What a busy month....

I am really trying hard to keep things updated but I just can't seem to do it. Since my last post a lot has happened.

As some of you know the air in our house went out for 2 weeks so Scott, Audrey and I lived at Mom and Dad's for 2 weeks. It was fixed 2 days before we left for vacation.

We went on our annual vacation. Mom and Dad rented a house (THANKS AGAIN MOM AND DAD) just one block from the ocean in Myrtle Beach. Everyone came- our family, Mom and Dad, both my brothers and their families. We also got to see my Mom's 2 sisters and some of their families as they visited w/ us a couple of days! It was a blast. Audrey liked the ocean but LOVED the pool. She had been taking swimming lessons right before we went and although she can't swim yet she was not afraid of the water. We did have one scare though- one night right before bed Scott and I were sitting at the pool letting Audrey play in the pool w/ her float on. She was getting out and jumping in and out and in - you get the picture. My parents come back from dinner and stopped by the pool to say hello. Audrey got out to talk to my parents and turn arounded and jumped in the pool W/O her float on. It took a few seconds before we realized she didn't come up and didn't have her float on (I'm sure it was only like 2 seconds but felt like an eternity). Scott jumped in fully clothed (shoes and socks and all) to pull her up. I must say though the swimming lessons paid off because she obviously held her breath because she never coughed once and was actually almost above water by herself before Scott got in. She was kicking towards the top very hard. It scared me to death. She was just so tired she forgot she didn't have her float on. While at the beach we visited a small carnival for the kids, had a great dinner at Joe's Crab Shack - the girls all loved the dancing. We did a little shopping but mostly just enjoyed a week of no work, the ocean and the pool. The drive wasn't too bad and surprisingly Audrey did great in the car. She and I drove 1/2 way on Friday night and the rest of the way Saturday morning. Scott flew over Saturday (he had to work Friday night) and actually beat us to Myrtle Beach and had to wait at the airport about an hour before we could pick him up. A few pictures below. We got professional pictures taken but I have to get them scanned and will try to do that soon. Although some of the pictures were just ok the photographer actually got some GREAT shots of Audrey that I hope to share soon.

When we got back Mom and Dad had only 7 days until the movers arrived to pack their house so needless to say we were very busy helping with this. I took off one day to pack the kitchen w/ my sister-in-law and we did it very fast. Then on Friday my dad had an incident at work that required him to have surgery on his arm so we spent all day on Friday (July 10th) in the Emergency Room and Surgery waiting room. Surgery went well and we were able to bring dad home that same friday. Because of the surgery he couldn't drive or pick up anything. He also was very tired and just wanted to rest a lot. So we did what we could to finish cleaning the old house. The movers packed the following Monday and loaded the truck Tuesday. Mom and Dad were suppose to close on their old and new house on Wed but there was a problem w/ the buyers part and it was postponed to Friday but on Friday, July 17th mom and Dad sold their house and bought a new one! The movers unloaded on Saturday and Mom and I unpacked boxed all day Saturday and a good portion of Sunday. The necessities are out so we are now slowly doing what had to be done to get the house in order. It will take a while but we'll get there and their new house is GREAT! It has an AWESOME screen porch that I love.

We are busy planning Audrey's birthday party at Pump It Up on her birthday of August 4th. I can't believe she will be 4. Seems like yesterday I was complaining that she was past her due date and really needed to come see us! She is turning into a little girl talking so much better. She is started to show interest in reading so we are excited for her to start Primrose in August. We think she will learn so much!

I guess that is all for now. Hopefully our lives are slowing down and I can update sooner.

Dancing and Bites

First- Audrey had her 1st ballet and tap lesson on Monday. She really enjoyed it. She said she wants to go back and keeps doing ballet turns in the house so we'll see how the next 5 weeks go.

Second- Audrey got bit by another child at VBS on Monday. It left a full set of teeth marks in her skin and bruised her. She was very calm and about it when she tells the story though. It seemed like no big deal to her. I think my mom, Scott and I were much more freaked about it then she was. She did cry and they put ice on it at school but she never said anything else about it. I guess it happens when a lot of kids are around. At least she didn't seem to care and went back to VBS today so that was nice.

I'll get pictures of ballet and tap class on here soon as I get can. The air at the house is still not fixed and therefore I cannot get to my laptop right now to download pictures. Soon hopefully.

I also got Audrey's birthday party booked today at Pump It Up. She is very excited. This will actually be her 1st friends party. Until now we have always only done family for her birthday so this year we will experience inviting friends.

Hey Mister...

I thought it would be fun to capture some of the funny sayings Audrey has right now.

We went to eat w/ my mom and dad the other night and my dad ordered a milkshake. Audrey started 'sharing' with him. She was drinking so fast that my dad said 'your head is going to fall in'. She just laughed and moved on. Later when no one else was listening and my dad was drinking the milkshake she leaned over and whispered "hey mister, your head is going to fall in".

She calls everyone mister (we have no idea why) and she says it in a deep voice. She also says 'Oh Mercy' and we have no idea where she got that one either.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many others but they are so hard to remember them all.

Right now our air condition is out at the house so we have been staying w/ my parents until it is fixed (hopefully Monday). I went over one night last week to see if it was any cooler in the house so we could stay there but it wasn't. Audrey called my parents to tell them we would need to stay with them and she said "We need to come live with you!". It is quite funny how they mix up words sometimes.

Other than no air we are all doing fine. Scott had to work til 4 am this morning because of the weather in Memphis and Atlanta so he is pretty tired. Audrey has finished t-ball and starts tap and ballet class on Monday for 6-weeks. If she likes it we might sign up for a fall class too. She has started swimming lessons and seems to be ok with them. They are private lessons and she floated on her back last week (with help) and was excited about that so hopefully she'll at least be less afraid of the water before we go on vacation. We leave on vacation in 2 weeks!!! We are so excited for a week off.

May was busy busy busy

We are still here. May was very busy for us. I started out the month by attending the ASPIRE celebration that I was awarded w/ a few months ago by work w/ 400 other co-workers in Walt Disney World. It was AMAZING! They treated us all like VIPs. We got gifts in our room every night, breakfast on the marina every morning. The 1st evening dinner was on a private beach and was beautiful then we got special seats for the Epcot firework show. We did an awesome teambuilding exercise where we built kids bike that were then donated to a local Orlando charity. We got to see cirque du soleil and it was AWESOME. We have private buses to the parks in the afternoon. I was exhausted and not ready to come home even though I missed Scott & Audrey very much. I could have stayed another week w/ that VIP experience. Disney will never be the same after that. A few pics below but I have a ton more. We celebrated my mother-in-law, scott, mine, my brother and my nieces birthdays in May. Audrey has still been playing t-ball. She has one game left. She is doing better hitting mostly w/o the tee. She does get bored in the field some and sits down to play in the dirt.

Audrey is growing up before our eyes. She wants to do more things for herself lately which means she doesn't need me as much and that is sad but I'm mostly happy for her and her independence. We have her busy for the summer. Something everyday but Fridays and the weekend. Dance, Mother's Day Out, Swim Lessons, and Tumbling will keep her busy this summer. We leave for vacation in about 4 weeks and we are super excited.

I'll try to post sooner!

Playing in the dirt
Hollywood Studios Dinner: The park was closed to just us w/ Rock'n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror open to us for unlimited rides- It was awesome!
We had dinner one night at Living Seas in Epcot and Mickey swam from somewhere inside the tank to great us! It was very cool.

This is what greeted us when we arrived the very 1st day for our lunch!

Bunnies and Baseball

Audrey has finally started t-ball season. She had a meltdown the half-way through the 1st game which happened to fall during naptime. Monday's game went much better. There are 10 players on the team and they each get to bat twice and play the field twice. They get 5 pitches from the coach before they have to use the tee. Audrey actually hit one last night and had to use the tee for the other one. You can't get out either you run to 1st and stop and then proceed the bases as the rest of the players hit. She seems to enjoy it. There is a few pictures below of her. We still don't have uniforms and it has been cold both games so she has been in a sweatshirt.

Easter was very nice. I put some pictures below of her in her Easter dress. We had a great Easter. She got to hunt eggs at the event my work puts on the for the kids as well as at school. We had Easter dinner at Mom and Dad's.

Audrey has been so funny lately too. We lost power during the storms on Friday and Audrey was really struggling w/ this concept of the power being out. When we left the house and got in the car she asked if the radio had power or if it was off too! Poor kid- just didn't understand. When we got home and the power was back on she had to check every light before she believed us it was ok.

We are still here...

We are still here and well. Not much going on for us lately but the normal routine - which is fine with me. Audrey finished her basketball season 2 weeks ago. She really seemed to enjoy playing and we actually saw improvement from the 1 game to the last. Maybe she'll love it after all !!! She got a medal for the day and we got some pictures. I'll have to scan her basketball pictures and put them up soon. We signed her up for tball and I believe that starts in April so we are on a little sports break right now. She is off this week with no Mother's Day out or tumbling class due to spring break so Scott has been keeping her busy. She asked to go to the toy store earlier this week so they went and walked around. Wednesday Scott & Audrey went to Murfreesboro to visit Scott's sister and her family. They spent the day up there and come back that night. They had a good time and his sister got a few pictures that I'll share soon. Today Scott is taking her to pump it up, an inflatable playground basically, to jump for a while with Clara (my niece) and Carly (although I don't think Carly will be jumping very much since she's only 5 1/2 months old!) They should be good time and be ready for nap this afternoon after that.

I believe it is safe to say that Audrey is completely potty trained now and we are so excited for that. She's been peeing in the potty for a while now w/ no accidents but the other just wasn't happening for us until this week and she finally got it. I don't why we expected her to do that earlier because as we all well know she does things in her own time. Always has. I mean the girl never crawled and didn't walk until she was 17 months.

We have also introduced the quite game to Audrey and she actually plays pretty well in the car and ask to play again too. This is the best game ever invented for when she gets tired and whines. I never thought it would work but Scott tried it a few weeks ago and she didn't really get it will on the way home last night she was so still and quite playing it- I was AMAZED.

The rewards system we put in place for good behavior does seem to be helping her learn what behavior is acceptable and what is not. I think we'll keep it up for now. She has gone 2 weeks now and gotten her stickers everyday for good behavior. She gets to pick out a toy at the end of the week if she has gotten stickers everyday that previous week. She picked the same toy both weeks- a baby that crawls across the floor. We had to have a pink and purple one so that is what she got.

Scott and I have been thinking about preschools lately and what to do with Audrey next year. We want her to be ready for Kindergarten the following year and not be behind. We really feel like if she has to struggle the 1st year or 2 she'll end up hating school and we definitely don't want that. She has been in Mother's Day out at the church we attend and loves it but we don't really seem a lot of progress toward full letter recognition and writing. The church is starting a preschool programming in the fall but we have decided to move her to Primrose starting in August. We haven't actually enrolled her yet but we have made the decision it is what is best for her. She will miss her friends but will make new ones I'm sure.

Otherwise work is good. I actually got a bonus this year which is great in this economy and extra great since that money is what we are using to send Audrey to Primrose staring in August. I'm very thankful to have a job but to have a job that I like, get a bonus and a raise in this economy is great! I know a lot of people who have lost their jobs- some found new ones and some are still looking. Scott is still working at the airport but they have cut back on hours but we hope that is temporary. The company he works for won the contract at the airport and they will soon be supporting both Northwest and Delta flights so we fully expect the hours to increase again when that contract starts.

The Zeta Tau Alpha Chattanooga Alumnae Chapter is the host for this years TN Zeta Day. It is being held here in Chattanooga on April 4th. As the chair of the event I have been quite busy lately getting everything done. I'm excited to have it here this year and even though it is a lot of work it is so much fun and can't wait to see all my sisters from across the state!

Enjoy a picture of Audrey in her St. Patrick's Day Outfit!

Basketball and Birthday Parties and Catching Up

WOW- It has been a while. We are still here and very busy.

Audrey has been playing basketball. The 1st game the camera battery died, then the next game I forgot the camera, the next game Audrey had a meltdown so finally 2 weeks ago we got some pictures. I'm not sure how many people are suppose to be on her team but 3 weeks ago there was Audrey and one other girl (CJ) and 2 weeks ago there was a little boy Brayden there as well. CJ's grandfather has been serving as their coach and I have to tell you he is GREAT with the kids. They all listen to him and follow his directions well. She has 3 more games to go. Some pictures are below. We signed her up for t-ball which starts in April so more to come in that sport.

We also attended a birthday party for Addie at Pump It Up last week. This place is AWESOME for parties. They staff does everything for you and the parents really get to enjoy the party too. We are thinking about this for Audrey's birthday in August. We are attending another one next Saturday for Carson's birthday. Audrey had a lot of fun at Addie's party and I'm sure she'll love Carson's party too. She was super tired when we finished too! A few pictures from Addie's party is enclosed.

Last Thursday I took Audrey to a tumbling class to try it. She enjoyed it. They took turns with the girls doing forward and back rolls. They are learning cartwheels and got to jump on the trampoline too. She went right out with the class and didn't come back until the class was over and she said she wanted to go back next week so we'll be doing that on Thursdays now. I didn't get any pictures because it was dim in the gym and they were way across the gym from my seat. Maybe soon I'll get some pictures of that.

We started a good behavior sticker chart for Audrey. It seems to have helped stop some of the fits she was throwing everytime we told her no (I know, I know she's spoiled and it's my fault but we are trying to break her). So far this month she only didn't get any stickers one day and had 1 day were she only got 1 sticker instead of 2. We still have a few fits occasionally but they don't last as long or happen as often. We are now trying to get her to poop on the potty. She has been potty trained as far as peeing for a few months ago but we can't get her to do anything else on potty so I'm open to suggestions! We are searching for preschools for next year for her too. Our church (where she goes to Mother's Day Out -MDO) is hoping to have a preschool next year but they are still working on the license so we are searching for a backup plan just in case. We are also looking for summer activities. MDO is having a one day a week during the summer session but that leaves 4 other days open.

Between Audrey's busy social schedule, our work, my planning for the April 4th TN Zeta Day that I'm chairwoman of, other ZTA functions and other normal activies such as cleaning house we are staying very busy.

Hope everyone is doing well. I promise to post sooner!