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

North Carolina, Revisited

Grant and I are thankfully back home in Alabama. We missed Ron terribly and we both were so relieved to be back in our own bed/crib, (goodbye and good riddens pack-and-play.) After two weeks and two thousand miles we arrived safely back home one day early after leaving Charlotte in the middle of the night. Grant awoke at 3am on Thursday morning and refused to go back to sleep. What's a burnout/tired/frustrated Mom to do? Pack up the car, set off your sister-in-laws alarm and make the long drive back across four states to reach your final destination. I did take a three hour break at Ikea in Atlanta and fell in love. I could stay in that place forever and now will make it a stop on all of my trips. I wanted to share with you the last week of our trip in NC, the majority of our time was spent with my parents in Clinton. We had many visitors and enjoyed not being on a schedule, sleeping in and brainstorming about my brother's upcoming wedding in June.

Grant's Aunts came to visit and we cooked out to celebrate the occasion. Aunt Jean, My Mom (always in her apron, of course,) Aunt Susan and Aunt Sue Ellen

Aunt Sue Ellen brought her newest addition, Susie Q, she is just the sweetest and tiniest little thing I've ever seen. Grant loved her as well, she is just his size.
Uncle Jeffrey and his fiance, Kristie came to visit as well

We also spent some time with Grant's Godmother, Jessica and her son Sammy. Here is Grant with Sammy and his cousins, Garrison and Clara Glynn...

Jessica and I having our picture made by her four-year-old nephew, Garrison

Dog, dog! Grant was obsessed with Riley and Sally. He would not stay out of their dog bowls, he loved splashing the water and dumping their dog food out.

Grant loves his Grandmama and Granddaddy Tew!

My parents are lucky enough to live on a lake. Grant loved feeding the ducks and screaming, "DUCK, DUCK!"

The beautiful white one is definitely a pet store duck that someone raised and then put in the lake later in life. When the ducks become spooked and fly off, they leave this beauty in the water all by himself, he can't fly.

Loving the outdoors and feeding the ducks

What do ducks eat? Grant's favorite of course, cheerios!

We broke up our drive by spending the night in Charlotte. While there, we visited my great friend and sorority sister, Rikki and her two girls.

Rikki and six month old, Berkley

Grant loved playing with Caden and Caden loved showing off her toys to Grant. Her favorite is her Dora doll she's carrying that sings and dances. She also put on her tutu while we were there! :)

The highlight of our play date was when Grant landed a HUGE smooch on Caden for his first official kiss!

Pucker up Grant! Of all times for my camera to fail me and become out of focus, ugh!

We loved meeting Caden and Berkley and visiting their beautiful home, it made our trip home that much sweeter!

Now, I'm adjusting to life again as a stay-at-home Mom, for the time being anyways. I've had days of laundry, unpacking, reorganizing and unwinding to keep me busy. Grant and I loved every leg of our trip and are thankful to our wonderful family and friends for hosting us. We miss you all already!

What a Busy Week!

Grant and I are still enjoying our extended vacation in North Carolina. Last Thursday, we reluctantly left Grandma and Grandpa Wendt, Mimi and Poppy and our favorite cousins in Mt. Airy after a wonderful relaxing visit!

On the way to Clinton we met up with Aunt Jessie and Grant's BFF, Sammy in Raleigh. These two have both grown by leaps and bounds since the last time they saw each other. Sammy is such a happy and sweet baby it was a pleasure reuniting with he and his Mommy if only for a short while.
Since our arrival in Clinton, Grant has had many visitors, he's also stayed extremely busy. His Grandmama Tew's best friends, Ms. Connie and Ms. Pam came by to say "hello!"
and Grant enjoyed doing some yard work with Granddaddy Tew.

"Sticks and pine cones? Piece of cake!"

All week, Grant and I looked forward to getting together with some of my best girlfriends Saturday night in Raleigh for a sleepover! This was the first time the kiddos were invited and they all did beautifully except for Grant around 4am... I did NOT get much sleep at all.

Grant loved giving kisses and hugs to all the beautiful little girls,

Harper,(13 Months) Ivy,(21 Months) Maggie,(18 Months) and Grant(16 Months)

Maggie loving on Grant

Taking a break from watching the Miss America Pageant... Thank you Jackie for hosting our gathering, we had so much fun eating a fabulous dinner and sharing stories over wine. I miss these girls soooo much!

Are you tired yet? I sure am. Trip's not even over...

Snow Day

We have been anticipating snow for a couple of days now since returning to NC. I was super excited because I have not seen snow since this post and all of my friends and family have been receiving an abundance of snow the past couple of weeks here. George and Grant made a run to the hardware store and purchased a sled to use if and when it snowed!

They also helped Mimi fill up the bird house with birdseed for the birds and squirrels that would be searching for food in this winter weather

And finally it snowed... George and Grant were thrilled to wake up to a winter wonderland on Tuesday morning!

They couldn't wait to get out, play in the snow and put that sled to good use!

Weeee!

Now it's George's turn to pull Grant in the sled

Oops! Not too fast, George!

Grant didn't know what to think. He wasn't in love with the snow nor was he cranky about being cold and wet. He was kind of indifferent and inmobile.

We did build a snowman which is styling in Grant's shades!

Frosty sighting in Mt. Airy!