Lions and Tigers and Peacocks, OH MY!

2 weeks ago, we were so excited about warm weather that we ventured out to the zoo. Julie and Wynn came along too and we had lots of fun. Except for when during our first 5 minutes there I got attacked by a peacock. Yes, you read correctly...ATTACKED. Apparently this is a common occurence with the peacock population that I was unaware of. So they just kept surrounding us in a circle and closing in and there was one viscious one that just wasn't backing down. We were at the very first exhibit trying to look at the giraffes and they wouldn't leave us alone. Well all of a sudden one of them just started flying on top of me and grabbed my leg with it's sharp claw. And yes, the peacocks have large talons! I, of course, saw my life flash before my eyes and screamed. Kyle, of course, just stood there and told me to "chill out". Easy for him to say, he wasn't being mauled by a peacock. I went to the front gate, reported the incident and the woman very graciously called some people to come retrieve the psycho peacock. About that time, Wynn Brown rolled through the gates, at what point all the peacock scurried except that one that attacked me! He was fearless. The ladies came and got it and explained that it had been raised around people and we probably weren't paying it the attention it wanted. So, after that it was pretty fun and uneventful. Wynn's continuous request throughout the whole trip was "I wanna ride the train, I got ticket!" He was so fired up about that train, and Lucy Neal was NOT (see pic below). We saw lots of "aminals" as Wynn says and the weather was perfect.

Wynn Brown turns 2!

On January 10th we went to Wynn's house to help him celebrate his 2nd birthday. What a fun time! Lucy Neal had a blast on the big blow up slide and once she got warmed up she didn't want to quit. "adin! adin!" We might have to borrow this idea in May!

13.1

On Feb. 2, Meredith, Sarah Elizabeth and I ran the Mardi Gras Half Marathon in New Orleans. What an experience! Julie also ran, but she ran the whole marathon. She did great! After we finished our race we went to different spots and cheered on Juls. So we went down on Friday, made a weekend of it, then got up Sunday and ran the race. Meredith and I ran together the whole time...thanks again Mere for the support! I couldn't have done it without the motivation and support from these girls...they trained with me and kept me going! Thanks to Sarah E. for getting up with me on those oh so cold mornings! Maybe one day I will want to do another one (emphasis on maybe)! Thanks to the husbands (Kyle and Edwin) that came and cheered us on at several points in the race. They really kept us going. Edwin your cowbell was a great idea!

november til now

rather than trying to think back on exact dates and creating a million posts for different things (which i hate) i will condense everything that has been going on with the little one into one post. easier for everyone! so here goes...

soon after the "new manners" post (may have spoken to soon) lucy neal moved from getting popped on the hand to full blown spankings(sounds awful, but really just pops on the leg) for continuing to do things she has been told no about countless times ie. messing with the dishwasher. so one day in late november, she was fooling with something i had told her no about and she kept doing, to which i said "if you touch that one more time mama will spank you". her response?... she popped herself on the side of the leg and said "SPANK YOU!" -hilarious-

since then, we have decided time out is a much more effective punishment for her. here are a few reasons why time out hurts her feelings more than anything:

*no baby or lamb in time out (both of which she always wants when she's upset or gets in trouble)
*she can hear her movie playing but can't see it
*she can see us but can't be in the room with us
she always tries to inch on her booty toward us but is quickly told to sit still which is devastating to her!

when she gets out of time out, she immediately goes to whatever got her in trouble and points and says "no no"

when asked "who did you play with at school today?" she starts naming all of the kids in her class:

"keet" keaton
"moyee" mollie
"daithe" daise
"nannon" brandon
"no, no tole!" cole (poor cole must get in trouble a good bit! she thinks that's his name!)

we had a blast decorating for christmas, and she got to help without getting in too much trouble. she absolutely LOVED going to look at christmas lights and as we were riding around she would shout "OH, WOOK!" she has become so independent lately, plays alone for long periods of time, and will so sweetly climb in her chair and read books to herself which is one of my favorite things to watch. her newest obsession is Barney (sad i know) and she would watch him 24/7 if i let her. when the credits start rolling at the end of a barney movie, she turns around and says "OH, MARNEY!! when i say obsessed, i mean like mesmerized/captivated/ doesn't move from the t.v. the entire time it's on!! she brushes her teeth like a champ and doesn't hate it anymore. she tt's on the potty more times than not and is so proud of herself when she does it. we're not officially potty training, but trying to familiarize her with it so it won't be a foreign concept later on. her favorite thing in the whole world is going to the park and the other day when we pulled up she starting throwing her arms in the air and screaming, "YAY, PARK!" lots of people have asked the infamous question: "are you ready for another one yet?" and my response is quite simple: i am so happy with the way things are right now with lucy neal. she is at such a fun age and i don't crave anything extra in my life, instead would like to try to simplify it to have more time to spend with her. can't imagine being pregnant tired and chasing her around right now, but props to those who do it!
well enough rambling for now, pictures to follow soon!