Grandma and Grandpa Visited from Idaho! (8/23-8/30)

Leighton's Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho got to visit us for the last week of August and we had so much fun!! They were such good sports with how sick I was and really spoiled us rotten! One of the hardest transitions for us has been not having them right around the corner. Leighton misses staying with them and we miss "Chip Dip" nights and just hanging out at their house (and dates to Chiz's)! Our favorite part of the visit was getting to show them Jonesborough because Jack and I just love the little town. They also got to go to a birthday party with us at "Hands-On Museum" and Leighton was excited to show them all her favorite stuff! We really hope they can come out to visit again soon, we had so much fun, I wish I would've gotten more pictures!

Gymnastics!

Leighton and her gal pals Londyn, Hollidae, and Madalyn all went to a gymnastics class in August at Revolution Dance and it was so much fun! Leighton has been somersaulting all over the house since we went and I am really excited to sign her up for the class in the next little bit and try out the dance class as well. I love that the Tri-Cities offers so much for young kids to do and we're lucky to have such a fun group of friends to do playdates with!

Playing Catch Up from July and August

We finally got internet and we've been so busy that I missed blogging. We had so much fun going to visit Ivy. We have missed her so much and hopefully we can go see her again soon! We got to swim with her in the neighborhood pool and Leighton especially loved playing on Ivy's gymnastics bar. And shoutouts to Donna for a delicious southern meal from Lizard's Thicket! Mmmmm!

Another thing Leighton did was invent jungle gyms at my mom's house. This one was my favorite and she is forever climbing, she is just such a fun little lady! I wish I had as much energy!

And we're finally in the new townhouse! We love the added space and HUGE garage, but the thing we love most is getting to watch the sunset over the mountain as a family off of the patio! The weather is so beautiful in the evening and we can just lounge and eat dinner and watch the sun setting, it's like our own little sanctuary, we LOVE it!

I still need to upload pictures from Little L visiting with her grandparents from Idaho so stay tuned this weekend! More fun stuff to come!

Thank Goodness....

....we picked the faux leather furniture as opposed to the microfiber! Leighton decided today that my eyeliner pencils are amazing for 'coloring!' She even came upstairs with one this morning and said "Mom! I'm COLORING!" I ran downstairs for fear she had made the walls her canvas...but there was no "coloring" to be found. I took the makeup and told her I would put some chapstick on her instead...thinking I had outsmarted Little L! It wasn't until we returned from playdate and lunch that the glare from the window revealed navy blue eyeliner all down the dark brown arm of the couch. It only took one wipe and about 3 minutes of scrubbing. So thank goodness we didn't go with the microfiber! Disaster avoided! And note to self: Little L can reach the counters, makeup goes in the cabinet from now on!

We still don't have internet, so the pictures will have to wait, but I felt like Leighton needed her own update since I've been so slack on posting.

So here are a few things about Leighton being 2 years and 3 months old:

-She loves lipstick/chapstick/lipgloss of any kind! It's a great reward and a way for me to get her to behave -- i.e. Leighton if you go to nursery by yourself I'll give you some chapstick!

-This month she has gone to nursery and stayed the whole time without Mom or Dad! Woohoo!

-She still hates swings, but will play on the bouncy slides at Wallabie's all day which I am certain will work to my favor all winter! She's also really excited to be starting gymnastics in September and loved the trial class we went to!

-She has mastered the ABC's, identifying each letter and it's sound. She can count to 30 and identify 1-10. She knows all the shapes and colors. Such a smart girl!!

-She says "Liggle" instead of "Little" but pronounced all her other 't' sounds just fine. I think this is adorable and hilarious!

-She is learning to share right now, some days she is great with it, others it is a struggle. But I am really proud that she is learning the concept and playing nicely with other kids.

-Every ounce of her 28 lbs belongs to Daddy... she is a miniature Jack and follows him like a shadow! If Mom tells her no, she just bats her blue eyes at Dad...luckily he's usually on my side!

Happy 4th of July and a Little More Fun!

This year for 4th of July, we took Leighton to Jonesborough Days about 15 minutes from our house. It was so much fun! Leighton 's favorite parts were the petting zoo and the bubbles! We got to spend time with some fun friends, I need to take more pictures of all of the cool people we've met here, but I usually just get pictures of all the kids! After Jonesborough Days, we made a last minute trip to SC and got to see family there. Leighton had a blast playing with Spencer, Andrew, and Carson... and we're all excited for her to have a little girl cousin in a few months!

These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when we had a barbeque with a bunch of couples from our ward! Leighton and two of her friends, Londyn and Hollidae, were all born in the same week. Madalyn(the blonde cutie) is just a few months younger. Leighton loves playing with her friends and they always have to do ring around the rosie before they go home!

The Splash Pad is just another fun [and free] activity we've been introduced to! It's about 20 mins away, but Leighton really warmed up to it after a bit... the kid is really becoming a fish! I love her smile here because I kept trying to get a picture and she was trying to snack, so this one may have been out of sheer frustration! Ha!

Our main activity lately has been swimming at Boone Dam, but unfortunately I have not been snap-happy with the pictures there yet. I will have to get on that! My updating has become more consistent though, so I'll have a reason to pack the camera with us! Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of July!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, Glad As I Can Be!

I thought this was pretty cool, just made using the words to The Proclamation from wordle. I think I'm going to use it for a fun craft I found.

I also never blogged on Father's Day, but I am really grateful for such an amazing husband. He is such an example to me of being a Parent in the ways we are directed in The Proclamation. I don't know a more humble, hard-working (and handsome :]) man. He is such a great Father to Little L and she wants to be just like him (and if I'm lucky, she will be). We gave him a motorcycle beginner safety class and motorcycle gear for Father's Day this year. I also spent about a week teaching Leighton the words and motions to the Primary song "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home" and Jack and I both teared up a little when she sang it solo to him. We made him coupon books with a couple new friends and Leighton made him a card in Primary. What a fun way to celebrate how awesome the man in my life is!

This Month in Pictures

Trying to a avoid Blog-overload...a picture is worth 1,000 words--and we have a lot of pictures!!

Hands-On Museum is a children's museum where they can touch and explore everything!

We drove to Asheville, NC to go to "Sliding Rock" with the Lufkin's and Marler's, but they closed after some thunder. We drove to this waterfall to eat lunch and ended up swimming under it. It was a lot of fun and something hadn't planned to do! We still want to try to go to "Sliding Rock" but it is quite a drive if they close again!

When Mom came to visit, she had to spoil Little L at Chuck-E-Cheese(thanks Mom!) and Leighton loved it! She wanted to mash every button on every game!

Every Friday in Jonesborough, they close off the downtown area and bands play. The cute little stores stay open and it's just such a fun atmosphere for families. Jack and I love Jonesborough, it is so pretty and we go to "Music on the Square" when he's not working on Fridays.

Well, we're having a blast out here and loving Tennessee! Jack is really liking his job and learning a lot, while I'm really enjoying staying home with Leighton! She is such a blast and even when it's challenging, I'm so grateful to be her Mom! Leighton is still shy and cautious, but we have found that she has no fear when it comes to swimming! She loves it just like her parents do. She is such a smart girl and can identify all of the letters, their sounds, and the numbers. She loves to spell her name and count to 10 in Spanish and pick out the letters in every book we read (when I'm patient enough...haha), and is getting really pumped for 'Cars 2.' Jack and I feel so blessed that she is so healthy and happy, but she is growing up too fast!! I guess that's all we're up to right now, but I'll keep snapping pictures so we can keep everyone up to date! Hope everyone's having a great Summer!