Monkey Pajamas!

Grandaddy wanted to see the new pj's the girls picked out for their prize with the money he sent them. Anna Claire could hardly wait until it was bath time so she could put them on and take a picture!

Lazy Weekend

Last weekend was so busy so we decided to take it easy. We laid around watching football, eating snacks, and taking naps.

Nothing exciting, but a nice weekend.

Computer Whiz?

I can not believe my three year old loves the computer! Anna Claire will play the Disney game (playhousedisney.com) as long as I will let her. She has it completely figured it our. She opens it herself and goes to town!

Look at me Grow!

Today I had my 18-Month check up, and am growing so fast! I am even bigger than my sister was at this age, no wonder some of those clothes Mommy is bringing out for me to wear don't fit right. I now weigh 27 lb. and 8 oz. (90%), and am 32 1/2 in. tall (90%).

A Busy Sunday!

This morning after church, Anna Claire and I went to downtown Durham for Centerfest. Encore Dance Academy was performing and she was so excited! She had been talking about it since we left class on Wednesday. The girls were very cute and did a great job. On the way back to the car we stopped by the Mr. Turtle for a quick picture. She was a little hesitant to climb on, but when I told her he wasn't real she jumped right on! (Daddy and Gracie stayed home. Gracie has a cold and it was right in the middle of naptime.)

We got home from Centerfest just in time to get changed to go to Greekfest. We had some great food and I think Anna Claire danced more on the Greek stage than she did during her tap routine. We first had to go buy a dance scarf (red skirt) and then she was on the stage and ready to go with the rest of the dancers. She did not want to quit dancing!

Go Tarheels!

Saturday afternoon we started off at a football tailgating party. We had a great time cheering on the Tarheels even though the end was not what we were hoping for. Later in the evening, we went to a baby shower cookout for a friend. We had lots of great food and more football, that which we were not too happy about either. Oh well, it was still a great Saturday!

Babysitter

Gracie has become fascinated with other babies. I am now keeping one little boy 4 afternoons a week and another little boy 2 afternoons a week. We are having a great time even if it gets a little hectic around our house. The girls love having friends to play with. Gracie has been very funny to watch. She thinks she is the big girl now. Yesterday she would not let Jake feed himself. She took his bowl and fed him each bite. When she sees Ayden give me a hug she decides she should hug, too. It is nice to get a little affection from the child who would never stop for a hug! She also likes to give Ayden and Jake hugs after watching her big sister.

Storytime

Gracie enjoyed storytime for the first time with other children her age. Last year we went to the preschooler storytime for Anna Claire, and Gracie just went along, but now she has her on class! She had a great time watching puppets, singing songs, and reading books.

Weekend Fun!

We have had a busy weekend. Friday evening we started off the evening at the Carolina Inn listening to music with a great group of friends. Later in the evening, Kim, the girls and I went to dinner at a little authentic Mexican restaurant complete with great food and margaritas, and a Mariachi band. The girls loved the music...of coarse I forgot my camera at home.

Saturday morning I woke up, and slipped out of the house to go to the spa. I had a manicure, pedicure, facial, and body resurfacing. WOW! It was great! (Kim had given me a gift certificate for Valentine's and I just got a chance to go. It was definitely worth the wait.) While I was at the spa, Kim and the girls worked around the house. He changed the toliet seats and tank levers, and worked in the yard. That evening I volunteered at Corks for Kids, a wine tasting event to raise money for UNC Children's Hospital. Thank you Kim for a wonderful day!

After church this morning, we took naps to get ready for the big family picnic. We went to Anna Claire's school to socialize with the other parents and preschoolers. It was a fun hot afternoon!

School Projects

Anna Claire is in the blue room, so everything is centered around blue this week. They have made a friendship tree out of their hands, decorated snack mats, and painted pictures, along with lots of great playtime! They are learning to read the calendar, working on number and letter recognition, and singing lots of songs. The blue painted picture is a beautiful flower and the colored picture is a robot per Anna Claire.

Museum of Life and Science

Yesterday morning we went to the Museum of Life and Science for playgroup. The girls had a great time rolling balls, feeling clouds, banging drums, climbing rocks, stacking blocks, and the list goes on and on. We have been several times, but Anna Claire is already asking when we are going back.

Dance

Last week dance started again for the year. This year Anna Claire is taking acro, ballet, and tap on Wednesday afternoons. She is having a great time, and says her favorite part is acro. She is doing a great job showing off some of her skills from last year.

Gracie is enjoying the class this year, too. She really wants to get out there and dance with the big girls. She wants to wear a leotard, and puts on Anna Claire's old tap and ballet shoes. (She did run around on the dance floor with the tap shoes on for a minute and was laughing the entire time.) Maybe next week I will put her in a leotard for fun!

Daddy's Shoes

Don't all kids love their Daddy's shoes!

School Update

Anna Claire is having so much fun at school. She wants to go everyday! When I ask her what they did she always answers with played on the playground. I think that is her favorite. Today they started their creative movement class which will be on Tuesdays. On Thursdays they will have music. She said creative movement was a lot of fun! Her teachers keep telling me how sweet and well-behaved she is. They also said she has great manners.


Gracie and I have been busy since school started. I am ready to take Anna Claire to school and not have anything else planned for the morning. This morning we went for a follow-up on her ear tube placement. They did a hearing test also, and said everything looked great. We should not have the same constant ear infection this winter! She is missing Anna Claire a little while she is at school. This morning she kept yelling "Ya Ya" all the way to the doctor's office and after we got home.

Wii

This evening we kept Timmy and Clark for Brian and Christie. The girls were so excited that the boys were coming to play. Kim even talked Brian into bringing his Wii over for us to play. First Timmy and Anna Claire bowled. They did really good! Later, after supper, Kim and I gave it a try and had lots of fun! We played tennis and a silly cow racing game. After that Timmy and Anna Claire tried out the cow game. Everything was going good until I hear Anna Claire tell Timmy..."You have to let me win." He was not buying that. So Anna Claire decided she was done if he wasn't going to let her win. Maybe Santa will bring us one for Christmas?

Party on the Farm

This afternooon, one of Anna Claire's friends had a birthday party on the farm. The children had so much fun feeding the chickens, petting the goats, and riding the horses. This was Anna Claire's first horse ride and she loved it! Gracie, on the other hand, did not want to ride at all. She did like petting the animals, though. She kept pointing at all of them saying "Look, look!". It was a little wet from Tropical Storm Hannah, but turned out to be a beautiful afternoon.

1st Day of School

Anna Claire started preschool this morning. She loved it. She keeps telling us about the playground and two little girls in her class, Emma and Lilly. She can't wait to go back. She keeps asking me if she can go back tomorrow. Unfortunately we will have to wait until Thursday. She will go Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-12. What will Gracie and I do?

Labor Day Weekend

The rest of our week in Alabama was pretty low-key. We played in the pool and ate lots of good food. We had a great drive home; Gracie was a little puny because of a fever, so she slept most of the way. Anna Claire asked how much longer only about 25 times. She did a good job!