Our Visit to San Antonio

First off, thank you to my sweet friend, Melissa, for "dolling up" Presley with "Stella and Dot" jewelry...the necklace provided for hours of entertainment. ;-) We had a great time in San Antonio last week. It was great to just get away and have a change of pace. I was starting to go "stir-crazy" sitting in the house for more than half the day...it's been too hot outside for Presley to really enjoy the outdoors for more than an hour or so. In San Antonio, it seemed as though we were constantly going and it was great fun to visit my friends and family. I wasn't able to see everyone so I will have to go back soon! While in San Antonio, I was finally able to give my dad and Jean their Birthday gift. I made them a digi-scrapbook of their 9 grandchildren. I wanted it to be a memorable book that would last a lifetime and I think they really liked it. I was also able to publish Presley's blog book and I am currently working on finishing up her first year scrapbook. It has taken me quite awhile since I am learning as I go...I have had to go back and redo some of her pages from the first few months because I keep learning new things. We loved being in San Antonio and I took as many pics as I could. It was great for Presley to spend the week in San Antonio because it gave her the opportunity to spend lots of time with family. Presley was a mess the first day! Every time I left the room she would cry because she thought I was going to leave her there, but she did pretty good the rest of the time. By Friday, she was running all over the house and up the stairs! I took a ton of pictures so I will let the photos do the talking...

On Wednesday, we went to my friend Renee's house for a playdate with her two precious girls...Mia & Kendall. Presley was so excited to play with 2 little girls ;-) It was so fun to watch the girls interact together.

Presley saw her great grandma just about every day while we were there! She loves her! My grandma was taking care of my Aunt Mary's cat while they were out of town and Presley LOVED him. This was her first encounter with a cat and she followed him around everywhere and kept giving him kisses on his nose.

Getting a little confused with the ceramic cats on the floor ;-) Grandma giving Presley the last drop of Gatorade...she loved it!

Fun times with Grandpa...Presley loves to do flips, play chase, and roll all over the place.

Riding on the tractor with grandpa...Presley wasn't sure of it at first, but as soon as they started moving she enjoyed it (as long as I was hiding behind the tree & out of sight)

Fun times with her cousins! We swam in the pool almost every day. Reid LOVED to play with the hose in the pool. He thought it was great fun to squirt Ellie and Nana Jean. Can't you just see the excitement written on his face...notice the clutched fist ;-) Oh, the excitement!!!

Mr. Grant growing up so fast! The sweetest and happiest baby around ;-)

Fun times with cousin Ellie ;-) Cousin Ellie was so nice to watch over Presley, let her play with her toys, and help her with snack time.

Saying bye-bye to Nana Jean and San Antonio...we just needed the other 5 grandkids for the pic ;-)

Now and Then...

My friend, Melissa, sells "Stella and Dot" and she sent Presley these cute headbands, bows, and pearls. Presley was not amused...lol. She ended up loving her necklaces when I put them on her! She even wore them when we went to lunch with the girls in San Antonio....this is all too funny since I think the only necklace I have ever worn in my life was at my wedding! Ha!

Top 10 Reasons Why I Love My Nana Burda

#10 she always sneaks me yummy food when mommy and daddy aren't looking...like pie ;-) Yummy! #9 she lets me take a sip of her iced tea...double yummy! #8 she buys me cute clothes and always has a new outfit waiting for me when she sees me #7 she always gets me my firsts...my first doll, my first tea set, my first play kitchen #6 she always has a smile on her face when I come walking through the door! #5 she loves to give me hugs and kisses #4 she always takes care of me #3 she always plays with me and makes me laugh #2 she loves me to the moon and back again ;-) AND THE #1 reason I love my Nana Burda....brace yourselves, wait for it.....

She introduced me to Mac-n-Cheese....Thanks Nana, my mama will forever thank you ;-/

Thankful for Our Daddy

Today was a great day with the greatest husband and daddy we could ever ask for. This morning, Presley and I gave Joey his first "homemade" father's day gift...many more to come I am sure. I have been on a mod podge kick for awhile and so I decided to make Joey a frame with a collage of him and Presley all over it. I went through quite a few $1 frames before finally being somewhat satisfied with the end product. It still looks "homemade" but it'll do. ;-) We had a great afternoon over at Joey's uncle's house and Presley did much better this time...when she couldn't see me! She just loves her daddy so much and I can never get enough of seeing them together. Last week, we went to San Antonio for 5 days and when we got back Presley was sooooo excited to see him. We let her stay up until 10:00 because she was so happy to be home with her daddy. I will have to post pictures of our San Antonio trip later this week because I still have to sift through all of the pictures.We are so very thankful four our daddy and we love him! Thanks Babe ;-)

Winkids and Words

Sorry about the poor picture quality...I took it with my iPhone and there was lots of movement going on! Last week, Presley had her award's ceremony for her participation in the Gymfant's program at WinKids. It was lots of fun and we met a couple of new friends who actually had little girls. She looked so cute walking up to the podium to get her ribbon. She still has stranger anxiety, but only when someone holds her and it's starting to slowly wear off. She has been doing really well at church ever since she left the nursery and entered into the toddler program. She loves the older kids and all of the toys they have which makes for a much easier drop-off....if you know what I mean. She is so eager to talk and just babbles on and on all. day. long! She seems to pick up on new words every week...surprisingly enough, she has not picked up on any of the words that I have tried to "pound" into her little brain with repetition. I should know by now, from teaching, that these little ones are going to pick up on whatever their little brains choose to pick up on regardless of what I do. Her newest and cutest word is "teeggu" aka Tigger. Joey got her a huge stuffed Tigger when he was in Orlando for business last September and she loves it. When she sees her Tigger sitting in the stuffed animal box in the living room she runs over to him, says his name, picks him up, and tries to walk around the room with him....keep in mind that this Tigger is about as big as she is. She has also been saying "uh-oh" and all I have to say about that is "uh-oh is right." I DID NOT start this one...Joey did. ;-) I am not sure how she picked up on this next word...unless I just say it more than I think, but she loves to say "tank goo" -aka "thank you." On Tuesday, we went to IHOP for dinner and our waitress brought Joey some extra powdered sugar for his french toast and he said "thank you." When Presley heard Joey say this, she looked up at the waitress and said, "tank goo." Melt my heart...hopefully this sticks around for awhile. Ha! So, these past few weeks have been great and Presley is doing much better now that we are staying consistent. She is not testing her limits as much as she was a few weeks ago. Here is a little video of Presley getting her ribbon at the award's ceremony at WinKids...she was a little cranky, but it was still cute...and that ribbon did not leave her sight until we got home.

My Little Reader

My little reader. :-) I have been reading to Presley since I brought her home from the hospital. She loves to read. She loves to choose the books we are going to read and then turn the pages. I put a box of books in our living room and I will often find her quietly sitting in the corner looking through a book. Her favorite books are the ones that are small enough to hold in her hands. I love this because I was never a big reader as a child...I would start reading and by the time I was half way finished I would know exactly what I was going to do the next day, but would have no idea what the book was about. lol....daydreamer. :-) I also love teaching little ones to read and write. I think it's the reason I focused so much on teaching 1st grade. I have found, there is no bigger jump as from kindergarten to first grade. Most first graders come in as beginner readers (if even that) and leave reading chapter books. Others come in barely knowing how to write and leave as beautiful poets. I just love, love, love to see the growth that goes on in first grade. I started collecting children's books when I was in College and from there I have collected boxes and boxes. Here are my favorite books that would leave my first graders "rolling on the floor in laughter"... to me there is no sweeter sound than a classroom filled with 22 different laughs ;-) and since they never found me very amusing I relied on a good book to get them laughing.
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Bark, George
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Fluffy'sValentine's Day
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School
Click, Clack Moo: Cows that Type
Miss Mary Mack
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
To Market, To Market
Mooseltoe
"Froggy" & "Amelia Bedelia" books

My Little Piano Girl