at 40 (?) months...

Am I 40 months old? Mommy can't keep up anymore. Anyhow, I'm still growing and changing every day. Here's the latest this month!

• I just learned how to ride a big bike! (with training wheels, of course) It's such a fun thing & it's all I want to do right now! (I'm sure a video will come at some point.)
• As you just read in the last post, I've now given up using a paci to sleep. This also means I've pretty much given up my afternoon nap. The nap is pretty hit or miss, but mostly miss. :) Now I just have an hour of quiet "room time" where I play with toys in my room. It works out nicely for Mommy to have a break and for me to have some quiet playtime.
  

• Just because I don't have any hair doesn't mean I can't have fun playing with it! I like to put all of my hair bows in MOMMY'S hair and then I get to wear all of my fun headbands. (at the same time, of course) :)
• I am also getting more responsibilities around the house now. My jobs are to set the table for our meals, to dump off my plate when I'm finished eating and put it in the dishwasher, to pick up my toys, to brush my teeth, and most recently I'm learning how to make my own bed. You'll also see me helping out with cooking fairly often. Mommy loves a little helper!
• I'm currently learning that boys and girls are um, different. (Mommy just thought she needed to put that out there in case I say or ask anything mildly inappropriate...)
  

• We recently had to say goodbye to Tim & Sarah, who are moving to Florida and whom I ADORED. I keep talking about how I'm going to come and visit them because they live near the beach and next to Mickey Mouse!
• Being 3 is definitely a challenge, but I'm starting to learn how to say "yes ma'am" when Mommy asks me to do something. I've also reached the age where it hurts, hurts, HURTS when Mommy & Daddy take a privilege or a toy away from me for bad behavior. Works like a charm. (At least for now...)
• Seriously, every DAY I'm getting a new cut or bruise or gash from my adventurous lifestyle! Oh the days...
• Still learning to type and read 3 letter words! It's amazing all the words I'm starting to recognize and spell!
  

• Here's a first for me-- I just started getting into my baby dolls! (funny how I look exactly like this one, isn't it?) It is sooo sweet to see me being a good Mommy to my little babies.
  
• I'm still a huge Thomas the Tank Engine fan, but I'm also loving to watch nature shows about the ocean or animals with Mommy & Daddy. I think the way dolphins jump are pretty cool right now.
• I know I've got alopecia, and I'm not afraid to tell you, either. I'm noticing I'm different, but it's not bothering me. Just curious. I asked Mommy a few weeks ago why her hair stayed in. (sigh...) I pointed to a bald baby in the grocery store and exclaimed with excitement, "Mom! She has alopecia, too!!!"
  

I am one active, thriving, SMART, SOCIAL, observant, and mature little 3 year old who is so, so, SO loved.

the no paci challenge...

Folks, I've reached another milestone that was a long time in coming. I admit, I was CRAZY about my pacifier (aka "paci")... I loved the thing. I've only been using it to go to sleep, but Mommy & Daddy have been putting off getting rid of the darn thing for far too long. So it was time for the no paci challenge.


Mommy made me a "no paci" chart, with the promise of an ice cream date at the end! You better believe THAT was a motivator! :)


We found all the paci's around the house and bagged them up to give to my little 10 month old friend, baby Maggie. (don't you think baby Maggie's going to looooove getting my used pacifiers?? I said, "and then baby Maggie can give them to another baby when she doesn't use a paci anymore!" Oh yes, the gift that keeps on giving...)


So when I woke up the next morning, I was so excited to put a sticker on my chart! And it sure wasn't long before we enjoyed some delicious ice cream together to celebrate my accomplishment.


No more paci's for me! I'm a big girl now!

beach babe...

I was a busy gal at the beach this year!


So much to do, so much fun to be had!


I loved riding the waves! (as long as the water didn't splash in my face)


It was sooo fun to come back to the beach house and get in the hot tub!


And you know what comes after all that fun in the sun...


We celebrated Mommy's uh, 29th, birthday while we were there. :) I think she's getting so old that we're gonna have to call the fire marshal if we add any more candles...


She wanted me to help her blow out the candles.


We did it!


It was a fabulous vacation! Can't wait to go back!

crabbin'...

CRABBIN': v. to catch crabs out of the water using only a string, a piece of chicken, and a net. If a toddler is involved in the said activity, it is sure to involve shrills and screams of delight, followed by a most delicious FREE meal!


(and it's the perfect thing to do on your family's vacation to the Outer Banks)


First, tie a piece of raw chicken to the end of a string and drop it down into the water. When you feel a little tug, VERY SLOWLY pull the string up until you can spot the chicken under the water.


Call out, "Daddy! I've got one!" and then watch as Daddy scoops up a crab!


And may I say that this little gal was an expert crabber! (she's also excellent at being a cra.... ah, hem....just kidding... well, sort of...) :)


Measure him. Is he a keeper?


Yes! We caught 5 that were big enough to keep and eat! One of them even pinched Daddy, but that's okay-- let's just say Daddy got his revenge. :)

Caroline was awfully curious when we told her we were going to eat the crabs. "Well, what are we going to do about their eyes?" she repeatedly asked us. ha!


It was a BLAST. And if you don't believe me, listen to the experience in her own words:

OBX vacation...

Ahhh... can I (Amy) just live permanently on vacation? Is there some kind of career path for that?? (seriously??)

After such an emotionally rough year, Marc and I decided awhile back that we needed a vacation. And a true vacation at that. We're the type that almost always take "trips"-- you know, where you travel someplace cool and then sight-see to your hearts' content. Always on the GO. But we knew we didn't need a trip this time. We needed a VACATION. Somewhere to rest and stop. Somewhere to just BE. And our 12th anniversary & my birthday seemed to be a good week to do it.

So here we are in the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina, and I don't ever want to go home!! Marc and I just enjoyed 5 WONDERFUL days of being here alone together while Caroline got lots of fun time at Nanny & Papa's house in South Carolina, and yesterday they drove up here to join us for the last few days of vacation.

I had forgotten what it is like before kids!! Marc and I were like giddy children upon arriving here-- we don't have to go to bed!! We can take a walk on the beach at 10:30pm just because we CAN!! We can eat dinner at 9pm and go to bed whenever we want!! What do you want to do, honey? Walk on the beach? Soak in the hot tub? Read a book by the ocean? Oh my goodness- it's been glorious... I love, love, LOVE being a mommy, but sometimes I don't think singles, young married couples, & empty nesters realize how much freedom they have sometimes!

So Marc and I couldn't TOTALLY sit around for 5 days, could we? (afterall, we're used to taking "trips") So we drove down to Cape Hatteras and decided to climb the lighthouse. (the tallest lighthouse in the country, mind you...)

So OFF we went, making the climb of approximately a 12 story building with no air conditioning. And let's just say that my neurotic fear of heights/claustrophobia combined with my vertigo issues on a circular staircase don't exactly make for a good mix... (this picture was taken on the first five steps before I knew there'd be any problem) So it was quite the accomplishment for me to finally get to the top.

And the view was totally worth it!

From Hatteras, it's a short drive to catch a free ferry to Okracoke Island, which ended up being our favorite part of the "trip."

The ferries run every 30 minutes and it's about a 45 minute ride.

We LOVED walking on the remote beaches of Okracoke...

and it was the best seashell hunting we'd ever seen. Many of the shells were nearly 3x as big as normal! (not in this picture)

If you head up north on the Outer Banks islands, you'll eventually get to the end of the main road, and then the only way to continue is with a 4-wheel drive. You can continue driving down the beach and eventually see the wild horses of Corolla. Our little Saturn wasn't exactly up for the job, so I snapped a quick pic of the end of the road before we had to turn around.

By the end of our child-free portion of vacation, you'd better believe Marc and I were super excited to reunite with our little gal again! It was a sweet, sweet reunion with the BEST hugs ever. (Thank you, Nanny & Papa, for giving Marc and I this time together and for showing Caroline a wonderful time!)

the outer banks...

I can't believe we are here...

Having a GREAT time. (More to come!)