1st day of School.

The new daycare provider, Nichole, that we take Nik to, (she has been going there since May), used to be a pre-school teacher. So, she tries to incorporate some school structure, "curriculum," into the day.  Most of the other kids that attend are older than Nik 3, 4, 5 and 6.  This did cause me some concern initially, and I considered not sending her there, but we really liked her, and we figured a little preschool structure would be a good transition for her later.  I feel like it does intimidate her a little to be around so many older kids, and she has been more quiet since we switched daycares (which kills me).  It has taken her three months to adjust to the new place, which is a lot longer than I expected, but we did feel moving her was the best decision in the long run, we hope anyway.  The kids all adore her, and kind of look after her.  There is a new little baby there now, and Nik just dotes on him. So, now she's got someone to look after too.

Nichole usually sets aside an hour at the same time every day where the kids do circle time. They learn the weather, discuss what day of the week it is, learn a new word and color things like that. They have a little table, and they frequently do little art projects and read story, things like that. That was one of the reasons I chose Nichole bc I wanted Nik to have a little structure, if only for an hour, or for whatever amount a 1 year old can sit still for, bc that is what I would give her if I were home with her. I have never actually attended circle time, but I have been told, that she does sit still for it.

Tomorrow is the first official day of "preschool."

This wasn't really in our budget, and I am still kicking myself for indulging in it, but it was something that I really wanted to do for her, so she would feel like a "big kid."  So, we got her a back-pack, a lunch box, a big girl cup (with a straw, which she LOVES) and a new pair of shoes, just like any kid going back to school.  I get so excited around this time of  (Fall, School) year, and my head spins around in circles. I think it has something to do with all the energy I put forth each year I attended school growing up around this time.  Every year, at this time, I feel like a kid starting a new school year. There's a chill in the air, a cool wind, that Fall smell of burnt leaves, leaves falling (little to soon), jeans, boots, scarves, and hats, and it's Football season, and the Cheerleader in me goes into hyper-drive. 

I just LOVE back to school stuff, and I can't wait till Nik is "officially" in preschool, Kindergarton, 1st Grade. Of course, I don't really mean that, I want her stay whatever age she currenly is forever, but I also looking forward to all those "big" school days ahead.  I'm sure I will be that mother who takes a whole roll of film (2g memory card) tryng to preserve forever the 1st Day of School.  I swear I should have been a teacher the way I love "Back to School" so much.

So we practiced tonight for the big day tomorrow, and just in case we get a late run out the door tomorrow. Here's a pic of my litle "big" girl, oh, and monkey too.

Love you "Big" Baby Girl!

Happy 17 Month Nikolina!!

(My new favorite shot for Nik, vertical)

What you are all about at 17 Months:

We call you, Nikolina, Nik, Nicker-bach (like, the musician), Bach, Nicker-Bachers, Nick-tabogans, Boo-boo, pumpkin, chunky-monkers, and Missy-moo.
You love soft things. You will hug, kiss, and squeeze soft things (really tight!)
You are the best "mommy" 1 year old ever!  You love to love-on your baby. Love to feed her, bathe her, put diapers on her, push her around in her stroller, hug her, squeeze her, kiss her, feed her goldfish, and bottles.
You kiss and hug stuffed animals, AND pictures and books of stuffed animals. You will kiss, hug, and squeeze the book.
You love to hug on Mommy and Daddy, and snuggle your face  in our necks, and lay your head on our shoulders.
You like to touch the scruff on Daddy's face.
You LOVE to blow kissses, to everyone, anywhere, everytime we leave.
Your favorite thing to say is "Uttt, Ohhh."
You can say, Mama, Mum Mum, Dada, Dad, Daddy, Josh, Mimi, Papa, Nana, Grandpa, Diesel, Dog, Woof-woof, Baby, Hi, bye-bye, Yes, No, Cup, Juice, Ba-ba, Belly, Fish, Car, Bubble, Book, Ball, Fork, Church, Trash, and more.
You can sign milk, more, finished, cup, eat, cookie, tired, bed, bath, monkey (with ooo, ooo sound), tiger (with grr sound), butterfly, tree, crocodile, flower, bug, mouse, baby, and no.
You know where your belly button is, your hair, your eyes, your ears, your nose, your mouth, your teeth, your hands/fingers, your feet/toes, elbow, and knee.
You make a fishy-face, and make a "sssss" sound when you see a snake, "woof-woof" for dog, "meow" for cat.
You like to pretend to walk like a penguin, and you always pull everyone to do it with you too.
You put your arms out like and airplane and spin around.
YOU LOVE TO DANCE when you hear music, or someone sings.
You like to stand in front of the mirror and make funny faces at yourself.
You love the alphabet song and "Happy Birthday."
You love to get into my hat boxes, daily, and put on all my hats.
You like to eat with big people forks, not plastic toddler forks.
You like to feed yourself.
You LOVE milk, juice, bananas, rasberries, grapes, ice-cream, goldfish, hotdogs, turkey, spaghetti, and fruit snacks.
You like Gerber Graduates cereal, cereal bars, cookies, and their pasta food.
You will go to the door when I say, "ready to go?" or "want to go for a ride, walk, outside?"
You like to carry a purse.
You like to pretend you are talking on the phone.
You like to carry a stuffed animal in the crook of your arm, and to have your blanket/stuffed animal when you first wake up in the morning.
You push cars around and make a "vroom, vroom" sound.
When we say "drive/driving" you make a "vroom, vroom" sound and hold/turn your hands like you're driving. You love to seat in the drivers seat and pretend to drive.
You love to play in your toy car or push your dolly around in her stroller.
You love water parks and water, slides, and play grounds.
You pretend to sit in your intertube/float when you are at home.
You try and climb in the sink to take a bath.
You love to wash your hands at the sink, and brush your teeth, using your big girl stool.
You sit at your big girl table and eat.
You like to sit in big people chairs.
You like to try and dress yourself and your stuffed animals.
You like them to wear diapers.
You like to go in the reading corner and pretend like your reading, even though the book is frequently upside down.
You like to water the flowers.
You like to smell the flowers.
You like to help vacumm. You pretend to vacumm with your plastic popper.  I hope to get you your own for Christmas.
Your new favorite thing is to wet swifer the floor. You love to push the button that releases the cleaner, and then try and mop it up with the swifer.
You like to play with my baking stuff.
You love to lift and carry things. You frequently lift ridiculously heavy things, and put your furniture on top of the couch.
You like to open and close doors.
You have a weird obsession with sticking your finger in your belly button.  We think you get too full.
You like to throw things away in the trash and flush the toliet. You try and flush things down the toliet.
You like to go and get food off the rack, and sit down and eat it by yourself. You also like to get in the fridge and get things out.
You like to get in the dishwasher, you like to close the dishwasher and refridgerator.
You LOVE to feed dogs treats, pet dogs.
You love and are fascinated by all animals and bugs.
You LOVE babies-real babies.
You love your cousins, and are obsessed with trying to eat their food and drink cups, actually everyone's drink cups.
You LOVE bubbles.
You LOVE to splash in the water.
You pretend like your really talking, and you look someone straight in the eye and jabber away.
You love to bounce on the bed and the couch.
You will lift your legs in the air, so you flop down on the bed with gusto.
You are very flexible.
You like to shake your head up and down and back and forth.
You like to turn the lights on and off, and you get really excited and make a face, and hold you hands together and shake.
YOU LOVE TO BE CHASED/PLAY PEEK-A-BOO AROUND THE ISLAND.  You get giddy and shriek and laugh.
You love to hang upside down.
You love to be tickled, and for people to blow on your tummy, and make noises.
You will laugh this wonderful full body, girly toddler, belly laugh. With giggles and shrieks in between laughter. I have never heard anything like it. There is absolutely NOTHING better than the sound of your laughter. NOTHING.
You make the craziest faces.
You will throw fits, cry, bang your head, and lay on the ground if you're really tired.
You don't like people to be abrupt or raise their voice to you.
You don't like to be told "no."
You say "hot, hot" when you think something is hot, or you're told it is hot. You will hold your hand over it and say "hot, hot" in kind of a hushed whisper.
You love to give kisses.
You do not like bows in your hair.
You prefer not to have shoes on.
You don't like to be fussed over.
You like to push your own stroller.
You LOVE to shop, and you always chose pink and purple over any other color. I don't know how you know that.
You try and put my make-up on.
You know when your diaper is wet. You are starting to tug on it after you go potty or poo.
You often take your diaper off in the morning before I come get you.
You sleep the whole night. If you wake-up crying, you usually go right back to sleep.
You NEVER cry in the morning if I leave you in bed awake a little longer.
I usually have to wake you up every morning to leave for daycare at 7:15.
You go to bed around 8 pm
You like to sit on my lap when we get to daycare, before I leave for work.
You love to learn, you love to look at picture books and to be told the names and sounds.
You will learn a sign immediately after I teach it to you, at least by the next day.
You are the absolute, single, most amazing, indescribable, life altering, rewarding, most perfect thing that has ever happened to us, and we love you more than anything in the entire world.
Love you always. 
I treasure every moment I have with you.
I hope to one day make you a big sister, bc you will be the best big sister ever, and I hope to one day share every moment of every day with you.
Can't wait to see yo in the morning, and every morning for the rest of my life.

                                                                              XOXO

PGA Weekend Recap and a New Car!!!

I told you guys I'd upload some pics of our trip to Elkhart Lake, WI for the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights. You can't take a camera into the PGA unless your press, so I have quite a few of the hotel, ha!  Might look a little like a brochure/pamphlet for the hotel, hee hee. You can actually purchase some of these rooms as condos.

One of the pools. There were two outside pools, and one inside w/a hot tub. Why hotels don't put ALL hot tubs outside is beyond me, especially with the beautiful lake. We went out for a drink after a late dinner, so we never got to the hot tub (schucks!).  We did sit/swim by the pool before dinner and had a couple drinks-(Mohitos?) and an appetizer (Spinach dip with fresh bread, was fab!)

  

       

View from a bar at the bottom of the hill down from the hotel.

Sunset.

Tiki Bar where we had a drink after dinner. It was down the road from the hotel.  The area we were in was like a culdesac with hotels, retail shops, restaurants, etc. It was so quiet, and so nice. Felt like a strange suburb in the 1950's, like we were in an episode of Leave it to Beaver.  Reminded me a little bit of Martha's Vineyard, and like Lake Genva, WI (but less crowded) where my parents used to take me every Labor day as a child.We came upon this place, you walked in, and it was like Spring Break 2011!  It was so strange to walk this quiet, dark street, and then come into this hopping place.  I had two-three? Pina Coladas. They were fab!  Just what I wanted.  I was able to take one with back to the hotel with me, where I took a warm bath in the huge whirlpool tub. Mmmm....

Bed. Mmmm...

Before the PGA

Yes, this looks like one of those strange places you see from the highway, and you think, "who eats at those places?", yep, that was us.  We stopped for fuel, and I asked a station atttendant where we could get a good brat on the way home, and she said, "Well, at the Brat stop, of course."  "Okay, then," and off we went.  It was such a quirky little place. A strange kareokee bar/restaurant/grocery store type of place, where they sold cheese??  Felt like I was in the middle of a Chevy Chase National Lampoon Movie.  We watched the remainderof the PGA Championship there.  Their Polish saugage was fab, yum!

A pic of my In-laws.

and

Our New Car!!!

The hubs purchased this for me this weekend!!

(Just Kidding, ha, ha!)

Have a great weekend!

Pizza and a Movie!!

This is so GOOD!!!!  I have been waiting to see this movie, and I was not disappointed.  I rushed out Tuesday to grab it.  I LOVED this movie. Must see. Everyone will love this.  I actually really like J LO as an actress, and all of her movies are def watchable if not completely enjoyable.  She looks fab in this movie, drop dead gorgeous, fab body, fab clothes, fab acting.  And I love Alex O'Loughlinin this movie, opposite her. They have great chemistry together. HE is sich a doll in this movie, how he dotes on her, and supports her.  If you've been pregnant, you will love this.  A couple times, I felt like they were mocking preggers a little too much, you might agree with the white dress scene, or the body pillow, but other than that, it was absolutely enjoyable, loved every minute.  I laughed out loud, louder than I've laughed in a while. I intend to buy this movie, when I can. Def a keeper, and when I'm pregnant again (ahh, one day), I will def watch it over and over again like I did "Baby Mama" and "Knocked Up while carrying Nik."  If you're not pregnant, you will still LOVE this movie. Let me know what you think.  The reviews were not great, BUT, I LOVED IT!!

XOXO Have a Great Weekend!

Bubbles.

Internet is finally back, yeah!!
How much does this child love bubbles?!
Sunset is my favorite time to shoot now. Golden hour. I am in love with the lighting on the pictures I captured this day!