From Mom's Day Out to Preschool

As many of you know, Abby has been attending a Mom's Day Out program once a week through our church for about a year now. She has done really well with this program and has gained a ton from it. This is where she overcame her separation anxiety, she learned new songs, made new friends, and most importantly began to form a relationship with God. I think one of the most amazing memories from her time at MDO (mom's day out) was when we sat down to dinner one night and she told us we had to pray first and began reciting a prayer she had learned. I will miss this program, but I had decided she was ready for something a little more formal and I was hoping I could get her into a pre-school here in Crestview to eliminate some of the driving I have been doing.

After some research and talking to other mom's in Crestview I decided to check out a couple of preschools in the area. I first looked at the Montessori school in town and just didn't get the right vibe from it. There wasn't anything specific that I didn't like, I just didn't get a good feeling. I then visited the Apple Tree Preschool in town with low expectations but was actually pleasantly surprised. I felt comfortable from the moment I walked in, things seemed organized and clean, the staff and teachers were knowledgeable and friendly, and most importantly Abby was very content there. She was excited to see all the toys and it just made me feel better knowing this was a place she was comfortable in and excited about. I made the decision then and there that she would start in the fall.

That lead us up to yesterday, her first day of preschool!! After a busy trip to Colorado (more to come on that later) we had to wake up early the day after we returned for her first day of school. I spent the night before try to get all of her things ready so we would have an easy transition in the morning and have time to take some pictures and spend some quality time together. Well, like most things in life our morning didn't go quite as planned. Everything was fine till it was time to walk out the door. In fact, things had gone so smoothly we were planning on meeting Sam and Nolan at Starbucks and driving the kiddos to school together. As we were headed out the door with all of our stuff in tow I realized I didn't have my keys. No problem, I would just run back in and get them. No such luck, the keys were no where to be found. As I was frantically searching, I called Andrew at work because he was the last one to have my keys since he drove my car to pick us up from the airport the night before. He told me they were in the pocket of his shorts. Good crisis averted, or so I thought. Of course the keys weren't there! So, I continued my frantic search while calling Sam to tell her we wouldn't be able to meet up with them. I overturned couch cushions, stripped the bed of the linens, threw open drawers spilling their contents onto the counters and floors. The house looked as if we had been robbed! At this point I began crying, I was so upset and really didn't want Abby to be late for her first day of school! I continued to wander aimlessly around the house looking in the same places a million times, when for some reason I decided to look upstairs. I walked into Abby's room and there on her dresser were my keys!!!! For whatever reason, Andrew took them out of his pocket up there and set them on the dresser. Normally I would have seen them when I went to get Abby's clothes but due to our trip I had clean clothes for her down in the living room and didn't need to go up there. After all that, we happened to be on time for school after all! I thought I was going to be more emotional about her first day of school but the events of the morning coupled with the fact that she had been attending MDO for a while led me to be calm and excited for her rather than too emotional.

The emotions did come later though as I found myself in an empty house for a few hours and even more so when I picked up my smiling little girl. I was able to sneak up on her and watch her playing for a few minutes before she noticed I was there. She was having a ball playing and her teacher Miss Marlo said she had a wonderful day! As I began to talk to Abby about her day she told me she had fun and her teacher was nice but that she cried a little on her mat (which they use during rest time) because she missed me! That right there melted my heart. Its good to know that she thinks about me while I am gone, but I also know she was busy and had a good time at school. I am excited about this program. They provide you with a report everyday with how the kids did, what they played with, when/if they went potty, and how much they ate. Their teacher Miss Marlo is very nice and it wonderful with kids. Its also nice that the school is in Crestview, I am able to run errands and go home to clean or relax if need be. I am looking forward to seeing how this enriches Abby's life and what she takes away from it. I am sure there will be more posts about this to come!! Until then, enjoy a few pics that I was able to snap even in my state of pure chaos!!!

Before School

Nolan and Abby after school

A shot of Abby's "daily report"

The forgotten one

Poor Bucky never gets any love, on the blog or otherwise for that matter. He can be a pain in the behind sometimes, but for the most part he is a good dog. And, I can't help but love that face!!

Operation Baby's Room/General Decluttering

And so it begins. I know we must create a mess in order to make any progress, but this makes me crazy. I hate looking at it, it makes me break into a cold sweat every time I enter what will eventually be the nursery. I am feeling the pressure to get things done. I will be 30 weeks along on Tuesday and I have a busy couple of weeks ahead of me where I won't be able to really work on the room. I will be in Colorado for 12 days, we might go to Atlanta for Labor Day and I am in the process of planning Abigail's 3rd birthday party! Plus, Abby starts preschool when we get home from Colorado. I guess that is a good thing for the progress of the room though, since I will have Tues and Thurs. free to get some things done! If anyone has an eye for decorating, or wants to come over to help, please be my guest!!!

Ben and Angela's Condo Warming

Last weekend we headed down toward Ft. Walton Beach for a condo warming party. Angela is a new addition to Andrew's office and he is her sponsor. Her husband Ben is also Air Force and they were both stationed with Sam and Brian at F.E. Warren in Cheyenne, what a small Air Force. Anyway, they are living it up while they are here in Florida. They have a beautiful condo right on the water with spectacular views. They put on a great a party and were wonderful hosts' providing yummy food and good drinks! Hopefully next time we go over we can hit up their gorgeous pool :)

P.S.--I stole the majority of these pictures from Sam, thanks!!!

Our gracious hosts, Ben and Angela

The spectacular view from their balcony

Abby enjoying some juicy watermelon out on the patio

A few of the kiddos watching a movie. Well, the girls are watching a movie, Nolan seems more interested in the pretty ladies he is hanging with!

Crestview Creek

We finally made it over to the creek here in Crestview. I say finally because I had originally heard about it last summer while I was in Colorado and then totally forgot about till some other gals mentioned it recently. Sam and I were all prepared with lunch, beach chairs, swimsuits, sunscreen, and towels and 2 toddlers in tow to go last Friday but changed our minds when we got there. For some reason it seemed a bit creepy to us when we pulled up by ourselves on Friday morning. I don't know if it was the weather which was making everything look dark and gray or if we are just a couple of chickens, but either way we opted to wait till one or both of the guys could come with us. It just so happens that Sat. worked out well for all of us and so we loaded up the car once again and headed to the creek. I don't know why it seemed so creepy on Friday because on Saturday it looked just fine and I think Andrew and Brian though we were crazy. Anyhow, we had a lot of fun. The water is very shallow and perfect for the kids to splash around in. They played in the water and in the sand and even took a little tubing trip down the "river". Its awesome that the creek is so close and this is definitely a place we will be going back to. In fact, we might head over there tomorrow!

Our beach site

Ahh, this is fun! The water was really chilly to me but it didn't seem to bother Abby at all!

The boys and the kids talking a walk down the creek

Family photo minus Bucky, he was there but just not in this picture

Floating down the creek

Abby's Top Ten

Abigail's Top Ten List for her little sister's name, as recited during her bath with Daddy tonight

1. Nana (Nah-nah)
2. Dewy
3. Charlie
4. Jewy
5. Kristen
6. Dottie
7. Noey
8. Tary (Tah-rei)
9. Kara
10. Jarry (Jar-rei)

Triple Play Indoor playground

We finally found an indoor playground to go to. Its not the closest, its a little West of Pensacola about 45 minutes away from our house, but its totally worth the drive. It is basically a bunch of blowup bouncer's and slides, but theres also some toys for the kids to play with like train tables, doll houses, and cozy coupe cars. Abby was a bit shy at first and hung out near the doll house for a while but then she finally got brave when Tristan went down the Firetruck slide with her, then she was all about the slides and bouncer's. Some of them were pretty tall and the kids flew down them, Abby had a blast. They even have workers there that get in the bouncer's with the kids and help them if they get stuck or scared which is awesome because that means I don't have to crawl around in there! We happened to go on Character day and at the end of the play session they have a meet and greet with some "characters". The day we went the character was Minnie mouse, and Abby was actually excited to see her and gave her a hug. This was the first character that she wasn't afraid of, including Santa and the Easter Bunny. I guess its time to make a trip to Disney in the near future! Anyway, since Triple Play isn't very close we decided to make an entire day of being in Pensacola and hit up Chick-fil-a for lunch with Tristan and Nadia and then did some shopping at Target (where they were having an amazing sale on toys) and we ended the day with a little ice cream from Coldstone. It was an awesome day and this is definitely a place will be going back to!

A view of some of the bouncers and slides

Abby playing with the dollhouse at the beginning of the play session

In the Princess bouncer

The firetruck slide

Abby and Tristan....he was the one who got her to go down the slide! Thanks Tristan!!!

Abby giving Minnie Mouse a hug

Abby and Tristan hugging goodbye after our ice cream. It was so cute, they would run up to each other every time we got out of the car or to a new place. and hug like they hadn't seen each other in ages. They were very sweet to each each other all day!