Day 66 / 365: Manicure by Mommy

When we went to get our hair done the other day, you picked out a bottle of nail polish for yourself. Purple, but of course. You hadn't asked to have your nail's polished with it until tonight. Personally, I blame Big Ma. She's always had her nails beautifully done, painted in beautiful shades of bright red or flowery mauves. As a baby, I remember you'd hold her fingers and just stare.

Well, your mom doesn't have the knack for painting nails like Big Ma does, but the job got done. One coat of purple nail polish and one coat of clear top coat to make it extra shiny. You were so excited at the idea of showing off your new manicure to your friend at school the next day! It didn't matter that it was a little smudged or that mommy didn't do it just right. You felt like the prettiest girl in the world; and you should!

Day 65 / 365: 300 to Go!

Today was Day 65 of our 365 day project. I'm so happy that we've made it this far without missing a single day! Some days it is a struggle to find something unique to take a picture of. There are days where you give me "that look" when you see I've got the camera out again. But then there are days that I could take a thousand pictures to try to capture the moment and it's never enough!

I hope that we can look back through this book in the years to come and look at the days we've spent together. I will treasure every moment I have with you always; picture or no picture!

Day 64 / 365: Looking Out on Forever

Today is your Dad's 27th birthday. We only had the morning to do something as your soccer game was in the afternoon and then Grandma Sally was making a special dinner. When I asked your Dad what he would like to do, he said that he wanted to do whatever you wanted to do. Your choice was easy; you wanted to go to Crane Creek! We drove through and looked for animals along the drive back to the beach. You and your Dad pointed out the different animals you spotted, and you identified all the birds you knew.

At the beach you two quickly set out looking for shells and feathers while I hung back and took pictures of you. A nice piece of driftwood was a perfect place for you both to rest and look out on the water. I snapped pictures as fast as my fingers would let me. It was such a peaceful moment, so content. The water stretched out as far as the eye could see. You both sat so quietly, gazing out into the beyond and sharing words with one anther that only the tide could hear. The two of you were happy just sitting there together, looking out on forever.

Day 63 / 365: Pre-Birthday Dinner

Tonight we took your Dad to one of his favorite restaurants for his birthday dinner. We invited our friends Jeff and Melissa along with us. We decided to go the night before his birthday because I would be working the night of his birthday. Also, Grandma Sally had planned to cook a wonderful dinner for you and Daddy on his birthday after your soccer game.

The food was good, even though we had to wait a little while for it. We all laughed and joked around. Everyone seemed to have had a great time. I'm glad that we were all able to get together and have a nice pre-birthday dinner for your Dad like that!

Day 62 / 365: Camping with the Rahm Family

Aunt Angie asked if you would like to go down to the camper tonight with her, Olivia and Will. Bike rides, smores, playing in the dirt like mom won't let you do at home...of course you wanted to go! They were all waiting for us when we pulled in the drive. You had your Hello Kitty backpack stuffed with changes of clothes, toothbrush, your hopscotch game and of course, your new favorite stuffed animal.

I text messaged Aunt Angie several times while you were down there. I was nervous and I missed you like crazy! She told me you were having fun and doing well, so I didn't call to risk upsetting you. I think I was more upset going to bed that night without tucking you in than you could have been! Camping is fun...but I'm glad you don't go all that often!

Day 61 / 365: Mom's Chop Job

The other day you mentioned to me that you wanted your hair cut shorter, so we arranged to go to my friend Melissa's shop and have it done. It was made a family affair, as your dad (desperately) needed his hair cut and I decided to have mine trimmed.

You went first and had no problems. Your dad was next. Finally it was mom's turn. We had talked about getting it cut short and I was nervous. VERY nervous. For moral support, we took a little "before" picture together. At least I'll having something to hold on to for the next few weeks when I feel a little bit balder than usual!

Day 60 / 365: Coach's Shadow

Your soccer coach has an extra shadow he might not have known about, but I sure have noticed. Your very first fall soccer practice you met him and I could tell you were nervous. Spring soccer you had Aunt Angie and Angela W. for coaches, and you felt right at home with them. This guy was a stranger; a male stranger at that. Your guard was way up.

Not for long! Coach Bob is so great with you kids, you quickly overcame any fears you had. Now every time a play ends, a whistle blows or you just feel the need, you run right over to him and smile. It's great that you look to him for direction and that you like him so well. It's wonderful that he's such a buddy for you all to have. He doesn't seem to mind his extra shadow at all!

Day 59 / 365: Just Your Style

Tonight we put the new bedding you picked out on your bed. It's been washed up, nice and soft and clean. You couldn't wait to jump right in bed! You curled right up and when I asked to take a picture quickly, you peeked out just a little and obliged.

This bed set was made just for you, I swear. It's a Littlest Pet Shop theme, which has been a favorite toy of yours for two years now. The cute and playful animals all over it brought a smile to your face right away. The colors sealed the deal though. Your favorite color purple is the main color, accented with a hot pink. It was great to have you be so excited to go to bed for once! That bed set is well worth every penny!

Day 58 / 365: Bedtime Snack

You usually make very good choices with food. Sure, you like your snack foods, chips and ice cream. On the whole, you usually eat healthy.

You love your vegetables, especially corn, beans and asparagus! For fruits, you haven't met one you don't like! Melon, berries, peaches, grapes; you name it, you'll eat it!

Your bedtime snack for tonight was apples and peanut butter. It is so great that you love foods that are so good for you!

Day 57 / 365: Boo!

Big Ma loves to decorate for holidays and tonight we walked in to find that she's put out all her Halloween decorations! You ran from room to room laughing and pointing out everything she had out.

Anything that made a noise, played music, lit up or just plain old looked scary, you were all excited about. One of your favorite things was this jack o lantern that Big Ma had in the entry room. With all the lights off, it made a very neat orange glow. You decided to pose next to it and give me a "scared" face. I think it was more adorable than scared!

Day 56 / 365: I Scream for Ice Cream

Tonight we told you we would do whatever you wanted. Turns out what you wanted was to go to Crane Creek and walk on the beach. It was beautiful weather and we walked up and down the beach for quite a while. You filled your little pail up with seashells and we looked around for animals as we made our way through the park.

Afterward, you wanted to eat at DG's, a local ice cream shop. You ate a hot dog, some chips, picked at my french fries and then you declared it time for dessert. You ordered ice cream: "chocolate...no vanilla or sprinkles or stuff." It was your first chocolate ice cream cone and you ate almost the entire thing!

Before leaving, I had to take your picture by the DG's sign. It was too funny! Your pretty lucky though. You NEVER have to scream for Dad to stop the car!

Day 55 / 365: Yuck!

I had to run into the store for a few things today. On the way out, we stopped at the quarter machine. Luckily, I had a few in my change purse.

Even though I explained to you I only had two quarters and to make you had to choose what you wanted wisely, I didn't care much for what you picked. You could have had a big sticker, a giant gumball, sweet tarts or a high bounce ball...but no. You chose this sticky, gel hand thing.

It is disgusting. You fling it at something (you target for the drive home was my car windows) and it sticks to it. It also manages to pick up anything you wouldn't want it: hair, lint, crumbs, etc. After a few minutes it was just gross, not to mention my window was all smudged and your hands were all gummy.

I was happy when you forgot it in the car...and it "accidentally" fell into the garbage can!

Day 54 / 365: Good Pretenders

You and your daddy love to play jokes! You two are always playing around, hiding and scaring each other, pretending to talk to people on the phone who aren't there and pretending to "fall asleep" when I ask you guys to do something. Tonight, you two decided to pretend to fall asleep together on the recliner. You two may be good pretenders, but your a great pair!

Day 53 / 365: Team Family

Today at your soccer game we got you, Will and Olivia together for a little family picture. It was so cute! Your uniforms were almost the same, even though Olivia is on a different soccer team than you and Will are.

I'll tell you one thing: no one would ever deny that you three make one adorable team family!

Day 52 / 365: Crabby Old Cat

This is you and Burhead, the crabby old cat at MeMe's house. Don't get me wrong; I love Burhead to pieces. She just has this attitude that makes her one extreme or the other. She either will be loving on us, laying with us on the sofa, sleeping in bed with you OR yowling, swatting at us and running away. Today it was an even mix. She allowed you to share the window with her and you watched the birds at the bird feeder. As you can see, when I took the picture, her patience had begun to wear thin. Crabby as she might be, we love her anyways!

Day 51 / 365: Be Free

Awhile back you and your father decided to bring home a little friend you found in the ditch by Grandma Sally's House. Normally, this would not bother me, as I love animals. But this was no furry little kitten or lost dog. No dear, you two brought home a very large snapping turtle. Your dad filled up an old calf troth with water and you put some river rocks in. This was to be Mr. Turtle's home for the next several weeks.

He was content on a diet of worms, frogs, other "meats" and the occasional hot dog. With fall about to set in and the impending cold, we all knew it was time to release Mr. Turtle back into the wild. We explained to you about hibernation and that he would need to fatten up a bit and find a nice place to sleep. Your dad (carefully) got him out of the tank and managed to keep all his fingers. The three of us walked down the road to a little creek with him in a bucket. Your dad climbed down and tipped him out by the water. We stood at the edge of the creek and watched him climb into the water and disappear.

You were a good friend to him and you yelled goodbye before we walked back home. I know you'll miss him but just think: now when you catch frogs out in the yard, you don't have to feed them to anything!

Day 50 / 365: Rainy Day Games

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail shall stop the soccer team! Today you guys played in the rain, and MAN do I mean rain! Straight downpour! You kids all seemed to love it though. You were all soaking wet, running around laughing and screaming as you chased after the soccer ball.

The fans were lined up on the sidelines with their umbrellas and we were all having such a good time watching the teams. The coaches let you guys play for about a half hour before they finally called the game off when it really started coming down hard. It was too bad. We all were kind of enjoying the rainy day games.

Day 49 / 365: Wanna Treat?

Every time we go to the store, you ask to get the dogs something...food, toys, treats. Something, anything! Today you picked out rawhides for Rooney and Hershey. They're so lucky you spoil them!

Day 48 / 365: Mom's New Toy

Today I took your picture showing off my new toy: a new laptop! I had to personalize it with a photo collage of your 365 pictures to date! It just wouldn't be mine if I didn't!

Your main concern with my computer is what kinds of games it has on it. Sorry...it just has boring picture editing stuff!

Day 47 / 365: Take Another Look

There are a lot of time in life where things just seem hopeless. It feels like you've tried everything you can do and the world is just crashing down around you. In those times, I hope you'll keep the same sweetness, the energy and the humor you have now. More than staying positive, stay motivated about what you want in life. You can accomplish anything you dream of and deserve all your heart desires! I hope that you'll be able to take another look at things and get a new perspective. After all, they say a frown is just a smile upside down!

Day 46 / 365: Little Helper

You cracked us all up today as you sat on the bench and carefully studied the coaches clipboard. We could see you from across the field taking your finger and tracing the play lines, talking to yourself quietly, squinting your eyes and cocking your head as if you were questioning exactly what the strategy was.

Then you shook your head and picked up the pencil. My heart jumped up into my throat because I thought you actually might erase or draw on his play diagrams! Instead you waved the pencil around in the air in front of it like you were making adjustments, then you sat the clipboard back down beside you and watched the game like nothing had happened. Wow! I'll bet coach didn't know he had a little helper on the team!

Day 45 / 365: First Taste of Chocolate

Yesterday while talking to the doctor, he told us your allergy test results had come back in. He told us that you have outgrown your chocolate allergy and we could not be more relieved! No more feeling like you've gotten the short end of the stick at Halloween or Easter! No more worrying that you won't be able to eat a birthday treat at school because of chocolate! Your free to try it all now! You put it off for most of the day, saying "no thank you", even though I had went to the store and bought an arsenal of chocolate things for you to try. (...chocolate milk, chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, swiss roll cakes, chocolate ice cream...)

Finally towards the end of the evening, you said you'd like to try an M & M. You dumped out a few from the package and thought awhile about which color to try first. You selected an orange one and held it up for me to take a quick picture. You popped it in your mouth and smiled. It was good and you ate only a few more, by your own choice. I guess being a chocoholic isn't genetic!

Day 44 / 365: Feeling Sick

Today was a lazy day for you. You were feeling crummy and just wanted to sleep. The doctor said you have strep throat, but your throat isn't hurting. It's the darn sniffles that are bothering you! You poor little thing, you just keep on sneezing! With the antibiotics and a little of the cold medicine the doctor suggested, you sleep as comfortably as you can with this bug you've caught.

I have to admit, it's kind of cute when you snore!

Day 43 / 365: Bench Coach

You usually have a pretty good crowd at your soccer games to cheer you and Will on. I make it to every game I possibly can with my crazy work schedule, Then there is Aunt Angie, Uncle Tim and Olivia, MeMe, GeGe, Big Ma and Poppa, Grandma Tack, Grandma Sally and Beepa. The whole family usually turns out to cheer on their favorite preschool soccer stars!

I'd truly have to say that one of your biggest sideline fans is your dad. This year and last, he's made it his mission to make sure he's at every single practice and every one of your games. He was so excited when you first joined the team, he even took you out and bought you pink shin guards and a pink soccer ball! He's so proud of you out there on the field whether you score a goal or just run along with the group.

When it's your turn to sit on the bench, he always comes over to sit down with you. I'm not sure what you two talk about, but nobody else really needs to know. Some things should stay between the bench coach and his favorite player.

Day 42 / 365: Is It Halloween Yet?

Today we got some of those ready to bake sugar cookies from the store. They already have the Halloween themed ones out with pumpkins, ghosts and black cats. We got one of each kind, of course!

You were very helpful in getting them all set out on the cookies sheets, even though one of the pieces of cookie dough somehow mysteriously disappeared. (Gee I wonder where it could have gone to?)

After they were done baking, you looked up at me and asked how long til Halloween. I told you it was still a few weeks away. You told me that is was too far away.

We're going to need more cookies!

Day 41 / 365: Lady, What a Funny Looking Baby!

You have never been big on baby dolls or barbies or the like. You've always preferred animals. Whenever we'd go somewhere and we'd ask you if you wanted to take a toy along, you'd come out of your room with a stuffed animal in tow. When you'd get to choose a new toy at the store, it was always a toy animal of some sort. Even playing at home, you'd have animals strew all about!

Play at Big Ma's has been no different. You decided to play shopping today. To you, who better to take along shopping then Big Ma's dog, Dixie? It was a logical choice and thankfully one that Dixie didn't mind. Shopping is a great thing to do but lady, you've got a funny looking baby!

Day 40 / 365: Missing MeMe

Early this morning, MeMe & GeGe took off for Washington DC for a little, well deserved, vacation. We explained this to you ahead of time and you said you understood. We wanted to make it clear to you because you haven't really been away from MeMe like this before, except for a few days vacation to St. Louis.

You did well all day long. A few times you asked about them and when they would be back home. We decided to call and check on them to make sure they made it in ok and say goodnight. It wasn't long before the tears started and your bottom lip poked out! You asked them to come home, now, please. It took a few minutes to calm you down and explain to you that they were too far away to just come home right that minute. You said your goodnight's and I love you's, and began to count down the few days til they came home.

Day 39 / 365: School Starts

Today was the first day of preschool: Will's first year and your second year. You were being such a big girl. You were so excited! You had your new backpack all ready to go, a new outfit you picked out from Aunt Tonya and you were looking forward to seeing your friends from last year. MeMe & GeGe came to the school to see you two off. I couldn't resist taking a picture of you all together! We were so proud of you and we all hope that you love school just as much in a few years as you do now!

Day 38 / 365: Primping

MeMe helped you blow dry your hair tonight to get you all primped and looking pretty for the first day of school tomorrow. You never used to like being fussed over. In fact, it was all we could do to get you to hold still to get your hair brushed! Now your acting more and more like a big girl. You (occasionally) want me to put your hair in a ponytail or put pretty clips in it. You love playing with chapstick and calling it your makeup! Grownup shoes are very fun to stomp around in too. You are growing up so fast, before you know it we'll be sharing clothes!

Sorry in advance that your mom doesn't have that great of a fashion sense!

Day 37 / 365: New School Do

Today you got you got your hair cut for school. One of mommy's very best friends is your hairdresser, she has been since your very first haircut! Her name is Melissa, but you've always called her Sissa, just like her nephews and neices.

You used to be so nervous about haircuts and your eyes would tear up. Now it's no big deal at all. As a matter of fact, you've now started to give us directions for how you want your hair done!

Oh boy...what the teenage years hold in store for us!