~Kindermusik: Class 2~

We had a great time this week at Kindermusik. We sang, danced, stomped, and so much more! Again this week the scarves are the favorite!

Bowdre really enjoys swishing them!

~Bowdre's 1st Week at School~

Somehow, we all made it through Bowdre's first week of school. She had so much fun and did great each day! She played, learned, napped, ate, and everything else along with it! She made friends, and loves her teachers! Each child has their own cubby and chair that has their name and picture on it, as well as a picture of their family on the wall. I just love the family Christian environment. They pray and worship God each and every day, and that is something that is so important to us.

Warren and I are so excited that Bowdre loves it at FUMC! Here is her first take-home project! My heart be still!

Bowdre is going to learning about circles next week...so until then!

~I Can Wash My Hair~

~1st Day at Kindermusik~

Bowdre really loves music! Ever since she was a tiny baby, we have always tried to incorporate music into her life, whether that be singing to her, clapping and tapping, or having music playing in the background. I think music is so important, and studies prove that those who have some sort of introduction into music tend to be smarter academically...so bring on the music!

That being said, I decided to enroll Bowdre and I into a Kindermusik class. For those of you who aren't familiar with it (imagine me telling my husband about this class...it was so funny), it's a child music curriculum, that helps with child development in many ways. It helps develop their language, social, emotional and physical skills, while being so much fun! A fun statistical fact: children who are enrolled in Kindermusik show a 32% more literacy gain over those who are not enrolled in this type of course.

Even with all of the obvious reasons we chose to do this class, it also gave Bowdre and I something really fun to do together. I love music of all forms, and I think Bowdre will to! Our teacher is Mrs. Hillary Zeigler, and she is wonderful!

Our first day was last Monday, August 3rd, and we had a fabulous time! Bowdre really enjoyed it, and seemed to catch on really quickly!  We sing, dance, walk, stomp, sway, glide, and so much more! There are musical toys, bubbles, and scarves too!

The scarves are definitely Bowdre's favorite!

We can't wait until class next week!

~1st Day of School at First United Methodist Preschool (12-24 months)-August 3, 2015~

Somehow, Bowdre's first day at school arrived. I have spent months trying to prepare myself for this. How would she like it? Would she be a good girl? Would she really be learning? Would be be sweet to other kids? Would other kids be sweet to her? Would she nap? Would she eat? The list goes on and on and on. Deep down I think I knew she would be just fine! I knew she needed some more interaction with other kids and she also needed to be learning. But still, for this mama it was really really hard!

Bowdre did wonderfully getting up early. She is only getting up about 30 minutes earlier than she normally does, so thankfully it doesn't disrupt too much! She was excited to get dressed and start moving around!

Here is a picture of the whole family! I think Bowdre is trying to figure out why everyone is smiling that early in the morning? But by the 3rd picture, she finally caught on!

Once we got to FUMC, we took Bowdre to Early Birds, where they get to play and eat some breakfast. Bowdre probably did more playing, since she had already eaten breakfast earlier. The child pretty much eats breakfast right when she gets up! By the time we took the pictures above this, she had already had some cheerios, oatmeal, and some fruit! Anyway, she definitely cried when Warren and I left, but literally 2 seconds later when I poked by head back in to check, she was already happy and playing! Thank goodness! Prayers answered!

She really loved it and had a wonderful first day! We are so blessed that Bowdre is happy and thriving at FUMC! We are so appreciative of all of the staff there that take care of our baby for us! We are looking forward to a wonderful year!

~12 Month Check-Up~

Bowdre had her 12 month check up with Dr. Ramos on Friday, July 31st, which was a little over a week after turning 1!

She was as healthy as can be, and we are certainly blessed! She is 27.7 pounds, and 31.5 inches long! A growing baby!

~Weekend Recap-July 31st to August 2nd~

As I'm trying to catch up on my blog posts, I'm having such fun remembering all of the things our family has had going on the past month. No wonder I've had a hard time keeping up and catching up! On Friday (July 31st), Bowdre had her 12 month check-up in Savannah (more on that later), so Warren and I decided to make a trip out of it! We have been keeping our boat at a marina in Savannah, and the 31st was the last day it was going to be there, so we had to go pick it up anyway! So we thought, why not take it out for an evening spin?

I know someone who is super happy we did!

It was such a beautiful evening on the water, and we had so much fun. I think Bowdre had the MOST fun trying to be in control of the boat!

After a while, we decided to try out Bonna Bella, which is a restaurant that is on the water. It's actually called something else now, but I can't remember the name. It is set up sorta like tapas, so smaller meals. We seriously had a great time. The food was wonderful, the view was gorgeous, and the company was super special! We all ate until our heart and tummies were content. Warren and I split a calamari appetizer. Warren had a really delicious fish meal, and I had the most amazing fish tacos. We both had salads! Bowdre had yummy fresh watermelon, along with scrumptious gold fish and cheerios, with some sweet potato thrown in there! We ALL split a delicious warmed chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream. Yea...the food was amazing!

It was such a fun evening, but by the time we made it back home, we were exhausted! I don't quite remember really what we did on Saturday and Sunday, but I know we went to church, and spent some time in the pool! Fun and relaxing weekends spent with family...life just doesn't get much better!

~First United Methodist Church Preschool Open House~

So it's safe to say that time has flown by! Warren and I really wanted Bowdre to be able to stay home for her first year...and she did just that! A huge thank you to my mom who really took on the job of keeping Bowdre every single day! It was really a blessing to be able to have Bowdre with the person I trust the most! I knew it was going to be hard to make a transition to a full time school for Bowdre, but we all agreed it was time! Bowdre is super-smart! I know, I know...all moms say that about their babies...but Bowdre is super super smart...and she needed to be using her skills and also opening up her mind to learning more. The place that did that was school. Warren and I did some looking around, and we went with FUMC for various reasons. We definitely felt at home there and really liked the facility as well as the staff. They are so friendly. The one thing that hit the home run for me is when Ann, the director, said to me: "Remember, this is school...not daycare." I loved that. Bowdre is able to play while also focusing on learning!

Finally, the time arrived for Open House! The whole entire family went! Mom, Dad, Gammy, Pop, and Bowdre! Yes...we were THOSE people!

Here is a picture of her in her chair at Open House! Unfortunately, it was so crazy and I was so overwhelmed that it was the only picture I got that evening. I'll do better next year!

She was the only one in the room playing with all the toys! She was so excited!

More to come about her first day and week in the next couple of blog posts!

We are so thankful and blessed that God put FUMC in our lives, and it could not have been at a better time! Isn't it funny how things work out?

~Our Trip to Cabbage Patch Land-Babyland General Hospital~

On our way home on Sunday, we decided to make a pit stop at Babyland General Hospital-Home of the Cabbage Patch Kids!

It was a lot of fun!

Seriously...why am I up?

At least it was once Bowdre woke up for her nap...she didn't quite understand why we woke her up so soon! But once she saw all the cabbage patch dolls, she got in a much better mood! We saw lots of older dolls and new ones too! There were even some dolls there worth over 10,000 dollars!

A large, life-size Cabbage Patch Doll!

The tree of Cabbage Patch Dolls

We even got to see one being born! *It's an experience, let me tell you*

Watching a new Cabbage Patch Baby be born

Then, Bowdre had to pick out her baby she wanted to adopt!

But....Mom....why can't I have her too??

She finally did after holding several...we had to pry a couple out of her hands. Again, she didn't quite understand why she couldn't adopt more than one baby. Hey, why not 4? Because, Mommy and Daddy will be broke, Bowdre! We finally did find one to take home! Bowdre is happy to present Miss Alexandria "Alex" Clements!

Dad looks so excited!!

Bowdre can't wait to leave Babyland General Hospital and take baby Alex home!

Welcome to our family Alex! It was a lot of fun and such a great experience! So much history in that building. It is such a gorguous building!

After our visit, Warren, Bowdre, baby Alex, and I headed back home! It's going to be nuts having another baby in our house ;)

~Family Reunion/Mountain Weekend~

Several weekends ago (I'm still trying to catch up on my blogging), we went to Blairsville, GA, for Warren's family reunion. Each year, typically the same weekend, Warren's family gets together for a weekend of fun. There is usually dinner Friday night, a Saturday get together, and then everyone heads home on Sunday. Warren and I have been to most of the last few. The first one I attended was in Jacksonville, then followed by Rome, and the lake near Augusta last year. This year was so much fun, mostly because Warren and I had Bowdre. She had so much fun meeting everyone, and Warren and I had a great time catching up to family members! Since I was chasing Bowdre around most of the time, I didn't get a chance to take many pictures unfortunately, but we had a blast!

We met the family in Blairsville Friday night and had dinner at a local restaurant. Saturday, we met at a local bank's community room, for lunch and then spent most of the day catching up. We met back there Saturday night for leftovers, and then Warren and I headed out after around lunch on Sunday! It was a jam packed weekend, but the mountain view were wonderful, the cabin was beautiful (more on this in a sec), and the company was the best part of all!

Look at this view that surrounded us all weekend! Priceless!

Here are a few pictures of Bowdre running around like a mad woman! She thinks she is so grown now that she can walk!

Aunt Joan got a cabin that we split between 4 families! We had so much fun hanging out together, talking and of course, eating! It was a beautiful cabin, and we enjoyed every minute of staying there!

Here is a picture of our room! B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

We really had a wonderful time this year, and we are already looking forward to next year!!!!

More about our ride home on the next blog!

~Happy Birthday Nana~

Today, August 5th, is like none other that have come before it. This day is the first time in 28 years that I won't be celebrating my Nana's birthday with her.

There are no words that could possibly describe how much I miss her. She is missed and loved dearly by all who knew her. She would have been 93 today!

This birthday for her is like none other as well. She is celebrating today at the feet of our Lord...what a wonderful birthday present that must be!

Happy Birthday Nana! I know we will celebrate again together one day! Life is definitely not the same without you, but thankfully, we learned from you what love and family is all about. We love you!