For the love of raspberries!

You might be wondering what raspberries have to do with the Princess and/or the Pork Chop.

Well, let me tell you.

Gracie was invited to a birthday party earlier in the summer for a friend from church. At this birthday party there were gobs and gobs of food - Chick-Fil-A, potato chips, salsa, fresh veggies, and fresh fruits-among them, raspberries.

I don't recall having ever eaten an actual raspberry. I'm not even fond of the Sunripened Raspberry scent you can buy at Bath & Body Works. Anyway....

So while I'm trying to enjoy my snacks before the cake, James-who had not long been on baby food,but was not quite ready for full on table food-continued to make this grunting/whining sound. I finally gave in to his drooling "Mommy please feed me before I explode!" looks and decided that of the items on my plate, the raspberries were a) probably the safest at being so soft and b) very easy for me to pinch into small pieces to feed him.

Needless to say that after he had had his fill, I still had never tasted a real, fresh raspberry.

I have always had people comment to me on how odd it is that the Princess will devour an entire plate of salad for dinner. I chalk it up to the fact that I have always made her at least taste something before she decided she didn't like it--and my mom eats lots of salad as well, so Gracie seems to be a huge fan.

But I never, in a million years, would have pegged the Pork Chop for a raspberry lover!

Is there any food in particular that it might seem strange, but your child really enjoys it?

Come Just as You Are

Wow.

Wow.

WOW.

That's about all I can say after reading what Angie wrote Tuesday over at Bring The Rain.

Seriously? It was like taking a chapter out of the book of my life!

I always used to think that prayer was this "Ok, down on you knees, head bowed, eyes closed" kind of thing. You had to talk out loud to God. It doesn't work if you don't!

And just like Angie said: like you need a powerpoint presentation for the prayer to be effective. And shame on you if someone asked for prayer and you totally forgot!

Just read what Angie wrote, that's all I'm saying. If you are anything like me, it will speak volumes. And now I really want to go see Inception!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Look! You've heard of Jack in the Box, right? Meet James in the Box!

James' 1 year check-up

This morning we had James' 1 year check-up! He had to get four shots: two in his arm, and two in his leg. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with the nurse when he left! (See above photo as illustration)

Here are his stats:
Height - 31 inches (75%)
Weight - 24lb 1 oz. (75%)
Head - 49 (97%)

Yes, folks, you read that right. James is in the 97th percentile for his head size. My kid has a big head. Although, that has not been news to me! At least once or twice since his first year of life, the pediatrician has pointed that out. But we love our Pork Chop, big head and all!

Stole the Show

I have been a fan of "So You Think You Can Dance" since Benji won in season two.

I don't know why I skipped over season six last year, but I did, and managed to catch back up in the middle of this season. And it doesn't matter who won because a "special dance superstar" managed to steal the show on the night of the finale!



The story behind this is that Alex, one of the dancers in the original performance, was injured shortly after and couldn't recreate the dance. The "mystery" guest called in and wanted to pay tribute by dancing in his place!

And just for fun, you can watch the original performance!

First Day of K4 (8.10.10)

So while James moved up to the Pre-Toddler room at daycare on Tuesday, the Princess got to move to a brand-new school! (Brand new only to her, of course).

She will go to K4 with Mrs. Eddings until about noon, and then she'll ride the little bus back to the daycare to have lunch, rest, and then play.

Please, don't feed the SHARK!

Gracie's "Mad Shark" face.

When we went to the GA Aquarium, it was "Shark Week" so (of course) their main topic and focus was on sharks. I also learned via Facebook that the aquarium would be doing random arts & crafts throughout the week. On the day we chose to go, they were making hats.

Here are a few pictures of James the Baby Shark who was eating goldfish crackers while wearing his hat. Okay, I found that quite hysterical myself!

Gracie and I would stick one in his mouth, singing silly made-up shark songs to make him giggle.




He's a rather adorable baby shark, if I do say so myself!

GA Trip Day 2: Georgia Aquarium

Gracie and James posing with "Deepo", who is the spokesperson for the GA Aquarium. And who looks oddly enough like Nemo, without the stripes!

Much like the petting zoo, James was fond of the aquarium - from a distance. He liked looking at the fish, sharks, water life, etc. until we put him up to the glass.

And a fish swam by him.



Screaming ensued.

And then we saw a scuba diver behind the glass.

James smiled.

She put her hand on the glass, opposite his.

He screamed again.



I had to get a picture of the sea turtle. Up close, this thing was probably as long as Gracie. Every time I see one, I think "Dude! Jellyman!" (Finding Nemo).

Happy 1st Birthday, Pork Chop!

Okay so I know I still have Atlanta pictures to post, but I had to interrupt the vacation stories to wish Pork Chop a happy 1st birthday!!!

I give total credit for James' birthday "banner" on his highchair to my little sister, Tina. She did an awesome job, didn't she? We originally got the idea from Jessica Turner, who made the banner for her son, Elias' first birthday!

Courtesy of our best photographer/friend Lori Mercer, some photos from Pork Chop's first birthday party!!




Unlike his sister, who on her first birthday was very unsure about what to do with her cake, James decided to dive right in!

GA Trip Eats: The Real Chow Baby!

So when I go on trips, I like to eat at places that we don't have in our area. I did alot of googling and research before we left, and found a bunch of different family-friendly options.

One of those was The Real Chow Baby, which was about a ten minute drive from our hotel.

The basic set up is upon arrival and after taking our drink orders, the waitress handed us these little wooden paddles (she had us write our name on it) and walked us through the stir-fry bar: You get a black bowl and load up with rice or noodles, and an assortment of veggies. You add whatever sauces you like, which range from mild (teriyaki) to hot (black bean garlic).

Then you get a red bowl for your protein, like chicken, beef, shrimp, eggs, etc. You can add dry spices to the meat (garlic salt, chili powder, red pepper flakes) and then you leave both bowls - with the wooden paddle - and go back to your table.

The food was awesome, but mine could have used some more sauce. The only other thing that I will say, is this was the first of two "family-friendly" restaurants, based on different website ratings, that were missing a bigger children's menu and a changing table in the bathroom!

Atlanta Zoo (con't.) - The Petting Zoo

Nothing will cause more chaos for an 11 month old than walking him into a confined area with real live animals. I think he screamed so much that he scared most of the animals away.



Tina plunked him down next to one of the goats, and he was not happy!

So then Tina decided to sit down with James in her lap, but the goat showed his teeth and Tina thought (gasp) that the goat was going to eat her hair so that seat didn't stay warm for very long!

Even leaning in close for a photo op, James had a vice grip on Tina's shirt!

The princess had absolutely no problem with loving on the animals in the petting zoo! Some photos of the un-traumatized child:

1st Birthday Party

With Tuesday being his official first birthday, James' first birthday party is today! We are very excited to have Lori Mercer joining us to take James' first birthday photos!

I will post pictures and updates very soon :)

GA Trip:Day 1 - Atlanta Zoo

Thankfully as we arrived in Atlanta Monday morning it was drizzling and cloudy. Once we got into downtown and checked into the hotel the rain had stopped. It was still somewhat cloudy, but the tiny rainshower made it not as humid as I think it could have been. We unloaded the van and headed off to the Atlanta Zoo!

The first thing I did was take pictures of my own wild animals, posing with some statues of the zoo's wild animals!

You will see this expression on James' face alot throughout our pictures. Gracie was two the first time we made a trip to the zoo, but James still seemed a little bit unsure. Of everything!



Gracie thought these little wooden picture taking sites throughout the zoo were alot of fun!

One of Gracie's favorites from last time - the Panda exhibit!


This is how Pork Chop spent most of the trip...in his stroller, pacifier in mouth to keep him from screaming/yelping/yelling. I don't know if it was the time change, or the fact that he was having tummy trouble (I think he may be cutting more teeth, and he might be in some pain) but he was not a happy camper. Or the petting zoo could have scarred him for life. More on that later...


Gracie hanging out with some kangaroos!

I was suprised to be able to get a picture this close. I don't think we saw them this close on our first trip, but we didn't stay very long that trip because it was unbelievably hot.

Another one of the wooden photo sites. Gracie really liked this one with Mommy!

He looks so cute! I had to hold his hands down just to snap the picture.

What have I learned?

That sometimes, no matter how much you plan ahead, when other people are traveling with you it will NOT be possible to leave the house by 6:30 AM.

That if the people traveling with you would go to bed at a decent hour (like you told them to) they would not be so grumpy.

That a portable DVD player, talking GPS, musical toys, a noisy 11-month old, his "Are we there yet?" big sister, and the radio is too much noise at 6:45 in the morning!

When you give a 4-year-old Kool-Aid Kool Bursts, Nutter Butter cookies, and a granola bar for breakfast - expect hyperactivity when you arrive at the hotel.

I am going to win the "Mother of the Year" award for how well my children were fed on this trip!

That taking one pacifier on a three day road trip, for an 11-month-old, whose favorite game is "Let me throw it down so you can pick it up!" is SO. NOT. FUN!

To be thankful for the rain, no matter how little, because although it was humid at the Atlanta Zoo today, it could have been so much worse!

A blue raspberry slushie will make a 4-year-old's mouth permanently blue.

A 4-year-old will whine, sulk, pout, stomp, tantrum, etc if she does not receive the stuffed Panda toy at the gift shop she just HAS to have!

When you offer a Panda cup and two Panda post cards in place of the beloved stuffed animal, a full-fledged tantrum can - and will - occur.

To charge my camera the night BEFORE the trip, so it doesn't die on me right before I try to upload photos to Blogger!

Time for Fun!

We're heading out of town, first thing tomorrow morning!

We're going to see this....



And this....



And we'll be staying here...



And they have one of these....



Oh, and they have THIS....



So, we might even update with pictures and stories while we're gone! Be sure to check back with us!