Puzzles Everywhere

Kaitlin loves to play with puzzles these days. She will hide them all over the house and I find them during the day. It keeps her happy and out of trouble so the puzzle hunt is here to stay!

 

         

Soaking up Summer

The Many Faces of a Strong-Willed Child

Kaitlin is a strong-willed child and is very persistent.  She absolutely, positively, without a doubt MUST have “Brownie” the dog at her side EVERY morning.  They’re BFF’s until about 9:00 a.m., then Kaitlin trades him for the breakfast table!

If she wants to do something – she’s going to keep trying until its done – or throw a fit, whichever comes first.  Below, she tries to slam all her animals in the stroller. Here, she already has 4 animals in the stroller and was working on getting 2 more on top. She finally succeeded 20 minutes later!  Note:  She has Minnie Mouse between her legs so she was next!

One day last week, we actually woke her up from her nap – a first. Needless to say, she was a little grumpy … but you’ve got love those “Bama Bangs”!!!!

When I grew up, kids had “pig tails.”  Ironically, we live in Hog country here in Northwest Arkansas, but everyone out here calls this style “Dog Ears.”  Only fitting since Kaitlin’s favorite college mascot is Smokey, the blue tick coon hound from Tennessee!!!    

She has started to love playing dress up and loves to twirl in her tutu! Kaitlin can turn anything into a bracelet or a purse. Kory knows he is in trouble with this girl!

We are amazed at how much she is learning and changing everyday and how her BIG personality shines in every situation.

Baby Bear

Kory and I have a lot of nicknames for Kaitlin and for whatever reason, “Baby Bear” is one we call her frequently.  Aptly, Kaitlin LOVES her black bear (from the Smokey Mountains of course!)  He’s soft, cuddly, & gives great hugs!

"Smokey” the black bear is a great dance partner (right) and even gives great rides around the playroom (left & below)!

     

A couple days ago, I caught Kaitlin in her kitchen trying to grill the poor bear!    

I’m not really sure how many black bears there are here in the Ozark Mountains but there is about to be one less in our house! 

Mother’s Day Out!

Kaitlin and I both survived our 1st day of Mother’s Day Out this week. There were  a few tears from both of us leaving but I know this is a great opportunity. Kaitlin was a little upset when I left but one of my sweet friends emailed me that she was doing great! She dropped her daughter off a few minutes later and said that Kaitlin was not crying and was playing with the group. That really put my mind at ease and I was ready to enjoy my day! I went to the gym, ran some errands, made dinner, and even had time to meet Kory for a lunch date!

    

Kaitlin made it the entire day, and they said she did not cry the whole time! Poor girl  did not eat lunch or take a nap so considering those factors, she did great. We know it is an adjustment and she will take some time to transition to a new environment!

Who is that pretty little girl in red?

It was “supposed” to be cooler this week and it did not really feel all that like the temperature dropped AT ALL.  Kaitlin still BEGGED to go outside and would eagerly attempt to put her shoes on to expedite the process.  Bless her heart, she was so hot all week!

This week was rush at UT and it is always a million degrees every year. You are just so hot all the time … and sweaty… kinda like Kaitlin was all week! Today is Bid Day and one of the most exciting days in college for freshmen girls. I said to 2 random strangers 11 years ago “ We are gonna be sisters forever!!” I am sure they were like who is this crazy girl and why did we get stuck with her??  But, they both turned out to be 2 of my best friends in college, bridesmaids in my wedding, and are still the definition of a true friend today!

Happy Bid Day AOPi girls!  Here is a pretty little girl in red (couldn’t help myself) that will be going through rush in 17 years (even thought there is no pressure and she can be a cutie hootie if she wants - GIGI!) 

Teething much?  Just too funny …

            

Because AOPi’s MUST have a bow in their hair …

Pretty in Purple

Kaitlin just LOVES the color purple.  She was being a “good girl” this morning and posing for the camera … a first.

          

Breakfast is a formal affair in our house! You must dress for breakfast and have your tiara!

We are very up on fashion while eating our cereal!

Open House

We went to Kaitlin’s Open House tonight for Mothers Day Out.  She is only going one day a week but it already feels like our little girl is going off to college!!!  Here’s Kaitlin preparing for the big night …

Personally, her momma has never had so much fun with back to school shopping.  I just loved this backpack & nap blanket from Pottery Barn Kids so much that I had to get it for Kaitlin!  It even came with a matching lunch box!

She was having SO much fun with her new backpack!  She hardly knew what to do when we gave it to her!  BEST 1ST DAY OF SCHOOL PRESENT EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then … the moment hit her like a ton of bricks … I’M GOING WHERE????  And … you’re NOT GOING TO BE THERE WITH ME????

 

Well, we went anyway but convinced her everything would be okay.  Kory & I promised Kaitlin if she was good we would take her to Chick Fila for dinner, her favorite place to eat in the whole, wide world.  In the end, she arrived & noticed that MDO looked a lot like Sunday School at church so she started out on a whiny note.  However, after a few minutes, she adjusted well and had a great time.  In fact, she was running around so much I didn’t really have time to take pictures because she wouldn’t sit still.  Here’s one below of Kaitlin trying out her new chair at the lunch table.

  She’s already deemed that this indeed where the cool kids will sit.

Fun On The Town

We’ve had some fun on Bentonville’s downtown square over the past few days. Friday we went to First Friday’s, an event once a month on the downtown square. It was themed the Dog Days of Summer, and they had a doggie fashion show. Kaitlin was amazed at all the dogs and she waved and clapped as each one walked by! It was not a glam pageant but the dogs did wear their best bikinis, and it was so funny to see all the down in their finest beach wear!  We are amazed at how Bentonville really has a small town feel but has so much here to do and see! I think half our Sunday School class was there so it was fun to run into people we knew on the square.  It really made it feel like home!

Below is a picture of Kaitlin at First Friday with her Daddy posing in front of her LEAST favorite attraction – the bounce house.  Kory tried to take Kaitlin over to play in it but before he could take about 2-3 steps she shouted the loudest, most clear “NO, NOOOO!” I’ve ever heard from her!

Today, we met Kory for a lunch date at the Station Cafe on the Square.It’s evidently the place to be for lunch around here.  Everybody & their brother was there.  If you arrive after 11:30, you have to wait in a line out the door and good luck finding a table! We had tried to eat there several times before with no luck but today we were early and had a great lunch!

 

An older gentleman who runs the place kept coming over and talking to Kaitlin (wish I had pictures, he was SO nice!). She loved it and watched him makes the rounds in the restaurant and just grinned when he came back around to talk to her!  She waved bye bye every time he left to attend to another table. She made a new friend, and we can’t wait to go back!

It was only 103 degrees but there was some breeze and shade near the fountain so we let Kaitlin run and explore. 

She had so much fun smelling the flowers and watching the fountain.  She got to run around

She was a little bit too interested in the dirt/mulch at times for her mama’s comfort!

By the time we got home, Kaitlin was ready to relax.  She propped up in her easy chair, watched a little bit of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & got ready for a good afternoon nap!

 

Our adventure didn’t last too long because of the heat and we had to get Kory back to work. It was so simple but such a fun date. We never got to visit with Kory in Virginia so it is still a sweet treat to grab him for lunch every so often. Just another reason we love NWA!