More Cabin Time

Headed up to the cabin to spend a few days with Nate's parents!  Here's hoping they have some wisdom to offer about potty training!

Circles

Korra likes drawing circles. 

Summer Drink

Strawberries, spinach, ice, and lemonade- blended and drank with a straw. Perfect after-pool treat. 

XBox Buddies

Korra wearing the XBox headset and talking to her Uncle Dan while he and Nate play video games. 

Just Resting

A few times a day Korra tells us, "I want nap" or "night-night."  We put her in her bed where she lays down, rolls around, sucks her thumb, talks to herself, and generally does not sleep. She seems perfectly happy so the only problem I have with this is that we put her in a diaper during naps and these frequent "naps" are when she pees- thus less opportunity for success on the potty. Not sure what to do about this. 

Questions

Korra repeatedly asks:

What's that? (even if she already knows the answer)

What's ______ doing? (This includes the people in front of her as well as distant family members)

Do you want toooooooo _______? (this is usually her way of letting me know what she wants to do- like watch Frozen)

Fault in Our Stars

Went to breakfast with some out-of-town friends this morning and I'm about to meet my assistant to see Fault in Our Stars.  

The Jungle

3 or 4 times a year I battle to keep the jungle beyond our chain link fence from taking over our backyard.  So many thorny, fast spreading, ugly plants... seriously considering renting a goat next time. 

Dinosaur

Korra spent an hour playing with this dinosaur. She carried it around ("I got you," "dinosaur heavy, I strong"). She cuddled it ("snuggle, snuggle"). She fed it dinner.  I thought Nate's Jurassic Park loving heart would burst. 

Clean carpets

Rented a carpet cleaner and now our carpets are clean. They are also very wet. Guess we'll have to go to the pool!

Sugar Ants

Korra chooses the moment I discover an infestation of sugar ants around the cat's food bowl to pee on the living room floor. She waits until we have cleaned up the living room and started to address the ants to pee on the kitchen floor. Fantastic timing, kid. 

Pool

This pool membership was the best money we spent. All three if us enjoyed the water (and the break from potty training) this afternoon. 

Recent Reads

I realized that I'm not very good at reviewing books.  For the kids, I mostly just say, "This was good.  I think you'll like it." Maybe I'll include a vague genre term, but that's about it.  So I'll do the same here and give you a link to a real review.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

She's quickly becoming on of my favorite authors.  I loved this book.

Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

This came on the recommendation of a parent.  It was a great love story- sad and beautiful.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

This has been on my "To Read" list forever.  I enjoyed it but didn't LOVE it.  Worth reading but a little slow.

Potty training, Take 2

Trying not to think too much about whether today was "successful" or not. We've got to give it at least 2 more days before thinking about that. Clearly this is a learning process for all 3 of us. 

Beer Fest

Nate's going to the Atlanta Beer Festival today with some friends so Korra and I are the DDs. Going to check out a park with a splash pad and maybe visit a friend and her new baby. 

Jogging

My morning walk is turning into a jog thanks to Korra. She continually yells, "1, 2, 3 run!" and "run, Mommy!"  She's quite the personal trainer. 

Rhubarb Crisp

Nate grilled pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, and Brussel sprouts for dinner and I made rhubarb-strawberry crisp for dessert. Yum!

Homecoming

We came home to find the AC set 6* lower than what we usually keep it, the sink full of crusty dishes (including my cast iron skillet which is now rusty), beer cans all over roommate's room, the coffee pot empty but still on, the bathroom filthy, and the litter boxes overflowing. I am so mad at our roommate right now I don't even know what to do with myself. 

Heading Home

After 12 days of visiting family and friends, trying new restaurants, and driving in the mountains, it's time to head home!

Don't Break the Ice

Korra likes playing games with Margaret as much as her parents do!

Kingsport

We're up in Kingsport, Tennessee to visit some friends from college. Yesterday we went to the aquatic center and although it was crowded, Korra loved the splash pad and slide. We also enjoyed a float around the lazy river before heading back to their house for pizza, board games, and lots of talk about Survivor.  Yet another couple of friends we wished we lived much closer to!

Date Recap

The soak and massage were both wonderful. I only wish I had known how covered in massage oil I would be after- I felt like an oil slick the rest of the night. Dinner was yummy. It was followed by drinks at one of West Asheville's many brew-pubs. Then we had ice cream for dessert and wandered down the street for wings, nachos, and another drink (Nate sampled local beers, I had a cider and a Shirley Temple- I don't think I'll ever aquire a taste for beer at this rate). Better than all the food was our company!  We are so lucky to have such great friends (who we met 10 years ago in college) who showed us around their new neighborhood. 

Big Date!

Nate and I are going on a big date today! First a soak in the hot springs followed by a couples massage. Then we're meeting some friends for dinner at White Duck Taco Shop and maybe even a brew-pub after. Korra meanwhile will be going to a church picnic with my parents. I think we're all going to have a fun day!

Family Photos

"I Scared"

Korra was really scared of our friends' tiny dog the other day. She kept saying, "I scared!  Mommy, I hold you!"  Since then she's been announcing that lots of things are "scary" but Nate suspects it's mostly because she learned it gets her a lot of attention. 

Have I Mentioned...

that Korra loves water?

Happy Father's Day

The Best Laid Plans

We went to the Nature Center in the morning and had planned to take the kids to a splash pad that was right next to a tavern we wanted to go to for dinner.  Turns out the splash pad was closed for a wedding so Nate and Chris got to go play at the Pinball Museum for an hour. We walked the half mile back to the tavern only to find the wait for dinner was now an hour and a half. That just wasn't going to work with two hungry, tired toddlers. We ended up eating yummy burgers at Burger Worx and the boys really enjoyed the pinballs so I guess it was alright in the end.

Asheville

At my parents for the next few days. My sister, brother in law, and nephew will be here tonight and we're going to have some fun exploring Asheville together!

Aquarium

Vacation!

Kicking off our 12 day vacation with Korra's first trip to the aquarium followed by a 4 day stay at the cabin (so no blog updates for a few days).  Then we're off to Asheville to visit my parents and sister where we'll once again have internet. I'm REALLY looking forward to this trip!

New Bibs

The bibs I made for Korra before she was born have gotten a bit icky looking after over a year of use, so I made these new ones.  Like em?

What's Nate Doing?

Nate filled in at a friend's church this morning.  The whole time he was preaching, Korra kept saying "What's Nate doing?"  She asks this question (about various people including herself) about once an hour.  Also, she uses "Nate" much more often than "Daddy" these days.

By the way, Nate's sermon was very good and he was well received.

Chattahoochee River

Went to the Chattahoochee River Bend state park to visit some friends. Korra really enjoyed the water and playground. We enjoyed catching up with our friends. 

Ice Cream!

On a whim, we stopped to check out the soda fountain at the Medicine Shop and got some ice cream. I had the salted caramel brownie ripple and it might have been the best ice cream I've ever had!  Korra liked it too!

Photos from Today

Korra helping me water our container garden.

Korra's really got the hang of these blocks now and loves them!

Princesses

2 of my best friends from high school drove down to visit today!  We had lunch downtown which would have been much more enjoyable if our food hadn't taken an hour to arrive (3 hungry toddlers cannot sit still that long!). We also took the kids swimming which was fun even if it was short. I'm looking forward to seeing them play together more and more in the future!

Anniversary Dinner

My in-laws treated us to a celebratory dinner at the Acre in Auburn.  It was amazingly delicious.

Happy Anniversary!

9 Years

Today is our ninth wedding anniversary. Best decision I ever made. 

Swimming and Braves Game

Lunch and swimming with my father-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew and then off to a Braves game!

Strays

A couple days ago, a black kitten followed me home on a walk.  We took him to the humane society the next day.  Today, this puppy shows up on our porch.  He has a flea collar so we'll walk the neighborhood and ask the neighbors later.  What is it with us and strays?

Aphids

Aphids are killing my sweet peas!  Hoping the rubbing alcohol/water/dishsoap solution I found online does the trick.

A Post from Korra Who Likes to Play on the Keyboard

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"I book read!"