Birthday at the Beach

We were excited that Brian's birthday timed up with a weekend that Donna and Marty had their beach house. What wasn't perfect timing was the ice storm that hit Raleigh the day we were supposed to head down to the beach....

Let's just say that spending 4 1/2 stressful hours crawling along in the car with a toddler demanding snacks every 10 minutes was not part of Brian's birthday plan- but the bottle of wine and seafood dinner we had when we finally arrived definitely was (thanks to Donna and Marty for making that happen!). Once we got that drive behind us, we had a great time (sans the Carolina loss to State). There is something neat about being at the beach during the off season...here are some fun moments.

Independent Woman

On Wednesday we had a preschool first. When we got to Collins's classroom instead of acting shy by putting her head on my shoulder or whimpering and being uncertain about getting down, Collins bounded out of my arms and went straight to playing with a train. I barely got a glance backward (let alone a hug) as I said goodbye and walked out of the room. The same thing happened when I went back to pick her up. She was playing independently and barely acknowledged my arrival. She finally smiled and came around and gave me a hug.

My feelings were a little hurt at first, but as Mom rightly pointed out- isn't that why she's in preschool in the first place? To gain a little independence? My little lady is growing up! I'm so excited to see this confidence in her and to know what a good experience preschool has been for her this year.

Here she is this week donning her new angel wings...

Cute Pair

Staley and Collins were quite a cute pair on Saturday night. While their parents dined, they sat still for about 10 minutes (pictured here) and then burned some energy climbing all over Staley's impressive big-boy bed. A fun night was had by all!

What We've Been Up To

I have been missing from the blogging world lately, and I apologize! For some weird reason, I have not been snapping as many pictures recently (probably holiday photo overload), but I'm getting myself back in gear. Here's what we've been up to lately...

1. Getting back into our normal schedule after the holidays- school, gymnastics, playdates, Marbles, and more. It's been fun to get back into a routine after the long break.

2. Fighting sickness- Collins had a nasty cold and I just got through an icky stomach bug. Being quarantined is no fun!

3. Praying for the sun to come back out so we can get outside! It's been so dreary and cold around here lately so we've had to get creative at home with dress-up play, cooking in the kitchen (both mini and real), and lots of tea parties.

4. Redecorating the bedroom. Dad and Heather got me this beautiful bench  for Christmas that has inspired me to finish up this project once and for all! (the amazing artwork is by Dad)

5. LOTS of talking! Collins has lots to say these days, and we are loving it. She is speaking in short sentences-"Daddy home now" and "snow falling down" and "good job baby"- and doing a great job of communicating all her cute and random thoughts.

6. Prepping for an upcoming birthday and excited to see lots of friends turning two!

Park Pictures

We got some professional pictures taken back in November, and I have finally gotten around to posting them. We did the shoot at our favorite park, and it went pretty well except for one thing. In my rush to get us ready and out the door, I put Collins's pink rain boots on the wrong feet. We did not realize this till HALFWAY through the hour-long shoot. Could not have felt any stupider! Look and you will see her feet very clearly pointing in the wrong direction in most of the pictures. Oh well, you win some- you lose some...but look how cute this baby is!

 

 

A Fitting End

We said goodbye to 2012 in the way we know best- by watching sports and eating sports-related food items.

Finally! A team we can all agree on...we are excited to cheer the Broncos on in the playoffs.

Collins is showing off her football-stance. Brian did not teach her this- she picked it up while watching a game!

This baby is way-obsessed with the Wolfpack (unfortunately). We left the basketball game, and she said, "Wolfpack, next week!".

These cowboy nachos are the best thing I've eaten in a long time. Hard to go wrong with chips topped with barbecue, pico de gallo, avocado, pinto beans and lots of cheese. This dish slipped us into a food coma so we could awake and welcome 2013. Happy New Year!