Franklin Fun

This is the one.... The long, overdue post from our trip down South. Two Wednesdays ago I loaded up the car and C and I made the road trip to Franklin, TN. Little did I know that the interstate would go down to 1 lane for 11 miles. The drive that normally takes us 7.5 hours took us 10!! I was so thankful that C slept for a good 2 hours on the way down there. I wish I could have. Thankfully I have some wonderful friends who let me call and talk to them to keep me entertained. (And yes I was wearing a bluetooth while I talked on the phone.!) No one-handed driving for me!

After a good night sleep for both of us, C was up early and ready to play with all her toys. She and Grandaddy spent some time playing with the Mickey mouse car and plane that I gave her the day before.

Later that morning we headed to Chuckee Cheese to meet up with some moms from my old mom group that I belonged to there. The CEC there is quite big and C had so much fun running around. She was so excited to see her BFF Hailey and had to give a big bear hug.

It's only fair that Tegan got a bear hug too!

After a lunch of Chik Fil A, C and I headed to the big mall and looked around. I checked out some stores they had there that aren't in Bloomington. I found C a few things for the fall that were on sale. That night we went to eat ice cream with Grandaddy and then came home to play with some birthday gifts.

Maya sent these dress up dolls to C for her birthday. Even though the box said 5+, C has LOVED playing with them and gotten quite good at getting the magnetic stickers to stay on the dolls.

The next morning Grandaddy and I took C to the Jump Zone. It has a bunch of inflatables that you can get in and jump around. We had been one time when C was 2, but she didn't care for it much. This time was a different story. My dad and I could not keep track of C.

She would climb the stairs, slide down and run off to the next one. It is safe to say that she had a ball!!

Grandaddy was so sweet and thought to borrow a big pool for his backyard while we were there. We are so thankful he did as I think the lowest temperature while we were there was 97*. To say it was hot is an understatement.

C and Grandaddy spent quite a few evenings playing catch in the pool.

"Throw the ball Grandaddy!"

On Saturday morning we had a family birthday party at Grandaddy's house.

Nothing big. Just her 3 cousins and 2 best friends. The pool was a hit with the kids. I know us adults wanted to get in it too.

After a bit of swimming it was time for Cousin Hannah and Aunt Melanie to decorate her tiara.

Cousin Daniel was such a trooper and helped C decorate hers.

The highlight of the party, an Elmo cookie cake!!

I tried so hard to get a picture of C with her cousins Daniel and Ethan. Ethan ran away, so this was the best I got.

I think the cookie cake was a hit!

One evening we went over to Aunt Melanie's and Uncle Brett's. C was so excited to get to play with cousin Hannah. I love that they are only 10 months apart.

On our last evening there we went over to our old neighborhood to hang out with our TN BFF's. We spent the afternoon at the pool with Karyn, Andy, Hailey and Tegan. After lots of swimming and jumping, it was time for dinner. Hailey's cousin Kelly was sweet enough to build the girls a fort to eat in.

Nothing like eating dinner and catching up with your best friend.

After the girls ate we headed back to Karyn's house. Then my best friend and I got to go out to dinner and catch up. Big thanks to Andy for watching C!

The morning that we left Grandaddy and C had to play with the ponies C got at her party.

Trying to get that 1 good picture. If you have a 3 yr old, you know how that goes.

Time for kisses, hugs and goodbyes.

C was quite sad to say goodbye and kept asking why we had to leave. About an hour into the drive home she told me that she wanted to go back to Grandaddy's house. When I told her we were going home to see daddy and Jake, she told me that we had to go back and get Grandadddy too.

The drive back only took us 7.5 hours and C was an angel. She spent the time reading, singing and playing with her friends.

Oh yeah and sleeping too.

I got excited for a minute when I saw this sign. Then I realized I had to go north and still had 4.5 more hours to go!

C and I had a wonderful trip. We got to spend lots of time with family and close friends. But we were both so happy to return home to daddy and Jake. After all, there is no place like home.

Smart. Healthy. Perfect.

This afternoon we had C's 3 year check up. I knew she would have to get some shots but i didn't tell her that part. I just told her she was getting a check up. We switched to a new doctor within the same practice and this was our first time seeing her. We LOVED her! She was just what you would imagine a pediatric Dr to be.

Dr. K made C do all sorts of different things. She had to jump, skip, squat (as seen here) and spin around.

Happily playing in the room while the nurse headed to get the shot! Poor C had no idea what was coming.

C now weighs 30lbs which is a 3lb gain from her 2 year check up. She is now 37 inches tall which is a 1/2 inch gain from 2 year check up. Her weight falls into the 67th % and her height into the 77th %.

She only had to get 1 shot and now no more until she starts kindergarten!!! She cried when she got the shot. I tried telling her it was medicine to keep her well. She just looked at me like I betrayed her. I felt awful. Dr. K was very impressed with C's speech and vocabulary. She told me that speech is one of the big indicators to how healthy a child is. As we left the office, Dr K's words echoed in my head. "She is smart, healthy, perfect."

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Toddler Camp, Week 2

Welcome to toddler camp, week 2! C just finished up her 2nd and last week of toddler camp last week. Both she and mommy are sad it is over. These first 2 pictures are not great. I was taking a picture of a picture. It's like the game where's Waldo? Can you find C?

And in this one too?

Before camp on Tuesday. She so did not want me to take her picture.

Just an idea of what they do at camp.

Raise your hands if you LOVE camp!

Thursday's to-do list.

The last day we arrived at 8:55 and she was the first kid there. She took advantage of the tunnels before they got crowded.

A picture of her on Tuesday. Not sure why this picture is side ways.??

Her arts and crafts.

We had such a great time with camp days. I loved having a few hours to myself. And C loved everything about camp. We can't wait until next summer when we can send her back again! A big thank you to Michelle for telling us all about this program!

Me & My Guys

On Friday night Jeremy, my favorite guy, took me out to see one of my other favorite guys. Toby Keith in concert! I was so excited! Neither Jeremy or I had ever been to a country concert before. Before the concert we headed out to eat and have a beer.

Then we moesied on over to the arena. We didn't have to wait long for Toby to make his appearance. There wasn't a bad seat in the whole place. I wish I had brought my camera in though. So big thanks to my favorite guy! I had a lot of fun with you. Thanks for taking one for our team and going the country route for me!

Swimming Gal

I enrolled C in some group swim lessons at our gym. She is in the goldfish class. It is the most basic class for 3-4 year olds. She seemed fine on the drive there. But once we got there she had a change of mind. She cried just about the whole class. When she wasn't crying she was trying to run over to me.

"I want my mommy!" is what she kept crying over and over.

The next day, C and I attended a pool play date with my moms group. It was at her house and had a slide and diving board. C decided she wanted to go down the slide. But after sitting at the top for a minute to think about it, her mommy had to carry her back down the steps.



Then she decided she wanted to jump off the diving board. We tried to get her to jump by herself, but she wouldn't.

So a mommy's got to do what a mommy's got to do.

She loves her new puddle jumper that Sparky and Pops got for her. She spent most of the time just swimming by herself in the pool.

She even tried out the noodle like they use in her swim class.

The next day it was back for swim lessons. She cried just for a few minutes at the start of class.

Ms. Betty, the instructor was brave and helped all 3 kids swim on their noodles across the whole length of the pool. Notice they are in the "deep" water?

By the end of the class she was beginning to relax. When it was her turn, she grabbed her noodle and jumped with no hesitation. I was so proud of her!

C has come very far since the beginning of the summer when she would use the death grip on us, even while wearing her floaties. At the State Farm pool she goes down the slides by herself and practices her swimming. We were on a waiting list for private lessons at our gym. I got the call this afternoon that there is an opening. We hopefully start next week. She will go twice a week for 2 weeks for 30 minutes. She has already made great progress and I look forward to her learning to swim even more. We are so proud of you Chandler!!