Happy Birthday to Me

Last Thursday I celebrated my 29th Birthday, the last year of my twenties.  It was bittersweet as all birthdays are these days, we're only all getting older, right?  I was overwhelmed with love and surprises all day long.  Sweet cards in the mail, lunch with a friend, phone calls, facebook messages and these fabulous cupcakes my Mom ordered for me.  Boy, they were delish.

To top it all off, my in-laws flew in to spend the weekend with us!  As soon as their plane arrived we got in the car and drove to New Orleans to spend a few days.  We had a fabulous dinner at Emeril's Delmanico in 'Nawlins Garden District.  This was Grant's first white table cloth affair and he did pretty well.  I think the fact that we were sitting in essentially a large sofa and he could hop from person to person helped the situation.

After dinner, we were anxious to do a little sight seeing before getting the kiddo to bed so we strolled down Bourbon Street.  First time I've done that with a toddler in tow.

Ron and his parents

After an eventful day and a day full of traveling for Jim and Jody we turned in.  We had big plans for the day ahead which I will document very soon!

Jubilee Festival

The highlight of last weekend was visiting the Jubilee Festival in downtown Daphne.  Vendors line the streets, the smell of delicious food fills the air and the park downtown had tons of activities for kids to partake in.  Grant saw a clown for the first time and was terrified.  He kept saying, "A clown, a clown, scary!"  Grant was able to add his handprint to the fence that encircles the park, joining other childrens prints from years past.  We choose yellow for his color because that is now his go to color.  When you ask him what color something is his automatic response is, "yellow."  So when I really want to impress people I ask, "Grant, what color is the sun?"  "What color is a bus?"

The young girl that helped us out didn't quite get our last name right...

This is the other side of the fence with prints from over the years.

Grant can now say, "Triceratops"

We also met, Elsie, the Borden Milk Moo Cow.

Grant loved this and enjoyed petting her, Mommy enjoyed the Strawberry Milk they were giving out until I looked at the nutrition facts...



Let's Wrestle

Happy Hump Day Everyone!  It's been a bit since I updated so I thought I share some pretty funny pics of the boys doing what they do best, being boys!  Grant and Luke are the best of pals.  They are hot and cold, one minute they get along beautifully, the next they are throwing things and burst into tears in a fit of rage.  Wrestling has become a favorite sport recently for the two of them and I'll let the pictures of their love/hate relationship speak for themselves.  After all, they say, a picture speaks a thousand words...

ELMO LIVE!

Grant has been a huge fan of Elmo since day #1.  I knew when I saw Sesame Street Live being advertised that I had to take him to see him pal whom he calls, "Melmo!"  I told him everyday for the week leading up to the show he was going to see Elmo which he didn't quite understand but boy, was he in for a surprise!  I dressed him in his favorite Elmo T-shirt and he was thrilled to see all of the Sesame Street Memorabilia in the lobby of Mobile's Civic Center.

Our friends, Joni and Chatham joined us for the show

Emily and Brooks met us there as well!

At first, Grant didn't know what to think.  His first reaction was fear.  He grabbed hold of my neck like he used to do in the swimming pool when he was unsure of the water.  He occasionally took glances at the stage and then he would bury his head in my neck again.  The characters were larger than life, the music was loud and the kids were going crazy.

After 10 minutes of the show he started to unwind and enjoy himself.  He even began to clap after the musical performances and watched in awe.

The show was 90 minutes long a little too long to hold my little one's attention but we did make it through intermission and half of the second performance.  When we left Grant said "Bye bye Melmo" and blew him a kiss.  We had so much fun, it was a wonderful afternoon!

Remembering Ginger

Ginger was Ron's beloved Labrador that came to live with him in 2000.  Ginger was with Ron through all four years at ECU.  When Ron and I were just starting to date in 2002, I would go by his apartment to pick Ginger up and take her for walks.  We both needed the exercise but I had a bigger agenda in mind!  Ginger was the sweetest, most obedient dog I've ever been around and today her life came to an end after suffering from congestive heart failure.  Ginger has been living with Ron's parents since his graduation from college in 2004.  A military career and the constant traveling/moving was not the life for a dog.  Ginger had a wonderful life with Jim and Jody and we are all deeply saddened by her passing today.  Visiting Jim and Jody will not be the same now without Ginger coming to sit by our feet, nuzzling us with her nose and begging for her chest to be rubbed.  We love you Ginger and will miss you greatly.  You were a great companion!

9/11/11

This morning Ron ran in a 5k in Mobile called Tunnel to Towers.   The event was to honor Stephen Siller who was a New York firefighter.  Siller could not get into Manhattan from Brooklyn September 11, 2001.  Instead he abandoned his car, strapped on his gear and ran the remaining way.  Siller ran through the Battery Tunnel to respond to the terrorists attacks at the World Trade Center towers.  Siller was one of more than 300 firefighters who died that day.  The Tunnel to Towers Race takes place in more than 50 cities across the US on 9/11.

The race started off at Battleship Park, they ran through the Bankhead tunnel and then on to Bienville Square in Mobile.  Grant and I were waiting for Daddy to run by close to the finish line.

Here he comes!

At this point, Ron is yelling, "Grant, Grant" just trying to get him to realize that it was him running by.

Yay, Ron crossing the finish line!

So proud of Dada

Ron and Ray after the race

Commemorative coin given to all participants

After the race and a huge well deserved Cracker Barrel breakfast, Grant decided to play in the water faucet in front of our house for a very entertaining hour!

A Weekend Indoors

We received a lot of rain this weekend thanks to Tropical Storm Lee.  When I say a lot I mean over 10 inches.  I had a very antsy toddler for the majority of the weekend and Mama and Daddy had to get creative to keep him happy.  My parents ordered Grant a toddler table and chairs for his birthday.  They arrived by mail on Friday so we spent a good amount of time assembling the pieces.  Grant used his drillbit and hammer to help me get the screws in tightly.  He loved this activity!

We played dress up.  He went around the house saying, "I a Pirate!"  Very appropriate on the day of Mama and Daddy's Alma mater's first football game of the season.

Grant even got to shave for the very first time with Daddy!  He loves to do everything we do, including helping me cook and clean.

Grant loves his rainboots and he loves to be ne-ked.