Big News for Phoeberella!

First, let me start off by sharing Phoebe's newest nickname by her fellow classmates at school, "Princess Phoeberella."  Now when I pick her up in the afternoons, she runs to me and says, "I Phoeberella!"  She doesn't know Cinderella from Snow White so for her to even be interested in princess names is a step in the right, girly direction! 

As we continue to move stuff out of our house, it somehow remains in a state of disarray.  I tried tackling the floor and Phoebe, who is usually afraid of the loud vacuum, took over.

She even wanted to help when Ryan brought up the Little Green Machine from the basement.

So, after our hard work Thursday evening, Phoebe and I headed out to Stuckey Farms (where I grew up going every fall) on Friday to pick apples with YiaYia.

As is obvious by our brown grass, or lack of it altogether, we're in much need of rain here in central Indiana.  However, the apples were plentiful and at $0.75/lb. how can you resist picking more than you could ever eat?

Here's our eager apple picker with her very own bag.

She found the perfect Phoebe-sized apple.

Say "cheese!"

I think it's standard for every orchard we visit to have a honey bee display.  Phoebe finds them all fascinating.

Saturday, the temperatures dove down into the 60s and that means its Cracker Barrel weather!  As we waited for breakfast to arrive, Phoebe and I hit the Country Store.  Every time we visit, she's enamored by the little weasel toy with a ball.  She proceeded to pick it up, pet the tail and say over and over again, "I love her!"

And because it was so lovely outside, we had to play a game of checkers in the rocking chairs.  Or simply stack all the available checkers and then promptly knock them over. 

And since we had such a good time at Stuckey's, we decided to try Tuttles with Daddy after breakfast.  AND for the first time when we asked if she wanted to ride a pony, our little daredevil said "Yes!"  Luckily, the pony's name was "Starbucks" and our girl loves her Starbucks like her Daddy does so that helped calm her fears.

Then it was determined that Mommy must walk along side for the entire ride.

And as soon as I removed my hand for a photo opportunity, this is what we got.  Oh well, I'm just impressed she got ON the horse and worth every cent of the $3.00 we paid for the little lap we walked together.

Then we spent LOTS of time in the hay pile.

And then headed to a rope maze that she was short enough to run under, while Ryan and I had to run THROUGH the maze just to catch up with her.  It was a gorgeous day to be outside so we just rolled with it.

And of course, if you remember my post from Tuttles last year, the swing still holds a great deal of fun for our Phoebster.  She even ventured to the "big girl" swing but still prefers to be a bit more securely fastened.

After much swinging, we headed to the bales of hay that state "No Jumping!" but beg to be jumped from. 

And here it is, folks - the side view of my ever expanding belly.  Phoebe's big news is that she's going to be a BIG SISTER by April 1st!  I'll be 14 weeks on Friday and feeling much better now that the first trimester is over. 

And here we are picking more apples (that we certainly don't need) simply because Tuttles wasn't picking pumpkins till October 1. Seriously, who checks the website before they hop in the car and go!?  That may have explained the smaller crowd than expected, but it made for a very pleasant visit.

After picking apples, we headed back to the play area to drive the tractor.

And then after we headed to the store to get an apple slushie (turns out not all orchards pasteurize their cider) for them and a carmel apple with nuts for me, we went back to the play area one last time.

We thought for sure, after a full morning at the orchard, we'd be guaranteed a nap on the ride home, but no such luck.  After about 30 minutes we gave up and tried out a new park I'd discovered the other day.  Phoebe was quick to make friends on the teeter totter and quickly delegated where I should sit and bounce. 

Our single goal at the park (other than to have fun) was to wear our kid out so we raced.

They had a huge hill that will be oh-so-fun come winter when it snows.  Ryan and I both grew up enjoying the simple things in life, like rolling down hills and attempted to share that joy with Phoebe at the park.

She didn't quite get it.

So Daddy had to show her how it's done.

After rolling down and then running back up too many times to count, we headed down a field for another race.  These attempts were all in vain however as Princess Phoeberella declared Saturday a "No Nap Day" indeed.

Saturday in Review

As I sit here enjoying one of God's greatest gifts (Dairy Queen) and my husband sits in the other room talking to the television while the Colts are on, I feel exhausted.  While we didn't do all that much, we were hardly home which means laundry has finally begun and CoCo just got a much-needed bath.  We spent most of Friday and Saturday at YiaYia and Papou's - selling our junk, hoping it would become someone else's treasures. 

Saturday, we started the day with donut holes (and an apple fritter for Daddy) and really, the girl was good for the day!

Phoebe had more fun Saturday than she did on Friday, because a lot more kiddos came out.  She made friends fast, showing off her two new dollies that were named Doris & Debi by Ryan (sorry Nana and Aunt Debi!).

They were about the same age and the little girl cried when it was time for her to leave.

Now this little guy on the other hand may have been a bit too agressive for Phoebe's liking.  First, it's obvious our girl is in need of a sibling.  We'd brought over a basket of stuffed moose in various sizes to sell and as soon as this little guy picked one up, she grabbed the whole basket and took them away.

I finally decided she'd had enough lovin' from this stranger and won't lie, we were a bit relieved she didn't care for the extra attention!

Phoebe's newest "trick" is to do flips with Daddy.

And here's the one and only nap taken the last three days after we dropped off all the leftovers to Goodwill. 

We're on the search for some new Colts gear this season and hope to be sporting it in a family picture in the near future.  Until then....Gooooo Colts!

The Zany Zoo and Greek Gods and Girls

We are loving the cooler weather here in Indiana and decided to take the day outside on Friday.  We took YiaYia to the zoo and it was amazing what a difference it makes when school is in session!  No lines, no crowds, it was ideal!  Phoebe spent a great deal of time watching the penguins swim and sleep.

Then we watched the polar bear just sort of bob in place with his head out of water. 

And every single time we pass one of these things, Phoebe begs to throw a coin in and watch it swirl around.

We even spent a great deal of time on the playground.  Because there were so few people, there was no huge crowd here either.  YiaYia even got her to climb up this contraption and Phoebe has begun to climb on everything she can - whether she's at the library or in the bathroom. 

Phoebe and YiaYia even took a carousel ride and for once, Phoebe opted to be on something that didn't move.  It was past naptime at this point and one of the last activities we did before we headed to the car and promptly fell asleep.

Saturday, it actually (sort of) rained in Indy (not enough to make the grass green, but it was still nice to get some precipitation).   That didn't stop us from making our way to the annual Greek Festival.  We missed it last year since we were in Jackson Hole and knew we'd be there rain or shine this year.  We went at 2:00 for a late lunch and whether it was the time or the rain - there was no wait for anything.  Phoebe had a blast watching the dancers and making up her own moves to the music.

Ryan and I kept an eye on her while trying everything that I'm absolutely too lazy to make myself.  Phoebe, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with feta cheese, pita bread or even meatballs (all of which she eats in abundance at home).  She may have liked the tyropita (cheese pie) but I wasn't about to share!

The only thing she would eat were the loukoumades (honey puffs, to all you non-greeks out there).  Even then, she barely sat still.  Luckily, there weren't the crazy crowds we've grown accustomed to and she was able to jump and run to her heart's desire.

Isn't he handsome?  Definitely something like a greek god...

Opa!

We ended the festival at the kiddo's tent where she could make a headband, color a dancer, make a flag or get her face painted.  After she drew her lollipop, she really cared for nothing else.  We made our way through the pastry line on our way out and I believe we have desserts for the next week!  Nothing a little bougatsa, baklava and galaktoboureko can't fix (jealous, Auntie Kate!?)!

Lovely Labor Day Weekend!

The weekend started a little early for us as Phoebe went to YiaYia's Thursday to spend the night. This meant Ryan and I could actually behave like adults and go see a movie.  It's funny how much you long for some time away and then as soon as you get it, you miss your kid like crazy!  Friday after MOPS, I went to pick up Phoebe.  It was YiaYia's birthday, so we went out to lunch with her and Papou.  After we came home, we headed out to the backyard and had a lovely blow out - those rarely happen so when they do, they're always awful.  Luckily, YiaYia had these overalls on hand and never got around to the project they were for.  Phoebe thought they were perfect for eating jell-o jigglers in...

...and raking up the yard in...

She had fun sleeping with YiaYia and Kali in Auntie Kate's bed Thursday night, but didn't get her normal 11 1/2 hours of sleep.  After a fifty minute nap that I had to fight to get on Friday afternoon, we were back at it.  We took YiaYia out to dinner after running around a few shops and then headed home.

Saturday,  Phoebe slept in till 10:00 (that's TWO weekends in a row!).  I had a much-needed hair appointment  in the afternoon, so Phoebe took Daddy to a park.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend and perfect to be outside in.  Phoebe had a great time running around and exploring.

The girl loves her slides!

And she loves to run (not sure where that came from)!?

After I was done, because they'd had so much fun at that park, we headed to one of my all-time favorites.  It was jam-packed but we managed to burn off lots of energy.  There's a tall slide that you have to climb up a silo to get to.  Here we are at the top.

Here we are trying to decide which one to attempt.

And here we are at the bottom.  If you'll note her face, it's not one of sheer joy.  And I've got a lovely burn on my elbow from just trying to slow us down - needless to say, we stuck with the wavy slide that slowed things down a bit for us from that moment on!

It took Phoebe a while to even want to go down the slides again, so we stuck to things a bit closer to the ground...

And of course had to go check out the water, feed the ducks and see if we could find any fish or turtles.

Sunday, after church and lunch out, we ran a few errands.  I'm sure I'm not the only one in the Midwest who is dealing with an onslaught of fall allergies but this weekend, even as beautiful as it was, my head was a miserable wreck!  So...Ryan decided to take Phoebe to the river while I took a short snooze in the car.  After about 30 minutes, I gave up since I couldn't breathe, and went to find out what these two were up to.

I have no doubt that this one got her love of water from her daddy!

Monday, we were up by 8:00 but just lounged around for a few hours before heading BACK to the river, this time wearing appropriate clothing. 

We decided to bring Coco along so she could hang out with us at YiaYia and Papou's later in the day.

Here she is with me on the rocky shore enjoying a dog biscuit.  She got a bit too close to the water and I ended up having to tie her leash to a nearby root.  She just got a bath on Saturday so I didn't want all my hard work to be in vain.

These two had a blast - looking for shells and chasing ducks.  The lack of rain around here has made the water pretty shallow which worked out well for them!

She wanted to go stand on this rock out in the middle and all by herself! 

Afterwards. we headed out to celebrate YiaYia's birthday and were excited to see Uncle Steve for the day as well.  We got in a quick bath and then got to play outside till it was time to eat Papou's famous steaks!

We ate outside but spent most of our time swatting away bees (and there wasn't a thing sweet on the table!) so we quickly came in before cake and presents.  Here's a shot of Phoebe's perfectly manicured nails (courtesy of YiaYia) while she concentrates on a video Uncle Steve had us all watch. 

Then it was time for the traditional Dairy Queen cake.  Thank the Lord for birthdays!

After cake, Phoebe showed off her artwork to YiaYia.  She's very serious about her coloring.

Some YiaYia lovin'.

After a quick Skype call to Auntie Kate, we headed out.  Phoebe didn't nap ALL weekend long and finally crashed today at 6:00 when we left - and we hadn't even made it to the interstate yet.  We let her sleep 30 minutes and then got home and played outside and worked on getting her to pedal herself on her tricycle.  She went to sleep tonight without asking for her wa-wa -  that's definitely a first.  We'll see if she makes it all night without it.  She's getting to be such a big girl!