Kennesaw Mountain

Went hiking last week with our friends Caleb and Heather. :)
Skylee made it all the way to the top of the mountain!! (And her plush panda, too!)
She was very happy, too, when Heather let her walk her puppy, Lennon. Just Skylee's size! The weather was perfect, and what a work out the five of us received!

two little jelly beans

Lacey is spending the night tonight!
It's been an exciting day; we woke up late, lounged around (enjoying our clean house!), moved around some furniture, and started decorating for fall/halloween! Skylee loved going through the boxes...she didn't remember most of our little ghosts, goblins, and pumpkin people. :) She picked the mummies to hang in her room.

Caleb went to work around 5:30, and after a short stop to the dollar store, we picked up Lacey. Of course, we blasted Pandamania all the way home. I'm so appreciative that Skylee has a little friend to share her fun experiences with (VBS, gymnastics, even just going to the pool, movies, etc) .
Two little girls can be a lot of fun. It can also be very frustrating. haha :)
We started the evening hanging a few more decorations and being crafty. I made paper spiders, while Skylee created a collage of stickers, and Lacey traced her hands and feet.
After 'experimenting' in the kitchen for a while with water, salt, food dyes, baking powder/vinegar, and a few other ingredients, the girls took a bubble bath and got ready for bed. Then we got to cuddle on the couch and read book after book after book. When I was too tired to read anymore, I inflated the air mattress and tucked them in! I can hear them in Skylee's room giggling, whispering, and playing, but I don't mind as long as they stay quiet. :)
We love play dates!

Skylee and the Beatles!

Last week, I took Skylee to see the Beatles live!! (well..sort of. you know, look-alike cover band and all, but she didn't know that. tehee :)   )
We had been going nonstop all day, so by the time the little festival started in downtown Woodstock (it started at 7:30), Skylee was exhausted. I was surprised she didn't fall asleep during the show! She looked like she might at times...they started off with I Wanna Hold Your Hand. :)
After a few tunes, we wandered back to do the inflatable bounce house, face painting, and balloon animals. Then we made our way up to the very very front (literally right in front of the stage!), and danced and swayed and sang along the rest of the show! She had to have been the only 3 year old singing every lyric to Yellow Submarine, Seargant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band..among others. (We are mainly fans of songs off Yellow Sub!)
I wish we could have gone backstage after the show, so she could really "meet" them, but we had to leave a little early to pick up Caleb from work. :)
Skylee even pointed out to me who was who. Ringo is her favorite.

I have to mention as well (because it made my night!)..Last night I made cous cous with raisins & curry chicken for dinner, and Skylee raved on and on about how much she loved it. "Mom! This is the best best best dinner ever! I mean ever! I'm going to get up and give you a hug now. Thank you so so much!" It was adorable. :) Guess that recipes a keeper.

ballet today

captured a few moments of ballet on the little tvs in the viewing room... :) she's the far right closest to the door.

Camping

Last week, Skylee, Caleb, and I went camping!
After 3 nights in a row of not being able to go whether from rain or Caleb's work schedule, we finally made it.
While we wanted to originally go to Cloudland Canyon, we decided on Red Top for our first fall outing of the fall as it is closer, and we got a site right on Lake Allatoona!
We arrived at our site around 6pm. Skylee and I ventured down to the lake (discovering turtles, frogs, and deer along the way!) while Caleb got stuck with chopping firewood. :)
We set up our tents, chairs, and cooler, and started cooking! Silver Turtles= best part of camping (yes even better than smores!)
London Broil with potatoes, apples, mushrooms, and onion. We also cooked corn on the cob and baked potatoes. Smores (of course) for dessert, though we ended up eating mostly just the roasted marshmallows.
Skylee was very excited to carry her little flashlight around and explore in the dark! She even slept in her own tent (right next to ours of course).
After dark, we stayed up by the campfire and read stories, and talked.
Not sure what time it was (we left our phones at home and had no clock), but I'm guessing around 11 Skylee passed out in my arms. We tucked her safely in her tent. :)
Caleb and I hung our trash bag on a high hook, and thought we secured our food for the night...however, when we woke EARLY the next morning, we found the raccoons had eaten almost everything!! A whole loaf of bread, some of our cereal, our left over steak from the cooler, any scrap leftovers from the trash, and we found about thirty hershey kiss wrappers all over the site. Those sneaky raccoons!!!
Skylee found this very humorous, though.
After enjoying the early morning, doing a few trails, sitting out on the lake for a while, and packing up, we headed home to have some time to rest before Caleb had to go to work.

I didn't take any pictures, but Skylee was born to camp. She loved exploring the woods (what kid doesnt), building a fire, helping me make silver turtles, setting up the tent...finding wildlife..venturing on trails...Love her.

Awana Club

Skylee also started Church Choir/Cubbies beginning of August.
In choir, so far they have learned "God is so good to me" and some creation song about all the animals God created. :)
In cubbies, Skylee has learned 1 John 4:8 God is love, and Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. I'll have to post a video of her singing them; priceless.

She told me the other day a little boy in the cubbies class drank paint water. She thought it was so gross and silly. Love it.

Pocahontas

Skylee is growing bigger, smarter, more beautiful, and especially, more talkative. :)

The other night she grabbed her Tracing Letters/Words booklet, and spent over an hour in her room working hard; she loved it! We have been tracing everything! Now that she has learned how to correctly hold a pencil/crayon, her dexterity has improved drastically overnight. Coloring in the lines, painting pictures, tracing words...I love watching her grow.

Beginning of August Caleb switched jobs from AT&T to Best Buy, and we found ourselves with a week off work! So, we ventured up to Indy to visit my mom for her birthday. We had a perfect mini-vaca. Skylee is always a joy on long roadtrips...really! (She is just so easy!)
August 3, 2011, after a 9 hour drive home, I found out I'm pregnant!
Skylee is so proud to tell everyone she knows (and doesnt) that she is going to be a big sister. We talk about the baby everyday in little ways.
Skylee asked me this morning if she can feed the baby cereal in the mornings. She always wants to teach the baby how to paint. :)
She wants a baby sister, but she told me we won't know until it grows eyelashes.
I am between 9 and 10 weeks along..so far the due date is March 31. 
We are so excited to have another little addition to our family!! I really cannot imagine anything more happy than another baby to love, and a little sibling for Skylee.

Skylee started gymnastics this morning. She really likes ballet, LOVES tap dance, but gymnastics is her favorite. There is only one other little girl in her class-- Ruth (they took gymnastics together in the summer).
Since Caleb started with Best Buy, we have become Michaels junkies (it's right next door to Best Buy). Two or three times a week we browse for cheap crafts and inspiration. We picked up a water coloring kit last week, and it has been a huge success. Skylee is very determined to always use every single color at least once, so her pictures turn out especially colorful.



Oh! And Pocahontas. We have been listening to the Pocahontas soundtrack non-stop in the car, and I caught Skylee singing along yesterday. In the song, the pilgrims sing "Savages, savages." in the scene before John Smith's supposed death. Well, Skylee has interpreted this as "sandwiches, sandwiches." Tehee. :) Makes me giggle everytime I hear it.