Fall Festival and Trunk or Treating at Jenna's School!

Jenna's school held their annual "Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat" event and the kids had a blast.  They got to dress up, get candy, and visit with their friends!!  

 Even the principal participated!!  She's always a good sport and lots of fun!!

All of the trunks were decorated so cute.  Some fun/cute and some were SCARY!!

Jenna with her friend Johnathan.  He was the Big Bad Wolfe dressed up as the grandmother (from the Three Little Pigs story).   Such a clever costume (handmade by his crafty mommy!!)

Jenna and Ryan were the CUTEST little Jessie and Woody (from Toy Story).  They got tons of compliments.

We had a ton of fun!!  Can't wait to do it again next year!

Reading Glasses

I took the kids to the Dollar Store the other day and told them they could each pick out one thing. Anything they wanted.

Mayhem ensued. First Ryan wanted a balloon, then he wanted a puzzle, then he wanted a book, then he wanted a spatula.....

Jenna wanted a luau party sign, then she wanted some bubbles, then she wanted a pretend cell phone, then she wanted a ceramic figurine.....

finally....

Ryan settled on a toy truck and Jenna settled on a pair of reading glasses.

I said the glasses were fine but I would have to pop the lenses out cause I didn't want her to hurt her eyes. She was puzzled and asked me why they would hurt her eyes. I explained that they were "reading glasses" and had special lenses in them....for people who had trouble reading.

She looked at me with this confused look on her face and said....

"But I have trouble reading mom!"

LOVE this kid!

Say WHAT?

So we are leaving our favorite store the other day.....

We get a few blocks away and Ryan is already passed out in the backseat and Jenna is tuned out (or so we thought) and tuned in to The Little Mermaid on the DVD player (a special treat since we hardly ever turn on the TV for short in town trips).

So Jim and I are having our own quiet conversation in the front seat. Speaking in loud whispers so as not to disturb the two little ones in the back.

our conversation goes something like this....

Me: "Hey, Jenna's parents live right over here somewhere." (Jenna is also the name of the receptionist in our office)

Jim: "Oh really? This is a really nice area."

...end of conversation....or so we thought...until a soft little voice pipes in from the backseat...

"So, you guys aren't my real parents??"

We almost had to pull over we were laughing so hard. Of course, we immediately explained to her that we were talking about another Jenna (who she's met).

I think the funniest part was the fact that she didn't seem all that upset about the idea of us not being her real parents.

Gimme Money!

So Jim and I have been thinking that it might be a good idea to start giving Jenna an allowance soon. We were thining maybe $2 in quarters every week would be a good start. The other day we decided to talk to her about this...to see if she thought it was a good idea. We explained that she would get a little bit of money every week but if she didn't do her chores (like help set/clear the table and help clean up her room...etc) we would take money out of her allowance. She seemed to like the whole idea but not much else was said about it after that.

A few days later she was sitting at the table quietly eating her dinner. Jim commented that she was doing a great job of eating all of her food and leaning over ...etc...to which Jenna replied...."I've been good all day...huh Dad? Maybe you guys could give me some cash?"

We just. about. DIED!

Where does this kid come up with these things???

Jenna-ism

I overheard Jenna and her Daddy in her bedroom tonight (I was in the kitchen but could hear their conversation on the baby monitor). He had just gotten her out of the bathtub and was drying her off with her ladybug towel. He was calling her a little ladybug and she was dancing around the room (as ladybugs do) enjoying the time with her daddy. They picked out her PJ's for the evening and then she explained that she wasn't going to wear panties. When daddy asked her why she wasn't wearing panties...she explained it was "because ladybugs don't wear panties!"

Well DUH!!

"Miss Smarty-No-Pants" and her goofy father

Just had to brag a bit....I think she's ready for school....

I took this video as she was getting into bed tonight. She likes to sleep "in the buff" with just panties on. Depending on how cool it is in the house....I typically put a t-shirt or something on her before I go to bed so she doesn't freeze!!

On another note....I want to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to the wonderful men in my life. I grew up with the best Dad in the world. All of my friends wanted to be adopted into my family and I always knew I was a lucky kid...and now a lucky adult.

Now I'm married to the OTHER best Dad in the world. Jenna is one lucky little girl and I'm very lucky to have such a fantastic partner when it comes to raising our children. He's the greatest.

We got him a chainsaw for Father's Day. I think it's safe to say he liked it.....

Hey...I said he was great....but I never said he was normal.

Have a great week!!

I like Hornies!

this is an exact quote from Jenna tonight as we got into bed and got ready to read our stories. She looked at me with a straight face and said...

"Mommy, I like Hornies. I like to touch them. Do you like Hornies too Mommy?"

And...I just sat there with this stunned look on my face. I had no idea what she was talking about. Didn't quite know how to respond to that one. Until she pulled out her book choice for the evening.....

Ohhhhhh! Gotcha kid.

Must be some kinda cross between a Horse and a Pony. Like a "Liger" right?

Yes Jenna....Mommy likes Hornies too.

A Big Girl Weekend!

I am happy to report that Jenna kicked booty this weeked on so many levels.

She has now officially graduated to her big girl bed. She slept there all night and for every nap for the entire 3 day weekend. We are on night # 4 tonight and I'm happy to report that she's already in bed and on her way to dreamland.

She is also doing great wearing her big girl panties! She wore them all day Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Today and has had only 2 small accidents. Not bad I'd say! Even her babysitter, Evie, is shocked at how quickly she caught on to the whole potty training thing. She said that if we could market this quick transition process, Jim and I could both quit our day jobs and be independently wealthy. It's just amazing how quickly she ditched the diapers! I'm so proud of her but I must admit that there's a little part of me is also sad to see the baby days behind us.

We'll be moving the crib out of her room this weekend to make more room for her toys. Yay!! Maybe I'll get my living room back soon!!

On a funny note, her newest phrase that just melts our hearts is to look at us and say "I've got my mommy and my daddy. I'm happy." Couldn't you just die?? This kid definitely knows how to keep us wrapped around her little finger!!

Snow Day!

We went to the snow this past weekend and I've been meaning to put some pictures up on here to show how much fun we had!!

Last year when we went to the snow, Jenna liked it...but wasn't really old enough to enjoy it too much. I think it was more confusing than anything at the ripe old age of 18 months.

This year was a whole different story!

Here she is in the car on the way. The anticipation was building. At this point I don't think she really had a clue where we were going but she was sure feeding off of Mommy and Daddy's excitement.

And here's Mommy and Jenna (Daddy got cut out because Mommy's not all that good at taking self portraits....oh...yeah...and he was driving and that was probably more important that taking goofy pictures)When we first suited her up she just kinda sat there and wasn't exactly sure how to approach the whole snow situation.

She did a lot of this (eating snow)

She went down a few little hills with Daddy and then with Mommy. But she didn't seem all that thrilled. Daddy and I were starting to worry that our big Snow Day was gonna be a big BUST.

Every time we asked her if she wanted to go again she said "No." Then she started saying that she wanted to go by herself. Yeah right I thought! Like I'm gonna put my two year old on a sled and send her down the mountain BY HERSELF!!?? I don't think so!

But...after her repeated pleas...we finally relented. I put her on the sled, at the top of the tiniest little hill we could find. Daddy went to the bottom...to catch her and ultimately kiss away her tears (because of course it would be terrifying and she'd never want to do it again...right?)

I showed her how to hang on tight...slowly counted to three (to give her time to rethink the situation and back out) and then reluctantly gave her a little push. All the while thinking that this was gonna be a disaster. Boy was I ever wrong!!

UNBELIEVEABLE!!

SHE. LOVED. IT!!

After about 20 more times down the mountain (and poor Daddy practically breaking his back carrying her back up every time) we finally tore her away from the snow and back to the car. We stopped at the Hungry Hut (a Shaver Lake tradition) on the way home to have lunch and of course HOT CHOCOLATE

and then she sacked out in the car on the way home.

It was a memorable day and we can't wait to go back soon!!

"I Don't Like You"

Jenna's got some new words she's using. Never did 4 small words hurt so much. Everyone's heard those words before in some capacity. A childhood playmate is typically the one uttering them and they usually sting a little, depending on who is saying them. But when your own child, your own baby who you've spent day and night for the past 2 1/2 years catering to, holding, feeding, burping, changing, hugging, kissing, spoiling and loving looks at you out of the blue and says "Mommy, I don't like you." THAT is what really hurts.

Don't get me wrong. I know she's only 2 1/2 and has no idea of the power behind those words...but I'd be lying if I said that my heart didn't wince just a bit when she said it.

I had to really bite my lip when I responded to this phrase. The first time she said it...I simply said "Well I LOVE YOU Jenna!" She laughed in response. She can be a little evil at times. The second time she said it I let her know that those words hurt my feelings and it wasn't nice to say that to people. She has since made a laundry list of people she does and does not like. She includes people like Daddy, GranMary, Grandpa, Poppy, Kye Kye, Uncle Scott, Auntie Kimmy, Madison, Auntie Elaine, Evie & Marilyn (her daycare providers) her toys, Oscar, Buck...etc. Sometimes I'm on one side of the list...sometimes I'm on the other.

I guess it's just a taste of what's to come when she enters her teenage years right?

Sigh.