"Demonstrating her Ballet Technique"..

This was what our invitation to Simms' ballet class said. We were able to sit in on Wednesday's class and watch as Simms demonstrated her technique. It was adorable. Lots of pink and black..tiny tutus, leotards, tights and ballet shoes. I LOVED it. Simms was so happy that Dru was able to get away from work on his lunch break to join me in watching her. Next week they will see a picture of their costume for their big spring recital which will actually be at the dance studio and not the preschool. I love the convenience of Simms taking each week at her school, especially for just 45 minutes!
Warming Up..

Performing a few routines...

She loves her ballet instructor and stays by her side as much as possible...

Taking a bow...

One last pose ...

And of course we had to give her this when we got her to the car...{which she immediately put in a vase and made an "arrangement" when we got home}

Gameday in AU

We had a great time in AU Saturday. We tailgated all day, visited with friends and family and of course ate and ate. It was lots of fun having Dru's Aunt Katherine and Uncle Alan, and cousins Caroline and Ben up from Florida for the game. They are all Florida fans! We left Cope at home with my parents, and although it made our day easier, we sure missed him. We left him at 8:30 Saturday morning and since we didn't get home until 1 AM and he was asleep when we got home, we didn't see him really until Sunday AM! Simms had lots of fun with her cousins and friends at the bus!

Simms and Mary Margaret

Simms and Bennett

Simms was so happy McKinley was there! She LOVES her...On Tuesday she started asking, "is it time to go to Auburn so that McKinely can come to the bus with me?" So cute..

Bennett and Simms had their faces airbrushed. Bennett chose an eagle, and Simms chose a butterfly. Really bugged me. They had cheerleaders, helmets, AU symbols..but that's what they wanted. Bennett because the eagle had "talons" and Simms chose the butterfly probably because I tried to persuade her otherwise..

You can see the eagle with his talons..

And the butterfly..

Simms was so happy Mitchell stopped by..

And Merrill and Charlee..

Little girlies in their matching dresses..

Fun times at Tiger Walk..Simms & Dru, Bennett & Uncle Miles

It was a fun, LONG day..I was still so tired last night from Saturday's activities..Simms was a trooper and stayed awake until we pulled out of the parking lot for home {probably because she drank sweet tea all day} War Eagle!

Project Pumpkin

Simms was given a pumpkin at preschool that she was supposed to decorate. She is on Fall Break this week, so this was a great time to do it! We started Sunday night and have worked on it during Cope's nap yesterday and today, and when he was asleep last night {notice the trend..he has to be out of sight in order for us to do craft projects}. She is so proud of it, and I am so proud of what a good helper she was {I'm kinda proud of myself too for giving up some of my controlling tendencies and letting her do what she wanted to in terms of helping me}. I did the first coat of paint, and she did the second. She glittered the stem {it's hard to see though}, she glittered and glued on the nose and mouth, and she helped me glue on the hair. She was most excited about doing the hair cut. She enjoyed herself, but I think anything crafty makes her happy. She even painted our tiny pumpkins while we worked on our bigger pumpkin. She can't wait to take it to preschool on Monday!

The finished pumpkin- Simms & Raggedy Ann

Concentrating deeply on that second coat of paint

Glittering the nose and mouth that we cut out of felt

Gluing on the nose, mouth and very blunt bangs {she is telling me in the second picture that the nose was hot...I tried to warn her before we used a glue gun}

Working on some tiny pumpkins

Her favorite part..cutting the hair {although child scissors did an awful job so of course I did a major touch-up}

So proud of her pumpkin

And it's been put out of reach of the pumpkin-eater brother

What's that I see? Simms' 4th Birthday invitation! She will be 4 three weeks from today. Major tear, major gulp.

{Can you tell who I love getting Simms' invitations from :) }

Ponies at Preschool & 21 months

Simms' preschool had a fun morning riding ponies, making their own trail mix and smores, playing with baby goats and learning to rope {simms tried acting like a pro with that one}. It was all so cute.

ready to go in her western attire

and so was I and Simms really wanted a picture of us

after dropping cope off with my mom, I went back to the preschool and was able to see simms in action singing her songs

and Bennett too. He was so kind as to give me a thumbs up

she was loving this

and so was he, as he is a roper in training {he wants Dru to teach him to rope so he can be in the Lil' Boots rodeo in Montgomery..adorable}

can't believe she will be 4 in less than a month

each student had a poster..now if only I could get that reward money

the snack table where they made their own trail mix in their own cute personalized jars, made smores and could drink cactus juice

Simms, Addison and Bennett..these 3 love each other

running to ride the ponies

and having so much fun

strangely I think she feels more comfortable on a big horse and not a pony

playing teacher's pet and having snacks with her teacher :)

another fun morning at preschool

21 months
My sweet baby is 21 months old as of Friday. I can't believe he is so close to turning 2. With the exception of his speech, he seems less and less of a baby everytime I think about it. I am getting just as frustrated as he is with his speech. Frustrated for him, not at him. He wants so badly for us to understand him..we just can't. Except for a handful of words. He even has the tunes to nursery rhymes down, and gets the tune right, but with his own version of the words. I truly believe it is what is fueling the aggression that we've seen increase with him. I actually got an email from babycenter the other day about toddler aggression, and one of the main causes is wanting to communicate, but not being able to. Breaks my heart. We will evaluate all of that at his next checkup though. He is otherwise a healthy, happy boy, so I don't want to worry too much over this!

big boy!

I think back over the past 21 months of my life as his mommy, and just get overcome with emotion. I have some hard, hard moments as his mommy that can involve tears or letting my fuse get too short as I try to figure out what he wants or is saying..but it is all worth it.

typical of him..lining cars up

I am still learning to parent him just as he is learning to be a toddler. It's hard. But I am so grateful for him. And I know his daddy and sister are too! Our days together are so precious to me. I am so glad I get to spend all day, everyday with him!

And just so I don't forget what his dimply hands and feet look like once they lose that baby fat..

Love this sweet boy so very much!!