Halloween

Dear Caylee,

It has been almost a year since I have blogged for you. So much has happened in that year! You have gotten so big! We have moved into a new house on Farmer Brown Court. You really like your new house. You have two houses now. You have a house in Myrtle Beach and a house in Marion where you visit Mommy.

You are really into Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and Camp Rock. You love to sing and dance, and you do it with a lot of attitude too! You are just getting into Barbie and you love to play on the playground in our neighborhood.

I have been reading you stories from the blog book that I made of the first year of the blog and you really like it, so I thought it was time to start it up again.

Mimi came to visit us for Halloween. We had a fun Halloween day. Mimi made us a big Halloween dinner with turkey and dressing. After dinner we carved pumpkins. Well, You had a Mrs. Potato Head pumpkin so we really just had to poke a few holes in yours for you to put the pieces in.

This year you were Jasmine. You looked so pretty!! We went trick-or-treating last night. You had a great time. You weren’t satisfied with the houses that only gave you one piece of candy, and so you asked for more! Callan was Jasmine too; you like to do whatever Callan does. Josh had a kind of scary pirate skeleton costume. You were not too sure of it at first. You wanted to keep a close eye on him!

You all scored lots of candy!!

New Jeep

New Car

Dear Caylee,
Today Mommy bought you a new car. It is a pink jeep she picked up at a garage sale on the way home. You are having a great time playing with it. You have not quite figured out how to steer, so you just sit back and hit the pedal. You did tell us as you were heading toward the pond “ we don’t put the car in the water…” so at least you have the basics down.

You checked out the whole car including the tires, keys and lights. I think you will have a great time playing with it!

Big girls dont cry

Dear Caylee,
You have a new favorite song. “ Big girls don’t cry” by Fergie. You were riding in the car with Mommy when she noticed you were singing the chorus to the song. This is the first “pop” song that you have ever seamed to like. You like to listen to Disney, Backyardigans and other kids music but never pop music before.

After Mommy told me that you liked the song I played it in my car for you, and sure enough you were rockin’ out! You were dancing and signing. You asked me to play it faster (which meant louder) so I cranked it up for you. Then you told me that I could not sing. I guess you wanted to do a solo!

Tonight I put the CD in the stereo and cranked it up. We danced four or five times to your new favorite song. After the first time we played it you ran into your playroom and grabbed your pretend microphone and started singing into it. I didn’t even know that you knew that singers used microphones! It was very cute!! You really tore it up. At one point you were singing into the microphone and dropped to your knees just like a little rock star! SOOOO cute!!!!

I think there is a little bit of a performer in you my little one…

Last night was Halloween. We went to Broadway at the Beach to go trick-or-treating. You had a great time as usual. You saw a few things that you thought were scary, but overall you were pretty brave. You wore your Minnie Mouse costume and every one thought you were very cute. After they would put candy in your bucket you would say “that was ve-we nice of her.” After trick or treat we went to ride the rides. You wanted to ride the carousel, then the cars and then the train. You had your Minnie Mouse shoes on which have a small heal on them, they made you just tall enough to ride the airplanes ny yourself for the first time. You didn’t quite figure out that you had to push and pull the lever to go up and down so you pretty much just went around in circles, but you still had fun!

We always have such a great time together!

Pumkin Party

Dear Caylee,
Last night we had a pumpkin carving party. Your friends Josh and Callan were here. You had such a great time. You had a great time digging into your pumpkin and stirring the seeds that we put into the bowl. You thought the slimy stuff was fun and you kept saying “ewwww dis-gustin” and “yucky.” You thought that was very funny.

We got to play hide and seek in the back yard with Josh and Callan too. You did not quite get it. You knew that people are suppose to count and run, but the hiding thing you didn’t quite get. You gave away the hiding spot of whoever it was that you were following because you would stand right out in the open and talk to them. You really just like the running part. You kept saying “ dis is awesome!!” You always have a great time playing with Josh and Callan.

You have been making a habit of getting up in the middle of the night and coming into our room. When you come into the room you bring your stuff with you, like you plan on staying the night. You bring your Minne doll, your Syndney doll, your “puppy” and your pink blanket that I made for you. “Puppy” is not really a puppy, it is really a very soft stuffed bear in a bunny costume. For some reason you call him puppy and you are insistent that that is his name… so we all go along with it. You like to take your little plastic Nemo toy and stuff it in puppy’s shirt so that you have them both. It’s really very cute.

Today we are going to go to Josh and Callan’s house to play. I know you will have a great time as usual!

Carly's Birthday Party

Dear Caylee,
This weekend you went to your first birthday party. Carly from your school had a princess party at Gymnastics Inc. There were lots of fun things to do. You got to jump on a trampoline, run and jump into a big pit of foam, and play on a really cool swing that you loved!

You were a little shy at first, you wanted me to play with you instead of playing with the other kids. You warmed up to the other kids after a little while. You didn’t really care about watching Carly open the gifts, or the ice cream and birthday cake but you really liked the cookie with pink icing and the princess bag you got to take home.

Mommy has put up lots of Halloween decorations for you this year. You love to look at the pumpkins, ghosts and funny witches. This year you understand a lot more. I know you will have a great time trick-or-treating.

You are talking so much now. You make up stories and pretend play with all of your toys. You love to play give direction and have us follow. Every since the Disney trip you are really into the princess thing. You like to put on your dress, spin around and tell us you are a princess.

This weekend we are having a pumpkin party. Our friends are coming over to carve and decorate pumpkins. I know you will have a great time because Josh and Callan will be here. You really like to play with them!

Disney Gang

Disney Trip

Dear Caylee,


We had such a great time on our Disney vacation! You were really a very good girl. We got there Thursday afternoon and after a little shopping we went to the Magic Kingdom. You like to call that Cinderella’s house. We had a chance to ride a few rides like the tea cups and the Cinderella’s carousel (which you called the animals) then your friends Josh and Callan came to meet us at the park. You always love to play with them so you were really happy to see them. That night we had some dinner and watched the parade together. You were very cute watching the parade. It was the first time that you had a chance to see all of the characters. You waved at them and said hello especially when Cinderella came by. You kept screaming her name trying to get her to wave at you. It was very cute.

Over the next week you got to do so many great things and had such a great time. You got to go trick or treating in the Magic Kingdom at “Mickey’s not so scary Halloween Party.” Actually you got to go THREE times, twice with Josh and Callan and once with just me and Mommy. You wore your Minnie dress to the first Halloween Party and got lots of Candy. It was great because it was a little cooler and there were no lines so you got to ride a lot of rides. There was a dance party at there too, you really wanted to go and dance with “chick-a dale” (Chip and Dale) you had a great time. Poor Chip and Dale though, you kept stalking them wanting them to hold you or talk to you while they were dancing. On the last Halloween Party while we were waiting in line to ride the astro orbiter there was a man in a very scary mask. You did not like him at all. You started screaming and wanted to get away as fast as you could. After I walked you away you started to calm down. You called him a “yucky man” and we told him to go away. You thought that was pretty funny. You laughed a lot at “Yucky Man” and kept telling him to go away. That night in your sleep you were whispering “go way Yucky Man.”.

There were a few other things that scared you too. Mostly it was the 3D movies. Mickey’s PhilharMagic, the Voyage of the little Mermaid (When Ursula came out) and especially A Bug’s Life! You really wanted out of that one! The theater got really dark and a big scary bug came out. You started saying “ I want to go home” then “excuse me momma, I want to go home!” it got increasingly louder until you were screeching EXCUSE ME MOMMA I WANT TO GO HOME!!” Mommy took you outside for the rest of the movie, it was just too scary for you.

I think you liked meeting the characters most of all. You always wanted to hug them, and you were very good at waiting your turn in line. You got to meet just about everyone. You loved meeting JoJo and Goliath and the little Einstein’s the best. You always showed the characters your shoes, you told most of them “ Nemo touched the butt” and “ My Mommy’s in the house” (we still don’t know why you said that) You got to have dinner with Mickey and his friends, Little Einstein’s and the Princesses too.

One of your favorite rides was the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom. You liked it because you got to see elephants, Giraffes and the hippopotamus (which you called the hippo-ta-potamus) You also got to see Finding Nemo the Musical there. You liked it because it was not scary and you LOVE the Nemo movie.

At the Magic Kingdom your favorites were the tea cups, the carousel, the cars, Dumbo, the Magic Carpets ,Goofy’s Barnstormer rollercoaster and you loved to see Cinderella’s house.

MGM was great because you got to see Playhouse Disney live on stage. We saw that one three times! There is a puppet show with JoJo and Pooh and some other cartoon that you did not know. On the second time you got picked from the audience to get up and show the crowd how to say hello to a gorilla. We were very surprised that you went up there, but you did! You made a great gorilla sound and the host Jamie gave you a Disney DVD as a prize. You really liked that! We also got to see Beauty and the Beast on stage. You liked seeing the Teacup and the Teapot.

Epcot was not your favorite, but you did get to meet lots of characters there and you got to ride the Nemo ride. You really liked to ride the Disney bus and the monorail too. You always wanted to be a big girl and sit in your own seat.

We had a great time and took lots of great pictures for you. You were such a good girl. We know that you were ready to go home though. A few days before we were suppose to go home you started asking about Bailey and Cinnamon, that is usually your way of saying that you want to go home. When we got home you were very happy to see them, you were petting and hugging them both. I think they were happy to see you too!

I hope that we can go again real soon. We just loved seeing you have such a great time.

Count down to Disney

Dear Caylee,
Just a few weeks to go until we get to go to Disney! I know we are going to have a great time. Your friends Callen and Josh are going to come for the first few days of the trip too. You really like to play with them and they are so good with you. They are both very protective of you; they treat you like a little sister.

Last weekend we went to the aquarium with them. You like to hold Callen’s hand, and you think Josh is really funny. You were afraid to touch the horseshoe crabs until Josh did it, when he offered you the crab you took it right out of his hands.

We had a great time this weekend too. Yesterday we went to Broadway at the Beach. They have opened a new area called the Pavilion. This part has a lot more rides than Carousel Park. You really wanted to ride the teacups. We got a few tickets and you had a great time! You got to ride the tea cups, the carousel, the pirate ship and the caterpillar with me, and for the very first time you got to ride the cars and the boats all by yourself!
At first you were a little nervous, the rides went in a circle and you kept looking to make sure you could see me, but you really had a good time!

Today we went back to Broadway at the beach with Mommy. We went to the Disney store, had Pizza, and rode some more rides. We took the boat over to the aquarium and visited the fish and stingrays for a while. You were such a good girl. You were very sweet and you did a really good job listening too. We are so proud of you!

We can’t wait to take you to Disney. I know you will have a great time!!

Minnie Mouse

Lady Bug

Hair Cut

Granny's Birthday/ Bad flight

Dear Caylee,
This weekend you got to go on an airplane. It was Granny’s 80th birthday and we went to Alabama to go to her party. Almost all of your cousins and second cousins were there. There were a lot of kids!!

After the party we went to Mimi and Paw-Paw’s house in Florida. Sydney and Conner came to stay for a night too. You stayed up really late on Saturday night playing with everyone.

Sunday we got to go to the beach with everyone. You had a great time playing in the sand and in the water. You called the waves “big huna’s (big Kahunas.) Paw-Paw took you out in the ocean to play in the waves. You really like your uncle Kerry. You still call him Dad and you wanted to play with him a lot. At one point in the swimming pool you told me to go away because you wanted to play with Dad.

Riding on the planes for you was fun …for the most part. On the first leg of the flight over you were a really good girl, people on the plane were commenting on how good you were. You were a good girl in the airport of the lay-over, but you started to get really tired right before we boarded the second plane.

When you ran out of chips the terror started. You threw the biggest fit I have ever seen. It was the kind of fit that other kids throw, but not MINE!!! You were screaming and crying and arching your back. You were swinging at me and hitting my face. There was nothing to calm you down! So many people tried to help the flight attendant tried to give you candy or snacks, the little girl next to you tried to talk to you, a very nice little girl in the seat in front of you even gave you her baby doll to try to get you to calm down. The flight was slightly delayed because I could not get you in the seat and we almost got kicked off the plane!! The flight attendant had sympathy and just let me hold you until while we took off.

Shortly after we got in the air, out of nowhere, you just stopped. You stopped screaming and crying took a few deep breaths and looked right at me and said in the sweetest voice “hi momma” with a big smile on your face. It was as if you just got your body back from whatever took it over!! Not sure what really made your tantrum go quite that far, but I was really glad to have you back! You were really good on the rest of the flights, no problems at all. (whew!!)

Overall you had a really great time this weekend. It was great to get to see all of your cousins. You always have fun with them.

Big girl haircut

Dear Caylee,
What a big week for you. You have been doing such a great job with using the potty that your teacher said that you could wear big girl panties to school. No more pull-ups. You got to wear your panties to school and there were no accidents! Your teacher says that you don’t even ask to go to the bathroom, you just get up and go all by yourself.

You have been talking so much lately, and you love to tell everyone what to do. “ee body do dis!” (everybody do this) then you do something silly. When we do what we say you say “oh I so poud o you.” (Oh, I’m so proud of you) You love to play with your Sydney baby, you put her in time out and let her go to the potty and you make sure she is right beside you when you go to sleep.

Today was a big day too. You got your first real haircut. It was sad for me because you look like such a big girl now. I wanted to wait as long as we could and it got to the point that we just had to get it cut. You are beautiful as ususal, you just look so big!

This weekend we went swimming with Debbie. We played “Dora” in the pool, you sure do love Dora! You had a great time and wore yourself out. After nap you got to jump on the trampoline and play with the soccer ball. We all had a great time!!

Play time!

Dear Caylee,
We had such a great time playing with you tonight. You kept saying “c’mon guys eh-body do dis” (everybody do this) then you would show us what you wanted us to do. It was your own version of follow the leader. You had us jumping, falling down, clapping our hands and all sorts of things!

When I told you I was stuck you told me that you needed to check your (pretend) backpack to get me rope. I thought that was pretty smart for your age. You are doing a pretty good job using the potty now. You still have accidents if we forget to ask you if you need to go, but you always go when we ask and a few times you have actually reminded us!

This weekend Grandma, Grandpa and your cousin Catherine are coming to visit. I know you will have a great time visiting with them!

QT PIE!

First Movie

Dear Caylee,
This weekend you saw your first movie in a theatre. I took you to see Disney/ Pixar’s “Ratatouile.” It’s a movie about a little mouse that wants to be a chef. I’m not sure it will be a classic, but it was pretty cute.

When we walked into the theatre, the lights were already down and the previews had already started. When the screen came into view for you, you came to a dead stop and your mouth was wide open. You were staring at the screen and started to look a little scared. I chose a seat close to the exit to be safe and you sat in my lap. It took you a little while to get comfortable, but after a while you sat in your booster seat and enjoyed the rest of the movie, and the popcorn, and rasinets, and apple juice! We went shopping afterward and you made sure to tell everyone that you talked to that you went to the movie and that you ate “corn” (pop-corn.)

You are still surprising us with all of the things that you know and say. Yesterday you asked me to play with you in your toy room while we were playing with your little people you got a very excited look on your face and said “wana pyea ye-shus mom?” (wanna play delicious) You have a large bin of pretend food that you pulled out and dumped on the floor. As we were playing you started saying “I cuuk it por you” (cook it for you.) You would stand at your pretend kitchen and put things in the oven. Pretend play is big fun for you know.

You are also very fascinated with looking at yourself in the mirror. You are starting to care a little more what you wear. You are asking to wear dresses and nightgowns at night-time.

It’s been about a year now since I started this blog for you. I was hoping that I would be able to keep it up a little better than a scrap-book. As it turns out you have quite few entries over the past year. I am going to put them all into a book for you to have when you are a big girl. I know it won’t have your school art-work and drawings etc… but I hope one day you will enjoy reading it.

Our Dora look-alike in her Dora PJ's with her Dora doll watching Dora

Busy girl

Dear Caylee,
You have had a very busy few days. On Tuesday you got to leave school early to go swimming with Debbie. You started swimming at about 3:30. Later a few friends joined us there were lots of kids there for you to play with. You did stop for a little while to eat and jump on the trampoline, but for the most part you were in the pool until 8:30 at night. That’s an hour past your bedtime! You were very tired and went right to sleep… after a small fit.

Today is the 4th of July. We went to the beach with Debbie. You had a great time playing in the sand and the waves. You started getting pretty tired about noon. You walked up to me and said “mamma hode ju” (mamma hold you.) I held you in the beach chair and you slept and SNORED for the next hour. When you woke up it you were very sweet. You gave a big smile as you looked at me and said “hi mamma.” I love to hold you. You are getting so big I know I won’t be able to hold you like that too much longer.

After the beach we went to Debbie’s for more swimming! You played in the pool and had a great time. You are not afraid of the water at all. You like to put your head under the water and blow bubbles. You are so brave that it scares me sometime.

Tonight was all about Dora. You learned about Dora at school and we are starting to realize how much you like her. Tonight you wore your new Dora P.J.’s, played with your Dora doll and watched a Dora cartoon before bedtime.

You are getting pretty particular about going to bed lately. First you just wanted your blanket, but over the last few weeks you have been adding things to your list of things you want to have with you when you go to sleep. Tonight we are up to blanket, pink lantern light, Sydney doll, plastic Nemo fish, Dora and several small, stuffed Backyardigan dolls. There is not much room in your bed for anything else.

It’s back to school for you tomorrow. You will probably still be tired from your very busy days. You have been doing so good at school going to the potty. On Tuesday you had dry pants all day long!!

A family visit/ Potty Time

Dear Caylee,

It’s been a while so there is a lot to tell you. You are getting to be a such a big girl! Last week we had visitors from Louisiana. Sydney and Conner came to visit and later in the week Mimi and Paw-Paw came too!

I was out of town when Sydney and Conner got here, so Mommy took you to their hotel to play with them. You got to go to the beach and to the swimming pool. You had such a good time. Pam said that you liked the beach the best. They took you in the waves which you called the “Big Kahunas.” When Mommy picked you up at 3:30 you fell asleep in the car right away and slept until 5:00!!! They wore you out.

When Mimi and Paw- Paw got here we met everyone for Dinner and Sydney stayed the night with you in your bed from then on. We went to the beach the next day and had a great time! You heard Sydney and Conner calling their Kerry Dad, so you called him Dad too. When you hurt yourself you said “show dad” because you wanted him to kiss it. You called him dad for the rest of the trip! It was really cute.

The next you and Sydney got went to the “friends 2 B made” store and made dolls with each other. Your doll looks like Sydney and Sydney’s doll looks like you. You each made voice recordings to put in each others doll. In your doll Sydney recoded “ Caylee, Sydney loves you” and you recorded “nub you” (love you) on her doll. You really like your new doll and that night you and Sydney and your new dolls all slept together in your bed.

After Sydney and Conner left we started potty training. At first you were really afraid of going to “T T “ in the potty. You were not afraid to sit on it, or the flushing you were really afraid of the sound it made when you went! You screamed the first time, you sat there for a LONG time and tried SO hard to NOT go. When you finally did you were not happy. The next day you were better. Mimi offered you a sucker if you TT’ed on the potty, you concentrated real hard and eventually you got the sucker. It was a battle for the next few days, but you are getting better now.

This weekend we put up a sticker chart and you get a sticker each time you go on the potty. You really like putting up the stickers and you have had dry panties for two days (with the exception of when you are sleeping.) You have not poo-poo’ed on the potty just yet, you are still a little scared of that.

Most of the time you are a very good girl, but very recently you have learned to be a little “sassy.” Its not really what you are saying, but how you are saying it. We are working with you trying to teach you that its “not nice” to be sassy. I think you are starting to understand because you came home from school saying “fins saaaasee not nice” ( friends sassy) It has been a little better the last few days so I hope this will pass soon.

Today we are going swimming with your friends Callen and Josh. You will get to try out your new swimming vest. You are getting very brave with your water wings so we want to see how you will do with this. I know you will have a great time today!