Hopscotch Day

Emma turned 18 months old on Tuesday.  It's hard to believe that she's already a year and a half old.  It's so much fun watching her grow and change everyday.  I decided on Tuesday since it was her 18 month birthday that I would take her to a kid's play place here in town called Hopscotch's.  It's perfect for kids her age.  It has a small bouncy house with a slide, a jungle gym maze with slides, lots of toys, a playhouse with dishes and pretend food and play mat floors for safety.  I was a little nervous because Emma is never around a big group of kids.  I am a stay at home mom so I'm really the only person she ever has to share her toys with.  She is always great when she is around another kid and when she sees other kids out in public but in this new setting I was a little worried.  We walked in and took off our shoes, put on our socks and I proceeded to pay to get in and as I'm standing there paying a family walks in behind us and waits in line.  This woman had a boy around the age of 6 and two twin boys that were around Emma's age.  Emma is immediately intrigued by these two sweet little boys and all of a sudden out of the blue she hits one of them on the back.  She didn't hit him hard but I still corrected her and apologized to the mom who assured me it was no big deal.  I'm sure she deals with a lot more than that having three boys! My thoughts after this incident were "OMG, if we aren't even in this place yet and she's already hitting people what is it going to be like when we get in here".  After getting in and setting my bags down we were off to explore.  Emma was bright eyes and in amazement at all the new things to play with and all of the kids running around.  She kept to herself at first but after warming up started to "talk" to other kids.  She would get right up in their space and proceed to have "conversations" with them.  Also, I should add that my daughter has a crazy ear fetish.  She has had a thing for ears since she came out of the womb.  Sometimes I am surprised I have ears left the way she pulls and tugs on my ears.  She kept going up to these kids and pulling on their ears.  I was so embarrassed.  I just nicely apologized and explained her fetish to the parents and they just giggled and thought it was the funniest thing.  Overall, she did really good.  We had a few incidents with sharing but after I corrected her each time she moved right along to another toy.  After over an hour of playing hard she was ready to go.  As in, she was at the gate to get out saying bye bye bye bye.  I am looking forward to taking her back soon.  It's just so surreal that she's old enough to play like a big girl!

Camping on the 4th of July

I know it's a little late posting about our 4th of July camping excursion but I literally just got caught up on all the dirty laundry, unpacking and sleep.  We spent five nights and six days at a campground at Land Between the Lakes.  It was our first time at this lake and we were pretty excited.  We had always heard great things about it.  Great fishing, beautiful views, clean water and a lot of fun.  Well it disappointed on a few of those points.  This trip had it's highs and it had it's lows.  Maybe more lows than highs.  We had checked the weather every day before leaving and it was calling for some pretty high temperatures but we figured since we were going to be camping right by the water we should be fine.  NOT.  Yes, we were near the water but those "clean, beautiful waters" weren't so clean and beautiful.  I'm not sure if it was because it hadn't rained in awhile but the water was kind of stagnant, with TONS of seaweed like grass and nasty little baby fish that pecked at your feet.  Needless to say, we did not do much swimming right at the bank.

Since our plans on keeping cool in the water didn't pan out the only way to keep Emma cool was to create a make shift redneck baby pool.  Emma didn't care that it was a camping tote.  In her little mind it was a brand new kiddie pool. 

I'm telling you it was so incredibly hot outside.  By the end of the day each day we were exhausted just from being out in the heat all day.  To top things off two of the nights we were there, our air conditioner went out in the camper.  We suffocated on those two nights.  After spending too many days sweating to death, I convinced Dustin to rent us a pontoon boat.  We all enjoyed a great day out of the water where there was no funky seaweed and baby fish nibbling on our toes.  Emma had a blast and even took her nap on the boat.  We really couldn't have asked for a better afternoon.

 Perfect weather for a day on the lake.

Dustin attempting to catch our dinner.  Let's just say we starved that night ;)

My little sleeping beauty.

Swimming in the lake with daddy.  I honestly thought it might freak her out but she did so good.

That night after a long day on the water we all couldn't wait to go to bed.  I was in bed that night before 10, due to a upset stomach.  At 2:30 in the morning I woke up sweating to death (stupid air conditioner) and hearing the sounds of a huge thunderstorm building in the distance.  It stormed for three hours.  I literally thought we were going to blow away.  When we woke up that morning we found our canopy outside had been twisted like a pretzel.  Everything was soaking wet and scattered from the wind.  Almost in unison, Dustin and I looked at each other and said "Let's pack this crap up and go home!"  After two hours packing everything up we pulled away from the campground and drove two hours home.  Beaten down, wet and exhausted.  I will say that we were miserable a lot of the time but some fun was had through everything.  We were able to watch fireworks right at the water, we had fun spending time with our family, we played games, we cooked great meals, we rode bikes, rode on a pontoon boat and had lots of laughs.  My lesson learned from this camping trip, DON'T STAY FOR SIX DAYS.  Make camping trips three days or less!

I would say that there were definitely rough times, but this view every night at sunset made it all worth while.

17 Months

It's hard to believe that in just one month my baby toddler will be a year and a half old.  I find myself going through old pictures of when I was pregnant, her birth, her sitting up by herself and her first birthday.  Just looking at them makes me so sad.  I remember feeling time moving in slow motion when I was pregnant and now it's going by at the speed of light.  It won't be too long before I'm planning another birthday.  Especially since this summer is already flying by.

It is definitely bittersweet.  She's getting older but she's at the cutest stage.  She changes every single day.  Here is what Emma is up to at 17 months.

• She can put multiple words together now.  Such as: Oh No!, Bo Bo (her cousin), Want Some, No No, Ringa Ringa Round, All Down (Ring around the Rosey) and Doh Owside (Go Outside).
• She is very defiant right now.  I'm not sure if we are hitting the terrible twos early or if it's just her teething.
• Speaking of teething.  She has 12 teeth! It has been a miserable few weeks for her cutting the big ones.
• Her favorite things to do are swing, slide, play in the sand box, play ringa ringa ringa (Ring Around the Rosey), play dress up (meaning pulling every item of clothes out of her drawers and putting them around her neck), read books, listen to music (her favorite song right now is Pontoon by LBT), ride in her wagon and sleep (major growth spurt I think).
• She is taking one nap a day.  Anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.  Sleeping through the night, however with these teeth she has been in our bed quite a bit.  I'm ready to have my bed back.
• Not quite sure her stats until next month at her 18 month check up but I'm guessing she's around 30 pounds.  She is in size 2T even some 3T stuff fits her.  Almost in a size 6 shoe.  Her toes are starting to dangle off in size 5's.
• She's quite the tomboy.  She absolutely hates bows.  She would much rather have her hair dangle in her eyes all day.  She loves playing with cars.  Hearing her make car noises is super cute but I'd much rather her be playing with baby dolls!  That's something I can do.  She is rough and tough and loves beating up on me and daddy.  What am I going to do with this child?
• She is still cuddly with me but I see it slipping away.  She is starting to be very independent with lots of attitude and No No No's.  I see lots of time outs in her future.
• Her vocabulary is expanding.  She will pretty much repeat most things.  She says dada, momma, maw maw, paw paw, pup pup, bay (for Bailey), tuh (for Tucker), BoBo (cousin), 'gan (again), more, bup (up), down, cup, No, Oh No, tanks (thanks, ringa ringa and lots of other stuff that sounds like she speaks a foreign language.
• She knows all her body parts.  Her favorite is her belly, belly button and thumb.  We will ask her to show us where Thumbkin is and she holds her thumb and pointer out in the shape of an L.  We are also working on her ABC's.  So far we've gotten as far as A.  I will tell her to say Aaaaaa. She'll repeat me.  Then I'll tell her to say Bbbbbb and she responds with Aaaaaa.  It's the cutest thing ever.

Overall, she is growing and learning and just being the cutest toddler ever.  I'm proud of her.  She's going to have her daddy's brains I do believe.  If she gets dad's brains and mom's looks we are going to be in trouble with the boys! :)

Sick as a Dog

With Easter coming and going I swear to you I've gained ten pounds in a week.  Why is it that holiday's revolve so much around the consumption of food? Thankfully after our huge Easter meal on Sunday we all got together and played our annual family softball game. 

I haven't ran that much in I can't tell you how long.  Every muscle in my body ached the next day.  Even my ribs and abs.  I never realized how athletic you have to be to play that sport.  I mean, I played soccer in high school and don't ever remember being that sore.  It could have been because I was the goalie and did more standing in the same spot than anything.  Don't be mistaken because being a goalie is a tough position.  You are the last form of defense and when you let a ball hit the net (which I didn't do very often thank. you. very. much) you feel so responsible.  Anywho, I'm getting off track here.  Back to me discussing holiday gluttony. 

Now, it wasn't just myself who gorged ate a few pieces of candy over the weekend.  My sneaky little dogs got pretty sick themselves.  Is it an old wives tale that dogs can die from too much chocolate, because I think mine almost did.  During Easter lunch, egg hunting and the softball game, my dogs were staying at my sisters house.  When we returned there were candy wrappers everywhere, along with multiple piles of doggy vomit.  There is no telling how much candy was consumed.  All I know is that for the next 24 hours they were literally, sick as dogs.  Fortunately the chocolate did not kill my dogs and they are perfectly fine now.  I swear, I'm a good pet owner, we just forgot to set the candy up high enough from their reach.  Whoopsy!

Speaking of being a good pet owner, I recently on Facebook asked for advice about a animal situation going on in my neighborhood.  A few houses down from us we sit and watch this poor dog stay tied to a tree all day long, with no food and water, no dog house, no affection and no room to exercise.  I've been pretty bothered by it so I asked people if they thought I should write an anonymous letter and stick it in their mailbox.  They thought it was a good idea so I jumped into action and wrote what I think is a pretty nice letter but stern enough to get my point across.  Take a peek:

April 12, 2012

To Whom It May Concern:

As a homeowner in this subdivision I am very concerned about the well being of your dog.  Over the last several weeks I have noticed several things about the proper care for your animal.  They are listed below:

1.       He stays wrapped around the tree all day because he is not on a proper lead for him to run and achieve the proper amount of exercise and animal needs to be healthy.

2.       He is without food or water because what small bowls are left out get knocked over.  They are not large enough or heavy enough containers to hold enough food and water for being left out all day.

3.       He is being left all day with no shelter besides the tree he is under.  When inclement weather occurs, such as rain, heat or the cold, he has no dog house or other form of shelter to protect himself.

4.       I have witnessed other neighbors walking over to your property to give him water and untangling him from the tree.  It is not other people’s responsibility in this neighborhood to take care of an animal that is yours.

5.       I am also aware that when someone is at home, your dog is still left outside, unfed and no water is replenished in his bowl.

6.       He is not getting the proper attention from his owners.  In several weeks I have not witnessed any affection given to him.  Animals need love and care, otherwise they are at risk for feeling scared, timid and possibly turning mean.

7.       Because he is outside most the day, he spends most hours barking, which is a noise disturbance to other people.

I have witnessed these things and am truly concerned about his well being.  I think he is a great pet, very friendly and loves people.  All he wants is attention and to be taken care of properly.  Animals are meant to be pets.  I am hoping that by informing you of these things that changes will be made.  If changes aren’t made a copy of this letter will be sent to Animal Control.

Sincerely,

Concerned Neighbor and Fellow Pet Owner

What do you think? I don't think it's harsh but I want them to understand that I will take matters into my own hands if changes aren't made.  I am a pet owner and even though I've never been a huge animal person I do have a heart.  I just can't watch this sweet boxer puppy sitting out there, dying for attention.

I have one itsy bitsy problem though...I am TERRIFIED to go over to their house and stick it in their mailbox.  All day I've been watching to make sure when they are home or aren't home but I'm such a chicken.  My fear is they will come out their front door with a shotgun and shoot me for being on their property.  It's almost like a black ops mission for me.  Maybe I should dress in camouflage, paint my face and wait until dark...No? Ok, ok

Oh, I have a blog you say? I must have forgot.

Oh where oh where to begin...most of you are probably wondering that since my last post was me leaving for vacation that I just decided to stay at the beach.  I wish.  Instead I got back and lost motivation to write.  I think a six month hiatus is long enough.  I know you missed me.  At least I hope you did anyway.  Let's bring you up to speed on things around the Salyer house.  There is a lot to catch up on so let's get started shall we?

• We did have a great vacation in Florida back in September.  Emma did great at the beach, even though at the time she wasn't walking.  We sat her in her bumbo in the sand and she had a blast.  Slept under the gazebo we had brought and over all did a great job being a little tike.
• We joined the church we have been attending since living in Bowling Green.  It felt like the right next step and we truly enjoy the feeling we get worshiping there.  However, in the last few months we have definitely been slacking in our attendance. Somehow the hustle and bustle of life takes over and you start slipping.  We are getting back on track though and it feels really good.
• I got my wisdom teeth removed.  Talk about misery.  After it was over I asked Dustin in my delirious drugged state if he thought they could surgically put my teeth back in.  It was the worst two weeks ever.  I got dry sockets and thought I. Was. Going. To. Die. Literally.  I'm healed up now and all is well with the world that is my mouth.
• We got through the holidays.  Christmas was awesome.  Emma really enjoyed it this year.  Bright eyes and squeals at seeing all her toys.
• Emma is not a little tike anymore.  My baby is all growed up.  She turned ONE on January 11th.  We had a great party.  Elmo themed of course.  It was a lot of work but so worth it.
• Emma went from not walking to running overnight.  She just took off like a bullet and never looked back.  She is in 24 months and 2T clothing (chunky monkey!).  We've yet to cut out bottles completely.  She gets one in the morning and at bedtime.  She's a paci loving fool.  How we'll ever get that one away from her I will never know!
• We booked a trip to Washington D.C. in May.  I am so so so excited.  I have never been and am really looking forward to it.  I'm a huge history buff so it's right up my alley.  However, I hear that it's not much of a vacation because you are constantly walking and on the go.  I'll need a vacation from my vacation! Dustin, go ahead and reserve a condo at the beach will ya?
• We just got through a wonderful Easter weekend.  Emma hunted eggs like a champ.  We spent lots of time with family and friends.  There was a family softball game.  I am officially sore.  It paid off though because my team won, WoooWhooo.
• Emma took her first trip to the zoo.  She was amazed at all the different animals.  Everything to her was a rooster.  We walked through the zoo and she did her little rooster call for every animal.  I didn't want to crush her little spirit so I just went along with it and chanted my rooster call with her.
•  Dustin took a full time job in Tennessee so he's traveling everyday for work.  We will eventually put our house up for sale and move but for now we are content enjoying another beautiful summer in our house and enjoying the pool.  I will be excited to move closer to all my family though.

Well, I guess that officially catches you up on our lives.  I'm excited to be back and hoping I didn't lose everyone who read this blog.  I pinky promise that I will post more often than every six months.  I can't promise it will be everyday or every other day because honestly I barely find time to shower everyday (TMI? Yeah, sorry about that) much less blog every single day.  I'm a mother to a toddler who has already hit her terrible two stage (can we say TEMPER TANTRUMS) and she keeps me on my toes, ok?

Nom Nom Nom, this sand is tasty Momma!

Traumatized for life...

Dustin and his Mini Me

 

The Christmas loot.

 

 Celebrating New Year's in style :)

 New Year's Smooches

 Somebody isn't a baby anymore...

Playing outside on a warm spring day.

 Happy Easter from The Salyers!