Dancing Queen

When I was 8 years old my dreams had finally come true.....my purpose in life had been revealed to me; when my aunt Tracie asked me to be a flower girl in her wedding. I just knew this was going to be the most important job I would ever do and I was going to do it with perfection.

I was sized for my pink satin dress. Had a custom made flower halo to wear on my head and a perfect lace basket in which to carry my flower petals. My sister and I practiced walking down the aisle and carefully tossing out our petals day after day. I just knew this day was going to be perfect, well, for me at least.

Finally the day arrived and I was the best flower girl ever! But little did I know that the wedding ceremony was not even the most exciting part of my very special day....there was dinner, cake, and dancing! Again, keep in mind that I was only eight, but I knew my dance partner that evening as soon as I laid eyes on him. He was none other than one of the groomsmen. Joe was mid-twenties, tall, dark, and handsome and did I mention he was a pilot. I danced with him all night long. My parents and other family members thought this was so funny that there are still photos of me and Joe dancing floating around somewhere and I was given the nick-name: "Jean-Jean the Dancing Machine".

Fast-Forward 22 years and I am sitting at my cousin's wedding reception. Take a wild guess as to who the first person busting a move on the dance floor is.....none other than my daughter! Apparently, we just can't help dancing at weddings. Now thank goodness Avery Reese preferred to dance with her female cousins rather than a much older groomsmen, but if my blood runs in her veins I'm afriad for any future weddings!

Avery Reese dancing with the flower girls, notice they are the only ones on the dance floor

A Stolen Moment

The one and only thing that slows Avery Reese down is a fever and unfortunately for her she woke up this morning at 101 degrees. But selfishly for me, she is snuggly when she is not feeling well. Avery Reese is not a child that enjoys being held or rocked or anything I dreamt a baby would be, instead she is more of a bull who enjoys, of all things, wrestling.

Tonight Brad was away playing golf so I had some special alone time with Avery Reese. After her bath, she looked up at me with those sad, tired eyes and said "rock?". What kind of mother would I be turning down such a forbidden request? So she laid her head on my shoulder, asked me to sing and we rocked. As I sang to her and just held her in my arms I thought about others who are suffering the loss of a child and I started to weep.

I so often let minute details of life interfere with the true purpose of life.......relationships. I held my baby girl and rocked with her until her eyes finally closed, but I couldn't stop. So I continued to craddle her in my arms and promised myself to remember this stolen moment, always.

Ready or Not...Here we come Summer!

Even though Summer hasn't officially begun, we have already been divulging into summer-time favorites. If these past several weekends are any indication of how our summer is going to pan out, we are in for a great time!

Zoo trip with Kennedi-I think they are discussing something very serious

First Travelers baseball game

First time to the Big pool

Debating on whether or not she should climb up the tree

Patiently waiting her turn to slide down the whale's tail

Mission accomplished

First Haircut

Avery Reese's bangs have literally been in her eyes for a while now. But if she wore the many cute bows I have purchased for her, we would not have an issue with the extra long bangs. (Ok, she also may have had a mini mullet). I have taken it upon myself to trim her bangs a few times, but this has not been an easy or fun task for anyone in the family. It typically takes at least two of us: me to do the actual trimming and someone else to entertain Avery Reese. If you have spent any amount of time with Avery Reese you would understand the forces of nature it requires to keep her seated and still for any amount of time.

So there is this adorable salon near my office who specialize with children, Pigtails and Crewcuts. Brad joined me yesterday afternoon because we were not sure how this event was going to go down. As we entered the salon, Avery Reese clung to Brad with all her might, while I was once again distracted by all the pretty bows. Avery Reese was reluctant to sit in the cool police car chair, but once the stylist offered her some animal crackers, she was cool. And the cutting began.

Avery Reese did amazing, she enjoyed her snack and the cute girl looking back at her in the mirror. The haircut was over before it began.....those women are amazing!

Before the haircut....oh yeah, she has a black eye in these photos (school bully)

Trimming away the mini mullet

I can see, Mommy!

Finished product....I couldn't resist buying a new bow.

Easter Weekend

Easter was amazing this year!! Avery Reese was old enough to hunt for eggs and get goodies from the Easter Bunny which was so much fun for Brad and I too. We had been practicing hunting eggs around the house for about 2 weeks. I wanted to make sure she understood the concept. She quickly picked up the "hunting", but had difficulty hunting and carrying her basket, which is about as big as she is. But hey, this was an easy fix....an adult would simple carry her basket for her, so she could concentrate on finding those glorious eggs.

So we planned to attend a public Easter egg hunt on Saturday. We went with some friends because I just knew this was going to be a great opportunity for photos with the girls in their pretty dresses. We woke up Saturday morning to soggy, muddy grass....great! We decided to tredge on and attend the event, but Avery Reese was not going to wear her pricey monogrammed Easter dress.

As soon as we registered to hunt Avery Reese fell down and scraped her knee, so now she was upset and dirty. I thought to myself, this has to get better. The actual egg hunt was a bust, Avery Reese only got 2 eggs (we believe there was some cheating). But the girls had fun running around the park and playing with one another

Easter Sunday was great! We attended a wonderful church service. Later in the afternoon we went over to Mama Judy's to eat ham with all the fixings. Avery Reese was surprised with another visit from the Easter Bunny...he gave her a set of keys with a clicker. Since the weather was so much nicer and the competition was nill, we had another egg hunt; this one was much more successful.

Spring-ier Weather

We have been enjoying the warm and sunny spring weather the past 2 weekends. Avery Reese loves the park and we all can't wait to take more advantage of it in the months to come.



Assisting Daddy with his lunch

Running free!!

You have to stick your tongue out when you swing

Sliding with Mommy. Not too much longer and she won't need me anymore.

Weeeeee!

New York, New York

I recently took an adventure with a co-worker to New York City. We went for a continuing education conference. We left on Saturday and returned on Tuesday, so it was a short trip but not without some adventures!! This was only my second time to be away from Avery Reese overnight and it was 4 long days!! Brad really stepped up and was a single parent working and being a daddy for these four gruesome days. (We later discovered Avery Reese had a double ear infection and along I just thought she was missing her Mommy).

My co-worker and I are alike in many ways, but as the trip progressed I realized how different we are too. Our roles for the trip were quickly established: I was the Cruise Director and she was the tourist. I was the responsible one in charge of flight times, directions in the city, hotel key, receipts for the trip, etc. She was in charge of having a good time. Don't get me wrong, I was there to have fun, but one of us had to be responsible.

This was my second trip to New York City and a very different experience for me. Last time my best friend, Amber lived there so I didn't have to manage around this big city on my own. If you know me well, you know I am not good with directions (I still get lost in Little Rock). I was able to single-handedly find our way to our conference each morning, figured out the subway system, and get us to the airport, which was in Queens by the way.

We had a great time! We visited Times Square, Rockefellar Center, Central Park, China Town, and got to know the neighborhood around us, Tribeca. I won't scare you all with some of our adventures, but China Town was SCARY!! Food was great, drinks were expensive, and manicures/pedicures were cheap. All around a great trip....oh yeah and the conference was great, I learned alot.

Amish Market in our neighborhood "Tribeca" where we ate lunch one day

Times Square

Radio City Music Hall

Central Park....I'm sure it is more beautiful in the spring and summer months

Our hotel and breakfast cafe next door