ABCs of Summer...R Day

You know one of my favorite things starts with the letter R! Reading!! You know what another one of our favorite things is?! Rain! That is when we don't HAVE to go anywhere...

So this day the storm was uh-brewin! Ryan LOVES thunderstorms! To me this is great sleeping weather, but when you have a toddler...you still have to entertain!

My plan was to go to the Rockwall Country Library for books to READ! Then this day was the BIG education sale at Mardel...I thought we could go, but with the rain it just wasn't a good idea...

So instead...I looked up rainy day activities on Pinterest! I didn't really do anything I pinned, but there were some things I'll save for the future! We ended up building a fort! Prestyn LOVED it! I'm not a pro fort builder, but it was fun! We sat in the fort, and read Cat in the Hat with a flashlight. She loves books and loved the flashlight! We had Elmo in there with us too! Why did I choose Cat in the Hat to read?! Because it's about kids sitting inside on a rainy day, duh! ;)

The rain did calm down, and Nonna was at work that day so since she now lives down the street Prestyn and I went to visit while Husband napped.

You know what else R stands for?! Road Trip! So our plan was to travel to La Vernia late this night so Prestyn would sleep. Well at 4 o'clock I was READY to go! So we road tripped it! There's a whole notha blog comin' about that one! With some things that worked for us...traveling with a toddler that maybe some mommas could use?! That blog post will be after the S post! :)

Cheers! XOXO

This was a different day, but I thought the pictures were fitting for this post...here's an idea for a rainy day activity! One of Prestyn's FAVORITE games! Just pom poms in a water bottle!

I tried to get her to use the tongs to move them around in the muffin tin, but we're still working on how to use those. ;)

My little book worm!

She loves her Elmo! She treats him like one of her babies, and gives him a paci. :)

I just love those little piggies! She was trying to turn on a "moooie" :)

ABCs of Summer...Q Day

Wowie Wow Wow! Summer is coming to an end...I've been tutoring 2 days a week, but the past 2 weeks I'm tutoring 4 days a week. So I'm busy, tired, and entertaining a toddler most of the time! And let's not forget to keep a little romance going with the hubs and I! So I'm super late in blogging...I'll try to get caught up! I love you, Prestyn Reese, but these ABCs of Summer are wearing me out! ha!

So you know what starts with the letter Q? Quiet Time, Quinlan, Dairy Queen, Quilts, and Quality Time. My sweet husband did some research before this day, and said Prestyn could make a fabric and paper quilt! I love him so much! We decided to have some quiet time and quality time together as a family!

It's been so long since our Q day so I'll try to remember how we spent our day...a few blogs back (my O day specifically) I complained about how hot it was outside. God was listening! ;) We got up the morning of the Q day, and it was a BEAUTIFUL morning!!! Prestyn and I went for a nice long walk. I just prayed aloud for the 2 of us thanking God for His beauty and glory! I was in awe with how gorgeous this summer morning was!

Pretty much every day Prestyn asks to go "out" "pool". And usually I tell her it's too hot, and she says "hot." Well this day was an exception! Dada filled up her little pool, and we all just relaxed & enjoyed the day together! The pictures speak for themselves!

Oh! And we had quesedillas for lunch! Prestyn's consisted of: spinach leaves, refried beans, and cheese. She LOVED it, and ate it up!!! So now I know that's a way to get her to eat some greens. ;)

She took her chair into her pool all by herself! LOL!

 

Call us white trash, but we enjoyed this! ha!

 

ABCs of Summer...P Day

Another day that I have been looking forward to for a long time! So many things start with the letter P! We had a lot planned, and got to do a lot of it! It was a fun day!

Ryan got home this morning so our morning was spent as a family. We kept saying things that started with the letter P to be like "it's P's day!" ha!

Our plan was to go to the Perot museum after lunch so we were anxious for P to nap, eat, and go!

For lunch Prestyn had pizza! She's had it before, but now that she's eating more on her own it was funny to watch her eat it. She eats the cheese, sauce, and hamburger off the top of it...not the crust! I also made her 1/2 a PB & J sandwich to see what she thought...again...something she's had before, but not really fed herself. SHE LOVED IT! :) I used the blackberry jam we got from Ham's Orchard...she kept asking for more!

Aaaaand it just occurred to me that I should of gone back to the ORCHARD for O day! Duh! Oh and my friend Jaimee reminded me that O stands for Ocean! I planned to make the jellyfish we didn't make on J day, but still haven't gotten to that yet...give me a break people...I have a 16 month old! ;)

Back to P day! I forgot to include that in the morning play time we did some water color painting. Prestyn wasn't too interested in it. She'd rather draw on her marker board. Ha!

The drive to Dallas to go to to the museum was less than enjoyable. There was a ton of traffic, and Prestyn was in. a. mood.

We were pleasantly surprised when we got there though! We knew mine & Prestyn's ticket would be free because I'm a teacher, and she's under 2! When we were going to buy Ryan's ticket we asked if First Responders are also free...YES THEY ARE! So guess what?! The Thomas family got in FOR FREE! If Joann Dickerson is reading this right now she knows how exciting FOR FREE is for me! ;)

You know what else was a nice surprise! At first we thought the $8 museum parking was full...we drove down literally a foot down, and parked in $3 parking! Take notes people! This is worth it!

So when you go to the museum they tell you to start on the 4th floor, and work your way down. There's also signs everywhere that say elevators are for strollers! And there are stairs and an escalator for those without strollers. But who follows the rules anymore?! Well we do! Because we have a stroller! And we needed the room...aaaaanywaaaay! The elevators are glass so we thought P would have been really excited to ride the elevator. NEGATIVE! It scared her! We got off on the 4th floor then wanted to go up to the see the birds. She was hesitant but rode...We then had to ride the elevator down. Oh brother! Then when it was time to get back on again...she just shook her head NO AND SAID NOOOO!

So I carried P all the way down the stairs to the Children's Museum while Ryan took the stroller down the elevator. We got to go down the musical stairs though that were cool! Ryan and I were really excited to see everything the museum had to offer, but to expect a 16 month old to want to look at all that is a little cray cray! ;) So we'll be going back just the 2 of us, and probably see one of the movies too!

The Children's Museum was cool though. They had lots of fun things that I know P would have loved had she not been sleepy, or had there not already been a ton of kids there messing everything up. haha! So next time we take her it'll probably be in the morning...

My plan for that afternoon was to play with play-doh. We didn't get to that, but we did the other day. Prestyn thought it was fun at first, but then she just told me no when I was rolling it out flat. haha! And then she was happy again when I used cookie cutters to make the Play-Doh into shapes. She did her cute face where she drops her jaw in a smile! Love that sweet girl!

Here's some pics from the museum. :)

This gave me a good idea of something to do with P! :)

Staring at the little boy who was playing by her ;)

ABCs of Summer...O Day

O is for...obligation?! I feel like I've started blogging about each and every day. No matter how mundane they may be I feel obligated to tell you all about our days! ha! I used to be a good writer...maybe that will happen again when I'm intrigued by profound thoughts!

Anyway...so I was a little lost on what we would do this day other than go outside...but daaaaang...it's July! In Texas! So needless to say it was waaaaay too hot to spend time outside!

We did start the morning with swim lessons so I'll just say that O stands for Opposite Day?! ::Huge Side Note:: Remember that time I bravely posted a picture of my skin?! Well here I go bravely posting a picture of my bikini body! I took this because my bathing suit colors were opposite like our O day. I thought...I need to blog about this, and how my body image has changed after having a baby. So maybe this blog won't be much about the letter O, but whatever! ;)

I will say that I already had these yellow bottoms, but the top was a triangle top. After nursing/pumping for 13 months triangle tops are not my friend! My beautiful friend, Jaimee, wore these colors and I loved it! Thankfully Target doesn't change their suits much so I was able to get an accommodating top!

So I once saw something that said: "Forget being 'Skinny Minnie'! Be Healthy Holly!" I loved this! I may not be super skinny or have a flat tummy BUT I'VE HAD A BABY! And I'm proud of that! And that's not an excuse to not be in shape. I do what I can to eat right and get exercise in ways outside of the gym...because as a working momma...who has time for the gym?! Besides the Melissas who go at 5 AM! ha!

Sure I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I'm healthy! I am maintaining a healthy weight, and eat right...but I also eat what I want! If I want queso I eat queso! If I want ice cream I eat ice cream! I just make it up for it the next day, or I plan ahead so that I leave some room in my daily caloric intake for those pleasures!

And you know what else? My husband loves me & my healthy body! As far as physical appearances go...I only need to impress him & be happy with myself! So there!

Anyway so back to O day. O is for Opposite day. And not just bathing suit colors...but also P's behavior at swim lessons! Bless her heart! I don't know if it's the 3 new teeth she's getting right now, or the after effects of the shots she got...She was just off! She pretty much clung to me and cried the whole time during lessons. Even her instructor, Ms. Jennifer, didn't want to put her through torture, and allowed me to just hold her...we tried!

After a long nap at home we had lunch, and took a trip to the G store! That's a fun way to say grocery store...ha! We got eggs to make omelets for dinner and oreos for our afternoon snack! It had been a while since P had played with her favorite twins: Gabie & Sophie so we took Oreos and juice over for a play date! We also got some hand me clothes from the girls! P and the girls played outside for a bit, and I figured out what we're getting P for her birthday next year! An outdoor playhouse! She loved theirs!

Oh and how could I forget?! O stands for Old Stompin' Grounds! I had to make an Advocare delivery for Ry Guy the Advocare Guy in Rowlett so I took P through my Old neighborhood! I showed her the house I grew up in, the school I went to, and taught at! I showed her where Nonna used to work too!

O is for ongoing nonsense?? I'll stop now! Good night friends!

 

Healthy Holly

Opposite of a bow? Hat day for momma & P!

P looks great in her bathing suit too! :)
 

Prestyn's 15th Month

::sigh:: Our sweet girl is actually almost 16th months, but because of the set back we had with her 12 month appointment due to ear infections we were just able to get in for her 15 month appointment...

So anyway...turning 15 months is much more than a doctor's visit! When I first had P I read (and agreed) that growth spurts happen every 3, 6, 9, 12 weeks and months. I'd like to go ahead and add 15 to that! And I'm going to be prepared for this to happen at 18 months!

It was like all of a sudden she was STARVING!! And outgrowing all of her 12 month clothes! Even her little feet are getting bigger! She'll be able to finish the summer wearing her size 3 shoes, but when we go buy new Fall shoes I'll be buying a 4! You know what else is a size 4?! The boots we got P when we revealed she was a girl!!! So yay! I'm already thinking of our Fall Photos we'll do, and use for our Christmas cards! YAY!

So anyway...Prestyn also has worn any 12 month clothes for the last time. :( Some size 12-18 still fit, but pretty much 18 month and some 24 month are what fit her best. This growth spurt resulted in her all of a sudden waking in the middle of the night, and needing to be held before going back to sleep on her own. It also resulted in eating a ton, and then not wanting to eat ANYTHING! I'm thankful for Mrs. Amber because I know P eats for her. And when Prestyn says, "bite" "mommy's", I give her a bite of mommy's because she wasn't eating much of her own food!

I would say that breakfast is her favorite meal. Or favorite time of day to eat. I guess because she's sleeping 10-12 hours at night so when she wakes up she's HANGRY! I'm sure I could get her to eat anything at breakfast time...she typically has things like: yogurt, banana, berries, grapes, donuts, waffles, french toast, eggs, muffins, etc. This week we'll be trying Pop Tarts on the P day. ;)

So now that Prestyn is home with me 5 days a week (she goes to Mrs. Amber's 2 days a week) her schedule has changed some since we're not trying to wake up, and rush to get to school! So we wake up around 7:30, have breakfast, then depending on the activities we have that day we usually just play at home. Then P will nap from about 10-1. When she wakes up she's ready to eat lunch! Not her favorite time of day because she usually knows that after lunch we go "bye-bye". So she's saying "bye-bye", and she's ready to go!

We definitely have a toddler on our hands! She will throw down, and throw a fit no matter where we are or who we're around! It's quite embarassing, and most of the time I'm not sure how to handle it. I don't know why, but I worry about how others are judging me. When we're at home, and she throws these fits I talk her through it; then if it continues she goes to time out for 1 minute in her bed. Which is another issue I wasn't sure about, but a friend made a good point that she's safe in there...and the way this toddler throws fits...SAFE IS BEST! ;)

Prestyn has a pretty extensive vocabulary too! I mean I recognize this, and am so proud of her...but with her being my 1st and only (so far) I don't know any different! Well to document what words she knows up to this point I thought I'd try to list them...so here it goes!

HI (waves), Bye-Bye (waves), duck (paci), dog (and knows that they woof), duck (to say quack quack quack it sounds more like "duck duck duck"), coke (milk), pup (cup), eat, more, please, thank you (I'm pretty sure I'm most proud of those 2!) ;), ball, baby, Elmo, back, up, down, bubbles, juice, mommy, momma, daddy, dada, Nonna, Gee, Early, Ricky, Kiki, Harper, Prestyn, night-night, bath, cat (meows too), cow (moos too), pig (oinks), lion (roars), monkey (also says oooo oooo aaaa aaaa)...

I'm sure there's more, but look at that! Isn't she awesome?! She can also point out her head, belly, toes, nose, eyes, ears! She loves singing and dancing! She gets those legs uh-goin' and just can't stop! She's also a little book worm! Prestyn loves to read! Loves, loves, loves, loves it! She will just sit, and look at a book then say words like she's reading it. I'm so proud! Seriously! Can you tell?!

I feel like with me blogging so much this summer with the ABCs posts that you all have a pretty good idea of where P is...here's how she measured up at the doctor:

Weight: 22.8 lbs 65th percentile
Height: 30 in 35th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 I think? All I know is it's 81st percentile! She has a big head! haha!

And since we're past the monthly pictures I thought I'd post some from my phone that I haven't shared yet...because what's a blog post without pictures?! 

Dates with Husband

Husband says y'all won't care to read about this...and maybe you don't, but it means a lot to him that I blog about it! Sporadically today Ryan said, "let's go on a lunch date." This was a good idea since a meal out with just the 2 of us has been much needed! ;)

I gave him 3 options: Zanata's, Mi Cocina, or Chili's. Ryan chose Mi Cocina, and boy am I glad he did! We had yummy queso blanco with brisket! We enjoyed the lunch menu of lots of food at a small price! Until we decided that it was "Why Not Wednesday" so why not have a Mambo Taxi?!

Afterwards we decided to check out the Five Below store that's been open in Rockwall for a while. I expected it to be full of junk, but really it's not all junk! There was lots of fun stuff, and even some pratical stuff! If you haven't been yet you should go check it out. We got P the chair you see in the pictures. We thought it would be fun for her to sit in outside...I brought it in just so she could see it, and she LOVES it!!

So speaking of dates with Husband...life is not ALL about the baby. We're important too. :) Recently we had a date on the Seawolf. This is the sailboat that goes over Lake Ray Hubbard at sunset...we did this for our 1 year anniversary and again a couple weeks ago. Our plan was for Ryan's cousin to join us, but she wasn't able to so we decided to still go!

Scott, himself, (owner) captained our boat! I love going on these rides. It's really so beautiful. I love the land God has created, and the place we call HOME! We are certainly blessed. I'm thankful for my husband, and his want to continue to "date" me. :)

ABCs of Summer...N Day

Until I posted on Facebook I really had NOTHING for our N day...I some ideas, but wasn't sure how to make it baby friendly until y'all helped me out! So thank you for participating in our ABCs of Summer!

Let's see...how did our day go? Well 1st Prestyn took a nap! Haha! I forgot to read the Napping House book, but made up for it when I read it before bed!

She's been napping from about 10-1 every day then having lunch when she wakes up. Well as soon as she woke up yesterday we had to get dressed, and let her eat quickly so she could go to the doctor...because N also stands for...NEEDLES! :(

Prestyn was due for her 15 month check up, and at this appointment there are needles involved! 3 of them! She did so good with the exam part...she was so happy to see Dr. Drake, and was just showing her all she could do! Walking, running, playing, talking, etc. Ha! But this post isn't about the 15th month...it's supposed to be about the letter N!

This was the 1st time I took P to the doctor for shots without Ryan. So this time I had to be the one that held her arms while the nurse gave her her shots. It was so heart breaking to see that look on her face when they poked her. I wanted to burst out in tears with her, but tried to stay strong for my sweet girl! After she was through she didn't cry long, and was excited to go see Nonna!

Nonna was also happy to be a part of our N day. So she had to show Prestyn off, and take her to see Nancy too! Prestyn got a shiny star and lollipop for being such a brave girl too!

Oh I forgot to include that this morning I started the dying of our noodles for our necklace and name craft! I put rubbing alcohol and NEON food coloring in baggies with NOODLES. After they soaked all day we came home to let them dry...that didn't take long!

But while they were drying it was time for a snack! Prestyn had Nutella for the 1st time on Nilla wafers. Based on the pictures you can see they were a hit! At first she was just licking the the Nutella off the Nilla wafer, but then she started eating the cookies too. :)

Once the noodles were dry I put them in a tray for us to sort by color. A BIG task for a 15 month old! But it was fun...until it wasn't...it was fun until P decided to take a big bite of a purple noodle, and chewed and swallowed most her bite! Remember...these had soaked in rubbing alcohol! Bleck! I called Ryan who was with my dad who said she'll be fine..."It's like taking a shot of whiskey. Maybe she'll sleep better tonight." Ha! Then Ryan wised up, and said to call the pediatrician. When the "never worries about anything paramedic" says to call the doctor...you call the doctor! So I did...the nurse told me I neeed to feed her more. hahahaha! She said she was probably fine, but wanted to talk with Dr. Drake just to be sure. They said just to look out for odd behavior (she already ate a noodle...that's odd enough) and vomitting (which didn't happen thankfully).

Prestyn wasn't too keen on wearing the necklace so I wore it for her and we took selfies! After we made the necklace we used the leftover noodles to spell out Prestyn's name. So for about a week now Prestyn has been repeating "Petyn" when I say, "Say Prestyn". Well since name starts with the letter N I thought we could work on her answering what her name was when asked. You know what my name is?! Proud Momma! So now when I say, "What's your name?" She says, "Petyn"! Can you believe it!! Love my sweet girl!

Prestyn had some nuggets for dinner, listened to the Napping House before bed, and went Night Night!