Love is....

Pushing your six year old in the Publix buggy (no matter how much your feet are hurting after standing nearly all day in heels) while waiting for a free cookie! Then it was off to ice skating. Kennedy is finally showing some progress.

Seriously? Four Teeth at Once?

It's been quite the weekend! Case is cutting four teeth at once (including at least two molars), so I've kind of been out of sorts this weekend. He is one ill boy! Fortunately, he has not yet run a fever... Please pray that he continues to be fever free and that his teeth poke through SOON!!! He just wollers all over me, but he doesn't want to be held and rocked (just carried around). Kennedy was such a cuddler, especially when she was sick! Amanda, I used to feel so sorry for you when I would read that Caden didn't want to be cuddled, and I just knew that I would NEVER have to go through that. Well, here I am, and I don't like it one bit!!! I want to put him in the bed with us and just hug on him, but Case would never be able to sleep that way. On the other hand, Case is drinking juice like fruit is no longer going to grow. Matt and I agree that he has a drinking problem. :) Case is hardly eating any food; just drinking juice. He is killing his Huggies!

Why, Playhouse Disney, Why?

So, I took a children's TV character quiz on Facebook (and I had a perfect score). The quiz showed you a picture and you had to answer the question, all related to children's TV characters. Some of the shows were older; most were within the last five years. This got me reminiscing... and thinking...

Ever since Kennedy was a baby, we have been big fans of Playhouse Disney (PD), and a lot of the ?s on the quiz were about PD characters. PD used to have the BEST shows: JoJo's Circus (Kennedy was JoJo for Halloween when she was 2), Bear in the Big Blue House, PB & J Otter, Higglytown Heroes (my personal all time favorite), and Out of the Box, just to name a few.

These days, the only really good show on PD is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Charlie & Lola is okay. Thankfully, they did get rid of The Wiggles and The Doodlebops (sorry, Courtney). But they've replaced those two awful shows with more awful shows! Why do we need Imagination Movers? Sure, the song is catchy, and my family often hears me sing, "Me, my name is Rich, I go rat-a-tat-tat." Sidenote----I am SO sorry that they have to hear me sing that (or anything for that matter).----But do we really need these fellows to help us with our idea emergencies? I'm pretty sure that most of what they're tackling doesn't actually qualify as real emergencies for children (or any other sane person). True, Warehouse Mouse is cute, but Uncle Knit Knots (sp?) isn't! I have grown to like Handy Manny, but mostly only because when the theme song plays, my sweet boy gets a HUGE grin on his face. Why did PD think that Jungle Junction was a good idea? Please let me know if your child actually likes it. I'm trying to figure out who its one viewer is. Special Agent Oso is tolerable, but I fear that it's teaching our children that every problem has a three step solution. And I know it's educational, but The Little Einsteins just aren't for me. I will not even get started on Choo Choo Soul...

Please, PD, bring back Higtown!!!!! How cute would Case be as Kip?

Keeping the Kellys in our Prayers

This past Wednesday evening, a church family was leaving Orlando, headed to Gulf Shores, when they were in a terrible car accident. Dustin and Melissa (the parents) were trapped in the car, and the children were both ejected from the car. Six year old Kensley was hurt very badly. She has a head injury, which caused bleeding on her brain. As I understand it, Dustin, Melissa, and Konnor have all been released with bumps and bruises (and I am sure emotional trauma). Kensley is still in the hospital on a breathing machine, but things are looking favorable for her. Praise the Lord! Please, if you get a chance, say a prayer for this family. You can visit their blog, which will hopefully be occasionally updated by a family member: http://dustnmo.blogspot.com/

I am sure that on top of all that has happened, it does not help that they are away from home. I pray that they will ALL return home soon!!!

The Natatorium

Kennedy has been begging to go swimming, so I decided to take her to the Natatorium (close to Brahan Springs Park) on Tuesday morning. One of our friends came along with her five year old daughter and eleven month old baby. When we got there we were informed that either we had to swim with the girls (because they did not meet the height requirement) or the girls had to pass a swim test to swim without us. What!?! They just want to play in the four-foot end!!! Well, we ladies were NOT swimming, so we said test them! Now, a 25-yard swim does not seem like much, but for a five and a six year old, it’s pretty long. Kennedy jumped in, and swam across!!! She passed. I was SO proud of her! She definitely has her momma’s love of the water. Unfortunately, when her friend tried to swim across, she was just too scared to try. She would go about a quarter of the way and turn around. I really believe she could have made it, but that pool was so tiny compared to her that it scared her. Kennedy played for a while, and then we all left to go eat at Chick-fil-A. The girls had a great time playing on the playground, especially when the rain began! We will have to go to the natatorium again. It was so private. There were never more than four other people in there, and they were just swimming laps.

Kid Venture

Since we stayed home this year for fall break, I tried to find a few fun places for us to go. On Monday I took Kennedy and her best friend E to Kid Venture, an indoor playground for toddlers to nine year olds. The cost is $8 per person, and adults are free. A monthly family membership is $28. I did not know how the area was set up, so I took Case to daycare for a few hours while the girls played. There are all sorts of things to play on. There is a wooden pirate ship, an inflatable obstacle course (with jumping area), air hockey (for free—my fav), skee ball (for free), a bouncy horse, a circle of bicycles, a new age seesaw, a small jungle gym, and lots more. It was worth the money, and I would take Case next time. There is a toddler play area in the same room, so you can watch your toddler and your older child(ren) at the same time. Case would be able to play in both areas. Also, there are tables in the lobby area, and you can bring in outside food and just eat lunch there. We only stayed for about an hour, and the girls were worn out. We had lunch at McDonald’s and picked up Case. We will have to go back during Christmas break. Have you been yet? What did you think of Kid Venture?

Fall Break---Last Year

This time last year, Case was only ten weeks old, and I was on maternity leave. We decided we needed a little getaway, so we went to Atlanta. We stayed at the Hilton in Downtown, and the view was amazing. I lived in Atlanta until I was almost ten, so I always enjoy visiting. Matt, on the other hand, does not like the traffic.

While we were there, we did a lot of walking, sightseeing, and eating.

On our first day there, we walked from our hotel to the Atlanta Aquarium. I liked it okay; Matt and Kennedy were more into it. Case slept the whole time we were in there (must have been the dim lighting). My favorite area was the shark tank because you stood on a conveyor and looked up to see the sharks and other fish. I also liked the whales A LOT!

After the aquarium we went to the World of Coke, and I think we all liked it better than we liked the aquarium. There was so much to explore there, and you got to taste all sorts of free coke products (not that I even drink soda, except Sprite). Then Kennedy played across the street at Centennial Park. That was a wonderful day.

The next day we went to the American Girl store that is at a mall right outside of Atlanta. After going to the store, for Christmas last year, Kennedy just had to have an American Girl doll! She has never been too into dolls, but we splurged on this one, and we will probably NEVER do so again, because she just does not play with it too much!

While we were in Atlanta we ate at The Cheesecake Factory, which was definitely worth the money!!! We are almost willing to drive to Atlanta just to eat there and then drive straight back home! That was the best cheesecake I have ever had! The day we left we even went back by and each got another piece to go. We also ate at the ESPN Zone, but we were not too thrilled with it.

The most memorable part of the trip was Case crying almost the whole way there and back. Well, and also stopping at the Children’s Place outlet store!

I am so glad that we took that trip! It wasn’t a huge trip, but Kennedy has wonderful memories of it, and so do I. We are planning a big spring break trip this year, and we can’t wait to surprise our princess and prince with it! What is your favorite weekend getaway?