East Texas Weekend

 This past weekend we went to Tyler & Nacogdoches.  We were meeting some friends for SFA's homecoming.  We went to Tyler (technically, Flint) Friday night and stayed with my friend/college roommate, Donna 2.   Saturday we all drove down to SFA to see the campus (lots has changed) and visit.  Mikaela and Dylan (another friend's son) weren't feeling all that great so our trip was a little shorter than planned, but still it was nice to visit with friends and see the campus.

Dylan & Mikaela on the steps of Wisely Hall, our dorm

 When I was at SFA, all of my major classes were housed in the Birdwell Building.  It was one of the oldest buildings on campus and the first building you saw when you approached campus from the north side of town.

Walking up to the Birdwell Building

no more building, just a plaque for the guy it was named after

 The building was torn down (probably because it needed WAY too much work to be safe and up to code and equipped with the latest technology for classes) and a little water garden with benches and trees, tucked behind a new sign took its place.

 Another famous spot on campus is "Surfin' Steve" the Stephen F. Austin statue in front of the library.

Mikaela running laps around him.

 Our last stop before heading out of town is actually across from campus, but it is near and dear to my heart.  There is a church that has a pumpkin patch every year.  Several of my girlfriends and I went practically every fall to take pictures, look (and sometimes buy) pumpkins.  It holds a lot of good memories for me so I was thrilled to take Mikaela there and take pictures of her.

 After we left Nac, we went back to Tyler. Donna 2 (who's lived there for the last 9 years) took us on a little tour around the town.  Afterwards, we went and spent the evening with my cousin, David, and his family, who also live in Tyler.

We went to feed the ducks.

One goose was particularly mean.  We didn't stay long.

 Instead, we went to the park in his neighborhood where Mikaela found a great slide.

 On Sunday we spent a lot of time out on their back porch so that Mikaela could play with bubbles.

 At one point she dumped out the remaining bubble solution and began to paint the deck with suds.

Lastly, we got to see Devan, Mikaela's former babysitter (and my former babysat kid), who recently moved to Tyler.  Mikaela was getting extremely tired & fussy so I forgot to get a picture, but it was great seeing her.

Potty Training

For several months now, we've introduced potty to Mikaela by allowing her to sit on her potty chair before bath.  Recently she's become aware of when she goes and sometimes when she needs to go.  With still only the consistent potty time being before bath, she learned that she gets M&Ms if she goes in the potty, to the point where she asks for "Ms".  To which we respond, "After you go potty."  Tonight while reading a bedtime story, she stops and says, "Diaper."  I asked if she wanted to potty and she replied, "Yes."   And then she went in the potty!  This is the first time she has asked to go and was successful in doing so!  And of course, she got a "lellow M".

She changes daycares next week and they said they'd start training her so she may be potty trained by the end of the year!  Yay!

Fun Photos

Here are some random photos we've taken over the past few days.  

riding the scooter that was Mommy's scooter as a kid

riding in Graemma & Graempa's kitchen

wearing her clean Princess bath towel

reclining on Mommy

One day she took Cocoa's collar (which was sitting on the hearth) and put it around her waist.  Mike clipped it and she wore it for the rest of the evening as her belt.  What a fashion statement.

Cocoa Bean's Friend

This weekend we had the privilege of dog-sitting our friends' dog, Jeremy.  He and Cocoa Bean are good friends.  Though he was a little homesick, they had a good time and we found out what it was like to have two dogs.  I don't think Cocoa Bean will get any dog siblings anytime soon.

 Mikaela enjoyed Jeremy's visit as well.  She would often walk around the house and say, "Jeremy so funny."

watching tv with Jeremy in his bed

Catching Up: Part 3: A New Tree

Recently, we planted another tree out front yard in an effort to combat the hot west sun.  Our front door gets scalding hot, especially in the summer so we were able to find a good deal on a Chinese Pistache and brought her home to grow and shade for many years to come.  I love trees!  Great job, Mike on all your hard work!

Catching Up: Part 2: Visiting Gran & Papa Bill

Gran & Papa Bill are loading up their RV and moving south, so we decided to go see them one more time at their Caddo Mills camp.  Mikaela had a great time playing.  We all enjoyed the beautiful weather and fun time together.  Thanks again, Uncle Brad & Aunt Roro for the fun Princess bike.  She had a great time riding it there.  She also learned to go down the slide by herself.  I don't know why we didn't get pictures of that.  Sorry!