Honk Honk

Arden has discovered the freedom to get out of her car seat herself. Lately she has been jumping down out of her seat and then immediately throwing herself to the front seat so I can't reach her.

I then have to reopen the front door and pull her out. However, in the time it takes me to get to her she is throwing her belly on the horn. Repeatedly.

So if you are ever in a parking lot and hear a horn honking just look around and you might see us.

Arden's Dog

Notice the dog in the picture.

OK...a couple of weeks ago we were at a cookout at a friends house and they had a dog just like this. It was our friend Max's when he was a kid about 35 years ago. Arden loved it. I mean loved it. (I know I say that a bunch but she really does love so many things.) She played with this dog for two hours that day.

Dave came home and immediately starting looking for one on EBay. He shopped victoriously and our Little Snoopy (circa 1965) arrived on our door step a week later. Arden was ecstatic. She treats this dog as if he were real. She walks him twice a day. Once in the morning and then in the evenings. Seriously, if you walk through our neighborhood around 7:30- 8 pm you will see her walking down the street pulling her dog behind her.

If she sees another dog walking she will point it out to me and then say "my dog" and point to her little puppy.

I must say it's pretty adorable I tried to captures some pictures but she will not stand still with her dog. This picture of the two of us is the only good one with the dog in it...but notice the dog is with us. We took this picture before church and there she is with her dog. We had to tell her the dog had to stay here and guard the house while we were at church.

So if you ever see Arden out with her dog make sure she lets you see it.

Daddy's Little Helper

When Dave was putting in the pipes under our sink Arden decided to help him out. She just didn't realize that she needed to be a little closer to actually hand him things.

Question of the Week

If you are a stay at home mom and get injured on the job (let's say burn yourself while ironing clothes) does that mean you qualify for workers comp?

Adventures in Parenting

Well let's just say after this night my parenting skills were put to the test.

The evening started out just like any other typical night at our house. Arden and I were outside enjoying the weather and had gone for a short walk up the street. When we came back Arden asked me if I would read her a book.

I told her that I would and for her to run inside and get a book. I was sitting on the step waiting for her to come back out. She ran inside (She runs everywhere. It's the only speed she knows) and came back with a book but instead of pushing the door open she reached up and locked the deadbolt to the storm door.

I couldn't believe it. I jumped up and was thinking she just didn't lock the door. But she did! I was trying not to look panicked because I didn't want Arden to panic. Now she was getting frustrated because she could not get outside.

I tried to get her to unlock the deadbolt but she does not know how to turn the knob horizontally She just kept getting frustrated.

So what do you think she does. She decides she's had enough of this and heads upstairs. Upstairs! Where I can't see her or know what she's doing. Oh great! I think this is going to get interesting.

Dave was at work. Of course he is...it would be one of the nights that he is scheduled to work late. Plus all of the phone are inside because we were just going to sit outside and read for a few minutes. So I have no way of getting in touch with him.

Luckily my neighbor Karen is out in her yard. I yell over to her that I need some help. She comes over and I explain the problem. She tells me to hold on and that she will go and get her husband and a cell phone for me.

As she's gone and Arden is upstairs. I am going through possible ways to get back into the house. with as little damage to the house as possible. There's the back door, the screen door, the kitchen window, there's taking the front storm door out of the frame and that's was about all of the options that I could think of at that time. The most obvious one was Arden agreeing to unlock the door.

During this time Arden had ventured back down stairs and wanted to come outside. I tried explaining to her that she would have to unlock the door but trying to reason with a 23 month old is a little hard to do.

By this time Karen arrived with her husband Rodney and Arden decided that she didn't want to have anything else to do with us and headed back upstairs. I yelled through the door for her to come back and her response was "NOOOOOOOOOOOO".

I know have Dave on the phone and he's asking me not to break any windows until he gets home. Him and Rodney start talking and try to come up with a game plan to get into the house.

At this time Rodney tried to take the door off of the frame but that's not going to work and of course wouldn't you know it Arden starts coming back down the stairs and sees Rodney standing beside me and starts crying and heads back up the stairs. I immediate start to explain how she knows Rodney and it works and she comes back down.

At this time Karen is talking to Arden and Arden comes over to talk to her through the window. At this point Rodney finds a weak spot in the lock of our sliding glass door. He's on the phone talking to Dave about it and Dave gives him to go ahead.

So Arden has now decided this is a game and is running back and forth between the two doors talking to us. As Rodney is working on the door Alex our 13 year old neighbor comes by and starts talking to Arden and this is a great distraction.

Alex asks Arden if she has any animals. Arden proceeds to go and bring her stuffed animals over to the door and shows them off to Alex. It is a great distraction.

Overhead I notice that the wind has picked up and that the skies are dark and all of a sudden I hear thunder. Rodney is working hard and finally as the lighting comes into view Rodney has the door open.

We all head inside and Arden welcomes us in and starts showing everyone around. You would have never known she was locked in the house she was happy doing her own thing.

Literally as soon as we walk inside the skies open up and the rain starts pouring down. Dave then pulls into the drive and as soon as it stops raining he heads over to Lowes to find something to fix the lock on the back door.

I am glad to say Arden thinks it was all a game and that we already had talked to our contractor to replace our kitchen doors this weekend when they are here working on our support beam. I am also thankful that I have helpful neighbors who are willing to help.

Customer in Training

Arden and I needed to get out of the house because it the weather wasn't good enough to go to the pool and we both were going stir crazy. So we ran a few errands and on the way home I needed to stop at the grocery store.

I purposely went to the Harris Teeter that had little shopping carts for kids. Arden is getting bored riding in the seat and if she walks she wants to push the big cart which is counter productive for me. So going to a store where she could push a cart seemed fantastic to me. I was only planning on picking up a couple of things so I just let her push the cart.

She loved it. And I might add she was a little bossy when it came to pushing her cart. She would not let me help in any way. If I would touch her cart in any way she would stop and push my hand off of it. She had this thing under control. She did very well pushing the cart through the store. She watch where she was going and did not run into anyone or anything.

To my amazement she only took one item off the shelf and put it into her cart and that was a fresh peach. So I checked the firmness of it and let her keep it. When we were finished she pushed the cart up to the check out, turned to me for our VIC card and proceeded to talk to the cashier. All of the cashiers got such a kick out of her. I would like to think that she made their day.

The best part was that since she was in control of the shopping she decided that as we were leaving the store with our purchase she had one more thing on her list. She pushed the cart over to the balloon rack and picked herself out one to take home.

I'm going to have to remember to take her to that store more often. I can always use a little extra help.

Daddy Nicole

Arden has started to refer to Dave as "Daddy Nicole". Her full name is Arden Nicole. Dave and I call her by her full time from time to time. Most of the time I call it when I'm trying to get her attention. Dave on the other hand calls her "Arden Nicole" when he's playing with her or hasn't seen her in a while. But like me he will use it to get her full attention.

Well recently Arden has started calling Dave "Daddy Nicole." She uses it in a variety of ways. If she wants him to do something and he's not paying attention. But when she's playing with him she'll call him "Daddy Nicole.". It's pretty sweet of her. We just wonder what she thinks Nicole means.

A Gotee?

I think this is my last post about the beach for now...I forgot about this picture.

Dave's dad really wanted to take all of us out to eat for lunch on our way home. We stopped at this place that he found and it was an experience. Arden ended up dumping a large full glass of water on her and me. We were soaked. So I took her outside for us to dry out while we waited on our order. While we were outside Arden put her face up on a screen on a gate. When I pulled her back as soon as she did it and this is what we saw.

Needless to say we were very disgusted and we went right in and cleaned her up. Uncle Tim snapped the picture. It captures Dave's frustration and Arden's carefree attitude.

Happy Anniversary

Today is mine and Dave's seventh wedding anniversary. It's hard for both us to believe that seven years ago we both said "I do" forever. It seems just like yesterday but over the past seven years we've lived in 3 different states and had one child so we know that some time has passed.

Time has only made us love each other deeper. The time we spend together goes by so fast and we really just have a great time together. We can't image our lives without each other...

Happy Anniversary. I love you.

Question of the Week

Which range/oven would you rather have in your house?

This one?

Or that one?

Great Aunt Eleanaor

On our way home from the beach we stopped in Wilmington to visit Craig's aunt Eleanor. She is 95 and just a cute petite lady. She is still sharp as a tack even though she confused Craig a couple of times for his dad but hey she's 95.

She just loved watching Arden laugh and explore the house. Towards the end of the visit Arden walked up to Eleanor and started shaking her hand. Then Arden grabbed both of them and finally she gave Eleanor a big hug before we left.

They were so sweet together.

Grammy, Grandpa and Arden

Here's a picture of Arden and her grandparents at the beach.

Uncle Tim and Aunt Laura

Arden really enjoyed hanging out with her Uncle Tim and Aunt Laura. She has been asking where Laura is all week. They both read Arden lots of books and provided her with lots of attention. We are glad they were able to join us last week.

The Mermaid

Towards the end of the trip Arden finally was buried in the sand. Honestly Dave and I didn't think that she would enjoy it but as always she surprised us. There were some older girls that Tim and Laura knew from back in Prague that were at Carolina Beach the same time and they were burying their legs in the sand so of course Arden wanted to join in the fun.

Tim and David built a mermaid body for the girls and they loved it. Here are the pictures of Arden. She loved the sand on her feet and kept breaking them through so she could watch her toes wiggle.

Morning Bike Rides

This vacation there was no sleeping in for the three of us in our family. The sun rose about 6 am and so did Arden. Grammy and Grandpa were just waking up and Aunt Laura and Uncle Tim were still fighting jet lag so we decided to take Arden out of the house so everyone could wake up on their own.

We decided the best thing to do was to go on bike rides in the morning before breakfast. One morning we headed down to the bay area and watched the pelicans wake up (it was so early they were still sleeping).

Another morning we road down to the pier where Arden watched some of the fishermen catch fish. One man caught what was called a crocker fish and showed it to Arden. She touched it and then he held it up to her ear and you can hear the fish "talk" or croak. He then through it back in because it was too small. She watched intently taking it all in.

We also rode down to the road to Kure Beach. It's about 3 miles from where we were staying. The houses there were newer and colorful. It was starting so spit rain so we headed back to the boardwalk at Carolina Beach and got some hot donuts at Brit's Donuts. Brit's was such a treat for Arden. Not only was it her first donut...it was delicious. She ate a whole one all by herself. We broke it into pieces but at the end she tried to stuff it all in her mouth at one time. She cried when she found out that she couldn't have another one.

Our last day we watched some construction men tearing down an old hotel. She was really getting into it. We also got a flat tire on that ride so it was a good thing that we were heading home the next day.

This was my favorite part of the week. There was something special about getting up as a family and heading out on an adventure. Arden has also missed her bike rides because this week she has been getting up changing clothes and heads straight to the door and asks for a walk. I agree with her life is great when you get out there and enjoy it.

Arden getting ready for the morning ride.

Arden and I at the boat docks where the pelican's were sleeping.

Dave and Arden on the pier.

Pool?

Arden thoroughly enjoyed the beach. The first day we were there she just took off running towards the water and never looked back. She was laughing and trying to swim. One time she got knocked down by a wave and she started kicking her feet and holding her head up. I was so proud that she remembered what we have been working on at the pool.

She also enjoyed playing in the sand. Her Uncle Tim would build sand castles for her and she would come by and just knock them down as fast as he could get them up. It was a great first day.

I really know that she really enjoyed the beach because the next morning said it all. That night we tried having her sleep in the lower bunk and start transitioning into a big bed but that didn't work. Since the pack in play was in the other room and others were sleeping she ended up sleeping with Dave and I ended up on the bottom bunk. (I had a great night of sleep, while Dave was repeatedly kicked throughout the night. I think I got the better end of the deal but I digress.)

The first thing in the morning (literally around 6 am) Arden woke up and popped her head up and said "Pool?" She looked at Dave, slid off the bed, walked over to me, patted me on the head and said "pool?" again. I asked her if she wanted to go to the beach and she replied "yes". I told her that it was too early to go and that we would go after breakfast.

Apparently, this was not the answer she was looking for because she unzipped her sleeper and started to put her sunscreen on. It was so cute. Dave and I were quiet as we watched her and it was so fun to watch her in her element.

Here's a picture of her and Dave on the beach.

Question of the Week

Do you think we packed too much stuff to take to the beach with us?

What a Week

We just got back from vacation last night and we had such a great time. We enjoyed ourselves at Carolina Beach, NC. This was our first trip to Carolina Beach and we really enjoyed ourselves. I can't wait to share pictures and stories from the week with you but tonight I must crash and go to bed early.

It's good to be home.

Observed

The other day I watched Arden use her Mr. Potato Head hand as a fork. She must have had it in her pocket. I looked over and saw her holding the stick that goes into the body as the handle and the gloved portion as a fork eating her dinner. Very creative and resourceful.

Crying Wolf Part 2

Arden is learning the magic words to get out of doing something she doesn't want to do...

"Mama potty!"

It works every time. Even if she doesn't have to go potty.

She's a Runner

I have a feeling that Arden will be a runner just like her daddy. Here's an example of why I think she will love to get out there and run.

Lately, she wants to go for a walk with me without her stroller. The other night she walked all the way to the pool and back without me carrying her. Well actually we ran a little bit as well. Every time we would pass a jogger she said "run" and would take off running.

I can tell she wants to run the neighborhood. I think in a few years Dave will have a running partner.

Crying Wolf

Arden has a picture book of various items in it that children would like to identify. For example, it has trucks, boats, cars, dolls, different farm animals and wild animals and body parts. On of the pages the pictures are of people doing different things or showing different emotions.

On this page down in the bottom left corner there is a picture of a little boy crying. For some reason every time Arden sees it she starts fake crying. And I must admit Arden is really good a fake crying. If I didn't know that she was imitating the little boy in the picture I would really thing something is wrong.

So with this new found knowledge Dave and I have to ask her when she starts whining/crying for no apparent reason if she's really upset. A couple of times we've gotten a smile out of her. So she's starting to work us to get what she wants. She's a smart one.

Question of the Week

Are we really half way through the summer since this is the 4th of July weekend?

Happy 4th of July

We had a very busy but great 4th of July. Last night we went to the last installment of the Pops in the Park for this summer. We had a great time chatting with all of our friends. We also watched the fireworks and sang some classic America songs.

Dave's parents arrived and spent the day watching Arden run around and play. We missed the parade this morning through our neighborhood. We thought we would make it in time but I guess they walked too fast. Grammy and Grandpa got to see her in action at the pool jumping in and swimming on her own (with her float suit). They even cheered her on as she jumped off the diving board.

Right now we can hear the fireworks going off down the street. I am so thankful to live in a country that is free. I hope you had a happy 4th of July too.

Little David

There is a story that Dave's mom loves to tell about Dave and his first bike. The story goes something like this.

When Dave got his first bike he couldn't quit smiling. He takes the bike outside, takes it over to the curb and tries to learn how to ride it. There were no training wheels on his bike and by the end of the day he had taught himself how to ride his bike without any help.

This past weekend I had Dave get Arden's tricycle out of the building, lowered the seat and started showing her how to ride the bike. She loves it. Anytime we take her off of it she screams her head off. Mainly saying "no, bike!" in between she shrieks.

She can now hop on and off of it very quickly. She can petal backwards but not forwards yet. She's learning to coordinate her feet. She's getting there. She would play on it all day long if I would let her.

Here's a clip of her on her tricycle on Sunday. She's still learning but pay attention to when I ask her if she likes her bike and she hops off, pats the seat, smiles and then tries to hop back on. (Its a little wobbly but I was trying to make sure she didn't fall off of it.)

A Sign that She's a Little Girl

Church?

The past couple of mornings Arden has woken up and the first thing out of her mouth is "Church?" She's not calling for "Mama" or "Daddy" but "Church".

I am so thankful that she loves going to church to hear about the LORD and to play with her friends...I just haven't figured out a way yet to tell her we only go on Sundays.