June 2014

The month of June brought a bit of a slower pace, thankfully. However, it also brought the yucky hot, humidity with it. But, I'll take June heat over January freezing any day. So, the name of the game for the summer has been finding as many ways to cool off as we can.

Since our crappy neighborhood has no pool, I decided to go old school and bring out the sprinkler for the kids to play in. They loved it, however the water bill loved it more so that has been a limited thing so far.

Since our bank account can only handle so much of the sprinkler running, I found an awesome FREE alternative in the Birkdale Village splash pad. Its really sad that Aubrey is 5 and this is the first time I've taken her. Both kids were in heaven and would have played for hours if I would have let them.

We also started both kids in swim lessons this summer. We've wanted to sign Aubrey up the past 4 years, but money and time have always been a factor. But, there was no more putting it off, especially since we are able to go to the lake more often. Both kids have enjoyed their lessons and have done very well so we are happy we finally signed them up.

And, of course, what is summer without ice pops? Mason wasn't quite sure what to do with one at first, but managed to eat about 1/2 of one before dropping it on the porch.

Aubrey also attended her first camp this year. Her dance studio offered a week-long summer dance camp so we signed her up. She wasn't sure about going at first, but by the time the first day ended, she didn't want to leave. They learned 2 dances that and did a ballet puppet show with puppets and scenery they created so I was pretty impressed. Plus, Aubrey got to dance with one of my oldest friends Christy and I think she might have caught the dance bug from her. Aubrey was always whining that she didn't want to go to dance and didn't like it, but we forced her to stick with it. That all changed after a week with Christy. Now she leaps and twirls all over the house and says she can't wait to start dance again this fall. I'm so excited that she seems more enthusiastic about dancing now. It was such a huge part of my life for so long and I would love to share that with her.

I have really enjoyed watching the kids enjoy all the fun summer activities and so thankful that we are able to provide them with the opportunity to do those things.

May 2014

The month of May is always such a crazy month in our house and this May was no exception.

We started out the month at the Mt. Holly Spring Festival. Its been an annual tradition for me to go almost every year since it started in the 80's, I believe. I've missed a few years here and there, but I always try to make it if I can, even if its just for nostalgia's sake. We met my dad and sister there and everyone was entertained by watching Aubrey and Mason enjoy it so much. Between bouncy houses, balloon animals, funnel cakes, and dunking booths, I'm not sure which fascinated the kids the most. After Spring Fest, we came back to the house to prepare for Todd's birthday dinner. We celebrated a bit early because his sister wasn't going to be here for his birthday and there weren't many other free weekends on our schedule. Todd smoked ribs on the grill and they were fantastic.

Mason and my sister enjoying Mason's first funnel cake.

The next weekend in May brought Mother's Day. We started out our celebration the Friday before with my parents since my mom has to work on Sundays. That Saturday Todd and I took a much needed date night and went out with some friends for a birthday celebration. Sunday morning we did brunch with Todd's parents at Cracker Barrel. Those butter pecan pancakes were totally worth the 1 hour we had. Then, Aubrey and I did the mommy/daughter mani/pedis at the nail salon. That will probably be our last mother/daughter trip to the salon for a while because a 5-year old just doesn't have the patience to sit still that long. But, it was still fun and we had a great time. We ended the evening by grilling outside and it was the perfect wrap to the day.

Enjoying our mother/daughter pedis

The next week brought Aubrey's kindergarten registration. It was neat to see the classrooms where Aubrey will spend so much time next year. The parents sat through a presentation while the future kindergartners played in the classrooms. After that we completed the kindergarten registration and it really hit me that it was so real. I had been preparing for this for the past 5 years, but I still got teary. It just seemed so grown up. Although Aubrey was nervous prior to getting there, she enjoyed spending time with her new teachers and peers and really didn't want to leave. We were able to pry her out with the promise of going to Spirit Night for MICS at Chick-Fil-A, the first of many, many fundraisers I know we'll attend for the school.

The next weekend was the dance recital. But, then the following Monday was Aubrey's last day of preschool. It was so sad walking her to her class for the last time. I just kept thinking about the first time I carried her into daycare and how sad I was to leave her. Now, I wish I could just leave her in that class forever if it meant she wouldn't grow up. I was able to hold it together in front of her and then cried in the car. All these growing up things being thrown at me at one time just sucked. That Wednesday was preschool graduation and the after party.

Last day of school picture

The next weekend was Memorial Day, so we got to celebrate a nice long weekend. We went out on the boat with Todd's dad and friends and it was perfect. The water was still way to chilly to swim in, but outside was awesome. I can't wait to spend more time on that boat this summer.

Memorial Day on the boat

To wrap up the month, we went to the first of many summer birthday parties of Aubrey's friends. It was nice to go a party where both of the kids were invited and Mason enjoyed himself just as much as Aubrey, even not knowing a soul.

Aubrey and Landon and another friend at the super hero party

On top of all the events of the month, we had some other newsworthy things happen. We finally moved Aubrey to a seat belt positioning booster seat and moved Mason to the high back harnessed booster. Aubrey couldn't get herself in the harnessed booster easily enough and for school, that has to be a quick trip in the afternoons because of the carpool line. After a month of stressing and wondering if she was ready, I bit the bullet and bought it. It is so nice that she can get herself in and out on her own since it takes so much time to get Mason in his seat. Hopefully, that is the last car seat we will have to buy. Once Aubrey outgrows this seat, she'll hopefully be in a regular seat and Mason can move to the booster. I just hopes it works out that easy.

First time in her new seat

First time in his new seat (the t-strap was fixed later, just in case any car seat police want to judge)

Another big girl moment of the month was Aubrey getting her ears pierced. We had been talking about it for months, but really wanted it to be Aubrey's decision. Many of her friends have their ears pierced and Aubrey made comments that she wanted to wear earrings herself, but wasn't sure about the piercing process. She finally decided that she was ready, so we decided that would be a great graduation present. She was pretty psyched about the whole thing and really enjoyed picking out her earrings. Unfortunately, we picked a time to go to Claire's when there was only one associate, meaning she had to get one ear done at a time. Bad call. The second that first earring went through her ear, she lost it and started crying. We had to do some fast convincing to get her to allow the second one to be done. She was pretty unhappy and tearful about the ordeal for an hour or so, but she eventually warmed to up to the earrings after catching glimpses of herself in the mirror that afternoon. Now, we are counting down the 6-ish weeks left until we can change them out for some of the other cool earrings people have already given her.

Todd also started working more seriously with Aubrey on the piano this month. They have been having more regular lessons and Aubrey has to practice every day. We also also practicing a lot on her letters/sounds and writing to get her more ready to read, so we are trying to be careful and not overwork her before she starts school. However, I am seeing progress in the all of the areas, which is re-encouraging. I can only imagine when the progress we'll see once school starts.

Practicing with the headphones on because mommy can only handle so much of hearing the same few notes 10 times in a row

So, wow. That was a novel. It really was a crazy, crazy month. June looks to be a little calmer and I am glad.

Her first graduation

A moment I have been dreading/looking forward to for the past year has been Aubrey's preschool graduation. I kept in the back of mind all year, but really wished it would not happen. I mean, I am excited to know she has grown and shown she is ready for kindergarten, but I really don't want to admit my baby girl is moving to elementary school. I remember her first day of preschool and how nervous we were. She has grown up so much and learned so much since that and its amazing. But, in my mind, she's still that little girl and so admitting that she's not the same little girl I dropped off on that first day is so bittersweet.

To start the ceremony, each of the 3 classes performed songs before walking back to their classrooms to don their little caps and gowns. While they got the kids ready, the adults watched a slide show with pictures from the year and I completely cried like a baby. Seeing the activities they did through pictures and watching for pictures of Aubrey with her friends was so fun, but they had to use the most tear-jerking music, like "It Won't Be Like This For Long" so we all cried. Finally, each student came in the sanctuary and walked down the aisle to the good ol' Pomp and Circumstance before taking their seat. Aubrey was so cute in her cap and gown and I really did have visions of what she will look like in 13 years at high school graduation. After they marched in, the director called each student across the stage individually and they had to shake hands with the her and the pre-k teachers. It seemed so professional and grown up. I can tell they practiced with the kids a ton but the kids were still so nervous to be in front of all of the adults. After they walked across the stage, the director made a little speech and pronounced them the class of 2014 and more tears started. Luckily, I had the distraction of getting Aubrey at that point to keep the tears brief. We did a few pictures with her friends before taking off for a post-graduation celebration. A local stable offered their property and horses for a party for the kids and it was so much fun. They had pizza, pony rides,  a playground, paint the pony, and a water inflatable. Both kids had a blast playing and I was glad Aubrey got one more chance to play with all of her friends together. It was a great way to wrap up a fabulous school year and celebrate the kids and teachers' hard work.

Dance Recital 2014

Another dance season has come and gone. I was so excited about Aubrey's dance recital this year. I guess since I've been less involved with dance this year since I went back to work, I was more looking forward to seeing what she has been doing all year in dance. Mrs. Rhonda kept me up to date whenever I saw her about Aubrey's progress so I knew she was doing well, I just wanted to see it for myself.

Just as we did last year, we had dress rehearsal on Friday night. After Aubrey's rehearsal, we stayed to watch most of the "big girl" dances. Unfortunately, I had to work early the next morning so we couldn't stay for all of it, but it was still fun to watch all of the girls  (and guy) dance. We also got to hang out with my sister who came to watch with us.

Saturday I had to work and got to the auditorium just in time to get Aubrey dressed and scoot her to the back. I was thankful again that they girls had helpers in the back to take care of the girls so we could enjoy the show. I am sure she the girls were much more entertained in the back with their friends and no mommies telling them what to do. It was bittersweet to see the new class of "babies", but neat compare the them to the big 4 and 5 year-old girls of this year. Aubrey and most of her friends have made so much progress this year and it was fun to watch.

After she show, Todd went to the stage to pick Aubrey up and present her with her flowers and balloons. Aubrey was ecstatic when she saw her bouquet included an Anna and Elsa (from Frozen) balloon. She was so happy about the balloon, she almost forgot to get her 2nd year of dance medal from her teachers. However, once she got the medal, she refused to take it off the rest of the night. We did a quick round of pictures after the show and then went to eat dinner for Todd's birthday the next day.

I really hope Aubrey can stick with dance, especially since its such a battle to get her to go every week. She said she loves performing in the recital, but hates going to class. Hopefully adding in tumbling next year will help her be more excited and motivated to keep dancing.

Luckily, Aubrey doesn't have to wait all summer before she can dance again. Mrs. Rhonda is hosting a dance camp for a week in June and we decided to sent Aubrey this year.

April 2014

Finally, oh finally, spring has shown up and decided to grace us with its presence. The temps have finally warmed and the days are getting longer and more and more time is being spent outside. The kids have been in heaven now that we can spend long chunks of time outdoors instead of cramped inside watching Frozen for the 200th time (ok, I kid, but at least the 50th) time.

We finally got Mason's helmet so he could start riding his trike outside. He's not quite a fan of the trike just yet.

Free cone day at Ben and Jerry's

Enjoying the bubble machine on the porch. One of the best outside inventions ever.

A surprising moment of the month was that both of Mason's last 2 molars finally broke through. I noticed the left one had broken though in 2 places and the right had just barely peeked through the skin on Easter Monday. He has never gotten 2 teeth at one time so seeing them both was surprising. And then in typical fashion, I teared up a bit thinking it was the last time I would spot new teeth in our house. As much as I've moaned about the teething drama in this house, and here I was was being all sappy about it. We've still got a few more weeks of drama while the teeth come all the way through, but we can see that light at the end and I know he'll be happy to be pain free. 

One of our most exciting events in April was the Charlotte Racefest Half Marathon. Todd decided after I finished my first half in November he wanted to do one, too. So, I kept my training up over the miserable winter, mostly on the treadmill. I was so burned out on running those last few weeks were just torturous. I've decided that I like running well enough, but the long distances are just not for me. However, we both stuck through training and made it to race day. The weather was perfect and all conditions were great for the race. The course was really nice, except for this beast of a hill at mile 7. I was also a little perturbed that we were running down Providence Road in one lane and cars were zooming past us in the next lane. But, I managed to deal with all of the challenges and beat my November time by about 30 seconds. Todd was happy to finish the race in 2:45 and I was so proud of him. We are both rid of the running bug for now but I am considering running Thunder Road again in November just to prove I can have a better race. I will make the final decision in August on whether I run it again. Right now, its a no. But, my stubborn pride might get me when it starts to get closer, so we'll see.

We celebrated Easter this month and I promise, it gets more fun each year. Aubrey hyped it up so much this year that by Easter Sunday, we were all excited. What's even more important, though, is that she is understanding a little more about what Easter means. I love that she goes to a Christian preschool that can teach her those lessons. I sometimes wish she could continue in a Christian school where she can learn more about God and Jesus and not be afraid to talk about it. But, that's a story for another day.

However, I can say that she was still a 5-year old little girl when it came to the idea of the Easter basket. She even shocked me by taking a picture with the Easter bunny at school. She was so excited to see her basket and enjoy all of the Easter egg hunts. Mason was excited just from being around Aubrey, but it was still fun to watch his enjoyment. We also did our annual spring pictures at Todd's parents' house before the kids enjoyed their egg hunt.

The last piece of excitement for April was that I got a new car! Our local Toyota dealership had been harassing me for months to trade my Highlander in by saying they could lower my payment. I knew better than to fall for that line of crap, but my curiosity got the best of me so Todd and I discussed going in to talk to them. I finally went in and test drove a new 2014 Highlander and it was love at first drive. But, I knew I had a feeling it wasn't going to work that night and I was right. The dealer was crazy on their offer for my car and interest rate for the new one, so we left. I was sad, but determined that I wasn't going to be screwed. 2 weeks later, the dealer called asking what it would take to get us in the car. We named our terms and magically, they agreed. My new payment is $4 more than my old payment, which really makes me laugh. The whole car buying process pisses me off, but it is what it is. Todd and his family are good at the car buying and negotiating so they've trained me to play the game, despite my hatred of it. I did have a moment of sadness when I handed over the keys to the old car because there were a lot of memories tied to that car. But, I know I don't have to worry about maintenance or car repairs for the next few years and that's a good thing considering my old car was coming due for some work. And this car should last a good long time and be able to handle all our little family can throw at it over the next however many years we drive it.

March 2014

So, I realize we are halfway through April and I have still not written a stitch about March. So now I have to go back and try to remember stuff from a month ago and that can be kind of tough on a Mommy brain. Must.Try.To.Remember.Ye.Ol'.Blog.More.Frequently. Working and training for the half marathon sucked the extra energy I had so I hope to do better next month.

March was a tough month. Somehow, winter decided to stick around a lot longer than usual. In fact, I have a picture of stinkin ice on my car that I took in March. No bueno. We got a few hints of Spring through the month, but after the crappy cold winter we had, I was really hoping March would have brought more warmer weather.

We have officially made the call that Mason has moved past the dairy and soy intolerance. ::Happy dance:: However, there is no doubt he is lactose intolerant and he lets us know it if we forget a Lactaid pill. His diapers are terrible after straight dairy and we always notice he is extra grumpy. I know it means his tummy doesn't feel good, so I really just have to be diligent about giving him the Lactaid when I know he might eat straight diary. But, seriously, hallelujah to the fact that we can finally let up on the eating restrictions. We can go out to eat pretty much wherever without worrying about bringing extra food for Mason. That's doesn't mean he'll eat the new foods (he wouldn't even eat pizza, sigh....) but at least we can introduce him to new foods and hope this toddler pickiness goes away soon.

Mason's upper right 2nd molar broke through around the middle-ish of the month. I noticed it around the 18th and I saw a big chunk of tooth, so I am guess it had been out a few days at that point. 2 down and 2 to go. Will it ever end???!!!

Let's talk a little about this Frozen movie obsession that has taken over my house. We wanted to take Aubrey to the theater to see Frozen, but for a million different reasons, we never made it. It was finally released to DVD in March and my mom bought it for the kids and OMG, they are both obsessed. I've lost count of how many times they've watched it. And, they love, love, love "Let It Go" so I caved and bought it from iTunes, so they beg incessantly that we listen to it in the car.  And Mason attempts to sing (aka scream) "let it go" when he wakes up in the morning because he loves it. I'll admit the movie is cute, but I'll be glad when the obsession dies just a smidgen so we can watch a different movie and listen to a different song in the car.

Todd has attempted to start teaching Aubrey how to play the piano. Both kids love to beat the daylight out of the keyboard when I'll let them, but finally Aubrey said she really wanted to learn to play. So, Todd got out the primer book and started doing a few lessons with her. He started playing at her age so he hopes she be focused enough to play. They are both usually pretty aggravated by the end of the lesson because Aubrey's attention span is about 30 seconds, but I hope they'll both stick it out.

So, that was March in our house. April is shaping up to be a good month so far, so I hope its not the middle of the May before I sit down to type again.

February Updates

Now that I have stopped updating the blog every month with Mason's latest info, I realize I really need to keep some sort of monthly action on this little ol' blog. This blog is much more complete and detailed than either child's baby book will ever be and I need a place to keep those memories that will surely be forgotten  over the years. So, I am starting a monthly update on the kids so my frazzled brain can spew out the memories that I want to keep so I can thoroughly embarrass my kids when they are older with tidbits from their childhood. 

So, our biggest news from the month of February is that Aubrey got a seat at Mountain Island Charter. We are so relieved that we don't have to worry about that anymore. We were so fortunate to be chosen for that school because we have only heard great things about it.We did not get into any of the other schools we chose, but that's ok. A member of our small group from church is the Head of the Lower School at MICS so we are confident that Aubrey will be well taken care of and looked after. We did not get into any of the other schools we chose, but that's ok. Now, we start planning what that means for our schedule starting in August. MICS is about 20-ish minutes away and no bus provided so we have to work out a lot of details like drop off/pick up/Mason being taken care of on days I work. He's starting preschool in September so that helps some, but we are trying to minimize the crazy driving all over creation. But, we have some time to figure all of that out and get everything together. I am still a little in shock that Aubrey is starting kindergarten  in less than 6 months so hopefully I can get myself together by then, too.

Another fun part of February was the big snow. Living in NC, we usually only see a dusting of snow every winter. So, it was a complete thrill to get 8-10 inches of snow this month. I haven't seen that much snow in 10 years or so and it was beautiful. The kids throughly enjoyed the snow, but we were all pretty tired of it by the 3rd day. 

We discovered Mason's left 2-year molar broke through on February 16th and it was a beast for everyone. Teething and the terrible 2's just don't mix so we've been in h-e-double hockey sticks with him for the past few weeks. And, we still have 3 more of these nasty molars to wait on before we can close the books on teething. Sigh.

Speaking of terrible 2's, OMG. They SUCK. I know time diffuses the memories, but I swear I don't remember Aubrey being this much trouble at 2. But, Mason has turned into this crazy toddler in the past few months and it is maddening. He has perfected the art of a full-on screaming on the floor tantrum. He climbs on everything. He gets into absolutely everything. He loves the word no. I know its all typical 2-year old stuff so I try really hard to take it all in stride. But, man, its hard sometimes. And I do feel bad for him because I know his gums hurt on top of it all. I think its safe to say we are all ready for this phase to move on by.

Aubrey proved she is getting too big by surviving a complete night of a sleepover at her friend's house. Her friend had to change from preschool to daycare and this has been a tough transition for the little clique in Aubrey's class. This little group of 4 has been friends since the beginning of the 3-year old class so losing a member is the first real lesson of loss to them. So, the friend's mom arranged a play date for them and said if any of the girls wanted to, they could spend the night at her house. Todd and I were fine with it and of course, Aubrey was ecstatic. At first. Then, she got a little nervous about sleeping there as they day got closer. We told her we could pick her up at any time if she got scared, but we never got a call. The mom said it was a rough night and 1 friend did end up leaving, but I think Aubrey just enjoyed playing with her friend's toys too much to leave. But, we are proud that she was able to deal with something a little different and scary and make it through the night on her own. 

So, that was the month of February. We are over the cold weather and ready for spring and all the fun activities that come with the season.