newly installed so they were still working out the kinks most of the month so it would be safe for riders and no one would get injured. To be able to go down it, the kids all had to take a swim test and swim all the way across the pool. Summer was intimidated at first and did not make it the first go around. I don't know if it is because I was beside her, but every few strokes she would grab the side of the pool. I knew she could do it, but she did not believe in herself. So, she gave up and just swam around enjoying the pool anyway. About an hour and a half after we got there, she got up the nerve to try again with Memaw coaching her through it. She swam across like a champ and it made my heart so proud to see her do it. Her first time down the slide was great and she did not land in the water the wrong way or get any water up her nose like I worried she would. She absolutely loved it! She and her cousins went over and over again. They could've stayed longer, but after 3 hours at the pool we headed back to the house.

We made several return trips to the playground and pier. On our last night, Summer wanted to go back to the pier for one last souvenir. But, they were not set up yet when we got there so we ended up going to a shop where she had seen something she liked before. She looked the little store over really good before picking out her treasure - a box full of shells which included a pink star fish. That was the clincher for her. It made me smile because she is a girl after my own heart compelled by the beauty of shells. We both came home with lots of those treasures from the ocean. Can't wait to get crafty with them and I know she will be all over that too!