Fun with Friends

  I was so happy to finally make a trip to Charlotte to meet baby Ethan!  He is such a beautiful baby!  I even got to feed him!  It was wonderful to catch up with Len and Nicole.  We’ve been friends since high school and they’re Baker’s God Parents. 

They are doing a fantastic job parenting 2 young kids.  It made me feel bad when I complain about keeping up with just 1 kid! After spending hours in traffic, we were happy to make it home from Charlotte safely. We ended the day at the ball field.  Seneca is actually hosting the Dixie Boys World Series and last night they had several events to kick off the series. It was pretty neat to see the top 12 teams in the country…in Seneca, SC! Baker  enjoyed every last moment of daylight jumping in the bouncy house.  She was terrified of the fireworks and hid behind me or buried in my shoulder so there are no pictures of the spectacular fireworks.  Getting to see Jake made Baker’s night!  When I told her that we were not going to be able to see Jake the next day she cried and said “But I love him!  I so sad I can’t see him.”   Baker had a blast having Tessa and Addie over to play.  The moms spent hours learning to make hair bows and the girls did a wonderful job of entertaining themselves.  We were impressed with them and our ability to make cute bows!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

On Wednesday, Baker enjoyed helping her daddy celebrate his 31st birthday!  When Lacy asked her where we should go for his birthday dinner she suggested Chick-fil-a.  Too bad..sushi won over that suggestion!  Lacy requested a simple birthday, so we went for Oreo cupcakes (instead of a cake) from Cubcakes.  Anything with Oreos throughout is delicious!

Swimming Video

Last night Baker was entertained for an hour as we went through the blog looking at old videos.  It reminded me of how special each little moment is, no matter how small it is.  With this said, I’m trying to take more videos of Baker.  I’m sure she’ll we’ll enjoy them for years to come.

Helping Daddy!

 

Baker enjoyed “helping” her daddy put together her “princess bed”.  We never told her it was a princess bed.  When we tell her we like her big girl bed she reminds us that it’s a princess bed! 

It’s a little sad to see how fast she’s grown up.  

Day 3..of Training

Today's training was not as successful as yesterday's, but I broke the rules and left the house. It was worth it though..church was wonderful and visiting with family was a nice ending to the day! Lacy's sister and her family stopped by while they were in town. Baker enjoyed playing with her cousin Elliot. She's a wonderful kid and such a help!
Kendel turned 1 in May and is so funny! She has so many expressions!

This was the best group picture I could get. Baker was ready for a nap and Kendel was more interested in exploring the backyard.

It melted my heart to see how sweet Baker was towards Kendel. I think she's going to make a great big sister (no time soon though).

Each evening Baker enjoys helping me water the gardens. This is her version of watering.

This is her telling me she just wet her panties. I had to laugh! I love this girl! Every moment with her is a blessing!

Day 2 Potty Success!

We started the day off great (besides Baker's 5:45 a.m. wake-up call)! Baker's bed was dry this morning when she woke up! I think I was more excited than her.

We had a deal that if she woke up dry, then she could wear an outfit throughout today's training. She was thrilled and spent some time this morning dancing. Today was a huge success because she went all day without any accidents! Yahoo...we're going to take the chance tomorrow and leave the house for church and lunch with Lacy's sister and her family. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that day 3 will be as good as today! I'm so proud of my "big girl"!

Day 1 of "Serious" Potty Training!

Today we started Day 1 of the "3 Day Potty Training". Last week, I did a little research on the best methods to use for potty training because after 6 months of dragging it out, I'm ready to be done with the "training". I'm tired of using pull-ups, diapers, and panties. Poor kid, she must be confused! I blame myself for the drawn out process because I really haven't been adamant about it. Well..3daypottingtraining.com has put us in gear. After Day 1, I am truly exhausted. I think I will be saying "Tell me when you have to go potty.", in my sleep. The program guarantees me that she will be trained by Sunday. We'll see! It's intense..that sounds so silly to write, a potty training program is intense! Well, it is. I have to be by Baker's side all day telling her to tell me when she has to go potty. I'm not suppose to ask her because she has to learn her own body signals. Today I woke up equipped and ready for success. I have the stickers, prizes, charts, you name it..I have it. We'll see what Sunday brings! We started the morning by bagging up all her pull-ups and diapers. She was excited that we were giving them to the babies! She's obsessed with babies! During the 3 days we stay at home and she is only to wear panties and a t-shirt. The t-shirt "rule" is about to kill her because she loves to wear her girlie outfits.

Since Baker decided it would be wonderful to start her day at 5:45 a.m., we were painting by 7:45.

It's fun to observe how much more involved she is in task. We actually played 1 game of dominoes.

Since we're trapped inside for the next few days, Emma came over for a visit. Yes!! They were acting like babies. Too silly! Check out Baker' pants. When Emma walked in the house wearing a cute outfit, it killed Baker that she was running around in a t-shirt, so off she went digging through her clothes. I said, "You may wear pants since we have company". Now that I type that, it sounds a bit trashy.

Last week we surprised Baker with a "big girl bed". She calls it her "princess bed". She loves it and actually sleeps in it. I'm just hoping that tomorrow morning I don't have to wash the entire bed set! I'll keep you posted! We only had 2 accidents today.

I keep telling myself, surely if I can teach kids to read then surely I can potty train my own child!

Simple July 4th

Baker and I were excited to spend some time with Lacy on his day off. We enjoyed a simple 4th of July, swimming at the lake and grilling out. With no hesitation, Baker jumped right into the lake. She would've stayed all day if we hadn't run out of snacks. (That's my trick to get her to leave the lake and the pool! I only pack a few snacks, so I know she'll want to leave to get some more food!)
I don't know who enjoyed themselves more, Kota or Baker. He was unsuccessful at catching some fish, but did find several sticks to retrieve and chew on.

Do you see why we ran out of snacks? Baker enjoyed trying to feed the fish before Kota ate the "fish food" a.k.a cheese crackers.

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful dog for Baker. He adores her and is very protective of her. The other day, while I was in the garden, Baker started to climb the fence. Within seconds, Kota was barking and dashing across the yard to get to Baker. He stood behind her until she climbed down. He does something similar to strangers. If a stranger approaches Baker, Kota starts barking and stands in front of her. He won't let them approach Baker unless Lacy and I give him the OK. I just love this dog!

A Week of Pure Bliss

Baker just returned from a week visit with her Bebe and GranDan. I was so sad to see her go away from home for an entire week, but I knew she would have so much fun. I also need to get use to letting her go away from home. The longer I wait the worst it's going to be. Baker had fun playing with her cousin Sayde. Although..I did hear that Baker was somewhat "rough" with Sayde.
The highlight of Baker's day was getting to play outside with all the water games Bebe and GranDan had set up. This picture makes me laugh!


Each night, the girls went to VBS. Bebe had fun playing dress-up with them.

They spent a lot of time in the flower and vegetable gardens.

The zucchini is as big as Baker! I'm wondering if it made it safely into the house!

Digging for treasure...or potatoes.

Bebe's little moment of peace..nap time!

Praying for their VBS teachers to have patience with them!

Craft time!

The crown just added to her princess ego.

It looks like Baker is involved in some serious conversation.

When I look at this...I notice there are no other children at the front of the church. Humm..

Ms. Debra just gave up and let Baker join in.

Baker was so proud to get her certificate of completion for VBS. She's racing back to her seat out of fear of losing the certificate. (Just my thoughts..)