HG-Go-Round

I love this girl more than words can say.

Park, Pumpkins & Picnic

HG had a date with Granddaddy and Spiffer on Friday, and she requested to play at the park, visit the barn to pick out pumpkins (and she found some delicious peaches too), and eat lunch on Spiffer’s porch. A girl that knows what she wants and is easy to please!

Happy Birthday, Cupcake!

On Saturday, we celebrated Frankie Grace’s second birthday with a puppy party. The kids got to pose in a dog house- how appropriate! ;) We had so much fun ringing in Cupcake’s new year- here’s to another year of laughs!

HG’s First Fair

On the way home from the Disney Princesses on Ice on Saturday night, we passed the DeSoto Civic Center, which just happens to currently be hosting the MidSouth Fair. The ferris wheel was lit up at night, and it caught Helen Grace’s attention. She wanted to know all about it, and she didn’t stop talking about the thing. By Sunday afternoon, I told her that I’d take her to the ferris wheel if she’d stop asking to go to the fair long enough to take a nap. Sure enough, she popped up after her nap saying, “Can we go to the ferris wheel now?!”

Helen Grace’s first fair experience didn’t disappoint. We headed to the petting zoo first, and then HG wanted to tackle the obstacle course- all by herself. I was so proud of her. She never looked back and was so proud of herself for doing it all on her own. After that, she hit the cars, and while she was on that ride, she noticed the crème de la crème in the distance- the ferris wheel! She almost jumped off the ride, but when it finally stopped, she grabbed Granddaddy’s hand and went running. She did really well on the ferris wheel. She was a bit nervous at first but soon wanted to stand up in the middle and take in all of the view! I was clinging to her like my life depended on it. The ferris wheel was a BIG hit. She went on to try the spinning bears, big slide (which terrified Mama and thrilled Baby Girl), bumble bee ride, and fun house. Then onto my favorite part- the food! We chowed down on piece of pizza, and then HG experienced her first funnel cake. In her typical fashion, she licked off all the powdered sugar and left the cake for me. We ended the night with a grape slushee and were only able to pull her out of the fair by the promise of jumpy-ing at Spiffer’s!

She’s once again proven that she is fearless and that Mama is a pansy!

All by herself And so happy! “I wanna go THERE!” So ready but a little nervous Ok, this thing is moving now… Woo hooo!!!!Getting ready for it to start Heeeeyyyy! These moving steps at the fun house had her a little spooked, but she conquered them once she put her mind to it. “I did it!” YUMMM, funnel cake!

Riding the cars, ferris wheel, and spinning bears

Trying out the big slide, bumble bees, and grape slushee

“Best Day Ever!”

As Rapunzel (or Punzel according to HG) would say, Saturday was the “best day ever!” Spiffer, Helen Grace, and I went with Ann Maxwell, her mama, and her grandmama to see Disney’s Princesses on Ice at the FedEx Forum.

To say that HG was excited was an understatement. She loved that it was going to be a “girls’ night” and even told Granddaddy that maybe he could come “next time.” I could barely get her to go down for a nap that afternoon, and as soon as she woke up, she was ready to GO. I finally gave in and got dressed, and we headed to pick up Spiffer a little early. The timing actually worked well because we were able to get there, pick out our overpriced princess souvenir (a lighted Cinderella spinner), grab some dinner, find our seats (HG practically ran to find our section and then raced down the stairs to the ice), and people watch!

Once the show started, Helen Grace was entranced and watched every single minute. The first story was Tiana from “Princess and the Frog,” then we saw Cinderella’s story with a quick intermission, and finally Rapunzel from “Tangled” had her turn. And then, MUCH to Helen Grace’s delight, ALL the Disney princesses came out at the end for a big finale. She was squealing, “It’s Belle, it’s Belle, AAHHH, it’s ARIEL, oh, it’s SLEEPING BEAUTY!!!” To see that joy as a mama is truly a gift.  We are so blessed, and Spiffer and I soaked up every minute of her excitement.

Honk, honk A scene from “Princess and the Frog” Cinderella Cannot contain her excitement Flynn from “Tangled” More “Tangled” Yummm…cotton candy was a hit this time. When she first put it in her mouth, she told Spiffer, “I didn’t even get a chance to chew it!”The start of the princess finale The princesses just keep coming!

During Intermission, she caught sight off Rapunzel’s tower behind the curtain for the next act.

During the princess finale- WHOA!

Toohig Tidbits

I had to give a presentation to the MBA class at Ole Miss the day after Labor Day, so I was lamenting to John on the holiday about needing to sit down and work on my slide deck. A few days later, Helen Grace was sitting at our kitchen table with my dad, and he bursts out laughing. She told him, “Mama’s worried about her work crap.” OMG! She is truly a sponge!! At least she chose to tell that story to Granddaddy and not Mrs. Maureen!

HG and I took a nap in my bed one day, and when she woke up and saw me, the first thing she did was scurry up to me and plant a big kiss right on my lips.

HG found John’s wedding ring sitting on the counter, took it to him, and put it on his finger. She said to him, “Now you’re married.” Then she said to me, “Now, you kiss Daddy.” And then, “Now we can have birthday cake!!!”

We overheard her telling Spiffer, “I call him Daddy (sounds like Dah-dee), and he calls me Baby Girl.”

When we are in the car and she’s falling asleep, she’s started telling me, “Mommy, I can’t hold my eyes open.”

She’s really enjoyed milking her boo boo from the jumpy. One day, she woke up from a nap with her first words being, “Who am I going to show my boo boo to?”

She starts a story with, “You’re never going to believe this.”

When I was trying to get her in the car seat, she kicked me. I asked her, “Is that how you treat your mama?” She pouted, “No.” I asked her, “Well, what do you say?” “I’m sorry…but I still love you.” Smart girl.

HG’s been asking us to “cover her in kisses.”

She was drinking a milkshake in the car and spilled some on her dress. She wailed, “My beautiful dress is RUINED!!”

She told Peggy, “We can’t see God because he’s camouflaged in heaven.”

She was resisting bedtime, and I suggested she roll over on her side to help her go to sleep. She was not happy about it, and as she rolled over, she huffed, “FINE!!!” Wow. I know exactly where/who she got that from (me), but I wasn’t expecting to get that tone quite so soon.

Often, after she says ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ and I compliment her, she’ll say, “I have good manners!”

During bedtime prayers, I asked her why we love God. She responded, “Because he sends an angel to save us…from pricking our finger.” Hmm. A little too much princess business??

I accidentally scratched her with my fingernail the other day (nothing serious AT ALL), and she looked at me like I had hit her. “Mommy, that’s not how we treat our friends!”

She’s started reenacting her hospital visit with her baby dolls. Granddaddy had to put her and her doll on a gurney, put on their seat belts, get them in the ambulance, and drive them to the emergency room. Poor baby.

Can’t say she’s not mine! PRISS. POT.

A very sweet friend of ours gave Helen Grace a happy for being so sick, her very own swimming baby doll like Mariella’s. The girl went crazy with excitement!! Here she is telling me how to work it…

Saying ‘Thank You’ to OBFD

While the wonderful men of Olive Branch Fire Department were taking care of Helen Grace last week, they kept telling her to get better and come play on their fire trucks. She remembered that promise, and I felt an intense need to tell these guys ‘thank you’ for all they did for us. On Friday afternoon, we took some cookie cakes to Station One to see the firemen that responded to Memphis Children’s Clinic and to Station Three to see the firemen/EMTs that drove us to LeBonheur. They were as excited to see her as she was to see them, and we didn’t even have to remind them of who we were.

At Station One, Mr. Matt showed her every inch of the fire truck (did you know they don’t have a key to crank?) and even drove us out to the street and back in it. HG was terrified of its loud noises, but I think she overall enjoyed it. He showed her how they suit up for fires and how the hoses work and even pulled out his phone to show her his little girl, Sophie, that he told her about that day. He is truly an amazing fireman.

With Mr. Matt as our chauffeur  

Looking for our EMTs

The crew at Station Three was enthralled in a wild volleyball game when we arrived, but when the guy that drove us to the hospital saw us walking up, he literally came running. She really wanted to see the front of the ambulance, although she had no interest in getting in the back. No surprise there- me either, Baby Girl!!! She loved all the lights on it.

We are eternally thankful for our Olive Branch Fire Department! Helen Grace learned a great lesson today about being a servant and how important these men are that help others for a living.

 

We ended the night with a birthday celebration for our beloved Teddy. He was tickled pink with Helen Grace’s ‘Happy Birthday’ rendition for him, and we all had a great time sitting around their kitchen table with coconut cake, brownies, and ice cream.