Sydney's Carnival

My sweet Sydney turned three on Friday!!  We celebrated on Friday at her school and Saturday with her party. 

On Friday, Stephen and I took some cupcakes up to Sydney's daycare for their snack time.  Sydney had just woken up from her nap, and, needless to say, was not in a great mood.  This was how we found her:

So... we followed her class into the lunch room, and she was screaming, whining, clinging onto me.  She said she didn't want cupcakes, she screamed while her peers sang "Happy Birthday"... it was a mess. 

Finally, she calmed down enough to eat a cupcake:

So, her official party was planned for Saturday at 11 AM.  Stephen and I had stayed up until 1:30 AM the night before, tying up loose ends.  I had been working on things for a few weeks, so I really wasn't feeling stressed out about it... I just didn't want to rely on waking up really early the next morning to get stuff done.  (All who know me know that I am NOT a morning person. :)

We got the house cleaned, the cupcakes baked, the food cooked, and the yard ready.  I did a few DIY projects over the last few weeks that I incorporated into the party.

Goody bags and ticket holders.

"Popcorn" cupcakes. 

Sydney and her daddy getting ready for the par-tay.

11:00 hit, and all her friends came over!  She had neighborhood friends, daycare friends, church friends, and cousins.  Plus, an added bonus was that our friends tagged along with their children.  And, some came without their children (thanks, Meg and Manny!) to show their love for Sydney.

The kids played the games, played on the playground, splashed in the water, and had fun. We ate hotdogs, sang happy birthday, ate cupcakes, and then opened some presents. 

Happy birthday to my sweet Sydney!

Experimenting...

Had some time this afternoon to experiment with the new camera.  Check out some of the shots!

Oops...

How do kids know to repeat the exact words they shouldn't be repeating?  Why do those words stick in their heads?

I had an OOPS moment today!  We were driving to daycare... it's about 6:20 AM and it was pitch black.  I go up a really steep hill, and when I get to the top, my lights shine directly on a possum.  It was directly in front of my left tire.  I yelled a certain expletive, and swerved the car around the possum.  Sydney said, "Mommy, what happened?"  I explained to her that I almost hit an animal who was trying to cross the road (insert joke: Why did the chicken cross the road?  To show the possum it could be done!  Buh dum dum!).  I tried to turn it into a lesson about the importance of looking both ways when crossing the road.  And more so, I tried to help her forget what I had just said.

We were quiet for a minute.  Then, I heard it.  In the exact same tone I said it in- just as loud as I said it...  "Ship!"  Yes, she put a "p" on the end.  Thank goodness.  I let it go... I didn't want to scold her, because knowing my toddler, that would make her want to say it more.

So, tonight, we're hanging out in Taylor's room when I hear it again- same tone, same volume- "Ship!"  I really had to control my laughter... I am not proud of what I said, and laughing would make it that much worse- but I couldn't help it.  Then, I asked her, "Sydney, why do you keep saying 'Ship'?"  She said, "I'm saying it just like you, Mommy!  Like when you talk to the animals!" 

So, in the future when she "talks to animals", I have a feeling I know what she'll be saying.  Guess we should avoid the zoo...

Oh Boy!

So... Stephen and I share a birthday month... our birthdays are 17 days apart.  (but, please note... it's really a YEAR and 17 days apart. ;)  Anyways, sometimes we go in "together" and get a big gift for the two of us.  This year, Stephen gave me strict directions not to get him anything... he said he was getting something big that both of us will use.  He wouldn't tell me what it was. 

So, a few days early, I got the present on Friday night... a fancy shmancy camera!!  I've always wanted one of those really nice, high quality kind of cameras... with the big lens... and snaps a bunch per second kind of thing.  The camera Stephen picked out is so nice!  We've been experimenting this weekend with it, just seeing what all it does.  Here are some shots of our weekend with the camera.

Tailgating at the GT game.

Unfortunately, I have not convinced Sydney enough to be a Dawgs' fan.  I better start on Taylor now!

Not the best angle, but it is officially documented that Taylor went to her first football game!

Hanging out on a lazy Sunday.

Kite-flying.

Don't know if you can tell when these pics are minimized, but I love the detail this camera allows.  You can see the detailed motion of each kid!

Sydney and Landon.

Taylor, cheering for the big kids.

Sydney's first real attempt at her own tricycle.

Sooo excited about my new camera!  We have two big events in the next couple of weekends that this camera will definitely come in handy.  More on those events to come... stay tuned!

More typical silliness...

On the Run

Stephen and I ran in our first 5K together in a couple of years this past weekend.  It's my favorite race- I've probably run it about 5 times in the last 7 years.  (I think the only couple of years I missed was when I was pregnant :)  Anyways, we were back in action this year... with the double stroller! 

We had good intentions of running a lot to prepare ourselves for it... that SO didn't happen... we maybe got about 4 runs in and never ran more than 2 miles.  We didn't have high hopes of running the whole thing, but were just looking forward to participating.

So, we got up early Saturday AM, dressed the girls in some warm clothes, picked up our neighbor who was running with us, and headed to downtown Covington.  We stretched, listened to the national anthem, talked to some friends, and didn't even hear the "go" signal- all of a sudden, we were off!

The race was great- the girls behaved, the weather was picture-perfect.  The only mishap that occured was where Sydney dropped a bracelet I had to turn around to retrieve it.  We chatted with runners next to us, I waved to former students, and... we ran the whole thing!  woohoo!!  We did it in a little under 34 minutes... not a great time, but actually was a little faster than we ran in our neighborhood.  (we were averaging 11.5-12 minute miles with the stroller).  Yay!!  Go Team K-Bash!

We had some friends there to cheer us on... and I reunited with a bunch of former co-workers and former students, some which were my favorites of all time.  So fun!  A great time had by all!

Here are some pictures taken by my friend, Meg: