On Saturday morning, we celebrated our friend Libby’s second birthday at a great place called Cupcake Cutie. The kids colored, played with play dough, and chased each other with matchbox cars and balloons. Not to mention the delicious little cupcakes to savor! It was almost like a First Time Mom reunion, and we kept saying, “I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten!” Happy birthday, Libby, and thanks for letting us celebrate with you!
Ready for cupcakes with Libby
Since John was off of work on Friday and the weather was unseasonably warm, we headed to our home away from home- the zoo! Monkeys seemed to be the common theme of the day- from animals to kiddos acting wild! We ran into the Harrisons and Baldersons too, so HG enjoyed running around with Tyler and Callum and, of course, flirting with Finley.
Thomas and his family came back in town for a visit this weekend, which made Helen Grace’s whole month! I think she was more excited to see him than Santa. We met the Mullins, Browns, and Egners for sushi on Friday night, and Thomas and HG stayed quiet and busy the whole time with their iPhone and iPad. HG tried using their kids’ version of chopsticks and REALLY did well and ate well with them. I snuck a pair in my purse to see if they have the same appeal at home!
Helen Grace distinguishes week days as either Grandma days (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) or Mommy days (Wednesday and Friday). Because I’ve been off of work this week, most all days have been Mommy days (with the exception of a few grandparent times here and there), Wednesday was still technically a Mommy day. After a romp through my jewelry box, we headed to the Booksellers at Laurelwood to meet Ms. Hope and Baby Emily for lunch and then stopped by Grandma’s office on the way home. It was great to put on make up and real clothes and get OUT of the house!
On Thursday, we met Spiffer and Bubba for lunch at BYB. As usual these days, Helen Grace conked out on the way there, and while she slept in my arms for the first few minutes, she soon warmed up and wanted to sit with Bubba and Spiffer- and she gave out some super sweet cuddles and kisses! HG and I spent the afternoon in her play room, playing with all her new toys, and I watched in amazement as she started laying out and covering up all of her baby dolls…just like my mom tells me that I did as a little girl. It was an eerie (but cool) glance back in time!
Tuesday was another lazy day for HG and me, but John went on into work. Late in the morning, I headed for the shower. HG was content to play with her new toys and watch her cartoons at first, but soon, she came knocking on my shower door, wanting to get in. She had just had a bath the night before, so I put her off. She was obviously not happy with my response. When I got out of the shower, she was standing at the columns around our bathtub with a green bath crayon in hand. {Brandy had given her Barbie dolls for the tub with bath crayons, and we had tried them out the night before.} When she heard me scream, she immediately burst into tears and realized she had done something wrong. She was NOT happy when I put a washcloth in her hand and put her to work scrubbing the columns. BIG crocodile tears. At one point while I was taking pics and texting them to her daddy, she turned to me and said, “You bad. You teasing me.” She thought I was laughing at her. I assured her that I was NOT laughing. Later, after she had made good progress (and I helped a little bit), she said, “Shew! This is real hard!” I think we have now effectively driven home the lesson that bath crayons are only to be used in the bathtub, and the stupid crayons have now been hidden away from little hands.
The day after Christmas was majorly low key for us. After Helen Grace finally woke up around 9:00, we stayed in our pajamas all day, and HG opened round three of presents (from Nini, Teddy, CB, Emmy, Bubba, and Rod & Sharon). She had a BLAST with the vacuum, microphone, vet kit complete with kitty and puppy, and the princess and the pea doll and bed. We only left the house to drive through Backyard Burger and stop by Nini and Teddy’s to eat and say thank you. We all enjoyed a nice, lazy day together! {Again, please forgive the diaper. Like I said, it was a laidback day.}
Oooooh, a vacuum! (Now if only it were a functioning one…)
The vet kit from Bubba was a big hit too. She told me she was Dr. Ann, our vet, and has been doctoring on all her stuffed animals.
