Stop and Smell the Flowers

That's exactly what we did today when we spent the afternoon at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. Although truth be told, Grace was really more interested in playing with the mulch. Nevertheless it was a gorgeous day perfect for walking in the gardens.



Look carefully at the name of this plant...

There was even a children's area that had a sprayground. Grace loved it! She was soaking wet by the time we were done and the only extra clothing I had was a turtleneck onesie, so she went around for the rest of the day wearing just that.

Grace drank from a water fountain for the first time today since I forgot her sippy cup at home.

Vaseline

Ever since she was a newborn, Grace has been plagued with dry lips. I'm constantly slathering Vaseline on them to help with the chapping. And ever since she could move, she's been dying to dip her hands into the Vaseline jar, but I've been successful in keeping it away from her.

Until this morning.



We were getting ready to head over to Grandma and Grandpa's and I was in the bathroom finishing up my hair when I thought how great Grace was doing. Normally when I'm trying to get ready, she's busy trying to empty out the bathroom cabinets or hugging the back of my legs. Basically doing her best to make us late for whatever appointment we're trying to get ready for. But this morning, she was quiet.

I should know better. Quiet is never a good thing when it comes to toddlers. It almost always means they're into something they're not supposed to.

I nearly died of laughter when I walked out of the bathroom and saw her like this. Yes, the hands were a complete mess, but at least she put some on her lips too!

What a hilarious start to our great day.

Quick Highlights

*Her favorite activity is opening every cabinet door she can in the house.

*She is so great at imitating now, especially words. Her new words for this week so far- butt (Thanks, Uncle Josh), cool (Thanks, Uncle Ninong), close (Thanks, Lola), and m&m (Thanks to her mama).

*Her new favorite gesture is nodding her head anytime she hears the word yes. She'll call out, "Mama!" and I'll say, "Yes?" and the next thing I know she's walking towards me while nodding her head over and over again.

*Lolo has asked her to show him her beautiful eyes (batting her eyelashes) so many times that now, whenever she sees him or hears him on the phone, she automatically does beautiful eyes without even being asked.

*She is into EVERYTHING, as evidenced by today's pictures. She took out the contents of this cabinet in the family room and then used it as her little playhouse.

Off to the Outlets

Lina, Grace, and Sadie

An afternoon of shopping is always a good time in my book, but when you're doing it with a couple of your besties, Josyl and Glenda, it's even better. I was a little bummed when Lola couldn't make it. Mainly because it's fun shopping with my mom, but also because I was nervous about trying to keep Grace entertained while looking for some bargains. Shopping with her has become pretty impossible lately. We do okay on short trips, but I knew it would be a challenge to get her to cooperate for an entire afternoon.

Thankfully, Josyl's mom, AKA 'The Baby Whisperer', was with us. The kids clamored for her attention and she was able to keep them busy enough so that we could do some decent shopping.

Grace starting the big escape...


Sadie following suit...


After the big escape, there was no convincing her to sit in the stroller again. I used to think those kid leashes were so cruel and unnecessary, but I totally want one now...

Sore Cheeks

I laughed so hard all through dinner tonight with a few of my favorite girls that my cheeks are now sore. What a fantastic time! I almost couldn't go because I didn't have a babysitter, but my saint of a brother, Carl, volunteered to babysit, along with Uncle Josh. On their last night of spring break, no less. I am a lucky sister to have such awesome brothers.

Visiting with Lola after church.

We took Uncle Josh bowling this afternoon as his last spring break hurrah. Grace miraculously napped through all the noise of a bowling alley and didn't wake up until it was time to go home.

I was going to just watch the boys play, but I couldn't resist joining the fun. It's been so long since I bowled! I had to buy these awesome ankle socks and rent these fabulous shoes. After seeing this picture I realized a couple things- fluorescent lighting is the worst lighting possible and I really need to get a tan. I'm looking quite pasty for a girl who's supposed to be naturally brown.

Our Sweet Lucky

Eighteen years ago, Carl and I begged our mom for a little puppy, but she was adamant- absolutely, positively no dogs allowed in the Copon household. But that didn't discourage us at all. We simply changed tactics.

That's when we started to work on our dad. We promised him we would take good care of a puppy, it would be no trouble at all, and a puppy would make our family complete. We showed him an ad in the paper of a beagle breeder in Chesapeake who was selling puppies for a mere $65. We might have even offered to pay for the puppy by combining our Christmas/Easter/Birthday money (we didn't get allowances growing up).

To our complete shock and amazement, he came home early from work one day and told us to get in the car because we were driving out to Chesapeake to pick out a beagle puppy of our own. That may have been the most exciting moment of my life up until then. Carl and I were beside ourselves. Our dreams were finally coming true! Dad's only warning was, "Don't tell your mom." How we were supposed to keep this a secret I have no idea, but we would've promised Dad anything at that point to get our hands on a puppy.

The drive seemed like an eternity, but when we finally reached the breeder's, we were overwhelmed by all the cute little puppies. How in the world were we ever going to pick one out? They were all equally adorable. Then I noticed there was a rambunctious little thing tugging at my shoestrings. I picked him up and we noticed that he had a white diamond on his forehead. I didn't put him back down after that. This was the puppy for us. He basically picked us and we were lucky to have him. And that's how he got his name. We were extremely fortunate to have him. And a soft hearted dad helped a lot too.

When we got home, we were very nervous because mom would be coming home soon. She told us no puppies, but here we had this sweet and tiny six week old beagle. We hid Lucky under a little towel by the couch and hoped for the best. As my mom sat down on the couch, Lucky managed to peep out from under the towel. Carl and I braced ourselves for her anger and a possible order to take him back where we got him.

Instead, it was love at first sight.

However, our promise that a puppy would be no trouble at all was a little harder to keep than we anticipated. Lucky peed all over the carpet, chewed up the vinyl flooring, ripped a sofa to shreds, stole food off the table, and the list goes on and on....

But for every naughty thing he did, there were two wonderful things he did to make up for it. He was a faithful companion always ready for a snuggle, he was an awesome guard dog with his beagle bark, he was a great 'babysitter' when Josh was a baby- stationed under his crib and barking frantically for one of us to let us know the baby was awake, he was a patient toy for the babies, first Josh and then Grace- letting them tug on his ears and tail and not minding if he was used as a horsie, and the list goes on and on....

Thank you, Lucky, for being a part of our family. You really did complete us. We will miss you always.



We tried to pick out the prettiest spot for his resting place. I hope he enjoys this sweet little garden. He always loved laying in the shade of a flowering bush or tree.

Mango Madness

Grace has been on a roll lately with eating all kinds of exotic things and today it was the delicious tropical mango. We got home from running errands to find Lola and Lolo home from the restaurant. Grace immediately ran to Lola and completely ignored Lolo, no matter how hard he tried to get her attention. Don't feel bad, Lolo. Grace has no love for anyone else, not even her mama, when Lola is around.

But her attitude about Lolo completely changed once he came back from the kitchen with some sliced mangoes. She was instantly by his side and asking for a bite. One taste and she was hooked. She kept asking for more even after it was all gone. After Lolo fed her the mango snack, she was all about giving him hugs and beautiful eyes.

Apparently, the way to Grace's heart is through her stomach. She is definitely her daddy's daughter.