A Song in Her Heart

As I have mentioned before, Eliza LOVES to sing and does so throughout the day. This is the concert she performed for us recently.

**Note of Disclosure** I will admit to being the parent that listens to and exposes our child to the songs of Lady Gaga, however I am NOT the parent who taught Eliza the lyrics to "My Humps".

Perfect Sunday

The weather was pretty brutal this summer, so we are supper grateful to see the return of cooler temperatures. Recently Eliza and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and walked down to the duck pond and park located at the entrance of our subdivision.

We took some stale hamburger buns and feed them to the ducks. Eliza was having a great time feeding the ducks until a super aggressive mean duck grabbed the bread right out of her hand. After that we decided that we should probably head over to the playground.

Eliza had a great time on the playground and the mean duck stayed away.

More Birthday Fun

Recently one of Eliza's sweet friends from school invited us to her third birthday party. A's parents had her party at a really fun bouncy house place called Pump It Up.

In the beginning, Eliza was very intimidated and she just wanted to watch the other kids. Eventually she warmed up to the idea and enjoyed bouncing around.

After about an hour an half of bouncing fun, it was time for pizza and cupcakes. This was the FIRST time Eliza had ever eaten pizza! We had offered her pizza in the past but she had always turned her nose up at it. However when she saw all of buddies from school eating it - she chowed down!

Unfortunately I never got a picture of Eliza and the birthday girl by themselves, but I thought this one of her little gang of friends turned out pretty cute.

Birthday Party Fun

A few weekends ago, Eliza and I road tripped to the other side of town for our friend Greer's 4th birthday party. Greer had a Snow White themed party at The Little Gym.

After attending a party for Greer's younger sister, Harper, at The Little Gym last year, we enrolled Eliza in gymnastics classes at The Little Gym in our neighborhood, so I think she felt right at home. She had a great time running around the gym, climbing over things, and exploring all of the cool things this gym has to offer.



The Little Gym is a great place to have a party, as they keep the kids constantly entertained, but Eliza's favorite activity was by far the parachute. . . this is her favorite during her classes as well.



The adorable birthday girl got to ride in the middle of the parachute as we all sang "Happy Birthday".

Eliza was in awe of the cake, and told me at least a dozen times that Snow White was so "bootiful". She also told anyone who would listen that she is going to be Snow White for Halloween.

Happy Birthday Greer. . . . thanks for inviting us to your party!

A Few Words From Eliza

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day Weekend in Horseshoe Bay with my mom and stepdad. Eliza was very excited to see her Grammy and Granddaddy. The weather was beautiful and we were able to take the boat out on the lake for a couple of hours.


Eliza was a little unsure about the boat at first but it didn't take her long to figure out that being out on the water was a ton of fun. Her favorite thing to do was to run from the front of the boat (where Steve and I were sitting) to the back of the boat where her Grammy was sitting. Granddaddy offered to let her drive - but she wasn't quite ready for that - maybe next time!
She also had a great time watching all of the "water scooters" aka jet skies racing around on the lake.

Once we got back to Grammy's house Eliza decided that Mickey and Minnie needed a ride on her train, and after she took a nap, she convinced Grammy that we needed to go for a ride in her golf cart. Eliza loved riding to the mail box in the golf cart with me and Grammy.

Eliza and Grammy also spent some quality time watching Dora the Explorer and Wonder Pets, and Stephen and I had the opportunity to have some quality time together.

We were very grateful that Eliza's grandparents offered to watch her, so we could catch a movie. I always love spending adult time with my husband, unfortunately I did not love The American, with George Clooney. This movie is a total bore but we did get to see some Clooney hiney - so that made it a little bit better!

We all had a terrific weekend in the Hill Country and I know Eliza wasn't ready to head home on Sunday afternoon, but I promise we will come back soon!

Halloween Costume

I know it is a little early to be thinking about Halloween, but last year I waited too long to find Eliza a costume and I had trouble finding something in her size that wasn't tacky or cheesy or off the charts expensive. I didn't want to repeat last year's mistake so I started looking this past weekend.



Eliza loves all of the Disney Princesses, so after some searching on Amazon, I found a couple of choices I thought that she would really like that wouldn't break the bank.

I showed her a precious Tinkerbell and Cinderella costume. I knew that she would she would just love them - WRONG. She has a mind of her own and she wanted to pick her own costume. She did pick a princess, but my blond hair, blue eyed little girl decided that she wanted to be . . . . . . . .

So we are now the proud owners of a Snow White costume!

Life With a Two Year Old: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Now that we are almost at the half way point of the Terrible Two's, I thought I would take a look at what life is really like with a two year old.

What is good about having a two year old?

1. She loves to give her Dad zurfuls at bedtime (blowing raspberries on your cheek )

2. She is becoming more and more independent . . . "Mama I do it myself!"

3. She will sit down and listen to a story. . . . .and she loves going to the library.

4. She is the funniest person I know - seriously, what a character!

5. Getting to talk with her - she always has plenty to say.

6. No more diapers! (we still do a pull-up for nap and over night).

7. She loves to sing while we are in the car. Lately her music of choice has been the Beatles.

8. She carries her dolls and animals around and hugs them close and sings to them :)

9. She wakes up in a good mood and can usually be heard on the monitor saying " Mommy! Come! I need to pee - pee!"

10. Her manners - she always says please and thank you .

11. Ponytails! She finally has hair!

12. Swimming - she loves to spend time in the pool and would stay in the water all day if we let her.

What is bad about having a two year old?

1. She hasn't quite figured out how to blow her own nose yet.

2. The I don't want to be in the shopping cart so I'm going to say I have to go potty game.

3. She's a finicky eater. One night she'll eat a ton of something and the next time she won't touch it. She hates vegetables and pretty much refuses to eat them.

4. She's getting to that I want to pick out my clothes and do everything for myself stage. Getting dressed in the morning is never a fast process any more.

5. The impending fear that she might have a potty accident in the car or in public (she hasn't yet though).

What is ugly about having a two year old?

1. The drama. There are occasions that require laying her head on the floor and screaming.

2. Princess is not good at sharing.

3. Hitting or throwing things because she is mad . . . .a few days ago poor Bob got hit in the head with her tea pot.

4. A demanding nature . . . . Many sentences begin with " I WANT . . . ."

5. The back seat of my car. It is like it has been sandblasted with animal cracker particles.

6. BM accidents- gross.

Alex's Birthday Party

Eliza's friend Alex recently celebrated his 2nd birthday with a bash at the Children's Museum. We had never been there before and so we were very excited to go and check it out.

My favorite thing about this museum was that they have a "Toddlers Only" room. It is just for those who are 3 and under. Eliza was entertained the entire time we were there and I didn't have to worry about her getting trampled by bigger kids.

After exploring the museum it was time for Eliza's favorite part of any party . . . CUPCAKES!!!

I think the birthday boy was enjoying his cupcake too.

Happy Birthday Alex! We had a great time at your party - thanks for inviting us.

Cousins

While in El Paso for my grandmother's funeral, I was grateful that I was able to spend time with my all of my extended family. We are all scattered about the country, so even though the circumstances that brought together were quite sad, it was nice to see every one and catch up on their lives.




Nicole loves to take pictures with her Aunt Mare.

A.J. spent a great deal of time chasing after Joe. This little boy is always on the go.

My grandfather with two of his great grandchildren - Addi and her new little brother Brooks.

Aunt Courtney giving Brooks some love.

The adorable Miss Norah.

Addi and her her sweet momma Mandee.

I think Nicole really enjoyed her Shirley Temple.

Kristin giving snuggling with a very sleepy Brooks.

Brother and sister in the midst of a very serious checker game.

My cousin Amy shared the news with all of us that the newest cousin would be making a debut in December! Congrats Amy and Mark!