Daisies! Troop 10020

Troop 10020 of the Girl Scouts Louisiana East held it's first meeting today!

To say I was a bit excited was an understatement ...

I decided last week that since EB still thought it was fun for me to have a Girl Scout shirt, that I'd definitely need one for our troop meetings.

Thankfully, I am one of the co-leaders, so I can for the most part just show up and have fun with the girls. I was bummed that I didn't get Lydia's "Future Girl Scout" shirt in time, but she didn't need it to think she was one of the Daisies ...

Eden Brooks already knows all of the girls in her troop since they are from the three K classes at her school plus her good friend Rebekah who has also decided to join our troop. Today, they said the pledge, the Girl Scout motto, played a fun "I'm a Daisy Scout" game that included wiggling and jiggling, colored, played on the playground, and had a snack. Their other activity was to introduce themselves going around the circle and name their favorite thing. When EB's turn came she told everyone her name, the class she is in, and then looked up at me to announce her favorite thing is her mommy. The girl knows how to take her audience into account -- she definitely meant it but would certainly have said her Daddy if he'd been the one in the room instead of me. She's very considerate that way :).

EB was really excited to wear her Aunt FeeFee's white uniform shirt that she wore when she was a Daisy scout ...

Let's hope working on the badges/petals and Daisy outings this year will be even more fun than today. Upcoming activities include heading to a martial arts studio for the Bravery & Courage badge and having a female police officer come and talk to the girls. Should be a very interesting year!

random

Some random bits from the past few weeks ... ... ... the girls had a movie night with the neighbors while Chloe and Piper's parents went on a date ...

We also headed out to the Harvest Days at the LSU Burden Agricultural Center. There were lots historic buildings to explore, an exhibit where the girls could make candles, and lots of people in period dress, which inspired EB's Halloween costume this year -- Mary from The Little House on the Prairie! Our wonderful Friday sitter, Beverly, is actually an archeologist and showed us her lab at the Center while we were there.
 

running buddies

Well, they've only actually gone running once, but EB was SUPER excited about it. She even wore her running clothes home from the store after she went shopping with her daddy.

I think there may be a few fun-runs in their future.

ajb

Big girl bed

Well, she won.

After a few nights of screaming that she didn't want the top of her crib closed ... that she wanted out! ... and that she wanted a big girl bed "like sissy" ... she got her way. She's actually a three months older than EB was when we switched her bed, but we figured if she could ask for it she was probably really ready.

Sometime, soon(ish) we'll get a twin mattress and put up the bed that matches EB's. EB wants the twin beds smushed together, side by side, and I'm thinking a canopy of some sort will be sweet over them. We shall see if I ever have time to make that happen.

For now, Miss Lydia is just super excited to be able to get in and out of her big-girl bed on her own.
Our big girl, indeed.

ajb

from my iPhone

Carpool fun ...

September????

Where in the world did September go? It seems work and school and work and kiddos and work and a house and work and church made September go by way too quickly.

Here are some highlights:

Grandparents' Luncheon at WHAM!
Eden Brooks was so very excited that her Granddaddy was able to make it for her special luncheon at school. Reportedly, all the kiddos in the class thought he was a parent because he was the only grandparent who could actually sit on the rugs with the kids for story time and get back up on his own :). Granddaddy was able to stay for a visit in the classroom, lunch, and recess on the WhamaLama (isn't that the greatest name?!) playground where he had a long visit with Ms. Clare. I'm still waiting on a picture from the school, but I did get one of bedtime stories the night before with the girls in their cruise souveneirs from CC and Granddaddy -- t-shirts from the Bahamas just like the ones from 30 years ago! We were so very thankful to have EB and Lydia's Granddaddy here for this visit!

Genesis Sunday School "with kids" Party!
We attempted to be a bit sneaky - sending out the invite just a week in advance, hosting on a Friday night, and saying it would be a backyard party -- in hopes that we might have a small turnout. No such luck. Tons of people ended up coming, 40 total, and there was a huge storm that started 20 minutes after the party so it was all inside. Thankfully, we found out the house could handle that many in comfort, though the kiddos were in every bedroom at some point.

Neighbors Babysitting Swap!
We also had our first date-night babysitting swap with our neighbors the Clements. We hosted their girls first for a movie night while Chloe and Piper's mom and dad headed out for a real date -- their first in a few years! The girls had such a good time, and the neighbors returned the favor this past Friday night. Lydia and EB both screamed with joy when they heard they were headed over to Chloe and Piper's for movie night.

A homeowner Saturday morning = Lowe's
A few weekends ago, we had a real "we-are-homeowners" morning with a trip to Lowe's. Unfortunately, I did not realize Graham had on a bright orange AU t-shirt until we got there (and LSU was playing Auburn that day!). But we had a fun time nonetheless. Isn't every store really just a playground anyway?

Quick ARP visit!
My cousin Allison was asked to speak to a photographer's association on Monday in Baton Rouge, so we were able to have a quick visit on Sunday night. Since it was such a quick trip, Miss EB and I got to go out to eat with Alli and her crew. EB was so excited she got dressed up for our late-night dinner.

Two little monkeys sleeping in the bed ...
These girls. I love that they want to be in the same bed, the same tiny crib, and they are so happy about it. I have yet to let them actually sleep that way, but they both beg to be in there together.