Swimming & "Redneck" Girl

Today we went swimming at Magic Springs with a friend from school, Kelli, and her son, Marshal. Jayci and Marshal had lots of fun playing in the water together. And just let me say I am so impressed with how well Jayci is swimming. Well she is not actually swimming per say but she is so comfortable with the water. She has started actually going underwater without holding her nose and doesn't come up choking. Which is a huge improvement. However, I am kind of nervous about the summer ending. Last summer she was also very brave in the water and at the beginning of this summer we have had to work very hard to get her to this point. I just hope that next summer she remembers how much fun the water is. That way we do not have to wait until the end of the summer for her to really enjoy swimming like we did this year.

This is Jay trying to turn my sweet little girl in to a "redneck" girl. I am not sure how I feel about this. On one hand I want her to like fishing, hunting, and all that stuff but I still want her to be girly. I guess she can be both as long as it is an even mix between the two. And really if we never have a little boy then that is the way it is going to be. Because trust me Jay is determined to have a child that hunts and fishes. I guess if I want to keep my girly girl then I need to hurry and have a little boy. However, as much as I would love to do this 1) I don't determine what we will have next and 2) I have to finish school before we have another baby. So I suppose I will just have to deal with a little bit of a country girl if that is what happens.

Nursing School

This week at school has been pretty good. We have had to set up our sterile fields (which is a lot harder than I thought) and wound dressing. Jayci has recently decided she likes to do homework also. Anytime I come in my bedroom and say I am doing homework she comes running with a crayon and paper to do her homework. Well today I needed to practice my wound dressing change so I decided to use her. I used a hot dog with some red paint on it as my wound and I taped it to her tummy. It was so cute I had to share with everyone! She did such a good job laying still. Oh and after I was doing her she put on my gloves and said she needed to do my boo-boo now. Who knows I may have a future nurse or doctor in the making!!!

4th of July

Hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July. We went to Mills Park in Bryant with our friends Mike, Celeste, Hunter, and Nathan. We had lots of fun. The kids got tattoos, we ate funnel cakes, and did all the fun stuff you do at a festival. The fireworks display was slow getting started but it turned out to be really good. Jayci and Hunter were so tired they didn't fully enjoy the fireworks. Infact both of them covered their ears and just watched. They kept asking if it was time to leave yet. Nathan actually fell asleep during the show. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

Toothpaste and Deer

Most babies get into vasoline or baby powder at some point before their 3rd birthday. Well Jayci decided it would be fun to get into the toothpaste! She said it was her "lotion." Even though I should not have encouraged her behavior I couldn't stop laughing because she was covered
head to toe in toothpaste. I included some pictures for you to see.

Also, my sister, Carrie, had a baby deer at my parents house. His name is Milo. He is so cute! He is probably only about 2-3 weeks old. One of her friends found it in the woods without it's Mommy. Therefore, my sister and a couple other of her friends are bottle feeding it until they figure out something to do with it. Here are some pictures of my sister and Jayci with Milo. Jayci
loved Milo!

My Birthday weekend

This weekend my mom and her boyfriend, Greg, came in from Chicago and stayed with us. We had a really fun time. Saturday (my b-day) we went to Magic Springs and then to eat at the Japenese steak house. It was a lot of fun. Jayci liked watching the guy cook our food. However, she did not like the big fire. It kind of scared her. Afterwards, Jay, Jayci and I went and down to bath house row in Hot Springs. We rode in a horse and carriage and Jayci actually got to drive! We also stayed at the Lake Hamilton Resort. Sunday my mom and Greg kept Jayci while Jay and I spent the afternoon together. Then we came home and my mom cut Jayci's hair. This was her first hair cut! I included pictures of the hair cut, us at the steak house, and a picture of my mom and Jayci in the whirlpool at the hotel. Thanks to my family for a Wonderful birthday! Love and Miss you Mom!

Summer Time

Here is a video and some pictures of Jayci swimming. It is so much fun watching her to learn. Today she actually wanted to take her floaties off and try swimming by herself. Needless to say she sunk instead. That's ok though. At least she wants to try and is not scared. In fact, I think she whould have just kept trying if I wouldn't have made her put her floaties back on. I hope we can teach her how to swim by the end of the summer.

This is Jayci going down the slide. You can tell by her face she was a little nervous. She said sh e had fun but she did not want to go down again! Oh and Aunt Cori came down to visit. We had fun swimming with her and relaxing at the pool. We love you, Aunt Cori!

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend and a blessed Memorial Day. I know we did. Jay, Jayci and I spent both Sunday and Monday with Jay's parents. We had so much fun grilling and swimming in their pool. We are so blessed to have family near to spend these days with.

At the end of last year Jayci was like a little fish! She would stand on the side of the pool and just jump in with floaties on. It was the greatest thing ever (except I was scared she would jump in and me not be looking). Well yesterday was her first time in the pool this year and she did not want anything to do with it. All she wanted to do is sit on the steps and kick in the water. Being the "mean" mommy that I am I made her get in with me and she just would cry the whole time. Well to make a long story short this evening she got brave again and climbed in from the side and swam (with the help of floaties) to the steps. There is no jumping off the side but it is just the beginning of summer still. I was so proud of her! I love to swim and being in the water so I am glad to be able to share that with my daughter.

I was so excited about her swimming I for got to take pictures of it. Next time we go I will be sure to take some and post them!