Tiny Dancer

My girl has become obsessed with dancing!  So much so that when anything comes on that involves dancing, she is dancing everywhere!  She is also quite creative and makes up new moves like the "frog jump" and the "spin jump."  I know I'm biased, but that girl is so stinkin' cute!  And she has become obsessed with this show:

I have to admit that I love it too, but it makes it hard to watch it when your girl gets up every time and tries to imitate what the dancers are doing!  I can't watch the show because I'm constantly watching her! Oh, well!  I wouldn't change a thing!

All I Want for Christmas Is......

.....my two front teeth!  Zoe & Daddy had a day to hang out so I scheduled a dentist appointment for her.  Daddy took her because we felt she was grinding on her front teeth again.  Granted, it has gotten much better since she has started her allergy shots, but she still does it from time to time.  Anyway, she had already done so much damage that it was just a matter of time before they had to come out.  Both of them were already loose and when they took an x-ray at the dentist, they could see that her permanent teeth weren't far behind.  They took a picture behind her teeth and she actually had exposed nerve behind her two front teeth!  Yikes!  The only reason she wasn't in real pain was because she still had a little bit of tooth covering the nerves.  That scared us so we opted to have her two front teeth pulled.  They gave her some laughing gas, put some numbing cream on her gum and pulled both of them.  She was so brave, too.  Daddy said, "Zoe, do you want Daddy to go back with you?"  Her response?  "No, Daddy!  I'm a big girl and I'm brave!"  That just brought tears to my eyes!  My baby is getting so big!  It didn't phase her in the least because she went to her swim lesson right after that!  Wow!

As a side story, after I picked up Zoe from school the next day I asked her, "What did everyone say about you losing your two front teeth?"  She said, "Well, Mommy, I really wanted to keep it a secret!"  Ha!  Kind of hard to do that Zoe girl when both of your front teeth are missing!

You Know Your Child is Worn Out......

......when she falls asleep in her tent while watching a movie.  This was Zoe's first week at Kids Club and let me just say that it's tough work keeping up with the big kids with no nap!  Ha!

Father's Day 2011

Well, what can I say about my wonderful husband that I haven't already said on here before?  He's just the best husband and father I could have ever hoped for!  Zoe and I are the center of his universe and he does his best to make sure we know it every day.  Happy Father's Day, Mark!  You are the greatest!  And what did Daddy want to do for Father's Day?  He wanted all of us to go fishing so we went to a place on Percy Priest Lake called "Cook's Recreation Area" and it was wonderful.  We had such a good time, but Zoe was the only one to catch a fish!  Daddy's hooks were too big for the little fish so all we did was feed the fish all day long with our worms, but we wouldn't have had it any other way!

All dressed for church

Fishing with Daddy

Zoe's First Fish!

This fishing is hard work!

Happy 40th Birthday Mark

My hubby turned 40 on June 11, 2011.  I know most of you will remember that I sent him on a surprise turkey hunt in Texas this past April, which he loved.  He totally didn't expect me to do anything else so I had  a surprise birthday part for him on his actual birthday, which was on a Saturday.  I've had this planned since the beginning on May so it was extremely difficult for me to keep a secret, but I managed.  Ha!  Let me just say that Mark didn't make it easy on me either.  On the Thursday before his birthday I said, "Hey, Mark.  Why don't we go to our favorite little Mexican restaurant for your birthday since my parents are coming to stay with Zoe?"  He said, "I don't want Mexican.  I want catfish and, specifically, I want to go to the Cock of the Walk."  I was like WHAT?!?  I had everyone already set to go the Mexican restaurant and had to scramble with the location change.  All in all, Mark had no idea and was completely surprised, which turned out great!  We had a great group turn out, too!  And not everyone can say they went to drive go karts on their 40th birthday, can they?

My bestie Shelley and her husband, Chris

Me & Julie

Allen & Mark

Mat & Tracie

Shane & Amy

Sheri & Allen

Me & Mark

Mat & Tracie

Such a typical picture!  Ha!

Julie & Judd

Awwwww

The boys piled in the big chair...and Mat in a little chair!

Another one with Mark sucking his thumb....

I think he's in denial about turning 40...you?

Mat in a teeny tiny chair

Chris & Mark getting ready to race go karts

Me & my bestie waiting to race go karts

Me and the model face....every stinkin' time

Fitting that he's in car 11 and his birthday is on the 11th!

Shane & Amy

Shane & his mug o' beer

Sheri & Allen

Chris & Shelley

They are so stinkin' photogenic!

I guess two mugs o' beer will make you look this way....

Last Day at McKendree - June 3, 2011

Let me just tell you that Mommy had a harder time with this day than Zoe did!  I started out with Zoe at the day care from H E L L and it was awful!  I was fortunate enough to get her into McKendree United Methodist Day Care when she was 15 months old and it's been uphill since then!  I've bragged a lot, but you can't imagine the care my child has received at that place...not to mention the education!  McKendree is a remarkable place and it's due to the curriculum and the care and attention Zoe received from the teachers she had while she was there, which included Ms. Heather, Ms. Betty, Ms. Misti, Ms. Gina, Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Jennie & Mr. Anthony!  Most of these teachers have been there 10 plus years with the others not too far behind.  That speaks volumes for the program and their director, Cindy Ligon.  I can't say enough great things about her either.  She has been such a staple in my life and in Zoe's life and Mark and I adore her beyond words.  She helped start McKendree 21 years ago and has turned it into the first class program it is today. And when I say first class I'm not just saying it......they back it up each year by scoring some of the highest scores ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE OF TENNESSEE for their three star rating, which is extremely hard to do!  Anyway, you get what I'm saying when I brag because they are just that awesome!

We pulled Zoe from McKendree two months early to place her in the Kids Club Program at the elementary school she'll be attending this Fall.  We felt that this would help ease her transition into Kindergarten and help her make some new friends.  The director at McKendree totally agreed with me and felt I was making a wise decision for Zoe, which made us feel lots better, but it's still hard to leave behind what you've mostly known.  McKendree has been our comfort, our guidance in helping raise our daughter, our shoulder to lean on when we needed to bend an ear and get advice on situations that would arise with Zoe, etc.  I could go on and on, but that would make for an incredibly long blog post. Just know that we're going to miss that place terribly, along with every single person in it. The influence they've had on our family has been priceless!  Here are some pics of our girl on her last day at McKendree......

Zoe's Five Year Checkup

I seriously can't believe I'm that far behind on updating this blog, but I am!  It's crazy, but in my defense our life has been a little crazy.  Between Zoe's dance recital, Zoe's birthday, Memorial Day weekend with Zoe's birthday party, Mark's 40th birthday, two weeks worth of swim lessons, etc., things are nuts in the Lawrence household.  I seriously wouldn't have it any other way though because we've made some great memories.  Anyway, we had Zoe's five year checkup on May 31, 2011 with her pediatrician, Dr. Nancy Beveridge.  Again, I can't say enough great things about her and Zoe absolutely adores her and loves to go see her.  

We started out the appointment with an eye exam, which showed she was 20/25 in her right eye and 20/20 in her left eye!  We'll take it!  Again, she had to pee in a cup, which was normal, and she had her blood pressure taken, which was 78/52.  I know it sounds low, but that's normal for a child her age/size.  She also had her hearing testing, which was normal.  Praise God for all of the good results!  


Are you ready for this?  My girl is tall, which most of you know, but she is 44.5 inches and that puts her in the 88th percentile.  Her weight was 42 and 3/4 pounds which placed her in the 70th percentile.  Dr. Beveridge was absolutely thrilled with her, too.  We had to get forms completed for Kindergarten and that's when it hit me that my child is really going into Kindergarten!  Seriously?!?  It makes me so sad that my baby is growing to quickly.  I swear we spend our entire childhood waiting for milestones to pass and then we spend our adult years wishing for time to slow down!  I always tell Zoe, "I thank God every day that he picked me to be your Mommy."  Zoe always tells me in return, "You always say that, Mommy!"  And it's true....I'm incredibly thankful for the gift Mark and I have been given.  I know he feels the same way!  She has truly been our greatest blessing and is the most perfect thing we've ever done!


Want to hear the bad part of the visit?  Zoe had to get four shots!  Yikes!

Memorial Day at the Nashville Zoo

Mark and I decided we would take Zoe to the Nashville Zoo on Memorial Day.  I have to say that we had a wonderful time, but boy was it HOT!  Where did Spring go?  We have definitely jumped right into Summer and I have to say that I don't like it....AT ALL!  I'm just not a girl who loves this type of weather.  Regardless, we had a great time and Zoe really enjoyed herself!