random and recent

Well, last weekend we made a fast but fantastic trip to San Antonio to visit my sis and brother-in-law (Aunt FeeFee and Uncle Bebop) with my brother and sister-in-law (Uncle Britton, somehow he didn't get a nickname, and Aunt CoCo). We were so thankful that E's Nona could come play with her for a few days while we got away. It has, however, made for not so much time for blogging as we're also headed out soon for a week and a half of more visiting.

Until we can get some more things written down, here are some recent random photos ...

Eden wearing Graham's childhood Superman cape which she thinks is Super Snap's cape from Backyardigans

The sling that resulted from watching Sesame Street and seeing Big Bird walking around with one because his wing was hurting. I mean what else do you do when your 2 year old walks up to you and says, "Momma, my wing are hurting"? You make her a sling.

Eden asked for some privacy last week to read her book while she was on the potty.

And just to share the love a bit, she also read to Lucy while Lucy was on the potty. She did actually "read" the book to Lucy by saying what she remembered of each page as she flipped through. Her book of choice? Dr. Suess's "Are You My Mother?"

CC and Granddaddy ... and CC again

On their way to Texas to visit Whitney and Boston, Eden's CC and Granddaddy stopped by for a short visit.

Eden had fun playing with her new baby highchair and getting to hang out for a little while.

A week later, CC came back to help with Eden while Ashley took me for surgery on my mouth (I got new gums, you know, because as Chip informed me, that is what happens when you turn 32).

They read books ...

... and played in the yard.

They also had fun going to the park and to the museum.  Actually, CC tried to take Eden to the park two days in a row. But, on the way to the park the second day, Eden declared "Went to the park already." Hence the museum.

Although the surgery wasn't too big a deal after all, it really helped to have a second pair of hands to keep Eden busy while I was recouping. Plus, Ashley said she may have gone crazy with all three of us stranded at the house together for three days -  Thanks, CC!

yesterday

Eden & Emma

Eden has a doll named Emma.

Today, Emma poo-pooed "e-ve-ry where, all over place" in Eden's room.

A minute later I heard Eden talking to Emma in the bathroom,

"E-e-m-ma-a-a, what happened? ... I talk to you. Poo-poo go in the potty, Emma."

They went back to playing in E's room, but not 5 minutes later Eden was walking Emma into the bathroom again saying, "Emma, run, run, run ..."

Guess you can tell what has been going on around here lately.

- ashley

I not know shining.

Can you tell the difference between this ...

 

... and this?

What is missing? Would you have even noticed that they were different if you were reading them in different books at different times?


What about this ...

... and this?

Answers: The small board book of Curious George is missing most importantly the little boy with the blue hat and the little dog in the lower right-hand corner of the big book. You can just see the tip of his hat in the small book version. And, in Good Night Moon, the red balloon is missing from the first photo but does appear in an earlier page and later page in the book.

How do we know this?

Well, Eden told us. A few weeks ago while sitting on the potty and reading to her, Eden started to ask where the little boy was when we got to the circus page in the little board book. We'll admit it took a minute or two for Ashley to figure out that Eden meant, "Momma, where's the part of the picture that is missing? You know, the little boy that's supposed to be down in the corner of this page!"

Since she seems to like and remember pictures so well, Ashley knew Eden would love this new game ...

The other day, CC bought Eden the Goodnight Moon game.  It has several ways to play, and Eden has alread mastered the full-color and black-and-white matching.

To further demonstrate her smarts, we were playing with her flash cards (courtesy of Aunt Beverly). On one of them is a traffic light with the red light "shining."  We asked her what color was represented on the card. "Yellow" Indeed, yellow was on there so not technically wrong. So we specified. "What color is shinning?" Her answer ... She looked straight at Ashley and said, "I not know shining."

How could we forget? We explained, she nodded, and now we think she has a new word in her vocabulary. Learning happens all the time I suppose.

house update - E's room

We have added a few things to the house lately ... In E's room there is now a full bed -

- and a reading tent.

As well as antique artwork (really, those shoes are 30+2 years old!) {Ashley saw the inspiration here and then used what she had around the house}

Overall, these new items really make the room feel more like hers (and they complement the other wonderful decorations).

 

Here's the view from our room into hers ...

house update: our room

We've also added to our room.

Here is what it looked like before we moved in ...

... and while Ashley was planning new pillows she was going to make ...

... and now ...

Happy, Happy Birthday Aunt Sarah!

Since we can't be there to help you open presents, we figured we could share in it with you. Thanks so much for the penguin and puzzle ... Eden LOVES them!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Did we mention she loves her penguin?

I'm looking forward to your flying down and seeing me soon!!!!!

the rest of the fourth

On Sunday (the 4th) we went to church. Eden was quite excited and enjoyed dancing (and was even attentive during the sermon). When we got into the car, she started crying and fussing about getting into her car seat.  When we asked her why she was not cooperating she said, "No want to go home." Okay, where do you want to go? "Nonna house." So we went.

We went home first, had lunch, then left so she could sleep in the back while we drove. She woke up about 30 minutes outside of Mobile and had to go potty. We stopped at Cracker Barrell.

We got to Mobile about 5:45 - and Eden was SOOO excited to see her Nonna. By bedtime, that excitement had not yet been worked out as evidenced by her jumping on the new big bed she slept in.

 

The next day, Nonna and Big Daddy both had the day off ... perfect! We played like Abby Cadabby ...

... and ate corn-on-the-cob ...

... then rode her bicycle up and down the driveway (there is a slight hill that allows her to go quite fast).

Although it was a 24-hour trip, it was worth it. Eden must have missed her Nonna and Big Daddy - and they seemed to have missed her, too. See you real soon!

Oh where, oh where ...

This is one of E's new favorite songs. We have no idea where the hand motions and acting out of the song came from, but it's quite amusing. And, yes, her dress is "vintage" ... it was one of Ashley's when she was little.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

party for the fourth

For the 4th celebration we decided to invite some friends over for dinner. The festivities began in the backyard with a pool party ...

After the big kids splahed around we headed inside for a feast - hamburgers, fries, tomato-cucumber salad, pasta, mmmmm . We tried to end up all eating at the same time, but a few in the crowd couldn't wait ....

Then, Eden took the camera around and snapped a few shots, our party pics for this night.

All-in-all it was a great first party at our new place. We hope to have more in the time we are here - the backyard is perfect, and the new dining room table fit the 7 adults and 3 toddlers so well!

new art for the house

About 2 weeks ago, Ashley found some old frames and took them outside to give them new life. Of course, Eden wanted to help, so we got her a paint brush and Ashley pulled together an improvised paint shirt for E ...

 

When the frames were dry, Ashley picked out two very special pieces of art -

The piece on the left was Eden's creation when visited the Memphis Children's Museum while at our conference this spring, and the piece on the right is one of Eden's very first drawings done during her first week experimenting with Sharpies. She was very proud to see them hanging on her wall.