Philly Trip

This weekend, Helen Grace and I hit the road for a girls’ trip to Philadelphia, MS, to see Aunt Emmy! Before we left town, we met Daddy for lunch at McAlister’s.Once we got started on our trip, she lasted for about 5 miles, and then she was sawing logs with her kitty cat pillow, her blankie, Lovie, and Monkey. She slept for almost two hours, so the trip was pretty uneventful. When she woke up, we stopped for a coke and a bathroom stop and made it to Emmy’s around 4:00.I think Em loved HG’s Etch-a-sketch as much as HG does, and after dinner and a trip to Sonic, the two of them spent the night cuddled up on the couch, drawing and guessing animals.Bedtime in a new place was NOT so good. Pretty bad actually. She kept asking to go home and was wound up. After I rolled over and ignored her chattiness, she finally went to sleep. The first night she woke up every hour or so, asking for ice cream (random!) or if the sun were up. By 6 a.m., I was wide awake, and this is what I found snuggled up behind me. (My ear is in the far right corner.)  She had a hard time settling down the second night as well, but, thankfully, she slept all night. We spent Saturday morning hanging out on the couch and playing with Em’s dog, Peaches. HG watched her from inside the house at first, then moved out to stand on the porch in my arms, and eventually got brave enough by the end of the weekend to climb out of my arms and stand on the porch. We met our friends Beth, Elizabeth, and Rylie for lunch, and man, the girls were WILD together! The two girls just feed off each other, and with both quickly approaching naptime, they were delirious by the end of our lunch date. The best one we were able to capture of the two of them. Ring around the rosie And we all fall down!    Chasing each other like wild women

Trying out some of Emmy’s glasses. For some reason, this makes me feel like I’m looking back into my awkward childhood! Em’s neighbors have a beautiful gazebo that HG called “the park.” I made sure to let her run off some energy there before we hopped back in the car on the way home.We made it to Oxford around lunchtime and met Mere Mere for a quick bite, and then we busted a move back to Memphis to meet our newest little “chick,” Mallory Carole Harris (Whitney’s second little girl). She was due to arrive on the 15th, but instead, she made her debut through an emergency csection on the 12th. Mama and baby are both home and doing well now.

Some funny things that HG did/said this weekend in Philly:

• She leaned back in a chair, wiped her forehead with a dramatic hand, and said, “Shew, Mommy, I’m exhausted!”
• She was shifting around in a chair, and I asked her what she was doing. “I’m getting comfortable.”
• I was on the phone with my mom, and I realized that HG was really quiet. I called out to her, and she came out of Em’s laundry room with black hands. What?? I asked her what she had touched, and she took me directly to a huge (and open) bag of charcoal.
• She saw an Ole Miss Larry Womble print at Em’s house, and for the first time, completely unprompted or without any context, she yelled, “Ole Miss! Go Rebels!”
• She comes in the bathroom a lot with me, but for some reason, one time at Em’s, she became my coach. She followed me in there saying, “You can do it, Mommy! I know you can!” And when she heard me go, she said, “Yay, Mommy!! You did it! I’m so proud of you!” Can you tell we’ve been reading her potty training book?? Too bad she still shows no interest in going herself. She will run around naked after bathtime and then tell you when she needs a diaper, but she refuses to go to her potty. Grrr.