Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

We didn't have to go far to reach Sesame Street. It turns out it was only a block away. Recently, the USO and Sesame Street put on a special performance for military families in our area. Lucky for us, we got tickets!

Makaela has loved Elmo for what seems like forever. Something about him being red, I think, is what drew her in originally, and now she recognizes him on anything - if there is an Elmo book, she wants it, an Elmo plate, she's gotta eat off it and if Elmo is on a commercial, prepare to see a toddler's MIND. BLOWN. 

The performance was held inside a gym, we got there early enough that we landed an awesome spot on the gym floor. And let me just say, sitting on a gym floor sure does feel different at 29 vs 9. Yikes. Anyway, when we got there they gave everyone a nice USO bandana and all the kids got a special Elmo light-up-spinner toy. You know, the kind you pay $20 for at a normal event, haha. 

That little toy certainly came in handy while waiting for the show to start. That, and goldfish crackers. When do those NOT make a toddler situation better?

Once the show started, Makaela was locked in. It's possible that she didn't blink for the entire 30 minute show. 

The show was perfect - just the right amount of singing and dancing. It appropriately focused on moving, and making new friends, go figure.

There were even some parts where Elmo and his buddies came into the crowd. We were on an aisle so Makaela scored some high-fives and a couple pats on the head. 

That was really great because throughout the show she had been blowing kisses to Elmo. Probably like 17 kisses, and she seemed to get her feelings hurt when he didn't blow a kiss back! It was cute and sad all at the same time. Perhaps she didn't notice the 75 other kids in the room that Elmo also needed to give attention to ;-)

We were so thankful to have had this opportunity, it really was a blast!! It is all Makaela talked about for the rest of the day. Seriously. 

Oktoberfest!

Last night we went to Oktoberfest in our neighborhood. We knew what to expect because we had gone last year, so we were super stoked for Makaela to experience all the kid stuff she was too small to enjoy last year.

It was actually a bit "chilly" so Makaela rocked her skinny jeans and her Converse - her first pair of lace up shoes, ah!

And she helped herself to a juice box for the road...

Because the festival was only two blocks from our house, we just strolled on over. Yay for not having to search for a parking spot!

First we walked around and looked at everything, because we knew once miss thang was out of her stroller there would be no going back.

And we enjoyed some not very authentic German food, and beer with Oktoberfest in the name ;-)

There were lots of activities for the kids - pumpkin painting, face painting, zip lines, bounce houses, pony rides and more. 

Makaela loved running (and sometimes marching) around, waving to everyone and of course making friends along the way. 

I didn't expect her to want to go in the bounce house because a month ago when she was exposed to one it made her nervous, but she surprised me and confidently ran right over to the bounce house and began to climb in!! See ya later mom!

For the most part she preferred to crawl around, but every once in awhile she'd stand up and give a little bounce, bounce. 

We were so proud of her for trying something new, and LOVED watching her hang and play with the other kids. It was impossible not to smile from ear to ear. 

After the excitement of the bounce house she was ready to go check out the ponies! 

"You mean I get to sit ON TOP of an animal?!"

At first she kept saying "moo moo." LOL. Then we reminded her these were horses, and then she was all about "nay nay." 

Last time she rode a pony, Daddy walked with her, this time Mama walked along side her girl, while Daddy captured some nice photos. 

She absolutely loved it and did not seem hesitant at all. What a happy girl!!

After a couple rounds she started waving to everyone as she passed by. Such a ham. 

At the end we told her she could pet the horse "just like you pet Ginger." 

She did a great job being gentle and I think her horse friend liked the pets ;-)

After the pony ride, we burst her bubble and told her it was time to go home. Makaela waved to us, said "bah!" and ran off in the opposite direction. Sorry sweetheart, you have to go home WITH us.

She cried most of the way home as Tim and I took turns carrying her because she was wiggling out of control. The only bad part of having fun is that it has to come to an end!

Oh hello, it's been awhile...

I knew it had been awhile since I last posted, I think about the blog everyday, but DANG I didn't realize it had been THIS long. It was so nice to receive a text from a friend today saying "hey! we miss the updates!" I LOVE that my friends and family care to follow Mak's journey of growing up!

We had a crazy busy summer that was full of fun trips, and awesome visitors - I'll be catching up with all those photos soon - you'll literally be able to watch Makaela grow through the pictures, it's gonna be great. But for tonight I wanted to share some photos from story time at the library this week!

Mak has been going to story time since she was 6 months old, so almost a year now. Wowzers. When we first started going I was proud that she could sit up on her own. Now she points out the characters in the stories we read, claps and acts out the songs we sing, play dress up and actually understands how to help clean up all the toys at the end of the program ;-)

She loves wearing the dress up hats at story time...and passing them out to other parents and kids to wear, whether they want to or not ;-)  

It's been so fun not only watching her grow up, but also watching her pals grow up. We've made some great friends through the program, and are always meeting new people who have just moved to the area. I love that Mak gets to play and learn with her buddies and I get to hang with some cool parents.

I swear this isn't child labor, haha. The kids seriously won't let us clean up the rug, they insist on doing it together. Teamwork!

I'm so thankful for the programs our libraries put on - they do an amazing job!

Alright guys, I'm making some changes with the workload for my job so blog posts will be MUCH more frequent...I may even annoy you. I'm serious this time. Count on it! XoXo