A Bittersweet Paci Puppy

Today, my friends, is my sweet little girl's third birthday! For three years now she has blessed us with her beautiful smile, hilarious personality, caring heart, and of course, so much more.  But, that's not what this blog is about. I will absolutely be blogging more about her birthday next week after we have her party, but as I've stated, with Chloe's third birthday, also came another big milestone.  The exit of the paci.  I have been terrified of this moment for two reasons: Chloe was attached obsessed with ADDICTED TO HER PACI, and, to be honest, aside from her high chair, this is really and truly the very last bit of baby stuff left to say goodbye to.  (Enter the bittersweet tears here.)

To say that saying goodbye to her paci went amazingly well is the understatement of the century. After day one, which by all means was a bit of a rough ride, it was relatively easy. Chloe did ask for her paci from time to time, but seemed to accept the "daddy took them all away" answer pretty well.  Her sleep was a bit messed up, and she found it hard to stay asleep in the middle of the night, but all that passed quickly.

Yesterday, we hit the two week paci free mark. In anticipation of this and her birthday, Rusty and I took Chloe to Build A Bear this weekend to put her pacis into whatever stuffed animal she chose. Rusty and I were both a bit nervous about how she would react when we pulled the pacis out, but she did MORE THAN FINE! Seriously, this girl was so excited to stuff her puppy full of pacis! Here are the pictures of her trip to Build A Bear and of the newest addition to the Thompson household, Paci Puppy.



Daddy leading Chloe into the world of all things stuffed.

Picking out her Build A Bear from the slew of choices.

Choosing her sound. She chose a barking dog.

Helping the woman stuff the puppy.  Chloe ran the foot pedal.

Getting her pacis ready for the big moment.

Pausing to prove to the world that YES, she is happy and smiling about this!

The BIG moment! There they go! (I'll never admit I teared up.)

Paci Puppy needed a bath.

What does a Paci Puppy wear? Of course, a sequined halter top, pink fluffy tutu, and a matching headband!

The finished product and a very happy little girl!

All in all, it was a bittersweet success story to tell for years. In case you're wondering how Paci Puppy is doing now (there were so many who said Chloe was going to rip apart Paci Puppy to get to those pacis), you will all be glad to know Paci Puppy is still fully in tact and currently in bed next to my sweet girl. 

Before I finish up this blog, and on a totally different topic, I have two big product shout outs this week. It takes a lot to impress this picky mama, and these two products did just that for different reasons. The first is Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer.  



I am not one to like tanning lotions. They streak, won't wash off, and just generally make you look stupid most of the time.  My mother in law uses this Jergen's Daily Moisturizer though and never has streaks or looks orange. I decided to try it not because I need a tan, if you've seen me lately you know my summer tan is in full effect, but because the back side of my legs are so much lighter than the front side. Ladies, I must say, I'm sold. I'm a believer. I don't think another day is going to go by that I don't use this miracle moisturizer.  First and foremost, my legs feel like butter. Like butter! They are so soft! As an added extra, the back of my legs are now matching the front of my legs and I have zero streak marks or orange glow!!! I'm in love!

My second product shout out is really more of a store shout out. The other day as I sat at the Chili's in Grapevine Mills Mall, I noticed the huge signs in Wilson's Leather that said 70% off all handbags and an extra 20% off clearance bags. Wilson's clearly had my full attention.  We had a purpose that day though. Remember Paci Puppy? Today, though, Chloe and I happened to be at Grapevine Mills Mall again to see Rio 2. I made it a point to stop by Wilson's and see if this sale was as good as it sounded. I'm not kidding when I say that I it truly was! I walked out of there with a $140 bag...a $140 bag that I paid $31.97 for! Oh yes! $31.97!  How can you resist this steal of a deal. You must go see for yourself!

On that note, I leave you!

Till next time,

Lori

Summer Goals and Pic A Day Friday June 8-13

It's officially Friday, the end of the first week of summer vacation!  I beg of you, someone anyone PLEASE explain exactly what summer vacation means to Chloe! Her idea of summer vacation thus far means rising with the chickens and taking pitifully short naps.  That being said, I do feel like I've been more productive than is my usual during the school year. I've been able to run to the bank at my leisure, get the car registration renewed that's been out since last September (shh!), and, the big one, my house is clean and the laundry isn't over flowing!  Honestly, I guess I just may owe Chloe a 'thank you.' I'm not sure that I would be so productive on my own clock. Seriously, let me put this into perspective. Today, Chloe woke me up at exactly 6:58am, and according to her daddy and the chair that was pushed up to the open refrigerator, she had already been up for a few minutes.  We didn't have to leave for her swim lessons until 9:40ish.  In that amount of time, which I surely would have slept away on my own clock, I was able to feed her a warm breakfast, clean up the kitchen, bathe Spanky, promptly stick his butt outside to dry, clean the bathrooms, vacuum all carpeted areas, and start a load of clothes.  Oh, and of course, get both of us dressed, teeth brushed, and hair combed.  I walked out the door feeling like I had a pretty successful start to our day. For that, I will swallow my pride and say that maybe there is a silver lining to my sleepless wonder of a child.  But still, it sure would be nice to sleep in every once in a while.

With summer, comes my annual "to do" list. I've been making them for years.  It's typically my version of spring cleaning, a list of everything I need to do around the house before I go back to school.  This week, I decided to have a "dead" week where I don't do much of anything aside from the normal, but I did make my list. My goal is always by the end of summer to have the whole list crossed out. I also made a new kind of list, a "to do with Chloe" list. Next week she will be three. THREE! Time is flying by, and I know I really need to savor every minute of it making memories as we go. Here are my two lists. We will start on both next week.

At the end of the summer, I'll come back to these lists and you can see how much we were able to accomplish on each list.

And now, on to Pic A Day Friday. Our week this week is starting on Sunday rather than Saturday. Apparently, I didn't take a single picture all day Saturday!

Sunday:

After a fun couple of hours at Urban Air, there's nothing like a mommy/Chloe selfie before she passes out for the drive home.

Monday:

It goes without saying that Chloe is missing Jakki. ALL week long she has colored pictures, placed them in envelopes sealed with just about a whole roll of tape, and put them in my purse or swim bag. Each time I ask her what is in the envelope, her response is, "Oh, it's just an email for my Jakki." #lovethisgirl

Tuesday:

Tuesday was a busy day.  Since it rained all day Monday, Tuesday was Chloe's first official day of summer swim lessons.  During the school year, we take a picture each morning to send to daddy. This summer, it will be a picture on the way to swim lessons. This was his first one of the summer.

After swim lessons, Chloe and I rushed home to get ready for the Northwest High School graduation. Here we are with miss Lindsey, one of my very special girls from the class of 2014.

This moved me.  Draped in the chair that Thomas would have sat in was his graduation robe.

 Wednesday:

Thursday started out rough. As you all know, last week, Chloe gave up her paci. All things considered, it went fairly smoothly, with only a few minor break downs.  Until Thursday....the day in which Chloe miraculously found her paci tucked away in a toy. That sneaky sleuth had hidden one in there long ago I guess. 

 Needless to say, it didn't end well.

I felt horrible. She wasn't having a tantrum. She was crying like I hurt her feelings worse than anyone ever had.  I could NOT  get her to stop crying. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and out came the Easter candy.

...followed by the pool. That paci was long forgotten. :)

Thursday:

It was 71 degrees, on and off rain, why not have a freezing cold swim lesson?

 Friday:

 

Just another morning picture for daddy!

This weekend is guaranteed to be filled with summer sun and fun! Then, on Wednesday, Chloe turns THREE! It will all be documented on next week's edition of Pic A Day Friday!

Till next time,

Lori

#picadayfriday May 31-June 6

What an exciting week we have had! It all started with Chloe's dance recital on Saturday. This week was also the last week of school, Chloe said bye bye to her paci three weeks earlier than planned, and today is the last day that Chloe will be staying with Jakki...ever. I must say of all the big events and changes this week, her leaving Jakki is by far the most emotional. We wont' go there right now though. After three years with her, it's just too emotionally draining to think about.

Now, on to the fun part!

 

Saturday:

On Saturday, Rusty and I along with Chloe's closest family watched our baby girl have her dancing debut. I must say, she really was the cutest thing ever. Just look at her; so beautiful! Here is her tap performance, too!

Sunday:

After Chloe's recital on Saturday, we headed out to Arlington to meet Dusty, Kori, and the girls for the Daryl Dodd concert. It was a late night, and we were all pretty tired when we got home. So, on Sunday, we sat around, did laundry, and truly, not much else. Everyone needs a lazy day here and there. And, if you know Duke, you know being lazy is his number one hobby. I let him stay inside and be lazy with us all day long.  As you can see, he truly appreciated me. 

 

Monday:

Well rested, and ready to start the week! Little did she know what awaited her on that day. Rusty took her pacis away that night! Like, for good!

 Tuesday:

Both Tuesday and Wednesday I tried super hard to keep Chloe busy. I figured the busier we were, the less time she had to think about her long gone pacis.  We met Kelly and Kadence at the park both nights.  It worked like a charm! There were no tears, no whining...nothing! She was paci free all day and at bed time!

 

    Wednesday:

 Rotten. Just rotten.

 Thursday:

While at Walmart, Chloe spotted the princess fishing poles. Needless to say, we didn't walk away without one.  #justlikeherdaddy

 Friday:

Sweet Bittersweet Friday. Today is Chloe's last day staying with Jakki. There have been many a tear shed over this.  I've been trying to prepare Chloe for this, but I don't think she really understands.  We got Jakki a gift card last night for some pampering, and Chloe wanted to write Jakki's name on the envelope.   She's really growing up way too fast!

 

There you have it! Next week's pictures will stocked full of week one of summer fun! I can guarantee lots of water play and lazy day pictures!

Till next time,

Lori