I want THAT for my birthday!

Well, in case you didn't know, Saturday morning cartoon commercials just HAPPEN to know exactly what every 3 year old, soon to be 4-year old girl wants for her birthday. In fact, EVERY single product on EVERY commercial is a must have! This is a new discovery for Jaylyn. We don't have cable so it is all video or PBS - not many commercials. But, look out for Saturdays and listen for Jaylyn shouting during every commercial, "I want THAT for my birthday." (Believe it or not, there are still toys she doesn't have. Hee hee!)

Thumb Sucking 101

We get a lot of comments about Adley's thumb sucking. She has always preferred a thumb or finger to a pacifier. (picture of early thumb sucking days before the "twirl" was perfected - Hee hee!)

Jaylyn was all about pacifiers! They came in handy too. Thankfully it was pretty easy to transition her off of the pacifier. Now, Adley has wanted nothing to do with the pacifier. It has been nice that she can soothe herself. She has even perfected her soothing technique by adding the "twirl". Notice, suck on left hand thumb. . .and twirl back curls with right hand. That is the show stopper right there. People out and about definitely think there is nothing cuter than that. It is sweet, but I wonder how difficult it may be to break the thumb sucking versus the pacifier. Our pediatrician has 3 girls and they all sucked their thumbs, but she said her girl that also had the "twirl" was the one that gave it up the easiest. So, time will tell. But, until then we will take note how old she is when people finally stop commenting how cute it is and start telling me I shouldn't let her suck her thumb. :)

Saturday Fun

Jaylyn had a Daddy Date on Saturday. They had a wonderful time at Dairy Queen. Before Daddy was ready to go, we had to think of something fun to do because she was having a LOT of trouble waiting for the fun day. So, we decoupaged her pumpkin. I saw the idea in a magazine and she definitely enjoyed it.After they got back, we also had fun outside where I found a 5-leaf clover! Yes, 5 leaves! Apparently, a 5-leaf clover means extra good luck and attracting money. We will see about that! Although, Jaylyn almost backed over Adley with her Barbie Jeep, so maybe I should have passed the clover to Adley!

First Field Trip

Jaylyn is in preschool this year at a church in town. She has a wonderful teacher, Ms. Sheila, who also happens to be our pastor's wife. They had to combine the two age levels together and that put Jaylyn in the same class as her cousin and "security blanket", Malaine. And, today they went to the pumpkin patch! It was windy and cold, but they found their special pumpkin.See my pumpkin!

The perfect pumpkins!

Adley enjoyed the field trip too. She ate her first oreo cookie snack.

Mommy, Smell Your Fingers!!!!

Well, on our outings today we had to stop and use the bathroom at one of the stores. I'm sure, if you are a preschooler or have ever been to the bathroom with one, you know that it is always exciting to see what kind of soap there is. What color is it? What does it smell like? Today, the soap had an exceptionally exciting smell. In fact, Jaylyn insisted that I enjoy it too. She shouted very loudly, "Mommy! Smell your Fingers!" So, to all of you that have forgotten the joy of being a preschooler, don't forget to check out the color of the soap and of course, don't forget to smell your fingers.

More Pictures of our Vacation Blessing

View while driving on the 5.9 mile bridge to get to the island.

Now that is relaxed!

The whole gang!

Jaylyn and cousin Makenna - We were able to create some fun sand art. Makenna made sure to put a cherry on top!

What do we do now?

Well, as I was tucking Jaylyn into bed, she of course asked the questions, "Where are we going when we wake up?" and "Who is coming when we wake up?" She has to ask them both of course and she seriously has been asking those questions with no fail for maybe a year! So, on those days when nothing happens, I admit, I'm pretty disappointed too. :)

But now, we just got back from a wonderful family vacation. A 7 bedroom, 7 1/2 bath house RIGHT on the beach in St. George Island, FL. (with our own pool of course) We went with T.J.'s family and each family group had their own bedroom and bathroom - 27 of us! The crazy thing was, you did not feel like there were that many people there. We were all spread out with plenty of room. The house was huge! It definitely spoiled us, and I know we will never stay in anything so nice again. (Unless of course, the family goes in a couple years. Hee Hee!)

So, again, it was wonderful and I now find myself asking, "What can we do now?" because I am really having a hard time getting everything back in order after vacation. I know I should have done it right away. I did do some things, but I admit there are still suitcases on the floor-upstairs and downstairs.

So, enjoy the beach pictures. I will look at them too instead of putting away my suitcases.









The house - right on the beach with pool on the side













View from our bedroom balcony













Jaylyn swimming

Jaylyn and Adley on the beach

More pictures to come

First Post!

I figured we might as well join in with everyone else and BLOG! We have family and friends that we live away from, so this is a nice way to communicate what is going on in our lives. We stay pretty busy and I just am not very good at letting everyone know what we are up to. So, hopefully now I will be able to keep blogging and you can check in on us now and then.