Happy Birthday Day Dave!!!!

I wanted to wish my husband a very happy birthday. I couldn't think of another person that I would want to grow old with. He is truly my best friend. We can talk for hours, laugh at anything and each other. He is an amazing dad to Arden. I never have to ask him for help because he wants to help me in anyway he can and in ways that I can't always think of. He is great at anticipating what I need. We have the same goals and want only the best for each other and Arden.

I am so thankful for my husband. I could go on but instead I think I'm going to go and spend some time with my husband since he made it home from work early tonight. That is truly the best gift he could have given himself. I love you honey.

Photo by the Beautiful Mess

Question of the Week

Why is it when you are looking for something very specific you can never find it in any store even though you've seen it several places a million times before?

A Helpful DMV?

Is it possible for the DMV to be actually helpful? I've lived in 4 different states and have experienced several DMVs. When we moved to NC I found the DMV to be the most difficult one that I have ever used. First of all it is not one stop shopping. You have to stand in a very long line to get your drivers license and then drive across town to get your licence plate and tags again stand in a long line again. So frustrating.

Well the other day I made a big mistake in mailing in my renewal form for the DMV. I wrote the check and then I absentmindedly tore off the carbon copy instead of the check and mailed that to the DMV. I didn't discover this mistake until a week later when I was writing another check.

I was horrified because I knew that it would be a nightmare to correct the problem especially since I had mailed all of the forms back to the DMV. I tried calling the DMV but was left on hold for a very long time and I just didn't have the patience to deal with them that day. So I have been procrastinating calling them this week (which is terrible and I'm working on not procrastinating but the DMV just brings out the worst in me).

Well today I received in the mail all of my paperwork returned from the DMV! I was shocked. They even returned the carbon copy. I thought that I would have to go through tons of paperwork and lots of phone calls and of course standing in line at the DMV. I was so happy to get this in the mail.

I have already put the check in the mail. So for right now I am happy to report that the DMV was actually helpful. This time.

A Day at the Pool

Soup for You

Arden's new favorite thing to eat now is soup. You may remember this post. This week lunch has been easy because all she wants is soup. But the best part of the soup is the way that she says it. She tilts her head back, puckers her lips and looks really intent and says "soooouuup".

Pops in the Park Week 3

This was our third week of Pops in the Park. Our friends Heather, John and Jeremiah joined us for their first Pops in the Park. As we arrived we found our friends Paul and Kate who so generously reserve our seats early on Sunday morning. The food was fantastic, the conversation was refreshing and the music was outstanding until they had to stop because of the rain.

Arden is becoming such a pro at this. As soon as we arrived she set up her chair and grabbed her drink and watched for the musicians to make their way to stage. I was able to briefly capture her clapping but she got distracted because she dropped her drink.

The rain started coming about after 4 songs and they eventually canceled the concert. However, Arden loved playing in the rain. She was soaked but enjoyed twirling around in the rain while everyone else ran for cover.

Extra, Extra Read All About It

The Charleston Gazette the local paper where Dave grew up had an article this weekend about his dad and the impact he's had on their community. We are still amazed at the out pouring of the community as Craig continue to fight his cancer. He's doing well and we are looking forward to spending some time with them here in a couple of weeks.

To read the article click here.

Something to do on a Monday night

Tonight Arden and I were looking for something to do so we decided to walk down to the pool and watch the neighborhood swim meet. She really got into watching the swimmers dive off the starting blocks and racing each other.

The little shrimpers were so cute. They were easily distracted by each other but finally made it to the other side. Arden recognized several of our neighbors and really liked clapping for them. There were high schoolersthat were really fast and she loved it when they did the kick turns and splashed water upon the sides of the pool.

She watch the meet for a good hour before she was ready to leave. It was a great change of pace. Too bad it was the last meet of the summer.

Question of the Week

Do you think it gets dark early in the winter so we can recover from the summer?

The Look

Take a look at Arden's face. Dave was able to capture this look even when he wasn't trying. He was really hoping for a smile but looking back on the picture it caputres one of her famous looks when she doesn't want to do something.

More Trucks and Buses

Arden has recently fallen in love with large trucks, buses and motorcycles. The city is doing some major work down the street updating the water pipes and she has seen them work up close and personal.

So every morning there very large trucks delivering very large pipes down our street to the job site. While Arden's eating breakfast she watches the trucks back down our street and yells "TRUCK" every time on goes by. Sometimes they are flatbed tractor trailers and other times it could be a dump truck. She gets so excited every time. We often walk outside and watch the trucks work.

While we're driving in the car she will point out every bus. As soon as it passes she tells me that she wants to see more buses. The same thing happens with any large truck, motorcycle or train. She'll point out every single one.

It is so fun watching things through her eyes. I now noticing buses, motorcycles and trucks much more than I ever did before.

I'm Stuck

The other night Arden woke us up several times crying which is not like her. After the second time of her waking me up I went in to check on her and found the problem.

She was sleeping diagonally in the bed up near the corner and was trying to roll over up couldn't' because there was no room. She was so sound asleep she didn't realize that she could roll that way any more.

I slid her around and she rolled right over and we didn't hear a peep from her the rest of the night.

Who Are You Calling a Baby?

The formatting is not working tonight...sorry for the jumbled post.

Today at the pool I saw the competitive side of my daughter that I hadn't seen before.

The scene:

I was in the water talking to one of my friends and Arden was standing on the edge with her float suit on. She was "talking" to another little girl who was in the water. A boy about 7 years old swam up to me and pointed to Arden and the following happened.

The Boy: "There's a baby pool over there."

Me: "There is?"

The Boy: "Yes, it's where babies swim."

Me: "Do you want to swim over there?"

The Boy: "No. It's for babies."

Me: "OK. Do want me to swim in the baby pool." I know I was teasing him a little but I knew where this conversation was heading.

The Boy: As he's pointing to Arden. "No. Her. She belongs in the baby pool."

Me: "She fine swimming in either pool."

At this point Arden jumps in and starts swimming (with her floats) using both her arms and legs and moving as fast as the boy is as he swims away from us. I actually had to move to her to pull her back before she followed him across the pool. My friend and I were laughing because Arden took this boy's challenge and was going to show him she is not a baby. (She's still my baby but don't tell her.)

She's spunky and is not going let anyone define who she is. I was reflecting this evening and I love how kids know who they are and how comfortable they are just being themselves and not letting anyone define them. Why then do we as adults try to let others define who we are instead of living for who God created us to be?

Here are a couple of pictures of Arden that Candice at A Beautiful Mess took for us a couple of weeks ago when they joined us at the pool. We always have a good time and great conversations when we get together.

I Knew It was Coming

Arden loves the pool which isn't a surprise because Dave and I both love being at the pool. She is trying so hard to swim. She watches the bigger kids swim around and loves it when Dave and I swim underwater up to her.

Last week she started to lower herself into the pool and turn around and push off to swim to me. She holds her breath when she goes under water. I am really enjoy watching her try and make progress.

My mom got her a swimsuit with floats in it and we put it on her this weekend and she loved it. It provided her with more freedom and allows her to continue to use her arms and legs without hindering her. Over the weekend Dave and I allowed her to go off the diving board with one of us catching her. She loved it. She was easily hooked. We are telling her that until she learns to swim she can only go off the board if Mommy and Daddy are both at the pool. She is obeying that rule with me this week.

But since going off the board she is really getting into jumping off the side of the pool. When we arrived at the pool today we got in without her floats and practiced swimming without them. She did a great job jumping in and moving herself towards the ladder. She is getting so much better we still have a ways to go but she is learning and willing to try.

After about 30 minutes of practice she played in the baby pool. It was then time for the swimsuit with the floats. She did so well. She has learned how to kick her feet to keep her chin above the water. We continued to play and then she was hungry. So we took a snack break.

While we were eating she was walking around with a cracker in her hand and then she just walked up to the pool and jumped in. She still had her float swimsuit on and I wasn't more than two feet away actually walking towards her because I could tell what was getting ready to happen. I jumped in behind her. She had popped up and was turning around towards the ladder with her cracker still in her hand.

I stressed that she had to wait on me to be in the water and she did the rest of the day. She will keep me on my toes all summer. I am so glad that she does obey at the pool (for the most part) and hasn't ventured more than 5 feet away from me.

Father's Day

Yesterday we had a very relaxing day. We had a great blueberry breakfast bake with fresh blueberry syrup. (I cheated and made it on Saturday so we just reheated it on Sunday morning much, much easier.)

We had a great church service and after Arden's nap we enjoyed a great afternoon at the pool. We capped the evening off by enjoying some music by the symphony. It was a great day.

Arden's all dressed up for Father's Day.

Question of the Week

Why is it that once you become a mom you no longer have any privacy? You can't take a shower, go to the bathroom or change clothes without someone showing up to see what you're doing.

No Training Necessary

Arden has taken to our home phone like any girl would. She walks around, twirls the cord and listens and jabbers on. The other night when she was talking to my parents I caught a couple of snap shots of her in her element.

We still haven't convinced her that she can't text message on a land-line.

Any yes I realize how out of date this post makes me look. We're just getting a phone and in addition to that we are using a phone with the cord instead of a cordless...Am I living in 1978 instead of 2008?

No Bugs for Her

Arden is learning the art of stepping on bugs that we don't want. Since the heat wave we've had a few more bugs trying to sneak in our house. Our house is treated for bugs but there are a few who try to make it across the floor. Little do they know that a very small size 6 1/2 shoe is getting ready to stomp down on them.

Lunch Conversations

Lunch time is always the hardest for me because Arden usually eats a big breakfast and she is very specific on what she wants for lunch. And of course, no two days are alike.

So here's our lunch conversation that happened this afternoon.

Me: "Arden would you like some peaches for lunch?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "How about a banana?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "watermelon?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "cantaloupe?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "crackers and cheese?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "macaroni and cheese?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "bread or a sandwich?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "soup?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "beans?"

Arden: "no"

I thought I would throw is something to see if she was just saying no to be saying no.

Me: "Cookies?"

Arden: "no"

OK now I am running out of ideas and patience and so I start naming breakfast food.

Me: "cereal?"

Arden: "no"

Me: "oatmeal?"

Arden: "yes"

So there it was. She wanted oatmeal for lunch. I fixed her a large bowl of oatmeal and she ate every last bite.

New Home Phone

Yesterday Dave and I bite the bullet and got a home phone. We have been living 2 years with just our cell phones and really didn't have any desire to have a home phone. However, Dave was given the opportunity to work from home one day a week. We would need a land line for this option to work. We are now officially good to go and looking forward to having Dave around a little more one day a week.

Arden doesn't know what to think about the phone ringing in the house. My cell phone is set to one beep so it doesn't wake Arden while she's napping. (So if you ever hear Arden say "hello" to a beep...don't worry about her she just thinks its the phone ringing.) So far we've only given our number to my parents and they haven't used this number yet. Yet some how within 24 hours of our new phone line the telemarketers have already found us.

Pops in the Park

Last night we headed over to Pops in the Park where the symphony plays for free. It is all month long on Sunday nights and this is the third year we have taken advantage of it. We have such a good time. Last night we ended up meeting some of our friends who staked out great seats right up front.

Arden enjoyed cheering after each piece of music was finished and really had a great time. Her and the other kids played so well and were never restless. As it was getting dark one of the mothers in our group brought glow sticks to share . Arden thought that was the coolest thing ever. She already has told us that she is ready for next week show.

Hopefully, next week I will remember my camera.

Question of the Week

Why must your child touch or lick something that is disgusting while you are out running errands?

The Outfit

I received this outfit for Arden at a baby shower from one of my mom's friends. It finally fits Arden and is just as cute on as it is on the hanger. I just had to share these pictures because I think she is so adorable in it. She just loves the hat that goes with it. She was really good about wearing her hat this winter and she now has a summer hat that she can wear.

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Take Me to the Pool

Since it's been close to a hundred this week we are spending a lot of time at the pool. Arden's got the swimmers look down.

Big Shoes

Proof that every little girl likes to walk around in her Mom's shoes.

Oh No I Won't Go

As the park season wraps up and the pool season is just getting started I had to post about one more park trip.

The past couple of weeks Arden has started her own sit-in when it's time to leave. She crawls into the middle of the tunnel and perches. If I try to go in on one side to get her she slides out the other side and of course if I try the other side she slides out the opposite side.

This could continue until she falls asleep in the tunnel. I've tried sitting down and waiting for her to come out but she just won't. I give her the 5 minute warning before we are ready to leave but with the warm weather and fun we're having who would want to leave. Well not Arden. I normally am able to convince her to come out by sliding down the slide with her. Once she's finally out she climbs into her stroller and we head home.

I hope she continue to stand strong on the issues that are important to her as she grows and matures as the LORD shapes her life.

Now, I'm interested in what she will do when she doesn't want to leave the pool.

Whistle While You Work?

This weekend as we were demolishing our kitchen Arden decided to get into the action. She put on Dave's noise cancelling headphone with a radio in them and got busy working. She was singing along (even though the radio was not on) and having a great time.

Turn up the speakers on your computer to hear her song. I'm not talking in the background this is all her.

Question of the Week

Why is it that you always forget your camera when you have a great photo opportunity?