Wonderland/Mad Hatter Tea Party

I have been a total slacker about blogging these days (too busy couponing and such!), but I'm finally posting a few pics from Presley's 3rd birthday party. Enjoy!

Presley as Alice

The Topsy-Turvy Cake (created by Mama)

The Table

Playing Croquette (we didn't have flamingos or hedgehogs)

Blowing Out the Candles

Happy Birthday, Presley!

Today our baby girl turns 3! Presley is such a funny, happy girl at three years old. She is fiercely independent about some things and still a lazy baby about others. Presley loves girly things like princesses and fairies, but she's also the rough-and-tumble kid who has been known to bite her sister on occasion. We learned from potty training that she does things on her own timetable (she is trained now, btw). And one of her oft-uttered phrases is: "Don't boss me!" (Said mostly to Reagan. She knows better than to say it to Mama.)

We celebrate you today, Presley!

We're Back

We're back from Disney World! We had a great vacation, despite the rain and the little cold that Scott and I brought home as a souvenir. Here are a couple of pics from our trip:

The girls in front of Minnie's house

The family with Lightning McQueen

Back from Disney

We're back from our Disney vacation, and Presley is still trying to adjust to a number of things (not having someone to sleep with...not being constantly entertained...naps...etc.). We had a great time, despite the rain we encountered daily. Here are a few pics from our trip that feature Presley. The first was after Snow White had kissed Presley. The second was at breakfast with the Mad Hatter at the Grand Floridian. That last one is after she had some yummy chocolate mousse in the France pavillion at Epcot.

Back from Disney World

We're back from Disney World and trying to acclamate ourselves to the "real world"--or at least the summer version of it. We had a great time, despite the rain we encountered daily. Here are a few pics from our trip featuring Reagan. The last one is at the Garden View Tea in the Grand Floridian. Reagan got to have a special afternoon of tea with Mama there while Daddy and Presley rested.

Just Dancing

Presley loves her big girl panties so much that she enjoys just dancing around in them. She's probably not going to be a big fan of this video when she's older, but for now, she likes watching herself.

BTW, so far so good! No accidents yet!

Nashville School of Ballet Parent Observation

Reagan has been taking dance this semester at the Nashville School of Ballet. For the primary classes, there is no recital. A little sad in some ways, but much less of a hassle in others. Here are a few pics from Reagan's final class. The parents were invited in to view class and were treated to a couple of group dances, along with demonstrations of the drills and exercises the girls do. FYI, the teacher uses curriculum from the Royal Academy of Ballet in her classes.

Look at that posture!

Leaping

Free Dance

with Ms. Nadine

Big Girl Panties

We're on about day 6 of Presley wearing panties with no accidents! Yay! (Did I just jinx myself?) Presley is doing a great job of telling us when she needs to use the potty. Looks like she is officially trained! (Well, we actually still wear pull-ups at night, but that's a job for another day.)

We finally had some pictures taken of the whole family last weekend. Here are a couple of sweet Presley.

We Welcome You to Munchkin Land...Tralalalala

Reagan is excited to have earned her first theatrical role! In June (dates still TBD), Reagan will be playing a Munckin in the touring show Oz: The Musical. The show will be at TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center). We always knew Reagan had a future in the dramatic arts, but we didn't realize it would be starting this soon.

For more infomation on the show, click here.

We also had a few photos taken last weekend. Here's one of Reagan's sweet poses.

Visit My New Blog

I finally did it--I've taken the plunge and decided to start my own Disney vacation planning & consulting business. Tell all your friends and anyone you know who might be planning a trip!

http://www.affordingthemouse.blogspot.com/

Hannah Montana: We Were There!

Good Friday was opening day for Hannah Montana: the Movie, and Reagan and Mama were there...along with every other little girl in Nashville! We purchased advanced tickets from Fandango, and it's a good thing, since showings were sold out.

Reagan decided to dress the part for the show. Any excuse to wear a costume, right?

We enjoyed the movie, but our experience was tainted by the tornados that came through the area. While they weren't actually near the theatre, an over-zealous movie patron announced that they were--which sent every little girl in the place into a panic! The theatre manager had to stop the movie and let us all know that while there were storms in Middle Tennessee, they were not near us. In the event that they came within ten miles, the movie would stop and we would be taken to a safer location. Still, the damage was done, and it took Reagan several minutes to calm down and actually watch the end of the movie. Guess we'll have to go see it again--on a sunny day.

This Just Made Me Laugh

Pitiful...but Still Cute

Poor little pumpkin had a stomach bug on Thursday. Fortunately, it was only a 12-hour thing. But she threw up multiple times and we were a little worried that she might get dehydrated (she didn't). Still, even though she was awfully sick, she managed not to make any big messes in the process (except for the first time, which was a total surprise to us both). She kept this "popcorn" bucket handy and always got it just in time. She was so sweet and precious with it that I took this picture. I'm happy to report that she's all better now!

What Will You Celebrate?

Since we'll be going to Disney World less than 2 weeks before Presley's 3rd birthday, we'll be celebrating while we're there. We did a little parade float of what that might look like. Enjoy!


http://www.mymagicalparade.com/20947

Presley Welcomes Baby Bailey

Presley was very excited to see her new cousin, Bailey Hope, for the first time on the day she was born, 2/27/09. Welcome to our world, little Bailey!

Reagan Loves Her New Cousin

Here's Reagan holding her new cousin, Bailey Hope Gibbs, born on Feb. 27. Welcome to our world, Bailey!

Meet Bailey Hope Gibbs

Born 2/27/09

We've Finally Turned the Corner...I Think

It has taken countless afternoons of frustration, about 4,837 diapers and pull-ups, and more than a few tears (mine and hers), but Presley is finally pooping in the potty! Up until now, those poops had been few and faaaaarrrr between. But for the last several days, she has pooped consistently in the potty without any coercion! (Well, perhaps treats count as coercion. Nonetheless, she has pooped of her own free will.)

As I type, I am both crossing my fingers and knocking on wood (both of which are extremely hard to do while typing, I might add). Still, I think we're on our way. Some setbacks are to be expected, but at least we can see the light at the end of the diaper tunnel.

Another Installment of "The Funny Things She Says"

Presley's language development is moving at the speed of light these days. She says anything she wants, and you can usually understand it all. However, it's the way she says things that cracks us up. Here are a few examples:

• "Trash or 'cycling?" (When taking something to the trash/recycling bins.)


• "I want more some of that."


• "Are you got ____?" (Do you have ____?)


• "Dat not fair." (In response to anything that she doesn't like, whether or not fairness plays a role.)


• "Him is not got ______." (He does not have _____.)


• "You're gonna lost it and cry." (After I told Reagan she couldn't take her Leapster to school. Guess Presley was worried she would lose it there.)


• "She not say 'nice day'." (After the safety patrol forgot to tell me to have a nice day when I dropped Reagan off at school.)

Winter Fun

We headed north to my parents' house in search of snow last weekend--and we found it! This is the view of their back deck and pool, from inside the house. Notice the ice-covered trees.

We bundled everyone up and went outside to play. Sadly, this was not the kind of snow that makes good snowmen (very dry, not sticky), so we didn't get to do that. But we did lots of sledding and made snow angels.

This was Presley's first time sledding, and she had lots of fun!

Reagan was apprehensive at first, but she really enjoyed it too.

Scott had probably never played in that much snow as a kid, being a native of Tennessee. By the end of the day, he had the sledding distance record!

We actually had much better hills than this, but we didn't take many pics--the camera was fogging up in the cold. But, really, we were pretty adventurous. For example, most people would be shoveling off their front steps. But my dad was piling on more snow to make a better sledding ramp for us! Yep, we started on the front porch and sledded to the street (just the grown ups--we wouldn't let the kids do this). We usually got stopped by the ditch, but Scott made it all the way onto the road once! Fun times.