Veggie Tales Live: God Made You Special Tour!

The Veggie Tales LIVE! God Made You Special Tour will go down in our family's history book as the first-ever live show for Sadie to attend! I heard about the tickets being offered on KSBJ and quickly went online to order ours! I knew Sadie would love seeing Bob, Larry, and the whole gang of Godly veggies in life-size form. It was held at Sugar Creek Baptist Church. Since Daddy was out of town our Veggie Crew included: Sadie, Mommy, Granddaddy, Su Su, and Aunt Leslie! We first dressed Sadie up in her Bob attire, thanks to a cute tutu from Leslie, tights from Gammy, and a Bob 2T onsie from Su Su! She was a veggie sight to behold! We ate bar-b-que before the show and arrived with plenty of time to get great seats. 

We had to stop for one quick outside shot just before entering the church. I loved this shot because you can see Bob the Tomato is smiling *almost* as big as Sadie. Needless to say, with countless hours of watching Veggie Tales and singing along with the Yodeling Veterinarian and the Song of the Cebu, I was a little excited too!

Since we arrived so very early, we had plenty of time to let Sadie peruse the gift stands admiring the variety of veggie plush toys and other items. Granddaddy and Gammy bought her a little Larry plush, purple t-shirt that says "Little guys can do big things too!" and a lunch-kit filled with three new Veggie Tales movies for Sadie to watch! She hit the Veggie Tales jackpot! WOW!

We ran all around the opening area and Aunt Leslie played with Sadie throwing her up in the air and laughing. So much fun before the show had even begun! They even had a coloring station, where you could color your very own picture of Bob and Larry, the obvious stars of the show.

We got inside once the doors were opened. I think there were only people in front of us! So, we found wonderful seats, just behind the VIP section with a vast open area perfect for toddler dancing. Sadie then was as patient as could be (actually she did do wonderfully!) while we waited almost 40 minutes for the show to start! She meandered down aisles, went to the gift shop, played with Leslie, went on a walk with Granddaddy, and had a quick diaper change, all before the show began.

Once the show started, Sadie was so excited! It was hilarious! I thought she would scream or do something else similar to a girly "Beatles" scream, but she just stared in silence - dumbstruck by her favorite Veggie stars alive and dancing before her very toddler eyes! It must have been a sight of wonderment to see them in real life!

The show itself was amazing! Lighting and dancing vegetables, dancers, and a cute story-line about a silly-song theif all made for a great show. They also had screens up that played cartoons along with the songs. A toddler Veggie Tales haven.

Sadie decided to celebrate by doing her own crazy dances. Many of her moves involved getting on the floor in some way. A toddler break dancing of sorts?! Sadie also danced with Mommy some and put on a dancing show for all who would look. She also enjoyed dancing with other kids who came down in front for the fun. 

After dancing and singing along, Sadie hit the silly stage and started giggling and laughing with Su Su and anyone who would laugh with her! Gammy cracked up as she took pictures and Leslie and Granddaddy clapped in approval of her dance moves.

Once the show was over, we couldn't help but snap a few quick pictures with everyone. Sadie is holding tight to her new Larry as we took pictures together. The funniest memory of the night will probably be Sadie sashaying down the aisle at the very end of the performance with (what I swear) were jazz hands. Everyone watching laughed with delight as Sadie looked like she fit right in with the show's cast dressed in all Bob attire. 

Once we gathered our things we made our way out the door and Granddaddy helped her zip her jacket so we wouldn't be too cold outside! Such a fun night with everyone!

Just in case we didn't have enough fun already, we decided to stop for ice cream at TCBY back in Friendswood. Sadie picked the infamous cotton candy ice cream (a terror for stains, but ice cream heaven for toddlers due to the bright pinks and blues!). She enjoyed her ice cream as we all chatted about the wonderful production and Sadie's hilarious moves and antics. What a little ham!

Once home, Gammy took a few pictures of Sadie displaying all her loot! Since Daddy was hunting, we were able to enjoy Gammy as an over-night guest. Sadie admired all her movies and we put one in to watch before washing up for bedtime and having sweet dreams of Veggie Tales dancing about. What a wonderful night. Cannot wait for the next live show!

Mommy, What are these?!

Mall walking. It has been a favorite hobby of Sadie's since she was old enough to meander about the indoor toddler haven. On especially hot days, we would venture indoors to enjoy throwing pennies into the fountain or take a couple or 12 rides up and down the escalators at Macy's. Sadie loves it. On this particular mall trip, Sadie was intrigued by the giant pink polka-dot doggies that sit outside the entrance of Victoria's Secret. Now, you must understand, I am not a big fan of this store. Just from a consumer standpoint, I don't think they fit very well. I think they are incredibly expensive for bras that are average. I think women pay for the name in the bra, which doesn't even make sense, considering no one should be seeing the thing! I think they market to young women. I am less than thrilled with their TV ads, which can be seen by young boys and girls alike during family TV time. The icing on the cake, however, is the GIANT rear barely covered by a lace thong that sits in the fountain area - also known as the location of Santa at Christmas time! That's right! Victoria's Secret saw no problem with that giant behind as the backdrop to all that toddler merriment. Nothing says Christmas like, "ho ho ho" right? ;o)

Anyway, On this particular day, though, I didn't mind that Sadie wanted to go inside. She was curious about the dogs. What tiny toddler wouldn't be? However, when she ventured inside, she noticed the bras...and was hooked. She cracked me up. She looked at me and with wide eyes chimed, "Mommy! LOOK! BOOBIES!!!! SEEEEE????" Oh my goodness. I nearly fell over laughing. 

She smiled for a couple of pictures, but was so entertained with herself that she had a hard time focusing on the camera. Well, all I can say is that one day Sadie will really wear one of these things and that completely blows my mind. AHHHHH! I think we'll enjoy night night diapers and bows in the hair for a little longer before these become a permanent piece of laundry in our home.

Sadie's Prayer Sticks

Pinterest. The absolutely fabulous idea-holder exists as a wonderful treasure trove of ideas for all crafty people out there. I have had several friends on FB post that the site can sometimes make them feel like they are not doing enough with their children. However, I come at it a different way. This is a wonderful place to come up with new and great ideas for Sadie - ideas I might never have thought of otherwise. I know I cannot do all crafts on the site, but neither can I read every book I see in the bookstore, but that never stops me from perusing the closest one. 

So, one of our first Pinterest crafts was Popsicle prayer sticks. I purchased an extra strength glue stick, and let Sadie apply the glue to the multi-colored jumbo Popsicle sticks. We then attached the heads of friends and family to the ends. To finish, I wrote each person's name down one side of the stick. Sadie wanted to write their names too, so I flipped over each stick and let her "write the name" as well. Her small squiggle was a perfect addition to these purposeful sticks. She was so proud of herself After we were all finished we lined them up and looked at all of the people in our lives (all that we at least had pictures of right then). We are so very blessed.

I then modeled for Sadie how to pray for our friends and family:

"Dear Jesus, 

thank you for _______. 

I pray she/he has a happy day."

Sadie was over the moon. She loved the simply prayer and after repeating it a couple of times, she got the hang of it. Within a few uses of these power sticks, we began to see a trend. It seems that Granddaddy, Rascal and Rusty (The latter two are Su Su and Poppy's furry children) quickly won the role of apparently needing the most prayers. Sadie also liked to pray for herself, partly because she liked to pretend her stick was a tiny person and wanted it to talk to all the other prayer sticks!

Her first prayer she used was eventually modified on occasion to sound like the sing-song prayer she would say at school for food time:

"Thank you, God

Thank you, God

for my ________ (Su Su, Collin, etc)

and my many blessings

and my many blessings.

Amen

Amen"

I love how a craft so simple could teach her about something so important in life - to pray for others. Pinterest, you rule. Thank you for the idea. :)

Happy birthday to Gammy!

For Gammy's 58th birthday we decided to scoot over the the other side of town - Sugarland! Austin and Katie knew of a wonderful Mexican restaurant in the main square where we could enjoy being together. Sadie was dressed in her bright pink corduroy jumper that Gammy bought her from Gymboree. We dined on chips, quesadillas, and guacamole to our hearts' desires then took a few pictures before leaving. Sadie probably enjoyed passing from person to person along our curved booth and enjoyed playing with Aunt Katie and Uncle Austin. She is to the age that they both are hilariously fun to her now!

 We are thinking Sadie might have a chance at being tall. What do you think?

 On Gammy's actual day of birth, we celebrated again. In the Cox family, we often had several days of celebration, making birthday parties and other momentous events...well...momentous! Gammy opted for Zio's and Sadie was delighted since you can draw on the table paper there. Although their service seems always amazingly slow, the food was delicious and we all laughed as Sadie enjoyed the herbs and bread like an adult at the table.

Sadie's table art!

Cheeeeeese!

 Once at our house, Sadie had some fun taking pictures with Gammy's "little" camera. She got the hang of it pretty quickly and snapped some great shots! The delay was the only trick to figure out, leaving parents and grandmas alike trying to jump in front of the lens for a successful shot.

Situated among the millions of moving boxes, Gammy opened her presents from Granddaddy. He bought her a beautiful red leather Brighton purse with a cute bow on the front. Just Gammy's style! He also gave her Brighton jewelry! What a lucky lady! After presents were opened, we brought out the cake and sang. This was Sadie's favorite party, no doubt, as she has been practicing singing this song every time candles or cakes are seen in reality or on television. Gammy was gracious and even let Sadie blow out her candles with her. Sadie immediately said, "AGAIN! PEEEEAASE?!"

While we enjoyed some cake, Sadie gave Great a touch-up to her makeup. Sadie has a set of her own brushes and "does her makeup" while Mommy is getting ready. Great looked beautiful before and after - just in time for a quick four generations picture to be snapped!

Happy birthday to a wonderful Gammy! Here's to many more fun birthdays together! We love you!