A Strong Start

The first week of summer vacation has gotten off to a strong start...

 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend started with me crashing my car, then morphed into Collins being sick with a fever. Good thing Mom and Baba came to visit to make everything better!

 

 

We had to miss Emma's birthday party, but Collins started feeling better and we got to have a cookout, a fun breakfast out, and a boat and train ride at Pullen Park. Collins loved every minute of her time with Mimi and Baba- especially when they painted her toenails for the first time (and just for the record they were pink not coral!) :)

Go Ruck

Most people probably spent their Memorial Day weekend relaxing. Not my husband. He decided it would be "fun" to sign-up with his F3 team for a "Go Ruck" challenge that would push him to his limits both mentally and physically for over 12 hours.

His hard work training these past few months paid off as he successfully completed the event! He came home exhausted and bruised, relieved that he avoided the water mocassin in Crabtree Creek, and excited with what he accomplished. Here's how Brian spent his Saturday night...

 

 

Impressive, right? We are proud of you, King David!

Potty Training

It's happening!

A Graduation of Sorts

Last week, Collins had her last week of preschool in the 1's class. Is it silly that I was a little sentimental?

Our first year of preschool has been a great experience. Collins learned how to let go of my hand and walk into the classroom by herself, she learned how to use good table manners while eating at the snack table with her classmates, she learned how to stand in a line, and most importantly- she learned how to get excited about school. And she came SO CLOSE to not ever having to be picked up early by Mom- that temper tantrum the last day ruined our perfect record! But she perked up fast just in time for the end-of-year party.

Here's her "graduation" certificate...

 

her final class photo (Ms. Harriet, Holden, Walker, Ms. Susan, Olivia, Stewart, Liam and Collins)...

 

 

her last school picture...

and her last hurrah at Ridge Road!

How cute are these girls? I am so grateful these two ended up in the same class as we have a special friendship now with Olivia and her Mom. Next year, Collins is headed to a new preschool. While we are excited about this move, we will always be happy her first year of preschool was at Ridge Road.

Losing Control

I feel like the wheels are slowly coming off the wagon around here. We are losing control of our sweet little baby because all of a sudden Collins can "do it myself"! Here's what Collins can do now by herself:

1. Climb out of her crib- this one scares me. She does it with ease, I've seen her as she is scaling the top of the crib. Now there are no guarantees that she will stay in her bed once we put her there.

2. Open the baby gate- also scary. She is quickly mastering the staircase and can come and go as she pleases. Now I can't corral her to one floor anymore- she is all over the place!

3. Temper tantrum on the drop of a hat- this one is stressful. It's becoming a daily event, some times several times a day. I'm trying to take actions to prevent them from happening but am finding they are impossible to predict and difficult to stop once they are in motion.

4. Tell us exactly what she will and will not do- she now has the vocabulary to unleash directives and does so often!

5. Refuse to sit still during dinner- the wiggles during dinner are out-of-control. She can no longer sit still for more than five minutes before she starts dancing around the table, walking straight out the back door, running into the playroom. Usually I end up spoon feeding her because that's the only way she'll get any food down as she can't sit still long enough to focus on dinner.

I know all of these things mean that Collins a perfectly normal toddler, but it all seems to be coming at the same time and it's a little overwhelming! Good thing that when she's not doing one of the above, she's giving me a hug, saying something really funny, or playing nicely with her friends. Her charming moments still far outweigh her crazy moments- and for that I'm grateful!

Fueling Up

It's healthy eating all week at our house as Brian gets ready for his grueling "Go Ruck" challenge this weekend. It's a 12-hour overnight physical and mental challenge that he has to complete while wearing a "ruck" (military bookbag) with 25 pounds of bricks inside. Just a little intense!

So Collins and I are helping him prepare for the event by foregoing enchiladas and pizza and all the other bad (i.e. fun) foods. We stocked up on lots of healthy food at the fish market, the farmer's market and a strawberry farm this weekend.

Here are some cute shots of Collins picking strawberries. Obviously- the healthy eating does not extend to desserts for me- I have already taken out a strawberry cobbler that I came home and made!

 

First Babysitter

Last week, we used our first real babysitter. For this reason, a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thank you goes out to Donna and Marty and Alli and Dad and Heather and Mom and Baba who have been our wonderful babysitters for over two years!

But the time finally came to break in a babysitter, and oh, did we break her in. Poor Amelia. She not only had Collins, but her cute friend Drew. Two wild toddlers who were very sleepy and very confused with this new person around. Let's just say we left to crying and came back to more crying. We paid her well in hopes that she will come back some day!

Stronger Together

For the past five months I've been working on this Duke Medicine "Stronger Together" event. I'm excited to say that all the hard work is now over- the event happened the first weekend of May and I had my final debriefing meeting today. Was it the best event I have ever planned? Definitely not. Was there a sense of accomplishment with pulling off this first-of-its kind event? Absolutely.

The event was three parts- a continuing education event on Friday for doctors and other health care professionals, a Friday evening benefit concert and dinner, and a Saturday morning community heath fair. There were three different audiences we were trying to reach, a whole lot of money we were trying to raise, and a new logistical challenge every time we turned around. It was not the smoothest of planning processes!

Plus it was not easy juggling Collins, the work, and all the other things that have to get done around the house. Lucky for me I have a great family who supported me taking on a part-time job and helped with Collins a lot.

Overall, the event was a success and was well-received by the participants. And I learned valuable lessons in time management, in what job skills I possess and those which I do not, and where my priorities lie at this specific time in my life. I'm grateful for the experience- but also grateful it is now over!

New Classes

We are keeping Collins busy with several new classes.

Basketball class with Dad...(Coach K said she would make a great soccer player- she didn't mention anything about her basketball future!)

dance class with a tutu...(the group dances do not go well, but she does great at the individual exercises)

and swim lessons with Jean-Margaret! (she has not been scared at all this round of swim lessons, but did get bored early on this past class telling Brian "I'm done!")

There has been crying outbursts/frustrations at each class. There has also been excitement/really proud moments at each class. We'll keep trying new things and see what she likes.

There's a Mouse about the House!

Collins got this cute book for her birthday, and we have had fun reading it and sending the mouse all over the house.

If only I would have known that this book was a glimpse into my future and my own personal nightmare....yes, there was a real mouse about MY house. AAGH!!!

Of course the mouse made his appearance when Brian was in Chicago for work. Our meeting was not a pleasant one- I don't know who was more scared- me or the mouse. There was lots of screaming involved.

The days to follow were not fun ones around our house, but I think we have our mouse problem solved. The exterminator found several unsealed vents around the outside of the house where the little visitors had easy access to come inside. The holes are now sealed and the house has been overly sanitized.

I think they are gone, but it might be a while before I am brave enough to read this book again. Talk about traumatic!

Little Mimic

Lately, Collins is quick to do whatever the kids around her are doing. If someone at the playground is pretending to walk a balance beam, she is quick to follow closely behind them and do the same. If another kid says something funny, she laughs and repeats it. It's been happening so much recently that I have to remind her she can also be a leader, not just a follower!

She took mimicking to a whole new level recently when she stayed at the Gill's house for a couple of hours. Tony and Beth have two girls- Mercer is 5 and Laney is a couple of months older than Collins. Well, Laney had to go to the potty and Collins watched and was quick to tell Beth that she needed to go to the potty, too. Collins insisted on sitting on the big potty and do you know that she pooped in that potty?!? This was a first! She has never shown much interest in peeing in her potty at home, let alone pooping in it. I guess watching an older, cooler friend do it was enough to convince her she could do it!

Has she repeated this action since then? Of course not. Maybe I should borrow the Gill girls for a weekend and let them handle potty training for me...

 

Celebrating 30 in the Big Apple

I have to thank my sister for turning 30 because this milestone birthday is the reason we got to spend a fabulous girls weekend celebrating in New York City. An even bigger thank you goes out to my Mom who not only came up with the idea to take this cool trip but who also made it possible!

A girls trip is always fun because it means lots of shopping, lots of fun conversation, and lots of eating. But when you get to spend quality time with your Mom and sister in one of the coolest cities in the world on a perfect Spring weekend- it's an experience you will never forget.

Our trip started out with a pound of corned beef and the world's best cheesecake from Carnegie Deli- fuel for a fun afternoon of shopping. 

We explored the Plaza, FAO Schwartz, Henri Bendel and all the other neat stores along 5th Avenue and then decided it was time for a cocktail.

I was quite pleased when my champagne arrived, and it was as large as the Chysler building.

We braved the subway en route to our dinner in Greenwich Village Friday night. It was this fabulous Mexican restaurant with loud music and low lighting. I don't know if I was more impressed by the cool atmosphere, my first churro, or our first celebrity sighting of the weekend. Sitting across from us was Jim Courier (the former pro tennis player).

Have you ever been to the top of the Empire State building at 11:30 p.m. at night? We have and wouldn't recommend it! We were trying to be adventurous and ended up in a tourist trap. We left tired, cold and with throbbing feet, but we did get a pretty good view from the 86th floor...

Saturday morning we shopped, ate lunch at this cute Italian place in Hell's Kitchen, and then headed toward the theater for our matinee showing of "Phantom of the Opera". The theatre was gorgeous, the music gave us chills, and the special effects were incredible- we were disappointed when the fun had to come to an end. A very special treat!

After we left the theater, we had two more celebrity sightings- Joan Rivers and Elmo.

The Mimi/Elmo combo is about more than Collins can handle. She looks at this picture often! We headed down to SoHo Saturday night for a fancy dinner at Gotham Bar and Grill and had a memorable (i.e. terrifying) cab ride home. Upon exiting, Alli's comment to the cab driver was "What is wrong with you?!?" and mine was "That was great fun!". It's all part of the NYC experience, right?

 

Sunday morning we took a walk in beautiful Central Park.

 

 

We ended our trip in SoHo with brunch, shopping and our final celebrity sighting (Padma Lakshmi- "Top Chef" host). We had an incredible weekend and it was the perfect way to celebrate Al's birthday.

When we got home, I don't know if Collins was more excited to see me or her prize from New York City (a snake from FAO Schwartz- much like the one she always covets at gymnastics). Thanks Mom and Alli for a wonderful trip!!!