Lovebug's Latest Toy!!

A few weekends ago, Coach and I headed to Lowe's where we bought Lovebug's latest toy... a swingset!

This, blog stalkers, is HUGE!!  Coach is a fanatic about his yard, and rightfully so.  He puts a TON of blood, sweat and tears into makign it look gorgeous.  So, to put a swingset in his yard is huge.  Plus, it shows just how tightly Lovebug has him wrapped around her finger :).

Anyway, Grandpa Dale helped Coach get the structure set up one weekend, then another weekend Coach, Grandpa Larry, Uncle Bill, and Grandpa Dale helped finish it.  Yes, it takes four grown men to put together a swingset.  If you haven't done it yet and are laughing, just you wait.  If you have gone through the torture of assembling a swingset, gimme an Amen!

Anyway, we decided to get her one as an early birthday present.  She has been obcessed lately with slides, and was scared to death of the swings {shocker to us b/c last year, she couldn't get enough of the swings!}.  Oh well, I guess things change as time goes on, right?  Right.

Well... much to our surprise, Lovebug went right for the swings!  The big girl swings, that is.

{I love you Daddy!!}

{I can't get enough of her eyes in these outdoor pictures!!}

{CHEESE!!!}



{a rare sight... Lovebug and Mama}


Lovebug loves her swings, but this is her favorite :).




{ready....set....}



{GOOOOOOOOOO!!!}

{crash landing :)}

All in all, this was a great purchase on our parts.  Lovebug absolutely LOVES it! 

Lovebug Built a Kitty Cat

On one of our first summer vacay days, Lovebug and I journed over to the west side of our booming metropolis to meet Holly.  Holly had grand plans of having Lovebug build-a-bear.  Instead, Lovebug built a Kitty Cat!  It was the first day that Hello Kitty made her presence known at Build-A-Bear Workshop, so of course...Hy-ya had to treat Lovebug!

Join us on this fun journey...

First, Lovebug toted Kitty Cat's lifeless body around the store...

Then, she and Hy-ya picked out not one, but TWO sounds to have Kitty Cat say... I love you and the cutest lil' giggle since, well, Lovebug's :)



{Hy-ya! I can't see the sounds!!}

Then, it was time to fluff Kitty Cat up!  Lovebug was in awe of the fluff machine!!

But then, it was time for business.  Girlfriend even had to take her coat off!  She put the pedal to the metal floor and Kitty Cat began to take shape!

Once Kitty Cat was almost filled, Lovebug picked out her heart, gave it a kiss, then gave it to the lovely lady helping us.

Kitty Cat was alive! 

The problem?  Kitty Cat was naked!  Eeeks!  Can't have that...  sooo... Lovebug and Hy-ya picked out the ca-UTEST lil' hoochie outfit for Kitty Cat.  Complete with hoochie heels :)

They also had to determine whether or not that would be enough...



{two peas in a pod}

It wasn't.  Shocker :).  Lovebug had to test out Kitty Cat's purse to see if it would be good enough.  It was!

 The moment was finally arriving... Kitty Cat was getting de-clawed tagged!! :)  Off to the computer we went to create Kitty Cat's birth certificate. 

While Hy-ya treated Lovebug to this special present, Lovebug attempted to carry Kitty Cat in her new carrier...



{too heavy!!}

Once done, we headed to Younks where Hy-ya got Lovebug a Hello Kitty tank top, Hello Kitty skirt, Hello Kitty panties, and a Hello Kitty purse.  You have to match, ya know :)

After that, we headed to Champps where we treated Hy-ya to a yummy lunch.  I know I've said it before, and it won't be the last time we say it... we are OH SO BLESSED to have Holly in our lives!  Thank you, Holly, for everything you do!!!!!



{of course Lovebug has to be more interested in the food than the camera :)}



Surprise!!

Lovebug loves surprises these days.  If she's in the midst of a tantrum {yes, folks...this girl than throw a tantrum!}, I have been known to say to her "I have a surprise for you!".  Most of the time, surprises are from Daddy, though... and most of the time, they're in the form of ice cream {what girl wouldn't love THAT as a surprise?!?!?}.

Well, Coach told Lil' Miss Lovebug he had a surprise for her when she woke up from a nap one day.  Girlfriend woke up to Mama getting her in a different kind of diaper and outfit.  See where I'm going with this?  Neither did Lovebug... see?

Once we got outside, the poor thing still wasn't sure what this big surprise was...



{what am I supposed to look at, Daddy?}



And then... wah-la!!  She found her surprise...

At first, Lovebug wasn't so sure about it...

{you think I'm gonna play with WHAT?!?!}



{this doesn't look like the slides at the park}





But then, she got into it... literally!



{pure excitement!!}





{I'm gonna splash you!!!}





{trying to catch the water... not workin' so well...}




{splash!!}



Needless to say, Lovebug LOVED her surprise... even if it wasn't ice cream ;)



Grandma Sally Turned the Big 6-0

Over Memorial Day weekend, Grandma Sally and Grandpa Dale came for a visit. Not just because they wanted to see Lovebug, but because we were celebrating!!! Mama Sy-ya turned the big 6-0, and Mama Sy-ya and Papi Deeale were celebrating 39 years of marriage!!!!

What could be better for these two great people than to play with their granddaughter in the backyard?!!??? Nothing!!

So, prepare yourself for some massive slight photo overload... and might I add, some of my favorite pics of Lovebug EVER!!!

{can you tell that Lovebug is being told to not get in the dirt?}



{meet Grandma Sally, Jr. :)}



{sweet & innocent}

{mmmm... popsicles!!}



{gimme lips, Lovebug!}





{this is what I call love}



{running to get the ball}



{I cannot get enough of her!!!!}



Wordless Wednesday

Ahhh...

That's the feeling I have right now. 

Last week, I was a nervous Nelli {former, that is} about baseball and single Mommyhood.  Fast forward to this week {albeit, the first day that it is} and I'm feeling like I may have hit my stride. 

Perhaps it stems from a great weekend.  Saturday was spent with watching one of my students play in Opening Day of the Miracle League.  If you're ever in downtown on a Saturday, flop on over.  It's the best baseball you'll EVER watch!!!

After that, Lovebug and I traveled home for a quick lunch... then she and Coach headed out to watch cousin Austin play baseball.  You know what that means???!?!   I got the house ALL.TO.MYSELF for almost TWO.  Count 'em one...two... HOURS :) :) :).  It was the best present I could ever have asked for, really.

I did nothing but sit back, do a load of laundry, and catch up on my DVRed shows.  It was magnificent!!

Saturday evening, I made supper for the gang, and wished that my allergies would go away.  Unfortunately, I kept Coach up that night from blowing my nose.  Poor guy :(.

Sunday brought Mother's Day.  To me, it's soooo not about the tangible things.  It's about spending quality time with my family.  Coach started my day by giving me some cards and taking us all to breakfast where, *sniff sniff*, Lovebug graduated to a booster seat at the restaurant :(.  Yes, my baby turned into a big girl on Mother's Day {ya know, if you count sitting in a plastic booster chair making you a big girl, like I do}.

Once home, Coach mowed the yard and I busted a move on my laundry.  It was one of those "I'm in the laundry zone" kind of times.  Great, for a self-described OCD nut like myself :).  Of course, I also called my mommy to wish her a happy mother's day :)

Follow all of this by a trip for ice cream and take-out for supper, and you've got the recipe for the perfect day.  Oh, and Coach also ordered me {with my input} a mother's bracelet.  I can't wait for it to arrive :).

Oh, and who could forget THIS!!!

Pretty sure that's the cutest handprint tree I've seen in my entire life!!!

Ahhhh... I'm one lucky Mama. 

It's Here

The inevitable has happened.  Coach became Coach Lynam today.  Yes folks, baseball season has hit.  Coach Lynam will now be spending his evening with 20-30+ soon-to-be freshman boys instead of his two beautiful ladies at home.

It's bittersweet for me.  One the one hand, baseball is my favorite sport and we thoroughly dig going to his games and cheering for him.  On the other hand, Lovebug is quite the handful these days.  Granted, I'm no Starr Circus with four kids, five and under {seriously, how MckMama Jr. Missy does it is beyond me!}.  It's the fact that I am now a semi-single Mommy who is left to deal with Daddy's girl.  I probably shouldn't complain too much though, as there are many "for real" single Mommy's and Daddy's doing this day in and day out

Irregardless, we know that July will soon be here and hopefully we'll see more of our Coach.  Until then, it'll be lots of pictures on the phone, blog, and sightings through the chain link. 

Until then, it's time for Lovebug and I to start cheering...

GO HAWKS!!!



Coach,
Good luck on your first season as an Ankeny Hawk baseball coach.  Lovebug and I will cheer you on like never before!  We will miss you every.single.day, but we'll enjoy the time you're home even more.  We love you!!!!!!!!!