Lunchtime Silliness

Elmo in Person

Mercy put on an event today at the Three Stages at Folsom Lake College called Day of Dance. I first heard about it on the radio driving to work one day and my ears perked up when I heard that Elmo would be there. Elmo, huh? Done. The $10 that it cost our family of three to attend was in fact worth so, so much more.

When we first walked into the room that Elmo was in, her eyes lit up and she yelled out, "MO-MO!" It was so cute. I could tell that even though she was excited to actually see Elmo in person she was still a little unsure about him. So we took it slow and before we knew it she was not only down dancing with everyone, she was cutting all the other kids off to be the closest one to Elmo. There were times where she would grab onto the fur on his legs as if though it were a finger. She LOVED him; like a stalker kind of love. Didn't want to leave his side, let alone the theater when it was time to go get lunch. You know if she's turning down food, she must be in love!

A little unsure still

Happier in dad's arms

Flirty smile

Waving at Elmo

Taking the lead

Buddies

Finger zaps

Bananas @ the Park

Fun-Filled Family Outing

We took advantage of the President's Day holiday on Monday by going on a fun-filled family outing. Brookfields was our first stop for a hearty breakfast, then it was off to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town. I have fond memories of Fairytale Town, not just from when I was a kid but going there with Kaylee when she was younger as well. It's a great activity for kids and one that I too often forget about. I can't help but turn into a kid myself as soon as I walk under the Humpty Dumpty Bridge, even after all these years; minus the tantrums when I don't get my way.

We hit the Zoo first but didn't stay long as we knew the girls would have more fun at Fairytale Town. I went crazy with the camera hoping to capture as many smiles on Mallory's face as possible. While she still is more of a serious child, she has been all smiles lately so I was able to get A LOT of good photos.

Throwing crayons at breakfast

Dad's buddy

Not too sure about the giraffe

Loves to be on the shoulders

The first of many slides

Crooked Mile

Family pictures are hard to get now

LOVES slides

Polka Dots

Dora Plate

It's no secret that Mallory is a Nick Jr. kid. Her current favorites are The Fresh Beat Band; Yo Gabba Gabba!; The Upside Down Show; Go, Diego, Go!; and Dora the Explorer. When one of these shows come on, Mallory gets so excited; most times loudly proclaiming her elation with a big "YAY!" and sometimes then followed by the flailing of her arms. When she gets the arms going, you know she's PUMPED. Now we just need to teach her to run while she's doing this and she'll be like the kid from Home Alone.

My mom was in town on Friday/Saturday, and us girls went shopping at Target of course. Mallory scored a gift from Mamaw: a cool Dora plate. I didn't show Mallory who was on the plate before dishing her lunch of veggie soup, so after a few bites she started to recognize the image. "DOH-DOH!" I was able to get a little bit of her saying Dora's name on video, but she was a little preoccupied with a certain show.

Happy Valentine's Day

Last night while watching The Bachelor,  I made these heart-shaped treat holders to pass out to my female co-workers today. Even though I had plans to make these over a week ago, I procrastinated on buying the candy to put inside them until yesterday; bad idea. I went to two different stores and stared at empty shelves where the good candy used to be. So I improvised with single-serving Oreo Cakesters; delicious and perfectly portioned. Happy Valentine's Day!

BFF

Belly, Belly