Sydney's Adventures

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:32:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is a holiday that we have always shared by having lunch with our family at "Uncle Tim's shop". Many years ago we used to always eat lunch at Rufie's house by spreading out tables in the living room but now we have gotten so big with all the great grandchildren that we have moved down to the shop. Every year it is tradition that we have fried turkey and baked ham and all the fixin's. And after we have all eaten all the kids go and play outside and get to take rides in Uncle Tim's red car! That is something that the kids have loved doing for years is having Uncle Tim pull them on the red car with the golf cart. Here are some pictures from our wonderful thanksgiving lunch with our loving family.

All the kids usually sit together and talk and pretend and fuss during lunch while the adults get to sit on the other end of the table and actually enjoy some adult time.

Yummy Chicken Pastry, turkey and stuffing!

Nothing like stuffing the face with Pumpkin Pie! This happens to be one of Sydney's favorite desserts!

Peyton is the driver of the cool red mustang! And Hunter and Gavin are ready to shoot anyone that comes near the car!

I love these two silly girls!!!!

"Mommy I pulled it all by myself"

2010-11-22T14:24:00.001-08:00

We lost more teeth Yay!!!! But this one Sydney wiggled and wiggled and wiggled until she pulled it out by herself when she was in bed and I was at work. She was so excited that she did this one all by herself!

Our Annual trip to the Raleigh Christmas Parade

2010-11-21T23:02:00.001-08:00

The Raleigh Christmas Parade is something that Sydney and I have shared together since she was 3years old. We go every year, find a great spot along Salisbury street, lug our chairs, blanket, breakfast, coffee, and toys to keep Sydney busy while we wait for the parade start. She always enjoys the parade except that it usually lasts around 2hours so she gets bored before it ends but because of all the people that attend every year we are pretty much stuck until it ends and they open up the streets again. I don't mind because I always love seeing all the pretty floats and decorations. Here are many pictures of some of the great floats and such that were in this years Raleigh Tradition Christmas Parade.

Excitedly waiting for the parade to start....nothing like a little DS game and some Pepsi to keep you occupied while you wait.

I loved the CDH angels because these are special babies that I help take care of at work.

One of the many "junk" items that they walk around enticing kids into wanting....But hey every one's gotta have a YoYo balloon right?

Gimme 5 Muddy!

Snoopy's Christmas Hot Dogs!

We always love when the Christmas Carol actors come thru and Scrooge comes Yelling to everyone Christmas is cancelled so leave....I hope one day we are able to go see this play together.

One of my favorite floats....the McDonald's Christmas Parade

Sydney's all time favorite Christmas character....The Grinch!

It doesn't get much better than that pretty smile!

This is always a favorite of Sydney's to see because of her Daddy's all time favorite love of Star Wars!

Sydney giving the big NC DOT Cone a Hug!

And now Santa has arrived so it is official.....Christmas will soon be here.....Santa Claus is coming to town!

Sydney loses another tooth....The Real Way!!!

2010-11-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

I love toothless smiles! And we finally lost a tooth the right way! It had been loose for along time and she had wiggled with her tongue until it was hanging by the thread but she was scared for anyone to pull it because it would bleed and bleed and bleed! So Uncle Guy is the official tooth puller and Sydney didn't want him to touch it because she didn't want to bleed but when she finally let him look at it, he was able to convince her to let him touch it and it came right out with minimal blood! And she couldn't believe that it didn't hurt it just "tickled a little bit".

Look at that beautiful smile!!!

There it is and it earned us 5dollars from the Tooth fairy!!!

Sydney gets her 1st Trophy

2010-11-15T22:24:00.000-08:00

My little Wildcat Cheerleader got her first trophy after cheer season. She worked very hard at cheering this season and wanted to give up many times but I made her press on even if it was 100degrees outside and she was having to run laps and do other exercises. She was absolutely precious at the games and I really loved watching her cheer and make new friends! I loved seeing her do something that I was never able to do as a child and was absolutely awesome at it!

The Mini-Mite Bunn Wildcat Cheerleaders....and her coaches Mrs. Angie and Mrs. Jennifer.

The Pee-Wee football players that Sydney cheered for!

GO WILDCATS!!!!!!!

An awesome 1st nine weeks!

2010-11-05T16:53:00.001-07:00

My sweet smart girl is excelling in school as always, we had her first parent/teacher conference and her teacher is amazed with Sydney's vocabulary and the "big" words she uses. And her reading is awesome! She is mastering all areas related with vocabulary, and reading high frequency words. She has no problem reading a story and explaining the meaning of the story. We are continuing to work on our Math and she goes to see "Mr. Eddie" a math remediation teacher every Tuesday morning. She received a math award and continues to receive reading awards....whenever you see Sydney she had a book in her hand and I am so proud that she is my little bookworm! Sydney I could not be more proud of you....She absolutely light up my day with your smile and your wittiness.....you have an answer for every question and are never afraid to ask questions and I do not want you to change! Mrs. Collier let us know that Sydney has no problems in adjusting to the classroom she is extremely social....to the point that it sometimes gets her in trouble! I continue to remind her to make good choices with her friends and make good choices about her behaviour but she has always been a talker and I think she always will be! But in my opinion I don't want her to change! She has never met a stranger and makes everyone she crosses path with feel comfortable at the first word and makes friends so easily with her outgoing behavior! Honey I am so proud of you! I love your little social butterfly self!

First Awards Day in the 1st Grade

2010-11-01T19:13:00.001-07:00

Sydney is so incredibly smart and I am so very proud of her! She recieved a Math award and two reading awards on the first nine week award ceremony! She absolutely loves to read and has really improved her math and I know that it is only going to get better! The picture above is our wonderful principal Mrs. Eason.

Sydney going up to take her token for her necklace after she recieved her award from Mrs. Collier her awesome teacher!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T18:29:00.001-07:00

This year for Halloween Sydney chose to be "Dorothy" from The Wizard of Oz. I think she really only chose the costume because she wanted the basket with "ToTo". I was secretly so glad that she had picked this costume because it was something that I had wanted her to dress as for awhile. We always start our Trick-or-Treating out by going to Aunt Vickie's and then to Rufie's and then to Aunt Pammy's. And then after a few stops at the family houses we ventured off to Zebulon where we were able to park and walk thru the streets and do some really fun trick or treating! This picture above really makes me smile because I cherish all the pictures that I am able to have of Sydney with Rufie. And then we always get halloween pictures with my favorite fella The Ninja!

She is without a doubt the cutest Dorothy that I have ever seen! :)

Everyone knows that Dorothy got to Kansas by riding a scooter right??

Sydney and her PaPa

The two kids running into Aunt Vickie's house for candy!

My little Dorothy and my little Ninja

Trick-or-Treat Aunt Vickie!

One tired little trick-or-treater....calling it a night with a huge bag of candy!

Our visit to Vollomer Farm

2010-10-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

Going to Vollomer Farm is a tradition, My dad works there and we have been every fall for last few years. We also try to make it a cousin tradition. Sydney really loves the corn box there and the tunnel slide. The barrel train is a favorite as well! Here are lots of great pictures of our fun day. But my favorite picture is the picture of PaPa with his two favorite people!

How can you not just love these two faces! This is on the hayride to the farm....Sydney loves to fix her hair and wear it down, even thought I often encourage her to pull it up especially on hot fall days like this one, but The Diva She is likes her hair down to "flow in the wind"!

In all the years that we have been going to the farm, Sydney has never been afraid to visit the Pumpkin Princess for pictures!

Like I said, The corn box is her favorite! She loves to be buried in the corn box except that we find corn kernels dropping from us for days after we visit the corn box!

Hunter is telling Sydney to climb on up in his big 4x4!

Sydney's favorite thing about the corn maze was not finding her way out of the maze but pulling all the corn off of the stalks!

I hope these two will always be the bestest of pals...they are so close in age and really enjoy playing together but yet act just like brother and sister in their disagreements! I hope they always enjoy spending time together!

Sydney is still holding on to that corn stalk while they are watching the ducks and the fish in the lake.

AAAAHHHHH Now I can finally relax!

This smile is what I get up for and go to bed for each day! I never thought it possible to love someone so much but I know for sure I would be completely lost without her! She is my best friend and the greatest gift I have ever been given was the gift of being chosen to be her Mommy! I love you so much Sweet Girl!

Fun at the Fair

2010-10-17T09:35:00.001-07:00

We absolutely love the fair and it is something we have shared together since Sydney was 7months old! We used to go together as a family every year up until last year and now Sydney and I continue to go and this year she went with her Dad as well to continue the tradition. She loves the rides and her Dad always rides the rides with her and has for years. But this year we went I think three times, the first time we went just Sydney and I and she rode lots of rides and we ate lots and lots of yummy food. And then we went back again with an old friend and Sydney had a blast riding all the rides with Haley and Amy and I enjoyed lots more of yummy food. And then we went back one more time to get in more rides and some more yummy fair food!

The first thing we got into at the fair was some Yummy Roasted Corn!

This is with out a doubt Sydney's favorite ride! Every year she rides the "dragon coaster" over and over and over again!

Going fishing, because as the lady says at the booth "Everyone is a winner"!

Getting ready to win the big prize!

And there it is! A fuzzy Puppy! And she could not be more excited!

Every Body Put your Hands up in the Air!!!

Sydney and the Amran Shrine Man!

We loved watching this walk around couple playing on all their instruments....I really loved watching Sydney dance to their music! She always makes me smile!

It's kinda hard to see what's going on here, but Sydney is milking the NC State Cow....Those are utters she is squeezing!

I am not quite sure if that is lots of enjoyment in her face???

A little Fun in the Fun House!

That would be the face of Come Help Me Get Down Now!!!

Now That is Finger Licking Good Fair Food!!!!

AAAGGGHHHH!!!! Get Me Down!!!!!!

This is Sydney's fish Lucky that she won at one of the games, she still remembers that fish and he only lived like one week.....But that was Sydney's first goldfish!

Haley and Sydney getting all buckled in for their ride on Sydney's favorite coaster!

Now that is some fun-filled smiles!

Whoo Hoo!!! Put Your Hands Up!!!!

Sydney loved this ride! Haley Not so much!!! There is almost no ride that Sydney will not go on! She loves the adrenaline rush of the up and down and the speed!

Kickin' back chit chatting waiting for the ride to start!

Thumb's up Mommy! I got this!!

Yeah!!!!!

The best of friends waiting in line for the next spin on the action packed fun!

Thumb's Up MOmmy! I am a fair ridin' Pro!

Sydney is smiling and Haley is screaming Never Again!!!!

I had to try the new Fair Fad....The Krispy Kreme Burger...And it was very good!

The Moving Statue!

Frozen Chocoloate Covered Bananas!

Sydney had so much fun at the fair this year.....We shared a great time together and she had fun going with a friend and got to share in that same fun with her Dad.....Now we can't wait till next year to do it again and continue the NC State Fair Tradition!

Sydney's First Camping Adventure

2010-09-29T14:46:00.001-07:00

Our girl scout troop went camping this weekend on a fall camporee at The Homestead. This was our troop's first time camping and it was also the first time Sydney had been camping. The theme of the camping weekend was Camp Rocks. When we arrived on Friday night after parents dropped off and unpacked cars, we set up tents, well this was a learning experience for all because before this weekend I had no earthly idea how to set up a tent. After we got camp set up we hiked down to the lodge and watched High School Musical, the girls had a choice of walking down to see the move or going over to the stage and doing karaoke. Well I so wish I would have chosen the movie because this was over a mile walk thru the woods at night in the dark, and this Mommy was exhausted by the time we arrived at the lodge. After the movie we headed back to camp and settled in for the night. We did have some very tired little girls but a couple that were hard to settle down and finally go to sleep. We had three tents of girls and a tent of leaders. When we woke up on Saturday morning we all had breakfast together which consisted of cereal, pop tarts and muffins. After breakfast we headed up to the flag pole for our flag ceremony and then divided into groups according to age and rotated to the different stations. Stations were dancing, crafts where we made music instruments, sports and troop time at our campsite. At the end of the day we all went back to our campsites and prepared our dinner for the community supper where each troop prepared a meal and shared it with the other troops and then that evening we each did a skit and voted on winners. After this very busy day we are ready to lay our heads down om our sleeping bags !
The next morning it was flag ceremony and camp clean-up! It was a great weekend and many of our girls learned many new things! It was a great bonding time with the girls but we were all ready to pack up go home and SHOWER!!!

Early morning wake-up call!

Eating breakfast and about to start a very busy day!

Sweaty, HOT, and WET!!!!!

Sydney was in the yellow print bandanna group! It was a very hot day so we poured our water on us to keep cool!

This is usually the face you will see on Sydney when she gets hot, because she an AC lady like her Mommy! :)

All of our girls practicing their skit for the evening performance!

I love this girl so much!!!!

Making musical instruments because Camp ROCKS!!!! We made shaker cans with beans inside.

All the girls waiting to do their skit. Sydney has on the shirt they made, and I love my prepared little scout with her hat and flashlight!

We made smores around a real campfire! Yummy!!!!

Mrs. Wendy, our awesome leader is packing up camp!

Sydney eating breakfast and very ready to go home!

Another Wildcat Day...Game 2

2010-09-18T15:19:00.001-07:00

Another day of cheering on my little Wildcat cheerleader! I love to go to the games and watch Sydney cheer! It is very hot on Saturday afternoons and she is growing very tired of the practices but I am so proud of how much she is learning and memorizing all the cheers and routines. In my opinion she is definitely the cutest cheerleader on the field!

Lining up to go do the half-time show for the other team!

Go Wildcats!!!

2010-09-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is Sydney's 1st year cheer leading. This was her first game and she was very excited but also very nervous. She had practiced for over a month three times a week prior to the game so I knew she would do great. I think I love Sydney cheering more than she does because it is very hot out and her coach Mrs. Angie and Mrs. Jennifer do work the girls very hard and Hard work and Sydney are not the best of friends! She did such a great job at the game and she looked absolutely adorable!! I was so proud of her!

The girls getting ready for the Wildcat boys to come running thru...

WooHoo!!! Let's play some football!!!!

There is the cutest Wildcat Cheerleader you will ever see!!!!

Here is a video of one of their cheers.

Our 2nd and Last year as a Daisey

2010-09-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

We Love Girl Scouts!! This is Sydney's 2nd and final year as a Daisy....Next year she will bridge to brownies. I am very excited about this year because I will be her Daisy leader. Last year Sydney earned all her petals except one so this year we will be working on reinforcing the petals which are all a piece of the girl scout law. Lots of fun events this year for Girl Scouts....Stay Tuned!!!

Sydney, Ashley, and Katelyn at Recruitment Day....The day we went to recruit more girls for our troop.

Troop 1111 Rocks!!!

Introducing Dr. Jimenez....Your Local Veternarian

2010-09-08T09:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

This labor day Sydney and I ventured to Granite Falls to celebrate a very special little friend's 5th birthday....He is Sydney's skiing partner....Happy Birthday Samuel! We had a great time at his pool party and then after the party is was off for our little fun weekend. We stayed overnight in Greensboro because Sydney loves to go to get-aways at hotels and then we did a little shopping and went out to dinner and basically just watched alot of TV in a really nice hotel! The next morning we woke up and headed to the Natural Science Center...we had been checking this place out online for awhile so we were very excited because we love museums!!! And this was a museum and zoo all in one!

This museum was great! We loved walking and looking at all the animals and they had some great exhibits inside....We really loved the area that you could touch the kangaroos!! We also enjoyed to planetarium movie inside as well! Here are some pictures from our fun weekend at the museum.

Big Scary dinosaurs at the doorway!!!

I love that Sydney wants to read about all the signs that she sees to find out more information about the exhibit!

Getting ready to head into the Discover House which had rabbits, bugs, snakes and porcupines inside.

Sydney really wants to get the chance to touch that Turkey at the petting zoo.....But he is running away very fast!

Getting the Kangaroo to come to her while tempting it with a leaf that she found on the ground...this is the first time we had the chance to touch a kangaroo.

Red Wolves at the zoo......

AAAARRRGGHHH!!!!!!

The lemurs!

Not sure what kind of fish these were....May have been sand sharks....but never the less it was mating season!

I HATE Snakes!!! My child does not have that same fear....She loves all animals and she got the chance to touch some different snakes....EEWWW!!! I stood very far back!

Is not the cutest smile ever!~!!!

This was a great weekend....It was a time for us to just get away and learn new things and have fun just relaxing!! I love you baby girl and look forward to lots more girl getaways!

You are 6 1/2 Today Baby Girl!!

2010-09-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl....you have been saying you are 61/2 years old for awhile now so I felt I must put a special post in to let you know what you love the most at 61/2years old. You are one of the most outgoing little girl, you will talk to anyone and have never met a stranger. You light up the room when you enter and you manage to make a friend where ever you go. You love to read and are actually the top reader in your class. You are beginning to read chapter books whenever you are in the bed you always MUST read before bed! You have the vocabulary of a 30year old adult (literally)! But why wouldn't you because you have been talking in complete sentences since you were 2years old! You absolutely love to dance and love music but not country music and you are not afraid to ask as soon as you get in the car to please turn the radio up and put it on KISS 93.9 please! (dance music). This is your first time cheer leading other than when you did upward last year but this is your first real football cheer leading. I think you kinda like it but it has been very hot and you don't like to sweat or get how so if practice was in the air condition you would probably like it much more! You love FOOD!!! You are not much of a meat eater unless it is chicken nuggets, but you love potatoes and mac-n-cheese and chocolate. Your favorite candy bar is Kit Kat! You love to draw and color ( I think you get that from your daddy). And of course you love animals all animals! You say when you grow up you want to be a dance, a florist and a veterinarian. But whatever you decide to do I know you will be great at it because you are unbelievably smart! We are still working on riding you bike, you want to pedal backwards but love your scooter. And you love to shop if it is shopping for you...your favorite store is Justice!You also love TV and to go to the movies. Your favorite shows are Sponge bob Square pants and ICarly. I love you so much sweet girl and I am so proud to be your mommy and watch you grow and change in to an awesome Big girl!

Sleeping Beauty

2010-08-26T07:06:00.003-07:00

Sleeping Beauty asleep among all her many animals! Sydney is very peculiar about the places of all her many animals on her bed in fact she only makes her self a very small area to sleep. Every morning when she gets up she makes sure to fix her bed (or to fix all her animals back in their spot).

Welcome to 1st Grade!

2010-08-26T07:06:00.001-07:00

This year starts 1st grade for us and big changes at school as there are many more expectations than when in Kindergarten. We went to open house to meet Sydney's teacher and I had alot of apprehension because Kindergarten was a really tough year because Sydney and Mrs. Phipps (kindergarten teacher) just did not mix....she was extremely strict and Sydney had begun to hate school. So I was praying for someone that could understand my little social butterfly and help her to once again love school because she is definitely too smart to not like school. We we were looking to find her class and I found that she was in Mrs. Collier's class....I was ecstatic, in fact I did a big YES! in the hallway that she saw but I knew that we were going to have an awesome 1st grade year! With me being on the PTA at school this year the first day was very busy because we were feeding the teachers and I had to go pick up the breakfast and get it ready on top of getting Sydney all ready for her 1st day of school! She was so ready to go and meet her friends that she had not seen all summer and even thought some of her closest friends were in different classes she was very happy to see Jason Acosta was in her class again this year. ( I think she kinda likes him)! I took her to class helped her get all settled in and then left, but it was very sad because I begin to see how quickly she is growing up and it definitely makes me sad!

When I picked her up in the carpool line I was at the front of the line because I was so ready to get her picked up and her all about her day....I had missed her so much all day! When they called my number and I got to my cone to pick Sydney up there was no Sydney and I was worried to say the least....everyone was calling for Sydney and asking teachers if they had seen her but no Sydney and then I saw a teacher come running up the sidewalk holding Sydney's hand and I could see the fear on her face because she had gotten lost. When she got in the car she was so upset because she said she didn't her Mrs. Collier say which line was for carpool and she had gotten in the bus line. But when we got home and she calmed down....she said she loved her teacher and had a great day at school and was ready to do it again tomorrow!

My precious little 1st grader!

OK Mommy, I am ready to do this!

She was very excited about her kitty book bag....we have a lunch box that matches but this girl loves to eat in the cafeteria!

Finding her hanger in the closet to hang her book bag.

She is ready to get to work!

Sydney and her 1st grade teacher Mrs. Collier! We love her!!!!

Home at last from the 1st day of school.....and she is all smiles and so is Mommy!

Atlanta Vacation

2010-08-22T12:11:00.003-07:00

For our vacation this summer Sydney and I joined a friend of mine from work, Jennie and her son Samuel and her nieces and nephews. We had alot of exciting events planned for the week, but the major two were the Georgia Aquarium and the Atlanta Zoo. Sydney and I left home around 3am in hopes of arriving at the Zoo around 10am. We got to the Zoo and we could not have asked for more perfect weather. We spent the day at the zoo walking and visiting each exhibit and even making time to visit some of the animal feedings. The zoo was not as large as you might would expect for such a large city but it was perfect because it was basically in a circle so we started at the beginning and made our way around the entire place. Sydney also rode the merry-go-round and train at the zoo. Our favorite animals were the Panda Bears and the Gorillas. After the zoo we made our way to the hotel and unpacked because we were all exhausted from the drive. The kids played in the pool and then we headed out to get dinner and come back to relax. Sydney and I love hotels.....just laying in the bed watching tv and ordering room service is really all the vacation we need! Our 2nd day was going to consist of a visit to the Aquarium and the Coca-Cola Museum. Atlanta is a very big city with lots of traffic but I love it! Jennie how ever did not like the traffic so she wanted to use the transportation system to travel so we started our morning off with our Subway experience. We were very fortunate that the subway stop was a block from our hotel so we took off to try to figure our way to the aquarium. I got some directions from the hotel staff but I had us on the wrong side of the track going south instead of north so we had to run up the steps to make it to the other side in time to make our train....well Sydney and I were not as quick as Jennie and her crew and just as Sydney and I were running down the steps to make the subway the doors closed and our group got separated. Well Sydney and I to say the least were very upset! I assured her it was not her fault and we waited for the next train and met up with them at the aquarium stop. As we were walking from the subway to the aquarium, a gentleman on the street stopped us and asked if we were visiting and if we would like to go to a NFL game that evening. Well of course how could we say NO?? So that was going to be our plan for the evening. The kids loved the aquarium. We were able to see whale sharks and large sting rays, they had some touch tanks with shrimp and star fish. They also had some areas were you would stand on a moving belt and ride while there were fish tanks on each side of you and overhead....We spent the majority of the day at the aquarium and then headed across the street to the Coca-Cola Museum. At the museum I am pretty sure everyone favorite was the test room. They had about 100 different types of soda products that you could sample from all over the world...I think Sydney was in heaven, she just ran from from fountain to fountain with her cup. After touring the Coca-Cola Museum we took a taxi back to the hotel because we were all exhausted and very tired from all the walking we had done that day. After relaxing at the hotel and the kids swimming in the pool to relax, we all got ready to head out to the Falcons game. We grabbed dinner at Subway and then took a taxi to the Georgia Dome to see the Falcons play. I am no sports fan but I wanted Sydney to at least experience and NFL game, and it was my first as well. We had great tickets except they were up very high in the stands, but Sydney loved watching the cheerleaders and cheering on the team using the cheers she had been learning at her cheer practices. In fact one girl in front of us asked her if she was a cheerleader and Sydney said yes but she wanted to wear a cheer outfit like those girls were wearing that showed her belly and she wanted a tattoo...Oh I think I am going to have my hands full!!! After the game we took the subway back to the hotel and went to bed because it was very late and Sydney and I had a big day planned at Stone Mountain and our friends were driving back home.

The next morning Sydney and I got up and checked out of our hotel and drove to Stone Mountain. This place was absolutely beautiful!! Sydney loved to lift that took you to the top of the mountain....we rode it 3times and the first time we had the best operator because she had everyone rock the car when we got to the top of the mountain and Syd thought this was hilarious. She didn't want to go out on the rock and look down the mountain, so after the lift we toured the museum and learned a little history about the mountain and also rode some rides and toured the plantation. I think other than the lift Sydney's next favorite thing at Stone Mountain was The duck ride....it is a WWII vehicle that goes on land and water. And when we got ready to go into the lake, the lady floored it and we splashed into the lake. Sydney also had a blast driving the truck. After our day was over at Stone Mountain we headed tour hotel because the weather for the rest of the day was full of thunderstorms and pouring rain. The next day we headed home but remembering what a great time we had and hope to be able to go back to visit Atlanta again someday! Here are LOTS of pictures from our trip...

Sydney striking a pose at the Atlanta Zoo...

Hop-a-long Kangaroo.....

Taking a spin on the Merry-go-round

Sunshine Bear......

One of our favorite exhibits at the museum was the Panda Bears.....They were gorgeous, only one of the few zoos in all of the USA that has panda bears.

We enjoyed watching the Orangutan play on the ropes....

Playing in the underground worm slide....Peek-a-boo.....

We enjoyed watching the gorilla feeding, they would throw oranges and these sticks out to the gorillas and they would wait for them and eat them....I really thought the gorillas were amazing!

Getting ready to board her 1st subway,......i don't think she looks very excited....she was still a little upset about getting separated from our friends....

There is that beautiful smile!

All of the kids outside the hotel after dinner at a very interesting restaurant.....we didn't realize that the section of town we were staying in was where many homosexuals dine and we saw many at our Mexican restaurant.....I will have to research that better next time!

The diva about to hit the town!!!

The Georgia Aquarium.....Largest Aquarium in the world.....

Sydney and Samuel....

Now that was some serious fun....Which way to do it again????!!!!

Sydney loves touch tanks.....I am not sure if she loves touching the animals more or playing in the water....

OOOHHHHHH Scary Alligator!!!

The huge Whale Shark.....The Georgia Aquarium is the only aquarium to have these in the whole United States....the only other place you will find these is in Japan. And these animals were huge!

Everyone needs to take a little break....and what better place than in the window of the fish tank!

Outside of the Coca-Cola Museum at the statue fo the maker of Coke.

The world famous testing room....And believe me this girl tried everyone soda in this entire room!

With her little bear......We came home with so many stuffed animals because that was the souveniur that she wanted at each place we went.

Sydney getting out of the taxi that we took to the NFL Falcons game.....it was her 1st taxi ride!

This lady was dressed up as a falcon walking around the stands....so of course I needed a picture!

Getting ready to go into the Georgia Dome.....(some of these pictures are abit out of order).

Sydney and her Falcon!

Atlanta Falcons vs. NY Jets.......

Sydney and Falcon waiting to board the subway to go back to the hotel....

Sydney and Samuel loved playing in the revolving doors at the hotel.

Downtown Atlanta on a very rainy day!

Sydney and I at Hard Rock Cafe....

Stone Mountain....

Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis

This is as far out on the Stone Sydney would venture.....

Quack.....Quack....Getting ready to ride the Duck ride!

How excited does she look to be driving!

The petting zoo at the Antebellum plantation at Stone mountain.

In front of one of the plantation homes at the Antebellum Plantation.

Getting ready to take the Skyride up to the top of the mountain.

Back home to good ole' North Carolina.....After passing thru 3states (NC, SC, and GA).....it felt good to be hoome but we had such a wonderful time....Now time to get ready to start 1st grade!

A visit to BabyLand General Hospital

2010-08-22T12:11:00.001-07:00

On our trip home from Atlanta we decided to make a special stop in Cleveland, GA at Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch. Sydney had looked forward to this stop all week during vacation because she loves dolls and I had promised her a Cabbage Patch from the original Babyland General. It was unreal how much this place was made to resemble an actual birthing unit. They had a welcome desk when you walk in where a LPN (licensed patch nurse) would sign you in and then you could tour the hospital. There were boy and girl nurseries, a delivery room, cabbage patch kids in isolettes hooked up to IV's, a bus where the cabbage patch kids would go to school and then in the center of the room was the Magic Crystal Tree where visitors would gather round and see a cabbage patch born from the tree with the help of the LPN. Over the intercom they would make an announcement for the nurse needed and everyone would gather for the show....it was amazing how they used some of the similar terminology used during a delivery and applied it the cabbage patch being born from the magic tree. Here are some pictures from our visit.....definitely a place we are glad to say we have been and definitely a place that Sydney wants to revisit.

Babyland General Hospital, this is the new facility that has been opened within the last couple of years.

Upon arrival we are greeted by the LPN's and Sydney gets to carry a doll around the hospital with her.
Sydney visiting in the Boy nursery.....and taking extra special care of the babies.
The recovery room that the cabbage patch goes to be weighed and measured after delivery and to prepare for adoption.

The kids are in school....SSSHHH got to be very quiet....:)

Sydney in front of the Magic Tree.
The nurse talking about how Mama Patch is ten leaves and she may have to receive an "easyotomy"
The nurse giving Mama Patch a little "Happy cillin" and some TLC...
Here comes the little Patch...

It's a boy....the LPN asks for some help from the visitors for naming the new Patch

Sydney intently watching the new patch getting weighed and measured and prepared to go to his new home.

John Tom....1lb 2oz.....Born 8-21-2010.....Named by my little Sydney.......

Sydney adopting her original Cabbage Patch from the Original Babyland General Hospital. Could she look any happier??!!!

A visit to the Imperial Center Rocky Mt. Childrens Museum

2010-08-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sydney and I ventured off today for our first visit to the Children's museum in Rocky Mt. I had found out about it in a book I have, Everything Kids love to do in NC so we decided to make it our adventure for the day. We were probably there only about an hour-an hour and a half. We were not very impressed. They had a health exhibit, some animals, and a play area for small kids which Sydney enjoyed rolling around in. They also had a tornado machine. I don't know that we will make the trip back to the museum but at least we can say we have been and tryed it out!

This is the alligator they had at the museum, they also had a boa constrictor...I totally hate snakes and they also had a touch tank that had some fish and some shells in it. Sydney absolutely loved the touch tank....it was her favorite exhibit at the museum.

AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!

You don't ever see these old fashioned pony's anymore.......

They had this animal that was made totally out of recycled material.

We are outta here!!!

A great museum day

2010-07-30T18:28:00.001-07:00

Sydney and I have always loved venturing out to different museums. So we decided today to visit The Museum of History and the Museum of Natural History in downtown Raleigh. I love how Sydney is very inquisitive and loves to read all the signs to find out more information about each exhibit and asks lots and lots of questions. She enjoyed the Science museum much more than the History Museum because she enjoys the hands on activities.

Enjoying some of the activities in the hands on room in the History Museum about colonial times. They had games like the children played back in the colonial days and they also had books about George Washington that we read together and some pieces that they used to cook on.

This in the Sports Memorabilia exhibit room at the History Museum. We looked at the Nascar cars there because PaPa is a big race fan and even though Sydney does not care for it, she has been introduced to it because it invades her TV time when PaPa must have the TV to watch the race.

We love to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural Science....but one of our favorite places at the Museum is the Butterfly house.

They had a discovery room for kids where they could touch and feel lots of shells from animals, had some stuffed animals and Sydney always finds a way to entertain herself no matter where we go, so this is her putting on a show with the animals she found.

When I look at this picture the first thing that comes to my mind is..."Oh my...you are getting so big now" because I am months behind on my blog so this picture is like 6months old and she seems so grown now compared to this picture....Makes me so sad! I miss my little baby but am so proud of where you are going now!

Swim Team Awards Banquet

2010-07-22T18:58:00.001-07:00

This summer Sydney has been swimming on the Swim Team at Zebulon Country Club. This was her first time competing in a sport but she has always loved the water and I wanted her to stay active this summer, so what better than joining a swim team. I must say as the summer went on she became tired of the daily practices and her coaches did work her very hard but it was worth it because she learned some great swiming skills. She is able to freestyle across the pool, learned the backstroke, and the breaststroke which I think was her favorite. She also received her first award, a plaque that she can add plates to for each year that she swims. I am so very proud of how she did this summer, she improved at every meet....and I could not have been more proud to be the one cheering her on!

Zebulon Dolphins 2010

Getting called to pick up her plaque from Coach Melissa and Coach Josh

Coach Melissa and Coach Josh, I think Sydney enjoyed Ms. Melissa a little more because Mr. Josh really worked her....but he wanted her to succeed!

After the banquet we had a cookout and then all the players got to enjoy some time playing in the pool.

Sydney getting ready to get tossed in the swim cap....

Brother Fun at Wet-n-Wild

2010-07-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Sydney, Little Victor, and I went for our annual trip to Wet-n-Wild Water Park. It was our first time taking Vic with us but Sydney was in absolute heaven because she just loves her brother to pieces. I was excited to take Sydney since she had been swimming all summer I knew that she would love this even more because she would be able to come down the slide and I would feel much more at ease knowing that she could swim and be safe. She was still a little too short to do the large slides but there was one slide that she did so many times where Vic would take her float to the top of the ramp for her and then she would hop on and come down on the tube. We did the Lazy river, but that is one of Sydney's least favorites because she gets bored with just sitting on the tube and slowly going around. We also did the wave pool which she absolutely loved, and as the day went on I decided to let her get closer to the wall which was like a whirlpool effect when the wave would come. She wanted me to let her go so that she could spin around and around all by herself, she did have a life jacket on but her Mommy was just not ready for that quite yet. She also enjoyed swimming out to the pirate ship, climbing up and then jumping off into the deep water. All in all it was such a wonderful day and we both can't wait until next year when we get to go again!

You can't tell that she is in awe of having her brother with her for the day can you??

Getting ready to make the plunge

Playing briefly in the kiddie pool...I am loving the pink goggles....:)

Victor walking her up the walkway getting ready to do the slide again......

Doing a little swimming.....showing off her skills to us....

Taking a break to enjoy some REALLY GOOD Funnel Cake....Has to be chocolate with cherries and powdered sugar...the messier the better!

This was Sydney's favorite ride at the park....I bet she went up and down 6 or 7 times...of course she had her personal assistant to carry her tube....all she had to do was hop on and enjoy the ride, and boy did she ever enjoy it!

Put Your Hands UP.....Put Your Hands Up!!!!

Another memory made with the one that holds my heart......And seeing smiles like this one makes the drive, the sun, and everything worth it! I love you Baby Girl!

Hollywood Extravaganza

2010-07-15T18:09:00.001-07:00

This was our second year at dance camp and this year's theme was Hollywood Extravaganza and upon drop off there was a red carpet for her to walk. They spent the three days learning different dance types such as jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop and clogging. I think Sydney enjoyed Hip Hop the most. The first day at camp they danced, made a craft and had a snack. On the 2nd day they dance for a bit and then headed to the pool. And on the last day they danced and prepared for the parent presentation where they would dress up in their fancy Hollywood attire and strut their stuff. Sydney had they cutest costume and she was the first to walk thru the door and set the stage and she came out with a bang strutting her stuff and doing her sassy walk! They did their dance and all the parents clapped and cheered and then we enjoyed some snacks and headed home. Sydney had a great week despite dealing with a very snobby child, but all in all, she loved camp and says she can't wait until next summer.

Here She Comes: Hollywood Watch out!!!!

She is definitely the cutest Superstar that I have ever seen....despite the white hanger that is hanging out of her dress that drives me crazy!

Check out that Hip Shake!

The Hollywood Extravaganza Superstars

Sydney and Mallori Darnell her friend from Dance Camp

Her Craft box that she made at Camp to use for her makeup for recital

A visit to Carolina Tiger Rescue topped off by a little Crabtree shopping

2010-07-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

So Sydney and I decided to take an adventure trip to the Carolina Tiger Rescue in Pittsboro. I knew Sydney would love this place because she absolutely LOVES animals. We went for a morning tour and hoping that it would not be too terribly hot and it was great! Before the tour the guide told us all about how many of the cats end up at this rescue by people ordering this animals as babies and keeping them as pets and then when they become too big for them they just dump them off and the Carolina Tiger Rescue takes in these animals and cares for them. He also told us to beware on our walk because some of these big tigers spray so if you see them lift their tales take a few steps to the side. And surely when we go to see the first big cat he sprays and yes, I was in the way....Out of this trip, this is one of the most things Sydney remembers. She thought this was very funny and that the cat spray smelled like Frito chips was even funnier to her! Here are some pictures of all the pretty animals we saw while on our trip.

This tiger is eating a chicken that had been left for him for breakfast.

I thought this was the prettiest animal at the rescue, a white tiger.

After our visit to the rescue we then stopped off at Crabtree Valley mall for Sydney to do a little shopping, normally Sydney does not like to shop unless she is getting the opportunity to do some shopping for herself, and today we made a stop at Build-a-bear, Disney store, and a little Justice shopping.

Rubbing the heart on her ear so that her bear will always listen to her

Giving the heart a kiss so that her special bear will know how much her loves her!

Giving her bear a special brush and bath

The finished product, her bear ready for the beach.

We had such a great day, a trip to the Carolina Tiger Rescue, shopping, lunch at Cheesecake Factory and memories made with the one that holds my heart....A perfect day!

Sydney meets Mr. Cow

2010-07-09T14:29:00.001-07:00

Happy Chicken Day!!!!

Learning the importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity

2010-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sydney and I took a field trip today to the Poe Health Center at Wake Medical Center. We attended a demonstration regarding making healthy food choices and incorporating physical activity into our day. The program was geared for kids in 1st-3rd grades and it was very informative in discussing how if you only make one bad food choice how much extra physical activity is needed to burn off those extra calories. Before attending the program we played at the campus park and this was the coolest park ever....they had a zip line that went from "ear to ear" and a slide that was sliding thru the valves of the heart. After the nutrition program we watched a movie in the cranium connection which is this huge brain. All in all it was a very unique experience and we learned alot from it too. Here are some pictures from our day...

Climbing up a "network of nerves"

Learning all about the different lobes of the brain

My little booger....:)

Working on a brain puzzle....

We had a great day and learned so much about some things we need to do keep healthy and learned alot about our brain....We definitely plan on going back to some other programs that the center offers.

Zebulon Dolphins vs. Lakemont Torpedos

2010-07-06T19:12:00.001-07:00

Another great swim meet!! Sydney is getting better and better at every meet. At this meet Daddy came to cheer his baby on and she did awesome! She is getting so much better at her kicking and continuing on kicking until she reaches the end. She is awesome at the breast stroke...it seems to be one of her best strokes, and backstroke she is still working on...sometimes she gets going crooked...but is so cute!!! She is her Mommy's little fish!!!
Here are a bunch of pictures from our meet....:)

And she is off the block!!!!

Freestyle swim!!! Go Baby Go!!!

Under the rope....and she is done!!! Taking 6th place in Freestyle!!! I am so proud of your accomplishment baby!

Backstroke swim!! The thing that happened with this race that has never happened before, is when the judge said on your mark, Go...Sydney didn't hear the announcer and is still standing on the block when everyone else jumped in to swim......Even with all this she still did great!!!

And to the rope....taking 4th place in backstroke.....I am so proud of you Baby Girl!!!

Breast stroke swim...On your mark.....

Froggy legs....

Took home Participant in the Main for Breast stroke

Sydney you did so well at this meet and I am so proud of you!!! You make me smile each every day with everything you do!!!

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-05T06:39:00.000-07:00

Sydney and I spent 4th of July at Atlantic Beach. We just went down for the day to play in the water, go to the aquarium, and go on a harbour cruise to see fireworks. We had lots of fun. When we got the beach, Sydney instantly made a friend that she played with in the waves for a couple of hours, then we had a picnic on the beach. The tide was coming in, so the waves were really rough and Syd kept getting knocked down by the waves. After the tide really started coming in to shore and we were getting a little burnt, well OK, maybe Mommy was the one getting a little burnt, we decided to head to the aquarium. At the aquarium we watched the divers in the shark tank and also Sydney really enjoyed touching the hermit crabs and stingrays. Sydneys favorite exhibit at the aquarium is watching the otters play in their tank. After spending some time at the aquarium we decided to go have some really yummy seafood at Sanitary Restaurant down on the waterfront. After eating we walked along the waterfront and watched the fishing boats unload their catch of the day. That was really exciting, Sydney was in awe of the big fish. After all of this it was time to go and relax on the boat ride...As Sydney said, "This is my first boat ride Mommy,". We loved the boat ride, it took us all around the sound of morehead city and on to Beaufort to see the wild horses and some of the many big yachts docked at Morehead and then we came back and anchored to wait for the fireworks. We had the best spot because we could see fireworks at Atlantic Beach, and Morehead City from the boat. But the ones at Morehead were awesome....they were exploding right over the boat and Sydney was in awe of all the beautiful colors.

Playing in the water......

Sand beneath those sweet little toes.....

Ready and waiting for the big wave to come

HEY MOMMY!!! That wave almost knocked me down!!!!

I got this Mommy.....those waves aren't going to get me this time!!!!

We left the hot sun and rough water for a little relaxing among the fishies.....

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SWEET FACE!!!!!

Touching the Hermit Crabs......

Sydney standing in front of the boat that we went out on for the fireworks cruise...that was "Sydney's first boat ride ever"

A very yummy diner at Sanitary Fish Market Restaurant....one of my favorites because was also a place that I went as a child with my family. It was also nice to watch the boats dock and bring in their catch of the day.

The wild horses that we saw on Carrot island.

This Popsicle was Yum...Yum...Good, on a very Hot day!

Sydney loved watching the boat make waves.....

An absolute Gorgeous sunset....and I love the picture above with the sun set shadowing on sydneys face......

Happy 4th of July!!!!

1st Swim Meet

2010-06-26T04:07:00.001-07:00

Our first swim meet that we were able to attend was an away meet against the Granite Falls Gators. Sydney was very excited about swimming but also a little tired because she had been at girl scout day camp all day. She did very well. She was little sad because she said, "Mommy i am very slow and i always finish last" but she is the only one on her team in her age level that didn't swim last year. At the beginning practices her coaches were constantly on her about kicking and she would kick some and then stop midway and begin to doggie paddle, so once she got her kicking going it was getting so much better from there. She did awesome at the meet.
She placed 4th place in breast stroke and 6th place in freestyle and received participant ribbon in backstroke because she was in a heat for that particular stroke.

There is my girl, swimmer #4 dressed and ready to have them EAT HER BUBBLES!!!!!
Warm-up laps
Off the block and away she goes!
Kick baby girl Kick!!! Freestyle swim
Sydney doing back stroke..........

Swimmers: Take your Mark!
GO SYDNEY GO!!!!! Breastroke Heat!
Is that some awesome backstroke or what???
She could not be more proud of her first ribbon and neither could I!

Sydney, Mommy is so very proud of how well you did.......You are my little fish in water!

1st Girl Scout Camp Experience

2010-06-26T04:06:00.000-07:00

Sydney had an absolute blast at girl scout camp this week. It was her first real "camp experience", even though it was only day camp, she was there all day every day doing "camp activities". Even with the increasing temperatures throughout the week, it was still great , but definitely toward the end of the week with the temperature over 100degrees, Sydney was growing tired of camp and only wanted to stay home in the air condition. Each day they did different activities. On Tuesday they did archery, which was Sydneys first time shooting a bow-an-arrow. She loved it!!!! She said, "mommy I shot it 4times in the black, and I did it all by myself, and it was alot of fun." I wish I could have been there to see it but I was volunteering all week in the arts and crafts area so I was not able see her do alot of the activities, but we did get to eat lunch together each day. On Monday and Wednesday they went on a nature hike, and this was probably sydneys least favorite activity, because anyone that knows my Sydney knows that walking in 100degrees is definitely not her thing, walking is not her thing either, but she did see some exciting things on their hike. She told me they saw hatched turtle eggs, a beaver, a craw fish, and they learned what poison oak looked like and about poisonous snakes.

Their schedule each day began with the flag ceremony and after the flag ceremony they had unit time in their tree house where they learned camp songs and made bead bracelets. After unit time they had pool time. There 3or4 small pools set up for the girls to splash in and stay cool and some slip-n-slides set up to play in. Each activity lasted 45minutes and then they would move to their next scheduled activity. After pool they went to sports where they played kickball and did some other water games and also had their snack. After sports was lunch. After lunch they had their nature hike, which was tough at 1:00pm and it was so hot!!! After the hike they had arts and crafts where they worked on making picture frames, did sand art, and made sun catchers. On the last day we had a program where each unit sang a camp song together or did a skit and each camper received a bag that contained their patches as well as the swaps that each unit made for each other.

This is Sydney with her PA's (personal aide), Mrs. Lexie, and Mrs. Corrine.

This is all the campers at the beginning of the day heading to their tree house to put away their bags and start their day.

Sydney and Isabelle at the arts and crafts activity.....notice the red face...this is after Sydney's first nature hike ever!

Sydney loves arts and crafts or anything that involves drawing or paint.

Nothing better than a great peach for lunch!

Heading in with water bottle by the side.....this was her best friend for the week.....it is the item that you never leave home without!

This is Sydney reading for her first flag ceremony...she is telling the color guards when to salute and when the girl scout need to say the pledge of allegiance.

Sydney developed a UTI at the end of the week and was unable to participate in the overnight sleepover so we had our own campout at home. We made a tent out of blankets and ate smores and hot dogs for supper. Sydney loved this!

Splish-Splash water fun!!! Sydney loved the sprinklers.

Yummy Snack Time!

Sydney and her buddy Sienna

Sydney and the girls in her unit singing their camp song...I like bananas.

The girls receiving their award bag.

Sydney received an award for being the funnest....(I think that was the PA's way of saying the one with the most to say and the one that is the most wide open all the time.....love her....she is just like her mommy)

This was the picture everyday in the car before we got even 2miles down the road....it is amazing what a little air condition and a relaxing car ride can do.

Check me out Mommy...I am off to camp!

2010-06-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Sydney is heading off to her 1st ever girl scout camp. It is only day camp and I am volunteering all week, but this will be her first all day camp experience. She was so ready when I dropped her off this morning. She had her book bag packed with her lunch, towel, change of clothes, sunscreen, and water bottle because it is too be a VERY HOT week! Can't wait to hear how she loved her camp day!

Sydneys tree house for the week!

Yo Baby!

2010-06-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video of Sydney being super silly!!!

A tumbleweed on Saddle Ridge Ranch

2010-06-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

We attended VBS at my dad's church this week and Sydney had such a wonderful time. This church does the VBS program for children that I have ever attended. Sydney and Hunter enjoyed the whole week at Saddle Ridge ranch. They loved being in Mrs Rebecca's class and loved meeting new friends. Sydney loved everything from the supper, to the bible story, to the craft time, to recreation outside with Uncle Alex to the music at the end of the night.

Hunter getting ready to head off the Saddleridge ranch to have an awesome week learning about God.

My sweet Hunter loves the camera much better than my sweet Sydney

Supper before bible school was definitely at the top of the list of favorites!!

Marching in on parent night getting ready to show off that music and dancing....Go Rebecca Go!!

Don't be all dried up..dried up....petrified! Let the love of God change inside!

Don't you love the blue mouth and blue lips.....compliments of a blue Tootsie roll pop!!!! Nothing like getting really messy before the show!!! Love it!:)

Rebecca talking about the wonderful bible school class that she had this week.

Sydney and her bible school friends and her bible that she got while in bible school.

Sydney getting her certificate for attending bible school this week.

Sydney at her name drawn in the attendance drawing and won this straw hat....YEE HAW!!!!

My favorite craft that she made!!

More crafts....Love them! Good Job baby girl!

Summer Library Fun

2010-06-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

We went to the library and let Sydney get her first library card and pick out her books that she wanted to check out and read. She was very excited to have "HER VERY OWN CARD"! We plan on spending alot of time at the library this summer checking out books and attending their "Make it splash" summer reading program.

Her choice of books to check out with "HER VERY OWN CARD"

Ronald McDonald performing a magic show at the library.

We love Ronald McDonald!!!

K-A-Z-Z-O-O-M

2010-06-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

We went to a new puppet theater today, it is called Kazzoom and every month they do a different story and they allow the kids to dress up and help out with the story. This was our first time there, and we had a lot of fun. The story was The Red Hen, and it was about a princess (my Sydney) who was going down the street in a carriage and the carriage fell over and the hen asked if she could have some supplies to help make some bread and the princess said Yes so the hen took the ingredients back to the farm and asked the other animals to help make the bread, and they all said NO. So when the Red Hen had finished the bread all the animals asked if they could have some and then the red hen said no, because they did not help with the chores.....this is from Sydney, because I couldn't remember what the story was about because it is about one month later I am typing this post.....But my little girl with an incredible memory remembered all about the story!

My princess talking in the microphone and she acts in the play.

Mrs. Polly helping Sydney with her lines.....

I think she is really enjoying the stage!!!

Puppets helping us sing an Australian Old McDonald farm song

Sydney giving Mrs. Peggy a hug at the end of the show....

We loved the show Mrs. Polly and Mrs. Peggy and can't wait to go back next month my little princess wants to be the mermaid in the show!

Let the fun begin...

2010-06-15T10:45:00.001-07:00

We are so excited for summer!!! We have so many plans for the summer....Lots of pool days, lots of swim practice, lots of new adventures, but most of all lots of Mommy and Sydney time!!! That is truly what I love most about summer.....Making precious memories with my girl!

Swim Practice Update!

2010-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we are a few weeks into practice and preparing for the first meet and Sydney is improving by the day. They continue to work on teaching her hand-kick coordination in the freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. She is really good at breaststroke and is beginning to get stronger with her kicks. She is also doing well with the backstroke but sometimes has trouble coordinating her arms and kicks.....but hey....I do to! Each day at practice they jump off the block and swim the 15yards as they would do at the meet and at the end of practice they always end the practice by jumping from the diving board (one of Sydneys favorites!)

Mr. Josh working with Sydney using the noodle to work on her kicks across the pool.

She must always draw up her legs when she jumps.....

Kick....baby girl kick......

And off the board she goes.........

Freestyle to the ladder......

Keep up the hardwork baby girl......I am so proud!

6years.....and.......3months

2010-06-13T15:40:00.001-07:00

Sydney,

I can't believe how big you are getting and how quickly time is flying by. There are so many times that I wish I could freeze time!! You have just finished kindergarten and you excelled, which is something I never doubted. You have always been ahead of most with your vocabulary and how quickly you catch on to things. You continue to amaze me everyday with the things that you remember and everyday you teach me something.

Your favorite shows right now are Icarly, Spongebob Squarepants, anything on Discovery Kids such as: Trading Spaces, Mystery Hunters, and Truth or Scare. You absolutely love to read, in fact many times I will find you looking at the guide on TV and using it to just read....You are always reading, and I LOVE IT!

Your favorite things to do are to dance, listen to music, sing, watch "your shows", play on the computer (probably your favorite) and play with your dolls. You love to go to the pool, to Marbles, and to the movies.

Your favorite foods are everything: chicken nuggets, mash potatoes, macaroni and cheese and anything chocolate. Your least favorites are green veggies, any boned meat like chicken...I have a feeling you may be a pototarian when you grow old because you would be completely happy with just potatoes and eggs. You love eggs and biscuits for breakfast...you especially like Mcdonalds Mcgriddle (bacon, egg, and cheese). And you love to dip your food.....in ranch dressing.

Some funny things that you have said over the last week: this past week you had a bladder infection and you came to me and told me you have "Pee Apnea " because you had been peeing all day. You also told me the other day that you needed to go on a diet and eat weight watchers because it has plenty of vitamin a, b, c, and d. You continue to always put a smile on my face and I love you more than anything in this world and cannot begin to imagine my life without you. I am so thankful for my job and that it allows me to be able to be present for all your events and I look forward to each day with you because it is always an adventure.

I love you baby girl and Happy 6years and 3months!

Mommy

End of Year Report Card

2010-06-13T15:39:00.001-07:00

I am so very proud of Sydney for her accomplishments this past year in kindergarten. We received her report card on the last day of school and I wanted to add the areas that she did so well in and all of the many things she has learned this past year in kindergarten.

In the first area of her report card: Work Habits and Social Skills, she received satisfactory in areas such as accepts authority and obeys willingly, listen and follows-one and two step directions and working well with others and following classroom/school rules and routines and using learning centers and materials appropriately. She received Needs Improvement taking time to do best work and having acceptable attention span during discussion and stories and demonstrating self control. The area of self-control and having acceptable attention span and doing best work are areas that we have struggled with all year but we hope for better success in those areas in 1st grade.

In Math she received satisfactory in counting, knowing the days of the weeks, months and seasons, arranging numerals in order, sorting, and creating graphs, and recognizing likeness and differences of objects in the environment . She received needs improvement in matching numbers to sets and estimating quantities fewer than or equal to 30.

In physical development she received needs improvement in knowing her telephone number but received satisfactory in knowing her age, address, and birth date.

In communication skills she received satisfactory in using complete sentences, reciting nursery rhymes and poems, arranging events in a sequences, saying alphabet in sequence, and being able to dictate simple sentences and illustrate the sentences. She received needs improvement
in writing her first, middle, and last name. She also received a satisfactory plus in using sound to write words.

She is able to write all the letters in uppercase and lowercase but did receive some unsatisfactory due to rushing when writing letters. She recognizes all her shapes and colors.

I am so excited that Sydney blew her end of year assessments out of the water...she did so well on her end of year reading, end of year math, and math summative. She received EOY reading 118/121, EOY Math 54/57, and math summative 23/29 scores and I am most proud of Sydney for her reading level, she is on a level 14, which you only had to have a level of 6 to finish kindergarten and 18 to finish 1st grade.

Baby girl, you are awesome and I am so proud of you on the work that you have done this last year.....And Congratulations.....You are on your way to 1st grade!

I thought this was going to be a super long day!!

2010-06-11T18:38:00.001-07:00

This was Sydneys first experience with a hospital....we went into the hospital to have her adenoids removed and possibly her tonsils, but thankfully only had to remover her adenoids. I was the only nervous one, Sydney was excited about getting all the ice cream she wanted....but I was so nervous because I didn't know what to expect, if she was going to have to get an IV or how she would react when she left me to go back to the OR because they would not allow me to go back with her. She was such a trooper, the only thing that was bothering her was my picture taking because she never enjoys mommy taking pictures. The nurses were great with her, and when it came time for her to go back to the OR, she gave us kisses and away she went with a smile on her face. While I waited for her in the waiting room, I think it was the longest two hours of my life....the surgery only took about 30minutes, but they left her in recovery for about 1hr before they would allow us to go back and be with her. When the doctor came to update us after the surgery, she let us know that she did not feel her tonsils were causing any of the sleep apnea and she didn't feel that she could remove them for no reason so she removed her adenoids only and the recovery time would be much smoother.

When Sydney came back from the OR, she was kinda groggy but happy to see me and I was SO happy to see her! When only spent about 30minutes in post-op and then they let us leave and when we left, the first words from Syd were, "Mommy what are we having for breakfast...I want eggs and pancakes." I couldn't believe she was so ready for some real food! So I let her have for lunch a grill cheese and a bake potato....and she hardly left anything on the plate. She felt great for a couple of days but then on Sunday, two days later started complaining and not feeling very well. But it only took a few days and she was back to my sweet, fun, busy girl! And now we are ready to start our summer!

Waiting to go back to the OR...snuggling with her blanket and bear and soft pillow and enjoying some cartoons....funny thing is that she felt the TV could only be heard if she held the TV speaker up to her ear like a telephone.

Party hat on and ready to ROLL!!!

Stop the pictures already Mommy!!!!

This is in post-op and my girl is enjoying a yummy Popsicle....But are ready to go to the house and enjoy our Popsicles at home!!!

My Little Kindergarten Graduate

2010-06-10T17:39:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! I still remember taking Sydney to kindergarten orientation to meet her teacher and how excited she was to be going to kindergarten, she wanted to ride that "real school bus" and play on that "big playground"! Well we didn't attempt riding the bus...maybe next year. And then came the day when it was time to take her to school for the first time and when I walked her in the classroom and wanted to take lots of pictures of her first day, she was embarrassed and said, OK Mommy you can go now, I will be fine and I will see you later....And as I drove away from dropping her off...I cried like a baby! It was so hard to believe how big she was getting and growing up SO FAST! And now today, I went and watched my baby celebrate her kindergarten graduation. And next year I will have a 1st grader. Sydney had a wonderful first year of school. She has accomplished so much....she is top of her class in her reading and continued to work on her math and learn other skills such as telling time and counting to 100 by ones, fives and tens. She can spell just about any word you give her and is reading almost on a 2nd grade level. Her favorite special of the week was gym, and probably her least favorite was Spanish. She spent alot of her recess days doing alternate recess because she LOVES TO TALK, but when she did get to play she loved days that were "big equipment days" because she loved to play on the slides and climb....not so much the monkey bars but the other equipment.
On the last day, it began with school awards in the media center and Sydney received a keys to the future award for reading 100books this school year. She also received a class award for her reading. After the class awards all the kindergarten classes went outside to play on the playground and play some games and then we all sat on the lawn and enjoyed a picnic lunch. After the picnic we had cake and then packed our bags and said good bye to our friends and teachers and headed home to begin our summer.

My little graduate.....Love her!

Sydney receiving her keys to the future award from Mrs. Eason the principal.

Good Friends getting ready to take a slide...Ashley C (Sydneys bestie), Shannon, Marco, Jason Acosta, and my girl!!!

Sydney and her buddy Jason...She has really enjoyed having him in her class this year....almost all of my pictures have Jason in them...I think she has a little crush...

Bean bag toss that they played with the other kindergarten classes.

Congratulations to all the kindergartners....

Nothing like relaxing in the sun....

Man that was some good cake!!!!

This was my girl the first day I took her to kindergarten with Mrs. Phipps her teacher.

And this is my girl 180days later.....I can't believe how fast they grow and how time flies....it makes me so sad....but I could not be more proud of how much she has grown this last year.

Sydney with Mrs. Tenbroek her classroom teacher assistant. This was Mrs. Tenbroek's last class before retirement.....

Sydney and her friend Andrea doing a little artwork on the last day.

Check out that diploma....You go girl!!!! Mommy is so very proud of you!!!!!

My little girl on the first day of school.....When I see this picture it reminds me of how Sydney did not want to go and take this picture because the grass was wet and she would get grass on her sandals, so after I coaxed her into taking the picture I had to clean her sandals before she would go into her class.....That's my diva!

And now my little girl all ready to be a 1st grader......

End of Year Princess/Girl Scout Party

2010-06-05T06:01:00.001-07:00

This year for the end of year party, the girl scouts planned a pizza party/dance party/princess party. The girls danced around being silly in there finest princess attire. They had a great time eating yummy food and dancing to some of there finest songs...well maybe running to some of there favorite songs!

My girls loves her some pizza and snacks...yummy green princess juice!

Get it Girl!!!!!

Lets go Strawberry Pickin'

2010-05-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today Sydney, Hunter and I went in search of some of the best strawberries around. We headed to Vollmer farm to pick strawberries and play on the farm, unfortunately it was about 90degrees but we still had fun. Sydney and Hunter enjoyed playing on the pumpkin princess diva plane and swinging on the horse swing and then they rode in the wagon while I pulled them down to the strawberry patch and then they each picked there very own bucket of strawberries to take home. Oh I almost forgot, the day started out with some of the best homemade ice cream, Farmer Johns homemade chocolate ice cream...YUMMY! We had a great time and I can't wait till strawberry season next year and I can pick strawberries with my favorite two little people again.

Man that is some of the best chocolate ice cream ever....See I like it so good, I decided to wear some of it home!

I think Hunter enjoyed the swings the best...his smile is priceless!

Whew....

They loved the plane because they could both be the pilot, and every time they pulled the steering wheel towards them the tail of the plane would flap.....So they just kept pulling and pushing the wheel.....the loved this!

This was a workout pulling both of these kids out to the strawberry patch!

One of the only strawberries I could get her to eat in the field.....She was very determined to pick big "organic strawberries" as she called them to take home!

My little fella Hunter loved eating all the big strawberries and only putting a few in his basket!

Looking very hard for the red ones!

The finished product!

First Swim Team Practice...

2010-05-25T18:32:00.001-07:00

Meet the Newest Member to Zebulon Swim Team....Go Dolphins!!!

Splish..Splash...Pool Party Fun

2010-05-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Emersons birthday with her at Smithfield Aquatic Park. We had cake and ice cream and then went and played in the splash pool. They had lots of sprinklers and the water was about waste deep. I really liked it because it was perfect for Sydney to be able to play with out Mommy having to tag along.....the only thing was the chlorine was extra Strong...which means it is extra clean....but none the less when we left the poor girls eyes were burning so bad from all the chlorine...But we had such a wonderful time and definitely plan on going again!

My little fish amongst all that hair

Celebrate the Journey

2010-05-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

This year was Massey School of Dance celebrated 50years of dance...hence the theme of their recital was Celebrate the Journey that they have gone down over the last 50years. It was probably one of the best recitals around and featured alumni dancing from previous years as wells as a special dance from "Mrs. Debbie and Mr. Eddie". This was Sydneys first year dancing at Massey but it has been very special since I also danced here for a few years when I was growing up....but Mommy was not going to strut her stuff on the dance during the alumni dance! Sydneys tap dance this year was Elvis Presley's "Teddy Bear". It was so cute and it always brings tears to my eyes when I see Sydney on stage....because each year affirms more and more how big she is getting. And I am so very proud of her! Sydney you always shine...and Mommy loves you so much!!

Sydney in her sparkly Teddy Bear costume....adorned with a must from Massey School of Dance.....Red Lipstick!

Getting Ready for the Big Night!!

Don't you just love all my pretty curls!!!

I am not quite sure about this one except maybe she is showing off her pretty makeup????

Let the show begin....Hang a chain around your neck....Let me be your little teddy bear!!!

Did she do awesome or what!!! Way to go Baby girl!!! I love you and will always be so proud of you!

For the finale, each dancer walks across the stage and says there name and receives a star....another Massey Tradition!

Act I Finale....I love you....You Love me...we are a happy family!!! So Sweet!!!

Every great dancer needs lots of flowers for a job well done!

Mrs. Debbie....reading all about Massey School of Dance being a school of tradition!

Mrs. Debbie and Mr. Eddie doing a little rendition of Patrick Swayze from Dirty Dancing....an awesome way to end the show!

Sydney and Emerson!!!

One Super Duper tired girl......ready to go home....But what an awesome job she did!!!! Until Next Year!!

Lets do the twist....

2010-05-20T17:23:00.002-07:00

This year at the final PTA meeting the kindergarten classes danced to Lets do the twist and The chicken dance....it was sooooo cute!! My little princess did such an awesome job! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Happy Birthday Hunter!

2010-05-20T17:23:00.001-07:00

This year we helped Hunter celebrate his 6th birthday party at a the horse farm that he takes riding lessons at in Rocky mt. It was great fun and they had so many exciting activities for the children like painting, apple bobbing, brushing and petting the horses, and to top it off they each got to ride Molly, Hunters pony. We had yummy cake and ice cream and every ones favorite Fruit skewers. It was a great party and we are so thankful that we got to celebrate it with Hunter! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Sydney and Emerson petting the horse!

We started off the party buy each painting a pony with their favorite colors, prior to the painting they took a tour off the farm and got to see all the horses and pick out their favorite and then they could paint a pony that looked like their favorite.

We Love Rufie (MeMe) so much and are so glad that we are able to spend so much time with her and make great memories!

PaPa!!!

The birthday boy on his pony Molly!

Ride'm Cowgirl!!!

This made me very nervous with Sydney being that close to back of the horse

Getting ready to bob and get the perfect apple to feed the horse

Lilly taking a turn at bobbing....

Just hanging out reading.....

2010-05-15T17:55:00.001-07:00

When I walked in Sydneys room tonight this is what I found her doing....she has had a pen and paper in her hand since she was old enough to hold a pen...and she is definitely by little book worm.