I went upstairs to get ready to go to yoga and when I came back down, Lilly and Darren were playing blocks...Lilly was in her underwear. I couldn't help but laugh. She just felt like taking her clothes off and playing with blocks. Don't you get that same urge occasionally?
While we were tracked out, we signed Lilly up for a creative movement class at the community center. I wanted her to try out a "dance" class and see if she liked it before I looked into the expensive studios in the area. I think she was as excited about the outfit as she was for the class (maybe even more so!) Lilly enjoyed the class, though she was a bit apprehensive at times. The class was very interactive with parents and children, so I was able to do a lot of it with her and that eased a lot of Lilly's nerves.
It was so adorable to watch her dance, follow directions, smile, bounce around...etc. I absolutely loved it! Seeing her in a leotard and tutu was also incredibly sweet :-) I used to dance, so it was fun to see her doing something that I used to love so much.
Track out is a great time to go to Marbles! There are few places in this area that Lilly loves as much as she loves Marbles. We love taking her there and watching her imagination soar! It was great because Zoey and Addy came this time, so she had her buddies to play with her!
These two crazy little girls would never leave each other's side if they had a choice.
Anyone want a pizza??
She will even deliver!
Marbles had a few science stations set up, so Lilly started by excavating some rocks and gems and matching them on the chart. She enjoyed searching for the gems and seeing which ones she could find.
Then we got a chance to create a circuit using some wires, a battery and clay. I love how Marbles gives kids a chance to try things out and all of the hands on learning she can experience there.
I love watching Lilly play with her friends. I especially love it when they make me laugh until my side hurts. Here is Lilly, Addy and Zoey playing hide and seek. Notice the amazing hiding places they picked out! ;-)
Is there any better sound in the entire world than the true, genuine belly laugh of your child? Every time she laughs like this, I feel like it's such a gift, even though it happens a lot (how could it not with Darren around???)
Lilly and I were up one morning and she was being so cuddly with her blanket and her loveys as we snuggled together on the couch. She wrapped herself up in her blanky and took it with her into the kitchen when we got up to make breakfast. It was too cute not to snap a picture.
I was gone one afternoon so Darren and Lilly went to Falcon Park together. Lilly loves the new playground equipment there and it's so nice for them to have special time together :-) I know Lilly is sort of "mommy-centered" right now, so I am glad that they get some special time to bond together without me.
What? You don't go outside on a perfectly sunny day and sit inside your umbrella?? ;-)
Sometimes going out to a meal with Lilly is a little tricky because she gets impatient, hungry and antsy, but this evening we went to Homegrown Pizza in Holly Springs and she was an angel! She was absolutely engrossed in coloring the pizza man coloring page they gave her. She meticulously colored the entire time we wait for our food and then was so sweet and well-behaved during dinner. It was awesome!
The dance class we signed Lilly up for also had a gymnastics portion. Lilly got to practice on the balance beam, jumping off of a tall mat and hanging on the bar. She loved it! I could see her doing gymnastics or dance (heaven help us if she wants to do both!)
For part of our track out, we decided to head to Myrtle Beach for a family vacation. We booked a hotel we had never tried before called Captain's Quarters and it was great! We knew they had several indoor and outdoor pools, but we were pleasantly surprised that the outdoor pools were open in mid October! The best pool was the outdoor pirate splash pool with lots of little sprinklers and splashers to keep Lilly excited.
It was a little windy at the pool, but not too windy for a snack!
We went inside the indoor section and after having a few races around the lazy river (with Lilly riding on my tube with me), Darren took Lilly into the bubble pool (hot tub) and the indoor pool. Lilly loved the bubble pool, but we didn't want her to stay in there for more than a few minutes. Lilly loves playing in the water, so this was a real treat for her since our neighborhood pool had been closed for a few weeks.
Lilly didn't really nap on the first day because when we arrived it was around nap time and she was too excited to nap. On our way to dinner, Lilly passed out in the car. It was only a 5 minute car ride, so I told Darren that we needed to let her sleep for a good 20 minutes and we sat in the car and played on our phones for a bit while she snoozed :-)
We have pictures of Lilly from a year or two ago on this chair and on the cow, so we tried to recreate the photos. I love her "thinking" pose on the hand.
The next day was a perfect beach day! The beach was different than I had ever seen because there was a really shallow sand bar without waves that you could walk out (about calf deep for an adult) and not get too wet or get hit with the waves. It was perfect for Lilly to splash around in!
We went to the aquarium that day as well. It's funny because Lilly's favorite part was the small playground they had in the food court. She liked seeing the fish, but wasn't super interested in them. She LOVED climbing the playground and sliding down the slide though!
The hotel also had a bowling alley and we got free bowling passes without stay, so we decided to check it out! Lilly had never been bowling before, so I was excited for her to get this new experience.
They had a dinosaur ball launcher that we found after a couple of rounds. Honestly, I think Lilly did better on her own! Obviously we used bumpers when it was her turn, but she did a fantastic job rolling the ball down the alley! It was adorable to watch!
We were SO excited to go the Pirate's Voyage show the second night we were in Myrtle. We splurged a little on the tickets because we thought it would be a good experience for all of us, and we were right! We decided that when you are going to a pirate show, you might as well dress up like a pirate! We even had a little pirate outfit for Lilly.
When we got there, the pre-show was going on. We were told different things about it, so we didn't arrive too early. It would have been nice to see, but I think it would have been a little too long for Lilly. So we got some popcorn and posed for some pictures while we waited for the full show to begin. We got a lot of compliments on our costumes, too! :-)
The show was phenomenal! I was so impressed by the talent, and equally as impressed that Lilly sat and watched it the entire time. She shared mine and Darren's food and sat on our laps, but she was perfectly behaved! She loved the mermaids, the diving and the sea lions. There was one part where a giant skeleton came out of the water and cursed the ships (it was the ghost of Davey Jones). She was a little scared at first, but then she started saying, "That skeleton has a bad attitude! He needs to change his attitude!" and that seemed to make her feel better. She told us about the skeleton's attitude the entire ride home as well.
After the show we wanted to get a family photo and a few of the sweet waitresses were happy to help! You can sort of see the amazing set and the seating they have in the place, but it was absolutely huge! I can also tell you that if you go, there aren't bad seats, so don't stress about that. It is worth the price!
That's Lilly's best pirate face ;-)
Family selfies!
We also decided to use this family photo to announce the "Facebook" world that we are expecting a new member of our pirate crew in April 2016!!! :-)
On our last day in Myrtle we stopped at the outlets for a couple of hours on our way home. Lilly had been SO amazing during the trip and was being a great sport as we shopped, so we treated her to a couple of rides. There was a grandparent couple with their granddaughter who split the rides with us since there were several vehicles on the carousel. Lilly looked like she was having the time of her life! I think we may have created a monster though because now I am worried she will want to ride these types of things every time we see them!
Lilly had her last dance class before returning to school. I think Lilly was realizing that our track out was over and because she clung to me the entire class and wasn't as interested in participating. She did a great job transitioning back to school, but I know we still miss each other when we track back in. It's so hard to not be with her all day!
Lilly is so lucky to have so many amazing people in her life who love her! Aunt Mare sent Lilly a new shirt for Halloween and Aunt Susan, Brianna, Nick and Anthony sent her a new frozen bag and coloring book! Lilly was so excited for both of them!
Lilly and I have been participating in Kids NPraise at church on Wednesdays and this Sunday was the first time that her group was singing during the church service. Darren came and was sitting in the front to get some pictures. Lilly was completely fine for about 5 seconds and then I saw her little lip quiver and she ran into my arms. :-( I think she got a little nervous seeing all of the people in the congregation. She calmed down quickly, but she stayed in my arms while the other kids finished the song. I was surprised, but it also reminded me of how shy I was when I was little. Some might find it hard to believe, but I had a really hard time even talking to people that were not my family or friends when I was little, so I probably wouldn't have been able to sing in front of people when I was three either.
Lilly got a hoola hoop as a party favor from a birthday party and while she doesn't really use it for it's intended purpose, she LOVES to play with it! Her favorite is when one of us throws the hoop way up in the air and she chases after it. It makes me thankful for our huge backyard!
The weekend before Halloween was very exciting for us! My parents came to visit, so that alone was wonderful, but we also had the Halloween hoe-down at Learning Time. Lilly got to show Grandma and Grandpa her school and they met her teachers. Lilly went from room to room playing games and getting special treats (which she was, of course, very excited about). She also got her face painted by Miss Semi (one of her teachers). Lilly asked for a butterfly and Semi did an awesome job!
Lilly is going to be super girl for Halloween, but she insisted on wearing a princess dress to the hoe-down. I think this was because she wanted to wear one of her new crowns that Grandma and Grandpa got her :-) I had no problem with her wearing a different costume anyway. I love giving Lilly choices and autonomy whenever I can.
I wish my parents had been able to stay longer, but we are so thankful that they came! Lilly loves them and they are so good with her!
One of Lilly's favorite things is to go to Biscuitville for breakfast. She absolutely devours their pancakes! You wouldn't think a little girl this small could eat three pancakes (plus eggs!) but she does! This is more of a brunch meal for her because she doesn't usually eat lunch after, but it's still impressive!
Lilly got some purple vampire teeth from the hoe down and was trying to scare Darren and I with them. It would have been scary if it wasn't so darn funny! When one of us put them in, she did NOT like that!
Even adults get to enjoy Halloween! We went to party at Jared and Carissa's and had a blast. We dressed as pirates with Kari and Jason. It was nice to get an adult evening!
We were determined to carve a pumpkin on Halloween, but the pumpkins we had were too small. So we went to the pumpkin patch at the church. Unfortunately, when you wait until the last minute, all that is left are the lumpy and REALLY big pumpkins, so we decided to just play in the pumpkin patch for a few minutes and accept the fact that yet another Halloween will go by and we haven't carved a pumpkin. Oh well!
Holly Springs was having their Hollyfest celebration that afternoon. After nap we decided to take Lilly. I was sure she would want to ride the rides, but she absolutely did not want to. She has gone on fair rides before in Fuquay, so I am not sure if she was still groggy from nap or not in the mood, but she refused. We ran into Carissa, Addie and Drew and walked around with them for a bit, but all Lilly really wanted was an ice cream cone. I figured, why not? She LOVES ice cream, and since she didn't get to ride any rides and we didn't really want to buy anything from the vendors, it was at least something.
That night was trick-or-treating! We went with the Stotts and the Leckonbys so our girls could have their best friends with them. All of the girls looked absolutely adorable and they were happy to pose for pictures :-) We started when it was still light out, but I am glad we did; it made pictures much easier!
If this little face came to my door asking for candy, I would give her ALL of the candy! :-)
Lilly was so excited to go trick-or-treating! She had been talking about it for weeks.
All of our neighbors were so kind and sweet! The girls had an amazing trick-or-treating experience. They took turns knocking on the door, used their manners and got SO much candy! We had to empty Lilly's bucket into her stroller because it was getting too heavy for her to hold.
Here are our little beauties all in a row!
Darren and I didn't dress up since we dressed up for the party the night before, but we still wanted to get a family photo :-)
After hitting only half the neighborhood, we decided the girls had WAY too much candy already and we were ready to just let them play. Everyone met up in the cul de sac and the kids played together while the adults enjoyed hanging out. Some of the adults in our neighborhood had set up a pot luck in their driveway, so there was a party of about 15 people going on there as well. I wish I had not been so tired, but I needed to call it quits at about 8:15. I know Lilly was tired too because she fell right asleep. All and all, it was a perfect Halloween!
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