Dear Santa

Rylee, Amy and I went to the Children's Repertory Theatre to watch the production of Dear Santa. Since she did so well when we went to see Charlotte's Web, I decided to go again at Christmastime. Once again, she was a little lady and loved the play. I think that it is so important, at early ages, for children to be taught how to act appropriately in different settings.

It is obvious, that Rylee has caught on! This will carry on in her education and hopefully it will ignite her creative side as well!

After the play was over, all of the characters lined up outside for a "meet and greet" and they would sign your playbill as well. This time Rylee was all about getting her book signed. She went from one person to the next and even though she did not talk a lot....... she would hold the book and pen out and have them sign it. It was really cute.

She has always been a little afraid of Santa and had not been very good about sitting on his lap. However, Amy and I had to laugh, because when it came time to have him sign, before either of us could grab her, she walked right to the front of the line and even posed for a picture. No one seemed to mind as she was the youngest child in the line.

As you can see, we all had a great time.........

After the play, we went to our favorite ice cream place and ate an ice cream cone. I love being able to make these memories and absolutely love getting her started with the "arts". That is something that I never did with my own children, but as a grandmother, I plan to get them all involved with music, art, dance, museums, plays, etc. I think that you should see and appreciate the finer things in life, just maybe they will continue this with their children and grandchildren. And besides....... what else are Mimi's for????

Trick or Treat..... Smell our Feet! Give us something good to eat!

Oh what fun Halloween is when you have little ones around to enjoy it!

Mitch and Amy brought the girls by so that we could see their costumes before going to a Halloween Party at a friends house. Haylee was a Pirate and Rylee was SuperGirl. They sure looked cute and were so excited to go trick or treating.

Here are a few pictures of them trick or treating. Looks like they had fun! Haylee looks like such a big girl.

Michael, Joanne and Mason came over to trick or treat in our neighborhood. So, we got out the wagon and had some fun in between the rain going to a few houses. Mason was Bamm Bamm and wasn't sure what we were doing, but went along for the ride! Oh yes, did you notice that his dog, Louie, was in costume too? I told you before, that dog will let you do anything to him!

Watch out for the Ghosts and Goblins........ Happy Halloween!

Okay, my mind is going!

Could it be....... early onset of Alzheimer's????? This morning we are getting ready to go boating with Mitch and the girls. Gary and I get dressed, get our flip flops on and out to car we go. He says that his flip flops are scratching his toe. So, we go back in. Meanwhile, while he goes to the closest to get another pair; I put on one of his flip flops to see what he is talking about.

And here is my excuse.......

The phone rings and it is Mitch. I talk to him for a couple of minutes and then out the door we go. First stop is at Publix to get something for lunch. Gary and I walk through Publix, pay, go to the car and when I get into the car............

I see this...............

Oh my God, Gary and I laughed so hard! No one was looking at me strange and my number one person, who is supposed to take care of me..... never even noticed!

So second stop is KMart.... I run in with my mixed pair of shoes and buy a cheap pair of matching flip flops to wear for the day. When we get to Gary's shop, Mitch and the girls are there and I got out to show him what I had done and to take a picture for my blog.

Ahh.... much better, now my family can walk beside me again.

And Rylee wanted a picture of her feet too. So, here are her adorable feet!

I don't mind her trying to follow in Mimi's footsteps. Let's just hope that her mind stays intact!

Night out for Rylee, Mimi, PopPop

Here we come, Elmo.....

Rylee has always loved Elmo. For one of Rylee's birthday presents, I bought tickets to the King Center in Melbourne for the Sesame Street Lives performance of.........

I got off early from work and went and picked both girls up from daycare. Rylee was very excited to tell all of her friends at daycare that we were going to see Elmo. I don't think that she really understood that we were "really" going to see Elmo. We dropped Haylee off with Mitch and picked up Pop Pop from work. Our first stop was dinner at Cracker Barrel. She ate good and spent a little time rocking in the rockers on the front porch. Then, it was off to see Elmo.....

No cameras or camcorders were allowed. Darn it!!! What's the harm in taking a couple of pictures?

When we got inside, we had front row seats. Actually, they were second row, but, no one was sitting in the front row. So, our seats were great! The show had just started and Elmo was onstage with the other Sesame Street characters. Rylee could not believe her eyes, she told me the names of some of the characters as they came onstage. (PopPop and Mimi aren't up on all of that) It was fun to watch her, watch them. Pop Pop pointed out to me that she was doing the hand motions to the Itsy Bitsy Spider as they sang it. She loved it!

I did not know it, but, Elmo is only 3 years old and the performance was about what he wanted to be when he grew up. Maybe he would be a fireman....... (Like Uncle Michael, Oh wait, is that Uncle Michael driving the firetruck?)

At intermission, we did a "potty run" and of course had to hit the Sesame Street souvenir stand. Rylee picked out an Elmo hat that had Elmo's face on the front. The lines were long, so, we rushed back in just as they were about to take the stage again. Pop Pop said that he knew Mimi would come back with something...... Does he know me or what??? I did manage a couple of pictures at home with Rylee and the hat. Don't mind the oreo cookies, but it made it all the better!

After the show was over we stopped to buy her an Elmo mylar balloon. It was actually only the head of Elmo. On the way home, we had the radio off and playing with her. The traffic backed up and Gary and I were talking to one another. Then, we heard her saying something. I looked back to her car seat and she was holding Elmo's face up to her face and saying......

Elmo, look at me.........You are not listening........

Do you want to go to the corner?

Gary and I about died. I guess we know what her mommy and daddy say to her! Watch out Mitch and Amy, once you have kids...... anything you say can come back to bite you!

All in all, it was a terrific night out for us all. And here's to hoping that we are around for many more nights like that! It's great being a Mimi and Pop Pop!

Our "little girl" is turning 2!

Can you believe it?? Our "little girl" is turning 2! It is so hard to imagine that two years have passed since the arrival of our first grandchild. And what is even harder to believe is how smart she has become during those two years!

Today, Rylee had her 2nd birthday party at a bounce house in Clermont. She loved going on all of the slides, eating pizza, popcorn & cake, having fun with her friends and really enjoyed opening all of her presents. At first, I think that she was a little "shy" (being the center of attention) while everyone sung Happy Birthday to her. But, she soon got over that!

It was exciting to see her open up each gift and show just as much excitement whether the present was a toy, shoes or a new dress! It was cute to see her hand the "special" gifts to her Pop Pop for safe keeping! For our present to her; we got her a few outfits and Pop Pop bought her some light up sandals where the heels light up when you stand on them. She calls them her "flashy" shoes.

Also, this week, we are taking her to have a night out with Mimi and Pop Pop. She loves Elmo, so we purchased tickets to see Sesame Street Live in Melbourne, Florida. The show is called "When Elmo Grows Up".

I can't imagine my life without our grandchildren! Here are Mason & Haylee about to turn 8 months old.

We had a great time at the bounce house and even Mimi went down the slide a few times. But, most of all it was fun to see how happy she was. At only 2 years old, she has experienced so many joys. And just think how many more are headed her way? When we asked her how old she was, She would say; "I, Five".

Slow down, my sweet little girl, before you know it, you will be 50 and wondering where the years went???