fun-filled family weekend ahead

Lonnie's brother, Marshall, and his wife and kids are coming this weekend.  My mother in law, Bob, and her cousin Andrea are also coming to stay.  We are going to have a house full and I can't wait!  

The twins haven't seen B since January.  They live about 2.5 hours away.  Lonnie's mom lives in the middle so we usually meet at her house.  But once or twice in the summer they come here for a long weekend and we all look forward to it so much.  I just looked back at the last time they were here and B looks like a BABY.  They are going to be amazed at how much she has grown up.

We are planning a weekend spent on the boat, in the lake and just outside in general.  We bought "Big Mable" for them for their birthday a few years ago and I am sure we will spend a lot of time on it.  Pulling it behind the boat, jumping off of it and trying to throw Uncle Lonnie off of it.  

I have set up our baggo and ladderball (birthday present last year..) in the back yard and the kitchen is soon to be stocked with all kinds of fun summer yummies.  

We were in Florida for the twins' 8th birthday in May so we are giving them their gift this weekend.  We got them a boatload (and I mean A LOT...I am having trouble finding a gift bag big enough) of fireworks so they can put on a show for all of us on Saturday night.  With Lonnie's help, of course.  :)  We are having a fish fry on Saturday and another couple is coming over with their kids.  It should be fun and I am sure by Sunday we will all be worn out...if not sooner.  We all usually end up falling asleep before even making it to the bed.  

I love weekends like this in the summer.  This is what it's all about.  I'll be sure to update with all the details on Monday (as usual!).  

I hope everyone has a great weekend too!  

Wordless Wednesday

Are these ever actually wordless?  I think not.    

The other night Lonnie brought home some BBQ from a pretty famous local place.  It is called McCl.ard's and it is somewhat well known.  It has been featured on the Food Ne.twork a few times and anytime you come here everyone will tell you that you have to go eat there.  Pretty sure Bi.ll Clin.ton is who starting spreading the word about McCl.ard's.  He was raised in my hometown ;)

Anyway, we haven't had it in a while and I was having a serious craving for their tamale spread.  It is a bed of fri.tos with a tamale on top, covered with shredded beef and beans and then covered with sauce and shredded cheese.  Um yeah.  It is amazeballs.  This was Blakely's first time tasting the awesomeness that is a tamale spread.  

Pretty sure she approved....

day date with my girl

Last week I took Blakely to Little Rock (about an hour away) so we could go to The Won.der Pla.ce.  I had heard great things about it and after how much fun she had at the birthday party a few weeks ago I just knew she would love it.  

It is designed for kids ages 8 and under.  So, just like Younger Years (where the b-day party was in my town) it caters to toddlers and smaller kids.  

We spent about 3 hours there and B would have stayed all day if I would have let her.  Here are a few highlights...

The ginormous water table.  She wanted to climb in it and I had to tell her no probably 30 times.  

The sand table.  I kept trying to steer her away from this.  Not because of the mess (oh the mess!) but because there was a group of 3 older girls that were meticulously building a sand castle and I could tell by the look in Blakely's eye that she wanted nothing more than to knock it down.  

They have a different type of art project each day and it was dot art on the day we were there.    It was also messy but she really liked it.  I wanted to buy the markers because they were so great but then I pictured dots all over my walls and thought better of it.  

She loved this little activity on the wall.  Different shapes with pegs on them that you can put in the little holes.  We spent a lot of time talking about shapes here and it was great for her fine motor skills.  She actually loved the lego wall next to this as well.  

Velcro wall.  I think the sound it made when she ripped them off the wall was the funniest for her.  

They also had a bunch of puzzles, a tree house with a slide, grocery store with all of the grocery items, a stage with dress up clothes and a vet clinic with all kinds of fake animals.  

When I finally got her to leave without a huge meltdown (bribed her with promises of macaroni and cheese and strawberries) we went to a local cafeteria to eat.  I love this little place and I remember going there by myself when I was in college for a change of studying scenery.  And yes...the food!  She ate her weight in mac and cheese and then forgot about the strawberries.  

She slept the whole way home and then went to bed early that night.  I guess I wore her out!  I love spending days like this with my girl and taking her to these fun places.  I can literally see her learning new things right in front of my eyes.  I look forward to going back very soon!  

New 'do

So Blakely has never had a haircut.  She hasn't really "needed" one until recently.  Now her bangs hang all the way down past her nose but I still refuse to cut them.  If we cut her some bangs then we are stuck with them forever.  Ok fine, not forever.  But until we grow them out and that is a pain in the ass.  Not doing it.  

I keep her hair down most of the time but it has gotten to the point where it looks so scraggly because the front is so long.  It is almost long enough to put behind her ear and I have been showing her how to do that but we aren't quite there yet.  The other day Lonnie said why don't we just trim those "front hairs" so she can see?  I calmly explained that if he cut her hair then I would cut him.  He hasn't mentioned it since.  Good boy ;)  Also, front hairs? 

As you all see on this blog and if you follow me on Insta.gram, my go to 'do is the ponytail.  I just think she looks so adorable in it and it is really easy for me to do.  Takes about 10 seconds.  I also do the pigtails sometimes but that takes a little more bribing because it takes longer.  Well yesterday I discovered a new 'do for B!  (Thanks Mom!)

Presenting the "get the bangs out of the way" hair do!  

No pictures of her looking at the camera because she hates the camera.  She needs to get over that quick.  Anyway I am loving this new 'do.  It is super easy and it keeps those darn "front hairs" out of her face!  Win!

Bonus!  She will actually leave a bow in like this.  

Double bonus!  It shows off the bit of curl she is starting to get in the back.  

Sad bonus....she looks five.  :(

Happy Monday!  

Mommy made me a smoothie..

AND I LOVED IT!!!!  Y'all please send all yummy smoothie recipes her way.  I may only eat things out of a straw from now on!  

20 months

On June 13th my Blakely turned 20 months old!  The countdown to her 2nd birthday is on and I can't even believe it.  (I may already be planning...)

Get ready for a long post.  20 months means full on detailed post!  


A few things I don't want to forget about her at this age

She loves ice.  She calls it "eyesh".  She pronounces all c's and s's with a sh sound.  Anyway, she always wants the ice out of our cups.  Her favorite thing (and ours too) is putting the ice in our mouth and then giving it to her.  This started because we had to break it up before giving it to her.  Lonnie and I both say we will do this until she doesn't want to anymore because it is the best thing ever.  

She has learned how to fake sleep.  She lays down, says night night and then pretends to snore.  She even does this with her little princesses.  Kisses them, lays them down for night night and then makes the fake snoring sound.  

She got her first trophy this month!  At gymnastics they gave them out at the end of the spring session.  Hers was for awesome on the trampoline and gym cutie! 

She wants us to kiss her boo boo's.  Even the tiniest little thing she comes over and says "mom-meee boo boo" and points to her knee or whatever hurts.  

She will say I love you if we say it to her.  It sounds like "ahl-veeee".  Music to my ears :)

She loves to put on my socks.  She likes to run around the kitchen in them.  Since they don't have the grippers on the bottom she falls a lot.  This is hilarious to her so she repeats.  It is pretty silly.  

She absolutely loves playing in my make-up bag.  With my socks on...

She hates the bath.  This started a few weeks ago and I have no idea why.  She is slowly getting better.  At least now she will sit down for 5 seconds instead of trying to crawl out constantly.    

This is what I get when I say "bath time"...

She wants to play with her water table every day.  I had to hide it so we didn't have meltdowns every morning when she saw it on the deck.

She can fake laugh, fake cough, and fake cry.  All very fun things to do!  

Mick.ey Mou.se Clubh.ouse is the only show she will watch.  I have tried to turn her on to another show (because my ears want to bleed at the sound of Mick.ey's squeaky voice).  She will watch a few minutes and then start yelling Mi.ckey!  Mi.ckey! 

because this looks comfortable...

Coloring has become a favorite activity!

EATING:  Blakely is still a pretty good eater.  She definitely has her favorites that I know she will eat but she will try some other things as well.  I try to mix it up and keep giving her new things because I think she does the best when she doesn't get the same things over and over.  You can get her to try anything if you give her something to dip it in.  Dipping is a major thing around here.  We dip things in ketchup (pup-pup...her favorite for sure), BBQ sauce, mustard, honey mustard, and greek yogurt.  Really anything that will get her to eat!  

A few of her favorites
-greek yogurt with the fruit on the bottom
-pasta...her favorite is dipping it in alfredo sauce
-any and all berries...strawberries being the top choice
-peanut butter...just like her daddy
-corn-gross (If you have ever changed a corn diaper.....)
-eggs any way
-crackers or chips of any kind
-apples
-green beans...mostly because she can dip them too.  

Some things that she doesn't like are
-carrots
-tuna fish...I keep trying because I eat this for lunch a lot.  
-red sauce

This child loves milk.  She would drink it all day if I would let her.  Our ped said 2-3 sippy cups a day is about what she should drink.  Well she gets about 4.  That is as low as I can get her to go.  She likes water also but wants milk with her meals and before nap and bed time.  

SLEEPING:  Blakely sleeps from about 730 to about 730 every day.  I can tell with the long summer nights that we are starting to put her to bed closer to 8.  We have been spending so much time outside in the evening that we don't put her in the bath until close to 7 so everything gets pushed back.  But that is what you are supposed to do in the summer right?  Stay outside until the sun goes down and just skip the bath...  Personally, I love it because it usually mean she sleeps until 8 in the morning!  

It is funny what she likes to do for bedtime routine with each different person that puts her to bed.  She only likes for me to sing certain songs to her (row row row your boat, I'm a little tea pot, ABC) and she likes Lonnie to sing other songs (itsy bitsy spider, ten little indians, ants go marching).  If I try to sing one of his songs she yells NO NO NO!  Or she likes for me to read certain books to her but different books if Lonnie is reading.  Then if you throw my mom into the mix she likes totally different things.  Very particular.  

She sleeps with a pillow, a small Min.nie mouse, a doll (baby Dotty), and Jaffy the giraffe.  We always kept soft bear in the crib with her but a few months ago she started throwing him out every night.  A few days ago she wanted him in with her so she has added him to the crib also.  

She still "sucks" on the back of her hand when she is sleepy.  She doesn't really suck on it anymore she just puts her lips to her hand.  She also twirls her hair when she is sleepy.  That used to not be a big deal but now that her hair is getting long she twirls it into KNOTS.  And they aren't easy to get out.  

She takes one afternoon nap each day at 1:00.  It lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours.  She sometimes has a hard time waking up in the afternoon...again, just like her daddy.  

TALKING:  Honestly, I have no idea how many words she can say.  50?  100?  No way I could count.  She can communicate pretty much anything to me.  I understand her pretty well and it is rare that I can't figure out what she is trying to tell me.  She will put 2 words together occasionally and I know she probably does it more and I just don't notice because she talks all.the.time.  Like all the time. 

Some of her favorite words (that I hear all the time) are :

• "chashe" or chase.  She looooves to play chase so she says it all the try trying to get someone to chase her around the house.  I think she likes for Lonnie to chase her the best.  
• "off".  Shoes off.  Shirt off.  Socks off.  Anything and everything off.  She jsut started with the diaper off.
• "shoes".  Still obsessed with shoes.  I'm not sure this one is ever going to go away.  
• "eye-sh".  see above.  
• "out".  She means outside.  
• "moke".  Milk...  

This month has brought the "NO" stage.  She says no a lot...to everything.  Sometimes she even says no but does what I asked her to do.  I think she is testing me but hearing no 50,438 times gets old fast.  I know...get used to it Kelly.  

POTTY/DIAPERING:  I sit her on the potty occasionally.  No pressure but she goes sometimes.  Sometimes she tells me she wants to go potty so we go and nothing happens.  I still think she is a bit young but maybe closer to the end of the summer I'll get hard core about it.  Or maybe not.  Whatever.  :)

She wears cloth diapers everyday and about half of the time at night.  I hadn't tried cloth at night in about 6 months (just lazy) but we went to stay at Lonnie's moms house and I forgot to bring a disposable.  So cloth was our only option.  I put 2 extra inserts in and she woke up dry.  It isn't bullet proof and she is still wet some mornings but it was getting to be an everyday thing with the disposables.  When she does wear disposables she is in a size 5.  

CLOTHING:  She wears mostly 2T but sometimes 3T in certain brands.  She wears a 5 1/2 shoe but I think those aren't going to last much longer.  

TEETH:  She has all of her teeth and we are just waiting on the 2 year molars.   She has always been a really good teether so I am hoping that continues when those bad boys come in.  

Here is a little video that I just love.  It is nothing special just a conversation between us while she eats her favorite snack...strawberries.  But she does say I love you and she is acting so silly with her little laugh.  She is getting so grown up!  And I know y'all love to hear my accent ;)

Happy 20 months sweet girl!  I know I say it every month but you are just growing up and becoming a little girl so fast.  Very bittersweet for mom-meeee.  

Here is a little comparison pic...  She looks like a BABY in that 12 month picture.  

Weekend recap. Don't I do this every Monday?

It seems like I update on our weekends every Monday.  That's ok with y'all right??

We had a fun weekend and Lonnie said he had the best Father's Day yet.  I told him that I hope to make him say that every year!  

Saturday morning started out with Blakely sleeping in until 10!  She and I are still getting over this lingering sickness so I am attributing her sleepiness to that, mixed with a growth spurt.  She has been eating constantly as well.  

Lonnie and I woke up on our own at about 9 and couldn't believe it.  We got to slowly wake up and chat and just hang out.  That hasn't happened in 20 months.  It was really nice.  B finally woke up and we went to breakfast at our local place that we go to often.  We hadn't been in a few weeks so they were happy to see us.  Well, happy to see B anyway.  :)

After that we went to a watersports/boating store to get two new batteries for our boat.  Why? Because ours were stolen!  Ugh.  We didn't even realize because it had been a few days since we were out on the boat.  Our neighbor mentioned that a bunch of boat batteries were stolen in the neighborhood and we went to check.  Sure enough they were both gone.  We reported it and ,apparently, whoever did it took about 100 of them.  I guess they just drove up the lake and went dock to dock.  ASSHOLES.  

Anyway, this store turned out to be a huge hit.  They had all of their tubes and party floats out and Blakely was just in heaven.  She jumped on them, laid on them, pushed them around, and tried to roll off of them.  It was a tad difficult to get her to leave!  

Saturday afternoon we went over to a friends house to meet their new twins.  They also have a daughter that just turned 5 so her and Blakely played together.  This was really the first time B has been around babies.  She did really well.  She kept saying baby and pointing to them. She patted them on the head, held their hand and even kissed their toes.  It was really cute.  She did try to step on the boy at one point but I was right there.  Oops :/

Do I even need to say it?  BABYFEVEROMG

We picked up a pizza on the way home and I made a pallet on the floor so we could have a movie night.  This was B's first time watching a movie and she liked it.  We tried Toy St.ory but our internet was acting funky so it wouldn't work.  Monsters, Inc. was on the Dis channel so I had to settle for that.  It was actually adorable!  B watched about a third of the movie before it was time for bed.  I look forward to many more family movie nights!  

We woke up leisurely again on Sunday morning (thank you, B!).  Blakely and I came upstairs and wrapped Lonnie's presents while he was showering.  I got us everything bagels (his favorite) and pink grapefruits (also a fave).  He opened his gifts from us.  Blakely got him two coffee cups with pictures of them on it.  One he can take to work and the other can stay home so he and B can share coffee on the weekend.  While we were wrapping them she kept saying AH-FEE DAD-DEE..over and over.  She loves to sneak coffee from daddy.  Here she is with daddy...drinking his coffee, reading his newspaper and stealing all of his food.  He wouldn't let anyone but her do that!  

We had a lot more pallet on the floor time.  It was rainy the first half of the day so it was a perfect day to snuggle.  

Now today it is back to the grind.  Lonnie's family is coming to stay with us in less than 2 weeks and I have a ton to do to get ready for that.  Time to start checking stuff off of my list!  

Happy Monday!