tag along

I had an OB appointment the other day and I usually schedule them on the two days I know Blakely will be in MDO.  Well I have kept her out of MDO this week (and probably next) because the flu is so rampant here and I am stressed about us getting it.  SO she got to tag along to the appointment with me.  

I told her in the morning all about it and that she was a big girl to get to go and meet Dr. Jaime.  She had all kinds of questions about him.  I explained that he took care of babies while they were in tummies and that he took care of her when she was in my tummy.  She thought that was cool and then asked about a million other questions.  

Since we haven't left the house much lately I tried to make it somewhat of a date for the two of us.  We left the house early so we could drive thru chi.ck-fil-a then we drove to the hospital.  We parked and I let her get in the front seat with me.  We ate our food while listening to the Fr.ozen soundtrack.  

This was just a quick checkup so I thought it would be a breeze taking her.  She was very interested in the fact that I had to pee in a cup.  She wanted to do it too.  Took me 5 minutes to explain that she could not.  She was really cute during the appointment.  She sat in the chair and let me talk to the nurse and then the doctor.  About halfway through she got up, came over to me and asked if she could give me a hug.  I said yes of course.  Then she went back and sat in her chair.  

Turns out he wanted to check me again (because of the vagina pain...fun).  So I strategically placed Blakely at the head of my bed and gave her my phone.  She was totally engrossed in the phone so I don't think she even realized I got half naked!  

Everything was fine.  Which makes me feel (and him) feel better.  I am really hoping to avoid being checked next time.  I go back in 2 weeks for the big ultrasound.  Once I got dressed and we walked out into the hall he asked Blakely if she wanted to see the babies.  She of course said yes not understanding what that meant.  The sonographer wasn't busy so we got a sneak peek at the babes and Blakely thought it was pretty cool.  She kept saying "that's baby sister on top and baby brother is on the bottom".  

She did great with me and I am glad that I got to take her AND that she got to see the babies.  She keeps asking to feel the babies move but she can't feel them yet so I think seeing them move around in there was fun for her.  For a few minutes and then she was back to digging in my purse and pulling things out.  :)

When we were on our way home I was telling her that she was such a big girl and maybe she could go with me again.  I said, "I really love it when you go to the doctor with me" and she responded with, "I really love it when you go by yourself and I get to spend the day with Daddy".  Ha!  So there may not be a next time but I am glad there was a first time!  ;)

Vegas

Lonnie had some time off at the beginning of December and we wanted to plan a little getaway for just the three of us.  I really just let him plan the thing because I didn't care where we went.  I preferred a direct flight or a short drive somewhere but that was about it.  

He decided on Vegas.  Ha!  

If I am being totally honest I wasn't that thrilled with the idea of taking a 3 year old to Vegas.  But once I started doing some searching around I realized there were quite a few things we could do with Blakely and quite a few Christmas-y things we could do as well.  So I didn't complain as we were only going to be there for 3 full days ;)  

Blakely was great on the flight out there.  She slept most of the way.  We stayed at the Palaz.zo for the first time and really liked it.  We had a suite and it was FANTASTIC.  I wish I would have taken pictures of it.  It was split level with the king bed and a large sitting area up top and then down three steps was the "living" area with a huge sectional and the fold out that B slept on.  Blakely would have been happy just to play with her babies in our room the entire time.  I worried about her sleeping in the same "room" with us but she did fine.  Went to sleep great each night and even took great naps with me everyday.  She was really a dream on this trip and I was so relieved because she had been quite naughty the weeks leading up to the trip.  

The first full day was spent walking around and letting Blakely take in the lights of Vegas.  We bought a new umbrella stroller (J.eep brand and hello love it) because our other one pretty much died on our last trip.  When we went to Denver in March I swore I wasn't taking B to walk around a city without a stroller again anytime soon.  I could just picture her getting lost in Vegas and I knew a stroller would save my sanity.  It did.  She still walked quite a bit but the stroller was so very helpful because even when she was walking she wanted to be pushing her baby in the stroller.  

We took a gondola ride at The Ven.etian and she thought that was fun.  Our driver sang songs to her and I think she wanted to go again.  

I had read that the Cosmopolitan turned their swimming area into an ice skating rink and I knew B would love trying that so the next day we took her there.  Obviously I couldn't ice skate (darn) so Lonnie had to be the one to skate with her.   He hasn't skated in a million years so I let him get his bearings before sending her out there.  

Basically she looks adorable...

She thought it was fun and the girls there tried to teach her the best way to stay on her feet. She did okay but Lonnie had to keep her upright.  She didn't want to stop but after about 20-30 minutes I could tell this was not going well for Lonnie.  The position he was in, slightly bent over at the waist and holding all of her weight most of the time, was not looking good for his already injured back (see this post).  I tried to get him to stop and let the girls who worked there take B out but they were just holding her hand and not really giving a shit if she cracked her head or her arm so we weren't okay with that.  He pushed on.

When we were done we went and had dinner and then came back out there to the fire pits they had set up.  They had Christmas music playing and you could get hot chocolate at the bar and stuff for s'mores.  We roasted about 20 (Mommy LOVES them) and sipped hot chocolate by the fire.  

The best part was that it wasn't actually cold...ha!  Then they made it snow and B was fired up about that.  She ran around and jumped up and down trying to catch it yelling, "Snow!  Mommy, it's SNOW!"  

The next day we took her to the indoor theme park at Ci.rcus Circ.us.  She has never ridden any rides before.  I know!  I can't believe it either.  We have meant to take her to the fair each year but something has always come up.  I was so looking forward to Disney in March because I knew she would love to ride rides (and, well, princesses).  Since that is cancelled  I was excited to see how she liked this little theme park.  For an indoor theme park it was pretty great.  They even have some big rides.  They had about 8 rides that she could ride and that was really plenty.  Lonnie or I rode many of them with her first and then tested out one by herself.  

She was so excited and picked out her airplane with care.  About halfway through the ride I could tell the change on her face.  She was getting a little scared and made eye contact with me.  I told her she was doing great! and wasn't it fun! and it was almost over!  I think she got a little freaked out because she wasn't sure when it would stop.  I was so proud of her because she didn't cry and I could tell she was trying so hard to be brave.  It was just one of those mommy moments for me and I could have cried I was so proud of her.  Or maybe I am just pregnant and overly emotional.  

We stayed for a few hours and then went back to the hotel to crash.  And I am talking a 3 hour nap.  Glory.  

On our last day we went to old downtown Vegas.  It was fun and Lonnie and I had never checked that out before.  It is more of the old timey major lights and flashiness that you think of when you think of Vegas.  We had fun walking around and and then had dinner.  Blakely did so well at our dinners in Vegas.  I was worried about it because she is in a stage where she doesn't want to listen to anything we say.  But really she did well and I was impressed.  We even did a couple of fancier places and didn't have to leave early.  By the end of dinner I was ready to go lay down.  I was hurting and worn out and knew I was going to have to travel the next day with Blakely by myself.  So we went to bed at like 730.  Wild Vegas nights I tell ya.  

Blakely and I came home together and Lonnie stayed for a few extra days.  She did well traveling with me although she didn't sleep on the way home.  3+ hour flight with a sleepy toddler who wants to get up and pee every 15 minutes.  Exhausting.  She didn't whine though so I can't complain much.  

On the way home I asked her her favorite part of the trip.  She said the taxi rides.  LOL!  We didn't take a car seat this time since we didn't rent a car.  Also I knew we wouldn't use taxis much...mainly to and from the airport which was quite close to our hotel.  She thought she was so big to not have a car seat.  Lonnie and I stressed the entire ride.  What do y'all do? I didn't want to take a car seat because then what would we do with it once we got to our destination?  The only place we went was the Cosmo and we couldn't lug it around the entire time.  But I really wanted to take it.  It was just weird.  She only had about 4 rides without a seat but still.  Stressful.  Interested to see what everyone else does in this situation.  

She looks scared to death here but she really was thrilled.  

All in all I am glad we made the trip.  We were able to have some fun family time together and since we can't go to Disney this was our last big trip as a family of three!  Eeeeek!  

18 weeks

Well obviously I am not going to be able to keep up with the weekly updates! 

Today I am 18 weeks pregnant with the twinks!  I feel like I have a lot to update on because a lot has been going on the last 6 weeks.

How Far Along: 18 weeks  I can not believe I am 18 weeks.  The first 10 weeks went by soooo slowly but since then things are flying.  

12 weeks 4 days  (this dress accentuated the belly!)

14 weeks

15 weeks 2 days

17 weeks

I seriously love doing the comparisons.  I always loved seeing everyone else's bump comparisons too!

Maternity Clothes:   Yes to the pants and some shirts.  Most of my larger sweaters will fit for a while.  Thank goodness for the sweater and leggings trend!  My mom got me four long sleeve maternity shirts and they are perfect.  I think they will last until the OMG huge stage.  I really need to get some more pants.  I literally have one pair that fits.  I got a couple of gift cards for Christmas so this weekend I am going to do some online shopping.  Any recs for maternity jeans that are LONG?  I am almost five ten!  

Sleep:  Sleep is good.  I sleep really hard and wake up about 2 times a night to pee but go right back to sleep.  I have started taking a bath every night and it really gets me ready for sleep.  Baths are awesome!  

Best Moment of the Week:  There have been a lot of great moments the past few weeks.  I had my friend at the hospital scan me the other day and she looked really good at the babies.  Until now we have just done quick checks but nothing thorough.  She checked all of their organs and everything looked good.  We were able to tell that baby boy is on the bottom and baby girl is on the top...so he will be the first one to come out.  

baby girl skelton face :)

baby boy profile.  

My tummy is popping out now and I definitely look pregnant.  Blakely likes to rub my belly...basically waited my whole life for that.  She talks about the babies a lot and how she will hold them when they cry and pat their backs so they will go to sleep.  She also talks about the babies coming when the weather gets warmer in May.  If you ask her what their names are she says one of two things.  Mickey and Minnie or Mickey and Clarabelle.  Oy.  I have mentioned a few of our top names to her and she gives a disgusted look.  Ha!  One night after I put her to bed she called me back down there a few minutes later crying saying that she forgot to give the babies a goodnight kiss.  holy sweet.  

Movement:  Yes!  I felt the very first flutters at 14 weeks but then nothing for a few days.  Around 16 and a half weeks I started feeling more actual kicks.  I can sometimes tell which baby it is but only because I know that baby girl is up high and baby boy is low.  I love feeling them and it gets stronger every single day.   

Symptoms:    Well...I feel quite pregnant.  At this same time with Blakely I don't think I felt pregnant at all.  By the end of each day I am completely worn out and I go to bed right after Blakely does...about 830.  During the day I have to rest multiple times and I am moving a little slower than normal.  All of this is fine I just wasn't expecting it this early.  As long as I take it easy when I feel like I need to I am fine.  

And now for something that is WAY too much info for you all!  Ha!  At about 15 weeks I started having quite the pain in my lady parts.  Pain/heaviness/fullness?  Difficult to explain.  Mainly when I've been standing for a little while. It doesn't feel like "pressure" but I can't stand for very long without being very uncomfortable "down there".  :)   I remember feeling that with Blakely but much much later...like 32 weeks.  But with her it felt like her head was hanging out...this just feels all external.  It really freaked me out.  I was really worried that I wasn't holding these babies in there.  At my 16 week appointment I mentioned it to him.  He checked me and said my cervix was super hard and completely closed...perfect.  He said my "lower uterine segment" wasn't hanging down or anything which would worry him if it was.  Everything was fine.  When my friend scanned me my cervix looked great.  So I guess I am just going to have this discomfort which is totally fine as long as everything is okay.  I just want to keep these babies in there as long as possible. All this to say I can't stand for very long before needing to sit or lay down.  He told me to just listen to my body and when I felt that way I need to rest.  I can't compare pregnancies because every one is different.  Plus there are 2 in there!  But seriously...I can't imagine working my job like I did with when pregnant with Blakely..on my feet all day?  No way.  

Food Cravings/Aversions:  yes please to all things sour.  No aversions really.  I have finally been able to start cooking again.  My family is happy about that!  I don't cook as often as I used to but at least I can cook without puking.  Soups are my go to because I can cook them in the morning when I have energy and well, it is soup weather!  


What I Miss:  nothing really at the moment although a bloody mary on New Year's sounded awesome.  ;)

What I'm Looking Forward to:  my official ultrasound in 2 weeks and reaching viability at 24 weeks!  I can't wait for Blakely to feel the babies move and for us to give them some names.  The name situation is basically going no where.  Coming up with 4 names is hard!  I am also looking forward to getting started on the nursery.  We have oh so much to do. 

Milestones:  At 15 weeks I graduated from the Denver clinic.  I was able to stop all meds and my nurse told me I was just a normal pregnant girl.  I bawled like a baby on the phone and told her how much I appreciated her.  Seriously sometimes I can't even believe that we are here right now.  One year ago is when I made our first consult with Dr. S and now I am almost halfway through a twin pregnancy.  It is really a miracle and I am so so grateful.  I am not sure how we got so lucky but I thank my lucky stars every single day.  

Christmas!

Happy New Year blog friends!  I know you want to read another Christmas post today, right?  Well I am just the person to treat you to it.  ;)

This was obviously the best Christmas yet.  Blakely definitely "got it" this year although she was a little nervous about the idea of Santa coming into our house in the middle of the night.  I had to reassure her that he wouldn't come downstairs about 20 times.  

I didn't do the Christmas Countdown this year like I have in the past.  We were gone to Alabama and then a few days after getting home from there we left for Vegas...more on that later.  I knew we couldn't smash it all in and I wanted to try and have a relaxed holiday.  Plus I am pregnant and tired.  So yeah.  The poor child didn't even get a picture with Santa this year.  That's okay, right??  It's just going to have to be because she totally didn't care.  

We did do a few Christmas activities like paint ornaments for each family member and bake and decorate cookies.  I let her open her Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve and we did have an elf this year.  He was super lazy but she liked finding him each morning and she named hime Gio.  No idea where she came up with that.  Painting the ornaments was definitely her favorite.  When we were leaving the house to go to my Grand's house on Christmas Eve she suddenly said, "Mom!  We have to take the ornaments so everyone can put them on their tree tonight!".  Well that was a good idea so we did.  She was very proud of them and handed out each one with care.  

We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Lonnie's mom came as well.  We have dinner and just spend time together with no presents.  Well, I say no presents but every single one of them got Blakely something.  She is the only child in the family so they spoil the heck out of her.  We came home with three bags full of stuff.  My cousin Jan took Blakely outside to try and find Rudolph just like she did with me and my brother when we were kids.  It was a great night.  

Christmas morning is spent with just the three of us.  Blakely dug into her Santa stuff and then had ZERO interest in opening presents from me and Lonnie.  I didn't want to force her because she was playing and having so much fun with her new stuff.  But we were on a time crunch because we had to get to my mom's to open with her before the whole family got there at 1130.  I decided to scrap opening our presents until later that night.  I've decided that next year my mom will just spend the night with us and that will cut out us being rushed to her house to open.  We can just do it here!  

Is this all for me??

Anyway.  We didn't really get Blakely one big item this year like in year's past.  I thought about getting her a bike but we really don't have a place to ride it and Lonnie just wasn't on board.  The only this she kept asking for was babies and diapers.  So that was pretty easy.  Santa brought a new Elsa dress (the other one was disgusting and in shreds basically), an Anna dress, a super hero cape, a train set, some makeup, a jewelry box, a damn unicorn (thank you Santa Jenni!), and a new baby and diapers, of course.  He also threw some new panties and socks in her stocking.  

She loves all of it and has hardly taken the Elsa dress off.  This is totally off the subject but let me just tell you about dress up clothes for a minute.  There is a HUGE difference in a "dress up dress" and a "princess costume".  This is important!  First of all a dedicated dress up dress is more expensive.  BUT OMG WORTH IT.  They are machine washable, not itchy and don't shred the first time you accidentally step on Elsa's train.  We have a couple of both and the costumes are gross.  You can't just throw them in the washing machine.  You are expected to spot clean them...well ha!  This mama is not a "spot cleaner".  They are made to be worn one singular time and if you have a princess obsessed daughter like me well that is a total joke.  She eats in them, takes a nap in them and occasionally wears them to the store when I am feeling super generous.  All of this to say that Santa brought Blakely an Elsa dress up dress to replace her Elsa costume.  The Anna dress is a costume and the top has already ripped from the skirt and I sewed it back up.  I knew I should have bitten the bullet and bought the Anna dress too but I wasn't thinking.  Just a word to the wise.  Now, if you can convince your child to be careful while in her dresses and to not wear them while eating, jumping on the trampoline, doing cartwheels, and wrestling with Daddy on the floor well then go for the costumes.  (We have these and these and both are great)

Okay...back on track.  After letting her play for a while we headed over to my mom's.  She got Blakely a bunch of fun stuff.  A few new games, some kinetic sand, babies and accessories and all of the PA.W Patrol pups with their vehicles and the tower.  She was so happy to just play by herself while we opened our presents.  

Then everyone else showed up and we had brunch and then opened presents.  We draw names every year which I like but I get everyone a couple of things from Blakely (a picture and a calendar with lots of pictures of her).  It was a great day after that of being lazy, snacking and playing with Blakely's new toys.  By the time we ate I was completely worn out.  I didn't get much sleep due to playing Santa and finishing up the wrapping.  Then I had to load up all of our presents to take to mom's and make sausage balls for the brunch.  I have about zero stamina these days so I was ready for some rest!  (Lonnie would normally help me do these things but he has severely injured his back, again, and has been out of commission.  More on that later!)  

We came home late that afternoon and Blakely passed out in the car before we even left my mom's driveway!  

I let her sleep in the car for a little bit and then we came in and opened our presents together just the three of us.  We mainly got Blakely some craft sets but my Dad got her Ma.gna T.iles and they are a huge hit.  She has played with them almost non stop.  We all got wonderful gifts and are so so lucky to have such great family.  Christmas was wonderful and I look forward to next year with two more littles in the mix!  

THREE

So OBVIOUSLY this post is a million months overdue.  But I still feel the need to go on and publish it.  I wrote most of it when she actually turned three but I've added a few little things. It is really amazing how much she has changed just in the 2 and a half months since then.  A lot has happened but I want this in the book I print at the end of the year so here goes....


It is really hard to believe that my girl is three.  Although I have been feeling like she was three for a while because she's been counting down the days.  Each morning she will ask me, "How many days until my birthday party? How many days until my birthday?"  It's kind of a big deal to be three.  

This girl is sweet, smart, silly and oh so sassy.

The sweet:  She loves to say I love you and she loves to snuggle.  Most of the time in the evening she will ask me if it is time to snuggle in the big comfy chair yet.  If she is feeling bad she will ask me to come snuggle up with her.  She loves her big girl bed because Mommy and Daddy can snuggle in there with her.  She still tells me that that she "missed me sooooooooo much while I was in Denver".  

The smart:  She has an amazing memory and doesn't forget a thing.  I know she is mostly memorizing things but she amazes me at how fast she learns.  Just the other day I decided she needed to learn the sounds each letter makes (this came to me while we were driving in the car for some reason so I just went with it).  We started off with  a few easy ones...D, F and T.  I said F sounds like "fffff".  She piped right up and said, "like fish!"  Then she proceeded to spout off 5 or 6 words that started with F.  So far she really likes to learn and I hope that continues.  (We are hitting a stage now where she doesn't want to answer questions when we do learning time.  She will answer with an obvious wrong answer and just smile and say that she is being silly.  AH!)

The silly:  Oh lord.  One of her favorite things to say is "That's so silly!" or "You silly goose!".    Daddy taught her about wet willie's (thanks so much) and she will sneak up on us all the time.  She also loves to try and tickle us when we aren't expecting it.  Oh the giggles!  She likes to tell us elaborate stories that she thinks are totally hilarious.  I usually pick up on about half of what is going on in her little story but it always starts with "Once upon a time".  Ha!  Anytime I make her do something that she doesn't really want to do but does anyway she says "This is so ridic-uh-lus".  I had no idea where she got that and it makes me laugh every time because she says it with a big sigh.  Then the other day I found myself muttering, "this is so ridiculous" while cleaning up ALL THE THINGS IN THE HOUSE.  So I guess she comes by it naturally ;)

t-shirt creds to my lovely Bridget :)

The sassy:  Whew...the sassiness can drive me crazy sometimes.  I keep reminding myself that this is just a stage and she is learning her boundaries.  If I ask her to do something she will look at me and say "NO.  I am not going to do that.  I am going to keep playing."  I am learning to have more patience because that seems to work better than me getting frustrated. 

This is generally the look I get when I want to take her picture.  She thinks she's like 14 or something....

She is all of these things but if I had to pick out one word to describe her (which would be hard) it would be independent.  She wants/demands to do everything herself.  I generally try to let her do most things but there are just some things that she can't do.  Like, no, you can't use the scissors to cut the tag off your shirt without my help.  No, you can't take dinner out of the oven even if you do use the oven mitts.  People tell me all the time how independent she is and I guess I didn't really realize that not all 3 year olds are this way.  She gets frustrated if I try to help her do things (brush her teeth) so I really try to let her be but sometimes we are on a time crunch, ya know??  Someone told me the other day that the qualities that make a productive adult are the same qualities that make a difficult toddler.  When it comes to the independence thing...I totally agree!  

The number one thing she wants to do right now is play babies.  I hear 400 times a day, "want to play babies with me?".  She has about 10 of them and she feeds them, diapers them, bathes them and puts them down for naps.  They even get timeouts!  The one day a week that Juanet keeps her she also keeps her new granddaughter who is about 5 months old.  Blakely LOVES this.  She "helps" Juanet do everything with AK.  I think when AK started coming with Juanet is when the playing babies went into overdrive.  When she comes home from there she tells me all about AK crying or pooping or laughing.  So adorable and I can't wait for us to tell her we are going to be having a baby in our house!  (Obviously we've done this now and she talks a lot about picking the babies up if they cry and helping to change their diapers.)

She also loves tea parties, pretending to cook elaborate meals in her kitchen, reading her High Fi.ve magazine, playing chase, riding in the car with the windows down and doing crafts ("tafts").  I would love to get her an art table or something because she loves painting, coloring and drawing, gluing and cutting.  Maybe for Christmas!  

She knows all of our close family members full names.  When Lonnie tries to get my attention by saying Kelly she will laugh and say my full name.  She asks me all the time what someone's name is.  Then she will want to know their middle and last name.  Usually I don't know so I will make something up or tell her to make something up.  

A few stats for my girl at 3 years old.  She is 34 pounds and 39 1/2 inches tall.  She is very coordinated and I wonder if she will enjoy playing sports.  Right now she is in gymnastics and dance class.  I am hoping in the spring she can start tee ball because she really loves playing that at our house.  My girl is growing up so fast!  I can't believe we are already thinking about sports and stuff.  Crazy.  

Is this over yet??

A couple of random things she has said recently that made me laugh.  

We went to the accountant's office and as I was getting her out of the car I mumbled something to myself about being in the ghetto (seriously, always makes me nervous going there).   She started saying (really loudly) "What is a ghetto, Mommy?"  "Why are we in the ghetto?"  I was trying to shush her and she finally yelled, "Don't shush me!  Tell me what a ghetto is!".  I wanted to melt because there were people all around.  

GranDi and Jenni were talking to her about their recent trip to the beach.  Blakely loves talking about all things beach related.  Anyway, they told her that Grandmama ate flounder for dinner one night.  Blakely got big eyes and said, "Danna mama ate Flounder?".  She was about to cry when they realized she thought Grand ate Flounder from The Lit.tle Merm.aid.  They quickly changed and said oh no!  It wasn't flounder it was grouper!  Tears began to fall as Blakely said, "Danna mama ate Mr. Grouper?"  They were so confused and she told them Mr. Grouper was from Bu.bble Gu.ppies.  Finally they just said she ate fish.  LOL!  

Every time we leave the house and we get out of the subdivision she asks me if I forgot something.  It's funny because I usually do so she knows to ask me before we get too far from home.  

She has so many nicknames and we rarely call her Blakely.  Turkey, Turkey Lurkey, Turkey Noodle, Turkey Booger (I don't know how turkey got started but whatever), B, Boo, Bug, Buggy, B-girl, Boppy, Bop, B-bop just to name a few.  

I love being this girls Mommy.  She is perfect!  

I did a little survey like this a while ago and thought it was really fun.  Then I saw Shannon do it for Taylor on her third birthday so I am going for it and hope to continue it every year.  I put my comments in blue.    ;)  

Blakely: 3 years old

How old are you?  3
Favorite color?  Pink
Favorite toy?  Stickers
Favorite thing to play?  Babies
Favorite thing to do outside?  Blow bubbles
Favorite animal?  Cows
Favorite TV show?  Mickey
Favorite movie?  Ariel  (The Little Mermaid)
Favorite song?  Twinkle Twinkle
Favorite book?  Amos with the Animals  (A Sick Day for Amos McGee)
Favorite game?  Airplane one on the iPad
Favorite restaurant?  Greg's  (Our weekend breakfast haunt)
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Cinnamon toast
Favorite lunch?  Oranges
Favorite dinner?  Carrots
Favorite snack?  Cereal  (We never have cereal so not sure where this came from!)
Favorite drink?  Milk
Favorite treat?  Skittles
Favorite flavor of ice cream?  Chocolate 
Who is your best friend?  Collier and Syble
Favorite place to go?  School
Favorite holiday?  in October  (I'm assuming she means her birthday...)
Favorite sport?  Basketball
Favorite pair of shoes?  Tennis shoes  (She never wants to wear them so I have no idea why she said these)
Favorite thing to do with Mommy?  Play bandaids
Favorite thing to do with Daddy?  Play babies
What makes you happy?  Hugs
What are your really good at?  Pedaling bikes
What do you wish for?  to watch a movie
What makes you sad?  Boo boo's
What is your favorite memory?  the babies at school (???)
Dislikes?  hot dogs  (loves them so I'm confused)
What do you want to be when you grow up?  Syble and Collier

First dance performance

The day after we got back from Alabama, Blakely had her very first dance performance!  

The big recital isn't until May but they do a little Christmas program at the mall and....holy cuteness.    

I wasn't really sure what to expect as it was 2-5 year olds performing.  Blakely also wouldn't show me any of the dances so I had no idea if she would follow along or not.  We got to watch her very last practice for a few minutes and she just kept running over to give me a hug every 10 seconds in the middle of the dance!  Ha!  So I knew I may have to hide in the crowd at the mall.  

I completely forgot they needed to wear Santa hats until the night before so I had to make a frantic run to Tar.get in Alabama to find one.  I got a youth and it was almost too small.  She ended up taking it off for the last couple of dances.  

Mrs. Patty is her teacher and she has a few other teenage girls that help her.  They were all standing up in front of the group of girls and doing the dance with them so the littles could follow along.  

It was early...and they did a dance with her soft bear.  Legit yawn ;)

Blakely did really well.  Much better than I thought.  It took her a minute to start her dancing but then she followed the leaders pretty good.  Lots of marching and twirling.  This made me excited for the recital.  It was the cutest chaos ever.  Some girls were crying at first but once it got started all the girls really paid attention much better than I expected.  During the recital each age group performs together so there won't be this many kids at once.  Only about 8-10 at a time.  The theme of the recital is Sweet 16 (candy theme) and I already have her costume.  OMG...cute!  

Not sure what she is doing here.  Ha!

I recorded the first few dances but then my video camera ran out of memory so I just took pictures.  The sound quality was crud there but you get the idea.  This was about the 3rd dance out of 6.  I hope you can see her...she sees me about halfway through.  She's on the second row and kinda covered up by the girl in front of her for the first part.  

The video isn't as grainy if you watch it on yo.utu.be!   

So far I am liking the dance class.  I was unsure at first but she seems to love it so we will keep on this year.  I can't tell if she loves it because of the dancing or because she likes playing with the girls in her class!  Either way!