Jacksonville Fair

We saw cute little bunnies, fluffy chicks, docile cows, and racing pigs. We ate funnel cakes, kettle corn, and cotton candy. We rode on the carousel and a spinning strawberry. And the best part? Mike was with us the entire day!



First time eating cotton candy.




The worst part of the day was saying goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma Augustine because they head back to Virginia Beach first thing tomorrow morning. We knew they couldn't stay forever, but this visit went by too quickly.

Take My Picture

I don't know if this is a sign that I take lots of pictures or what, but when I caught Grace trying to peel herself a juicy Clementine, I asked her if she knew how to open it.

Her response: "Yes. Take my picture."

Of course, I had to oblige. She actually did a pretty decent job, too. Now she insists, "I do it!" every single time, but unfortunately, she's not always as neat as her first attempt. But dealing with sticky, citrusy hands is a small price to pay for the pleasure of seeing her open it with her little fingers and a look of intense concentration on her face.



Took a trip to Build-a-Bear and adopted a bunny who Grace named Ruby Max in honor of one of her favorite shows, Ruby and Max.

Not quite ready for Santa yet. When it was her turn to meet him, she clung to Grandma with a death grip and yelled out, "No, no, noooooooo!"

She had nothing but love for Grandpa during lunch. Later that day, as she was trying to get into his pockets, Grandpa asked her, "What's in my pocket?" Without missing a beat, the girl answered, "Money!"

I have no idea where she learned that because her mama never has any money in her pockets.

Grandparents Week

Grandpa and Grandma Augustine arrived in Jacksonville last night, and so begins Grace's week of fun and spoiling. Today we hit up the zoo. The weather was perfect and we all had a blast running around and looking at the animals.

All the fun wore Grace out so much that she took a three hour nap when we got home, an absolute rarity for her. It's just as well since she'll definitely be up past her bedtime. It's almost her bedtime and we're STILL waiting for her daddy to come home from work so we can go out to dinner.

But when the grandparents are around, all rules go out the window anyway. Happy Grandparents Week to sweet Grace!

Wedding Weekend Adventure

I wouldn't have missed my friend Joy's wedding for anything in the world because we have been friends since junior high. But I definitely don't recommend traveling by yourself with a toddler. It was an adventure, for sure, but a stressful one.

But I don't want to talk about any of the negatives because, in the end, it was a wonderful weekend filled with catching up with old friends and witnessing a dear friend exchange vows with her love. It was beautiful.

It was a gorgeous outdoor wedding. I just wasn't expecting it to be so cold!

Thankfully, the reception was indoors where the heaters were on full blast.

With the beautiful bride, Mrs. Wong!

Munching on her Vegan strawberry cupcake.

Daddy surprised us at the airport with flowers!

Farrah Strikes Again

I was feeling really down today because the other lady in Mike's life, Farrah (AKA the USS Farragut), has ruined what was supposed to be a fun and relaxing little weekend getaway. As if she hasn't taken away enough family time with all of the weekend hours and late work nights.

OK, enough griping. I know that there are other families out there who have it much worse. At least we still get to see Mike every once in a while. I'm just in a melancholy, feeling sorry for myself kind of mood. It's the weather. It's been so rainy and gloomy the past couple of days.

We were supposed to travel to Georgia this weekend to attend a friend's wedding, but Mike told me late last night that he would not be able to go. This meant I would either have to make the six and a half hour drive myself or try to book a last minute flight.

Neither prospect is particularly thrilling to me. Mike enjoys driving; I don't. And traveling on a plane and navigating the airport terminal and security checkpoints while trying to keep track of luggage and a wild toddler, by myself, is no picnic. It's not like I can stick her in the Baby Bjorn anymore.

I decided to go with option number 2. It will be chaotic, but I'm hoping that because it's such a short flight, it won't be too bad. It'll be an adventure!

La-la-la Lazy Day

It amazes me how completely unproductive I can be when I have absolutely nothing on the agenda for the day. And it didn't help that we had a rainy day. It was a 'stay in your pajamas for most of the day and snuggle on the couch with your favorite 21 month old watching entirely too much television' kind of day.

It was lovely.

Grace was a willing participant, too. She dragged all the blankets she could get her hands on, piled them on the sofa, and proceeded to bury herself underneath them. Once she got all comfy, she looked at me and said, "Mama's turn!" You just can't turn down a request like that.


Another tidbit that I don't want to forget is a little quirk of Grace's. It started about a month and a half ago when her vocabulary really started growing exponentially. There are times when she gets so excited about telling me something, but she can't get the words out fast enough. So she starts saying "la la la la la la" in place of the words she can't say and then throws in a key word to make the nonsense sentence come together. Here's an example:

Grace: (Coming up to me with her Dora doll in her hands) Mama! Dora la la la la la shoes! (Imagine the la la la said in a quick sing-song way. Kinda like a singer trying to warm up her voice.)

Translation: Mama, help me put on Dora's shoes!


I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who understands what she means when she uses her 'la la la' language, but I think it's hilarious. I don't know how much longer it will last because every day she gets better and better with talking. But one day when she's all grown and speaking in full, complete sentences that everyone understands, I want to remember that 'la la la' was once a part of her sweet vocabulary.

Christmas Comes Early

'Smiling' pretty and watching Ruby and Max, past her bedtime, just so she could say good night to her daddy who (surprise, surprise!) was working late tonight.

We are in the process of remodeling the kitchen. The first step was to upgrade to stainless steel appliances. Today we got new granite countertops installed. Merry Christmas to me and Mike. Once again, the only gifts under the tree this year will be for Grace. The grown up presents are spread all over the kitchen.

We were going to reface the cabinets with some new doors, but the estimate came in way above our budget so that'll have to wait a while. Maybe next Christmas....

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER