2011 - A Year in Review

Wow how time flies! 2011 went by very quickly...but I guess that is what happens when you are having fun.

Dotty has grown and changed so much in the past 12 months! It is hard to still see "my baby" in her...she is getting to be such a "big girl"!

This year Dotty had many great things happen to her...(and in no specific order)...
- She became a "Big Sister" to Dylann
- Her Daddy, Brittany, and Dylann all moved back to the WF area and having them closer has been great for everyone...especially Dotty
- She played her first organized sport...soccer...and got her first trophy!
- She started a preschool year without Presley just down the hall (Presley started kindergarten)
- She took her first plane ride...she went to Colorado with the Nichols Family
- She started taking gymnastics lessons...hopefully in 2012 she will master the cartwheel!
- She rode her first horse
- She rode her first camel...yes I said camel!
- She played "Mary" again in the school play
- She wore about 5 different costumes at Halloween
- She is learning to copy printed letters and she can spell her name really well
- She learned to swim
- She cut her own hair...so she got her first official haircut...to fix her hair!
- She got her ears pierced..."both of them"...as she liked to point out to you
- She made lots of new friends and got to spend time with the old ones too
- She turned 4 years old

All in all...2011 was a great year for our sweet Dotty. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

Happy New Year!

All About Mamma!

Okay this post is all about me...and since I am in fact Dotty's Mom I think it still works for her blog...

The main reason I am posting this is because I believe the best way to accomplish something is for people to be held accountable. I believe in that...and in guilt.

I want as many people to know about my 2012 New Year's Resolution as possible...this way I might just actually stick to it...out of accountability (and guilt)!

My New Year's Resolution for 2012 is to run a Half Marathon...yep...all 13.1 miles of it...before December 31, 2012. (And for those of you that know my life schedule...I really only have until about the first week of October to get this done because then I am too busy with pecan season!)

For those of you in good shape and/or who like to run...this might not seem like a big deal...but to me this is Mount Everest!!! I do not like to run and my shape is more pear...than good...although I am one plump pear...so as pear shapes go...then I am a good pear...but I digress...

So...by posting this on as many blogs as I have...(which is two...I have this one and the Pecan Shed's...I made it sound like I have tons of blogs...but two is almost more than I can handle) and by announcing it on Facebook (don't look for me on there...the Pecan Shed has a Facebook page..."LIKE IT" if you have not already)...and by telling as many people as I know and some random strangers that I feel driven to share this part of my life with...I am hoping that I will be forced to be held accountable for making this resolution a reality...if I don't then I will feel guilty (see how the guilt thing works?!)!!!

The next time you see me feel free to ask me how my training is going, how many miles I ran that day, or what I had for lunch...on second thought don't ask me about what I had for lunch...it might make me hungry again!

I will occasionally keep you posted on my progress (look how positive I am already...I am assuming there will in fact be progress).

See you at the finish line!

Deflated Not Dead...

This entire holiday season Dotty has loved looking at the lights all over town. She especially loves looking at the inflatable lighted displays like those of Santa, Snowmen, the Grinch, etc.

One morning when we were heading to school Dotty noticed that the snowman in front of a house in our neighborhood was deflated and lying in a puddle of nylon on the ground.

Dotty yelled, "Someone killed that snowman!"

I said, "He is not dead he is just deflated. At night they blow air up in him to make him stand up. Then they shine lights on him so we can see him. Then when morning comes they turn off the air and lights and he falls down on the ground like he is now."

Dotty sat for a second and said, "I am not sure if you know what you are talking about Momma."

I shook my head in agreement and said, "Sometimes I am not sure if I know what I am talking about either Dotty...but I do know the difference in a dead snowman and a deflated one."

When we drove by the house again that evening the snowman was back to his healthy, fat, and shining self.

Dotty yelled, "He's alive!"

It was a Christmas miracle!

Love/Hate Relationship

Dotty and her cousin Presley have a "love/hate" relationship. They always say they want to see each other and they usually are thrilled to be around each other for at least 5 or 10 seconds...then all heck breaks loose.

They fuss...they fight...they drive everyone around them nuts!

But when it is time to go...they cry that they don't want to leave each other.

It is really quite frustrating.

I feel for both Presley and Dotty in different ways.

Presley is 6 and Dotty is 4 so of course Dotty wants to do EVERYTHING Presley does...and wants to dress like Presley, eat what Presley is eating...she is even mad here lately because Presley has started losing her teeth and she hasn't.

I have a cousin that is 4 years younger than me and I can remember when Tracey wanted to dress like me and tried to copy everything that I did. It was very annoying for a young kid...however...we grew up to be very close as we got older...and she was the closest thing I had to a little sister. So I know someday Dotty and Presley will (more than likely...keep your fingers crossed) feel that way too about each other.

On the other hand, I can see where Presley at times does stuff to Dotty just to make her mad...which is EXACTLY what Jake used to do to me growing up and I HATED it! In fact...Jake and I spent a good 4 or 5 years barely speaking to each other when we were growing up because all we did was fight! So I feel sorry for Dotty in that respect.

To compound the problem...both girls are only children...and spoiled (yep...I know mine is spoiled rotten). They are not used to having to share toys, time, or attention (especially Memaw's).

I can only hope that as Dotty's little sister Dylann gets older Dotty will learn what it is like to be the "older" one and will cut Presley some slack. I also hope time will make things better.

What I do know is that when Dotty and Presley are around each other for any amount of time I require earplugs, prayers for patience...and perhaps some time alone for me to destress!

The Real Meaning of Christmas...

Christmas Eve...Dotty said, "Tonight is the night Jesus was born."

"Yes it is," I said.

Then Dotty asked, "Did you know Jesus died for you and me?"

"Yes I did," I said with a catch in my throat.

Dotty went on to say..."He died so we could go to Heaven. Wasn't that nice of him? I am going to tell him thank you when I get to Heaven."

I couldn't say a word...I just nodded and hugged her close to me. I was so touched by my precious baby girl. Her Nana and her Sunday School teachers have done a good job at teaching my child what is the real meaning of Christmas truly is...and I need to do a better job of teaching her too. Even though I think she is so young to understand it all...she really does understand more than I give her credit for and now is the time to really work at creating a strong foundation in her belief system.

I knew on Christmas morning that Dotty would be overwhelmed with new toys and gifts of all kinds but I was so glad that on the Eve of Christ's birth Dotty took a moment to remind me of what Christmas is really all about.

Sometimes in life our children truly are our best teachers.

Candy Cane Addiction

Dotty loves candy canes! I don't know that she has ever eaten an entire regular size one, but she always wants them when she sees them!!!

A few days ago I put plastic candy canes that light up in front of our house. Dotty was so excited, but she has not been home early enough to really check them out...this time of year things are so busy!

This morning while I was loading the car I noticed Dotty was really inspecting the candy canes in our flower bed. I put the last bag in the back of the car and turned to tell her to load up.

I caught her just as she licked the fake light up candy cane!

I laughed so hard I almost fell over!!!!

Dotty laughed too! She said they didn't taste very good.

So I have a new marketing idea...outdoor light up candy canes that actually TASTE like a candy cane!!! I know Dotty would have me buy 100 of them!

He Knows When You Have Been Bad or Good...

Thank heavens for the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". It has made every boy and girl act better in the month or so leading up to Christmas. I know it has made Dotty try to be a "good little girl".

Last night she went right to bed telling me..."Santa knows when you are sleeping and when you are awake."

Then this morning (after only being awake for about 5 minutes) Dotty asked "Have I been good so far today?"

My response was, "Well you are off to a good start. You just have about 835 more minutes to go!"

Dotty's Santa Picture 2011

Dotty has had her picture made with this very Santa almost every year since birth! We did miss one year when Dotty was scared of Santa. That year she had her picture made at a mall somewhere and Lena had to pose with her in the picture holding her while Dotty cried. It was one of those...you just have to have...kind of picture.

I mean who doesn't have a picture of their kid sobbing with Santa...it is a classic!!!

Dotty loves Santa now though. She told him everything on her list...and more! I am not sure Santa's sleigh can hold everything Dotty asked for...the giraffe might exceed the height limits!

Choices

Dotty bases all her underwear choices on who she will be seeing later in the day. She wears the panties with the picture of who that person likes most.

For example:
Memaw - Cinderella
Daddy and Brittany - Ariel
Mommy - Belle

I told her today was Jake's birthday and we would probably go by to see him later.

When she was getting dressed she asked me if I had any panties with "Keri" on them. Confused I told her no and then asked why.

She said, "Because Keri is Jake's favorite princess."

We went for Sleeping Beauty...long blond hair and likes to sleep...LOL...just kidding Keri!