Thank You, Nana!!!

We met Nana and Pop-Pop at a Harvest Festival this weekend and Nana came bearing gifts for The Barefoot Princess. She brought two homemade hats, one pumpkin for BP, and one strawberry for BP's little sister when she arrives. The Barefoot Princess looked at herself in the mirror with this hat on and started to giggle. She put the little strawberry hat on Bitty Baby and has not taken it off since!!! Thank you!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!!

Barefoot Mom Favorite

I am loving this necklace that I found on chasing-fireflies.com!!! It is totally me and I love the idea of putting the names of my soon to be two little girls on a necklace. Chasing Fireflies has all different options for this necklace. You can get pearl droplets on gold or silver or no pearls at all. Very cute and fun!!!

Thank You Aunt MiMi!!!

The Barefoot Princess received a package in the mail the other day and was very excited! Her

Aunt MiMi sent a horse printed turtleneck, which she cannot wait to wear, and does not understand

that since it is 80 degrees still we have to wait until the Fall weather comes. Also in the package

was a little Nantucket basket. Pictured above, it is adorable, and the perfect size for The Barefoot

Princess. I can see her carrying it now as a little summer purse!!! Thank you for thinking of BP and

her upcoming 2nd Birthday!!!

Thomas and Friends

DVD and all toys from Toys R Us

We have been playing "Choo-Choo" for the last few days here. The Barefoot Princess has been into trains all summer and we finally broke down and bought a few of these wooden Thomas and Friends trains and tracks. These little buggers are costly!!! They are well made and I guess could be considered collectibles though. Anyway, The Barefoot Princess has never seen the Thomas show, so we also bought the DVD, Steamies vs. Diesels to go with the toys. I watched it with her the other morning and I have to admit I learned some things about trains that I never knew. (I was never into trains as a child) I am sure both of her Grandfathers would be proud of this interest. Papa G "plays" with the real life-size trains and Pop-Pop L, a steam engine collector, loves anything that runs off steam. I guess it is in BP's genes to be a "Choo-Choo" lover!!!

Who Knew???

Who knew finding, deciding, and eventually buying a double stroller would be such a feat? We sure didn't!!! So many decisions. Side-by-side? Front-and-back? Big wheels? Little Wheels? Jogger? Car seat attchment? And then there are the storage options... You would think we were buying another car! Here is one that I spotted on TravelingTikes.com yesterday that I like, but now I have to find one to test drive and see if The Barefoot Princess and her Daddy like it too!

The Bops

CD, DeeDee Costume, and Book

All from Amazon

The Barefoot Princess calls them "The Bops" and she loves them!!! The Doodlebops are a band of three, Deedee, Rooney and Moe, and they have a show on the Disney channel. They are full of energy and sing songs that are very catchy. I often find myself singing them around the house and still listening to the CD after BP has long fallen asleep in the car. I have even heard BP's Daddy singing some of their songs. The Barefoot Princess asks for them whenever we are in the car. She thinks they should always be on TV and when they are not she is disappointed. She even pretends to talk to them on the phone. Our favorite song to sing and dance to in the car is "Get On the Bus". I have to admit that I welcomed The Doodlebops because it gave us a little break form Barney!!!

Hop on the Move

Here is The Barefoot Princess' new nightly ritual. Acutally anytime she goes outside she wants to put Hop in her John Deere and give him a ride. Recently she learned how to maneuver her tractor, so she is very independent now and very proud of herself. (She used to just push the gas and we would chase her around the yard to turn the wheel.) Flaps, or "Slaps" as she calls him, follows behind to make sure they are behaving. Hop is a very good sport about the whole adventure.

Beach Pics

The Barefoot Princess and Logan

Not too sure about his hand on her leg!!!

BP and Dylan or "Dyl" as she calls him

Dylan, Logan and BP

She sat burried in the sand for about 30 minutes.

She was ok with her legs being covered, but did not want her hands to get sandy!!!

It was Logan's 1st beach experience. He loved it!!!

Snuggled for an evening stroll

We hope she is this good with her own sister!!!

BP and Dylan at the Zoo

The Barefoot Family on the Train at the Zoo

BP and Dylan racing on the beach

BP and Baby Brynnie

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Tomorrow is The Barefoot Princess' Grandma's Brithday. I will not mention her age here, but I can assure you that I would confidently bet anyone $100 that they would never guess her age correctly. She looks at least 15 years younger than she is. (And to my father-in-law, No, I am not kissing up!!)

BP's Grandma wears many hats...She is a Wife, Mother, Mom-in-law, Grandma, Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Teacher, and Friend. Here are a few words that describe Grandma...

Dedicated
She is very dedicated to her family. Family is always first to her.
She is very dedicated to her profession. She has taught physical education to grades K-3 for the past thirty-three years. Bless her!!! Need I say more???

Patient
She is extremely patient and even keeled. She was the only woman in a house of three men for over twenty years and put up with a lot from all of them.

Kind
She is very kind. She looks for the good in every situation and everyone. I have never heard her utter an unkind word or judgment about anyone in the ten years I have known her.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!
Love,
The Barefoot Family

Off to the Beach...

We are off to the beach for one more weekend before Fall really settles in. I love the beach in September! I am all about flip-flops, jeans, sweatshirts and playing on the beach at sunset. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can also get to the beach during the day beacuse I am sure the water is still pretty warm. This weekend we are meeting friends of ours from high school and college for some fun in the sun. There will be six adults and four children so it will be non-stop action and laughs I am sure. The Barefoot Princess is very excited to see her friend Dylan and also Baby Brynn and Baby Logan. Here's to holding onto summer for one more weekend!!!

Automoblox

I saw the Automoblox C9 Sports Coupe in the Chasing Fireflies catalog for $35 and I also found it on Amazon.com where they are $79. (Apparently it is a Limited Edition) Major difference in price! I love the idea of a toy car that can be taken apart and put back together for girls. I think The Barefoot Princess would love this toy. It is kind of lego-like and good for little girls to develop this part of their brain. They have other colors and types and each car has a unique shape and color system so that the parts cannot be confused.

Morning at the Park

(click to see Bitty Baby)

We woke up this morning to the most beautiful day and decided it was a perfect morning for the park!! Off we went for some fun on the swings, slides, and other equipment. Of course Bitty Baby came along also. The Barefoot Princess insisted on bringing the stroller too. She even put her in the swing!!

Red, White and Blue, We All Love You!!!

(Artwork by The Barefoot Princess)

Like today, it was also a Tuesday six years ago that I learned the true meaning of the word tragedy and until that day I realized that I lived in a very safe and secure world. I am sure that like so many others I took it for granted. Unfortunately, The Barefoot Princess will never know what our world was like pre 9/11 and it is very sad when you really stop to think about it. However, I think it is important to teach her about the wonderful nation we call home and to love the colors red, white, and blue and all that they symbolize. Since she is almost two I had to think of a simple way to do this and this is what we came up with today. As BP went crazy with the Elmer's and smushing the paper, I kept singing the Red, White and Blue, We all Love You!!! poem over and over to her. Simple, I know, but hopefully meaningful!

Chasing Fireflies

Someone thought of The Barefoot Princess when they saw the Chasing Fireflies catalog and sent it home with BP's Daddy for us to peruse. I immediately fell in love with the Blue Bouquet Coat, $220, pictured above which was on the front of the catalog. It would match BP's "blueberry eyes" perfectly, but the price is a little steep for a growing toddler who may only get one season out of it. Then I saw this adorable Heartfelt Messenger Bag, $98, and I immediately wondered if BP will need a bag when she starts school two mornings a week in January? Chasing Fireflies is a great find for unique children's clothing, toys, gifts and more. If you are in the market for a special gift check out http://www.chasing-fireflies.com/

Shoes

Morgan and Milo
Libby Skimmers, Ginger Mary Janes,

and Patchwork Mary Janes, all $40

at Babystyle

Lelli Kelly at Nordstrom

Sometimes it is very hard to find cute girly shoes and I prefer not to do the "character thing" or the "light up" kind. (It is just a personal preference.) Here are two brands that I really like for something a little different on The Barefoot Princess' feet. The first three pictured are from Morgan and Milo and can be purchased on-line at http://www.babystyle.com/ or at a Babystyle store. If you have never seen or heard of Babystyle it is a great resource for all types of baby, toddler and kid gear. The last pair is from Lelli Kelly and we found them at Nordstrom. Who knew little shoes could be so much fun???

Happy Birthday to Aunt Nicole!!!

(Photo from Flickr)

A very Happy Birthday to The Barefoot Princess' Aunt Nicole or "Cole" as she calls her!!! If we could choose any cake for Nicole on her birthday this would be it. It screams Nicole!!! We hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow and Uncle "Mack" plans something special for you.

Someday???

I had a horse growing up and so did BP's Dad, actually he had a few. So it is one of our dreams to have a horse again someday. We have a good friend who knows this dream of ours and she called last week to tell us about a sweet Belgian mare who was in need of a good home. The name of the mare is Janet and her current owner described her as "good as gold." Our friend said she had room on her farm for us to board Janet if we decided we could not live without her. We went to see Janet and she was beautiful and very sweet. I loved her right away (maybe it had something to do with the matching bellies we both had), but we decided that she was a little too "green" for us. In horse terms, green means she was not well trained and probably a little older than we would like. We also know that right now is not the perfect time to make our dream come true, with baby #2 on the way. We really should wait a couple of years. The Barefoot Princess is already in awe of horses and we would like to encourage this fascination. Someone very wise once told me, "Every little girl should have a horse because it keeps them innocent longer." Someday The Barefoot Family will find their horse, until then our good friend is still scouting for the perfect fit!!!

Choo-Choo Trolley

The Barefoot Princess can spot a trolley at least a mile away and when she does she squeals and shouts "choo-choo". We are not sure if she thinks they are trains, but she loves them!!! She loves them even more if one of the drivers spots her and rings the old-fashioned bell. That really makes her day. We saw dozens of these red and green beauties every day during our beach vacation and we took BP on the children's trolley ride one afternoon. It focused on the architecture of the Victorian times and was a little advanced for a two year old, but she sat and listened and passed the picture props that the tour guide used when it was her turn. She definitely enjoyed the ride and whenever we walked by the trolley tour stop she would say "please, please, please" because she knew she could ride the "choo-choo trolley!"

The Hole

Here are some more pictures from our Labor Day weekend. These particular shots are of "The Hole" that The Barefoot Princess' Uncle T made for her on the beach. She convinced him to play with her and then "The Hole" just kept getting bigger and bigger and longer and longer. She would count, "one, two, wee" and throw herself into the hole (thank goodness for the extra padding of the diaper). Then she would run through the hole and climb out and announce "Ta Da!!!" and do it all over again. This kept The Barefoot Princess busy for about an hour on the beach and we all sat around and counted and cheered her on for an hour too!!!

A Front Porch Tradition

We have a few of these pictures from our time at the beach over the last five years or more. Even though my husband and his brother always complain, my mom-in-law convinces (forces) them to stand still for a couple minutes and smile for a group photo. I am so glad she does because I think these pictures will be priceless to look back on someday.

So here is the crew from Labor Day weekend 2007 just before a delicious dinner at The Washington Inn. From left to right we have Rainer, Sonja, Grandpa, Grandma, Danea, Todd, Myself (with BP's little sister), BP's Daddy, and of course The Barefoot Princess with Bitty Baby.

Beauty to Me...

When I was a senior in high school I remember having to write a paper on what beauty is? Our assignment was to choose three things that were beautiful to us and define exactly what beauty is. I remember spending a lot of time on that assignment because our teacher really made us think. I wish I could find that paper. I am sure it is in a box somewhere in my parents house. It is ten years later and the above three pictures are what beauty is to me now...

1. The Barefoot Princess
2. A Beach Sunset
3. My husband protecting our little girl from the waves

I will have to look for the paper to see what three things I wrote about ten years ago...

Wii

The Wii was a huge hit over Labor Day at the beach. Thank you to Danea and Todd for bringing a toy to amuse The Barefoot Princess and her Daddy. I have to admit, I am not much of a video game person, they could never keep my attention for very long. I may be more of a book geek I guess, but I played nine holes of golf with BP's Daddy when she was napping one afternoon and I could definitely be hooked. I like the idea that it is interactive and you just don't sit on the couch to play. The one night I watched Uncle T and BP's Dad both work up a sweat, yes a real sweat playing tennis. The neighbors could hear them grunting and yelling as if they were playing a real game of tennis on a real court. BP's Dad is definitely addicted to the Wii! The Barefoot Princess had fun playing with the handheld joystick and imitating her Dad and Uncle T!