Nana and Grandfather Visit- April 2015

Nana and Grandfather came up to visit with us and to be here for Alice's birthday at the end of April.

The kids (especially Etta) were really excited when our guests arrived on Thursday afternoon:
(VIDEO)
We spent the day Friday running around Franklin after we dropped Etta and Daniel at their schools. One of the errands was to run by the grocery store to pick up some ingredients to make an apple pie. Grandfather had brought a whole bunch of Granny Smith apples and Daniel was very interested in them that morning. So, Grandfather told him that they would make a pie that afternoon. And they did.

Daniel helped cut the apples into small pieces after Grandfather cored and peeled them. (Etta helped for a little bit too, but this was really Daniel's project). After he cut them into small pieces, he put them into the ziploc bag full of lemon juice. Daniel was sure to sneak a few bites of apple here and there.

We played outside while we waited on the pie to bake. The house smelled SO good when it was time to come back inside. Daniel excitedly looked on as Grandfather pulled the apple pie from the oven.

We didn't let it cool for too long before we dug into it.

Here is what Daniel thought of his pie: (VIDEO)


On Saturday afternoon, while the kids were napping, Mom and Pops and I went up to Cool Springs to poke around (we were working on setting up the kids' rooms a little bit) and we ran by Nissan of Cool Springs for the charity car wash they were putting on for GiGi's Playhouse. A local radio station, Fish FM, who is partnered with GiGi's, had a photo booth set up.... and guess who got to be in every picture even though she wasn't actually there! ;)

Sunday was Alice's birthday. We spent some of the morning cleaning and getting ready for Alice's party. And then, her party that afternoon- to read about her party, click here.

They left Monday at about the same time as my car load was leaving to take E and D to school. Alice had her 2-year-old check up that morning. Alice is still a bitty thing. She weighs 22 pounds and is 31.5" tall.

***(5/25/15) Late last night, probably at about the same time as I started working on this blog post, Bill tripped over their cat, Oliver, and he landed just exactly wrong on the tile floor and broke his right hip. He fractured it in three places. He had surgery earlier today, which went well, but we all know there is a long road ahead of him as he recovers (recovery is expected to take 6-12 weeks). Please keep him in your thoughts.

Alice Turns Two!

Somehow, an entire year has gone by and now my "baby" has turned 2. We all still call her "The Baby" and she still goes by her nickname, "Bee" (which Daniel gave her. It's short for "Bay-bee"). Really, though, she's a big girl now. She's so smart and so funny and she's kind and generous and helpful. She loves birds and cats and stuffed animals and Mickey Mouse. Alice loves to feed Whiskey dog treats and for some reason she runs over to grab a piece of ice whenever the freezer drawer is opened. She's the best eater of all three kids and is always up for trying a new food. She has a large bank of words that she says. So many that I have lost count. She seems to learn a couple of new words every day.

Alice loves Mickey (and the rest of the gang), so a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party was a no-brainer. We had her party in the afternoon on her actual birthday, which happened to fall on a Sunday. She woke up from her nap and came downstairs to find a party! The first thing she saw were these Mickey and Minnie "air walker" balloons.

After the initial excitement over the Mickey air walker wore off, Alice realized that there was a crowd in her house and she turned into Shy Girl.

So, I went and sat with her in the middle of the living room.

Then, she found a new stuffed Mickey in a new baby stroller and she perked up a little

She decided that she was ready to tear into the gifts (from the safety of Momma's lap, of course). So, we just went with the flow and Alice got to open her gifts first thing. 

Most of her gifts were Mickey themed. 

^^^Etta wanted to hold the camera^^^

Then she took this picture:

Alice's haul! I think we're pretty set on Mickey stuff....

VIDEO

Someone handed Granny a baby and she was in Heaven! 

Keeping with the theme of doing things backwards, we had dessert before dinner. Time for Cake!

(VIDEO)

The weather was cool that day and overcast for most of the day. The sun peeked out just as it was getting ready to set.

(VIDEO)

As the party wound down, we ran outside to take a picture with our little Bee. Trying to get a picture of all five of us would have been a circus and there are A LOT of outtakes from this little photo shoot. She wanted to be put down so she could play in the yard. So, I would spin her around and make her giggle and then Keith and I would jump together and squish her between us in an attempt to get THE shot (We eventually got a pretty good one).

I know I have said this before in other blog posts, but birthday posts are a time for reflection. Alice truly completes our family. She was a bit of a surprise, but absolutely the most perfect addition to our family. Happy Birthday, Bee! We love you!