A New Chapter....

Our little girl started wee school this week! She will be going on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8-12 pm. We went to the get-to-know-you wee school picnic this week and had lots of fun hanging out with old friends and making some new ones!

Julia in the jumpy at her HAPPIEST!

She requested a ladybug face paint. I suspect it is because she is so excited about her ladybug backpack.

Having a picnic and enjoying some popcorn.

This girl is serious about some ice cream. She asked me if she could drink it when there was nothing but liquid left. I convinced her not to.

Here she is going into her classroom for the first time. She was jumping up and down saying, "I'm so excited about wee school!" Her teacher is Mrs. Jeannette until her regular teacher, Mrs. Joanie, comes back from maternity leave in a few weeks.

Making friends.

Here we are Thursday morning on her first day of school. She got up with no problem and was ready to go! This is a little different from most mornings....she usually does not like getting dressed and wants to stay at home!

Leaving home and hugging her backpack. I am not sure why she loves it soooo much?

Julia was playing with the puzzles when I left. She didn't cry, but cuddled up to me and said, "Mommy, I thought you were going to stay in my classroom?!"

The wee school walls are painted with animal murals. It gives the whole place a very happy feel. John and I picked her up at noon and she was bouncing off the walls. Mrs. Jeannette said that Julia was a very good girl and that she was very smart. She reported that she led the class in singing their abc's several times. We knew is was a good day when that night while I was putting Julia to bed she asked me if Mrs. Jeannette was coming over to sleep in her bed. I told her that if her own mommy couldn't sleep with her in her bed, then Mrs. Jeannette could not either!

Baby Rose hanging on to her mom's legs outside of wee school. I am sure that she got a good laugh at all of us because we were all a bunch of bags full of nerves.

I got a to sneak off last weekend for a girls weekend in Knoxville. We got to stay at a friend's downtown loft and his sense of style is WAY better than mine. Ate some good food, saw Eat, Pray, Love, got in some shopping, and as always, some great conversation.

Celebrate!

Julia, John and I took a road trip last weekend to drop John off at the place he was playing in Hot Springs while Julia and I headed over to Arkadelphia to stay with my friend Shawnie. It was biker's weekend in Hot Springs and I have never seen more Harleys in one place! I realized when we dropped John off how lucky both of us are to have jobs that we love. I am thinking that he definitely gets the sweeter deal with his arrangement...stay home with Julia during the week, get dropped off at your "workplace" on Friday evening, free fillet mi non dinner with drinks waiting upon your arrival, play guitar to some screaming fans (ok, not always.....but sometimes!), then have a driver pick you after the gig and take you to your comped hotel room.

Julia and John enjoying some popcorn pre-gig at Odie's House of Blues in Hot Springs.

Loved hanging out with Shawnie and Lance in Arkadelphia....I miss that Scrawn! This night also marked the VERY FIRST night that Julia and I slept in the same bed! We have never even napped in the same bed.....no, not even when she was tiny. We both slept great and it was so much fun to wake up beside her. Julia and I also got to have lunch with my cousin (and mommy-to-be!!!) Leslie before heading home. Leslie is a sweetheart and Chickfila was the perfect lunch spot for us. Julia had a blast playing in the play area and got to get rid of some energy before our drive home. Leslie is going to be a great mommy and I look forward to our girls playing together soon.

Here is baby Rose after putting on a great show with her birthday cake! She has the prettiest blue eyes and I just want to kiss her all the time.

Martha Stewart, aka Becca, won the prize with the cutest ever party favors. This is a hand made chalkboard mat to that you can roll up and take to restaurants to keep little hands busy. Julia is very into writing letters (she can draw a T!), shapes, and drawing pictures and has put her chalkboard mat to good use.

Birthday boy Linton in the throne at PUMP IT UP!

We had a great time at Pump It Up Saturday morning. I am just mad that I didn't think of the idea of giant inflatable toys in a huge padded room.

It took her about an hour to get brave enough to try out the jumpies, but when she did, it was ON!

The first hour of the party, she spent hanging out at the air hockey table, the water fountain, and running and screaming across the floor.

Then she got really brave and decided to try out the slide.

Here she goes....

The whole way down, she was screaming, I'm SCARED, I'm SCARED! Then at the bottom she fell out laughing and ran back up to the ladder to do it again.

I think cake is the highlight of every party for Julia. Whenever I ask her what she would like to get Linton or who ever is having a birthday party for their birthday present, she always says, "cake!"

Speaking of cake, I celebrated my birthday this week too. Thanks to everyone for making my day special. It's funny how the simplest times are the best. John and I had big plans to watch a movie after Julia went to bed, but he was snoring when I got back upstairs. I loved going to bed before 10! Julia told John that I was three years old and so they put three candles on my cake.

We also celebrated Neall's birthday Saturday night. I love this picture of the triathlon stars in their custom printed tops.

Julia playing the blues for baby Rose.

My little glamour girl