Countdown to Nebraska Trip

We are flying to Kansas City Sunday morning to meet Josh's family. From there, we will drive to Omaha (or Bancroft) to stay until Tuesday. Then, we will drive in a caravan to Mount Rushmore. We have never been to Nebraska or South Dakota, so we are really excited! Well, I am really excited-Stella has no idea what we are going to do. We will be meeting a lot of Josh's family and going to a family reunion. I have not seen some of them since the wedding and none of them have met Stella, so it should be a lot of fun. So I am asking you guys to pray for safe (and quiet) flights, pleasant road trips, and good weather. It's my first flight alone with Stella, so I am a tad nervous. The last time we flew, if she was acting up I just acted like I didn't know her and Josh took over. That might be a little difficult this time if I am the only person sitting next to her. No posts for awhile(we'll be back the 3rd), but I'll have a lot of photos to post of our mini vacation.

"Peented" Toes

Before you guys start wagging your fingers, hear me out. I was painting my toenails the other day and Stella was watching patiently. She said "Peent" and pointed to her toes. I said "Please?" She said "Peeeeze" and I obliged. You try saying no to her. It's not like I let her drive or anything.



Top 5 Funny Things(this week):

1. Saying her ABC's in no particular order

2. Saying "Oh Yeah!" like the Kool Aid guy

3. Making demands, pausing, and saying please "Open it!......peeeeze?" That's usually how I ask for things as well-ask Josh. I hope she outgrows this one. It doesn't work very well when you get older.

4. Clapping and saying "Yeah!" when we sing something for her

5. Brushing Maybel's hair (with her toothbrush, my hairbrush, the lint brush)

The Atlanta Children's Museum

Fishing-Grandma Polly and Paw Paw Johnny would be so proud
The Great Banana Slide
Loading her shopping cart
Washing dishes

Moon Sand table
The Circus Show!
Watching the circus show
Doing a little dancing at the Circus Show
Clapping with the music-"This guy's really good!"

Train table
Crazy Ball Contraption
Painting

This was fun!


The Children's Museum was so much fun. We became members today and I can't wait to go back. It has so many things to do and Stella thoroughly enjoyed doing them all. The first time she was afraid of the circus performance, but this time she really got into it. I will be glad when the summer is over and the big kids are back in school, though. Some of the kids there today were a little too old to be there. I had a hard time not being a referee when the big kids were running over my toddler like a speed bump. She didn't mind as much as I did, I guess.

The Hat

This is an old picture from May
This is a beautiful gas station hat that Chris Allen bought for Stella. Isn't it lovely? Don't the horses look regal? Stella loves this hat and likes to put it on when she is playing, but she refuses to let me take a picture of her. I can't get her to be still long enough and as soon as she sees the camera, she takes it off.
Tending to her baby
Talking on her celly-probably making lunch plans

Housing Situation and Bubbles

Bubbles!
Give me the bubble wand, please

OK-here we are. We have been looking for homes like crazy! We drive around and write down addresses. Our realtor e-mails us with lists. We go out and look. We make offers. They laugh at us-well, I don't know if they are laughing but they are not accepting anything. It's just so expensive! I keep telling Josh that and he said it is no more expensive than Houston would be. I guess I am a suburb girl and can't get used to big city prices. That really made me sound like a hick, didn't it? Anyway, we may be going out to look again today. Josh is on his way to Alabama for work.

On to happier things-attention moms of small children-Have you guys seen the bubbles from Gymboree? They are AWESOME and they have something in them that makes the bubbles last forever. I don't want to know what it is, but we can blow bubbles and hours later, we will find one or two (that we haven't popped) still around. And they come with a great bubble blower that a toddler can use. We love them!

Making Cookies

Stella and I made cookies Friday. It was so much fun! First, she just stood on the step stool and watched every move I made without touching anything. I started giving her things to pour in and she would do it and hand the measuring cup to me. After mixing, she helped me put the cookies on to the pan. It took twice as long as it normally would, but I didn't mind. What else do we have to do?!?! I kept trying to give her a taste of the dough and she would turn her head and say "No!" Then, after the cookies were in the oven, she decided to have a taste while my back was turned. She kept looking back in the bowl for more, but there was barely any left. She was scraping the bowl!
Playing with Daddy-she gets so excited when he comes home from work. They play while I finish making dinner. She loves her daddy so much.
Kiss, kiss

New Counter

Like it? I found it on Jennifer G's blog and thought it was cute.

4th of July

Waiting for the train
Lisa and Andrew
The calm before the storm
Josh and Andrew
The crowd
The fireworks! (notice the street light in lower left corner)
The burning bush (or Death Fire 2008 that almost killed us all)

We went to Andrew and Lisa's for dinner. Then, they took us on an adventure in Atlanta! We took the MARTA (public transportation) to the Lenox Mall for fireworks. We walked down a little and ended up sitting in the middle of what is normally a very busy intersection (Peachtree and Lenox for you Atlantans...Atlantians...Atlantanians...whatever). Anyway, Stella was playing with Chef Mike (Lisa's dad) and Andrew when BOOM! The first firecracker exploded-and it was deafening. She was climbing over everyone to get to me and literally tried to climb inside of me. She was burrowing her head into my chest and grabbing frantically for her blanket and bunny. I could feel her crying, but couldn't hear her. I kept talking in her ear telling her it was o.k. No help-probably because she couldn't hear me! So I kept looking around to see if anyone else was feeling things hitting them. Josh said he saw something fly through the air. Then, Andrew turned around and showed us a large piece of firework debris. Lisa said she was thinking "This is really cool and close, but kind of dangerous!" We looked over to our right and saw smoke...then flames....then people jumping up and gathering their blankets/food/coolers/etc. and running (o.k., walking quickly) toward us. I jump up and start off in the direction of the train, clutching Stella like we were running for dear life. At this point, I didn't know what was on fire-I just knew it was big and I was praying that it wasn't a firework that was about to shoot flaming balls at our backs. (I know...a tad dramatic) By the time we all made it back to the train station, we found out that the hedges along the street had caught on fire. We're having a drought here, if you didn't know. So-Stella's first fireworks experience was exciting, frightening, and short lived. What fun!

Funny Girl

1. She loves kissing Maybel. She has to grab her by both sides of the head and plant one right on her mouth. She even makes the smacking sound. Maybel hates this and tries to get away from her.


2. When I hear her yelling "Sit Down!" (oddly sounding like a German drill sergeant-"Seet Down!") I know that she is standing on something she is not supposed to. ie: the dining table, her high chair, the coffee table, the desk chair, etc. The other day we went to lunch with a friend and she stood up in her high chair and yelled "Sit Down!" at the top of her lungs.


3. She is a copy cat. If I am painting my nails, she brushes her crayon on her nails. She sits in the computer chair and "types" on the keyboard. She points and says "No, no" to Maybel when Maybel is being hyper. She talks on her cell phone. She pats her baby doll to sleep and covers her with a blanket and says "Awwww baby" in a sweet little voice.


4. She counts to 10 (leaving out a number or two) and claps and says "Yeah!" after 10.


5. She is trying to learn to jump and looks hilarious because she bounces up and down repeatedly and it looks like her feet are stuck in cement. I laugh until I cry at this one-I am so sad that we can't find our video camera in our millions of boxes. I hope she doesn't learn how to actually do it before we find it. The face she makes is priceless-pure concentration.


6. We went to the Children's Museum the other day and she was terrified of the circus clown performance. That's not really funny, but I totally get it.


7. She has a ball machine and every time she pushes the button to start it, she squeals and waves her hands around like it's the first time she has ever seen it.


8. She says "I sorry!" every time she gets hurt. I think it is because I have always said that when she gets hurt-"I'm sorry, Stella."


9. Her interpretation of the word "frog" sounds a lot like another "f" word. It is funny at home, but terribly embarrassing if we see one in public. I try to cover her eyes or change directions so she won't yell it out.


10. She says SO many words, but refuses "ears" and "hair". She says "cheeks, eyes, nose, mouth, knees, feet, fingers, toes, legs, belly button..." but when you point to ears or hair, she says silly nonsense words.