Play Group, Zoo and Fourth of July

I am one of "those" parents. "That" parent who doesn't put their kid in any kind of activities that requires me to drop her off and leave. Now I have heard it's great for socialization and also teaches them to not be too dependant on mommy. I beg to differ. Betsy is a very social little girl. She knows no stranger (which is perfectly safe at this age) and she walks into any room with confidence. She does go to Sunday School at our church which I was actually nervous about because I wasn't sure she would sit down in the little chairs. My head fills with the thought of my sweet Betsy being the only kid that won't be still, runs all over, steals toys and won't share. Her Sunday School teacher is so sweet and probably wouldn't tell me if Betsy wasn't cooperative; however, the few times I have snuck out of class to sneak a peek, Betsy has been sitting in class like an angel. Either that or they have her strapped down under her dress! She apparently does very well in class and really likes going to church. Anywhere she can go and have people tell her how pretty she is she enjoys going! Haha!

So back to my original point, I don't do daycare. I don't do Mother's Day Out. It's not that I don't agree with these types of childcare, it's just that Betsy doesn't HAVE to go to them...so why take her? For a while I considered Mother's Day Out. After all, it's only a few days a week and I could even take her one day if I really wanted. But, being the ever-so-proud mother that I am I just worry. What if they don't like Betsy? What if no one plays with her? If she gets a doll stolen from her she just stands there all sweet and innocent and doesn't know to take it back. For me....just toooo much worrying! I'm sure her first day of Kindergarten is going to be fun for me! I'll probably strap a hidden camera on her so that I can watch and make sure no one is mean to her. I kid, I kid.

Well last week Betsy did start going to a play group. We were invited by our Sooner Start speech pathologist. I get to go with her so this is a win-win. It's a play group with other little ones from Sooner Start who are also having trouble with their speech. ***CAUTION--MAJOR MOM MOMENT COMPLETE WITH BRAGGING***
There are only 5 total kids in there including Betsy. I have to say, even though we all think our kids are the smartest and the prettiest, mine really is. Okay, I'm not getting a big head. But Betsy was the only child who didn't cry when they walked in the room. She was the only one who walked in with her head up and went straight to playing with toys. Betsy was the only child who signed. And my most proud moment was during circle time. We all sat on the floor with our children in our lap while the group leader led us in songs and books. Betsy was the only child who would sit down. All the other kids were running around or wouldn't sit down and were fussing. One mother looked at Betsy and said, "You can tell who has been to circle time before". I was soooo proud when I looked back and said, pointing to Betsy, "Who her? Betsy's never had a circle time before. This is her first time also." I was so proud of my good girl. Not bad for someone who has never been "away from mommy".
Here are some pics of Betsy in her play group.






Last week we also had some family come in and we took our kids to the zoo. My cousin, Tori, is only 4 years younger than I am and we grew up very close. She has two children, River, 5, and Allie, 21 months. Betsy and Allie love to play together and I love that they are so close in age. Betsy is exactly one month older, and about 2 sizes smaller. Ha Ha! I can't wait to watch them grow up together and Betsy get to go down to my grandparent's farm to play with Allie like I used to when me and Tori were growing up. Here are some pics of our trip to the zoo together.







This past weekend was Fourth of July. We took Betsy to her very first parade in Bethany, Oklahoma. The Liberty Fest Parade. The weather was perfect. It was nice and cool. We got to enjoy about 30 minutes of the parade before it started raining. We decided to leave and just made it to the car before it starting really downpouring. I'm sorry that Betsy didn't get to see the entire parade. She seemed to really be enjoying it. Hopefully we can try again next year. Here we are at the parade.








After the Bethany parade Tony, me and Betsy loaded up the car and headed to Southwest Oklahoma to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who live down there. Betsy got to play with Allie again which made her very happy! We were very fortunate this year to get to spend the holiday with both my dad and step-mom and also my mom and her side of the family. We usually only go to my grandparents but because of the extended weekend we were able to fit everyone in! We thought we might try an "every other holiday" situation where we rotated which holidays we spent where but with my grandparents getting so old, we all know our time is so precious with them. With Betsy growing up we want her to get a chance to spend holidays with both of her grandparents. We really enjoyed splitting the time this way and we are going to try to do this more often. We are so blessed to have an amazing family!