June

June saw Steve finally defending his dissertation!!!! He did GREAT - his presentation was really interesting and I felt like he did a good job answering the questions at the end. I felt like people asked some odd questions that weren't really related to his dissertation. Or maybe related in a really round about way. But he handled them all well! Then there was a closed door session where his comity got to ask him anything under the sun that they wanted to which Steve said was by far the hardest part and very intimidating! Then he left and they debated and called him back. He called me about 5:30pm that day (June 12th) to tell me he had officially passed!!! Woohoo! Even though I knew he would pass, it was a huge relief for him just to be done with it all finally. He now has until July 9th to make any requested revisions to his dissertation after which it will be published. Yay! Steve joked with me that I needed to bring a water bottle to his defense and if things started going South, just pretend like my water broke to get him out of there! Hahaha!

 

The only pic I took on defense day.

We also started potty training Penny at the beginning of this month. I had tried at the beginning of April and she just wasn't quite ready. It's going pretty well so far! We went to the store and she got to pick out her own potty - a singing one that she'll sing along with now that she knows the words! It sings every time the bowl gets wet. Pretty cute!

105* outside and she insisted on wearing a jacket! At least I finally convinced her to wear shorts...

A friend was babysitting Penny and sent me this picture saying that Penny had told her friend Van "you stand here and hold my hand for picture." Haha!

We took Penny bowling for the first time! We went with our friends the Donners who have their son Porter who is Penny's age. They love each other and always ask for each other and then fight like cats and dogs when they're together! I think she had fun though. The smallest shoe they had was a toddler 9 and Penny is just barely getting into a 6, so that was a bit of a challenge. It was pretty funny to watch her shuffle around in the shoes though. She was a good sport about it!

Just running some errands.

She really wanted to paint Steve toenails and actually did a really good job! She just didn't know when to stop and kept adding all sorts of layers, so it ended up being a mess.

A fundraiser for our local aquarium they are trying to build. She LOVES riding anything that resembles a train!

Penny has been extra clingy to Steve recently now that he's done with his dissertation defense. She still struggles sending him off to school - I don't think she believes him when he says he'll be back for dinner!

Checking out the model train at our children's museum.

I'm actually surprised Steve convinced Penny to hold a bunny. He said she was really jumpy about it the whole time though!

Having fun testing out the baby equipment! I've decided to be induced on July 12th. It was just easier for my mom to make plans to come out and easier for us to have someone to watch Penny!

First movie in the theater! The Incredibles 2! She got really nervous to go into the theater - not sure why. Maybe she heard the rumbling noises from other theater doors? Once I convinced her to go in though she was all smiles and did really well! She only got up to explore for maybe the last 20 minutes and we were sitting in a row that gave her some wiggle room, so it wasn't a big deal. It was a lot of fun!

Other fun things I want to remember about Penny:
- When I put her down for bed or nap I tuck her in with her favorite blanket. She always says, "ahhhh, that's comfy cozy!" So so sweet!
- She was singing at the window one day during a rain storm and couldn't quite remember all the words to the song. She sang "Rain, rain go away (pause) it's summer time (pause) chick fil a" It made me laugh. And I was impressed she rhymed it, whether she meant to or not!
- Her new question is "what you got?" One day Steve was eating a sandwich and Penny asked "what you got Dad?" "A sandwich." "okay, you share!"
- I asked her a few questions for Father's Day and I thought her answers were kind of funny:
           - My dad is 3 years old.
           - My dad likes to eat.
           - My dad's job is to read to me.
           - My dad says good stuff.
           - I like to read books with my dad.
           - My dad's favorite thing is candy.
           - I love when my dad drinks water.

Baby Shower!

My awesome friends Michelle and Allie threw me a baby shower in May. It was beautiful, had delicious food, and was so much fun. I feel so lucky! These are all pics that Michelle took - we all know how I do with the whole remembering to take pictures thing.

Oreo cheesecake bites!

Michelle is an awesome party planner and actually runs a party planning business in conjunction with her floral business. She posted some social media stuff with my shower, thus the "Jane Doe" on the envelope!

"Be like Steve and plant your seed!" Hahahaha! Best party favors ever!

May

Penny tidbits from May:
- Has a little mole on her thigh that she was trying to talk to me about. She called it "the polka dot on my leg"
- Ariel = oreo
- We had some airhead candy and Penny was trying to ask for one, but couldn't quite remember the name. She kept asking me for a head phone!
- She has been making up a lot of songs about baby brother on the piano recently. Her favorite is "baby brudder wake up to meeeeeeee!"

Steve has a camo Broncos hat and Penny was really excited to find a matching camo hat in her size while out shopping!

My parents sent the movie "Coco" for Cinco de Mayo and we got the package on the 4th. Penny was NOT okay with having to wait til the next day to open the present!

One day Penny kept asking me for "brown shoes". She does have a pair of brown shoes, but just started crying and saying "no no no!" when I brought them to her. After a lot of effort and "show me"s and pantomiming I finally figured out she was asking me for a cashew flavored lara bar. Brown shoes = cashews! She was soooo happy when I finally figured it out!

Love that little arm around the neck!

Penny's favorite food by far is salad. I don't even order off the kid's menu anymore - I just get her a side salad! One day we had a left over piece of chocolate cake she was eating and I was eating salad. She literally dropped the cake and came running over to have bites of my salad. What kid does that?!

Saturday shopping...

Found her just quietly reading a magazine in my bed while I got ready one morning!

"I have glasses, Broncos hat, pink shoes. Going to school. Bye!"

Cuddles with "baby brudder"!

Steve has been awesome about making Popsicles this summer with Penny. She loves it!

Steve's masterpiece! 

We bought Penny some Puma socks and she was so excited to match!

One of my good friends here in Lubbock moved since her husband completed medical school. We had a last hurrah girls trip down to Dallas with five of us. It was a blast! We stayed at a friend's parents house and hit up Magnolia Market and the silos. I only took two pics the whole trip though... whoops.

Magnolia Market. Sooooooooo crowded!

We celebrated my birthday at the Cheesecake Factory.

At a goodbye party back in Lubbock. Allie has watched Penny once a week while I worked and her sons Cecil and "baby Holden" are some of Penny's very favorite people. Penny just sate in this chair most of the party up by the adults and yelled at any of the other kids that tried to pick up the sprinkler (it was a water party).

Steve suggested we take a day trip up to Amarillo for Memorial Day. We love the zoo up there and were feeling like we needed a break from Lubbock. It was a nice break!

One of the real lions was making noise and I mentioned to Penny that it sounded like he had something stuck in his throat. Penny talks about that all the time now!

Out of all the animals we saw, I think she most loved the prairie dogs. That we have a bunch of in Lubbock. That live half a block away from our house.

Less than two weeks til Steve defends! He sure is stressed, but Penny and I are so excited for him to be done with it. We're sick of hardly seeing him! :)