Monday, January 31, 2011

While Her Parents Are Away…

…Helen Grace will PLAY!!!

While John and I had a little getaway in Portland, OR (see next blog for more details), Helen Grace played the weekend away with her grandparents- she stayed with Granddaddy and Spiffer on Friday night and Grandma and Peggy on Saturday night. They can’t stop gushing about how much fun they had with her. Makes me think they would prefer that we go away more often. ;)  Here are some of Granddaddy’s pics from the weekend.

Little Gym kicked off the spring semester on Friday morning, and Granddaddy took Helen Grace. She was a little shy at first.2011-01-28 10.04.37 And now she’s warming up…P1000067 P1000069 P1000075 P1000076The folks at Little Gym emailed me this video after the class. I about cried! I loved seeing how she did!

Granddaddy and HG had a lunch date at McDonald’s.2011-01-28 11.42.32 2011-01-28 11.42.50 And then she conked out at Bubba’s house.2011-01-28 12.40.26 P1000095 P1000096 P1000103I cannot stop laughing at this video! Helen Grace was jamming out, dancing to the music from the farm fridge magnet, and Spiffer was dancing with her. At one point, she tells Spiffer, “Stop!” Hilarious!

2011-01-29 17.03.57 2011-01-29 17.08.40 Enjoying the beautiful spring-like day at the parkP1000116 P1000120 P1000125 P1000129 P1000132 P1000134 P1000135

Mama’s Shoes

I think we are in BIG trouble…Helen Grace has found my high heels. And LOVES to walk around in them. And she’s not even two! What are we going to do when she’s a teenager?! We can’t stop laughing at this pic and video! I love our girly girl!

mama's shoes

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Big Girl

So tonight was a very sad night for me. Over the last week or two, I have continued to put Helen Grace down in her bed awake after reading a few books, but since she will only let me clip her nails when she’s ASLEEP, tonight I tried to rock her to sleep. She let me rock her for a few minutes, and then she sat up and pointed at her bed. What??? She asked to be put in bed? My little girl is growing up!

It’s also hitting me how amazing it is that I can have conversations with her now. Last night when she was in the bathtub, I was singing Old Mac Donald to her, and I stopped and asked her what animal to sing about and she answered me…over and over suggesting new animals. And today, a friend of mine showed her a toy animal and asked her what it was and then what noise it made, and she answered her repeatedly. So weird!

She went clothes shopping with me today. I know, didn’t I say I wasn’t going to do that anymore? While it proved to be a lot of work for me to bring her along, it sure was nice to have someone in the dressing room with me saying, “Preh-tty!” every time I tried something on.

Helen Grace loves to point out big 18 wheelers on the road, and she’s spent most waking hours in the car lately screaming, “Truck!!” and then, “Vrrooommm!” Unfortunately, her daddy was not so great at the “tr” sound when he was little, and it came out as “f.” Needless to say, his mom was pretty petrified when he would try to scream, “truck.” I’m glad she has picked up that blend better than her daddy. :)

Looking for kittieslooking for kitties EVERYTHING is a phone…even her breakfast bar.breakfast bar bath She came along with me to my doctor’s appointment.doctors office She was pretty much a blur the entire time we were in the waiting room, but at least she was relatively quiet. :)doctors office3doctors office2 Her new favorite perchCIMG7433

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Cherries

Last night, we went to Casa Mexicana for dinner with Spif and Granddaddy. After Helen Grace knocked out the majority of her quesadilla for the first time ever (I’m convinced she’s going through a growth spurt), the waitress asked if she could bring her some cherries. I thought that was the most random request but said that’d be fine. She soon brought a plate full of cherries and whipped cream. HG didn’t dive right into the cherries like I thought she would, but she had a great time pushing the whipped cream around the plate and feeding it to her daddy. Hilarious!

2011-01-22 18.50.31 2011-01-22 18.51.44 2011-01-22 18.52.47 2011-01-22 18.53.02

Cowgirl Fun

On Saturday, we traveled to Jackson to celebrate Leighton’s 2nd birthday and have some cowgirl fun. The girls’ pony even made an appearance, although Helen Grace was NOT interested in going for a ride, much to Mr. Will’s and Granddaddy’s disappointment. The weather was a little chilly, but the sun made it warm enough to let the kids run wild for a little bit. I’m getting a little spoiled seeing my college buddies and their babies two weekends in a row!

We had a great visit with the fam afterward. Grace Ann was disappointed that Helen Grace wouldn’t sit in her lap, but she was happy to finally get a big hug and had fun tickling her. Worth was pleased that Helen Grace could throw a ball so well, a skill he said that she did not get from me. Ha! While showing GA how HG watches Barney on Granddaddy’s Nook, she saw the Angry Birds game on it, and before we knew it, the whole family had their phones out and were having an Angry Birds competition (or tutorial for those of us that weren’t familiar with it). How high tech this world has become!

HG was being a little shy and clinging to Aunty Em, but Cowgirl Adickes was determined to get her hug. CIMG7395 CIMG7397CIMG7401 The only pic I got of HG with Leighton and Haney…they were on the move!CIMG7403CIMG7408 Happy Birthday, LeLe!!CIMG7409 CIMG7410 This child ate a whole piece of cake, a cup of ice cream, and then a whole piece of pizza (as she held the crust and the tip and chowed down from the side). I would say she was a little hungry.CIMG7411Attempt at a pony ride on Honey was not successful.CIMG7415 CIMG7416 But she loved the cowgirl hat!CIMG7417 CIMG7420CIMG7422 CIMG7423 CIMG7425 CIMG7427 CIMG7428 

First Haircut

The time had finally arrived for Helen Grace’s first haircut. Her hair in the very back was getting so long that it was looking stringy, so I set up an appointment with Jeanna, who actually gave me MY first haircut almost 30 years ago. After our experience, I think she and I behaved very similarly- maybe a little déjà vu for poor Jeanna.

I arrived a little early, hoping Helen Grace would warm up to the place and to Jeanna. She finally let go of me and started playing on the benches up front, but she froze when I tried to take her back to Jeanna’s chair. We tried to sit her on my lap in the chair and put a cape on each of us, and that’s when the real freak-out happened. My dad arrived about that time for back-up, and after she arched her back and slid off my lap several times, we moved her to Granddaddy’s lap. Well, even Granddaddy- or Barney for that matter- couldn’t make it better for more than a second. She went back and forth and back and forth between us- trying to get away from the scissors. It felt like we were playing Fruit Basket Turnover! Jeanna is obviously a pro and just rolled with the punches, getting snips in when she could. The only time she ever calmed down was when this random lady walked up and showed her pics of her dog on her phone. For some reason, Helen Grace stopped crying and squirming and looked through them- for about two minutes. Spiffer arrived soon, and Helen Grace clung to her, thinking she had a life line…and then she realized that Jeanna wasn’t quite done! All in all, it was well worth all the drama. The back looks a lot better, and her curls are in full effect again. The wisps in the front look much more well kept. I’m glad that ‘first’ is over!

BEFORE of frontCIMG7385 BEFORE of backCIMG7386 AFTER of backCIMG7389 AFTER of frontCIMG7394

P1000036 Even Barney couldn’t calm her down.P1000038 P1000039 P1000040 P1000041 “PUH-LEASE save me!”P1000042 The lady with the dog pics stepped in to save the day.P1000044 Is that a smile??P1000046 Nope! Cling mode is back in full effect.P1000047 P1000049 P1000050Playing happily with her new ‘doP1000051 P1000053 P1000060