Heart Smiles

As I mentioned in the previous post, this girl loves her some Fresh Beat Band! But, what's the one thing that can tear her away from the screen???? A certain Daddy coming home from work!
She has become such the little reader as of late. She will sit alone or with you and go through all of the books in her basket. Makes a teacher mama very proud!

Daddy pointed out that she had a splinter so here we are checking it out.

This scene makes my heart smile :)

The Fresh Beats

There's definitely one thing this kid's inherited from her parents---her tv watching habits. This one comes from her daddy. This is his favorite tv-watching position!I think every child at some point in their lives will have a favorite show that drives their parents crazy. I'm not sure if this is their little joke on us or payback for our favorite shows that drove our parents crazy. Either way, our peanut has found hers--The Fresh Beat Band. While the four singing "teenagers" (although we all know they are in their late 20s in real life) don't completely make me bonkers (yet), they are a bit nauseating. Sure some of the tunes are catchy, but the goofy storylines and dialogue are a bit much to swallow. But, when this is the reaction to the show coming on, how can a mama resist?!??!?! It makes our little girl want to stand up in her chair and dance...
Hopefully this won't translate into dancing on other things later in life :) And here she is dancing with her first boyfriend, Twist (yes, that is his name!).

I do have to thank you, though, Fresh Beats for one thing. I always know from 5:30-6, I can sit her in her chair with her tv buddies and she will NOT move while I get a chance to make her dinner. So, for now, we are one family on the Fresh Beat Band-wagon!

Here's a little video of our munchkin showing her moves. She's not ready for "So you think you can dance" but we think she's pretty cute! I know the video is sideways but I have no idea how to change it. Sorry :)

July 4th...

...yes, I know it's August 4th...but here are our photos from our nation's birthday~

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

Every Christmas, my mother-in-law asks me what I want & I'm never very good at coming up with an answer. Are there things I want? Sure. But do I really need them? Not usually. And even if I do, I'm not very good at asking for things. But this year, when she asked, I was prepared with an answer--I wanted a membership to the zoo. I've been to the zoo a bunch of times over the years while babysitting and I've always thought the Nashville Zoo was a great local zoo for families. Not too big, not too small--just right! And, now that we had a new addition to our family, the zoo was calling our name!

The weather hasn't really cooperated with my plans though--it's been so hot, the last thing I've wanted to do is chase a toddler around the zoo. But, we have made it out there a few times this summer. Here's some photos from our first visit of Ellen checking out the petting zoo for the first time: Not so sure about this mulch stuff
Checking out the goats Thinking about petting one

Getting up the nerve

One proud peanut :)

On another trip to the zoo, Ellen experienced another first--her first carousel ride.

Similar to the petting zoo, she was not so sure about this whole carousel thing at first.

What the heck have you done to me, Mom?

Relaxing a little bit & checking out the scenery

Trying to catch a shot of the two of us

And finally, a smile! I think it was a hit--after we got off, she was asking to go back!

We can't wait to get a lot more use out of our membership this fall & spring when the weather is more conducive to spending time outside. Since the house seems much smaller now that she's running around the place, I'm sure Ellen & Daddy will enjoy getting out together & exploring all that the zoo has to offer. Thanks Grandma Nancy & Nana!!!!