Pictures

As most of you have probably heard, Carly's latest infatuation is Elmo. She often wakes up in the morning asking "Where Elmo go," and is frantic until he is found. Elmo marks the first time Carly put three words together, he is a milestone! I have given in to the excitement and fed it with Elmo panties, a sweatshirt, pajamas, and even a Halloween costume. Sesame Street can soothe her in an instant, it is amazing. (We DVR it every day.)



Yet, Elmo has not decreased her addiction to Daddy.


Or sweets . . . Althought this picture isn't convincing, she has gotten better with silverware.

I just stuck these pictures in because I think she looks more and more like a big girl every day.

FG Fall Festival

Every year we anticipate the Fair Grove Fall Festival and working in the "Tater Shack." This year did not disappoint - it was a huge success! One thousand pounds of potatoes were curled, fried, and served in about a day and a half. Yes, the men and women responsible for the Tater Shack work very hard and are exhausted by Sunday evening. However, everyone involved enjoys the abundant laughter, joking, and occasional fire. As usual, lots of the laughs were at someone's (Carl's) expense, but all in good fun.

The finished product was delicious and Carly enjoyed dipping them in ketchup, one of her favorite food groups. Grandma found her a tiara and lots of food that was dipping-friendly. She even got to eat whipped cream for breakfast.

I was also fortunate to bump in to a handful of my fellow '98 graduates. It's always nice to catch up and find out how everyone is doing.

Weekend Trip

My Uncle Floyd, my dad's brother, got married this weekend. The festivities were in St. Louis and it was a fabulous night. His new bride's name is Karen Rae, which is quite a coincidence because my mom's name is also Karen Rae. So, right away we knew she would be a wonderful addition to the family. We didn't get a snapshot of the bride and groom, and not many of our pictures turned out clear. Here are a couple we thought we'd share. Jon is going to try to get a short video of Carly dancing at the reception ready for me to post. She always enjoys the dance floor and the lights!


She needed a quick break, right in the middle of the dance floor.

We also had a couple of hours to spend at the zoo. The penguin and the hippo exhibits are our current favorites.

Movie in the Park

Friday night I packed a picnic and we went downtown to Flat Branch Park to watch The Jungle Book. The Parks and Rec Department has shown a series of movies outdoors and we wanted to catch the last one of the season. We had a really great time. Carly enjoyed the picnic and was in awe of all the other kids. She loves to people watch and there was a nice crowd to observe. It was great because she didn't have to sit still through the whole thing. She was able to play on the blanket and move freely between Jon and me. I can't wait to do it again next year!

End of August

We finished out August with some fun. Here are a couple of highlights . . .

One Monday, when Jon had part of the day off, we decided to check out Going Bonkers. It took Carly a few minutes to get warmed up, but then she had a blast. Going Bonkers is an indoor play area with an arcade and concessions. They have a separate area for kids under three and that is where we hung out. There was a slide and many obstacles to climb over-through-around, and you get the general idea. Needless to say, she took a really nice nap when we got home. It was great!

This past weekend we spent camping at Hermitage. Carly has really enjoyed camping this summer and we are excited that she did so well. This time the sleeping situation was much better. The first time we went this summer she got so upset the first night when we tried to put her to bed that she got sick. This time we made a point to spend a little more time in the camper playing before bed so she could used to being inside. It was a success! We had her to bed and asleep by 9:15 with no tantrum and we didn't hear a peep out of her until 8 am the next morning. I'm not sure how we got that lucky, but we'll take it. My parents came for the afternoon on Saturday. They played with Carly and stayed for dinner. After dinner they took Carly for the night and Jon and I got to enjoy the evening alone. It was a great weekend and we hope to go at least one more time this fall.

Hope everyone's summer is winding down pleasantly. Let's hope for a long, mild fall!

The fair, fountains, and potty time!

We have been enjoying Stephens Lake Park and the fountains . . . Carly loves the water and watching the other kids.


We have had a potty in the bathroom for several months now, hoping Carly will get used to it and maybe even curious. She knows it is her potty and that you "pee" and "poo" in the potty. She has even done one of each in the potty in the last couple of weeks. We realize she's not quite ready and can't always tell us when she has to go, but we want to encourage her all we can. Hopefully if we keep it in our conversation it will all sink in sooner rather than later. This is a picture of the first time she went and we clapped and cheered.

We went to the Ozark Empire Fair at the end of July. Carly attended her first concert. We saw the Beach Boys with my parents. It was a really great day and we had beautiful weather. You couldn't have asked for a better day at the fair and an outdoor concert. Of course, Carly loved the music and danced, danced, danced.

SDC - Splash Harbor