I'm sorry.

In the four (yes 4!), almost five (5!!) years since I first started blogging, I have never ever let us go this long without posting.

I'm sorry. To the twelve people out there who read this, I'm very sorry. To my family, for which this is the closest thing they will ever have to a scrapbook, I'm sorry too.

I won't I'll try really hard not to do it again.

I'll leave you with a picture (from September) - Lily's FIRST school picture ever! And I hope it will suffice for now...

In the meantime, I'm frantically trying to organize and edit pictures for posting.

Oh, and by the way, I'm also planning a birthday party for this weekend, and going on a cruise next week... so go easy on me. Let's not expect miracles here now, ok?

The First Day of School

This August, Bug started preschool!

She's going to a preschool at a local church, one day a week. Because of her late birthday, she's in the two-year old class... but she'll get used to being the oldest because that's just how life is going to be for her. She's been doing great, and really enjoys it! There are 12 kids in her class, and she had made lots of new friends.

Yesterday, I asked the teacher about how she was doing - behavior wise. Her teacher said she was sweet and great, and listens well when there is a issue - the only problem might be bossiness with the other kids. Hmmm... I wonder where she gets that from?

(backpack I decorated - they all have to have this same one for school)

The First Movie

Yesterday, we took Bug to see Toy Story 3 in the theaters. This was the first time we'd been to the movies in ages and her first trip to see a movie in the theater EVER. 

She did great.

It was a special treat for being potty trained. After more than a year since the first time she went in the potty, I can now say she's pretty much potty trained. We've had our ups and downs, but she hasn't worn a diaper during the day in over a month.

It was a great movie. I cried. (But I cry at everything.) And it got a little scary. Luckily, with perfect timing, she decided right as the scariest part was starting that she needed to go potty.

I must admit though, she was way more excited about the "copcorn" than the actual movie.

Cowgirls

Last week MissBug got to ride the horses for the very first time. (She's sat on them before, but only for a second and not moving.)

She was super excited, and did a great job!

And BabyAwesome met the horses for the first time too...

Fishin'

We have only fished in our pond twice since we moved in almost a year ago... (I know! can you believe it's been almost a year!?) But we've had lots of success!

Fishing excursion #1: Memorial Day, J caught on his first cast!

Fishing excursion #2: Last Wednesday, a father-daughter evening of fishing. They used Bug's little pink Princess fishing pole and dead bait leftover from Memorial Day and she caught TWO bluegill! Her first fish ever!

He was a little scary flopping around on the hook... and she really didn't want to touch them. Although, she did give one of them a kiss before they threw it back.

Before they actually caught any, Bug told us:

"I'm gonna watch that bobba, and then I'm gonna reel it in. And I'm gonna say HI FELLA! And I'm gonna put him in a vase!"

Tasty Tuesday - First Foods

This past week BabyAwesome started rice cereal for the first time. She'd been trying to steal my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so I decided it was time to let her have a go at some big girl food.

Our first attempt (not in these pictures) was pretty typical Vi - she cried. My fault for doing it when she was tired, but it took several attempts to get her to eat without tears.  She seems to be liking it now, though.

If you don't get the cereal in there fast enough, she starts eating her hand... which allows her to spread the rice cereal all over her face, eyebrows, and other extremities.

We're still working on it.

Anabelle's Birthday

Last weekend (the one before Memorial Day) we got to celebrate with our good friends' a first birthday! Anabelle's birthday party was lots of fun - it turned out to be a perfect day - she was a little star, and it was the first time we went (outdoor) swimming this year!

Tiny Successes!

I had all but given up on potty training.

But on Saturday we spent the afternoon at a friends' pool, and out of nowhere  Bug got out three times to go potty. She's crazy about swimming - so apparently she'll do just about anything to be able to keep swimming.

I decided that night that she has the skills to do this, and I'm just going to have to put my foot down and say NO MORE DIAPERS. So, on Sunday we stopped wearing diapers cold turkey (she's wearing a pull-up for nap/bedtime of course).

We haven't just stayed home either. Our lives can't stop again because I'm trying to let Bug run around the house in her birthday suit for a week. So I pack up extra clothes, towels, panties, plastic panties, clorox wipes, our travel potty seat, the Elmo potty, and plastic bags everywhere we go...

The first three days we went through a LOT of pairs of panties, and I found myself cleaning up a LOT of human excrement, but yesterday she made it through the WHOLE day with NO accidents!

Yippee Bug!

****

Super-fun follow up:
Today we went to the mall, and i got so daring as to not put her in the training panty/plastic panty combo... and just as I finally get the straw in her milk, and her nuggets cut up, and the lid off her fruit, and her toy unwrapped, and the ketchup just right, and the baby to sleep, and finally manage to take a bite of my sandwhich she says, "Oh. I need to go potty."

And I look down, and pee has pooled around her feet and is making a giant puddle on the floor in the middle of the mall food court.

I love being a Mommy.

First Day of "School"

First Dentist Appointment

The Christmas Card Update

We’re having so many “firsts” and changes around here lately that I think I’ll just give you the down and dirty quick update.

• Bug had her first dentist appointment – which went great – and she got a free ice cream cone out of the deal. We redeemed the free ice cream from Chic-fil-a immediately afterwards, and she finished off her nuggets by dipping them IN the ice cream. Gag. Delicious.
• Potty training is on hold for now. We gave it a good solid one/two week effort. The first few days we had a few successes, but it just didn’t quite click. She’s wearing pull-ups now, and we still sit on the potty every day, but she just hasn’t quite connected the urge to go with getting to the potty – or else she just doesn’t want to. She does stay dry for a lot longer these days, though. So no pressure, we’ll try again in a few weeks.
• We’ve decided that we’re taking a break from dance class until next year. About a month ago, they changed the songs/order of what they do in class, which set little MissBug off. She pouted at every new song, and decided to sit or stand in the corner when they would come on. At our class last week, she just decided to pout through the ENTIRE class - while very pregnant Mommy danced around trying to get her to participate. I’m sure it was a sight. Anyway – we want this to be fun, and if she doesn’t want to do it, that’s OK. So, we decided not to sign up for the December lessons, and we’ll try again next fall when she’s not TWO anymore.
• This week MissBug starts “school!” We’re enrolling her in a Parent’s Day Out program at a local church – it’s four hours, one day a week, and Mommy Bug is really looking forward to it. We decided to start her this month instead of next, so that hopefully there’s no association with the birth of BabyAwesome – in case she handles it the way she did with dance class.
• I’m going to be a full time stay at home mom! My last day at work is December 16th, and then I’m retiring from the architectural work-force for awhile. I’m really looking forward to being home with our two little girls, but I’m really scared and nervous about it too.
• My handy-man husband has been super busy with finally getting our house settled… and it’s almost there. We have nearly-every room painted, curtains and blinds hung, and we just got new furniture for the living room. There’s just one room (the junk room office) that’s still full of boxes, and the living room/kitchen to paint. Now that our Christmas decorations are up, it’s starting to really feel like home!
• Speaking of J – he’s been at his new job for a full YEAR now. He still really likes it and it is unbelievable how time flies. We're so lucky that he's finally in a place where he's doing something he enjoys. 

That’s the big news at our house these days… I feel like I just wrote a Christmas card update. So, Merry (early) Christmas!

First Haircut for Bug

On Tuesday, Bug got her first real haircut. My mom and I took her to Cookie Cutters where it was all fun and games, until the actual cutting began. ...not so sure about this.
And moments later, we'd resorted to turning on cartoons and pulling out the paci - just to get her to stay still.

But she lived! And her hair looks beautiful!

Big Girl Bed

This week MissBug started sleeping in her very own Big Girl Bed. Daddy finished painting her room, and putting up chair rail, so we set up the furniture and got her all settled in. All that's left now are curtains and decorations!

She's spent three nights in her bed now, and she's done really well. (I think she kind of still thinks it's actually a crib, though, since we've got the bed rails on there.) She was really excited about it, and has enjoyed showing everyone who comes over her "Big Girl Bed."

As if the ballet classes and tu-tu weren't enough, now she's got a princess room to go with it... when BabyAwesome comes along, Daddy is going to be drowning in girly-ness!

Baby Ballerina

On her way to her very first dance class... MissBug started taking a ballet/tap class about three weeks ago, and I'm not sure we've taken the tu-tu off since. She loves her class - it's 30 minutes long, and it's a Mommy & Me class, so by the end of the class we're both pooped.

Since she started her ballet class, now everything is a "pretty princess." I'm also not joking about the tu-tu. She wears it over her clothes most days, all around the house, and out into the world if I let her. She has her very own tap shoes, which she also insists on wearing as much as possible - although, when it comes to actually tapping in the class, she doesn't have much patience for it. When spend a lot of time now dancing around the house on our tippy toes, spinning and turning and being a "princess."

She's such a girly-girl right now. :) I'm eating this up!

And... there's even a recital in May/June!

Baby Reagan

This weekend, J's parent's horse, Sophie, finally had her baby! We went to visit just hours after the Baby Reagan was born. It was really neat to get to see the little gal wobbling around and getting used to the world. MissBug thought it was all very interesting... but I don't think she really got it.

The 2nd Birthday Party

On her birthday, we had a cookout with about 35 of our nearest and dearest friends and family, including four of Bug's little playmates. It was awesome to get to try out our big, wooded backyard - which was great for a gathering - and even though it rained all morning, it let up just in time for the kiddos to play on MissBug's new swing set (birthday present from Mommy, Daddy, Nana & Papa).

She was so fun this birthday! When I went into her room to get her up that morning, I said, "Happy Birthday!" Her eyes lit up and she started exclaiming "Happy Day!" - which, she proceeded to continue to announce for the rest of the day. She has also taken to calling cake "Happy Cake" - and thoroughly enjoyed her chocolate raspberry cupcakes.

I didn't get a good picture, but the highlight of the day for me, was when we sang Happy Birthday to her she took a giant breath to blow out the candle about halfway through the song and waited with her mouth open to blow out the candles until we had finished.

She got lots of other wonderful presents and toys... but the bike was opened first, and she wouldn't get off of it for most of the rest of the party.

...even to open other presents.

She did finally manage to tear herself away from the bike when she got this cute little apron from Moo-moo (along with a play kitchen), and a tea set from Mamaw & Papaw.

Happy Birthday Bug!