Sunday, March 25, 2012

Our Weekend: Hunger Games and Museums

Today was my last day of Spring Break. It went SO fast! It seems like we just got out of school but tomorrow I'll be back in the saddle. Work weeks NEVER go this quickly!

Yesterday Andy and I had a date night and went to see The Hunger Games. I have read the trilogy and was really excited to see the movie. Andy hasn't read the books but he still enjoyed it.  It was really good. As good as the book? Of course not, but still highly entertaining and (very) emotional.  We saw a matinee so we were able to have a nice, leisurely dinner afterward. It was so nice to spend some time together before I head back to work.

Today we took the girls to Chattanooga to visit the Creative Discovery Museum. This place is so cool.  As soon as we pulled up, we could see the kids playing through the windows and Emma couldn't wait to get out of the car.  The first exhibit was a splash zone where kids can use different tools to shoot water and lift water buckets. The kids had a blast! Thankfully, the museum provided protective gear to keep them from getting soaked, because believe me, they tried! Sophia didn't want to leave but we still had plenty more to see.



Closing the water gate.
Shooting water with Daddy.
The museum is broken up into "rooms," each with a different theme. There was a room for building houses and roller-coasters.  Emma and Andy went crazy in here!

Putting her ball on the "roller coaster."
Turning the wheel to move the paddle to drop the ball into the shoot. Whew!

I love this little pumpkin!
There were rooms for music, art, housekeeping, archeology (where kids could actually go on a dig), and a clinic.



Upstairs there was an outdoor simple machines area, huge chess board, and a library.
Pulling herself up!
A kiss for her hard work.

There was also a bee exhibit where kids could climb in honeycombs, dress as beekeepers, and view an actual beehive through Plexiglas.  It was pretty amazing to see the bees return to the hive with their full pollen sacs.



We all had a great time and we will definitely visit again! It was the perfect way to end an awesome Spring Break!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Teething is the Pits

Teething really sucks. My poor Sophia has been miserable these past few days.  She hasn't wanted to eat, sleep, drink, or play. She is just a mess. 

I don't like giving her Tylenol all the time so sometimes we have to find other methods.  Yesterday, nothing seemed to work except for constant holding. When she woke up from her nap she was so cranky from being in pain and from being thirsty and hungry that not even snuggles would cheer her up.

Luckily, Mama had one more trick up her sleeve. Ice cold watermelon slices. It cured the thirst, hunger, and sore gums all at once.


Baby girl ate two big slices and was happy all though dinner. I have a feeling we'll be buying a lot of watermelon this summer!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Parks, Preschool, and Wagon Rides

We've had a great Spring Break this week. We haven't been overly busy but we've kept ourselves entertained. On Wednesday we took the girls out to the park. One of our favorite parks recently went though a complete renovation. It was fun, but Sophia was pretty upset that there weren't any swings. She's obviously still getting used to the slide. 
Emma loved that she was able to do most everything on her own. She climbed to the top of one of the structures but was a little unsure of when she got to the very top. Luckily, Daddy was there to help.

This afternoon we took Emma on a tour of her preschool. It was great and Emma was excited, even though she was a little shy with the teacher that showed us around. I can't believe that we're at this point of our lives already. How in the world is my baby two and a half weeks shy of being three and ready to go to preschool in a couple of months?

Since she's been lucky enough to be at home and taken care of by my mom, she hasn't had many opportunities to leave home and certainly never on her own. We try to put her in activities to help her socialize with other kids her age and she always does great. I'm not worried about her ability to adapt at all. I'm worried about MY ability to let my little bird leave the nest.

The school is beautiful and so well run.  We were able to see one class in session and view several other classrooms and they were all wonderful. It was sprinkling so we couldn't tour the playground but we managed to sneak a quick peek. Boy was Emma excited about that playground!



My big girl!
 After dinner, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The rain had cooled things off and it was the perfect time for a wagon ride. The girls love riding around together looking at everything. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.

Blurry, but I love this smile!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Spring Has Sprung!

Even through Spring officially begins tomorrow, the weather has been gorgeous and will be in the 80s all week long.  I brought out the water table to make the most of the high temperatures and to kick off the first day of Spring Break.

Emma was so excited to show Sophia the ropes. It took Sophia a minute or two to figure out that she wasn't bathing in her clothes and that she was supposed to get wet. Once she had it figured out, she was good to go.







They're so sweet, aren't they? 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We don't have a lick of Irish on either of our family trees, but everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, right?

Emma didn't really get the whole "leprechaun"thing, but she was super excited about a day that celebrated her favorite color--green! The leprechaun might visit our house in the future, but for now, we kept it simple.

We had a special breakfast of rainbow waffles this morning, which I found here.  It was a little time-consuming, but completely worth it when I presented Emma with her very own rainbow. She very sweetly whispered, "A rainbow! Thank you, Mommy!" I'll be making these for every meal. ;)



We had a pretty dreary morning, so we just hung around and watched movies and played. We took a trip to Toys R Us when the sun came out later in the afternoon to look for Easter basket items.  The Easter bunny managed to see through the kids' persuasive pleas for big ticket items to get some good, simple ideas.

Sophia's hair is getting so long, but she refuses to let me put anything in it.  She has already had a haircut, but her bangs grow so quickly and are right back in her eyes. If I try to pull them back in a clip, she rips it out and hands it to me. Tonight I began to experiment with her hair and she wasn't too pleased, but she sure was cute!

Pay no attention to the mismatched rubber bands.
Of course, it wasn't until I put the girls to bed that I realized that I didn't get a picture of them together in their green outfits, but even the luck o' the Irish wouldn't have helped it come out well anyway.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Drama Queen

My crazy, wonderful child makes me laugh each and every day.  She is such a character and loves to perform (when she thinks no one is watching). She has a toy microphone and she loves to walk around and sing all evening. Sometimes she'll sing an actual song, but most of the time, she'll make up her own song, complete with made-up words.

Tonight's performance had us in stitches!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

A Day at the Zoo

Sophia got a family zoo pass for her birthday and today, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out for a day of fun. Emma was so excited when we told her where we were going.  She called this her "excited face:"
If she says so! :)
This melts my heart!
 Emma had her own map and showed us where to go all day.
We all had a blast seeing the sights and enjoying the beautiful weather.



 Emma did not want to ride the carousel, until she saw how much fun her sister had. We stayed away from the ones that moved up and down, and with Daddy by her side, she had a good time too.

 When we got to the petting zoo, we were shocked to see a turkey! I was a little hesitant at first, but the turkey was very sweet and loved having his back feathers petted. He would lay his feathers down and sit when he was happy. He was so cute!

 Our zoo has a great play area for kids, which is where we ended our day.  We got them good and worn out before heading home, where we all took very long, and much needed, naps.