The Princess Phase has Arrived!

Eve is officially in the Disney Princess Phase! She would watch "Beauty and the Beast" about 50 times a day, if I would let her! Just yesterday she said, "Mommy, I love Belle. I wish I could just jump in the TV sometimes." I asked, "Why would you want to jump in the TV?" She said, rather matter-of-factly, "So I could be with Belle. She's my friend."
Tonight she asked my help to get dressed up in her Cinderella ball gown. (Grammy got this for Eve's birthday and we just realized tonight that the skirt lights up! Fancy!) Once we got the dress on Eve said, "But, Mary God Mudder! Where are my glass slippers?" I must say that I very much appreciated being the Fairy Godmother tonight... It was certainly a step up from being the Beast yesterday! :)

Happy Father's Day!

To my dad: Sarah, Andrew and I are blessed beyond words to have you for a father! You're the best! I love you and can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!
To Eve's daddy: Eve (and her yet-to-be-named baby sister) are blessed to have you! Thank you for taking the time to provide, play and love! We love you!!

Growing Up...

Eve is growing up way too fast for me! This week she got a new swingset (thanks to Ms. Beth thinking of us after she inherited one when she bought her new house). She saw it out the window after her nap and said, "Wook, Mommy! My bery own pwayground!!"
On Thursday, Grandad took us to the fair. Eve loved it!! She rode every ride for which she was tall enough with her friend from church, Jenna. She looked like such a big girl bravely walking up, climbing in and enjoying each ride.
Today Eve got her "big sister" bed. We moved the queen-sized bed into her room so that the twin-sized bed could go in the nursery. At first she was distraught thinking she was losing her old bed, but was excited when she saw the new blue bedding and the size of her new bed. She said, "Oh, Mommy! This bed is gonna be HUGE!" She also asked, "When my baby sister comes can she sleep in this bed with me?" I said, "I am sure when she is old enough the two of you will have many sleepovers in this bed!"

A Great Day with Graeter's!

Yesterday was the last day of our mini-vacation, but it was a fun one! After lunch, Eve, Sissy, Mamaw and I headed to Graeter's... only the absolute BEST ice cream parlor EVER!! Sarah and I had our usual for years... mint chocolate chip. Eve had plain vanilla and Mamaw tried a new dessert. It was very yummy, as always!!

Great American Ballpark

Last night Jay and I went to a Cincinnati Reds game against the Chicago Cubs (Jay's favorite team). We first enjoyed dinner at Don Pablos on the river then endured the long walk across the bridge from Newport, Kentucky, to the stadium in Cincinnati. We had a good view of the field (though not quite as good as Jay would have wanted) and the game was a pitchers' duel. Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs scored his 100th win as a starting pitcher and hit a homerun! Jay was excited and enjoyed the game. We watched the fireworks at the stadium from the bridge on our trek back to the car. It was a fun night!

Cincinnati Zoo

On Tuesday we came up to Northern Kentucky for a mini-vacation to kick off our summer. Jay and Micah promptly played golf when we arrived. Jay was the victor this time and Micah had to call Tim to tell him what a great golfer Jay is to fulfill his end of the wager.
Yesterday we went to the Florence Mall where Eve chose to make a blue teddy bear at Build-A-Bear. She chose a lovely pink tutu for the bear to wear, too. We had a yummy lunch with Finley and Kacey and bought some Great American Cookies for dessert. Eve and Finly also enjoyed riding the carousel together!
Today we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was Eve and Finley's first visit there! We saw lots of animals, but Eve's favorites were the cats at the cat house. We look forward to lots more fun tomorrow!!

Welcome Alayna Claire Tucker!

Jeff and Jennifer Tucker became the parents of a precious little girl on Saturday night. I was blessed to be there for it all!
Today, Eve and I, along with some friends, went to visit "Aunt" Jenn and her new baby at the hospital. Eve was amazed at her teeny-ness and ooohed and coohed and loved all over her. I know Eve will be a great big sister!
When we were getting ready to leave, Eve gave Aunt Jenn a hug and said, "Aunt Jenn, did that baby come out of your belly?" Jennifer said, "Yes, she did! See my belly is all squishy again now that she is out, not hard like it was at your birthday party last week." Eve then looked from Jennifer to the baby and back again, glanced and me then said to Jeff, "I fink I need to go now."
You could actually hear the wheels grinding in her little head as she processed that one. I can only imagine what she was thinking, but I know what I was thinking, "Yeah, you're right smart girl... I've gotta go through all this, too, in about four months... and our lives will be changed forever!"