Disney on Ice!

My generous in-laws got Haven and I tickets to see Disney on Ice at the fair!!  We were thrilled!!  She didn't know what she was in for, but she LOVED it!  Nervous at first and clinging to me (which I have to say I enjoyed), but eventually warming up and glued to every second.  Minnie Mouse was there which was an added thrill as I had only told her about certain princesses that would be there.  Haven sang along at times...

"feet night-in-gale...ah, ah, ah.." - Sweet Nightingale from Cinderella
"I have deeeem..." - I Have a Dream from Tangled.
"Under sea" - Under the Sea from Little Mermaid

Ursula took Ariel's voice and Haven sang with her "ah ah ah, ah ah ah..."  Haha!  It was too cute.  I think I watched her more than the show, which is how it should be right?!  So so fun to see something you love through your child's eyes.  Thankfully my Disney-loving ways have rubbed off on my sweet girl!  Ok enough chatting, here's some pics from our wonderful morning!!

"Let's go!"

Before the show!

During the show!

After the show!

Did I mention we brought a costume change?

Haven was in heaven!  She's been talking about "Minnie Mouse," "Maid," "Punzel," "Ice," and "Beauty Beast" ever since!  Not one fuss or negative thing out of her the whole time.  It was a blast!!!

Let's go on a date!

A few weeks ago, Russell and I went on a date.  It's always sketchy when we leave the house if she's going to be upset or not, but that particular night it worked to simply tell her that "Mommy and Daddy are going on a date!"  She said "oooooh Mommy bootiful dress" and was fine to see me walk out the door!  Ever since then, she loves dates.  Dates with Mommy, dates with Daddy, dates with Gammie and Biyah, and dates with Grandma and Poppy.  Every time she goes anywhere with anyone, it's "goin on date!"  It's too cute!

I have particularly enjoyed my dates with Haven lately.  I am able to get SO much more done when she is in school 3 days a week, so although I'm getting less quantity time with her during the week, I feel like I'm getting much more QUALITY time.  This particular day we ran a bunch of errands, got ice cream, and went to the park.  I love my sweet girl so much!

Andy's frozen custard has a HUGE ice cream cone on their sign and she was just fascinated by it.  And completely giddy eating her ice cream - "SO GOOD!"  I'm afraid she has my sweet tooth!  I actually hadn't planned on taking her to the park but as we passed by it in our neighborhood, she said "Mommy please park?"  How do I say no to that?!  And I'm glad I didn't. :)

Giggles for days!  Mommy/Haven dates are the BEST!

"Tangled!"

I posted this on Facebook some time ago, but I came across the pictures again just now and they just crack me up.  They're worth revisiting!!

This is what you get when your job is awesome and requires you to have a princess wig on hand...

Shoe Obsession

Lord help me.  My daughter is 2 and already has a shoe obsession.  We can't go into Payless without coming home with a pair of something sparkly... or a humongous FIT.  Usually I decide $12 is worth no public humiliation for the day so I continue to spoil my child... or keep her from the shoe store altogether.  The score is currently Haven - 3, Mommy - 0. 

She wants to wear shoes from the moment she wakes up.  Her favorites are some little black flats with ankle straps, sparkly gold flats, and "Dorothy red shoes."  Can you guess what she's going to be for Halloween?!  :)  Lately she has decided Mommy's shoes are pretty cool too...

"Pawpaw Bed"

My Grandpa (Haven calls him Pawpaw) made this little doll bed for me when I was little and now Haven is playing with it!  She has been putting all kinds of stuffed animals, baby dolls, etc in the bed and covering them with a blanket.  She tells them to go night-night and will come back later and say "get up!"  One particular time it wasn't Elmo or Lella that I found in the bed...

Silly girl!

My first trip to LSU!

LSU is in my blood.  So many of my family members have gone there and I can't believe it took me 27 years and my brother enrolled there to get me on campus!  I loved it!  My sister and I had our first road trip together since she became a married woman (part of my speech at the reception came true faster than I thought it would!) and ventured down to Tigerland to see our not-so-little brother!  Here's some pics of our trip!

Dorm room!

Love, love, love all the oaks on campus!

Yay for time with our cousin Alec too!

Mr. Les Miles... weird that I've watched him coach 2 teams that I love.

Uncle Leonard!

Waiting for the band to come down the hill!

They were incredible!  Love that they play right in your face!

We were literally on the front row...

So much love in this pic.  Love my siblings!!!

Oh those frat boys, twirling their jackets...

We moved up a bit in the 2nd and got a better view!

Tiger Stadium was pretty freaking awesome.  I have to say it's WAY louder than any other stadium I've been to.  The band is constantly playing something fun and touchdown celebrations are loud and exciting... a little bit unlike "waving wheat" at Oklahoma State.  But don't worry, a few weeks later I got to go home sweet home...

Answered Prayers

Well, it's official.  After 7 years of living at least an 11-hour car ride away in 2 different states, my parents moved back to Tulsa, OK!!!!!!  Can you tell I am excited?!?  We are a super tight-knit family and being so far away was difficult.  We made it work with:

7 years of Skype dates
7 years of meet-you-half-way trips
7 years of tricky holiday scheduling
7 years of road trips
7 years of expensive airfare
7 years of phone calls
7 years of counting the weeks between visits
7 years of squeezing LOTS of activities in 2-day increments
7 years of wishing we could see each other more
7 years of dreaming that one day we'd be back together

And more specifically they have had:

2 years of  emailed pictures and videos of their only grandchild
2 years of Skype while she sleeps, eats, dances, and plays
2 years of worrying about us when we travel to see them
2 years of difficult goodbyes after short visits
2 years of longing for more time with her

Not only have our dreams come true, but GOD ANSWERED OUR PRAYERS.

I have wanted nothing more than my sweet girl to have the relationship with my parents that I do with my grandparents.  Don't get me wrong - they were making it happen from afar, but gosh life just got so much easier.  Now we can do things like:

Weeknight dinners
No-travel holidays
Grandparent/Haven dates
Win-win babysitting (Grandparent/Haven time - more Mommy/Daddy dates)
 Zoo, splash pad, park, shopping - you name it
Dance recitals (or just dance class for that matter!)
Future sporting events, school plays and performances
Regular, everyday might-be-boring-to-others interactions

And my brain can't help but go here... They will be close by from Day 1 of Haven's little sister(s)/brother(s) one day.  (Not yet I can assure you!).  All that comes with that almost overwhelms me.  The idea of being close by through pregnancy, no crazy 11-hour travel when it's time for baby, help with both baby and Haven from the start, just all of it.  Amazing.

Thank you Lord for answering our prayers and bringing my parents back to OK.  We are forever grateful and won't take one day for granted.  Blessed beyond belief!