Taking A Break

The Beanie family is heading out for a few days to enjoy Beanie Uncle's wedding and to hang out with family. Enjoy the Labor Day Weekend and the end of Summer. Football season starts here's a photo of the newest Virginia Hoo.

Good luck Cavs in your season opener against USC on Saturday. I think that you're going to need all that you can get.

Chalk

The last couple of days have yielded amazing weather here in Central Virginia. We have left the windows open and have maintained a lower temp in the house than if we were running the air conditioner. I'm not sure that would have ever been possible in Big City, Texas, especially this time of year.

So, even though we adore the warm sunshine and all of the great activities we can do, playing outside is a tad bit more bearable when it's a little bit cooler.

One of JB's fave things to do outside is color with her sidewalk chalk. We spent a lot of time giving the sidewalk and driveway a touch of color yesterday afternoon. It is also a great natural way for Beanie Mommy to introduce the ABC's, 123's, colors and shapes to Beanie without her feeling like I'm actually "teaching" her something.

It's pretty fun to watch JB concentrate (as much as a 16-month-old concentrates) when I recite the alphabet to her. She hears the letters all of the time through song but to actually see that there are symbols for those words is starting to register. I scrawled all of the letters out across the sidewalk and pointed to each one as I sang the song. Afterward she would scoot down the line and point to most letters and vocalize something that she probably thought was what I was saying. Then she moved on to scribble something else with her blue chalk.

Baby Sale

Baby Style has a nice little Labor Day sale going on right now with 40 percent off of a lot of goodies. And to make it even better, you can get free shipping if you spend $49 by simply typing in FREESHIP49 when y0u finalize your purchase.

Also, Hanna Andersson's pre-season outer wear sale is taking place. This one is especially exciting for me since we now live where there is a need for good outer wear. This is such a cute look:

Torture

Childhood can be so traumatic. This is JB getting her hair cut for the first time a few weeks ago. She looks terrified, doesn't she? So imagine how she looked today at the doctor's office. She went in for her 15-month immunizations (even though she's 16 months old) and it was not pretty. I don't think that the shots bothered her as much as being in the exam room.

She was excited, though, by the brightly colored bandages the nurse put on her legs. They fascinated her most of the morning until she finally peeled them off.

Other than having to be poked three times, the visit went well. She weighs 23 pounds and measured 34-inches long. It's hard to imagine that when she first entered this world she weighed a wee 6 pounds and was only 18-inches long. My baby is growing up!

Happy Monday

Happy Monday everyone. The Beanie family had a nice, relaxing weekend that was highlighted by a fabulous Saturday evening with friends.

I met a woman a couple of months ago and she and her husband have a nearly three-year-old little boy. JB and I have met them at the pool a couple of times and both families have met out for the Fridays after Five at the Downtown Pavilion. On Saturday we took the next step in this new friendship - went to their home for dinner. Much like dating, you usually know that there is a good chance that a new relationship has potential when you actually go to the other person's dwelling.

We had a fabulous time - great conversation and wonderful food. The home was beautiful and set up perfectly for entertaining - I'd kill to have their screened back patio. JB had a blast as well. I'm not really sure how Beanie Buddy had felt about hanging with a little girl in our previous meetings but she proved that she could run with him and they took to each other very well. We didn't leave until nearly 11 p.m. and as much as JB could have gone on and on and on, she was so pooped and fell asleep before we backed out of their driveway.

Resale Redux

I have decided not to place items in the Lollipop Shop sale because they require all first time consigners to include a large item, which I don't have. I think that it's better this way because the Here Wee Grow Again sale is going to be great and they dish out a better return - 65 percent. Their proceeds go toward the church's missions.



So, here's my PSA for any and all C'ville moms wanting to make some cash: If you want to get in on the Here Wee Grow Again sale act fast. I was told this afternoon that they already have 96 consigners and are stopping at 125. Not too shabby for a first sale.

The sale dates are Tuesday, October 7, through Saturday, October 11, at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 1500 East Rio Road.

Consigners must register through their site to get a number and items may be dropped off Sunday, October 5 or Monday, October 6.

Never Say Never

Evil has entered our home and its name is ELMO.
Pre-Beanie I had always said that I would not allow my child to have an Elmo toy because they're incredibly annoying. Imagine how I felt when someone (I don't remember who) gave JB an Elmo doll for Christmas. At least it was a stuffed Elmo and not one of those that talks. Thankfully at that time she wasn't interested in dolls so I placed Elmo on the top shelf of her closet. It was kind of funny because he always seemed to be peeking down at us each time we opened the door and Jillian would wave to him.

Well, I finally broke down one day a few weeks ago and let her have him. She gave him a huge bear hug and carried him around with her the entire day.

I have our DVR set up to record Sesame Street each day and turn it on to give Beanie something to do/distract her when it's time for me to start dinner. The last part of the show is Elmo's World and as soon as it comes on, JB runs to get Elmo and sits down to watch it with him (the only part of the show that she actually sits and watches). I usually take a break from kitchen duties to watch Elmo with her and I have to admit that he is cute. I am a bit annoyed that he refers to himself in third person, but I suppose he's geared toward babies more so than bigger kids. And as much as I have come to appreciate Elmo and the happiness he seems to bring to my child, one doll in the house is enough.