Dr. Emmy

Auntie Em came to stay with us this weekend while she went to some continuing education classes. While she’s ‘Emmy’ (or most recently Mimi or Emi-wee) to Helen Grace, she’s Dr. Nail in real life, an optometrist in Philadelphia, MS. HG was tickled pink to have a friend sleeping across the hall from her, but she was even more excited to play with some of Em’s real doctor tools. This was so much better than HG’s pink plastic doctor kit! We had a great weekend of catching up and letting the girls have some quality time. We miss you already, Emmy!

First Scooter Experience

After the Grove and a *short* nap on the ride home, we headed to Frankie Grace’s FIRST birthday party! Helen Grace had a huge discovery- a SCOOTER. I spent a few minutes showing her  how to push off with her foot, and then she was off. I was shocked at how quickly she got it, but once she did, she did NOT want to let go of it. Needless to say, we will quickly be buying one for home. We had a great time celebrating with Cupcake and wish her the happiest year as a one year old!!

HG wanted to show Frankie (‘Baby’) how to ride the scooter too. “Careful, Baby!” Happy birthday, Cupcake! She wouldn’t even sit it down to watch Frankie open gifts.

Groving

While our Ole Miss football team might not win a game this season, at least the fans are guaranteed to win the party in the Grove! We went down to Oxford on Saturday for the game against Georgia. Due to a terrible season so far and a kick off at 11:20 a.m., we found rock star parking and great spot on the Walk of Champions. When most people started heading to the stadium, we headed to the square for some shopping and lunch at Ajax. The weather was perfect, but the company was even better! Now, just don’t ask about the final score of the game…

What has to be the world’s biggest Grove chair Strolling with my girl Getting ready for the Walk of Champions ‘Where ARE they (football players)?’ ‘This is SO not worth the wait.’ Much more interested in the band INTENTLY watching the drum section Patting Mama Visiting with Doty and Caroline The girl finds a sticker wherever she goes. {Flashback to last October, her first Grove experience} Dancing with Daddy to the band playing Dixie as we head to the car Kicking our feet up on the Square… …until the spotted the Off Square Books cat She was obsessed. I had to finally to pick her up and carry her away, kicking and screaming.

‘Go Rebels! Hotty toddy!’ on the Walk of Champions

‘I Going on a Trip’

A friend of ours dropped by a late birthday present for Helen Grace this weekend, and she opened it after bathtime and right before bedtime. She was ECSTATIC about her backpack. She immediately jumped down off of our bed and said, “Bye! I leaving, I going on a trip!” She headed for the fridge to get some snacks for her journey, but I herded her toward the pantry when she got mad that the apple juice bottle and caramel apple dip wouldn’t fit in her backpack.

La, La, La!

One of the most amazing parts of this toddler stage is how clearly Helen Grace has begun singing. She really knows the words to a lot of songs!

‘School Is Fun!’

‘School’ on Wednesday was such an answer to prayers. She was excited that morning as we got ready, and as we pulled into the parking lot, she asked for a sticker. I asked her what sticker she was talking about, and she said, “The one on my back!” She was looking forward to the nursery sticker that goes on her back with her name and info- ha! She was a little shy when I was signing her in to her classroom, but I stepped inside and she soon saw Callum playing with a truck. That’s all it took- she hopped down and never looked back. Her teacher said she was perfect the entire time- never cried and never kicked anyone. :) WHEW! I tried to take a pic afterward to mark the momentous day, but this action shot was the best I got. For the rest of the day, she talked about how ‘FUN!’ school was. So cute.

We met my friend Cassie today to attempt Helen Grace’s two year old pics, and this time she was much more willing to participate! Helen Grace was quite the poser (most of the time), and we had a lot of fun. At one point, Cassie asked her, “Who’s your best friend?” My sweet baby girl responded, “Mommy!” Melted my heart! Here are some sneak peek pics- more to come in the next few weeks. I bribed her through an outfit change and the last 30 minutes with a reward of ice cream, so after our photo shoot, we met Daddy at Jason’s Deli for lunch and a sweet treat. We dropped by my office too to say hi to my coworkers.

Here are some of Helen Grace’s funnies from the week…

In Peggy’s room, she has a wall of pictures of her animals of past and present, and at the end of the row is a crucifix. Helen Grace asked her the other day who each animal was, and when she got to the crucifix, she asked, “Who’s that?” Grandma responded, “Jesus.” Helen Grace asked, “What he doin’?” Grandma responded, “He’s having a bad day,” which got an “Awwww” out of HG.

This morning at breakfast, she popped an Apple Jack in her mouth and said, “Mmmm, ‘licious!”

When ’Olivia’ ended right at naptime today, I hit the pause button and started changing her diaper as she laid on the ottoman. She really wanted to finish the last bit of the show, so she grabbed the remote, looked it over, and hit the play button!!!!! How does she know that?!

Bits & Pieces

Out of nowhere, Helen Grace has started adding ‘ma’am’ to her vocabulary. But it’s not always the normal, polite ‘ma’am.’ It tends to be very emphatic with the emphasis on ‘ma’am,’ such as, “No MA’AM!” I have realized that she’s mimicking the way that I say that to her when she’s doing something she’s not supposed to do. Well…at least she’s listening!

One morning, Helen Grace was sitting on my lap eating cookies. Since she was leaving crumbs all over me and the couch, I told her that she was Cookie Monster. She said, “I NOT Cookie Monster! I Helen Grace!”

Thursday night, we all met Bubba at Luigi’s, a little pizza joint at the crossroads of the metropolis of Byhalia. It also happens to be next door to the building where my great grandfather on the Moore side (Papa Doc)’s doctor’s office was, around the corner from his home, and down the street from the house where Bubba raised her boys and years later where I remember visiting my great-grandmama on the Williams side, Mawmaw. After HG tired of dinner, Granddaddy started walking her up and down the sidewalk outside, explaining the significance of the houses and buildings they passed. I snapped this pic of Spif, HG, and Bubba having a chinwag on the sidewalk after dinner. Too bad the wiggle worm wouldn’t stay still, but it was still a sweet moment.

She spent the night with Grandma on Saturday night, and after I picked her up on Sunday morning, we headed to Kroger. In the store, she really wanted me to carry her around, and I explained to her that I couldn’t carry her and push the buggy. I eventually got her distracted by helping me pick out and count things from the shelves and throwing them in our basket. After we finished checking out and were heading to the door, I told her that I needed to pick her up since we were going out into the parking lot. She gasped, flung her little arms around my neck, and said, “Thanks for holding me, Mommy!!!!” (Like I haven’t carried her for 90% of her life!)

John had a soccer game on Sunday night, and I was struggling with how to dress Helen Grace- long or short sleeves, pants or shorts? It was 75 but damp and cloudy and would soon be getting dark. I wondered out loud to her, “What am I going to put you in?” She responded, “In the backseat.”

Her Nonono’s these days are hilarious, especially when she wags her little finger at her daddy when he’s picking on her.

I Think We’ve Gotten Our Money’s Worth

Out of our zoo membership, that is. They are definitely not making money on the Toohig family! On Saturday morning, we headed off to the zoo to take advantage of the absolutely beautiful day. By a miracle, we made it there before they opened the gates at 9:00, so Helen Grace had the run of the zoo for most of our visit. The gorillas and the monkeys really put on a show for us, and again, we thought we’d never get her out of that aquarium. Needless to say, for the second day straight, she fell asleep on the way home around 11:30.

Toohig Twinkies…think they look a little alike? “Oh gosh!” Bouncing on Mama’s lap