Happy Meal = Happy Baby

Last weekend (much to her Dad’s delight) we hit up Mickey D’s so that Emmy Cate could experience her first Happy Meal!  Guess it’s safe to say that she loved every minute of it ... the whole play area (thankfully indoors because of the heat!), the other kids there, and then the greasy fries.  Judging from the pictures, she also really liked having her milk handy too!!

Here she is checking out the play area … and other kids climbing all over the place …

 

And then it was time to check out the grub …. a cheeseburger, fries, and a milk!  Complete with a bobble head toy!

Daddy was very happy that EC shares his love of greasy, unhealthy fast food!! 

End of School Party

Today, we met Emmy Cate’s classmates and their parents, along with her teachers, at Newtown Park for her end of school party.  In another week, Emmy Cate moves to a toddler room!!  Is was so HOT but EC had a lot of fun running around and playing on the playground.  The big hit was the slide!  She went around and around … down the slide, run around, up the steps and down again!  She liked going solo but …

decided it was LOTS more fun if you go down with a friend!!  This is her classmate, Emerson who is as fun loving as EC!!

 

By the time we left, Emmy Cate was soaking wet with sweat and so dirty she had to come home and immediately take a bath!  We had fun talking to some of the parents that we don’t see very much.  All of the kids in her class with transition at the same time to the same room, so the only new faces will be her teachers! 

I attended the school open house and the new teachers seem great.  The kids’ day in the new room is a little more structured since they will be learning letters, numbers, colors, etc.  They will also start to learn bible verses and songs.  They transition down to only one nap a day and no more cribs – they sleep on cots.  No high chairs either, just mini tables and chairs!  Lots of changes but EC is not afraid to tackle anything!

3 Babies and a Little Chopper

Last weekend was a BIG weekend for our family!  We had  fun visiting Nathan’s family in North Carolina.  Due to our … travel constraints (ie EC HATES the car), this was her first trip since Christmas.  She is not one to sit still, and being strapped in her torture chamber car seat for hours does not sit well with her.  Luckily, we were able to take advantage of our brother-in-law’s profession (he’s a pilot) and EC and I were able to hop a chopper for the ride up on Friday night! 

Unfortunately, just as we were supposed to leave a huge storm cell parked overhead and would not let up.  So we spent over an hour just hanging out in the car.

After that little setback, we were able to get underway.  It seats six, so we had 3 babies in the back (EC and her 2 cousins Macy and Makayla), one adult in the back, and two adults up front.  My sister-in-law, Mandy, was the brave volunteer to sit back with the 3 little ones for the 1.5 hour ride!!!  EC thought it was pretty cool and even fell ASLEEP for most of the ride, which was probably the most amazing thing that happened all weekend!  The last time she fell asleep in her carseat was … Christmas Day 2009!!  Thank you EC for being such a great baby that night!!

 

Up in North Carolina, EC spent plenty of time with Grandma and Papaw playing in the “country”, and also playing with her cousins.  She thought her cousins’ dog was pretty cool but a little big!

She made sure her nose was clean of any embarrassing things …

And just hung out since it poured rain all afternoon Saturday … and did I mention it was my birthday?!

 

Saturday night, Nathan and I went out (thanks to Grandma and Papaw for babysitting!) for a glass of vino and a wonderful dinner. 

Sunday was the Childers reunion and EC and I had never been.  We don’t have too many pics of the afternoon but we did manage to snap some pics of the girls before heading out.

We tried our best to get a family pic, but this is about as good as it got.  EC was all over the place and in no mood to sit pretty and cheese for the camera.  I think our photographer could use some lessons too!  Where are our legs??!!  ;)

The tradition is to make homemade ice cream in the afternoon, so of course, EC’s Papaw had to make sure she sampled the goods.  She never gets sweets at home so it was a treat.  She definitely was not prepared for how COLD it was though and quickly gave up on it!!

We had a good weekend but unfortunately, as soon as we got home, EC came down with croup!!  Yuck!  She is really hoarse and it’s so sad to hear!  She seems to be feeling a bit better now.

Beat the Heat

To be able to deal with this heat and humidity, we played in the backyard today with the sprinkler and baby pool.  Emmy Cate still adores anything to do with water and just jumps in to the pool and runs right through the sprinkler.

Then she got nailed in the head with one of the stronger sprays …. it surprised her!!  She made some of the greatest faces – this was Nathan’s favorite.  It almost looks like she was crying but she wasn’t, she was just shocked!

While we were drying her off, she decided she liked her “freedom”!!!

Happy 4th!!

For the 4th, we went to the celebration at the Club which included a whole BBQ spread, plenty of activities for the kids (and plenty of libations for the adults), and a rocking fireworks show.  Emmy Cate loved every minute of it.  By loved, I mean she ran around E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.  And by everywhere, I’m talking 3 full hours of adrenaline-fueled, crazy walking and running over the grass, up stairs, over people’s blankets, around chairs, through legs, besides fences, through bubbles, over jump ropes, under tables, across fields … well, you get the picture.  Since Nathan’s parents were still here, there were 4 of us to chase her but we all gave up just as it was getting dark right before the fireworks.  Luckily, Grandma and Papaw were so nice to take Emmy Cate to bed and we got to hang out a little longer.

 

After surviving keeping Emmy Cate for the weekend, I think Grandma and Papaw realize what a handful Emmy Cate is!!   :)  I just have to share a funny story from her teacher at school that perfectly illustrates EC’s boisterous personality.  When Nathan picked her up from school yesterday, her teacher had changed her outfit.  Naturally, Nathan asked why she needed a change, and the teacher proceeded to tell how Emmy Cate managed to get her whole outfit soaked.  Normally, each week her class has “Splash Day” at school where the kids get dressed in all of their swim gear and get to splash around in a big “splash table” (for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s basically a basin up on legs like a table that you can fill with water).  Nevertheless, that happens on Fridays and not on Tuesdays.  Well, seeing that it was left out in the rain over the weekend and collected some water in it, some of the kiddos got the bright idea to turn Tuesday into splash day!  One of their teachers had turned around for a split second and when she turned back, 3 of the kiddos were engaged with the splash table just playing their hearts out.  And by playing, I mean the other 2 were sticking their hands in the water and splashing, but oh no, not our Emmy Cate.  She decided that was for amateurs and proceeded to try to climb in the table with all of her clothes on!!  She was rolling around in the water just as happy as a clam!  She was apparently determined to take it one step further and get extra dirty!!!  That’s our girl!  And don’t worry, there was hardly any water in it so she wasn’t in any danger!! 

Mini Vacay

Nathan and I headed down to Hilton Head this past weekend for a micro vacation while his parents kept EC at home.  It was my first night(s) away from Emmy Cate and almost the first time I really got to sleep in!  We slept until almost 9 two days in a row!!  We left out Friday afternoon and didn’t get in until almost 9 on Friday night.  We enjoyed some drinks and a late dinner before staying up too late!!  But it didn’t matter because we knew we could sleep as long as we wanted!! 

Saturday, we headed to the beach but didn’t even stay there for an hour due to a wind advisory, which was great if you wanted an all-over body exfoliation but not so great if you didn’t like sand granules in your mouth.  So we headed to the pool and hung out there all day.  Since it was so breezy we didn’t really get too hot.  The weather was wonderful!!

That night, we went out for some drinks and dinner at The Black Marlin and it was delicious!  I had a huge shellfish pot filled with steamed lobster, crab, crawfish, mussels, clams, and shrimp, and Nathan had Black Grouper.  Yum!  We definitely had our fill of seafood this trip!!

Sunday morning was pretty low key since we left mid morning to get back in time to celebrate the 4th back home!!