"Mommy Mondays"...Snow Week

I haven't posted a "Mommy Monday" post recently, but I just had to write about my sweet girl. Last week we had a lot of snow and ice here, which led to her being out of preschool for the whole week. I had so much fun with her, and it was so nice that Tanner was off, too! We had a little mini family stay-cation. I'm not sure if it was the cold weather or what, but she wanted to snuggle with me all week. If I was still wearing my pajamas when I got her out of bed in the mornings, she would say, "Mommy, keep your pajamas on so we can be cuddly." She's going to be 3 in less than 2 weeks, and if this is what 3 is going to be like, I can't wait!

"Mommy Mondays"...Halloween...a week late.

Hey, guys! I'm sorry I've been a little MIA other than my matchup and coupon posts. Honestly, I was suffering from writer's block, and I really didn't feel like I had much to talk about. Also, I've just been super busy in every aspect of my life. I'm hoping to start posting my daily features again, but it may not happen every day each week. Don't worry, I'll still post the deals (as long as the website cooperates).

  

This week on "Mommy Mondays" I wanted to feature my sweet baby girl trick-or-treating. Last year we went to our local mall, and we didn't do the neighborhood thing. This year, we honestly hadn't planned on doing it. The mall was having theirs on Thursday this year (no idea why), and the weather on Halloween was dreary. It was rainy and cold. Not to mention I had a toddler who had not been on her best behavior that day, and the disciplinarian in me didn't feel like rewarding her with candy (just keeping it real).

Our plans changed when the first trick-or-treater showed up at our house. Eliana was so excited, and she really wanted to do what they were doing. She already had on her costume, so we grabbed our umbrellas, and we headed out.

  

I am so glad we changed our minds. It was worth being cold just to see how cute she was when she would knock on the door and then back up away from it as quickly as she possibly could. It was worth it when she got super excited about every single house that we visited. It was worth it because she was the cutest ladybug I've ever seen. It was worth it because she still talks about it every time we drive through our neighborhood.

"Mommy Mondays"...A Happy Girl.

This girl is so happy, energetic, and funny! I wish you guys could be a fly on the wall to hear some of the hilarious things that she says on a daily basis.

"Mommy Mondays"...Singing in the Rain

This girl wanted to play in the rain for a few minutes after school the other day, and it is totally in my nature to say, "No, you don't need to play in the rain. Let's go inside." However, I realized that it was actually an experience that I wanted her to have, so I let her. She loved it...for about a minute, and then that was all she needed. She sang, danced, and walked around for a bit. I'm so glad I took the time out of our busy lives to give her that opportunity.

Mommy Mondays"...Big Girl Bed Update

I write these "Mommy Mondays" posts for several reasons, but mainly so I can remember the funny things that happen around here. I have a terrible memory, so I try to keep notes of things Eliana says or does, so I will be able to remember them when I'm 70...or even 31.

This is an update on her big girl "Frozen bed." She still loves it, thankfully! Actually, after about a month of sleeping in it, I can say that the transition has gone better than I expected! However, she has gotten it into her head that she no longer wants to use blankets at all.

I know you may be thinking, "So? What's the big deal? Just dress her warmly and forget the blankets." Here's why this is funny to me. This is the same child that required at least 3 blankets in her crib at all times. Every...single...night. Somehow, the moment she switched to a big girl bed something happened, and now she doesn't want any blankets (including the comforter). We think it started because she wanted to be able to see Anna and Elsa on her comforter. She didn't realize she could see them even if she was underneath them.

Anyway, we've tried a number of different ways to convince her that it's fun to sleep under the covers. Have I mentioned that she's stubborn? The closest we've gotten was when she realized it's fun to play under the covers like a tent. I wonder how long this phase will last!

Here's the one time I briefly got her under the covers.

"Mommy Mondays"...A Frozen Morning!

I've mentioned before that we are planning a trip to take Eliana to Disney World. I am super excited about this trip, but I'm also curious about how she will act around the characters. She's always been fine around all of the characters/mascots she's seen so far, but you never know when things will change for a 2-year-old.

This past Saturday, our local Chick-fil-A had a "Frozen Morning." Two employees dressed up as Anna and Elsa, and the fabulously talented, Tara Hodges from Sweet Snaps Photography was taking pictures! They had face-painting, they were making snow, and they even had marshmallow Olaf's. Eliana thought it was so neat! She didn't talk to the princesses much, but I'm hoping that will change when she meets the ones at Disney who are trained to interact with hundreds of children each day. It was a great morning, and I can't say enough wonderful things about our Chick-fil-A! They have the best staff in the world, and they do wonderful events like this all the time!

"Mommy Mondays"...Happy Anniversary!

Today's "Mommy Mondays" is a little different. Today I'm going to feature some of my favorite pictures from the last 7 years. Why? Because it's mine and Tanner's 7th anniversary! I am so blessed to have him, and I can't wait to spend the next 100 years with him! Ok, I don't really want to live to be that old, but you get the idea.

His face when he saw my TN garter!

Our faces after Tim & Tucker jumped out from under a bunch of stuff in the back seat!

Sometimes I'm nice and wear red to Alabama games as long as they aren't playing TN.

Whoever took this didn't know how to zoom, but I promise that's really us.

He nicknamed me "Bacon" because he loves bacon so much. Thus, our Halloween costumes.

 The day our lives were changed forever.

Go Broncos! The night we ended up deep within the GA dome.

"Mommy Mondays"...A Girl at the Zoo

I haven't had a chance to write about this until now, but a few weeks ago, we took Eliana to the zoo. This wasn't just any trip to the zoo, though. Eliana's best friend, Harper, went, too! Harper and her Mommy and Daddy moved away a few months ago, and we miss them a lot! We decided not to tell Ellie where we were going until we were almost there. We also chose not to tell her that Harper would be there because we wanted her to be surprised. About 15 minutes from the zoo, we told her the name of the zoo. She immediately responded with, "That's where Harper lives!!!" She had been talking about Harper a lot recently, and she really wanted to see her. She had even mentioned that she wanted to show her the new jewelry she had been given, and she wanted to share it with her. She still didn't know Harper was going to be at the zoo, though, so we decided to video their reunion. It was so cute! Neither of them knew what to do once they saw each other! The video may not work in Safari, but it should work in Chrome. I'm not sure about the other browsers.

Eliana loved the zoo, but I think she loved walking around with her best friend even more! Oh, and the splash pad was a big hit, too!

"Mommy Mondays"... Big Girl Bed

This week's "Mommy Mondays" (on Tuesday) is a tough one for me. This weekend we switched my baby girl from her crib to a big girl bed. I can't say that I was ready for this, but she was so excited about it! We had mentioned it to her a few times in passing, and one day we showed her some of the different comforters that were available. She, of course, decided that she had to have a "Frozen" bed. I think she asked for it every single day since she saw it. Her excitement was one of the reasons we decided to go ahead and do it. We wanted to take advantage of her wanting to do it before she changed her mind. We also knew that we wanted her to be accustomed to sleeping in a big girl bed before we go to Disney later this year. She is end-to-end in her pack-and-play, so I doubt she'll be able to use it on trips pretty soon.

Anyway, to say I was nervous about this transition was an understatement. Eliana loves routine so much, that sometimes she freaks out when things change (she may or may not have gotten that from her Mommy). Thankfully, we talked to her about it enough ahead of time that I think she was ready. She spent all afternoon playing on her bed. She's never played in her room alone for very long, so we were shocked!

 We have had 3 successful nights, and naps haven't been awful either! I'm not naive enough to think that there won't come a time when she realizes she can escape from her bed. Until then though, I'm going to enjoy my sleep, too!

The last time in her crib!

She wanted to help us take it apart and put her bed together!

Cutting the slats!

Before

After

We used 3 of the skinnier pool noodles taped together to make a bed bumper. Simply place it under the fitted sheet! It cost $6.00 instead of $30.00 or more. So far, it seems to be working perfectly!

The next morning!