First Days Of School

Our first two days of school were a success! I am so proud/happy/relieved simultaneously- Sadie did a great job even though I am sure it was hard on her in the beginning. In true Shannon style, the first two mornings getting ready to drop Sadie off at her new school at 8 am, was a complete disorganized mess, and I didn't get any photos! All those little things like breakfast, packing her a hot lunch, guzzling down coffee all took more time than expected! Oh, and I overslept. Both days. So.... no pictures yet. I'll try the next day she goes to school. So, school went really well for her. She was sad the first day I left, her little lip trembled and did that heartbreaking pout thing that kills me, but the teacher said she recovered quickly and amazingly, no tears. When I called to see how she was, she was chasing kids around the playground. :) Then, when I went to pick her up, she didn't want to leave! Today, she was much better when I left, and had a great time with her new friends. I owe the eating program she was in this summer a lot- if it wasn't for them, the first time leaving her at the school would have been bad. But she already had a taste of it this summer and it helped a ton. Not too much eating going on yet, but I think she needs to get used to it there first. I think this is going to be a great experience for Sadie. And did I tell you that her teacher is the woman who rented our old apartment we just left?! Small island world. Both teachers seem great, so happy with the school so far.

So guess who is the most adorable pregnant girl ever?! This weekend was Allison's baby shower and it was soooo good to see her! She seriously had the pregnancy glow about her and just looks beautiful. Poor thing is in her third trimester in flippin' August! It was a great shower and just so great to see her, I would have been so upset if I didn't get to see a pregnant Al!

Pregnancy glow!

Allison opening up her baby Ghost Hunters onesie! She got me one for my shower, so I had to get one for her little muffin!

And lastly, when we got home today, we had a box from Target on our doorstep. In it was Sadie's first big girl sheet and comforter set for her crib (it's meant for a toddler bed, but we're not there yet!) and she was so excited! She actually said "I love it!" and wanted to cuddle up in it right away, even though it was 90 degrees out. And she wanted me to go under it too. I was dying!

Sadie's new kitty/doggie comforter and her paw print sheet set. Gotta love Target.

She's Got The Shoe Gene

With a Mom who perpetually steps out of the house in her one pair of reefs, not sure how Sadie got her love of shoes. But you say the word "shoe" and her eyes light up and wants to see and try on those shoes ASAP. I was out tonight and found a pair of $5 sandals and Sadie got SO excited to try on some Mommy shoes. Very funny to see! It brought back memories of going through my Mom's closet and trying on her 70's platform shoes, and attempting to walk around the house in them (remember that, Mom???)!

Wordless Wednesday: Enjoying The New Cozy Corner

OMG.

Do you know how weird it is to be buying a lunch box and thermos for your two-year old kid??? Very. Very, very, very! Well, the unthinkable has happened- Sadie is officially enrolled into some part time daycare. OMG! The main reason is to give her the experience of eating with other kids (without Mom around) and hopefully to watch and learn, and also, just for some group socialization (also, without Mom around). So for two half days a week, she will go to..... SCHOOL!! I even found a tiny backpack. And it's seriously "awwww" on her too. She is excited about going and this week is her "orientation" (ha ha!). Thank God for it, though. We go each day this week for an hour to meet her teachers and her classmates. The first two days went well. Tomorrow, I will leave her alone for part of it (NOT going to be a fun scene!! Her poor teachers will get to hear her lung power), and by Friday, just drop her off. Sooooo..... fingers crossed, when I drop her off on Monday, it won't be a major meltdown. Mommy, however, will be having her own meltdown in the car. Yup, I'm slightly ..... terrified. It's a big deal, being it's the first time really leaving her in a school setting without knowing anyone. Sunday night, I will be a nervous wreck, ha! I know the beginning will be tough for her (me), but that she will adjust and have a good time there. She already loves all the new toys. And there is a boy named Connor who keeps following her around, but I won't tell John that. :) I didn't think I would see the day this would happen and I know it will be so good for her. Wish her (me) luck!

A Friday Night Out

Friday nights are usually fairly uneventful, but last night was the last of the Family Beach Nights, sadly marking the "end" of summer. (Sniff, sniff.) We got together with friends and had pizza on the beach, listened to the Navy Band, played in the water and sand, and at the end, they lit a bonfire. A nice mom on the beach offered to take our picture, and we took her up on it because there is a shortage of family pics. I love it because we are all actually smiling and looking at the camera- that is nothing short of a miracle! Sadie had a blast with her girlfriends, which was the real highlight of the night. Love seeing them play together!

Skylar, Amelia, and Sadie. It's not hard to imagine giggly girl (lack of) sleep overs in their future.

Sadie can't resist a good tickle!

Wordless Wednesday: Street Dancin' With My Girl

Grateful

What for? Well, I'm extremely grateful for the band that was playing next door to where we ate dinner this past weekend when visiting my family! Small towns aren't used to being mobbed with people, so dinner took a long time come. A long time. Which would have been quite unpleasant with an impatient two year old, I'm sure anyone would agree! However, since I have a music and dance lover on my hands, it was actually a pretty fun wait! I think it was entertaining to other patrons as well. :)

Top 10 Things I Learned At The Zucchini Festival

We trekked it home to see my family this weekend, to attend the now annual Zucchini Festival 2010! As you might imagine, it's a small town festival that centers around...... zucchini! And it rocks! Petting zoo, lots of people selling homemade crafts, every type of zucchini related food, hot air ballooning, music, hula hooping, euro bungee (google it), and even some type of crazy zucchini rolling contest. Take my word for it- these people don't mess around with their zucchini's. We had a fantastic weekend and here's what I learned:

#10- When my Mom drinks, there is no telling what she will do. I tried to tell her I thought it was illegal to leave restaurant premises with her drink in hand, but as evidenced below, she did not listen! Nana, the Rebel.

#9- My mom's memory fails her when on her second glass of wine. This picture was taken just as she was reminded that she was supposed to be designated driver that night!

#8- Zucchini Art is just plain AWESOME.

#7- Sometimes only a photo can capture how alike sisters are!

#6- I got some great Kelley shots to be used for my next funny card/craft project.

#5- That as Catholic as my Mom is, it was OK to steal her granddaughter a balloon. This picture is before Nana pulled out her handy dandy scissors (only my mom keeps a pair of scissors in her purse) and snipped one for her. Straight to hell, Nana. Straight to hell.

#4- Dancing in the streets with your family to Samba music and attempting to hula hoop is flipping FUN and should be done as much as possible!

#3- That I come from a really crunchy granola area, as evidenced by t-shirts proclaiming "Eat More Kale" and more Birkenstocks than I can shake a stick at.

#2- Zucchini's make awesome centerpieces.

#1- And the #1 thing I learned was that when there are that many farm animals in one spot, someone is bound to step in goat shit. Sorry it had to be you, Kelley. :)

Wordless Wednesday: First Happy Meal

Not too much eating going on, but she sure loves "dipping" things! And she had a great time!

Kissafur

Today was one of those awesome mornings that make you glad it's summer. Sitting outside on a blanket, enjoying the sun and warm breezes, having a good time with friends listening to our favorite children's performer, Mr. Christopher! He runs the music class that Sadie has gone to since she was 5 months old. Sadie loves, loves, loves Mr. Christopher. She used to call him "Fur Fur" and now, a bit better verbally, he is "Kissafur" :) Music class used to be my one "get out of the house with other Mom's" (hell, with other people!) way back when. I looked forward to that class all week - I owe that class big! Now it's a blast because we've gone for so long and with many of the same people- it's a great group. He is amazing with the little ones, gets them all involved and they love him. So...... when I told Sadie that Kissafur was going to be playing guitar on the lawn of the library, a huge grin lit up her face and this morning it was HER prompting ME to get out of the house! So just a cute video of Sadie letting the music move her and a pic too. Oh happy summer!

Really getting into it! And thanks to Auntie Kelley for the awesome Etsy dress! Or known to Sadie as the Lemon Dress.

Enjoying Summer

I can't believe it's August already. Where did the summer go?? We've had such beautiful weather this weekend, we thought it would be fun to go to one of the local farms and pick some fresh fruit with Sadie. Last year, she had no interest in it except to run around, but this year she loved it. We picked blackberries, blueberries and peaches and she tasted each one! She loved the berries the best, probably because she could easily pick them herself and put them in the little basket. Pretty much every one she picked, she would taste, then put in the basket. :) So..... this fruit is probably not for sharing! She seemed to really like the juice of the blackberries, and these bad boys were really juicy, so it almost looked like a scene out of True Blood after we left that berry patch. :) Great time had by all. But now...... I have all this fruit to use up! So I found a recipe for peach crisp that sounded delish and also a blueberry coffee cake, and it's been SO long since I've baked (or cooked, really), that I'm excited to try these out. Especially with the fresh fruit. Leave it to me to make fruit bad for you!

Inspecting this curious fruit, never tasted before.

Sadie's commentary on blueberry picking.

The program Sadie was in stopped this past week, so we now have our summer back. Looking very forward to that. And to not drive 2 hours a day. The program did wonders for her. We still have a long way to go, but they broke through the barrier that we couldn't- they got her to start chewing. It's kind of hit or miss right now, and we have good eating days and bad ones (but don't all toddlers??), and she is in such a better place right now than she was in June. It felt like I'd never see the day she would crunch Kix at breakfast or eat small pieces of mac and cheese or eat ice cream or american cheese. And just try different things and experiment. The latest? A McDonald's french fry!! I gave it to her because we had dinner on the run tonight and expected her to lick the salt and ketchup off, or start to chew it and spit it out. She ate the entire fry! I was shocked and she was extremely proud of herself. So was I. Sometimes you never see even the smallest light at the end of the tunnel, and then you get something like this today, and it shows you that progress is indeed being made. Good progress, at that.

Off to bed, we had a fun weekend and we did a lot, but now Mama's tired. Night, all.

Wordless Wednesday: C Is For Cookie