She Sprouted!

Ever since I learned I was pregnant with a little girl I had dreams of all the cute little hairstyles I could do with her.  My favorite was the sprout, or just a little tuft of hair that sticks up out of a hair tie on the top of the head.  Unfortunately, Little Miss was born bald and stayed that way for a very long time.  Even when her hair finally filled in, it wasn't long enough.  Just recently, I actually remembered to buy some hair ties and we tried it out.  It worked!

And it's adorable!  Little Miss was so thrilled with her look and the ease of having her hair put up once, instead of repeatedly fixing bows, that she insisted on two sprouts the next day.

Honestly, just when I think this girl can't get any cuter, she takes it up a notch.

Every 2 Year-Old's Dream/The Bubble Run!

While we were up North Aunty Judy found a great suggestion for us- the local bubble run!  It was being held at the race track 1/2 mile down the road which I had never been to.  It was a way for me to check it out and have some fun with Little Miss.  The day was overcast and wet, but that didn't deter us from having some fun and taking pictures while waiting to start.  We got a picture with the race track in the background.

 We got our headbands on and got all geared up:

 And we waited patiently for almost 30 mins to finally cross the start line:

There was a huge bubble machine right at the start to kick things off right.  I had Little Miss Bubbles in the stroller and that was a mistake.  The bubbles quickly overtook the stroller and even strangers were helping me clear the bubbles from Little Miss' face.  When we finally got through and the shock of what just transpired cleared, Little Miss was in heaven.

She gave huge smiles and happily played in the bubbles as we walked to the next station.  The next color was pink.  Having learned from the start line, I had to hold Little Miss with one arm and push the stroller with the other.  I had to get close enough to let one side of her get covered in the bubbles cascading down from the machine, but not completely under so as to completely engulf her and get soap all in her eyes.  It was a delicate balance.  After we got past the bubble machine, I could put her down so she could enjoy walking through all the bubbles.  Here we are coming through the pink bubbles.

She spent most of the time walking with only occasional stroller rides.  Each time I announced we were coming to a new color, she giggled with glee.  The blue bubbles were so foamy and stayed around for so long, we had to stop and have a mini-photo session.

I love that last picture so much it's now the wallpaper on my phone.  Each time I look at it I feel happy.  The bubble run itself was kind of a pain in the butt because of how long it took and how slowly everything went.  However, it was our first official 5K and Little Miss Bubbles had an absolute blast.  The pure joy it brought her on the day and looking back at the pictures was totally worth it.  I would do it again and might look into some other local fun themed runs.

The Arboretum

While we were up north we tried to take advantage of the time to see lots of family.  We were able to catch up with a cousin at a local arboretum.  It had a very large children's area which was great.  Unfortunately, with two toddlers, getting them to play together in such a large space is like trying to herd cats.  There were mazes, rocks to climb, fountains, forts, sculptures, and all sorts of other fun things to explore, but we could only rarely get the kids to do them together.  Here's a rare snap of some time spent at a fountain.

The lilac bushes were in bloom, which was a special treat 1. because Grandma loves them so they have special meaning to us and 2. they had already bloomed down South.  I tried to get a photo of Little Miss Camera Shy in front of them to send to Grandma.

We found a nice shady spot for lunch and enjoyed some grub together before it was time to head out for the inevitable car naps.  

It's so good getting to spend time with family and I'm glad that our kids are similar in age so we can find fun activities to do together while we're home.

Memorial Day: Represent!

We had a few weeks between when our last Mother's Day Out ended and when our new Parent's Day Out began.  I decided to take Little Miss back up North for a few weeks at the farm.  We'd be able to beat some Southern heat and her cousins were coming whom we hadn't seen since Little Miss was in infant.  

We headed up Memorial Day weekend and Grandma hosted a Memorial Day BBQ.  She and Little Miss dressed up in their patriotic best.

They both looked happy and adorable.  It was a great kick-off to our stay.

The End of Mother's Day Out

Back in September when I had a 17 month-old, I came to the realization that it was time for me to get some time to myself to just think, clean, do errands, or whatever.  Since I was so late to the game, many of the MDO programs were full, but I lucked into the last slot at one of the best in our area.  We stayed there even after moving across town to give Little Miss some consistency.  

She really struggled with the separation and for months her teacher had to pry my crying baby from my arms so I could leave.  After one particularly intense crying fit after returning from winter break, Little Miss seemed to accept that she would be staying there and began to really enjoy it.  She gave smiles and giggles when I told her it was a school day and walked happily into the classroom.  Learning to like (maybe even love?) going to school and accept being away from me was a goal for this year, and she succeeded.  

When I went to pick her up, she was doing something that she'd only ever done one other time at pickup- she was sleeping.

She looked so angelic that I hated to wake her, but, alas, it was time to leave. We got a end of year picture with her teacher and just like that, it was time to say goodbye.  

We won't be returning to the school next year and will start at a new school this summer, but explaining all this to a 2 year-old is not easy.  Hopefully she'll be able to apply all that she learned about being in a school setting this year to her new school in a few weeks.

Paddling: Then and Now

Last year we took Little Miss out on the same river.  Let's look at how she's grown:

THEN (June 2014)

NOW (May 2015)

Same hat and everything. I love exposing her to new things and then getting to repeat the experiences that hopefully will bring her fond childhood memories.

Paddling 2.0

Last year we took Little Miss out for a canoe ride and it was a great experience.  Now that she's a year older, we decided to try it again.  We went back to the same outfitter we used last year and explored the boats a bit before getting our own.

Once we were in the boat, we began with Little Miss in front with me, but she quickly gravitated back towards her Daddy.

She even got to help paddle!  She really enjoyed that.  She spent the rest of the trip migrating back and forth between the two of us.

We stopped for a swim several times and enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch.

As long as there were plenty of snacks and opportunities to swim, it was a successful trip out on the river.

Mama's Anxiety Attack

We were minding our own business at the children's museum one day when a car broke down.  Little Miss must've really been paying attention to Daddy because she jumped right under and fixed it.

We were so proud of her that we decided to reward her by exploring a new park.  Daddy found a comfy perch to watch from afar for a bit,

but when Little Miss decided she wanted to climb up the big kids' contraption, Daddy was pressed into service.  Mama would've just said 'No, it's too high,' but our little monkey was determined.

She stopped half way up to check out the view and say hello.

Then they continued to the top and chose a curvy slide to come down.  It was great fun for her, but luckily she didn't ask to do it over and over again.  I don't think that my heard could've taken much more.  Here's a picture to give you some reference for my anxiety, but I have to admit, she did great.

How to Kill an Afternoon

It was coming to the end of the week, and I was running out of things to do with Little Miss after nap time.  The weather was too cold for swimming and I had already taken her to a park in the morning.  I needed to return something to Target and since I go there less than once a month and usually not with her, I decided that we would walk to Target and explore.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon.  She was thrilled looking at all the cards, especially the ones that danced and sang.

She also really liked the Target dog that was in the children's section.  Here she is giving him a hug.

She then moved back to the step stools, stacked several of them together and then practiced walking over all of them.  Of course, she looked at clothes, but only ones that were way too big ;)  It was a good afternoon, and the walk home also wore her out.  I think it's good for her to accompany me to the store occasionally, but it was also a reminder of how much slower shopping becomes with a little one in tow.

Be Careful What you do

I find it ironic that I was just posting about how little eyes are always watching me.  We have a box in our bedroom that is reserved specifically for bedtime books.  However, books migrate between the book box and the regular bookshelves.  Little Miss was obsessed with a non-bedtime book and it wound up in the book box.  Normally this wouldn't bother me, but it was a long book and I was tired of reading it.  When bedtime came and she handed me the book, I slid it underneath the door and told her that we could read it after nap.  She just thought that the book disappearing under the door was the cat's meow.  After we finished reading books and before she actually went to sleep, she spent a lot of time peering underneath the doorway.

The next afternoon when we went to the room for nap time, we read her books, and I rolled over in bed to sleep because I was tired.  Little Miss was quietly occupied for a while before she joined me in bed.  After she fell asleep I came outside and found all her bedtime books on the other side of the door.  That stinker slid them all underneath!  

Good thing it's an easy pickup.