1st Day of PRESCHOOL!

It doesnt seem possible that I just typed in the heading that my baby girl is going to SCHOOL!! Thanks to the crash course (cold turkey) potty training that we did last week- she was able to attend on her 1st day. She will go to school on Mon and Wen from 8:30-11:30am. She was very excited today as we were walking in--but then as we started giving hugs and kisses goodbye she started to cry. Thankfully her wonderful teacher Mrs. Schultz picked her up and gave me the nod to leave. Those of you that know my Layna will get a kick out of hearing that she started yelling 'BACK UP and WAVE...and HONK YOUR HORN' as I was leaving. A ritual for every guest that leaves our house nowadays. I have to admit that I did stand around the corner in the hallway to make sure she stopped crying (which she did after about 22 seconds) I was anxious all morning to see how she had done and turns out: SHE DID GREAT!! Even got up on the big potty all by herself! She later informed me that some kids were a little SHY and didnt want to sing the songs but she wasnt!! As we were taking a walk this afternoon I could hear her singing 'School today...school today' a new song they learned in class. My baby girl is growing up..and I'm soo proud!! :)

Gulf Shores 2010

We were very blessed this summer that the Bates Family let the Zimmerman Crew spend a week down in their house at Gulf Shores. Karl stayed behind because he only has two weeks of vacation--so the girls and I headed down with my mom and dad, Brad, Sarah, and Aunt Jill. It was a great week with beautiful (HOT) weather. The beach and town were DEAD due to the oil spill. The beaches and water looked great to us--so great that one day around noon we decided to go for a swim in the ocean.... Note: Many of you have already heard this story in detail but I need to write it down so that my grandkids can read about it one day... :)

Anyhow--My dad, Brad, Layna and I were all swimming out in the ocean (about up to our chest) when my aunt Jill who was standing on shore starts telling us that there are HUGE stingray right up close to the beach! We start to make our way over that direction when I hear Brad behind me yell 'SHARK'....(pause)....'SHAAARRKKK'. It was like time stood still--I held on tight to my little girl and ran towards the shore as quickly as I could. As I was running in- I see Jill waving and pointing and yelling 'Ohhh...there it is!! It's RIGHT there!' AHHHH!!! I'm blessed to say that we were all unharmed and the only two who saw the shark were Brad and Jill. Brad's account is as follows: 'At first I saw the tip of a fin..so I kept looking and then I saw this huge fin come up on top of the water. Next I saw the whole body of the shark surface and it was atleast 6-8 ft long and swimming back and forth. It was closer to the beach than we were and about 10 ft away from us. Jen- you had to pass by it on your way in!' I have goosebumps as I type this again. Later that day I asked Brad if he thought it was one of those nurse sharks...that are smaller and harmless. He quickly answered 'NO..that thing was a BIG, HUGE Shark!' We did some research and think it was probably a Bull Shark--which are common in the gulf. I am VERY thankful that no one was hurt. Especially being that I was carrying my baby girl. I am glad to have this story down in writing but to be honest--I try not to think about it much as it still freaks me out. Ohh...and did I mention that this all happened during SHARK WEEK! CREEPY!

Something else I try and forget but will document so that one day it will be funny (maybe)...is that silly Jenna forgot to lock the car on our 1st night there and someone stole our Garmin and my 32G IPOD. BOOOOO HISSSSS!! Ohh well---atleast I still have all of my limbs!

The Little Zoo

One morning while in Gulf Shores- I decided that Brad and I should take Layna and check out The Little Zoo. Monica Bates had raved about it and so I had to check it out. In short- SOOO COOL!! They had tons of awesome animals in such a short proximity- it was just perfect. We even paid $5 extra to go and have an experience with baby kangaroos. It was really hot--but we saw the entire zoo in about an hr and that made the trip completely worth it! I can't wait to take the girls again when they are a little older!

More Gulf Shores....

Here are some more beach and pool pics from our wonderful vacation in Gulf Shores!

Beach Photo Shoot

I knew the one thing I NEEDED to do while we were in Gulf Shores was get some pictures of my girls on the beach! Ibrought brand new outfits and had been prepping my family all week. Our last night there we attempted this photo shoot with much success. I could not be happier with how the photos turned out. I must have taken over 100 shots...but the 5 or 6 awesome ones were totally worth it. I am LOVING my new camera and feel so blessed when I see these pictures of my little girls and the rest of my family

More Favs

Dentist=FUN!

Layna had her 1st trip to the dentist at the end of July. We have a wonderful family dentist but I was still a little nervous as to how she would do. I got my teeth cleaned 1st and I think that helped calm her a little bit. When it was her turn..she insisted that she sit on my lap while they lean the chair back and clean her teeth. This worked fine and I was really proud of Layna because she let them do a full cleaning on her--flossing and all! All of the cleaning tools had special names like 'Mr. Tickler' or 'Mr. Sprayer'. Layna thought it was funny and even got to pick out a Cinderella toothbrush! Good job on your 1st trip to the dentist Layna!