AHH! Creeper Alert!

A lot of people may be surprised to know that I was SUPER shy when I was little.  

I was scared of everybody!  

Kindergarten teacher?  Scared!  Moms of friends? Scared!  Dads of friends?  REALLY scared!

Strangers?  Off the charts scared!

I've come a LONG way with trust issues.  

It wasn't until I was in college that I realized by keeping strangers at a distance I was probably missing out on some great friendships.  

I worked really hard to put my fears aside and open up and trust strangers more.  

I can say my life has been much fuller since then.  

So, you can imagine when that scared feeling bubbles up I have difficulty discerning if it's my issues or theirs!

I got the major creeper alert this morning while picking a few things up for Maddie's birthday party.  

It didn't take me long to trust my gut instinct and feel the fear.   

I was at the dollar store and I grabbed a couple of hula hoops, a tablecloth, and was looking around for anything else I might need.  

Then I saw the creeper looking at me.  

He seemed a little too interested.  

He said hi.

I said hi and quickly moved on the next aisle.  

He moved too.  

Creeper:  "You going to be doing some hula hooping?"

I wanted to make sure he knew I had a family... Me "No this is for my little one."

Creeper: "I've heard hula hooping is good exercise.  Really works to slim your waist."

The conversation seems innocent enough, but it was more the way he was looking at me that gave me the creeps.  

yuck.

I quickly make my final selections and headed to the front to check out.  

He follows.  

I couldn't get out of there fast enough!!

I wasn't brave enough to make any more eye contact and I just wanted to run away really, really fast like in my dreams (on a side note...no one can ever out run me in my dreams. I'm always lightening fast for some reason!)

Maybe it's coincidence, but last weekend I lost one of the diamonds in my wedding ring and the prong pokes out now and stabs my middle finger so I had to quit wearing it until I get it fixed.  

It wasn't high on my priority list but it is now!

  I need all the creeper- repellent- powers at my disposal!

Have you guys ever had that creeper alert go off in your head?  

How did you handle it?

Maddie Goes Bowling!

Last month Maddie went bowling for the first time.

She discovered amazing things at the bowling alley like...

French Fries!!

She was so big carrying her 6lb bowling ball...all by herself!!

Ready, Set, 

Go!

Fun times had by all!  : ) 

Maddie Sees the Dentist!

Maddie had her first dental appointment Friday!  

She did great.  

They gave her a giant toothbrush and a stuffed dinosaur with giant teeth and her first reaction was to comb the top of his head.  : )  

But then we told her it was for his teeth and she did a great job brushing them!

She even brushed his tongue!! (while sticking hers out : ) 


She wasn't too sure about letting the dentist see her teeth...

but he was quick!

They called this first visit a "happy visit" and she was definitely happy!

By the way, if you are in the area and are looking for a dentist, we love ours! 
We see Dr. Spiva in Moore.

The Climb

Nearly every day after school Maddie paints.  

She loves it.  

This was her masterpiece from Wednesday.  

 As you can see, things get pretty messy.  

After we paint, she loves to play in the water while "washing her hands."

Yesterday, she was "washing her hands" and I went to switch the clothes from washer to dryer.  

I came back and found this...

She climbed up off her learning tower right into the sink! 

Vacation Highlights!!

We took a quick little vacation to Branson last week.  

It was very nice and relaxing.  

We stayed at the Cliffs at Long Creek.  It's our 3rd time to stay there and it's still breathtaking how beautiful it is!

We drove a different route this time and took more of the scenic/backroads way and I'm so glad we did...

I did some drive-by shooting ; )

We got lucky on the way down...Maddie slept for about two hours.

Maddie's favorite part of the trip was hands down SWIMMING!

Maddie insisted on swimming out to the deep end of the infinity pool!  She loved it : ) 

We got this great little "swimsuit" with built in floatation device.  It was perfect!!  Peace of mind really helps when it comes to enjoying the swimming experience.

We got some good family pics too...

This is definitely an accurate depiction of my parents : )  

Dad says something sarcastic and Mom laughs and says nuh-uh!  

My nephew, Evan.

My niece, Emilie.  

The other two nephews run when the camera comes out!  

But at least Emilie lets me play around...

Tried some new techniques with off camera flash! 

My favorite part of vacation was horseback riding.  My sister, Emilie, and I went.  

I finally realized why some use horses for therapy.  When you are riding, the rhythm of the gait and the back and forth could really help with physical therapy.  

It was great to get away for a few days before the busy, busy school schedule hit!!

First Day of School!

We survived the first day of school yesterday!

She looks so little with her little friends!

She was excited to go!!

What a difference a year makes.  I really wanted her to go back to Antioch this year, but in order to move up to the next class, she had to be potty trained.  We are no where close to being potty trained, so I enrolled her at the the Moore Public Special Needs Preschool.  

She will go 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours.  

I was disappointed at first, but seeing her march right in and begin playing was awesome.

I even got a special shirt made for her first day of school...

It says, "Down Syndrome?  I'm down with that!!"

She loved her first day of school!

And I think she's going to love her new teachers too!!

We are excited about a new school year : ) 

Summer Fun!

Our playgroup has been trying to find lots of things to in INSIDE to stay out of the heat.  

A couple of weeks ago, we found the Fred Jones Jr Art Museum in Norman.

It was so fun!! 

They happen to have a Disney display right now, so Maddie was thrilled to see all of her friends on the wall!

She spotted "Poppins!!"

And Lion King!

But she spent the most time looking at Winne the Pooh!

MaKenna got some practice climbing stairs

And Alexis wasn't quite sure if she was supposed to be in the shot or not...

And this was my favorite picture of the day...

I like to think she's discovering the artist in herself! : )