Off to "school"!

Last Tuesday was Miss Felicity's first day of "school"...or, Mother's Day Out, where she is in the Teddy Grahams class. We went to the open house the week before and she was a bit timid at first. We have temporarily (I hope) entered the separation anxiety stage again, so I wasn't sure how it would go. When we drop her off at church she generally only cries at the very beginning and is all smiles after...at least, she's always happy when we pick her up and that's what the teachers tell me. At the open house, once she found the baby doll and the stroller, she was all set...so, I figured she'd do okay. Plus, I think she's type of kiddo that will enjoy all the activities at school.

So the night before I packed up all her princess gear that she had picked out for school:

Lunch included her favorites - peas and fruit, complete with a little note from mama and dada (and a drawing of Foofa) 

 We started the big day with a healthy breakfast of yogurt, milk and banana...

Now, I tried to get some cute shots of her before she headed off to school...

But as you can see, she was not into posing. She was ready to go!

When I picked her up, she was helping the teacher clean. So proud...she must take after her daddy!

 They are studying the color green, the number 1, the letter R and learning about bananas. Here she is showing off her artwork she made with banana peels. Mama and Dada think it is beautiful!

And her official first day report:

Are we ready for this yet??

So for about three months now, when Felicity would go to the bathroom in her diaper, she would start frantically pointing to it and get my attention. I'd ask her if we needed to change her diaper and she'd say yes and head back to her changing table. This was not every single time, mind you, but often enough that it was clear she was annoyed by sitting in a dirty diaper. At the suggestion of some friends and family, I got her a potty about a month ago, but honestly, I just didn't feel up to the task of potty training. She just turned 18 months six days ago, so I was thinking it was too early and between all the house showings and everything, I don't know - I just didn't want to try to tackle this right now.

But this past week she started showing other signs. Now when she needs to poop, she will sneak off into one of the bathrooms and close the door to do her business. If you open the door and try to go in there, she flails her arms, screams "no!" and slams the door in your face. So lovely...

Then earlier this week, she had a dirty diaper and pointed at it letting me know she wanted me to change her. I guess I wasn't fast enough, because I turned around and she had gone and gotten her diaper bag and had pulled out the diapers and wipes. She then preceded to open the wipes and start wiping herself up!

This was the final straw. When I told the other moms in my playgroup, they were like, "you need to potty train her!" So, we started yesterday. I don't even really know what I'm doing. I haven't read any books or anything. Why am I not really looking forward to this? I will take any suggestions on methods that worked! I will say that I am very proud of her for being ready and trying so hard. So far, she's gone in the potty three times and once on the floor. Progress? I guess, but whew....I don't think I'm ready for this.

Grandpa Moss, L-view...and a song

Justin's grandpa, Jack Moss, passed away a few weeks ago. He had battled cancer and liver failure when the Lord finally called him home. He was a true man of faith who lived his life well and left an incredible legacy. Grandpa Moss will be greatly missed.

Justin traveled to Florida for the funeral this past weekend, and although I sent him with a camera, alas, he returned with no photos. While he was there Felicity and I went to Longview so I could help Ryan pack for college (he leaves for SCAD this Friday) and to celebrate my parents' birthdays.

At the birthday dinner...

While there, my brother, Ryan and I recorded a version of the worship song, "How He Loves Me". Ryan arranged, produced and recorded all the music and he and I both did the vocals. He is super talented and I've wanted to record something with him for a long time. I'm so glad we got the chance to hang out before he left. I love doing stuff like this, but don't seem to get the chance very often. We both were in our creative element, so to speak, so if you are looking for an explanation of the attire - that's it. :-) We had the best time.

Ry, you are my creative hero. Thanks for bringing so much beauty to our lives. I can't wait to see the masterpieces you will continue to create. Thank you for always inspiring and encouraging me. I love you so much.

Annual trips - Milwaukee & Longview

Every year Justin goes to Milwaukee for Northwestern's Annual Meeting. Last year Felicity and I went to Longview while he was there and this year we did the same thing...so it appears we both have our "annual meetings" now. We actually got to Longview on Saturday while my family was still in Savannah with Ryan. [Side note: Ryan is going to SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) in the fall, so they were there for orientation....I'm not even going to attempt to hide my jealously - really cool city, the freedom of college, surrounded by creative, inspiring people and design....ahhhh, but I digress.]

So Felicity and I went down on Saturday and had lunch with my grandparents and then swimming and dinner at Lyndsey's parents house. We grew up together and Lyndsey, who lives in D.C. now was in town, so it worked out perfectly! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures during the day on Saturday, but I did manage to capture some of the insanity later that night...or it might have been early Sunday morning. It was so late, I couldn't even tell you. My parents and Ryan's flight didn't get in until late, so I was planning on going to sleep and seeing them on Sunday morning, but right before I was getting into bed, I heard someone downstairs, so I went down to say hi. Well my "hi" turned into an hour long hunt for a lizard.

Does anyone else have these disgusting little dry, albino lizard looking things in their house? Justin and I have found them in our house too. I'm hoping this is not just a Gillam/Cleveland curse. I was about to go to bed when my mom mentioned something about watching out for these lizards and I casually mentioned that I had seen one in her room earlier that night. BIG mistake. She FREAKED out. She really has a phobia of these things. We're talking, screaming, standing on the bed, can't sleep in the house until we find it...not to sound too dramatic, but it involved moving furniture and well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves --

 "Almost had him!!"

 VICTORY!! 

Thank you, Ryan for coming in and FINALLY killing the monster so we could all go to bed!

Minus the lizard incident (which I have to admit was pretty humorous), we had a lot of fun while we were there. Our main project for the time I was there involved a lot of this:

Cleaning out my mom's closet...I was actually prepared for it to be really boring, but we had a lot of laughs and she actually got rid of a lot of stuff. That is very impressive for her!

We spent more time at Grandma and Papa's where Felicity was quite content playing "pharmacy" with their old, empty pill bottles. I don't know why we buy her any toys. She always prefers to play with what I would consider trash.

 

We also attempted to watch "The Little Mermaid" (on VHS, you might notice)...complete with the doll and nightgown, but Felicity really paid little attention. I, on the other hand, fully enjoyed the entire movie.

 And lastly, I went to see Hung and got a major haircut - a pixie! It is all gone!! He probably cut off a good 18 inches. Not sure if this picture gives a good representation of it, but my hair is not much longer than Justin's now. Justin knew I was getting it cut while he was in Milwaukee, but it was fun to show up and surprise him at the airport. Nevertheless, it has been a fun change and I'm enjoying it so far.

As always, we had lots of fun in L-view, but of course, were glad to be back home with Daddy.

Sweet summertime fun

To say that it is hot would be a huge understatement. It has been in the triple digits for weeks. But I'm trying to be thankful for warm weather (note to self: remember these days when it is bitter cold!) and for AC! I've been a little sparse with my updates this summer, so here's a recap of how we've been spending our days together...

Cooking with mommy --

Swimming --

(still loves sticking her head underwater...)

Piggyback rides with Mommy --

Push ups on Daddy's back (Justin's new workout) --

Art projects --

Outside art projects = sidewalk chalk + one hot little ragamuffin

Playing outside

Playing babies

Watching our Felicity's favorite show - Yo Gabba Gabba

Reading

Hope you are enjoying your summertime too...happy hot summer days!

Swimming lessons, July 4 and sticker beards

Happy July 5! We've been busy the past few weeks. First, Felicity graduated from Waterbabies swim class last Friday. It was a lot of fun. We went for a 30 min. class everyday for two weeks. We actually learned a lot more than I thought we would and had great teachers. Miss Felicity has absolutely no fear of the water (or anything else for that matter). I adore her adventurous spirit, but whew! If you are not watching her every single minute, you're in trouble. Her favorite part of class? Hands down -- jumping off the side. She gets a running start and will jump in even if you are not there to catch her. She was the lifeguards worst nightmare. But lots of fun for Fe...and mommy. :-)

Getting ready for class:

We are really into stickers these days. As in, it can keep her occupied for a good 20 minutes. In case you didn't know it, that is a LONG time around here. She is OBSESSED with putting them on her face.

Exhibit A:

And you can't even see the beard that covers her entire other cheek. I counted 36 stickers when I peeled them off before she went to bed. It is annoying to find them all over the house, but they are way less messy than other things.

And for July 4 we joined our friends, the Mellos for the fireworks show at Royal Oaks Country Club. It was so sweet of them to invite us and we had a great time. I wasn't sure if Fe was going to last that late or even if the fireworks would keep her interested, but she was a trooper. She actually sat in Justin's lap and was mesmerized by the whole thing.

Felicity and Wesley - they are good buds.

Watching the big show with Dad --

P.S. And we are 99.9% sure we are putting our house on the market and moving to McKinney. Eeek!! There. I actually said it. That scares me, but in a good way. Anyway, if you or anyone is looking for a house -- let me know!! I might post some house-promoting photos on here later. We'll make you a sweet deal. :-)