Where have we been?

Where have we been and what have we been doing? These are the questions I keep getting asked these past few weeks! I am back to work and busier than ever. Starting off the year as interim principal has really made me busy. Between Open House, board meetings and PTO stuff, I catch a few moments with Dawson. To top it off, I am out of town this weekend visiting my nephew in South Dakota. That's a whole other story. I'm already looking forward to a long weekend next week! Since I haven't had time for pics this week, here are a few from a birthday party last weekend. Our friend turned four and had a pony party. Dawson did not want to ride the pony but, enjoyed the play horses and horse balloon.

Dawson loved these horses and their stable so much I went out and bought them for our house. I really don't buy THAT many things for her. I try hard to buy things she really likes and things that promote creative play or something educational! That's the teacher in me! The stable is so cool and easy to use for a two year old. It has a few doors in the front, a top that comes off , and the back is open so she can just set the horses in whatever way she wants. What a great toy!

We put the horses to bed EVERY night and get them up EVERY morning!

(Isn't this the cutest stable....I just couldn't wait until Christmas!)

Naptime

This is what happens when Tommy stays with Dawson alone at nap time. I'm headed back to work tomorrow and really, really needed to run some errands yesterday. As I was walking out the door I begged, "please make sure she takes a nap and don't stay in the room with her if she asks!" She is so good about staying in her bed but, always tries to get us to stay. Sooooooo, I headed out the door with high hopes. When I got back two hours later, this is what I found!

NEO Picnic

Yesterday we went to the Northeast Ohio Adoptive Families picnic. I have never met any one or attending any of these functions before. Dawson and I enjoyed our day meeting new friends, playing, eating, and coloring maracas. It was a hot day! Summer is finally here and it is definitely warming up! Just a few more days and I'm back to work. I sure hope it cools down again soon!

Botanical Gardens

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets, and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education."

-- Horticulturist Luther Burbank

We headed up to University Circle to visit our Aunt Pat and take her to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens with us. It's an amazing place for all ages. I really wanted Dawson to see the butterflies and visit the Children's Garden. The Botanical Gardens is a combination of indoor exhibits, housed in a magnificent glasshouse and ten acres of diverse, outdoor gardens.

This is what Dawson did when she looked at the Tin Man! Not a fan of him! (see Tin Man picture above)

This is a picture of one of many paths in the Children's Garden. It is so neat how the kids can go around, under and through many trails. Dawson didn't want to explore too much but, she did want to see the butterflies a few times and wanted to visit the treehouse a few times too!

Hanging out on the rock.

My favorite flower in the whole world...they are so bright and cheery!

Water Fun

I have not been good about getting videos this summer. It's hard to capture Dawson on film when I always have my digital camera in one hand. This is not a great video but, it's something to show she does go swimming! Ha ha ha! That's all we've done this summer! I'm hoping to capture a few more videos in the next week. I can't believe how much she has been talking. Complete sentences if you can believe that!

Referral

Two years ago, almost to the day, I received a phone call to go and check my email because I had referral pictures waiting for me! I remember the exact day because I was with my boss at the bank getting my letter of employment notarized for the adoption. So, I told him what the call was about and hurried myself home to see what was in store for me! Here is the adorable girl I've loved from the day I saw her picture. She was a 1 1/2 months old and about 6 lbs in these pictures.......

Isn't she just the cutest thing????

Music on the Green

We headed out to meet some friends for some "Music on the Green" this evening. I decided to take the opportunity to sit back, relax, catch a few pictures and let Dawson just have some fun playing with all the kids. As a promotion, a local radio station was at the concert passing out beach balls. This made the concert so much more fun for the kids! They were throwing balls up in the air, hitting them and as you can see....Dawson was sitting on one!

Our view of the outside concert. We sat towards the back so the kids could run around and not disturb other people.

I don't know why but, I really like this picture. Dawson's expression makes me laugh.

Just hanging out on the ball!

My favorite picture of the night....she is just laughing her head off!

Here's to a great night and an enjoyable concert!

Driving!!!

Is this what she is going to look like driving a car when she is sixteen?

Swimming

Many of our summer days are spent at a local pool. It consists of a zero entry pool, waterslides and a huge sandbox. There is something for everyone! I chose this pool so that Dawson would be able to run in and out of the water as much as she wanted. (Which, of course she does a lot of!) I can't tell you how many mornings we go swim, play in the sand, eat lunch then head home for an excellent nap! It has been a great swimming experience for Dawson this summer. We are looking forward to some more WARM days to come!

The Circus

Last night we went to our first ever circus with my niece and our friends Lynn, Grace and Kyle. This was not your usual circus, it was what I would consider an "Old Fashioned Circus". The Circus came to a nearby town in honor of their 200th year. This circus began in 1938. The show travels on a fleet of 25 vehicles and requires an area of some 90,000 square feet to set up on. The circus big top, imported from Italy, has a seating capacity of 1500 and is made of waterproof vinyl. I was so impressed that such a small circus could perform such an amazing show! The circus workers were NONSTOP the entire show. We saw jugglers, hula hoopers, clowns, tigers, dogs, elephants, horses, balancing acts, and the flying trapeze. I can't think of anything that we missed! It was an amazing experience and the perfect event for a two year old!

The circus had two shows yesterday and was so popular, they added a third show. They are off to Kelly's Island for a few shows on Sunday!

The big tent was put up first thing in the morning. Anyone could go and watch the set up if interested. We didn't go but, Lynn did if you want to check out some of her early morning pictures go to www.howdoyoumeasureayear.blogspot.com

Dawson was reading the program trying to find out what a circus might be all about!

Enjoying some popcorn!

Like every entertainment event, they were selling everything possible. And...Tommy was buying anything the girls wanted!

The tigers were beautiful but, my least favorite part. They seemed so sad, slow moving and unhappy doing the show. I don't like they way they are treated in these traveling shows. Don't get me wrong, I did choose to attend the circus because it was a wonderful experience. (I love animals in natural environments much better than cages!)

The trapeze stunts were amazing. These circus people have more talents than they are ever given credit for!

Breea (my niece) wanted to take an elephant ride. Her thoughts about her ride is that he was "very hairy and made her wobble back and forth."

HMMMM...what should I get?

These were Asian elephants that were over 9 feet tall and weighed over 4000 pounds! WOW!