Happy Birthday, Harry

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to one of my favorite literary characters on his birthday.

Last Summer Reads

Considering I go back to work in 4 days, I think I can count these 2 books as my last reads of the summer.  I loved them both.

Laurie Halse Anderson is amazing.  You should read all her books.  Including this one, which is about a teenage girl and her father who is a veteran with PTSD.

I also love Terry Pratchett, who co-wrote this book.  It's the first in a series and the premise is that a device is developed that allows you to "step" into parallel worlds- worlds without humans.  Very interesting science fiction.

Last day in Chattanoga

We walked from our hotel to the aquarium this morning and then walked to lunch at Taco Mamacita's. I have to say, I did an amazing job of picking out restaurants on this trip!  Korra's refusal to nap made the ride home rough, but overall it was a great trip!

Chattanooga Day 2

Went to Ruby Falls in the morning, ate lunch at the amazing Good Dog, dessert at Climpie's ice cream, rode the carousel, played at the fountain, checked out the amazing children's/teen's floor of the public library, and ate dinner at Lupi's Pizza. I think we all enjoyed the free stuff more than the thing we paid to do. We also enjoyed walking all over downtown. The weather has been perfect!

Trains

Rode a train today!

Chattanooga!

On our way!  Yay!

In Further Neighborhood Confrontations...

Our neighbors across the street daily have cars drive up and lay on their horns.  Morning, afternoon, night. Picking people up, dropping stuff off. Not even the same car every time. Apparently everyone they know is too lazy or busy to get out of their cars. About 9 PM tonight the horns start honking.  I go across the street and try to talk to the driver (who is delivering fast food and a bag of laundry?) and the neighbor. I tell the neighbor (because the driver won't roll down her window and nearly runs over my feet when driving away) that a lot of people on our block have small children and could she please have people come knock on her door instead of waking up our sleeping babies?  She gives such a non-response that I can't even remember it 30 minutes later. I think my campaign for Neighbor of the Year is on coming along nicely. 

Vandals

Caught a group of 8th graders trying to steal street signs. How do I know they are 8th graders?  Because they all go to my school.  Think I deterred them with 5 minutes of talking about books but they may have just moved on to an easier, less librarian filled corner. 

Beans

One of Korra's favorite activities this summer: playing with dry pinto beans.

Cranky

A friend and I (plus our 2 babies) went to Carrollton to have lunch with 2 other college friends.  We had a wonderful time, but Korra was very tired by the time we left.  She slept for about 30 minutes in the car on the way back but then refused to sleep any more this afternoon.  I finally gave in and am letting her watch Sesame Street until dinner because she is one whiny, cranky toddler at the moment.  I see a very early bedtime in our future.

SnowPiercer

Nate chose tonight's movie. It's weird.

Summer Day

Morning walk including trip to playground and watching a train go by, lunchtime nap, afternoon ice cream date, and grilled burgers topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions for dinner. Perfect. 

Potty Training Update

Korra is mostly potty trained when we are at home and she's naked from the waist down. Next step is to get her used to panties (which she currently just pees in). Baby steps, right?

Sleeping In

Of course Korra waits until the last 2 weeks of summer to start sleeping in past 6:30.  I'll be sad if I don't get to see her in the mornings before school but I know Nate will be happy not to be up at 7 am with her when I leave. 

Booked It!

Booked our hotel!  Heading to Chattanooga on Monday for 2 nights!

Daddy Daycare: Trial Run

Nate will be keeping a neighbor's 3 year old daughter in the afternoons during the school year. Today we are doing a trial run. I think Korra, Nate, and LN (little neighbor) are really going to have fun together!

Thank Goodness for Bangs

Korra ran into the bathroom, slipped, and smacked her forehead against the edge of the cabinet. Huge purple bruise. 

Last Minute Trip

Realizing how few days of summer break I have left is making me itch for one more trip.  I'm thinking Chattanooga for a few day!

More Cousins!

Guess who's getting another cousin in February?!  Yep, my sister is pregnant with #2!

"Ricycle"

Korra got this hand-me-down tricycle last night and has been itching to ride it all morning. Unfortunately, it's rainy so we're just sitting on it on our small front porch.

Ready for School?

I think my mind is subconsciously getting ready for school. I dreamed about giving book recommendations last night. 

Birthday Party

I had such a nice time at a neighbor friend's birthday party tonight. I ate great food, chatted, and enjoyed what turned out to be a beautiful evening. Korra enjoyed herself, too  She played with their dogs, threw balls, rode a tricycle, ate cake, watched several trains go by, danced, walked on a slack-line, and enjoyed being called adorable by a couple dozen adults. I know I've said it before, but I really love our neighborhood. 

Google Hang-Out Baby Shower

My college girl friends and I had a virtual baby shower today using Google Hang-Out.  It was so much fun to see everyone, watch the two pregnant gals open the gifts we mailed, and to talk and laugh.  Thankful for those ladies and for technology!

7th Inning

Made it to the 7th inning with the gentle sprinkling. Then Korra was too tired and it started raining harder so we missed the fireworks, but we still had fun. Good seats too!

This iPod Broken

I gave Korra the GPS to entertain her in the car. A few minutes pass and she announces, "This iPod broken!"

Rainy Braves Game

It started raining right as we headed out for our baseball game. Hoping it clears up by the time we get there!

Splash Pad: take 2

Went to the splash pad again today and Korra loved it even though the water was freezing. She played until she was shivering!

Stay At Home Dad

Spent an hour of Korra's nap pinning toddler crafts and activities for Nate.  Back to school in 2 weeks.

I Poopy Potty!

While I was cooking and Nate was checking his email, Korra went to the bathroom and peed in the potty all by herself!  Yay!

Leftovers

Watching The Leftovers (new show on HBO) and eating still-warm rice krispy treats. Oh yeah. 

Data

Morning meeting about test score data. My inability to analyze data is matched only by my apathy. 

Mother of the Year

Nate and I got locked out of the house with Korra inside it.

Here's what happened:  Korra was asleep and our roommate was home so we walked across the street to return something to our neighbors.  Only he left.  And locked the doors.  And we didn't have our keys.  Thankfully he was only a few miles away and Korra slept through the whole thing, but I still.  Not my finest moment.

Chewacla State Park

Drove over to Auburn to check out Chewacla. The waterfall was cool and it would have been a lot of fun to climb and explore if Korra was a little older. It was pretty hot and exhausting to carry her up and down the trail and over the rocks but we had a nice picnic. 

Morning Walk in Photos

Elsa's Gloves

Korra put on a pair of rubber gloves and then said, "I scared!  Don't touch me!  It's stronger!  Don't feel! Don't feel!" 

Baby Shower

Successful baby shower in the afternoon followed by pizza with my brother and our neighbors. 

Korra loves her Hi Todd. 

Party Food

Spent a good part of my afternoon and evening making food for a baby shower tomorrow.  My chocolate dipped Rice Krispy treats don't look anything like my Pintrest inspiration but taste is more important than looks, right?

Cow Costumes

Korra and I dressed up like cows and got free lunch at Chick-fil-a today. She was crazy about the big cow and it was fun to have a little date together (especially one that ended with ice cream!)

Blueberries!

Picked a gallon of blueberries at a friends house this morning (not including the pint or two Korra ate!). I see blueberry muffins in my future. 

Nice Evening

Had our friend Chuck over for dinner, played one of my favorite board games (Alhambra) and then watched the new episode of Drunk History. Good night. 

Trucks and Trains

First thing Korra says this morning is, "Where my trucks?"  She's been glued to the window watching the house demo. During our morning walks we cross the RR tracks twice. If I run as soon as I hear the train coming, I can usually make it in time to be able to watch it pass. We were able to see a train at both crossings this morning- making for one very happy train-loving little girl. 

Who vs What

Korra keeps asking "What is that?" when she sees people on our morning walk. I'm pretty sure she means WHO is that but it sounds terrible!

Trucks

Watching the demolition work on the house next door. 

No Schedule

While she still sleeps through the night and wakes up at 6:30 each morning, Korra has no other sleep schedule to speak of. Yesterday she didn't nap at all. Today she napped from 8:30-10:30 am and then went to sleep for the night at 6:15 pm! Oh well. Still 4 weeks of summer before we have to fix that. 

New View

The house next door has been vacant since we moved in 7 years ago. The side of that house was all we could see from our living room window. They tore it down this afternoon and it's going to take me a whole to get used to the new view of the street. I kind of feel exposed without that empty old house. 

Splash Pad Closed

Drove about 30 minutes with our neighbors to take the kids to a splash pad only to find out it's closed on Monday!  Thankfully Ben has an aunt who lives nearby with a pool so we were still able to play in the water and have a picnic. We'll try again next week!

Cutest

I know I'm biased but I think she's the cutest little kid in the world. 

Wishes

Wishing I didn't have to ask the roommate if he's washed the sheets on his bed in the last 7 weeks. Surely it was bad enough that I had to remind him to wash them on the first place but I am 99% sure it didn't get done (since he clearly didn't clean the bathtub or take out the trash). 

Expanded Vocabulary

Thanks to the Fancy Nancy books that Korra is in love with, her vocabulary now includes such gems as posh, ooh-la-la, delicious, fushia, and accessories. 

Headed Home

Some pics from our time at the cabin with Nate's family.