Carseat Acrobatics, Bribery, and Studying

Grace and I took a quick trip to TJMaxx and Target this afternoon and my silly little monkey gave me a hard time every time I tried to put her in the carseat. She would cling to me the moment I opened the door and when I finally managed to pry her off my shoulder, she would do these acrobatics...




I did something I thought I would never do today- I bribed my child with a toy in order to shop in peace a little longer.

"Come on, Dad, take a break from studying and play with me!"

"Hey, open up!"

Laundry Day

Apparently, Tuesdays are the day to do laundry when you share laundry facilities with everyone in the building. I didn't have to race anyone to the washing machine. I didn't have to wait around needlessly for the inconsiderate people who left their clothes in the dryer long after the cycle was done. I've tried different days and times to avoid these issues, but haven't had any luck until now. Getting all our laundry done in 2 hours was enough to make my day.

A shot of how I look when I'm trying to get laundry done with Grace- baby in the Bjorn, wallet/cell phone/keys strapped to my waist, full basket balanced on my hip. I have to do all this AND walk down two flights of stairs. Laundry days are also my workout days.




Playing "I'm gonna get you, Mama!"

We had dinner at Buffalo's tonight. Although she's smiling and happy in the picture, this was actually the only time during dinner she was like that. My normally sweet girl has had the case of the cranky's the past couple days. I blame it on the teeth. She's got another one coming through on the top.

A Walker Fiasco

When I woke up this morning and saw sunshine, I knew Grace and I would have a great day. We could take a morning walk around the neighborhood, play in the little park, take a long nap, and then maybe even go to Target for a little shopping.

But this is how it really went: Grace woke up cranky. I loaded her up into the stroller anyway and went for a walk. The sunshine hid behind the clouds during most of our walk. The play equipment in the park was wet so she couldn't really play on anything. There was absolutely no napping no matter how many times I tried to put her down for one, and consequently, my shopping trip to Target was cut short because she was in such a bad mood from the sleep deprivation.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. When I put Grace down for the night, she was still a little restless, but I was off duty since Mike was done studying for the evening. I was relaxing in the bedroom when he went in to check on her in the living room. The next thing I know, I see Mike running towards me with Grace's walker in his hands- the walker lighting up and blaring a loud musical jingle.

He knew I had a rough day so he was trying to help me out by cleaning up the living room for me. Little did he know that the walker would light up and play music when he moved it.

Of course, Grace woke up with all the commotion and we were back to square one. All we could do was laugh. Parenthood is anything but boring, that's for sure.

Trick or Treat

"Oh look, it's Chicken Little," exclaimed a Filipino lady.

"We can't all be Texas," said a University of Texas fan.

"Go Virginia," a sweet woman mistakenly cheered.

These were a few of the comments made when Grace went trick-or-treating. Her poor daddy was so frustrated by the end of the night. I suppose that's what happens when we dress our baby up as a Virginia Tech Hokie Bird while we're trick-or-treating in Georgia.

We spent Halloween with the Bouceks and had a blast. Grace loved playing with Love Light and Boss, and Mike and I enjoyed catching up with Julie and Bill. It had been almost 3 years since I last saw them and it was amazing to see how much our lives have changed since then.

A special thank you to Lola for making Grace's Hokie Bird costume!



Boss, Love Light, and Grace.

Another Rainy Day

I had all kinds of plans to go out and find some good shopping in Athens today, but the rain put a stop to any of those ideas. Instead, Grace and I hung out inside all day and waited for Mike to get out of class. And because of all the rain, I was really craving some comfort food so we went out in search of a Cracker Barrel for dinner. There's nothing like some chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, and mashed potatoes to cheer you up on a dreary, rainy day.





Blowing raspberries...

Go Hokies!

Even dressing up as a matching Hokie family, complete with our mini-cheerleader didn't help the Hokies last night, but Grace sure had fun playing at the Cagles. Especially messing with their dog, Hokie, who by the end of the night had enough of Grace and made sure to give her a wide berth.

This is a deceiving picture because Grace looks like she doesn't care for Hokie, but in reality, she thought he was hilarious and giggled at him constantly. Except for when he sneezed. Then she would cry and cry.

She loved Hokie's bling, or dog tags.

Deja Vu

When you're a Navy family, the world is a very small indeed, but especially if you're part of the Supply Corps. Mike is currently taking a class at the Navy Supply Corps School and this picture shows him and Grace in front of Winnie Davis Hall. Mike and I are both from Navy Supply Corps families, and this means that Grace's grandfathers, and now dad, have taken classes here.

I didn't expect to see Captain Benson, Mike's former commanding officer in Japan, during our stay here at Athens, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise. His wife, Gemma, helped make the transition to my new life in Japan easier, and for that I will be always grateful.

My little fashionista!

I just adore that sweet smile!


Yesterday was a rainy day so we were cooped up inside all day long. It also meant that Grace didn't change out of her pajamas until it was time for her evening bath.
Lunch time with Daddy and she's still in her jammies.

Three in the afternoon...

Seven in the evening, dinner time, and no change yet. This picture also shows her eating her first pizza (really, just the crust). She devoured that thing. She may look like me, but she's really a lot like her daddy. Pizza lovers!