Summer Fun

I can't believe so much time has passed since I last blogged and I really can't believe so many weeks of Summer Break have already passed. I can't really think of anything big or exciting that has happened since I last wrote. We're having a low-key summer! And I love it! MG goes to "school" (aka Mother's Day Out) on Tuesdays and Thursdays still. I thought it was pretty important to keep her on some part of her routine. Plus it gives me some time to chill out, go to lunch, and go to professional development when I need to. On Fridays we go to Storytime at the library. She's moved up a group this summer! She now goes to the Pee-Wee storytime instead of Lapsit. She gets her very own carpet square (which she refuses to sit on), they hear stories and get to make a craft every week. Her friend Jack goes, too! They love playing afterward. We try to go eat lunch with her Daddy at least once a week. That's one of my favorite things about summertime! He loves it and we love it, too! We've been to Chuck E Cheese a couple times. We even took J one day! I'm not sure who had more fun! We went to the water park in the next town over one day. We met 3 of my girlfriends and their kiddos for lunch then all ventured to the park. MG had a blast. She's such a water bug. She actually had a pretty close call once. She lost her balance and went forward in to the water and couldn't get her balance. Before I could get to her she came up and went back down again. It scared the crap out of me, but she was fine a minute later and back in the water! I'm not sure if being fearless is a good or dangerous quality! We love playing in the pool. I call it our "Redneck Country Club"! She loves splashing around, sticking her face in the water, and sliding down her slide. I love that she's not scared of water at all! Every weekend we've been going up to the hills. We spent 1 weekend at the lake, 1 weekend was her cousin's 3rd bday party and last weekend was J's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party. This weekend we're going up just to relax at the lake. She loves the lake! She had a great time at the party - she scarfed down a cupcake and was so cute doing it that she gained an audience! Ha! She was a really good sport at the anniversary party, too. It was past naptime, it was hot and full of strangers. But she was so good! I am in awe every single day at what a little girl she has become! She carries on conversations, tells us what she wants (or doesn't want!), if something hurts she can tell us, she knows what she likes (and doesn't like!). If she wants to watch "Diego" (her new favorite obsession) she just tells us! It's crazy! Her new thing is "I WILL not"! I hear that a lot! Or "I don't want to". She's something else! I have my hands completely full and can only imagine what is to come! She not only loves to watch Diego, but she loves to play Diego! She's always looking for an animal to rescue or playing with baby Jaguar. She has an imagination a mile long! Sometimes I worry because she doesn't ever want to play with other kids and refuses to talk to anyone she doesn't know really well...I hope she outgrows that! A couple nights after we set up her toddler bed, she figured out that she can get out on her own. Sometimes bedtime is a struggle, but for the most part it's not too bad. Every night, though, she gets up around 1 to 3 am and gets in bed with us. Part of me knows I should put a stop to it, but the other (bigger) part of me loves it! I want her to go to bed in her own bed - and she does. I used to get in bed with my parents every night until I was in elementary school! I was old enough that I remember it! I don't think it hurts anything! I like to get my snuggle time in! I guess I should add in here that our sweet puppy Cooper died. It's been almost 4 weeks and I still have to sing about him every single night when I tuck MG in. She definitely misses him! He was such a good puppy and she was so crazy about him. We're tossing around the idea of a new one, but honestly, another one could never replace him. I guess we'll wait and see!