Why I love Saturdays...

When I woke up this morning, it was just Kaiser and me in the house. Ian took Bella and Riley to run a few errands. They stopped at Publix to pick up some fruit for breakfast, returned a RedBox movie and even picked up a few chicken biscuits at Chick-Fil-A. It was a very nice way to begin the weekend and having a quiet house is something that doesn't happen often. Once Ian returned with Bella and Riley, he took Bella to the gym and I enjoyed some additional quiet time. 


Our Saturday began with a trip to the Winthrop Winter Fest, which is a holiday festival that is held not too far from our neighborhood. We originally planned to walk with Bella's wagon, but the lack of sidewalks caused us to change our plans. We met our friends, Stephanie and Connor, at the festival and the kids immediately went into the bounce house. Connor and Bella bounced, jumped and climbed their way through a mini obstacle course. They had a blast! The giggles and squeals were priceless. We walked around for a bit and returned to the bounce house for another round. Again, the kids had a blast! We said our good-byes to Stephanie and Connor and headed home. We left right before lunch so that we could get Bella home for a nap. 

Connor making his way through the tires.

And out they come... 

"Mommy, stop taking my picture and let me bounce!" 

"I'll just walk over here..."

"Hmm... now how do I get around these tires?"

"Maybe if I hide behind this, mommy won't see me?"

During nap time, Ian and I kept ourselves busy with various things around the house. I worked on an arts and crafts project for our holiday themed play date this Thursday and Ian headed to the office to take care of some work. I really wish I would have participated in nap time because Bella took a 4-hour nap. That bounce house workout must have really worn her out! Ian worked at the office for a few hours and returned home just in time for dinner. We had big plans for the evening and I was really excited to get a move on.


Ian suggested we do "something fun" this evening and so I recommended two options: Lowry Park Zoo's Winter Wonderland or the Symphony in Lights at the Shoppes at Wiregrass. After a little research, we decided to head to Lowry Park Zoo. I'm so glad we chose to go to the zoo because Bella had so much fun! She "oohed" and "ahhed" at the beautiful holiday light displays. She rode the carousel with her daddy and loved it. She even saw Santa Claus and took a picture with him (and her daddy, too). All Bella wanted to do was walk... any time we asked her if she wanted to walk, be carried or sit in the stroller, she quickly replied, "walk." Love the fact that she enjoys using those little legs to get around. 

Bella and daddy walking into the zoo.

Eyeing up some beautiful lights. 

A carousel ride with daddy.

Bella showing daddy one of the holiday displays. 

"Oooh... ahhh!"

Bella and daddy visiting Santa Claus.

Walking back to the car.

"M!"

Around 8:30pm, we decided we had seen everything we needed to see and headed to the car. On our walk back to the car, which Bella insisted she walk the entire way to the car, she surprised us with just how smart she is. We were parked in row 3, but Bella pointed to the "3" and said "M." It took us a moment, but at the angle she was standing, the "3" really did look like a lower case "M." We had no idea she knew ANY letters, so we were shocked. Maybe it was a fluke, but each time she saw a "3", she would point at it and say "M." My goodness this little girl is super smart! And I love the fact that she surprises us each and every day with her intelligence. I guess she got daddy's looks and my brains?!? I'm only kidding... she definitely has the intelligence of the two of us combined. 


Ian and I predicted that within 5-minutes of getting into the car that Bella would be out cold. She remained awake the entire car ride home and read her books out loud to us from the back seat. This kid loves to read! Maybe that's why she is so smart?!? As soon as we got home, it was time for a bath, book and bed. As I type, Ian and I are watching movie and will be calling it an early night, as we both have busy days planned for tomorrow. 


Today was an amazingly great day with the family. I love days like today and treasure the time that we spend together as a family. I cannot wait to have another family member to share days like today with! Goodnight y'all!


Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Baby #2