Mardi Gras!

It's that time of year again. Mardi Gras is in full swing here. Friday night, Grant, Ron and I made the trip across the bay to indulge in a night with the Order of Inca and enjoy a parade and Mardi Gras Ball hosted by this society.

Our dear friends, the Lomax's invited us to partake in the festivities and took us behind the scenes where the Inca's were gearing up for the parade which was to start at 6pm in Mobile. Grant was in awe of all the men vividly dressed in their best Mardi Gras Parade attire and even got to have his picture made with a few...

A few of the Inca's. My friend Emily's three bother-in-laws and Father are in the bunch. They were all so excited for us to be in attendance knowing this was a new experience for us.
Hundreds of Inca gathered in the Mobile Civic Center's Auditorium before the parade started. This was quite the sight to behold. The different "groups" were all dressed lavishly different and the excitement was contagious. A local high school marching band was in the center of the auditorium playing their instruments while their guard got down Beyonce style in "Single Ladies." Not kidding. They had on zebra leotards and tights while they dropped it like it was hot.
The Inca's all piled onto their individual floats decorated for the "Vacations" themed parade while we headed to our spot on the street to await their arrival. But first we stopped when Grant spotted the "Neigh's" as he calls them!
Grant loved watching the parade and took home a ton of goodies, otherwise known as "throws." He received lots of beads, frisbees, stuffed animals, musical instruments, coins and Mardi Gras footballs.

Here's just one of many vacations around the world themed floats. I'm assuming this was an Egyptian pyramid theme.

After the parade we attended the Inca Mardi Gras Ball. Grant was safe and sound with our friend, Matt's parents.

This was our first Mardi Gras Ball and we were so excited for the night ahead.

Here we are with the Lomax's in front of the Mardi Gras themed Christmas Tree!

Laurie, Emily and I all gussied up

The men are required to wear tuxedos with tails to the event.

Ron, Drew and Matt

Cheese(e)! And that my friends is where the pictures end. I did NOT want to tote my DSLR around and be responsible for losing it among the thousands in attendance. Trust, that we had a fabulous and a memorable evening. We enjoyed Waffle Houses' best in the wee hours of the morning and are still recuperating from getting very little sleep. Thank you to the Lomax's and the Lowery's for a fantastic evening! Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!

Happy Half-Year Birthday Grant!

Friday, we will celebrate Grant's one and a half year birthday! That's a mouthful huh? In other words my baby boy will be eighteen months old. Here's what he's up to at this stage in his life:

Grant is on the move constantly! He has recently accomplished crawling up onto ALL of our furniture so all bets are off. I have to have one eye on him at all times. His favorite no-no is running from one end of our sectional sofa to the other and throwing all the pillows off onto the floor. Some days I feel like the only thing I do is pick up after him or redo what he has undone.

Grant is talking up a storm. He seems to have his own language and when he doesn't know a word for something he makes one up and speaks to it with conviction. It's mostly gibberish but the words are slowly but surely coming. He surprises us daily on what he picks up on.

He's taking mostly three hour naps from 1-4 and still sleeps 12 hours at night.

Grant loves to be outdoors. In fact, our yard has become the gathering place for all the neighborhood kiddos. I think I have more fun from the interaction than Grant. I partake in the game playing with the 9-year-old girls next door and have realized this week that I don't get up as quickly as I used to when playing duck, duck, goose. Grant is all boy, he loves to throw and kick balls, swing his golf club and ride on his tricycle which he calls a "car."

Grant is completely obsessed with Elmo. You never realize that Elmo is literally EVERYWHERE you go until your child spots him in the grocery aisle and shouts, "MELMO, MELMO!" and you have to apologize to the fellow patrons and explain that he's just really excited to see his pal. He's also recently become interested in cars and his John Deere tractors that he's been ignoring for months. He gets on the floor and pushes them while saying "beep, beep" and "choo, choo" and crashes them into each other.

Overall, Grant is at a really fun, active, loveable stage. He is always seeking freedom and independence but at the end of the day is a total Momma's boy who gives the best hugs and loves to blow kisses.

Here is Grant with the blocks that Daddy stacked...
Here is Grant after he knocked down Dada's blocks and rebuilt them himself. Ron and I were cooking breakfast when he did this, he came over to us clapped for himself and then pointed to the blocks. We were so proud of his efforts!

Here's Grant before Mass. This is his "cheese" face that he makes and says when he sees the camera.

And a little entertainment for your viewing pleasure.

Grant watching the Grammy's.

Rubber Ducky

Bathtime now consists of Grant lining up his rubber ducks on the edge of the bathtub and pointing to each of them and saying, "Duck, duck, duck, duck!" When I ask Grant what a duck says, he replies, "DUCK!" in a very low, LOUD voice.

Grant's teacher told me today she thinks Grant is going to be Preacher. She said he's very calm and collected but when he has something to say he says it LOUD and with conviction!
Ron brought home a Sesame Street ball for Grant on Valentine's. Today I was pointing to the characters and pronouncing their names.
"Grant's who's this?"

"Grant: MELMO!"

"Grant, can you say Big Bird?"

Grant: "BIRD!"

"Grant, can you say Big Bird?"

Grant: "Big Momma!"

Me: I die.

Destin Day Trip

Ron and I have been itchin' to get outta town. The great thing about living in the deep south is that there are so many destinations within a couple hours drive and the best part? We're not from here! Everywhere we go is a new experience, somewhere we've never been before. Right alongside Grant, we are all putting more and more notches in our belt.

Our destination today, the gorgeous, Destin, Florida and our first stop...

The beach.

We were amazed by how white the sand is and how blue the water.
Although we enjoyed gorgeous weather today it was still chilly, we can't wait to come back in the summer and take Grant for a swim!

Got to have boat shoes at the beachRon pointing out the airplanes flying above.

Grant picked up two new words today, water and bird. He's talking up a storm these days and his favorite new word is car.

Here's Grant testing out the water seconds before a wave crashed at his feet leaving my poor boy with wet feet, socks, pants

and he was NOT a happy camper.

We ate a delicious lunch at Harbor Docks and enjoyed this beautiful view.

After lunch, we did a little shopping and then headed home. We enjoyed our impromptu road trip and can't wait to visit Destin when we have a little more time to enjoy their breathtaking beaches, fabulous restaurants and great shopping. It's also nice that Grant is finally at the stage where he is a great car rider. He's up for any adventure!

everyday shenanigans

At seventeen months Grant is energetic, playful, fun loving, happy and easy going. He is also stubborn and in a constant quest for independence. Monkey-see, Monkey-do just about sums it up. We have the most fun together, he is his Momma's sweet boy.

Love that face
We are constantly asking Grant, "Where are Grant's eyes?" Where is Grant's nose?" It was no surprise to me that this day he decided he was going to show off his belly button...

Here, Grant is cracking up at me making silly faces at him before he decides to destroy his alphabet magnet collection. Enjoy the footage of my crazy cutie pie!

Our New Normal

It's been awhile since I posted... I was looking at DIY wreaths the other night on my computer and boom! My laptop was instantly infected with a virus. WREATHS! UGH! Geeksquad fixed me right up for a fee of course and now I'm back with some cute Grant photos. We are adjusting well to life at home, literally. Our days are filled with comings and goings in the mornings, naps in the afternoon and planning meals in the evening. I had taken an extended hiatus from cooking while working so it feels great to be back in the kitchen and Ron sure does enjoy it. I have always been the type of person who likes to stay busy as in, extremely busy. I don't like to have a lot of time on my hands, so I'm constantly seeking out programs and activities for Grant and I to enjoy during this brief unemployment time. Here's what we've been up to:

Grant started a Mom's Morning Out Program at the local Methodist Church. This allows me a few hours on Monday to myself, it's amazing what you can get accomplished in such a short time without a toddler in tow.

Grant loves his backpack.
We go to the YMCA at least four days a week and Grant has done extremely well adjusting to that environment. After zumba on Tuesday, we both enjoy "storytime" at the local library. Grant delights in getting up to point at objects in the books he recognizes and can say.

We also sing songs, have organized activities and coloring at the end. Do you spot my little man at the bottom of this photo? He spotted these beach balls at the beginning of storytime before they pulled them out. Needless to say, Grant did not listen to one minute of the story this week, he was in the corner pointing and shouting, "Ball, Ball!"

We also enjoy many playdates with Savannah and her new little sis, Scarlett

On rainy days we visit our local bounce house, Kangarooz. Grant loves bouncing and running and this place allows him to get some much needed energy out!

Cheeeessssseee!

We also spend ALOT of time outdoors

We now have some fun things he can climb on in the backyard

and of course, there is always golf lessons with Dada