Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Asheville was blessed with blue skies and mild temperatures this weekend, forcing all eighty-thousand city residents to find any possible excuse to spend their time outside enjoying the spring-like temperatures. And we weren’t an exception.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Hello 32
So yesterday was my birthday. And while I was able to celebrate early with my family last weekend, yesterday was filled with lots of birthday love and cheer from my husband, my daughter and my closest friends. Taylor gave me her present early, by allowing me to sleep in until 7:45 that morning. Ah, Thanks Peanut! Momma loves sleep. And then she gave me this:
And after de-yogurting our dining area, the day was spent lounging, talking on the phone to loved ones, eating lunch with close friends, napping and just generally being spoiled. Birthdays are fun. And while yesterday was special because at the end of the day I got to open presents, I really do feel like my husband, daughter, friends and family make me feel like it’s my birthday just about every day. I am a very blessed person.
So. Back to the presents. I’m not going to sit here and list ALL of them, but I am going to highlight one that Chris gave me. Gave US. He signed both he and I up for the Asheville Half-Marathon this fall. Yep, come mid-September, the slow girl in the red shirt and her hubbie are going to run 13.1 miles throughout our mountainous city. Together. It’s something that we have both always wanted to check off our lists, and THIS is the year we are going to do it. Bring it on, 32. I'm ready for ya.
And after de-yogurting our dining area, the day was spent lounging, talking on the phone to loved ones, eating lunch with close friends, napping and just generally being spoiled. Birthdays are fun. And while yesterday was special because at the end of the day I got to open presents, I really do feel like my husband, daughter, friends and family make me feel like it’s my birthday just about every day. I am a very blessed person.
So. Back to the presents. I’m not going to sit here and list ALL of them, but I am going to highlight one that Chris gave me. Gave US. He signed both he and I up for the Asheville Half-Marathon this fall. Yep, come mid-September, the slow girl in the red shirt and her hubbie are going to run 13.1 miles throughout our mountainous city. Together. It’s something that we have both always wanted to check off our lists, and THIS is the year we are going to do it. Bring it on, 32. I'm ready for ya.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Say yes to the dress
The Famous Amys traveling band pulled back into Asheville early this afternoon after spending a few days with my family down in Birmingham. Chris, Taylor, Ruby Blue and I arrived at my sister and her fiance, Dirk’s, doorstep late Thursday evening, and proceeded to eat, drink and laugh our way through the entire weekend, with much help from my parents, who flew in from Iowa, and my extended Blackwell and Graffeo families. And because Libba was there, I pretty much kept my camera packed in it’s case the entire trip, because why waste any time as a rookie photographer when there’s a professional in the same room? And, as always, she took some AMAZING pictures of our family, but I forgot to get copies of them before I left this morning – Might have something to do with the amount of Pinot Grigio we put down. Anyways, even though I don’t have photographic evidence of how much fun we had visiting with all our family and meeting my sister’s future in-laws at her engagement party, trust me. IT WAS AWESOME.
But. One thing I did manage to get pictures of, not to mention the main reason why we were all together this weekend, was shopping for Libba’s wedding dress with her, my Mom and Taylor. As most of you know, my sister is getting married this May, and had ironed out all the important details for the special day – location, photographer, cake, music, etc - over the past few months. All except her dress. So there was a lot of pressure leading into the day, not to mention the biggest snow storm the state of Alabama had recorded in a long time. Right? SNOW. In Birmingham, Alabama. I’m pretty sure it followed my parents down from Iowa.
Anyways, we braved the blizzard and made it to the wedding dress shop an hour away from Libba’s, praying the entire drive that the employees didn’t freak out over the eighth-inch accumulation and close down for the day. And, lucky for us, it was open, stocked full of beautiful dresses and had a super-helpful and knowledgeable staff. Oh, and we also had my tiny-toddler helping us make some decisions as to which of the many gorgeous gowns to try on.
So, because Libba was preoccupied getting dressed up like a supermodel-bride, I was in charge of pictures. And after Libs stepped out in her first amazing option, I snapped a pic and was immediately scolded. Something about not taking pictures of any of the dresses until you buy one, a warning that was literally plastered in huge signs on every wall in the store. But, Come on, you can’t expect me to pay attention to much of anything when my nearly-two year old is trying to rip things off hangers that cost thousands of dollars. But I did get one picture:
Doesn’t she look so pretty? She’s gonna be the most beautiful bride ever. Well, not to spoil the surprise, but that was NOT the dress that she ended up choosing. And she tried on several more keep-on-the-yes-list gowns, and after another trip through the showroom, she found HER dress. The most perfect dress ever. It is so Libba. And it is breathtaking. And Dirk is going to cry when he sees her in it.
And while I did get plenty of pictures of her in it, I’m so not going to reveal any details. You’ll have to wait until after the groom sees it. Or until Libba says the rest of the world can see it. She’s the boss of this wedding, you know.
So we accomplished the main reason for the trip on Friday, and the rest of the weekend was spent partying, with my daughter being the most entertaining of our whole, crazy bunch. Which was a welcome change to Taylor’s six-day temper tantrum at the beach last May. No, T was one happy camper this visit. And while it was most likely a result of all the candy she was fed, or all the toys and clothes my parents and Aunt Jane bought her, she was especially attached to my Mom, her Ya-Ya, this trip. Which made my Mom the happiest person in the entire world.
So while I don’t have that many pictures to share with you – Check Libba’s blog sometime this week – I can’t express enough how wonderful it was to spend time with my dear family this Valentine’s weekend, help my sister find her perfect wedding dress and remind myself how blessed I am to be surrounded by so much love.
But. One thing I did manage to get pictures of, not to mention the main reason why we were all together this weekend, was shopping for Libba’s wedding dress with her, my Mom and Taylor. As most of you know, my sister is getting married this May, and had ironed out all the important details for the special day – location, photographer, cake, music, etc - over the past few months. All except her dress. So there was a lot of pressure leading into the day, not to mention the biggest snow storm the state of Alabama had recorded in a long time. Right? SNOW. In Birmingham, Alabama. I’m pretty sure it followed my parents down from Iowa.
Anyways, we braved the blizzard and made it to the wedding dress shop an hour away from Libba’s, praying the entire drive that the employees didn’t freak out over the eighth-inch accumulation and close down for the day. And, lucky for us, it was open, stocked full of beautiful dresses and had a super-helpful and knowledgeable staff. Oh, and we also had my tiny-toddler helping us make some decisions as to which of the many gorgeous gowns to try on.
So, because Libba was preoccupied getting dressed up like a supermodel-bride, I was in charge of pictures. And after Libs stepped out in her first amazing option, I snapped a pic and was immediately scolded. Something about not taking pictures of any of the dresses until you buy one, a warning that was literally plastered in huge signs on every wall in the store. But, Come on, you can’t expect me to pay attention to much of anything when my nearly-two year old is trying to rip things off hangers that cost thousands of dollars. But I did get one picture:
Doesn’t she look so pretty? She’s gonna be the most beautiful bride ever. Well, not to spoil the surprise, but that was NOT the dress that she ended up choosing. And she tried on several more keep-on-the-yes-list gowns, and after another trip through the showroom, she found HER dress. The most perfect dress ever. It is so Libba. And it is breathtaking. And Dirk is going to cry when he sees her in it.
And while I did get plenty of pictures of her in it, I’m so not going to reveal any details. You’ll have to wait until after the groom sees it. Or until Libba says the rest of the world can see it. She’s the boss of this wedding, you know.
So we accomplished the main reason for the trip on Friday, and the rest of the weekend was spent partying, with my daughter being the most entertaining of our whole, crazy bunch. Which was a welcome change to Taylor’s six-day temper tantrum at the beach last May. No, T was one happy camper this visit. And while it was most likely a result of all the candy she was fed, or all the toys and clothes my parents and Aunt Jane bought her, she was especially attached to my Mom, her Ya-Ya, this trip. Which made my Mom the happiest person in the entire world.
So while I don’t have that many pictures to share with you – Check Libba’s blog sometime this week – I can’t express enough how wonderful it was to spend time with my dear family this Valentine’s weekend, help my sister find her perfect wedding dress and remind myself how blessed I am to be surrounded by so much love.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
22 months old
Today is Taylor’s 22 month birthday, and as I sit here and try to wrap my mind around this past month, only one word comes to mind: Happiness. Pure happiness.
Everyday our little peanut is turning more and more into a little person. Her personality has grown in leaps and bounds in the past months. But with all of the added smiles and giggles, we are getting equal amounts of toddler ‘tude in exchange. Gone are the days where we can tell our princess what she’s eating, wearing, watching and reading. It’s the Taylor Show at our house now, and the rest of us are just along for the ride. Oh, but we’re useful because we prepare her food and sharpen her crayons. Otherwise, we’re just hanging out in the front row, waiting for whatever cuteness – and sometimes not-so-cuteness – she has in store for us. But, I must say, she’s 100-percent entertaining, so I’m not gonna ask for a refund.
So, yes, T has become pretty vocal in expressing her likes and dislikes. She has also learned a few new phrases this month, with her favorite being I DO! As in she wants to do EVERYTHING. Try putting on her shoes, she’ll snatch them out of your hands and scream, I DO! Try carrying her up the stairs, she’ll wiggle, flail and yell, I DO! until you let her down and watch her slowly make her way upstairs. Sometimes she’ll even pull an I DO! while I’m changing her diaper, shoving her hands in the way and making an unpleasant situation. And I’ll be all, Yes, You did DO that. Now let me clean it up.
She also started throwing the word More around quite loosely this past month. Everything you give her, she wants More. Unless it’s vegetables. And then it’s NO! And speaking of food, my little bottomless-pit has turned into – Dare I say it! – a picky eater. Now we’re no where close to her turning down a cupcake yet, but dinner time has become a bit of a battle for us. First things first, she has to eat whatever Chris and I are eating. If her plate looks any different than ours, then there’s trouble. And because I refuse to eat macaroni and tater-tots for dinner every night, we then struggle about what is actually on her plate. Oh, and we’re through with baby-plates. I have to serve her food on the salad-size version of our dinner plates. So, literally, she has a teeny-tiny replica of whatever meal we are eating that night. And if the cuisine doesn’t meet her standards, meaning if there aren’t any beans or rice on her plate, then WATCH OUT. Or just eat really, really fast so the entire experience will be done soon. Because for some reason, even though we have the same exact things on our matching plates of food, if she’s unimpressed with her’s, she’ll stretch her chubby hand over to my or Chris’s plate, start stabbing at our food and chime, Bite. BITE! BYE-EAT! until she’s gets a taster of our meal. Which is the same as hers, but in her toddler-brain she thinks whatever is on our plates must taste like cookies and ice cream. Oh, whatever. Pick your battles, right? But now you know why we serve black beans with every meal when we have company over.
And other than copying our food, she’s also mimicking us in other departments. Some cute, like singing in the car or sipping her fake-coffee and going, YUM! And some annoying, like dipping her finger into my empty contact case and then shoving it in her eye, and then whining because her eye hurts. And some just down-right hilarious, like when she fished Chris’s deoderant out of his drawer when I was in the shower, took the lid off and smeared Old Spice all over her entire belly. Which resulted in my little stinker smelling like a grown-man until her bath later that night.
But other than smelling like a boy for an afternoon, she is proving to be all girl. A girly-girl, actually. She is still absolutely obsessed with her baby dolls, giving them kisses, dressing them up and feeding them their baby bottles and such. She’ll even cover them up with a blanket, say, Nye-nye, and put her finger up to her mouth make a shooshing sound. And I’m pretty sure she would wear a tutu every day if I would let her. She is even prone to grabbing one out of her storage bin and putting it on all by herself, I DO! Oh, here’s a good one - Princess and I were at Baby Gap the other week with a friend of mine who has two little boys, both of whom were securely fastened in the stroller, and I caught T grabbing hats and headbands off the shelves, prancing over to the stroller and trying them on for the boys, being all, Do you like THIS one? How about THIS hat? Doesn’t it make my eyes look pretty?
And I’m pretty sure the girlyness all came to a head the other afternoon when Chris and Taylor were playing and he grabbed the soccer ball to kick back and forth with her. And while she kicked it a few times, all with a baby doll gripped in her hands, we eventually realized that she wasn’t just booting the ball to Chris as much as she was just trying to get it AWAY FROM HER. Which became a lot more obvious when he switched to a soft ball and was trying to teach her to catch it when he lobbed it into her lap. And each time he threw it, she would move completely out of the way, watch it bounce to the ground and then look at Chris like, Um, DAD! Could you stop trying to hit me with that ball? How am I supposed to take care of my baby when I’m constantly concerned about balls flying at me?
Ah. As I said, we have a got a pretty good thing going right now. We’re happy, healthy and entertained. What more could we ask for?
Everyday our little peanut is turning more and more into a little person. Her personality has grown in leaps and bounds in the past months. But with all of the added smiles and giggles, we are getting equal amounts of toddler ‘tude in exchange. Gone are the days where we can tell our princess what she’s eating, wearing, watching and reading. It’s the Taylor Show at our house now, and the rest of us are just along for the ride. Oh, but we’re useful because we prepare her food and sharpen her crayons. Otherwise, we’re just hanging out in the front row, waiting for whatever cuteness – and sometimes not-so-cuteness – she has in store for us. But, I must say, she’s 100-percent entertaining, so I’m not gonna ask for a refund.
So, yes, T has become pretty vocal in expressing her likes and dislikes. She has also learned a few new phrases this month, with her favorite being I DO! As in she wants to do EVERYTHING. Try putting on her shoes, she’ll snatch them out of your hands and scream, I DO! Try carrying her up the stairs, she’ll wiggle, flail and yell, I DO! until you let her down and watch her slowly make her way upstairs. Sometimes she’ll even pull an I DO! while I’m changing her diaper, shoving her hands in the way and making an unpleasant situation. And I’ll be all, Yes, You did DO that. Now let me clean it up.
She also started throwing the word More around quite loosely this past month. Everything you give her, she wants More. Unless it’s vegetables. And then it’s NO! And speaking of food, my little bottomless-pit has turned into – Dare I say it! – a picky eater. Now we’re no where close to her turning down a cupcake yet, but dinner time has become a bit of a battle for us. First things first, she has to eat whatever Chris and I are eating. If her plate looks any different than ours, then there’s trouble. And because I refuse to eat macaroni and tater-tots for dinner every night, we then struggle about what is actually on her plate. Oh, and we’re through with baby-plates. I have to serve her food on the salad-size version of our dinner plates. So, literally, she has a teeny-tiny replica of whatever meal we are eating that night. And if the cuisine doesn’t meet her standards, meaning if there aren’t any beans or rice on her plate, then WATCH OUT. Or just eat really, really fast so the entire experience will be done soon. Because for some reason, even though we have the same exact things on our matching plates of food, if she’s unimpressed with her’s, she’ll stretch her chubby hand over to my or Chris’s plate, start stabbing at our food and chime, Bite. BITE! BYE-EAT! until she’s gets a taster of our meal. Which is the same as hers, but in her toddler-brain she thinks whatever is on our plates must taste like cookies and ice cream. Oh, whatever. Pick your battles, right? But now you know why we serve black beans with every meal when we have company over.
And other than copying our food, she’s also mimicking us in other departments. Some cute, like singing in the car or sipping her fake-coffee and going, YUM! And some annoying, like dipping her finger into my empty contact case and then shoving it in her eye, and then whining because her eye hurts. And some just down-right hilarious, like when she fished Chris’s deoderant out of his drawer when I was in the shower, took the lid off and smeared Old Spice all over her entire belly. Which resulted in my little stinker smelling like a grown-man until her bath later that night.
But other than smelling like a boy for an afternoon, she is proving to be all girl. A girly-girl, actually. She is still absolutely obsessed with her baby dolls, giving them kisses, dressing them up and feeding them their baby bottles and such. She’ll even cover them up with a blanket, say, Nye-nye, and put her finger up to her mouth make a shooshing sound. And I’m pretty sure she would wear a tutu every day if I would let her. She is even prone to grabbing one out of her storage bin and putting it on all by herself, I DO! Oh, here’s a good one - Princess and I were at Baby Gap the other week with a friend of mine who has two little boys, both of whom were securely fastened in the stroller, and I caught T grabbing hats and headbands off the shelves, prancing over to the stroller and trying them on for the boys, being all, Do you like THIS one? How about THIS hat? Doesn’t it make my eyes look pretty?
And I’m pretty sure the girlyness all came to a head the other afternoon when Chris and Taylor were playing and he grabbed the soccer ball to kick back and forth with her. And while she kicked it a few times, all with a baby doll gripped in her hands, we eventually realized that she wasn’t just booting the ball to Chris as much as she was just trying to get it AWAY FROM HER. Which became a lot more obvious when he switched to a soft ball and was trying to teach her to catch it when he lobbed it into her lap. And each time he threw it, she would move completely out of the way, watch it bounce to the ground and then look at Chris like, Um, DAD! Could you stop trying to hit me with that ball? How am I supposed to take care of my baby when I’m constantly concerned about balls flying at me?
Ah. As I said, we have a got a pretty good thing going right now. We’re happy, healthy and entertained. What more could we ask for?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Watch out Michael Phelps
Taylor's second year of swim lessons start tomorrow, and I'm hoping that this go-round we accomplish more than me just holding her in the water as she splashes me in the face. My fingers are crossed that maybe, just maybe, she'll actually learn some swimming skills this year. But if not, Oh well. At least we'll look serious about it.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A playdate breakthrough
Old Man Winter has taken a break this week, replacing last weekend’s cold-weather blast with lots of sogginess and a few pockets of sunshine. And the other afternoon, after ten straight hours of rainfall, Paige and I staged a last-minute playdate for Miss T and Elliot at our house. The mom’s were thrilled to have some day-time adult interaction, and Taylor was super-excited to show-off all her toys to her best bud.
And while we have had lots and lots of playdates with Elliot, for the first time ever the girls actually played TOGETHER. Their usual grab-toys-from-the-other game was replaced with actual playing. And it was precious. And a lot more relaxing for Paige and I, as we weren’t breaking-up toddler-fights the entire time.
So the girls played awesome TOGETHER for a few hours and then it was time for our guests to go home, which Elly-bean was pretty bummed about.
But then I reminded her that she could come over to play whenever she wanted, and I also shoved a few noise-makers in her pocket for the ride home. Sorry, Paige! Come back ANYTIME.
And while we have had lots and lots of playdates with Elliot, for the first time ever the girls actually played TOGETHER. Their usual grab-toys-from-the-other game was replaced with actual playing. And it was precious. And a lot more relaxing for Paige and I, as we weren’t breaking-up toddler-fights the entire time.
So the girls played awesome TOGETHER for a few hours and then it was time for our guests to go home, which Elly-bean was pretty bummed about.
But then I reminded her that she could come over to play whenever she wanted, and I also shoved a few noise-makers in her pocket for the ride home. Sorry, Paige! Come back ANYTIME.
Monday, February 1, 2010
And a red balloon
So Asheville was hit with another round of winter weather this past weekend, with six inches of snow and ice falling on us Friday afternoon. And the storm not only canceled the Willie Nelson show Chris and I were planning on attending, but it also shut-down all roads, restaurants and stores around us, basically making us prisoners in our own house. Lucky for us, the papers had been predicting it all week, so this go-round I was sure to be well prepared with all the things we would need to remain happy and sane while trapped in our house - Fully stocked fridge and pantry, two batches of homemade chocolate chip cookies, plenty of gossip magazines and a few random toys for when T got sick of running hot-laps around the living room. And thanks to my thoughtful insight, and a red balloon, WE SURVIVED.
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