The Greatest Show on Earth

One of my girlfriends tipped me off that the circus when was coming to town. I thought that would be a fun activity for Shelby so I looked into it. I discovered, it was not any circus, but rather the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. When I heard that, I was in. I have very vivid, fond memories of going to that circus with my mom and brothers. The tickets were mildly pricey, but I said 'what the heck, Shelby is only young once, right?" I also heard that after this year, they are retiring the elephants in the show - typically one of the most exciting acts.

Needless to say, we all had a wonderful time. My only regret is not getting a photo of all three of us. I think Jack and I were most fascinated by the elephants and Shelby really enjoyed a troop of talented poodles who performed all kinds of tricks.

Picnic For Two

I picked Shelby up from school the other day and I could just tell she was full of joy. It was a lovely evening and I had already decided that I was going to pick up a pizza for dinner. I told Shelby that we could have a picnic for dinner and let me tell ya - she was over the moon! We enjoyed a simple dinner in the park by our house, but it was lovely and perfect. Just like my dinner date.

It Only Took Me 12 Years....

...to make it to the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. That's right, after playing host to friends and family for years and years, I had never visited the storied landmark. We had the lovely opportunity to host our nephew/Shelby's cousin Dylan and his friend Brock for a few days. The boys really wanted to check out the sign, so we made a family memory. It was classic, when we arrived, Shelby blurted out "This place is super wierd!" She got a chuckle out of quite a few tourists baking in the line with us. And check out those arms....I think Shelby has mastered that post-tumbling move posture, don't you?

After that we took the boys bowling at a local bowling alley. Shelby came along too. She loves  the Curious George episode where George manages a bowling alley for a day, so she is very familiar with the concept and quite the spirited player.

3 Year Check Up

Bad mom. I did  not realize there was a three year well check appointment.....and even worse, I really did not know that thee is a 2.5 well check appointment, but that ship has sailed :)

Last week I took her in for a standard check up. At this age and stage, check ups  are much less comprehensive than the early years. They chart her height and weight, ask about emerging verbal skills, inquire about eating habits, check her belly and privates and that is about it. Shelby did need one shot because we somehow fell behind, but that is not standard. I have to give it to the nurse who gave Shelby the shot.....he was so swift and effective, Shelby did not even know what happened. No tears, nor anxiety. In fact, she was just happy to receive a band-aid!

Here's a shot of the two of us waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Height:  40 inches ---> 96%
Weight: 35 Pounds ---> 82%

Adios Mexico!

Yes....I snuck away to Mexico for three days. Pretty amazing, right? I went with a few girlfriends to celebrate my dear friend Katie's upcoming wedding. I have to miss her actual wedding, so Jack was supportive of me going and making this special memory. My favorite part? I loved the opportunity to REALLY catch up with my friends and having uninterrupted adult conversations.  Fun memories all around. Cheers to Katie and Aaron!

Mother's Day

At my own request, we had a very mellow, mild and relaxing Mother's Day. I cannot recall exactly, but it's possible we did not even leave the house! My favorite part? The sweet card that Jack and Shelby made me in the morning before I woke up.

Jack interviewed Shelby about he things she loves about me and then transcribed it into a card. The list is below, but my favorites are:

• I love when you give me snuggles
• Her give me a dress
• I love mac-n-cheese with sprinkles (Shhhh Shelby, that is our secret!!)

Tumble Bus Birthday

Shelby loves her tumbling class so much that when we were thinking about what to do for her  birthday, the choice was obvious.....a tumbling birthday!  I first considered asking the gal who teaches her class to host the birthday, but then I heard about the "Tumble Bus." Even better. It's a large, gutted school bus that is full of tumbling equipment, that comes to you!  More exciting, more novel and a more of a proven concept -  parties are not party of the school instructor's typical routine.

I looked into the bus and it was available and the price was right, so we gave it a shot. It turned out to be perfect! No tears. No fights. No drama. All fun! The kids ranged from 3 to 7 and each one had a terrific time. They all stayed on the bus for the whole hour and I have to tell you, they were working away in there. I paid a few extra bucks so the "instructor" could broadcast the activity to the parents on the outside. We had a lovely warm, yet overcast day so the parents could observe from the grass and enjoy a cold beer or ice water.

At the conclusion of the activities, they had a medal ceremony where each kiddo received a gold medal and flexed their muscles on a podium. It was pretty cute.

In true birthday party fashion, after the main event we moved on the the park pavilion for pizza and cupcakes. Shelby was big on the cupcakes piece and she happened to select a big, rich chocolate-on-chocolate cupcake....even I was intimidated by it.

Shelby had such a great time that often during bed time she will ask me to do "Once upon a time..." and re-count her Tumble Bus birthday day. Precious. Happy Birthday Shelby Clare!