I Can't Believe She's Going To School

Less than a year ago I was dreading taking Lily's bottle away. She's was almost 2 and all her other little friends were straight juice cuppers. She couldn't be 2 and still be drinking out of a bottle now could she? She never sucked her thumb or a pacifier, but did she love her bottle! I felt like the moment I took it away she wouldn't be a "baby" anymore. I wasn't ready to give up Lily being a baby.

Now my 2, almost 3 year old, will be going to Pre-K, and I cannot believe it. This past year has been year of letting "baby" things go. We said good-bye to the bottle, the crib, and the diaper. She went from stringing a couple of words together to having funny and sometimes ridiculous full- on conversations. (I love those silly converstations!!)

As I pack her back-pack and make her lunch, I am excited for all the exploring she'll get to do and friends she'll make. I'm nervous that she'll be too busy playing and have an accident. (Then she'll have to change the super cute outfit I've picked out for her!) I'm happy that she'll be happy because I know she'll love school and her teachers. But I'm also sad. She can't be going to school yet!! She's not even 3! This wasn't supposed to happen for another year at least.

Most of all, I'm excited. I'll see her much more now that she'll be coming to school with me every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I can go watch her anytime I want to while she plays on the playground. In that way, I'm pretty lucky.

There remains just one question. Will I cry the moment Andy and I walk her to her classroom door or will I keep it together until I leave? Tears are a pretty sure thing.

It's The Little Things

Today was a day with little happy surprises. It started with a visit to Andy's school. It was the last day of PT (Physical Training) so they had it for 8 straight hours. Phew! I get winded running up our stairs. I can't imagine 8 hours of hard physical exertion!! It was open to family so Lily and I stopped by for a visit.

At one point they were practicing cuffing each other. One of Andy's classmates had to pin him down and cuff him. Lily called out, "Be careful, Daddy, be careful!" and "Get up, Daddy, get up!" It was cute. Seeing Andy in action made me appreciate what he does and how hard he works at school.

After some errands, Lily and I were walking back to the car and it started to rain. Every time we are out and it rains, Lily looks for puddles to jump in. Well, today we found a good one and she had her rain boots on. It wasn't raining very hard so I told her to go for it. She had a blast splashing and I had a blast watching. I don't have a picture of this, but that's okay. This one will be a special memory that's just for me. I'll never forget how she looked in her pink raincoat, laughing and jumping in the rain.

On the way home I had to stop at Starbucks. Yes, I said "had to."

Much to my delight, they handed my tall non-fat latte' to me in.............A RED CUP!! Enough said.

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Andy in action at the Academy.
I had to put a picture of my girl in. Andy and I took a picture of her one night after she fell asleep. So cute!

Pumpkins and Poop....Yes, I said Poop

There are a few things you should know before you continue reading my blog. So listen up, all five of my readers! Besides posting a lot of pictures (which is why all of Lily's Aunties will be checking my blog), I talk about two things.... a lot. Lily and Lily's poop. I will blog a lot about the former (and Andy and I) and though not as much, I must blog about the latter.

Anyone who knows me well and has been around me the last 3 months knows that poop is all I talk about these days. Again, let me clarify. This is Lily's. I'm not a total weirdo! I'm hoping to do less of this as Lily's potty's training is drawing to an end. I think. You see, this whole potty training thing has totally taken over my life. It's been a long road and it hasn't been an easy one.

So, I'm just warning you.

I hope that one day, not every conversation I have will eventually find it's way back to the potty. But until then......

You must be thinking, what does pumpkins have to do with....you know? Nothing really. But today, the Writebols, Carrillos, Browns and Bauers (minus Peter and Andy) made an impromptu trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Since last Saturday's trip was thwarted by those pesky showers and this weekend promises the same, someone came up with this great idea. And a great idea it was!

There was a cute little hay ride and very dark hay maze (so I was told). The pumpkin patch was just the right size for our little girls. Not too big and busy. The land surrounding it was very countryish and farmy. I loved it!

We purchased our pumpkins and made our way to our cars just as it started to rain. Perfect timing. Since Andy wasn't able to make it, it was nice to have my mom join in on the fun. I was very disappointed that we weren't going to make our annual trip to the patch, but we made it after all.

And now, back to the........ you know. After the pumpkin patch, I dropped Lily off at home with Andy and left to go get dinner. Andy's job was to sit Lily on the potty and try to get her to.......you know. See, it's day 5 and no .........you know. I will spare you the horrific details of Lily's bm problems over the last 3 months. Just know, I was getting horrible bm flashbacks!

So when Andy called me on my cell phone and I heard Lily's sweet little voice say, "Mommy, I pooped in the potty!" I let out a whoop and holler. I never thought in my wildest dreams that one of the greatest joys in my life would be that my daughter would go to the bathroom without screaming like her eyeballs were on fire. But it is. And this mommy is glad.

What a nice end to an unexpectedly nice day.

Here are some more pictures. I promise. No pictures of ....... you know.

READY FOR CHRISTMAS

Well, it's official. I am ready for Christmas, and I haven't even seen the decorations out in the stores yet.

I'll tell you the moment my Christmas switch turned on. I took Lily out in our driveway/yard today after work to blow bubbles. The air was crisp and cool, but not too cold. And then I smelled it. You know how pine trees smell right after it rains? It reminded me of the Saturday after Thanksgiving when we go cut down our Christmas tree at the tree farm.

Needless to say, I've begun to play Christmas music. Hey it's only 2 months until Christmas! That's not too early, right?






Oh, to be 2 and completely entertained by a pile of dirt and pine needless!

So, I’m going to start a blog, again.

It's been a few years since I've posted on my former blog, Senorita Sassy Pants. I’ve wanted to start up again for years, but could always think of reasons why I shouldn't.

Reason #1: I don’t have time.

Well, I figure if I quit watching reruns of Glee and playing Farm Town, I should be able to squeeze in a half hour here and there to write.

Reason #2: I’ll start this blog and after a few weeks I’ll run out of ideas or lose the motivation and just quit. So why start at all?

This may very well be true. This was really a cop out for reason number #3.

Reason #3: Nobody will be interested in what I have to say.

This may also be very true. But I’ve decided to write this blog for me and for my family. If others like it……great. If they don’t and I never get a single comment………. That’s great too. Well, maybe not great, but I’ll get over it.

Life since Seniorita Sassy Pants has changed ALOT. While I'm still teaching, I now have an almost 3 year old daughter who keeps me on my toes and laughing. Andy is 5 weeks shy of finishing a year in the police academy. My life is crazy and busy most of the time and I'm almost certain this will not change any time soon. What better time to blog about it, right?

So, after saying all that, I’ll say one more thing………HERE I GO!!

Here are some pictures of life with the Bauers.