Grant-isms

Grant "Mama, you go on a airplane again?"
Me "Not for a long time."
Grant "3 minutes?"

Things I Love

We are on a sangria kick. And this pitcher is perfect for sangria. It's extra large. The plunger part stirs the sangria.

And you can put your fruit in the top part. The fruit gets submerged and yummy. But you can lift it out and add it to your cocktail!! I put lemons and limes in the bottom and oranges, pineapple and strawberries (the fruit I eat in my cocktail) in the top. Hence the pic with some fruit in the bottom and the rest on top.

It can also be great for an extra large batch of iced tea or some other non-alcoholic drink. So I hear...

Available at pamperedchef.com!

Daddy Love

My kids sure love their daddy! Even Lola.
I love how in the outdoor shot and the thunderstick shot, the kids are reaching desperately to get whatever Daddy has.

Bath time

These 2 love taking baths together. Last night I let them splash around like crazy. It's only water, right?!

But when the water gets too cold, they are DONE! Look at how much bigger Grant is! And what is that? Modesty?!?

And a random photo I snapped last week. On the way to take a bath, Grant decided he didn't want to go. He launched himself on the ground to whine. Abby laid down next to him to play. She so wants to be like her big bro!

Grant-isms

Grant has always had trouble with putting time into words. For the longest time he would say "yesterday" when he meant earlier today. But in the past week or so, something has clicked. Now, instead of saying "earlier" he says "early." But in a super cute toddler way.
"I took a nap early." --> No, he didn't lay down at 11 instead of 12. He means "earlier".
"I made a big poo poo early." --> He didn't get up and go poo poo on his own while I slept. He just did it an hour ago.
This carries over into calling later today "tomorrow" instead of later. And this one still trips him up. For now, Derek and I just smirk when Grant says "ERRRlee."
He's also 100% Texan. He says "bay-ud" for bed, "lay-ug" for leg, and "ay-ug" for egg.
He's getting better at please and thank you, but I can tell he's going to rely on our reminders for several more months. I'm optimistic that it won't be years.
We thought his articulation had slipped some. For a few weeks, we had trouble understanding him. But I think he's getting better. We've been working on "th" sounds. It comes up several times in his favorite book, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" - the line is "Oh no! We have to go through it!" Two weeks ago, Grant was saying "We have to go frew it!" and now it's "We have to go tha-rew it." Nice and clear. This is him reading it on April 4:

Weekend wrap-up

Saturday was an action-packed day. We ran some errands in the morning. Abby and I got floppy hats at Target. I sorta love them!

Then we met up with Matt and Anna at Mellow Mushroom for lunch. The cook dropped our appetizer on the ground and this really didn't help the behavior of our almost 3 year old, but the rest of the experience was fun. And their girl is just soooo cute!!

Abby took a cat nap in the car, so when we tried to transfer to the crib, she answered with this:

I ran to the grocery store while the kids were supposed to be asleep, but Abby thwarted that plan. When I came in, Abby was cuddled up with daddy with an empty bottle next to them. Wrapped. around. his. finger.

We cooked out, drank sangria, and got a quick trip in to the park.

Abby also liked modeling this tractor hat that our neighbor gave Grant. Grant 100% didn't care - for some reason, he doesn't like the hat. But Abby does!

On Sunday I joined my girlfriends for brunch at Fernando's. But I flat ran out of steam and had to get a nap in when I got home!

After naps, the Hoffmans came over and we got to meet sweet Baby Sam!!
Derek says the photo needs some bubble text.
The kids got along famously. The majority of the visit was adults (and Sam) in one room and kids playing in another. Other than Grant not playing nice twice, everything was smooth. More importantly - no blood, bruises or broken bones! :)

Canvas Wall

I think the wall deserves its own post. I mentioned I was updating the wall with a new canvas, so now that it's arrived, let's give this wall its just desserts.

I just love the canvases in our entryway. Each one is so special! And honestly, only 1 of these is NOT from Shutterfly because when I strayed from Shutterfly, I was disappointed with the quality. If you click on the photo below, you can see the top center canvas is not wrapped tight enough. I also don't love the material it was printed on. So Shutterfly gets my stamp of approval for all the other canvases in our house (now 10 total from Shutterfly - gulp).

Probably my favorite canvas is a photo I took at the Pantheon. Rome - we already miss you and we just saw you 4 years ago! The canvas looks best at night with the lamp under it casting a shadow. Bonus: you can see this from our front door.

Walks

We are in the 3 weeks of the year where we can actually take walks. It's not so hot that your face melts off and the West Nile warnings are at a minimum.

So yesterday (after I did yard work while wearing my awesome headphones while the kiddos napped) we loaded up the kids and walked to Smashburger for a special treat. (sidebar - I love how Grant says this. He always says "peshal tree"). Round trip it was 2.5 miles, so the shake and fries would normally cancel out the exercise. However, Abby ate about 80% of my shake.


Once the kids went to bed, I cuddled up with my wine and headphones again. Derek met up with some friends to watch the Final Four. One of us is getting old!

Friday nights (a/k/a Getting Old)

Tonight was awesome. Abby gave me all sorts of extra cuddles. This is rare, so I soaked it in.
I also finally got my headphones hooked up! Since I'm writing this after the fact, I can tell you that I accurately predicted these would be a game changer. I can listen to TV in bed without disturbing Derek. But wait! There's more. Do yard work while listening to "Who the bleep did I marry?" Check. Wash dishes while listening to bickering Dance Moms? Check. These puppies are awesome!
The rest of my Friday night involved drinking wine and going to bed at a decent hour. Derek, however, tried out Quaker Steak and Lube and gave it high marks!

New canvas to add to the wall

I'm excited to add a new canvas print to our wall.

Canvas Print

View the entire collection of cards.

This will replace the canvas we now have up of Grant at 3 months and make the wall "balanced" so that both kids have a canvas up from their newborn & 1 year photos. I've had this cued up at Shutterfly waiting for a sale and the sale is here! It's 35% off and free shipping. I think I've gotten them at 50% off before, but this isn't so bad!