Playing Outside

With the arrival of warmer temperatures I've learned one thing...my baby girl L-O-V-E-S being outside. I think she must stay outside from 3-5pm every afternoon at her Grandma & Granddaddy's house, so when she comes home she wants to continue the party in our yard. Today the temps were still warm when we got home so I thought I would take a couple of quick pictures of our time outdoors...

Griff will be very happy to have a new friend to throw the ball to him once Ruth Ann's self-centered phase passes...right now both of these babies want to hold the ball...one holds it in her chubby hands...the other in his sloppery mouth!









We don't have stairs to climb in our house...except to my sewing room which is off limits...so I'm wondering when she learned how to do this...



And you can see who's waiting for her at the top of the stairs...still ready to play ball!

I've always loved having animals around our house. My cats are very sweet with Ruth Ann...I know this is unusual and I'm VERY thankful they all love each other...but I especially love how Ruth Ann has no fear of animals...as you can tell, she loves her furry four legged bros...





Do you think she's begging to play with one of the dogs...or teasing them??



And tomorrow we're going to break out Ruth Ann's birthday gift from Ada and Aunt Toni...stay tuned for all the fun that is sure to follow!

Happy Birthday Brantley

One of my very good friends will be turning the Big 3-0 this week. Her husband invited several couples to Charleston for dinner to celebrate. We started the day out with some outlet shopping...even when I plan to just spend a little while at the outlets I always end up spending hours. I had received a great coupon for the Gap & Banana Republic and when added to the sales they were already offering I ended up spending less money than I saved...I love whent that happens, it's all the affirmation I need to justify my spending! However, those were the only stores I felt that way...Brantley and I agreed that the prices in the other stores were too high for outlet shops and I found the hem lines on shorts and skirts have gotten much shorter. If you have great legs...which I don't...then you'll love what you find this summer. But I have ham hock legs, so I see a summer of capri pants in my future!

So after some shopping we headed down to park, check Brantley and Graem into their hotel and walk around for a little while. Arch and I ended up choicing to drive back home after dinner instead of staying over night because the cost of rooms was sky high ($300-$400 per night)...I kept wondering why, but Graem & Arch explained that this big boat had something to do with it...





Apparently the passengers on the is ship were docked in Charleston because of the spread of illness on the ship...hotels in the area scored because the passengers all had to go somewhere...this meant the McCarty's were driving back to Columbia after dinner.

Here's a store I would have loved to have spent some quality time in, but I don't want to tease myself with the idea of new purse right now!



Our dinner reservation time was approaching so we headed back towards the hotel but stopped by The Market on our way...









Brantley's family uses seagrass baskets for their Easter baskets. With the addition of Roper to their family last year this meant the need for a new basket this Easter.





The hard part of this task is how unique each basket is since they are hand made...there are also vendors up and down the market and prices can really vary. But Brantley's husband, a man on a mission, did some quick reconnaissance and found the best price so now Roper is the proud owner of new Easter basket.

Then we got cleaned up for supper and enjoy some drinks downstairs before dinner. We sat in the courtyard downstairs and while we were outside we decided to take a few more pictures.

The Tunmore family joined us for drinks and dinner. Auralee's family lives near Charleston, so Christopher got to spend some time with her parents.



Here's the birthday girl with her hubby...



Brantley took a picture of me & my hubby...



And we asked a group sitting next to us to take a picture of our whole group...



Brantley & Auralee both have blogs and if you're also a blogger, you know you try to document all the fun times...but that means you usually look like this to others...





So we toasted to Brantley's birthday, wrapped up picture time and headed across the street to Hank's for a yummy dinner.





All but 1 in our group is dieting (Auralee, Arch & I are on South Beach, Graem & Brantley are on P90X)...this meant no delicious fried seafood or desserts. We decided that once we hit our goal weights then we'll have to make a trip back to enjoy all the food we really wanted to eat!

Thanks again Brantley and Graem for inviting to join in on the fun! We had a great time and hope your birthday on Monday is as great as your birthday weekend was!

Yeah for Spring!

This week my Favorite Friday is SPRING TIME!! I know it doesn't officially start until this weekend, but the high today was in the upper 70's, the sun was warm, and Ruth Ann & I both wore short sleeves...sounds like Spring to me! This winter seems to have dragged on for what has seemed like forever to me. Last winter I gave birth on December 1st and didn't come out of my house until I returned to work the first week of March. I'll tell you, the bears have a good thing going...hibernation is the way to go and if you can find a way to schedule conception so you deliver in the winter months it makes for a much more tolerable Winter. When I feel like Winter just won't end I have to remind myself that last year I watched Winter pass by through the french doors in my living room. This has made me appreciate the arrival of Spring all the more and to celebrate, we headed to the park with my very good friend Brantley and her boys...aka, The Clark Boys. Brantley and I both are part-time workers, so we really appreciate these days off to spend our little ones...especially when the weather is as gorgeous as it was today!

We arrived at the park a little after 10am and it was fairly empty. Ruth Ann has never been to the park, so she took her time soaking it all in...



Does she look excited to be there or what??

Then we checked out the slides...just the little slide on this trip. She held my hands going down a few times, but before we left she was going down all on her own.





Then we checked out the swings.



I use to come to this same park with Regan & Kennedy...the first 2 children I helped raise. I babysat these girls for years while I was in college and I don't want to share how old they are now because it brings tears to my eyes...let's just say one is in middle school and the other isn't too many years behind. Anyway, I waited years to bring my own child to this park and what I discovered as a mom (you know, the one who washes the child and the clothes)...it's a dirty place...especially when you have a child who resorts to crawling when she gets into a balance sensitive situation...



Or just to sit and have a little drink...



Even she thought it was too messy...she had to take time to dust off her hands...



By far Ruth Ann's favorite part of the park was walking circles around the playground...therefore, most of my pictures looked like this...





Pardon me while I take a moment to adjust my diaper...



All and all it was a very fun morning...and of course I took time to get a cheesed up picture to remember this day...



While I was taking this picture I kept saying to Ruth Ann "Say Cheese"...another toddler walking around near us over heard me and kept walking up to me to say "Cheese"...this is definitely a generation trained to pose for a camera!

So I mentioned the day was spent with The Clark Boys...Mason is a moving target which makes it difficult to get a picture...but I managed to get a few...







Mason wandered around every inch of the playground (Ruth Ann kept looking for him saying "May, May"...so sweet), but his favorite spot was on the deck above a small creek that runs along the edge of the park. Both of Mason's parents grew up loving the outdoors and the apple has definitely not fallen far from the tree. I think this child could have played outside all day long...I think he may be happier to see warm weather arrive than I am...



Roper was along for the trip too...and you can tell by the second picture that he is longingly waiting for the day he can be let loose to run free on the playground too!





Are those not the sweetest cheeks you've ever seen...don't you just want to kiss every square inch of them!

After about an hour and half at the park we decided to go to Chick-fil-a for a bite to eat...but guess who was asleep 2 blocks away for the park??



But don't worry, I woke her up...I know she would regret passing up some chicken nuggets. One full morning of play and one full belly meant only one thing...a 3 hour nap...I see many more spring & summer days at the park ahead of us! Thanks to The Clark Boys for a fun day!

My Problem Solver

The pacie rule in our house is strict...no pacies permitted out of the bed. Every morning Ruth Ann can keep the pacie in until her diaper is changed and she's dressed, but then we stop by the crib on our way out the door and she has to put her pacie back into the crib until bed time or nap time...which ever comes first. Some mornings this is done willingly, other mornings it's a struggle to part with her beloved pacie.

Some afternoons Ruth Ann gets in the mood for a little quality time with her pacie...and where Ruth Ann sees a problem...she solves it...





I think this is definitely a sign of high intelligence!

Potty Report

About 2 weeks ago I announced on Facebook that I was starting Ruth Ann on the road to potty training. I figure not everyone on Facebook wants to read about my child and her potty training...but this is my blog and I can talk about poop freely here!

Several events in the last few weeks led me to believe she was ready to start potty training...

1. For the last few months Ruth Ann has been using the sign for "potty" whenever she poops in her diaper or she says "poo-poo"...I think if she knows what she's doing, then it's time to learn where it really goes.

2. While waiting for the bath water to fill the tub, Ruth Ann will tee-tee on the floor...leading me to believe she tee-tees in the tub all the time...yuck!

3. And this isn't a sign from her, but I'm ready to remove diapers from my monthly expenses.

So I went out to purchase a training potty to use until she's comfortable sitting on the big potty...so far, so good. She has tee-teed in the potty at least once daily and has pooped in the potty almost every day she's been at home with me. I'm fully expecting this to take all summer to master but I'm very proud of the progress she's making. She's also learning how to pass the time while sitting on the potty...



Doesn't she look like she's been doing this her whole life!

My Little Hat Lady

Ruth Ann can do some of the simplest things to bring a smile to my face. The other day I was sitting at the kitchen desk wasting time of the computer when I heard tiny feet walking into the kitchen to join me. I looked up and Ruth Ann came towards me wearing this...



It's her hat from last summer and she found it in her room with her doll babies. Ruth Ann loves a hat...thanks to her daddy. He has ball hats all over our house and Ruth Ann loves wearing all of them. Not only does she love wearing them, she loves pointing them out when were out in public and it's one of her favorite words to sign.



Here she is sporting some of the ball hats Arch has let her add to her toy box...



And because I'm a believer in equal opportunity, I also allow her to wear a hat from Arch's alma mater...



But I know what color my baby girl's blood runs...it's orange & blue! War Eagle!