Steps Toward a Big Girl Bed

Last night we took the front off of S's crib to start getting her ready for a real "big girl bed". I posted about this a few posts ago and, no, I'm still not ready. But, it needs to be done. After her nap yesterday, I went in to get her out of the crib and she hiked her foot up over the side and said "down". I told her she needed to wait for mommy. Then, curiosity got the better of me, and I asked her if she could get down by herself. YES! I didn't let her fall, but that was all I needed to see to know it was time.

M helped me get the front off of the crib last night before bed and also somehow convinced me that we didn't need to have a bed rail on the front either. In a moment of not-so-good judgement, I agreed and we left my little 20-month-old baby girl in her room with nothing to keep her from falling out. I was a nervous wreck and vowed that first thing in the morning or when she fell out during the night, whichever came first, the bed rail was going up along the front. Well, she made it all night without falling out. I went to put it on this morning but I could not figure it out. So, she has also napped with nothing to keep her from hitting the floor.

She did remarkably well over the last day with this new sleeping arrangement. While she was eating lunch she kept asking to go outside. I told her that it wasn't time to go outside and that she was going to have lunch and then it would be about time for a nap. Well, at that point, she would not eat anything else and just wanted to get out of her highchair. So, I put her down and continued to clean up the mess we'd made. Usually, she'll go play with some toys before her nap. However, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to what she was doing and the next thing I hear is her turn on her sound box that she uses when she sleeps, she said "night-night" and got into bed to take a nap. It was very early yet for a nap, but very cute!!

Tonight we will definitely be putting the bed rail on so that we can be more sure that she won't fall out during the night!!!

Showers

This weekend was full of parties and showers for us!

Saturday morning while I prepared for the shower we were hosting at our house that night, M took S to a birthday party at an indoor inflatable place. Very FUN!! Happy Birthday J3:) No pictures.

The shower on Saturday night turned out really cute! We had Salsaritas cater it (highly recommended!) and added a few dips and drinks to the menu. We definitely had a full house and S was thoroughly entertained during the whole thing, well, until the overtired meltdown. But, all in all, it was a wonderful shower, for a wonderful couple and I can't wait for the wedding in August! Congrats Elliott and Lara:)

The cake from The Sweetery in Anderson... Yummy!!

S just before everyone arrived. The guys.
Meme and the girls.
S suckered Ryan into playing with her... it was really cute!
More of the girls.
Grandmamma and Aunt Brooke. Me and M.
The happy couple.
Opening the loot.

Sunday I headed to a baby shower for my friend, Marsha. It was a great shower and she got some really cute things. Her sister has a little boy that is going to be almost exactly 2 years older than this little one so she is also going to be well stocked with hand-me-downs! Can't wait for Baby Davis to get here in less than 5 WEEKS!!!

The mommy-to-be.

So many great gifts!

Becoming Such a Big Girl

Lately, S has been in situations where she has had to eat in a regular chair (meaning w/o a high chair or booster seat). It has happened about 3 times in the last week or so and she has done surprisingly well! Today when she ate in one, she actually ate more than she normally does during lunch. Maybe she was trying to prove to me that she really is a big girl. My biggest concerns with her eating in a real chair were that she would keep getting down (which she hasn't) and that she would stand up (which she hasn't).

Another thing that has been coming about is going potty in her potty. UGGGG!!!! She did it for the first time while I was at my girls weekend at the end of May and has since done it twice. I don't feel she is quite ready to technically potty train, but she is getting there. I don't want to tackle this one and am putting it off as long as I can!

Next on the growing up list is moving her to a big girl bed. She can get out of her crib, but just hasn't done it yet. She gets that little foot hiked up all the way over the crib railing. If she leans forward, she's over! I am planning to take the front drop-down railing off of her crib as a stepping stone to an actual big girl bed. I want to do it before the dreaded "thud" of my child as she falls out of her crib, but again I have reservations about it. She has never been a child to sleep in our bed. Maybe a handful of times when she was really small, but not very much at all. Now, when we do put her in bed with us, she thinks it is a trampoline. But, you know, there were things I was concerned about with her eating in a real chair and I was worried for nothing so hopefully that will hold true with this as well. I will be very curious as to what she will do! Also, before we start this, we need to do a little work on her room to make it a bit more safe. I have cleaned out some of her drawers where I had been storing things so that is done, but I feel I need to bolt her changing table/dresser to the wall since it is not total secure and would tip over I am sure if she started to climb the drawers. There is SO MUCH to think about!

Growing up is hard to do, especially for this mommy!!

Stuart and Lee Visit

One of my roommates from college, Lee, and her husband Stuart visited us this past weekend! It was so nice to have them here and S thoroughly enjoyed the entertaining:) We went downtown to the weekly Friday festival. This is the first Friday they've done it this year and even though it was about 90*, we still had fun! The Chick-fil-A cows were there and S, who is usually terrified of that type of thing, was all about them. She gave them high-fives and even danced with them. So precious! There were also free inflatables for the kids so I sent S up with her daddy and Stuart! She loved it!

S had SO MUCH FUN with Lee and Stuart!

Going on the slide with daddy:) Stuart's turn. My little daredevil LOVIN' IT!

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to my dad, my father-in-law and to my sweet husband!

We spent the day napping, reading, picking veggies in the garden and finishing the assembly of the playhouse we got S a while back. This is probably not the way one typically celebrates Fathers Day, but it was exactly what we wanted to do and we enjoyed the time together as a family!

Preschool Sunday School Cuties

I have been teaching preschoolers Sunday School for the last year. As the year comes to an end, I thought I would try and take a picture of the sweet, sweet kids in my class. Of course, there are several not in this picture, but here are the ones that were at church today! I can't believe they all sat in their chairs!!:) Next year, I am going to teach only part time so that I can get plugged back into my own adult Sunday School class. I don't know what age group I will be working with yet, but no matter how old they are, they will surely bless my Sundays just as these little ones have!

Summer Spectacular 2009

This is the 2nd year that I've helped with Summer Spectacular, aka Vacation Bible School, at our church. I have worked with elementary aged kids both years and absolutely love it! They wear me out and by Friday afternoon I am completely exhausted, but I think I get as much out of it or more than they do! This year I was able to help with kids going into 4th grade. Me and another girl that is in my SS class were responsible for 13 kids. That may sound like a lot, but really, they were so good that they didn't even need us! It was so much fun and I am already looking forward to next year:)

Climbing

Tonight some of us girls went to dinner and then to a climbing gym to "hang out"...haha. We had such a good time and were able to do something that all of us had done at some point in our lives before, but it had definitely been a while. I use to go repelling a lot in high school and then when I was in college I went to a climbing gym a couple of times. So, let's see, it's been a good 7 years since I've done it and probably just as long since I've used the muscles you use when you climb. I'll be super-sore tomorrow but it will be well worth it!

Cookout

Saturday, our friends celebrated their 2nd anniversary with a cookout. They do a really neat thing and throw a shindig for their family and friends to come and hang out. They have it catered and it gives everyone a chance to enjoy their wedding all over again:) It is a great idea! This year, S went with us for the first time. There were a couple of other kids there so she was well entertained! However, I did notice that I was so preoccupied with taking pics of S that I didn't get a single pic of the happy couple. I need to work on this!!

They were actually playing together and not just next to each other!

New friends.

Driving

M somehow managed to get himself into a game of Ring Around the Rosie - HA! And to think that before this night, he didn't even know the words:) So precious!

Gotta Love the Water

Today was the first of many(I hope) water-centered playdates! We didn't have a real pool, but we had a kiddie pool and a water table and these kids had a blast!!!!

S ate her first popsicle and mommy didn't even freak out about ruining the outfit b/c we just dunked her back in the pool and she was good to go:) However, I think I will be getting some of my own. Do they have dye-free popsicles - wouldn't that be awesome?!?!?

Girls Weekend

This past weekend was girls weekend!! It was an absolute blast:) Even though I missed my little girl (this was the first time I'd really left her), I thoroughly enjoyed my "girl time" and being able to catch up with my best girlfriends from college. We relaxed and ate our way through our 4 day weekend getaway to Wrightsville Beach, NC! I can't wait to do it all again next year!!!!:)

Our AMAZING house!

Sunrise view from our pier - I was up way to early.

Birthday Girls.Walking on the beach in the mornings.
Catching up on the back deck.This crowd LOVES to eat and we did not disappoint:)

Fishing (awful picture but a lot of fun!).

We played lots and lots of games!

I love my girls and miss them already!