Darling, even in the dark

I'm sure you're getting tired of me telling you that once again we went to the mall, but we have so much fun there! Friday night we picked up Daddy from work and headed to our favorite mall, the one with the Apple store in it. Daddy could get lost for hours in there, but we only give him about 30 minutes before nudging him to move along. :)

The picture is of Allison at Daddy's work, getting ready to go. I cannot stop buying clothes- for her, not for myself. This summer there have been soooo many cute things that I just have not been able to pass up. Somebody stop me!! She has a little pair of pink shorts on under the shirt, but I don't think you can see them. Oh well.

The video looks like nothing, but it's pretty precious. On the way back from the mall (it was past 9:00, so we were a little punchy- we get punchy quite early!), Daddy started being silly Daddy, making up names for the 7 dwarfs. Well, Allison got the giggles, and it was so cute. If you ask me there is nothing more beautiful than the laughter of a child. Enjoy! :)

Friday fun at the mall

Our morning weather was a bit unpredictable, so we decided to head out to the mall, where things are always bright and sunny, right? :) I decided to take some pictures to show our very routine, yet fun, time at the mall.

I also have a funny story to share- it's about poop, so if you can't handle it, don't read on.... Allison is a pretty "regular" kid when it comes to her bathroom trips, but once in awhile she has what we term "a bad poopy". I usually chalk it up to something she doesn't usually eat or eating too much of something not so good for her. She's learned this too- that sometimes bad food makes her have bad poopies. Anyway, the other day she had a bad poopy soon after she'd had some Smarties candy, something she's eaten maybe once before. I said, "Hmmm, I wonder if it was those Smarties that made your poopy bad." She thought about it and then said, 'No, I don't think it was the Smarties, Mommy. I think it might have been those lima beans." She's no dummy, folks! :)




Our first stop is always Borders, where Allison leads me to the kid section and we read, read, read!



Our next stop is the play area, where today Allison enjoyed having it all to herself! :)



Checking out the pet store next to the play area is where we head after our play time



Today we decided to add on some more play time, but first, the best part of the day- snack time!



As soon as the clock strikes 10:00 we cruise over to the carousel. Today it was the 2nd level and a horse she named "Boingy"




Next Mom gets to have some fun by stopping by the Old Navy store to see if there are any deals. I almost always find something!



Before meeting Daddy for lunch at CPK (yes, twice in one week if you're paying attention) we played in Pottery Barn for Kids. I love how she totally matched this adorable bedding. :)

A Photography Challenge

A blog I read frequently is called classy chaos and the author posted a photography challenge that I accepted today- that is- take a picture from above- a head shot. I loved how this turned out and can't wait for her to post another challenge. :)

Friends

Today was "play with Katie" day, and Allison woke up ready to go to the mall. it was 7:30, so I had to stall for a little bit, but we did go early to walk around before meeting up with Katie and Beth. Pottery Barn Kids had a story time, so we hung out for that. My child was the only one who sat in her little chair the whole time, answering the ladies questions and appearing interested. Go figure- not that she likes books or anything. The other kids were much more interested in the kitchen and other toys located right by the story circle (hello, do the PBK people know anything about kids?) but fun was had by all.

The girls then had a blast playing house in the front of the store where my dream bed for Allison is located. We've told her she can have the dream bed (she calls it a sleep over bed- it's a trundle) if she'll stop sucking her thumb for good. At the rate we're going, the bed will be out of style by the time she earns it. But anyway, it's just so fun to watch the girls play. Katie has always played the mommy role, where Allison is more the baby. Katie had so much fun tucking Allison in, and Allison loved her role too- well, until Katie thought Shay Shay should be taken from Allison to be placed in the stroller. Don't mess with Shay Shay, I tell ya! Allison's claws come out! :)

We then did our normal routine- carousel, play area, shop in a couple kids stores. I found 2 swimsuits on sale at The Children's Place- yahoo! I was getting tired of the same 2 suits she had, which look exactly the same- ha!

Then Beth treated us to lunch at CPK- YUM!!! I get the same thing EVERY time (the garlic chicken pizza- well, minus the onions and garlic- I'm SO picky!), and it was delicious once again. I love our mall dates with our best buddies. Daddy is on his way home now to grill us some burgers- YAHOO again! SO, I'd better get upstairs and get the sides going. :)

Missouri Botanical Gardens

This weekend we headed out to visit the Botanical Gardens and LOVED it! There was so much to see, but we took in just a fraction and called it a day. It was over 90 degrees, and we wanted to leave happy, so we didn't make too long of a trip out of it. But it really was neat. They had a large play area for kids, and we spent most of our time there, although Allison really enjoyed looking at all the gardens, flowers, and sculptures. There were also a few weddings going on! We actually got to watch a bride walk down the path with her dad. That was neat! After seeing that, Allison told us she wanted to get married. She said, "I want there to be balloons and a princess cake." :) I'm sure her groom will have no problem with that!

Later in the evening I said, "You may go play in the playroom for a little bit and then it will be time to get ready for bed." About 5 minutes later Scott says, "Bring your camera- come look!" He had found her on her bedroom floor- guess the visit to the gardens wore her out? :)

These days I spend most of my time just laughing at my child. She really is a funny little girl. The way she talks and the words she puts together just kill me. Last night we were eating dinner and she said, "Okay, I'd like to ask you a question. The question I'd like to ask is..." I can't even remember what she asked. We probably didn't hear it because we were laughing at the way she approached it. I also hear myself in her EVERY DAY! We were out at a restaurant, and when I tried to help her out of the booth she was making it very difficult, just being squirmy and all. When she finally got down she said, "Oh, CRYMANY!" I cracked up. I guess I could be saying worse things when I'm frustrated with her? :) But it made the moment funny instead of frustrating, and I just love that. Yesterday she was reading her Bernstain Bears book about a family going on a picnic. Whenever I read it I try to point out things about the characters, how they might be feeling or whatever. Well, last night I heard her reading it to herself and she said, "Look at the Mommy. She's like, confused or something!" I need to stop saying like all the time. :)

Okay, that's all for now. After our morning trip to the park and our time in the pool, I'm like, really tired, so I'm going to go rest a bit. Have a great, like, Monday! :)

Trying pictures again

Back to "normal"

After passing some sickness around the house this week, we are getting back to whatever normal is. Yeah! I haven't taken any pictures the past few days, but I found some I liked that I hadn't posted yet, so I thought I'd throw those on here just to hold you (Nana) over until I did a "real" post tomorrow with some pictures from our visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

The first pictures are just of Allison being cute before we headed out to dinner. She has a new look- isn't it cute? She crosses her arms and has this "Yea, whatcha gonna do about it?" look on her face. It's so funny! She does it just to crack us up- she's not mad or anything. :) Then there's one of her enjoying the pool and one of her being oh so unhappy that she kind of dunked herself on accident. Nice mom, huh? Taking a picture of her unhappy daughter. :)

The Pool is Ready!

Sunday evening we headed to The Galleria (a fancy word for a fancy mall) to meet a friend of mine from high school and her family at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. I hadn't seen my friend in about 4 years, and I'd never met her family, so it was quite the treat. We all had a great time. You never think when you're in high school that someday your kids would be reading to one another. It was a bit surreal, but wonderful! Halfway through dinner I noticed that Allison was hot. It felt like fever to me, but she sure wasn't acting sick at all. We were at the restaurant for 2 1/2 hours, and when I put Allison in the car I said, "Now she's REALLY hot". I took her temperature once we got home- 102 in one ear, 104 in the other. OUCH! It was bedtime, so we drugged her up, gave her some extra love, and put her to bed. I went in every 1/2 hour or so until I knew she'd cooled off a bit. The next day she was up and down with it again, so we laid low for the day. The next day (today) we were supposed to do fun stuff with my friend and her family, but I didn't feel right about taking Allison anywhere with a fever OR getting my friend's kiddos sick. BIG BUMMER!! She was without fever most of the day today, but right before nap I took it again, and it was still over 100. Hopefully by tonight it will be all gone and we can get outside and enjoy the great weather!

For the most part, Allison has been VERY chipper the past few days. We took a little time to enjoy our brand new little back porch pool. I LOVE IT!! Allison was in heaven and wanted to play in it all night. We were out in it a little bit today too, and I'm guessing we'll spend much of our summer in it. Thank you Daddy for our pool! :)

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Dad,

Tomorrow I know I will get caught up in honoring my daughter's daddy, so tonight I wanted to take the time to honor you! I know the last 42 years of being my dad haven't always been easy, but I hope you'll agree that you've done a pretty darn good job! Your children are far from perfect, but the qualities we both possess today are in large part to your influence, and I want to thank you...

For..

Most importantly, taking me to church and often MAKING me go to church. Even though some Sundays I think we were there for 5 hours (at least it seemed so), I am very thankful now that you made it a top priority in our family.

Placing value on my education. I'm not all that bright, but I'm not stupid either. When someone says to me, "I'll pay for your education as long as you keep going to school", I'm going as far as I can go. The fact that I can support myself by doing something I love (although it's VERY nice now to be supported by my husband so I can stay home to raise Allison) is an incredible gift, and I have always appreciated it.

Taking us on fun vacations when we were little, and more importantly, taking me on a GREAT vacation when I was an adult. It was life changing for us, and I am thankful for that time with you.

Being a living example of what a growing Christian is supposed to look like. You don't proclaim to "know it all", but the things you do to grow in your faith inspire me.

For hugging me when we say hello and goodbye. My "Love Language"- I know you've read that book, is touch, so that is important to me!

Being my friend.



I hope you enjoy a fabulous Father's Day! I'll miss seeing you, but you will be in my thoughts.

I love you,
Laur

Random...

"And any man of mine will say it fits just right when last year's suit is just a little too tight..."




This is what we in our house refer to as "The Money Shot!" LOVE THAT SMILE!!





I swear, this child has 1,000 faces. This was taken as we were on our way out the door for skating class. I just love her special little necklace she wears and how she has to have Shay Shay and a book WHENEVER we leave the house. I also LOVE her outfit. I had to shop in the boy section for a red shirt. I mean, I love pink and green with the best of them, but sometimes I like red/navy/black too- try finding those colors in the toddler girl section.

Skating really was a good time again. I just love watching her make progress. She moves like a very, very slow snail, but she moves. Then they bring out the bubbles, and you can see that she moves faster for that! So we know that she CAN move faster than a snail's pace when she wants to. :)

Sprinkler Fun 2007/2008

I LOVE our sprinkler ball! It is so much fun and it reminds me of summer days when I was a kid, when we played in our sprinklers all day long. These days I don't care much for summer, but on lazy days like today, where Allison and I can just hang out and play in the water, I like it quite a bit. I decided to go back and put some pictures of last year's fun next to this year. I can't believe how much she's grown, although I'm guessing the watermelon suit from last year would fit her just fine this year! Anyway, I hope you enjoy our pictures of water fun! :)

My 200th Post!

Blogger has informed me that this is my 200th post. How about that? Pretty amazing, huh? :)

Anyway, these are pictures from last night, when Allison spent the evening with Katie. Beth, Katie's mom, took some great pictures, so I thought I'd share. Looks like the girls had a wonderful time, as usual! Mommy and Daddy had a fun time too! We ate out at California Pizza Kitchen (YUM!) and then saw the movie Kung Fu Panda, which was really, really, cute!

A PINKALICIOUS good time!

Today's post was inspired by the oh so fun book, Pinkalicious!! :)











I LOVE having a little girl!! Allison's favorite book right now is called Pinkalicious- a story about a little girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink! It's a "must read" if you don't already have it for your little girl. Anyway, I decided that since today was rainy and icky (the reason the mommy and her little girl make cupcakes in the book), we'd head to the store to get everything necessary to make some really yummy pinkalicious cupcakes!

We had SO much fun with every step of the process. Allison LOVES being in the kitchen, and I really do enjoy having her help me. It's okay if we make a mess, it's okay if a little too much of something gets in the bowl, it's okay if the cupcake tins get filled just a little too high. It's all okay! :)

I LOVE having a little girl! :)