The First Days of Daycare

This past week Ally has gone to Legacy Academy for daycare. We decided to start her a week before I have to go back to work so we could hopefully work out anything glitches before school started. Also I had not been in my classroom since April so I had a feeling I had a lot of work to do. On Monday, I felt like an awful mom. How could I leave my daughter if I don't have to? I was filling out some paper work and I look in her room and she is just screaming and crying. That is when I broke down at the desk. I couldn't believe it, I had never had this feeling before. Thankfully there was another mom at the counter who helped me make it through and told me she did the same thing. She even had a funnier story than me, so that made me feel even better. Once I left I continued to cry most of the day. I was determined to make Tuesday better. I still cried, but I did not cry as long and I made it out the door before I started crying. Then today, Wednesday, I did not cry at all!! I was proud of myself. I think the thing that did it, was they showed me a picture they took of her yesterday smiling. The picture is so cute! I was just glad to see her smiling some during the day. That meant if she is smiling I should be too. Now when she starts crying that does not mean I can cry too, but I liked the smiling attitude so I am going to work with that. I know we will still have some tough days ahead, but at least I am getting better at this. I love the teachers in her room and I am excited that she is going to even make a few friends :). I already met a mom in the class who is a teacher also and is preparing to leave her son for the first time. I have a feeling we will be running into each other a few times during the year. I wish I could stay with her all the time, but I know this is best. 

Playing on her mat...

Here is a video of Ally playing on her mat. She is doing great picking up her head and exploring the world on her belly. She has become more and more comfortable on her belly. Her other favorite thing to do is smile at you. If you watch the entire video you will get a special treat at the end. 

A trip to the park..

Tonight after dinner Justin and I decided to take a stroll through Norcross Park. This park is awesome and we can't wait until Ally can't take full advantage of it. It has swings, slides, a spider web to crawl up, a swinging thing to hang on, and more slides. They just redid the park and it looks great. It was packed tonight too. Alright I am done selling the park. Now, on to our experience. I have been wanting to try Ally in a swing for a while and they have a few of the baby swings and she was in a pretty good mood so we decided to go for it. She loved it!! She cried for a second, but it was because he swing had stopped and she wanted to keep going. It was a blast just watching her and trying to get a few pictures of her also. I have a feeling this is going to be one of our favorite hang outs. Here are a few pictures from the park.

Best Friends forever

Anna loves her new best friend Ally. We are so excited Anna and Ally are getting along great and we hope it continues as Ally gets older. 

July 3rd and 4th

Last night we went to downtown Norcross for the fireworks show. We didn't know how she would do with the fireworks, but she slept right through them. The train that came after the fireworks was not the same. She was not a fan of the train and its whistle. Justin and I were just thankful the train came after the show because two years ago we went and the train came in the middle of the show. The train was a double decker one which blocked all of the fireworks. Thankfully this year it didn't happen again. Then this morning we woke up early for the Stone Mountain parade. The parade was perfect because it was not too crowded or long and the weather was great too. Allyson really liked it, she slept through most of it :). She got a little break from her nap to see her Grandpa in the parade. Here are some pictures from the last two days. 

Ally's first trip to Butler

So we couldn't resist taking her to Indianapolis to visit more friends and of course Butler University. Butler holds a special place in both of our hearts because this is where we went to school and meet. It is definitely one of our favorite places on earth. Here are some pictures we took at Holcomb Gardens and around Butler.

Indiana friends and family

   Uncle Neal
Aunt Katie
The Meyer Family
The Meyer Kids
Our friends Adam and Gina's little boy Colin and Allyson. What a cute couple :)
After our stop in Louisville we got back in the car and headed to Brookville, IN.  This trip was only 2 1/2 hours which is perfect napping time so we were not as worried about this trip. It was hard to leave Louisville, but we were excited to take Allyson to meet her Aunt Katie and Uncle Neal. We also got to introduce her to many friends. Justin and I joked during the trip that we have changed who we hang with these days. We decided we like the 3 and under crowd now. Neither of us are ready for the 4 and up group yet, even though I taught Kindergarten for two years we are still not ready for that. Just give us a few more years. Here are some pictures of her Indiana family and friends.

Meeting Great Grandmother Lillie

Allyson got to meet her Great Grandmother this past weekend. It was so exciting for both of them. This was our first time traveling as a family and we were very nervous. When I say family I mean Justin, me, dog Anna, and Allyson. It made stopping for lunch interesting, but it worked out great. Our little Allyson did great. This was hopefully the beginning of many car trips she will make. Here are a few pictures of our stop in Louisville.