the weekend of firsts

Our friend RV spent the weekend with us. He didn't realize he was going to be doing a lot of firsts. We checked out the Myriad Gardens update, he got his first smoothie, and experienced his first earthquake!

The big hill at the Myriad children's area was probably Elle's favorite part, but she liked everything. This is going to be a great free resource for entertainment for us when the weather's nice. They were also putting up the Christmas lights while we were there so I can't wait to go down at night!



Mops enjoyed the doggy water fountains and dog park


This is the print out from the Geoscience professor's seismograph

fuzzy friends

Saturdays around here are usually a test day, open weekend (meaning no tests, but other things may go on and students can stay), or extended weekends (once a month they have to go home). Chris is one of the lucky profs who have to have tests on Saturdays, and this past Saturday was one of those lucky times. So Elle and I decided to go to the zoo and take a toddler class. It's an hour long and includes a snack, craft, story, playtime, and animal encounters. The only bad thing is you have to pay, but members do get a discount. The theme for this class was "fuzzy friends" and there was lots of learning about animals with hair. We even saw one of her friends from Sonshine school!

They had pillow pals in a semi-circle for each student to sit on, which I thought was a cute and fun idea.

The got to touch some animal hair (zebra, kangaroo, and snow leopard).


Cute animal cups and fish crackers for snack.

Putting her wool on her sheep.

Petting Sylvester, the chinchilla

Then we watched him take a dirt bath.

At the end of class the teacher took us into the zoo to see more fuzzy friends.

This is the book that we read. It's been one of Elle's favorites for a long time. When she was a baby we started reading it to her, and she loved the rhyming and Daddy's fun voices for each animal helped too. A quick google search gets you tons of activities for this book. I found a cute activity from a blog called Listen & Learn. To find it click here.

momma & me: the adventure ends?

Elle and I enjoyed many mini-adventures while Chris was gone. Such as...
a playdate,

mani/pedis,

shopping for and attending baby showers,

as well as, Target trips with a special popcorn treat, playing in the sprinklers at home, dinner and a trip to the lego store with family from far away, library trips and accomplishing the summer reading program, and a sleepover in momma's bed the last night (Even though I didn't sleep a wink, it was still special.)

But, we only did about half of the things on our initial list. It was difficult for Chris to be gone for so long, but it really was rewarding and now that I look back the time really flew by. I learned more about Elle's personality and fell in love with her even more if that's possible. I'm hoping to try and continue these adventures and maybe get to some of the ones we didn't get to. I'm hoping to start a "Fun Friday" day so we can explore more and have a special time for us girls.

momma & me: adventure 9

Bouncin' Craze

We were running out of days to do our adventures so I gave Elle a choice of what to do and she chose this place. They have "open play" days where you can pay $7.50 per child 2 years+ to play as long as they're open. (Make sure you check their calendar because everyday is different. I specifically waited for the day we went to offer it to her because I had seen online they weren't having any scheduled groups.) Basically it's a room full of inflatable bounce things, with a small geodesic dome climbing thing in the middle, a climbing wall, a fenced off area for under 2 with toys, and some seating for parents. You have to wear socks so make sure you bring or wear some. If your child is more ambitious then they would probably have a blast. Basically, Elle was really overwhelmed and didn't want to try anything, but the under 2 area for a while. They had a smaller inflatable, but because she would have to crawl through a hole to get in she wouldn't try it. Eventually, I got her to go on a bigger one with me, but it didn't have much for her to do because you were supposed to climb and go down slides. I also got her to try another small one we discovered in a corner with some balls that was more open, but she was still pretty timid about doing anything. I think she would have warmed up more, but we only stayed a couple of hours because you couldn't bring your own food and Elle got hungry. I felt the room was too small for what was going on. Too many big kids kept running over little ones and it was too cramped for them being so active. I also didn't like that they didn't have anyone who actually worked their monitoring the bounce room. Also, it was a little overpriced for Elle's age, especially when you could go to Unpluggits right around the corner for about the same price with more to do and you can bring in your own food.

momma & me: adventure 8

Pelican Bay

Elle and I checked out Pelican Bay in Edmond during their twilight hours. Twilight hours are 5-8 Monday through Wednesday, and 5-7 Thursday and Friday, so we chose Monday to maximize our time. If you go during these times you get in at a reduced rate. Elle had a blast even though she didn't even experience most of what they had. She chose to play in the pool staying right around 1 ft, but absolutely loved it. She did eventually venture over to one of the steering wheels on the little island with the slide, but not until almost closing. I thought it was a fairly nice place to cool off and let Elle play. My only complaints were that they've added "safety breaks" once an hour for 10 minutes, which means you have to get out of the pool. Their reasoning behind it is to get people to reapply sunscreen, get a drink, etc., but that means we lost 30 minutes of our time. I didn't think it was necessary in the evening or for that long. I also don't like that you can't bring in food. They did let me bring in a cup for Elle and my water bottle, but I didn't like that you couldn't even bring fruit or something healthy that they do not offer at the snack bar. We probably won't be going here again in the near future, mostly because their are free spraygrounds everywhere in the city, but it was fun to try it out.

thankful thursday + adventure 7

This past week I've been so thankful for friends and family and the time Elle and I have spent with them. I'm also more and more thankful to have a husband who is so loving, thoughtful, and who is actively present in our lives. I have new appreciation for single and/or military parents. They are my heros and I do not know how they do it all the time. Elle and I have missed Chris so much while he's been gone and really 3 weeks doesn't even compare to how long some families are apart. I am so blessed that he takes time out of his day to talk on the phone, send a postcard, or skype.

I'm also thankful we got to go to Tulsa last weekend and spend some time with family celebrating my mom's birthday. My sister's and I wanted to do some special so we threw her a "Ruby Red Rendezvous". Red is her favorite color and ruby is her birthstone! I'm so appreciative to all who came and supported my mom and Elle's Nana. I'm especially thankful for Michelle and Casey's hard work on the party!

Also thankful for a little swimming at Aunt Lynessa's house!








Grandma's 7 great-grandkids (r to l: Camryn and Evan (in Grandma's lap); Ruby and Derek; Esther and Hope; Elle)

and with the great-grandkids to be! Randy and I are few weeks apart, of course she still looks beautiful!

momma & me: adventure 6

Science Museum Oklahoma

We had taken my sister, nephew, and niece to the Science museum, but got there with only 45 minutes left until they closed. Elle wanted to go back all weekend so we headed there last Monday. We had gotten a groupon for a membership and it has been well worth it. You would have to spend all day there to do everything. One of my favorite things about this place is that you can bring in your own food. They have a cafe, which is good, but since you could stay all day you don't have to spend more money. Elle has so much fun when we go. We had some friends join us this time and Elle played until she crashed.

momma & me: adventure 5.5

Going Gluten Free

My sister and her family have been trying a gluten free diet, so while they were visiting Elle and I tried it too. Before they arrived I didn't realize how much work it is to not eat gluten. I quickly became overwhelmed trying to find recipes. Gluten is in so much that we eat! After looking at several blogs and websites I found some easy, kid friendly dishes that didn't require me to overhaul my pantry. After talking with my sister and going through foods I realized it's not as overwhelming as I thought, but does require some thought. Here's our gluten free menu:

breakfast:
gluten free rice krispies (Walmart)
eggs

lunch and dinner:
nachos (corn chips, fresh ground beef, cheese, salsa)
chicken, rice, and peas
cheese quesadillas on corn tortillas
baked beans

snacks:
Annie's organic oat granola bars
popcorn
fruit

momma & me: adventure 5

Taylor visit!

Thursday afternoon my sister Michelle brought her kids, Derek and Ruby to the city for a visit. We met up at my cousin Emily's house for some visiting, playing, and ice cream. Then we headed to swim lessons and finally made it back to our house that evening. This was their first time spending the night with us so it was very exciting to have them over. Friday morning we braved the heat and went back to the zoo so they could see the baby elephant, but we didn't really see much else because we headed straight for the waterway. I think Ruby enjoyed it the most! The afternoon consisted of lunch and naps.



That evening we took them to the science museum, but got there with only 45 minutes left. We still had a good time, but they'll have to come back. Then we headed to Coit's, a root beer stand, for some yummy food and root beer in frosted mugs.

An aside: We also had to go to Target and exchange the air mattress I had just bought because it had a hole in it, which unfortunately Michelle and the kids didn't discover until the middle of the night. This coincided with a phone call from Chris, but while I was talking to him Elle decided she needed to look at the bras and kept saying "oh how so cute!". I think Chris may have had a slight coronary, but I couldn't stop laughing. But I digress...



Friday night the kids enjoyed baths, popcorn, and a movie, and phone calls to Daddies before bed.

Saturday my mom and Casey drove over for a Stampin Up! workshop. A couple of friends joined us and we made some really cute cards.

momma & me: adventure 3

new foods

We were hoping to make s'mores while at the cabin, but because of the burn ban we couldn't make a camp fire. And it never worked out to try them in the potbelly stove. So one night last week Elle and I made them so she could have a fun new treat. We put a piece of chocolate (dark for me, milk for her) on a graham cracker and topped it with a large marshmallow. Then we microwaved them for 10 seconds, put the other piece of graham on top and enjoyed! I've also been successful at getting her to eat or at least try some new veggies, which is a major accomplishment for Elle.

momma & me: adventure 2

Zoo and Waterway

Monday morning Elle and I met up with some friends at the OKC zoo. We looked at the Oklahoma Trails area and a few of the cats and then headed to the waterway in the children's area. Highlights of her morning were watching the deer and spending time with "Aba", "Isabewa", and their momma's!