Growing like a Weed

The saying seems to be true: April showers bring May flowers. There were several dreary days at the end of April, but May has kicked off with beautiful weather. We've tried to be outside as much as possible to enjoy the sunshine and the 70+ degree temperatures. I'm hoping that we can soon do our daily walks around the neighborhood like we did last year, in that sliver of time between dinner and bedtime. With the school year winding down, there have unfortunately been several evening activities for both Boomer and me, but I am hoping that by the end of May, we can make it a part of our regular routine again. (We did fit in one walk this week!) Even though it has been tricky to be outside much during the week, we were outside a good amount this past weekend and hope to be again this coming weekend. Last Saturday, we went to Zander's tee ball game and a birthday party for Jared and Ashley's son, Harrison. Zander had quite a cheering section at his game with all the Houstons, Bakewells, and Kennedys there. He did very well hitting the ball off the tee and stopping the ball when it came to him in the field. He plays with other 4- and 5-year-olds, so they are all learning the basics of the game. It is entertaining to say the least!

Zander is #21, standing on 2nd base

Uncle Boomer supporting the team - Go Braves!

There were two major mishaps over the weekend. First, on Friday evening, our dryer broke! We had to resort to hanging our wet clothes around the house, and then on Saturday morning, we found ourselves at Lowe's purchasing a new one. We won't be getting it until Sunday, so until then, my parents have been providing free laundry service. It's actually been pretty nice! Maybe I don't need a new dryer after all... ;)  We did a lot of shopping this weekend between our weekly grocery run to Walmart and then the trip to Lowe's. Emmy loves sitting in the shopping cart, and Daddy gives her an exciting ride by swerving and speeding through the aisles. Emmy is such a dare-devil, and her laughs and giggles only provoke him to go faster!

The second mishap of the weekend was on Saturday afternoon during naptime. We usually put Emmy down while she is still awake, and so she will often 'play' in her crib for a bit until finally going to sleep. I'll see her on the monitor walking around inside her crib or playing with her blanket, moving it around and re-positioning it until it is just where she wants it. There was a loud cry, and we assumed that she was making one last attempt at resisting her nap. Not long after, she was quiet. When I went in to get her later, she had a black eye! We think she must have fallen and hit her eye on the wooden railings of the crib. With the combination of the unsteady mattress and her beginner's balance, I suppose it's surprising it hasn't happened sooner. We have been lucky to have avoided any injuries up until this point. The bruise is currently going through all the many colors of purple, blue, and yellow. It actually looks worse now than it did when I first took these pictures. Hopefully it will heal soon!

Boomer and I had a belated birthday date tonight (Thank you, Grammy!) We had originally planned to go out to dinner on my actual birthday, but then when everyone else's schedules aligned to go out for Japanese, we swapped the date for a family dinner. I've always loved dragging out my birthday anyway! After a nice dinner at 4th Street Filling Station, we then did some shopping for the upcoming YoungLife Golf Tournament. The tournament is next Wednesday, and Boomer is involved each year. He puts in a lot of hard work - I have no idea where he finds the time! We finished off the evening with some ice cream at Mayberry's. Throughout our date, we got several cute pictures from Grammy. Any guesses on what she is doing in the last picture? ... ;)

"Here's my nose!"

"Grammy, no pictures! A little privacy, please!"

As we turn the calendar to May, the weather isn't the only thing that is changing. Emmy is almost 18-months old, and I seem to notice new things about her everyday. All of a sudden, she started saying "daddy" instead of "da-da", a slight difference but one that Boomer and I noticed almost immediately. She says it in the sweetest voice and several times in a row: da-dee, da-dee, da-deeee. She will say it when Boomer is around and when he isn't, but she most certainly knows who she is referring to. I have tried to work with her on other words that end in "-ee" (like Mommy, Grammy, and Emmy), but so far, only Daddy. I've also noticed that Emmy has learned the daily routines of our mornings and evenings. During bedtime, I can ask Emmy to close the door to her room and get her blanket from where it hangs on the side of the crib. I love watching her proudly prance around the room while she does these things. She is still showing resistance to putting our books away when we are finished reading, but most nights, she is very helpful through the bedtime routine. She willingly opens her mouth to brush teeth, even sticking out her tongue when I say "tongue," and she will turn out the lights as we go from the bathroom to the bedroom. Like with bedtime, she has learned our morning routine, too. She will often say or point to the next thing on the list: socks, shoes, hair bow ("bo"). She'll also reach for her jacket when she sees Daddy putting on his. Emmy LOVES her shoes. Right now, we are rotating between three different pairs: her size-3 pink tennis shoes, a size-4 pair of Nikes, and a pair of white Mary Janes for church. She likes to take them off and on throughout the day, and she has figured out how to strap and unstrap the velcro on each pair. I think she likes her shoes so much because it is the only item that she can wear which can also double as a toy! Here she is on the way to church wearing a pair and playing with another!

Emmy is almost in size 4 diapers. I say 'almost' because I just bought our first box of that size, but she is still wearing size 3's for now. We will probably be using up the last of the 3's in the next few days. Sometimes I look at pictures and can hardly believe how big she is getting. We go next Friday for her 18-month appointment, and I am curious to see her weight and height. Stay tuned!

Back-to-Back Proms

Boomer and I have spent the last two Saturdays at our schools' proms. If our count is correct, that makes #12 and #13 - that's a lot of proms! The Forbush Prom was first, and it was at the Bermuda Run Country Club like last year. It is a beautiful venue, and this year's theme was "Enchanted Forest." Boomer and I went out to dinner beforehand to a restaurant we had never been to called Mozelle's. It is in downtown Winston, and it had a cool, quaint vibe. Although we tend to go back to our tried-and-true restaurants, I love going to new ones, too. Boomer ordered the shrimp-and-grits, and I got the fried chicken with mac & cheese. Luckily my dress had some give to it! Our reservation was at 5PM, and even though we enjoyed a slow dinner, we still had some time to kill before our prom shift at 8PM. It was a beautiful day, so we went to Wake's campus to walk around. There were so many college kids on campus, throwing Frisbees and footballs, and I'd like to think we would have fit in if we weren't so overdressed. 

After a quick stop at Krispy Kreme for a doughnut and some coffee, we arrived at Prom for a few hours of chaperoning. Boomer had some principal duties throughout the evening, but I managed to steal him away for a few pictures.

Not only did Aunt Megan let me borrow a dress for the prom (and for the ESHS Prom, too!), she (and Uncle Zack, not pictured in the photos) watched Emmy for the evening. Based on the pictures, it looked like they had lots of fun eating pizza, going for a walk, and running in circles around the house. This is the second time that Emmy has stayed the night at her cousins' house, and I think it was another success. Megan said that Emmy tried to keep up with her cousins, and as soon as they got their pjs on, she wanted hers on, too. She slept well through the night, and then Boomer picked her up first thing in the morning before we headed to church. Thank you, Aunt Megan and Uncle Zack, for watching our girl!

Earlier in the day, just for fun, I brought Emmy into the bathroom with me and let her sit on her potty. It too is from her cousins (they no longer need it and are so nice to share with us!) I am undecided about when to actually attempt potty training. Emmy is still little, but perhaps if we do more sitting like this, it will help when the time comes. Next step: remove pants! :)

This past Saturday, we went to prom for my school. We took a few years off from the double proms, but we are now back to two proms a year! East Surry's prom was in Dobson at The Barn at Heritage Farm. Before my shift at 7:30PM, we met up with our friends Jared and Ashley. They live in Pilot Mountain, very close to my school but not very close to Kernersville. When you throw in two administrators' busy schedules and three kiddos between the two families, we just don't get to see them as much as I wish we could. Since we were in their neck of the woods, it worked well to meet for dinner before heading over to prom. My assignment was to be at the door checking people in and doing ballots for Prom King and Queen. Boomer enjoyed being my date and having a stress-free evening as my plus-one! Grammy came over to watch Emmy this time; we are so thankful for family!

In between the two proms, we celebrated my and Zander's birthdays! #32 for me, and #5 for Zander. My birthday was on Monday, and a dreary Monday at that. But we made the best of it! After the workday, we met up with my mom, dad, Gma, and the Houstons for dinner at Fire & Sticks, a Japanese steakhouse in High Point. The kiddos were entertained by our chef and liked watching the fire and the smoke. Emmy ate a good portion of Boomer's, Grammy's, and my soup and zucchini, as well as a few bites of rice and chicken. She has always liked our local fast-food Japanese place, so I was not surprised that she was gobbling down the food! We celebrated with a few candles (not all 32!) and like my mom's birthday last week, all the cousins wanted to help blow them out. Emmy came a little too close to the fire, and you can see Daddy was on guard to protect her! 

 

Zander's birthday was on Saturday; it is hard to believe that he is 5! It seems like just yesterday that I was wondering if I would be sharing my birthday with my nephew, but then he came a few days later. To celebrate the big day, Megan planned such a fun party at Jump-in-Fun, an indoor bounce-park. The kids and adults all had fun jumping on the big inflatables and going down the slides. I thought that Emmy would be too small to really do anything, but she loved it! She especially loved flopping down on the mats and going down the slides with Mommy and Daddy.

Emmy must have had a little too much fun at her cousin's party, because she has been a little off today. Her energy has been low, and she has also had a cough and runny nose. These symptoms have us thinking that she is dealing with allergies, but between yesterday and today, she has also spit-up three times - that has concerned me! We stayed home from church this morning so that she could rest, and I am hoping that tomorrow she is back to herself. We have a full week ahead, so I want her to be healthy. It feels like I am saying that a lot - "it's a full week". There is a lot on the calendar between now and the end of the school year. Even though the days are filled with work, laundry, packing lunches, and errands, we do our best to fit in walks after school and books before bed. Here are a few other snapshots from our week! 



Countdown to Summer

It's back to our regular routine! After Spring Break, I was worried that the work week would drag on, but it has actually gone by quite quickly. The hardest part of the whole week was right when the alarm went off Monday morning. It was a whole two hours earlier than when we got up the week before, and it was hard rolling out of bed while it was still dark outside. Emmy has done a great job adjusting back to our routine. I was a little nervous about her reaction to going back to daycare after a full week with Mommy, but as far as we can tell, it has been smooth. Probably the funniest part of the week was getting back the proofs for Emmy's school pictures. Her school had Spring Picture Day on the Monday right after the break, and I think her face shows exactly how we all were feeling! :)

I think I will save my money and not purchase pictures this time! Her fall pictures were so cute and worth purchasing, but aside for a few laughs, I don't think I would put these up in our home...

This week, we kicked off the April birthday celebrations with Grammy's birthday on Tuesday. We all had dinner together at the Loop (minus Boomer who had an event at school - we missed him!). The grandchildren loved helping Grammy blow out the candle on her cupcake; we had to light it several times so that everyone got a turn. Emmy was quite mesmerized by Grammy's special cupcake, as you can see in the picture. There were mini cupcakes for everyone else, and even Emmy got one! She loved the icing and the cake. 

 The weekend ahead is supposed to be in the mid-70s! I hope that we can spend some time outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Hopefully spring is here to stay! Now that we are back at school for the final quarter, it is tempting to start the countdown to summer. Having the time off with Emmy will be so nice, and I am looking forward to Boomer having a lighter schedule. But I don't want to wish away the next two months. We have a lot of fun things planned: a couple of proms, more April birthdays, a race with my sister, a spa day, and Memorial Weekend at the lake. While I am certainly excited for summer, there is a lot to be excited about right now. It is important to enjoy the moment and take time to smell the roses (or tulips!) :)

Spring Break 2018

We have had the best week! When I made the decision last year to leave Admissions and return to high school, a big positive was the 10-month calendar and the other breaks that come with the teacher schedule. I was longing to spend more time with Emmy and to find a better balance of being a working mom. The past week has given me just what I was looking for - more focused time to be a mom. It has also given me a good taste of what summer may be like! In addition to the extra time with Emmy, I've also enjoyed walks with friends, runs with my sister, and working out at the gym. Last weekend, I met up with my friend Michelle and her daughter Stella. The weather was beautiful for a late afternoon walk. Michelle, too, is a working mom, so a lot of our conversation centered around balancing work and motherhood. I am so thankful for the mom friends that God has put in my life!

On Monday, we met up with Caroline and Coley. The weather was beautiful for another walk, and Emmy doesn't mind being in her stroller as long as we keep moving. We did a loop around downtown Kernersville, topped off by a sweet treat of custard and doughnuts. Coley was also on Spring Break and traveling through Kernersville on her way to the coast; Caro, who works a real 12-month job, had taken the day off to have a long weekend. The three of us had just been together a few days before with the other Morganton girls, but it was so good seeing them again. After leaving the girls, we met up with Daddy to sign tax paperwork and then had dinner out at East Coast Wings.



On Tuesday, we had a spontaneous field trip with Grammy to the Dewberry Tulip Farm. The farm is in Kernersville and no more than 15 minutes from our house. My mom had gone just the day before with a friend, and she thought it would be a perfect activity for Emmy. We had fun exploring the farm, seeing the animals, and then cutting a few tulips to take home. Emmy was a little skittish around the animals. Even though they were behind fencing, she was not interested in reaching out to pet them. After walking around the farm, we then went to see the tulips. Since the tulips are in bloom for only a short amount of time, the farm was closing to the public on Wednesday. We hope to go back in July when they will re-open with sunflowers!

 

 

On Wednesday, we had our biggest adventure of the week - the Greensboro Science Center. Even Daddy took the day off to go with us! We went with Aunt Megan, Grammy, Zander, and Maddox. For Boomer and me, it was our first time, but Emmy has actually been to the Science Center before. Last summer, when my mom was watching her, all three cousins would pile in the backseat of Grammy's car and go on fun field trips. I remember getting the pictures last year and being so jealous!

 When we arrived to the Science Center, there was quite a long line. It seems a lot of other Spring Breakers had the same idea we did! Overall, the crowds weren't really too bad. Between the outdoor zoo, the indoor aquarium, and the other hands-on play areas, there are a lot of things to do once you get in. I decided to go ahead and buy the yearly membership so that Megan and I can take the kiddos several times over the summer. Emmy liked strolling through the zoo and walking around near the tanks of the aquarium. Like at the tulip farm, she wasn't too keen on petting the animals, but she would at least let Boomer hold her close to them.

Emmy didn't take her nap until close to 2:30PM on that day - two hours later than usual! But she was pleasant all the way home and hammed it up for Aunt Meg's camera.

We stayed closer to home on Thursday, first with a workout for Mommy at the YMCA, then Music & Movement at the library followed by a picnic lunch at the park with the cousins, Sarah, Luke, and Laurel. Emmy loved moving around at the library. She would pause to look around and listen to the music; then she would dart off across the room, giggling and smiling. It gave me a glimpse of what she may be like at daycare when she is around a lot of other kids her age. I loved watching her be so independent. After the library, we headed over to the park. The temps were in the upper 50s, but with a jacket and in the sun, it felt nice. At the park, Emmy loved going down the slide on her belly. Grammy and I tried to get her to go down on her bottom, but my little daredevil kept going down face first!

 Today, we visited Great Grandma (although I forgot to take any pictures!), and then this evening we went out to dinner and walked around the mall for a little bit. Boomer and I are not big shoppers, but it wasn't too crowded and it was fun strolling Emmy around while we window-shopped. We finished off the evening with some doughnuts. The Hot Light was on - we had to stop! :)

It's hard to believe that my 10-day break is now down to just 2 days. We originally had planned to go to Lazy 5 Ranch tomorrow, but now the weather is calling for rain. We will likely be staying indoors instead. Over the past few days, we have fit in a lot of fun adventures. We've strayed from our regular routine and shifted nap schedules and pushed back bedtime. It has felt nice to be able to have a more open schedule and no alarm clocks. We have had the best week and perhaps a low key weekend will be just what we need to get ready for the work week ahead. So long, Spring Break! Summer - we can't wait to see you soon! :)