Martha Rivers Park

Spending the morning at Martha Rivers Park never seems to disappoint!  There’s so much to see and do…

…and everyone always leaves happy!

Strawberry Picking!

While in South Carolina visiting family last weekend we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go strawberry picking.  This was Bailey’s first time picking strawberries and I was really excited to get to do it with her!

After a little instruction from Nanny (my mom) on which berries were best and which ones to avoid, Bailey got right down to work.

She worked steadily, filling her bucket with lots of beautiful, ripe strawberries.  I was truly amazed how, even at 3 1/2 years of age, the activity kept her interested.

Definitely a morning well spent with a couple of my favorite ladies! 

Maybe next time we’re in South Carolina we’ll try out blueberry picking.  Or better yet, maybe we’ll try peaches!

End of the Pre-School Year

This week marked the end of the pre-school year for Bailey and the rest of her two year old class (She’s actually 3 1/2, but since her birthday is so late she was placed in the two year old class at the beginning of the school year).  And the occasion was marked by a series of activities this week.

First was a little graduation program on Monday where the kids sang a series of four songs and were presented with their graduation certificates.  After the program the families were invited to enjoy some refreshments, view the kids’ artwork and watch a video of the class’ activities throughout the year.  Definitely very sweet to be a part of!

The second graduation week event was a class picnic at the nearby state park (and playground) Monday evening.  Even though the picnic was intended for Bailey’s class, the whole family was invited.  Of course this suited Owen just fine.  He loved getting a chance to play with Bailey on the big playground!

The third and final graduation week activity was outside day, which was held this afternoon.  What’s outside day?  Well, imagine field day, but with a sprinkler, water table and ice cream party at the end.  Yep, definitely a good time for everyone!

Of course Bailey was a little hesitant about the sprinkler at first…

…but she eventually warmed up to it with a little encouragement from her friends.

And needless to say the ice cream (all two bowls of it) was a hit!

I can’t believe another year of pre-school has already come to an end.  Bailey has had such a wonderful school year.  She learned so much and has grown in so many ways.  She made some new friends and got to know the old friends even better!  Can’t wait to see what she does in the three year old class next school year! 

Mother’s Day in Dollywood

I was so blessed to be able to spend this Mother’s Day with a few of my favorite people.

We decided to spend some quality family time together at Dollywood.  Bailey and Owen both seemed to enjoy the rides and everything else the park had to offer.

And I enjoyed just having the time with them!  Definitely a great Mother’s Day!

A Quick Trip to Alabama

Last weekend we packed up the kids and headed south to Huntsville, Alabama to visit our sweet friends Jared and Melanie and their adorable daughter Caroline.  We had not seen them in nearly a year so needless to say, a lot had changed in  both of our families since then.

The weather was beautiful and we had a great time exploring all that Huntsville had to offer, including a stroll through Big Spring Park to feed the fish and ducks…

…a visit to the EarlyWorks Children’s History Museum…

…a bike ride through the neighborhood…

…and hanging out at the playground!

It was a long way to go for such a short trip, but definitely worth the drive!  We had such a great time and can’t wait to see everybody again!

9 Months!

Hard to believe, but Owen turned 9 months at the end of March.  Here are the numbers from his 9 month well check:

• Weight—17 lbs. 11 oz. (16th percentile)
• Height—28 1/4 in. (43rd percentile)
• Weight to height—12th percentile

Owen continues to be a very happy and healthy baby. The only concern Dr. Reinhardt had at the well check last week was that Owen still wasn’t very mobile. He wasn’t rolling around to get to things, going from laying down to sitting, crawling, or pulling up yet. After a very thorough inspection of his joints and reflexes she reached the conclusion that the only thing wrong with his is that he’s a tad bit on the lazy side. She gave us some tips on how to better “motivate” him to move and said that if little progress was made by his 12 month well check that she would order a physical therapy evaluation on him. Well, I guess hearing her say that was all the motivation he needed, because less than one week later he is now crawling, pulling up, and fully mobile (heaven help us!).

In other news, Owen now has two teeth (bottom center) and is eating pretty much anything you put in front of him—cheerios, bananas, mashed potatoes, pizza crusts (don’t tell the Dr. about this one), and so much more. He’s finally figured out how to use his sippy cup and seems to enjoy drinking his water.  His vocabulary has increased from zero words to three with him now saying “bye bye”, “mama”, and “dada” (in that order might I add).  He is such a true joy to be around and my heart melts every single time he flashes that handsome smile at me!