Wedding weekend!

Janie and I had the joy of spending the weekend celebrating my bother Jon's wedding! Here are some highlights...

Staying a Grandma & Grandpa's house and letting them spoil us silly


Practicing walking on the pretty stone step pathway




All dressed up on the big day




While walking down the aisle, Janie told herself over and over "Go, Jane, go!" and "You can do it Janie!" When she finally reached Grandma at the end, she said (quite loudly) "Yeah! I did it!"


The wedding party


Hanging out with mom


Striking a pose with Uncle Ross


Whew. Being a princess is exhausting!


Congratulations Jon!

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I'm a little teapot

Q: How to get your big kid to drink from a regular cup instead of a straw cup or sippy cup?

A: Fancy cups!

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She's got potty power!

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Sweet dreams

A couple of evenings ago, Janie crawled up into my lap at about 5:00 and promptly fell asleep. No dinner. No bath. No pajamas. Just completely conked out.

Rob was at work, so it was just the two of us and I let her sleep on my lap for about an hour. The remote was within reach and I flipped quietly through the channels while she snoozed. I fully expected her to wake up from her power nap at any moment and then stay up for half the night. But nope - she stayed asleep. Even when I tried wiggling around a little bit to see what would happen.

So I laid her in down in her bed, covered her up and crept out of her room wondering if she would make it through the night. Or if maybe she would be up at 3:00 AM, unable to go back to sleep.

At some point, maybe around 10:00, I could hear her moving around a bit, so I tip-toed in to check on her. I pulled her covers back up and asked if she wanted a drink.

Her response?

"I just want to sleep."

Oh, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Not far at all.

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The view from the top

I had the day off on Friday - woohoo! So our little family headed off for a day of climbing fun at a local children's hot spot.

We arrived right as they opened, so we had the whole place to ourselves for almost an hour. Which meant that I got to climb right along side Janie so she could show me all her favorite tunnels and bridges and ladders and slides.

It was a little rough on my 33-year-old knees, but totally worth it to sit at the top of the tallest tower with her. In Janie's words, the view was "so beautiful."

And we both loved being taller than Daddy. :)

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Discovery

Friday morning is normally Daddy & Daughter time, with my two favorite people heading out for fun and adventure. But today I tagged along and enjoyed all the amazing exhibits at the Children's Discovery Museum.

There's lots to discover at a Discovery Museum... bubbles, water, paints, balls, circles, stars, light displays, clay...

But for me, I discovered the joy of watching my gal emerging into her confident little self.

And it pretty much took my breath away.

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It has no rails!

Well, we are rushing into life with a three-year-old at a frantic pace. Its a whirlwind of BIG GIRL things and changes and independence and lots of fun.

Our biggest change of the week - a brand new BIG GIRL bed with no rails! It has no rails! Mom, let's look at my new bed! It has no rails! Its just beautiful! Look, mom, it has no rails!

Also: it has no rails.

A couple of weeks ago during a supposed nap time, my then-two-year-old managed to somehow launch her little self right out of her crib and onto the floor with the loudest thud you've ever heard. I ran into to her room to find her flat on the floor looking shocked and more than a little freaked out.

I was pretty freaked out too, so I held her close and let her sleep on my lap while I came to terms with the fact that the crib was going to have to go.

That's a sad moment for a mama. I remembered when we brought her home from the hospital and she slept in one little corner of that crib. And she just looked so itty bitty. Now, she fills it up with her three-foot-tall frame and her stuffed animals and pillows and blankets.

Although, sometimes when I check on her in the middle of the night, I still find her curled up in the corner of the bed. Oh, my sweet girl.

Anyway. After Janie's high-flying act, we promptly ordered a new bed and it arrived on Wednesday. And it just so happened that Rob was home for lunch so he was able to assemble it before returning to work.

Much to the delight of certain girl who was raising her arms in the air saying, "I'm so excited! A BIG GIRL bed with no rails! Yeah!"

Janie, being a champion sleeper just like her mama, has had no trouble adjusting to her new bed. In fact, she's actually been sleeping a little later in the mornings.

Which: is awesome.

We just won't comment on nap time. Honestly, it should probably be re-named Janie-plays-in-her-room-and-comes-out-every-few-minutes-just-to-make-sure-Mama-still-remembers-that-her-bed-has-no-rails. Sigh.

Janie is loving her new BIG GIRL status. I am too. And I'm proud of her.

Here's a picture of her new BIG GIRL bed:


You'll notice that it has no rails.

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