I'm in LOVE!

Yes, you read that right. I love love love love love my husband for such a wonderful surprise! (I loved him before that- he knows that, but this surprise calls for champaign!) I walked in last night excited to see the new paint in our living room and halls (yes, i'm the dork that looks forward to new paint) and I was stunned to walk into the laundry room to find two giant new appliances all shiny and white and clean and begging for some grimey laundry! They're so beautiful.

Let's all have a moment of silence to say good bye and farewell to a long past of laundry night mares.

Gone are the days of pushing the washer back across the room to it's original spot. Gone are the days of fearing being squished between the washer and the walls as we fought to open the lid. Gone are the days of doing three cycles in the dryer to get one pair of blue jeans dry enough to wear, yet still a little damp. Welcome to your new home Whirlpool Duet. I love you and the wonderful man who brought you here!

Oh the drama....

So, we're walking and talking and learning about everything! (Learning is code for destroying but we can fix most of what gets destroyed, and to Little Miss Thang, it's a learning experience so I'm staying positive and keeping my comments to stern, constructive ones about being nice and cleaning up behind ourselves while she destroys our house.) I've heard about the terrible twos and I've always thought, well that won't happen to me, I'll just explain to my not quite two-year-old that we can't always have our way. Then we'll eat ice cream cones and hold hands and skip away into the sunset. Ok, so control your snickering...

Emily Grace is all girl and LOVES accessories. I came home the other day to find ALLLLLLL of my jewelry on the bedroom floor. Every morning she follows me to my jewelry box and watches me accessorize for the day. She then says P! (Please) and I hand her a chunky set of beads that is indestructible and she plays dress up before she goes to school.

So, for a split second, she snuck away and with the advantage of height, was able to reach to the back of our dresser and pull down my jewelry!?!?!? (THAT KID IS TOO TALL!) So, trying to show her how to clean up our mess and how not to make a mess in the first place, or how not to lose mommy's diamond earrings (through gritted teeth), she melts down and we find ourselves in full on Hissy Fit Mode. WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!?!?!? I took a necklace out of her hands- I knew I shouldn't have done that, but I'm mommy and what I say goes- why the fit? Just say OK and move on. I don't understand. So Chris comes in and I'm doing everything I can to hide my laughter at such an absurd fit and the more I laughed, the more she cried and oh, it was exhausting and ended in a little cuddle fest. I didn't give in and let her just have the jewelry (fhew, right!) but is this a sign of things to come???

April Showers

Rain rain go away! The rain isn't so much fun today, but I love showers!!! Kate's bridal shower is this weekend. Kate- I cannot believe you are getting married in 8 weeks- how crazy! We're so happy for you!!

And speaking of soon- Dana's due date is approaching- oh, how I love spring. She says Caroline is burrowing. She's so cute and she's not even here yet. Babies are everywhere, weddings are approaching and spring graces us with all of it's glory. Speaking of love- check this out...Emily takes the best pictures!

http://familyelrod.blogspot.com/2009/04/wordless-wednesday.html

This is her son, Crawford, and our little EGU. They had a fun little play date in the gardens at Reynolda Village. So, if April Showers bring all this joy and love, bring it on!

PS- Congratulations Alle and Beau! Henry is beautiful!!

Emall Cut

Our favorite joke when we were little was :
Q:"Did you get a hair cut?"
A: "Nope, I got emall cut!"

Q: "What's emall cut?"
A: "I got them all cut!"

Cute- I know. But we loved that joke and repeated it time and time again.

So, now Emily Grace has had them all cut!!! It was getting a little curly, a little straight, a little frizzy and flat-out all over the place. So we took the plunge and cut 'em all!

As you can see from the date on the pictures, I'm about a month late posting these. Sorry about that!

EGU's First Steps

GO BABY GO!

IT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drum roll please......

Emily Grace took her first steps last night! As you all predicted, it was more of a run than a walk- but I don't care- IT HAPPENED! YAY! Chris and I had tears in our eyes. Of course, I ran for the baby book to write this all down. (We're also learning to pee pee in the potty.) Man this is all happening fast! I'll try to post a video tonight of our new little walker!

Next stop- big girl bed...

Speechless

Lord, please be with the loved ones of Daniel Swanson. I want to say something profound but I can't. I'm completely shocked and numb at the fact that the person who sat beside me day after day, who shared comical or frustrating details of his life from time to time, who had a son he was proud of, who I told to have a good weekend, is now gone. May peace be with him and his loved ones on this sad Monday morning.