Day # 3 of "school"

Again, another great day at school for Lilliana. Today it was my turn to bring snacks and I decided to take some raisins and these yummy Annie's Organic crackers. Mrs Sha said that Lilliana was a good girl in class but she also told me that "she can hold her own!" (this is not the first time I have been told that!!) I'm not sure how I feel about that statement but I guess as long as she tells me there wasn't any pushing or bad behavior on Lilliana's behalf I guess I will take it.

Today her note said that she played on the slide with Jack and ate most of her lunch. They are also going to start working on the letter "A" and red circles so we are going to keep that going at home to try and reinforce the concepts.

After school we headed to Saddle Creek to do a little shopping and then headed to TCBY for Lilliana's after school snack. We shared a kids cup of chocolate-vanilla swirl and I think I actually only got about 2 bites out of it! That girl loves her some sweets!!

She won't be going next Monday since it is Labor Day, but she has a make-up day on Friday the 11th due to our trip to the beach coming up in October. I am so looking forward to this day because I have scheduled my day of spa to use the gift certificate Clay gave me for my anniversary! Hooray!!



all ready for school



sporting her shades on a bright and sunny morning :)



enjoying an after school treat at TCBY



such sweetness, she loves some sugar just like her Momma!

Le Bonheur Radiothon

Today is the annual Le Bonheur Radiothon to help raise money for the children's hospital that I work at. This hospital is so near and dear to my heart for so many more reasons than just because it's my place of employment. There have been so many families that have come through there with sick children that have made such an impact on my life and have made me a better person because of their lives. You can click here for the live feed. Help support Le Bonheur and make a difference in children's lives!

Wordless Wednesday!

Telling me NO, one of her favorite things to do these days :)

2nd Day of "School"

Today was Lilliana's 2nd day of school. Again, she had a great day and Mom had a fabulous time attempting to catch up on sleep from the weekend at work. She walked into her class like a big girl and there wasn't a tear shed. I was so proud of her. When I came to pick her up Ms. Sha said she was really good and didn't push anyone this time! Hooray!! On her little progress note it said she played well in the play house and with her friend Elle. This is the second week in a row she has played with Elle, maybe she really is starting to make new friends. :) She ate her lunch good and took an 1 1/2 long nap on her napmat. Hooray for peer-pressure. At least today I think so, I think that is the only reason she is sleeping on that silly mat. Whatever works :)

I went ahead and signed her up for a make-up day in September since we will miss one week while we are at the beach in October. I also placed her on the waiting list for another day during the week. I don't think we will officially do 2 days until probably next fall but I needed to go ahead and get on the list so I did.

So far she is really enjoying her "school" and she loves her teachers and the friends she has made there. Since she started last Monday she has been singing some song that I am unable to figure out what is. I tried to video her singing it the other night but of course as soon as she saw the camera she stopped. It's hilarious and obviously goes on for a while and has hand motions. I am going to have to remember to ask Ms. Sha this week at drop off if she knows what it is because obviously Lilliana LOVES it!!

5 years!

This past Friday, Clay and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Jim's Place East and rented a movie afterwards to top the night off. It's amazing how things change when you have a baby. We were actually both exhausted and way too full upon arriving home so neither one of us made it through the movie and we were both asleep before 10:00 pm. Sad I know. We did have a fabulous time and knew our little love was in great hands with her Nana back at the house. We both enjoyed a salad, steak (mine with crab and bernaise sauce on top!), mashed potatoes for me and a baked potato for Clay along with an amazing rendition of Key Lime Pie. I LOVE Key Lime Pie, it's one of those dishes that I have grown more fond of with age. It is now one of my favorites by far.

We had such a great time reminiscing the past year and all the struggles we have been through in our short 5 years. We talked about the fun things we want to do on our beach trip to Watercolor coming up in October and some new adventures for next year. We are thinking about doing something completely different for vacation next summer!

Clay got me some beautiful roses that are on display on my kitchen table and an amazing gift certificate to Natural Body for whatever type of treatment I choose. I on the other hand didn't do as well as he did, Clay got new running shoes. In my defense, he told me not to get him anything since we had just purchased him 3 new pairs of pants from Banana Republic in the last couple weeks so at least I still did something.

I am so thankful for Clay and all he does for our family. He is a wonderful Father and Husband and I look forward to many more years with him.

Rain Rain

Rain Rain go away stay a while, so Lilliana can splash and play in her RAINBOOTS!!

Recommendations Please

Does anyone have any recommendations for what to wear for the St. Jude Half-Marathon I plan to complete in December. Obviously, I am not sure what the weather will be like at this point but if last year is any indication it will be COLD! I think it was around a high of the mid 30's last year which scares me to death. Strangely enough, I would rather run on a treadmill in a nice air conditioned gym if I had my way, but since I don't I hope to be prepared for the elements. I was thinking something using under armour, but to be honest I don't really have a clue, anyone aware of what I should wear????

My Big Backyard

I mentioned in Lilliana's 20 month post about a visit to My Big Backyard. It is a fabulous new children's exhibit here in Memphis. It cost's $5.00 for adults to get in and $2.00 for children 3 and over which is such a steal for all there is to do. Of course, like most parks, there is the option to become a member but for now we are just going to stick to visiting on a regular basis. We had a wonderful day filled with sunshine and clear skies. It helped a ton that it includes a water feature. We were there for more than 2 hours and still were unable to see everything. Here is a snippet of what all in included, such a great day.



Our first stop was at Rain Drop Stop, so much fun. There are umbrellas for the kids to use and it periodically "rains" with the sounds of thunder just before the rain starts. It starts with a fine mist and then becomes a full out downpour. So much fun!!





There is also a little river that is connected to the rain drop stop area with a little boat and rocks to climb on. I was surprised Lilliana wasn't afraid to get in but she was such a big girl. She had a great time playing and splashing with Joshua, I decided to go ahead and put on her swimsuit about 5 minutes after arriving since she was so fearless. Good thing we were prepared!!



Already time for a snack break, I swear this kid may look like her Daddy but she is JUST like her Mama!! She eats about 6 times a day, good for her girlish figure I must say :)



Playing in the "House of Rock". She had a blast, there were all sorts of tin pie plates and windchimes on the walls with drum sticks in a little bucket for them to play with. She loved beating on all the tin and laughing as she would make the loud noises. There was a bigger boy in there when we first arrived and Lilliana wasn't as big of a fan of all the noise he was making, we decided just to wait until he had left to give it a try.







One of the other little house, can't remember what this one was called but it was open on the back with a chalkboard all around it. Lilliana loves to play with chalk so this was right up her alley. There was also a little clothesline in the back with clothes and clothes pins to use and a wash bucket to pretend to wash and dry clothes. Just what a little lady needs, one day she will not have fun doing all those wife and Mom duties!



Lilliana in the "House of Sticks". It was so neat, the whole thing was made of sticks and there were wood bowls and serving pieces inside with a little wooden table. Lilliana was sweeping the floors and serving me a home-cooked meal in no time!

Great things come in small packages

Tonight while we were walking through Target, Lilliana and I were having a conversation about checking out the new toys while we were there. I had just run in to get some dish washing liquid and pledge so I didn't even worry about putting Lilliana in her stroller or carrying in the shopping cart cover, I just figured she could walk alongside me and would would pick up our 2 items and get out. As luck would have it, the bottom fell out just after we walked through the doors so I decided to bide our time by perusing the toy section. So far, she doesn't typically mind if she is looking at something and doesn't get it or if we have to leave somewhere these days. I guess she just isn't at that age yet where time really matters. Anyways, I actually did have a point in this post. I say all this because while we were walking and talking, I noticed there were a few people looking at us. As we walked by them they said, "she sure does have a big voice for such a little girl!" This is EXACTLY what people used to tell my mom when I was little. I remember as clear as day when I would be singing in musicals at church and afterwards people would tell me how beautifully I sang. Not always a good thing, I am sure I was singing above all the others! Just because she is a petite little thing she sure is a ball of energy that NEVER stops talking unless she's asleep!!

School Days!

Today was Lilliana's first day of "school" or Parent's Day Out. This morning I woke up super early so I could get myself completely ready before she decided to grace me with her presence. I didn't want to walk in there on her first day looking frumpy, especially since I will typically be heading home to sleep after picking her up, I wanted them to see that her Mom did care a little about herself. :) Anyways, after enjoying her oatmeal and strawberries we got all dolled up in our smocked dress and big red hairbow and loaded up the car.

PDO starts at 8:45 and we arrived around 8:30 because I wasn't sure how much time it would take in early morning traffic to get there. There were other mom's there waiting outside in the foyer for the doors to open into the nursery where PDO is held. We waited with them for Mrs. Leigh to open the doors and I began to think Lilliana was a little nervous. She no longer wanted to hold her backpack but just asked to sit with me. Of course I didn't mind and we just sat and cuddled until time to walk in. When the doors were officially opened we picked up all of our belongings and headed to her room to meet Mrs. Sha. I was so pleased when Lilliana just walked in and helped me put all her stuff in her little cubby. They will be storing her nap mat at school which will help a ton with the amount of stuff we have to carry each day. I had planned to stay a little while if she was upset but she did GREAT! She never cried and when I left her she was rocking in a little kid sized rocking chair by herself. It really made leaving so much easier.

I did call to check on her around 11:15 and was told she was doing great. I was able to be very productive during the day including a trip to Collierville to take care of some things, shopping a little at Carriage Crossing, groceries at both Costco and Kroger, lunch at home with Clay and then another quick trip to the mall. It's amazing how much more productive I can be when not having to load and unload a little one each time I arrive somewhere.

I missed Lilliana so much while she was at school, and although it was only 6 hours it was the longest 6 hours of my life!! I got there a little bit early to pick her up and saw her sitting with her other little friends reading with Mrs. Margaret. As soon as she saw me she came running and screaming Mama!! I met Mrs. Shundra at the door and asked how her day had been and she said, "she is my favorite!" They talked about how sweet she was and she told me she had eaten well and took a nap for just over an hour, ON HER NAP MAT!! I had to ask her twice and then I asked is she was lying to me! She just laughed at me and said she was great. Then I saw Mrs. Sha walking back into the room and the first word's she said were, "You sure can't judge her by her size!" I hope this doesn't mean she was a problem because she said she wasn't. My mom was told the same thing about me when I started preschool for the first time. She is quite loud for her little self and will tell you what she's thinking in a heart beat. I was told that she pushed a little boy, but that after they talked to her she was good. That was not exactly what I wanted to hear but I guess it could be worse. They did tell me though that afterwards she was loving on him all day, Clay was not a fan!! Although we do time-out at home they don't do it at her age in school so we will just have to see how that works for her. Hopefully next time we will get a clean report about a precious little girl.

Weekend Away

This past weekend I decided to pack up and leave for a short girl's weekend in Jackson. It was Melissa's baby shower for sweet baby James who is due to arrive in October and the perfect opportunity to catch up. Michelle and I headed out around 10:00 am on Saturday and met Jenn in Madison at the shower just in time around 2:00. Of course the shower was just perfect with some delicious coffee punch and cheesecake to munch on and Melissa received some fabulous gifts for baby James. After the shower we had planned to head back to Mel's parent's house in Jackson for a relaxing evening by the pool. The weather was perfect and after a couple hours we ordered food to go from Newk's and say back out on the patio until way past most of our bedtimes! It was such a great time and although I missed Lilliana like crazy, I feel like a new woman and had a great time with my friend's. This is the first time I have left Lilliana, and although it was only for about 26 hours, I think I did pretty well. The girls were impressed with me and I knew she was in great hands the whole time. Clay had to work all weekend so Nana came over on Saturday morning to help and took Lilliana to Wilson's 3rd birthday party for me and then GiGi and Poppy came over on Sunday to help out. I really felt more comfortable with her being at her own house and around her toys and bed and the things she is most comfortable with. I am hoping this will possibly help me transition into a nice weekend away with Clay in the near future but we will just see. I am just going to take baby steps for now and 26 hours was way more than enough to last me for a while!

20 month's young!

My Dearest Lilliana,

Today, you turned 20 month's old. We have had quite the busy month and you have been able to venture out to many new places recently. Just yesterday, we went to the newest children's exhibit here in Memphis called My Big Backyard. It was so fabulous and you seemed to have a great time. The best news is it's just around the corner from where we live so hopefully there will be many more trips in your future.

Tonight was another milestone for you as we packed up after enjoying dinner and headed to 2nd Presbyterian Church where you will start their PDO program on Monday. Mommy is very nervous about this but some of my fears were relieved tonight after receiving the packet they handed out and asking your teacher about a million questions. Hopefully she doesn't think your Mama is crazy! If so hopefully the cookies I am going to send you with on Monday will help!! You were such a sweet heart tonight and everyone commented on how sweet and personable you were.

You really are quite the social butterfly and never meet a stranger. You love to talk to babies and to pretty much anyone who will listen. You love to yell use your 'inside voice' when calling my name 50 billion times a day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know there are some Mama's out there that won't ever hear their children calling their names and your Dada and I would give everything to have 2 little munchkins yelling at us in the back of the car. We are so grateful for you and try to cherish every minute we are given with you.

You are starting to do better and better each time I drop you off at the gym nursery. You love Miss Brenna and will typically go to her now without a fight. When you do cry though it typically is just for Mama, you seem to calm right down as soon as I am out of the picture. That is what gives me hope about you starting PDO. I know you will love it and you are going to make so many great friends. Of course your Mama is really going to enjoy her uninterrupted sleep on Monday mornings too!

You are communicating so much better these days and are typically able to get your point across about what it is you want. In the morning you usually enjoy either o-mill (oatmeal) or shoja (cereal) with a fruit and your miiiiiilk. We are still working on our manners and you are good about saying no mam and no sir but I don't think you can pronounce your Y's yet because anytime I ask you to say yes-mam and you just shake your head yes and say mam. You have definitely perfected thank-you and please and impress people when we are out. You are doing better with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but for the most part you still want cheeeeese with every meal. What can I say, you do get some traits form your Mama. :) You eat what Mama fixes for dinner unless it's something spicy and you LOVE your milk. I am so glad you get that from your Dada, along with about everything else about you, because Mama doesn't drink milk and it is so good for you.

Your hair has really started to grow and you wore your first set of real pig-tails last Saturday to Dakota's 2nd birthday party. You are still petite, but if I had to guess I would say you are topping out at about 20 pounds now. Luckily you don't have another scheduled doctor's appointment until December when you turn 2. We have still yet to get your MMR vaccine and you are lacking one other you should have gotten at 18 month's but the office didn't have any power when we went for your check-up and so they didn't have any vaccines to give out! No big deal though, we will just get caught up in December. You are still facing backwards in your carseat and since you don't really know any difference you don't seem to mind. I will most likely turn you around when you turn 2 as long as you really are 20 pounds.

Mama is already working on birthday festivities and I am starting to lean towards a Minnie themed party. I have some really great ideas and we have already booked Mrs. Liz to come and take your pictures. We had family pictures made back in June and you are much more difficult to photograph these days. You will still say "cheeese" for the camera but you don't really like to look at me when taking your picture anymore.

I have been trying to decide whether you are ready or not to potty train just yet. You tell me when you need to go poop and you try to take your diaper off afterwards. I have walked in twice in the last 2 weeks to a naked baby in the morning!! Luckily there wasn't any poop in your diaper on those occasions and no tee-tee in the bed either. I bought you a little potty a couple weeks ago and you love to sit on it and 'try' to go potty but haven't been successful yet. I am going to have to order you some panties from Potty Patty because those are the only one's I have found that seem like they will fit you. To be honest the only thing holding me up is my fear of public restrooms and I know I will have to take you in there when it's time. If I just had one of these to drive to could keep a potable potty in the back to use!! Maybe if I win the lottery! :)

You are such a joy to be around and I still miss you when you nap too long and in the morning's when it's time to get up. I love you so much and you make me the happiest Mama in the world!

Wordless Wednesday!

Happy Birthday Dakota!!

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday dear Dakota
Happy BIrthday to You!


On Saturday, Clay and I headed out the the Collierville Water Park to help celebrate Dakota's 2nd birthday. It was so much fun and definitely worth the lack of sleep and exhaustion since I had worked the night before and had to go back on Saturday evening! I was great to see everyone and catch up on happenings with some of our greatest friend's from our old GBC days. I really miss seeing everyone now that we don't all go to church together. We all started our married lives together and most of us celebrated the birth of our first children while in Sunday School together. We have such great memories with this special group of people and we have been there for each other through thick and thin.

The weather was wonderful, sunny and about 88 degrees. The kids had a great time splashing and running through the sprinklers and all of the adults enjoyed talking and enjoying a yummy lunch.

Happy Happy Birthday Dakota! Thank you so much for including us in your birthday festivities. We hope you enjoy your Abby Cadabby doll as much as Lilliana enjoys hers!



the birthday girl!



walking with Dada around the sprinkler park



ready to enjoy her cupcake



squishing it all in at once!



the gift table



Emerson, Lilliana, Palmer and Amelia splashing in the puddles



Me and my little love



sweet sisters, Tracy with Palmer and Hudson



time for gifts!!

1 week away!

One week from today I will be dropping my little love off for her first day of Parent's Day Out. There have been times today when I am so ready, especially since I worked all 3 nights this past weekend and I am exhausted, but for the most part, I still want to change my mind. I know she will love it, I know she is going to meet some really great kids, and I know she needs the social interaction with others. So, I guess I won't pull her out at the last minute, I hope!! I am looking forward to Thursday evening for the Open House where hopefully all my questions will be answered and my mind will be put at ease a little. I hope to meet Lilliana's teacher and even some of the kids that will be in her class. I really trust where I decided to send her, the decision was not an easy one, but the idea will just take some getting used to. I know, I've had about 9 month's to get used to the idea, but change is hard for me.

I am actually planning to head to Jackson for a baby shower on Saturday and even stay the night, by MYSELF and leave Lilliana at home this coming weekend. Then I work on Sunday night and she heads off on Monday morning. I think I am really trying to cram to much into the weekend before she starts and maybe that is adding to my anxiety. To be honest, I am just ready for Monday at 2:45 already. I will be there to pick her up, hopefully somewhat refreshed from working the night before and ready to spend a fun filled week with my little love. I am hoping for all smiles and that she has already had a good 2 hour nap. Is that too much to ask for? I guess we'll see in 1 more week!!!

Zoo Day's

Last week we finally renewed our Zoo pass and have already put it to good use. There is a fabulous Bird's and Bee's exhibit going on right now through Labor Day and it is so much fun. You are able to purchase a feeding stick for the birds for a $1.00 and they will just sit right there on your pole and eat the birdfeed. Lilliana loved it and has talked about the "biiird's" (with quite the southern flare) since then.




She actually sat still for the sea lion show and would clap on cue. She was so funny and would laugh with the crowd and got so excited when they would do tricks. It was so funny to watch and although it was only 15 minutes long I was glad she enjoyed it.



one of the blue bird feeding off her stick



Lilliana's turn holding the stick. She did pretty good at first but then she liked to shake the stick and watch them fly away!



Being such a good girl :)



Riding the choo choo train with Mama. She loved it and all the animals in the petting zoo we went by. She kept saying "choo choo" and making animal noises the whole time!



Enjoying a quick cool off at one of the misting stations in Cat Country.



My little love

Fabulous Giveaway

Click here for a fabulous giveaway. It is for the Indie Twin Bumbleride and although we only have 1 child right now, we would love to have more, (not in the near future, don't fear).

Bumbleride Indie Twin - Seagrass

I would love to get the seagrass colored one, they are fantabulous!!

Ready for "School"

Here is Lilliana trying out her nap mat for the first time. She seemed to really take to it and now she wants to use it all the time. She loves her bed for "school", and we'll just see in just over a week if she likes her new school. I am sooooo nervous but excited at the same time!!





I asked her to pretend she was sleeping and this is what I got!


My little love with her love's! Not sure if they will want us bringing all three of these to school but we're gonna try!!



Not sure what happened to the pic of the precious little mat all rolled up,(her name is appliqued on the outside!). But I will post it later. :)