Meeting Miss PattyCake

Kate *loves* Miss PattyCake! I had been looking forward to taking her to Miss PattyCake's concert at First Baptist Atlanta next week--in fact, I had marked it on the calendar months ago. So I was very disappointed to find out early last week that the FBA show had been canceled. :o(

That was the bad news. The good news is ... I found out that Miss PattyCake was going to be at Cascade Hills Church in Columbus, Georgia, last Saturday. It was a bit of a drive at 1.5 to 2 hours (one-way), but after talking to someone at the church about the event, we decided to go for it! And I am so glad we did--it was worth the trip.

We were running a little behind schedule because of pouring-down rain and a slightly late departure (I underestimated the driving time). But we got there just in time for the start of the show. Kate really enjoyed it! Of course, if you know Kate, then it comes as no surprise that she couldn't stay in her seat for the whole program--but she still had fun!

Afterward, we went upstairs to eat and to meet Miss PattyCake and Mr. Stan the Handyman. Kate loved meeting them--she even sat in Miss PattyCake's lap! Miss PattyCake was extremely nice and signed a book and DVD cover for Kate. The church provided burgers for the adults and Chick-fil-A nuggets for the children (actually, those were donated by CFA) ... as well as drinks and chips, etc. It was a wonderful event for families and a great outreach. Thank you, Miss PattyCake--we are thankful for your ministry!

BTW, Miss PattyCake will be at First Baptist Church of Woodstock Friday, Oct. 9. at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door. For more information, call the church at 7770.926.4428.

Here are some more photos from Columbus:


There was quite a crowd! I overheard someone from the church say there were more than 500 people there.


Action shot


Here we are with Mr. Stan the Handyman! Kate loved the yellow balloon--she played with it almost the whole time we were in line.


Family pic with Miss PattyCake.

'Blanket On!'

Kate loved to be swaddled as an infant. I even think we swaddled her past the time when most babies are over the whole burrito-blanket thing. But she really enjoyed it. However, when she gave up the swaddle, she didn't want anything to do with blankets. Oh, we tried to cover her up from time to time. Any attempts at doing so, though, were futile. Blankets frequently would end up on the floor in a matter of minutes--and sometimes even sooner.

Last week, however, something changed. On one particular night, Kate kept waking up. I thought her room was a little cold, so I adjusted the A-C--and then covered her up with a blanket. She actually didn't object! Fast-forward a few hours, and Kate was awake. Again. When I finally realized she wasn't going to go back to sleep on her own, I went into her room. There she sat, kind of whimpering a little, saying, "Blanket, please." She wanted the blanket on.

She isn't consistent in her blanket requests, but she continues to ask for a blanket. Just a little while ago, she was crying from her bedroom. I had just put her down, and I thought it was her typical stalling routine. (I need to write about some of her bedtime requests.) Anyway, I finally went in there, and she says, "Blanket on?" Of course, I covered her up and got her "snug as a bug in a rug," as my mother would say. The blanket we've been using is one my friend Kristi made for Kate before she was even born. :o)

In other Kate news, she has become more attached to her pillow, it seems. (I replaced the original pillow recently, but she still has the same pillowcase.) She frequently gets it out of her crib (or has one of us retrieve it for her) and carries it around. She also will bring it to the living room and lay her head on it to watch television ... or just because.

Lately, when she is watching a video, she wants Tanna or me to sit with her in her room or on the sofa. If we are in another room, she will come and get us by the hand. Then she will lead us to where she wants us to sit and say, "Mommy, sit down" or "Ah-Pah, sit down." LOL! Too, she will sometimes sit on our laps or snuggle when watching television. She has not been big on cuddling or letting us hold her in the past, so we really like it. :o) What a sweetie!

P.S. The photo is from today at naptime.

Dragon Boat Festival 2009

Weekend before last, we ventured to Tennessee for a few days of fun! Said fun commenced bright and early on Saturday morning with the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which is a fundraiser for the children's hospital. Robin, Steven and Johnny were rowing again this year, and we were ready to cheer them on!

Their team--Home Health Synkers--ended up finishing fifth out of 48 teams! Pretty good, huh? We had fun watching the first round of races and then walking around. We took the kids to play on the playground and enjoyed catching up with some old friends.

Before the next two rounds of racing, Tanna and I went back to Robin and Steven's house with the girls, as it was getting pretty hot and time for naps, etc. Anne dropped off Abigail to play, too! When the dragon boaters got home, it was time to get ready for Bekah's birthday dinner with the family. (Post to come soon.) We had a big time and a full day!

Here are some pictures:


Johnny, Robin and Steven--the dragon boaters are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for their early-morning departure


@ Winged Deer Park. Here are the rowers with some of their biggest fans!


Kate with her Uncle Johnny


On the sidelines by the water. Kate loved sitting in Rebekah's butterfly umbrella chair, and Bekah was so sweet to share it.


Ready for the races!


There's our team! They are rowing out to the starting line. Robin is the first rower on the side closest to us.


Steven and Johnny wave from the water.


Johnny with Abigail and Anna-Claire


Chad and Emily, friends from high school!


Heading to the playground!


Having so much fun!


Johnny and A-C on the swings.


Kate gives Aunt BaBa a kiss!


Aunt A and Abs!


We played a game at the Johnson City Press booth. It was fun--throwing papers into the paper boxes. (I used to work at the JCP back in the day (1995-97).) Tanna won me some fun JCP sunglasses--yay!


We just missed Grammy and Grampy. They arrived right as we were leaving to take the girls home for naps, etc. They got to watch Robin, Steven & Johnny's next race, though.


While we waited for the dragon boaters to get home (they did so well, they kept advancing!), I helped Riley with this Dragon Boat Festival artwork. If you are interested in commissioning an original piece, please let me know. Media include crayon and ... crayon.

Garden Goodies!

Presenting ... Garden Goodies! This is Kate's school's entry for Atlanta Botanical Garden's Scarecrows in the Garden event, which officially starts on Thursday (October 1). I had the opportunity to serve on the scarecrow committee with three other moms. It was fun! I was excited to do so because back in August, Tanna and I had actually discussed entering a scarecrow of our own. We thought about doing a Michael Jackson scarecrow (Tanna's idea), but it was going to be too expensive. I do have a funny idea for next year, though--we'll see if it pans out.

Anyway, for Kate's school, we went with a candy theme. I just adore it! Originally, it was going to be a little more elaborate and feature a door with a couple of trick-or-treating scarecrows and lots of candy all around. But we thought that might be a bit much, so we scaled it down just a bit and went with more of a garden/goodies theme. I think it is adorable! I love the colors! I also love how it is cute and kid friendly and fall/Halloweenish without being scary.

The scarecrow's cupcake costume is from Pottery Barn Kids (you may recognize it because it apparently is pretty popular). The candy corn pinwheels are metal and were ordered from Terry's Village. Some of the older students at Kate's school helped make the colored lollipops. Don't they look fantastic? Suzanne, who is an artist, painted the larger lollipops. And Nancy found these cool lampshades at IKEA--we glued them together and wrapped them in cellophane to make giant candies.


Here are three of us at drop-off the other day. That's me, Diane, and Suzanne (with one of her cute boys). Diane was our fearless leader. She kept us on track and organized and really worked hard on this project.


Here we are at one of our meetings week before last. This is at Suzanne's beautiful home. That's Diane, me, and Nancy. Funny small-world story: Nancy happens to be the sister-in-law of Aundrea, a friend of mine from Charlotte! In the background on the far left, you can see one of Nancy's adorable sons. :o)


Here's another one from that same day. It was a fun project, and I can't wait to see the school's scarecrow exhibit all set up with the other entries later this week. Check it out if you get a chance!

Various Things from Friday

On Thursday, Kate got what appears to be a mosquito bite on her eyelid. That evening, it was a little red and raised, and she kept scratching at it. (She even knows not to scratch, due to previous bites and Tanna's teaching her to say "No scratch!") Anyway, when she woke up on Friday, it was very swollen. Tanna took a picture of it and said to watch it. If it got any worse, I was going to take her to the doctor. Fortunately, it looked a lot better after her nap--and when she woke up this morning, she was looking back to normal. This is the second mosquito bite she's gotten around her eye (where you can't really apply bug spray). Any suggestions?



Friday morning, we met Di and Jamie at the history center. It wasn't the best outing. We walked all the way through the main building only to discover that you can't get to the farm area (where the animals are) because of construction. We then ask how to get there, and then we trekked all the way around the property (down by the parking garage, by the Swan House and back around to the farm). With two 2--year-olds. In Atlanta heat and humidity (which both Di and I had underestimated that morning). Anyway, when we got there, there were no animals out. Ugh. So then we walked back around to the front building and left. That time, we just walked out by the street. Oh well, at least we didn't have to pay because we got in with our membership.



In other news, the Halloween clothing has started to make an appearance. I got out some of our Halloween things from last year. The shirt in this picture is size 24 months--Kate wore it last year, and it is almost too short--but she got at least one more wear out of it. Oh, I also braided her hair for the first time (to wear out in public). Kate's hair is still very thin and hard to "pleat" (as my mother would say), but I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Kate is loving the plastic pumpkin bucket she got at Jasper's birthday party last year. I got it out, and told her it was last year's pumpkin. So now she keeps calling it "last year's pumpkin." She is really enjoying carrying it around and filling it with various items from around the house.



Speaking of pumpkins, I also finally opened some Halloween-themed squirt toys that Aunt Robin got for Kate last year. My favorite is the owl, of course, but Kate is quite enamored with this jack-o'-lantern, which she loves to toss up (just barely) and catch in her hands. She was calling it an orange ball, so I told her it was a pumpkin. Now she calls it "pumpkin patch." We think she got that from the Charlie Brown/Peanuts Halloween DVD, which is one of her regulars. (She watches the Peanuts collection throughout the year.)

Anyway, those are some random tidbits from our neck of the woods. Have a great day!

Give Me Jesus - Fernando Ortega Ruth Graham Tribute

I saw this on another blog and wanted to post it here, too. This song has been a favorite for close to 10 years now, I suppose. I remember playing it over and over in my car after attending my first "Just Give Me Jesus" event with Anne Graham Lotz and Fernando Ortega in Knoxville. Whew, that was a while back!

This is a video tribute to Ruth Bell Graham, beloved wife of Billy Graham. She was a remarkable woman of God. When I worked at BGEA, I happened to win a signed copy of one of her books at an employee meeting. I was so excited to win it, and I still have it today. I love her books and her writings. She was so insightful--and pretty funny, too. I suppose you'd have to have a keen sense of humor with five children and a husband on the road all the time. She was an integral part of her husband's ministry, and God continues to use her today.

K-A-T-E spells Kate!

I want to get this down before I forget. Late this afternoon, Kate and I were out in the play room. I had just set her up with the Aquadoodle while I tried to straighten up a little out there. (That's a never-ending battle, but I wanted to at least make it so one could walk safely.) Anyway, while she is scribbling (or pretending to), I hear her say, "K-A-T-E spells Kate!" Clear as a bell! I probably just stared at her in disbelief for a bit before I finally said something like, "That's right! Great job, Kate!" I know she is just repeating what I say when I play Aquadoodle with her (and when I paint with her), but still! She is listening. :o)

Which reminds me ... "Be careful, little ears, what you hear ..." Something I really need to take to heart when I open my mouth these days.

Elmo & Grover at the Botanical Garden

I had been looking forward to taking Kate to see some Sesame Street characters at the Atlanta Botanical Garden last week. (It was not announced which characters would be there, so it was a surprise.) That morning, however, it was very rainy and I didn't think we were going to go. I called to see if it had been canceled or rescheduled (it was going to be an outdoor storytime program) and finally got in touch with someone who told me it was still on and being moved indoors. So ... at the last minute ... I decided we'd ride over there and check it out.

I ran into a neighbor as we were leaving, so we got there about 15 minutes late, I suppose, and the story was just ending. It was probably for the best, though, because Kate did not like the characters. At all. I was kind of surprised because she hasn't really reacted that way around the Chick-fil-A cow or other characters. Not that she has run up and hugged them, but still.

Anyway, I took Kate outside to calm her down and tried again ... but to no avail. We were outside again when Elmo came walking by. I got a quick photo, but Kate wasn't too happy about it. I think she will have a good laugh when she is older, though.

Kate did enjoy running around the children's area, so all was not lost. We even saw some acquaintances--Kate's friend Amelia's cousin (Gracie) and her dad. I'm sure we will be back at the Atlanta Botanical Garden very soon. Maybe we'll see you there!


Kate wore her Elmo hair clips for the occasion.


Gracie is ready to greet Grover.


This is what Kate thought about the whole thing. Later, she kept saying, "Bye-bye, Elmo!"


Kate LOVES letters!


I just love this picture of Kate. Because of the weather, it wasn't very crowded.


Here it is cropped. See you next time!

Magic Monday @ The Atlanta History Center

Last week, we finally joined the Atlanta History Center. We got a nice discount by taking advantage of the Swaptember promotion that's going on among metro-area attractions. We can take up to four guests with us per visit, so let me know if you would like to meet us over there sometime. :o)

Kate and I attended the center's toddler program, Magic Mondays. The theme for the month was music, and activities included making a tambourine, playing with various instruments, listening to music, pointing out instruments in an exhibit, and hearing a music-themed story. It was fun, and Kate seemed to enjoy it for the most part.

What I enjoyed most was meeting an online friend, Andrea, and her son, Finn. It was great to run into them and to talk in person. She organizes a fun play group, which was participating in Magic Monday--so we got to meet several of her friends, too. We hope to see them again soon!


Finn and Kate enjoy goldfish crackers and crayons while their moms chat and work on their tambourines. LOL!


I think Kate's favorite part was playing with the instruments. And running around. (She didn't really take to her tambourine, though. It's already gone bye-bye. ;o))


She loves these egg shakers!


Can you believe she is sitting still? The kids were listening to music in a little room here.

Back from Blogging Break!

I am back from a little break. We were up in Tennessee over the weekend, returning to a flooded Atlanta area on Monday late afternoon/early evening. The DH has had a few days off this week, which has been nice. But we are slowly getting back into our normal routine.

In other news, I did five loads of laundry yesterday! I broke a hose on our washer/dryer, so it has been out of commission. Fortunately, I was able to use the nearby laundry facilities, where I can do several loads of laundry at once. I have a lot of catching up to do--on here and IRL. So stay tuned ...

Samantha's Owl Birthday Party

Last Saturday, Kate and I attended Samantha's owl-themed birthday party--what fun! Sam just turned 2 yesterday (Happy Birthday!), and she is a little doll. Her party was absolutely adorable ... or, rather ... owl-dorable! LOL! (I will try to spare you more owl words. ha!)


Here is the birthday girl with her parents. Check out the owl applique on her dress--remember that pattern? (I love seeing the owl appliques and how different they all look. SO cute!) I think Lee Anne (Samantha's Mommy) told me that Sam's grandmother did the applique. Oh, you should have seen Sam's bloomers--they had an applique of an owl's backside, complete with cute little wings. LOVED it!


The invitations--Lee Anne made these. So cute. (LA, I copied this from your blog ... as well as another picture. ;o)) Of course, the final product had the address and RSVP information. But that wouldn't have mattered for me because I left our invitation and directions on the table. And I didn't realize it until I was over near Sam's house and did not know where to go! Ooops! I called Lori, who used to live in that area of town, and she pointed me in the right direction. (Thank you!) Then, once I recognized a street name, I found the party pretty quickly. We were a little late, and Kate kept saying, "Party? Party?"


Owl banner--so festive. I don't know if there is a limit for the number of times you can use the word "cute" in one blog post--but if there is, I might exceed it.


Check out these owl cakes--cute, cute and more cute! Can you believe one of Lee Anne's friends made these? They were as tasty as they were ... well ... cute! Kate kept asking for more, too. ha! (And in case you are wondering ... yes, those are CFA chicken nuggets in the background. Yum!)


Fantastic owl cookies made by another friend. These look so yummy. I meant to go back and get one, but I spent a lot of time keeping an eye on Kate.


Presents and goodie bags! The goodie bags were very generous and included owl hair clips, owl stickers, sunglasses, a little bird treat to hang in a tree (LOVE that idea!), some organic snacks ... and I think another thing or two that I can't remember off the top of my head.


Here's Kate wearing an owl hair clip for the occasion and looking like a giant beside the birthday girl. Happy Birthday, Sam! (Kate has been saying that at random times this week--so ... cute!) What a fun party--thanks for having us!