Spring fever

We had a pretty uneventful weekend at the Amys house. The weather was in the 60s, which meant that Chris was working hard at the course. And because I was in a serious need for some vitamin D and fresh air, Taylor and I dusted off the jogging stroller and met up with Paige and Elliot at Carrier Park for a few hours of running, walking, gossip and cuteness.

Buh-bye banana puffs

After a park playdate with Paige and Elliot last Sunday, Paige offered Taylor-tot a treater. A Gerber biter biscuit. Which is about the closest thing to a cookie that my baby girl has ever had. And she L-O-V-E-D it. Not a huge shock. And, to prevent grossness all over the new carseat, I had to shake the mushy, slimy mass of goo out of her hand. And then began World War III. Thanks, Paige.

And because I’m a masochist, and because I wanted Chris to experience the fury of a taken cookie, I bought some for home. But, much to my surprise, after yesterday’s tasty treat, there was no tantrum. Just a lot of cookie residue. Which made Ruby very, very happy.

New ride

Even though Taylor’s two months from her first birthday, we had to upgrade her carseat because her infant seat was getting pretty tight. So tight that if she was wearing anything thicker than a sweater, she had to exhale before we clipped her in. So we ditched the itty-bitty seat and moved to the giant convertible seat, which, because she’s not one yet, still has to be rear facing. Which means I only have a few more months of her NOT seeing my road rage.

Taylor tude

Ever had one of those days when no matter how hard you tried to get the washclothes away from your almost-ten month old, she cried and had a total melt-down? And after trying in a real sweet voice, then a stern voice, then a ‘Seriously. You’re crying over stupid washclothes?’ voice, you finally just let her keep the new treasure just so she’d stop crying. And then you try to bribe her with banana puffs to let them go, and THAT doesn’t even work.

Those are the days that happy hour starts promptly at five.

Let me tell you about my best friend

So when my sister visited Asheville last weekend, my friend Paige decided she would enlist some of Libba’s amazing camera talents and have her take pictures of Elliot. Who has, by the way, gone from an adorable infant to a little lady. And as Paige chased her daughter around the playground, Chris kept asking me, That’s only THREE months away?

And, of course, we had to get a few snapshots of the BFFs.

Oh. My. God. The cuteness.

Libba dibba do

We were lucky to have Libba and Piper the pup come to Asheville for a long weekend. Being about a million miles away from our families is more than tough for me and Chris, but a bright light in our Asheville location is being less than six hours away from my sister. We’ve been averaging close to a visit a month since September, which makes my heart smile very big. And Taylor L-O-V-E-S her Aunt Libba – But she’s still warming up to Piper, which was due to the constant puppy kisses and tackles during their visit.

And not only did Libba accompany me to Ladies Night with my girls over sushi and giant beers, but she volunteered to watch her goddaughter while my handsome husband and I went out for a date. And I wore fancy shoes and we stayed out past 10. And it was heavenly.

The rest of the visit was spent outside enjoying the spring-like weather. I don’t want to hurt the feelings of all of my frozen Midwest friends, but we’ve been basking in sunny, 60-degree weather for the past four days. And that marks another bright light in living in the Southeast. So if you were privy to our cul-de-sac this weekend, you would have seen three pale adults, one cute baby and two hyperactive canines loving life and breathing in the fresh mountain air.

And, of course, my extremely talented sister took some amazing pictures of my growing girl. It’s great to get Libba’s evaluation each visit of how Taylor’s growing. My baby is getting big, and looking through some of these pictures it’s hard to see that chubby, little infant we brought home from the hospital nearly ten months ago.

Baby rage

We had a rather uneventful weekend at the Famous Amys house. And by uneventful, I mean sick with colds. And just as Chris and I turned the corner, Taylor’s nose stuffed-up and I had to dig the booger-sucker out of the medicine cabinet. She has snot just streaming out of her face, making it impossible to eat, sleep or suck on her binky. Which, other than terrorizing Ruby and pulling everything out of her toy box, are three of her most favorite things.

So since we’ve been quarantined, and our normally mild Asheville weather has dipped below freezing, I’ve been spending my downtime eating peanut butter, improving the appearance of my toes and organizing digital photos. All at the same time. Impressed? Anyway, after a taking a trip down memory lane looking at all of Taylor’s pictures, I noticed that while 95-percent of all the images are adorable, I have managed to capture a few of her baby rages in the past nine months. And since I’m always posting pictures of her flashing that cheesy grin, I thought it only appropriate to show the evolution of Taylor’s ‘tude.

June 20th - Rage due to Momma being all up in her face with the camera:

July 14th - Rage due to Momma not pushing the button on her toy fast enough:

August 19th - Rage due to not wanting to be a princess:

September 27th - Rage due to not getting a long enough nap:

October 24th - Rage due to wearing a festive, matching bow and onesie:

November 29th - Rage due to not wanting to be a ballerina:

December 27th - Rage due to getting a face full of bubbles in the bathtub:

January 3rd - Rage due to her banana puffs rolling into the center of the table:

And, yes, while some may find this offensive, I find it rather amusing. Probably because she is laughing and cheesing 95-percent of the time. And as for the other five-percent... well, let’s just say it’s clear she comes from the Blackwell family.