Promotion Sunday

Last Sunday (August 23) was promotion Sunday at our church. That means Kate graduated from the nursery and now goes to a Sunday school class. We weren't at our church last week, so yesterday was Kate's first day. She is in the "yellow cats" class--but for the time that we were there, her class met with another class.

I wish I could say it went well, but Kate was kicking and screaming when I dropped her off. She also was teary when we picked her up. I know it was her first day, and it's to be expected with change. It's just a stark contrast to a few weeks ago, when she would literally run into her class in the nursery. She'll probably be doing the same thing with her new arrangement in a few weeks, once she gets adjusted. (After all, she didn't take to the nursery at first, either.) We are looking forward to all she will be learning about Jesus with her new program! :o)


Kate with her yellow cat name tag.


Matchy-matchy! We wore our matching dresses yesterday.


Chocolate chip cookies make everything better!


All smiles after she finished her cookie!

Family Night: School Bus Night!

To commemorate back-to-school season, we had a school bus-themed family night recently. Kate *loves* buses, so this one seemed rather fitting for the time. I gathered her bus-related toys and such for the festivities. And she donned a little top/dress that has vans (not buses, but close enough).


Our big activity was making a school bus cake out of two pound cakes, icing and decorations. Tanna really got into it!


While he was assembling the cake, Kate was busy painting. She is really into painting these days! How does this fit into the bus theme? Hmmmm ... how about graffiti?


The cake is really coming together!


Ta-da! The wheels are Oreos, the lights are lifesavers and M&Ms, and the black stripes are licorice.


School bus parking lot. Kate loves playing with those little buses. One is from Rebekah and Riley, and the other was Anna-Claire's. Kate played with it almost nonstop the week we were at the beach, and Uncle Johnny and Aunt Anne said she could have it. (Thanks!) She now calls it "Anna-Claire's bus."


Another activity--bus rides!


Kate works her Little People school bus puzzle.


Reading an old fave--The Wheels on the Bus.


Another Little People product--great book about the school bus, etc.


Best attempt at a family pic. (You should see some of the others! LOL!)


For dinner: A sub! Which is "bus" spelled backwards! That was Tanna's idea--pretty clever, huh? We love subs from Publix--yum!

The theme continued the next morning with the school bus project at Lowe's. It was a fun family night!

Our Week in Review

It's been a busy week! Here's what we've been up to ...


On Sunday, we picked up Kate at Tanna's parents' church. Halmoni said she was a very good girl and was very well-behaved! YAY!


Later that day, Tanna took Kate to the pool. She doesn't like to venture farther than the steps--but she sure loves getting in the water.


On Monday, we visited the Emory Autism Center. Last winter, Kate participated in a study here, and we returned for a follow-up visit related to the study. I was reminded of how very thankful we are at how much Kate has progressed since our last visit here. (Thank You, Lord!) I couldn't help but think of all I was thinking and fearing just six months ago, and I am so thankful that Kate's development is back on track. We are blessed to have the Emory Autism Center as well as the Marcus Autism Center--two EXCELLENT resources--so close to us here in Atlanta.


On Monday evening, we met Tanna's parents for dinner. Yes, that is a plastic Easter egg she is holding. She has a bit of an obsession with Easter eggs. I bought her a big plastic bag (new, still in the package, for only $1!) of them at a garage sale, and she carries them around all over the place. LOL!


Group photo after dinner. Kate has a sucker--one of her favorite treats these days!


On Tuesday morning, we met Jennifer, Evan and Liam at the aquarium. The boys really loved all the fish and other sea creatures.


Before we left the downtown area, we stopped by the children's museum (got to make use of that annual pass before it expires--LOL!). I think filling up a shopping cart and pushing it around (and especially up and down this ramp) may be Kate's favorite thing there these days--though she sure loves painting and playing in the ball area, too.


On Wednesday morning, we ran some errands and had a last-minute play date at Jamie's house. Kate talks about Jamie and Mrs. Diana and Jamie's house all the time. She also randomly mentions other friends and family members at various times. It is so cute!


On Wednesday night, I met up with some friends (some new, some old) for a new book club. It was our first meeting, and it was a lot of fun!


Kate's preschool starts back up next week, and Thursday morning was open house. Here she is all ready to go, complete with her Little People Christmas train. (She is loving that thing these days--even pulled it around the farmer's market this morning. Ha!)


Lonely Girl 708--LOL! Looking so forlorn in her classroom. Don't let the long face fool you--she really enjoys her preschool.


The cicadas are back! This little guy was in my parking space on Friday, and we've had a few on our window screens as well.

I have photos from today, too, but they're still on the camera. Anyway, that's our week in a nutshell. Hope you have had a great one. Here's to an even better week that starts off tomorrow!

Adorable Hairbows, a Fashion Show & a GIVEAWAY!

I am so excited about new friends, Kate's new hair bows--and my first blog giveaway!

I made a some new friends the other night at a book club meeting. One of them is Hannah, and it turns out that her family and Tanna's family have been friends for years and years! Long story short, Hannah and a friend of hers make these cool hair bows. Their business is called HairJules--and they specialize in adorable hair jewels for babies and toddlers. The clips are awesome--and they sell them for a fraction of what you would pay in a boutique. She gave me the cutest little owl hair clip--and it was so adorable, I bought a couple more!

Just look:



It matches perfectly Kate's new Hanna Andersson dress (bought recently with a birthday gift card) and the owl shirt I made for her earlier this week:



Here is another one. I bought one of these for my niece, Anna-Claire:



I think it looks rather cute with another of Kate's owl shirts:



But wait! There's more! Check out this simple hair clip that looks great with Kate's pink-and-brown play dress:



I just love it!

Now for the contest fun! Hannah gave me these fabulous HairJules clips to give away--how sweet is that?! One reader will win this fun collection:



There is a pink/brown crocheted flower clip, a fun red strawberry clip, and a set of cool fallish clips--all great for your fashion-forward little gal. These make fabulous baby shower or birthday gifts, too--not to mention stocking stuffers, party favors, etc., etc.

Believe me, we have tried all kinds of hair bows, and these are great quality. They also are the kind that will actually stay in place--I am sure you moms of girls with thin hair know what I am talking about.



Anyway, TO ENTER ...

• Visit the HairJules Etsy shop.
  
• Pick out your two favorite bows.
  
• Come back here (at this post) and leave a comment, telling me which two hair clips are your faves.
• You may enter just one time.
• Entries only in the U.S. (Sorry to the international folks!)
  
• Entries will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. (EASTERN) Monday, August 31.
• Winner is responsible for all applicable taxes.
• LOL--just had to put that in there.
  
• On Tuesday, September 1, I will pick a number at random and the number that corresponds to the comment on this post will be the winner.
  
• I will announce the winner on this blog on Tuesday, September 1. At that time, if I don't have it already, I will need to get the winner's e-mail address so I can correspond with her (or him) and make arrangements for delivery of the prize.
• If I cannot get in touch with (or haven't heard back from) the winner by Friday, September 4, then I will select another winner. (So be sure to check back or be sure to leave your contact info ... if I don't have it already.)
• This is my first giveaway on this blog, so please be patient with me.
  
• Thanks for playing--and a special THANK YOU to Hannah and HairJules for the awesome hair clips!
  

Czech This Out!

My sister (second from right in the brown cap) recently took a mission trip to the Czech Republic. This was her second trip there through her church and its Methodist Conference. Last year, she was part of an English-teaching team. This year, she was invited back to be part of a baseball/softball camp--which is right up her alley. Growing up, she was always the all-star athlete and very gifted in sports. I was the awkward one who sat the bench and kept the books--but I was on the team, I suppose, because my sister was one of the best players. (In my family, we all were very encouraged to play sports--it is just what we did growing up.)

Anyway, she had a great trip and even celebrated her birthday overseas. She said the kids there just LOVED the sports camp and did not want the week to end. They would show up early in the morning and wait for the mission team to get up, and they never complained about the weather or anything. Anyway, here is a story about her experience:

http://www.forministry.com/USTNUMETCBCU1/Missiontrip2009.dsp

Here is a brief excerpt:

Although she shared many fond memories of the trip, one of Skaggs’s most memorable moments came when she had to say goodbye to her new friends.

“They were just sobbing and clinging to us. We just wanted to pack them all up and bring them home. We were very emotional,” said Skaggs.

P.S. For you fellow East Highers, Tommy Forrester (in the red shirt on the far right) was also on the trip; he went last year as well. :o)

Birthday Report '09: No. 35!

I had a great birthday last Saturday--thanks for all of the wonderful birthday wishes! Here is a quick pictorial review of the celebrations and festivities ...


Tanna made pancakes and bacon (not pictured) for breakfast. Yum!


After our morning outing, Halmoni came over to babysit Kate.


Family photo before Tanna and I left for our mystery getaway. He told me he was taking me somewhere overnight, but I didn't know where ...


I napped in the car on the way to ... Dillard, Georgia! We went up in the North Georgia mountains for an overnighter. We stayed here, at the Dillard House.


The accommodations were very nice!


We walked around some of the shops in Dillard. Here I am in front of the Christmas store. This store had just about all things Christmas--and then some! I also enjoyed the general store.


Scary dolls in an antique store. If you leaned in real close, you could faintly hear a spooky train whistle.


Meanwhile, back at the Dillard House, the folks were serving up complimentary wine and cheese (and other goodies) on the grounds. Yes, there were chickens running loose. LOL! We enjoyed live music, too. The atmosphere was very nice. The Dillards are known for their hospitality.


Tanna checking out the selections. I refrained because I saw flies. (I don't really like to mix the outdoors and food too much because of bugs--no outdoor wedding reception for me, please.)


I did enjoy a refreshing Coca-Cola, though.


While we waited for dinner, we enjoyed some more live music. These guys were playing "Dueling Banjos."


Speaking of Deliverance ...


Time to eat. Dinner is served family style in the restaurant. YUM! I love me some good old-fashioned country cookin'!


The food was good, but I was FREEZING! Too bad I left my jacket in our room. I felt bad for a table of some little old ladies next to us--they were cold, too.


We drove out to Tallulah Gorge. So pretty!


Wallenda was here.


Self-portrait. It was a great birthday! Thanks, Tanna, for a fun time. It didn't matter where we were, as long as we were together. :o) The company was the best!