2 & 1/2 Today

My baby is two and a half today. She woke up sick so it hasn't been a very fun day. I told her she was halfway to her next birthday. Kevin then piped in with "she's halfway to five." I told him that I wasn't ready to think about her being five. My very helpful husband then told me Allison was 10% of the way to 25. I think I need a glass of wine after that revelation.

Rodeo Day

My little cowgirl had a great Rodeo Day at preschool. They clapped and stomped through music class, made a clothespin horse at craft time, and took photos sitting in a real saddle. But the highlight of the day, no surprise, was the horses. Allison was so excited when she saw the miniature horse and got to feed her treats. All the girls in the class loved the miniature one so much they brought out a regular horses saddled up and let them take turned sitting on a real horse. Allison told the horses thank you and bye-bye. She had no fear and was ready to ride! I can't wait until she's a little older for a pony birthday party.

Delicious

I let Allison lick the spoon after I made brownies. My little foodie told me "delicious!" I am constantly amazed by what she eats - shrimp, lobster, spicy salsas and dips. We balance it out with chicken nuggets and more strawberries than I can count.

Super Beast

This week Allison moved up to the Super Beasts class in Little Gym. She's been taking classes since her first birthday and enjoys them so much. It was fun watching the older kids and this class is geared towards less parent involvement. In the fall she will move up to a non mommy-and-me format.

Babysitting

Saturday night Kevin and I hosted a "date night" for some of our friends. We used to have a structured babysitting schedule with some couples at church but scheduling became an issue. Last month we decided to go free form, if you wanted to babysit offer, and then other people will offer so you can go out. I kicked things off with the first round and had 3 couples bring over their kiddos. Everyone kept asking if I was sure we could do this but I was so at peace about it - totally unlike me. Kids came over at 5:30, played for an hour then had a pizza picnic around our coffee table. They ran around for another hour then some cookies and a movie. My favorite quote of the night came from Michael as he played with Allison before anyone else had arrived: "you be Princess Leia and I'm Darth Vader." He hasn't even seen the movies but he's really into Star Wars, I love that.  The kids all entertained each other, it was amazingly easy.

Pizza and a Sophia episode

We made rainbow cloud crafts 

Everyone played dress up and makeup

Sadie found a hat and 'purse' to go with her dress and bangles

These three took turns with 1 in the car and the other two pushing

Handprints

Today Allison traced her own handprint. It's something I've only done a couple times with her so I'm excited to see her repeat it on her own.

Presidents Day

We came back from our vacation early - those posts to come as soon as I sort photos. Having an extra day as a family was so nice. We made a zoo trip before lunch at Chuys. I love having a zoo membership - I don't worry about the cost, and I don't fuss if we just go for a short visit and don't see everything on every trip. After about an hour Allison got hungry so we headed out for lunch. We sat outside at lunch and just had fun as a family. I think Allison ate more salsa than I did. She makes e smile watching her scoop up big bites of spicy salsa and creamy jalepeno dip. Allison an Kevin had a daddy-daughter afternoon while I had a dr appt and then ran some errands. It's funny that going to Target by myself is a treat now. I took advantage of the opportunity to do some Easter shopping. Now back to our regularly scheduled routine.