Adventures in Toddler Land

Thanks to Derek Harland I have been filling most of my time exploring momversation.com. I bet you would have never guessed a guy turned me on to momversation.com. I have enjoyed watching all the videos, blogs, and articles that fill the site. Yesterday I came upon a great article about 10 ways you know you're parenting a toddler.

I found myself going though the list shaking my head. Number ten you eat animal crackers and fruit snacks on a regular basis. Oh yeah, I would also like to add Nilla Wafers, goldfish, and cheese. Now I am not really complaining because all of these foods are yummy. The real adventure is how many of these items are you going to find scattered across your living room floor. When Virginia was younger it was Cheerios. Now she has graduated to goldfish and waffles.

Number 9 was about how you schedule your morning routine around cartoons. I don't have this problem so much. I have found that certain shows allow me more freedom to get up and do things. Sesame Street, Curious George, and Caliou are just a few that keep her attention for longer then ten seconds. I was amazed the first day that I actually managed to take a very quick shower while she watched Super Why on PBS. UNC KD has become the main channel in our house. It is non stop PBS kids shows. I find myself singing along and answering the questions.  Oh yeah that college education is paying off. I know my abc's and I can count up to ten now.

The rest of the list is as follows:

8.  You've said, "No, No." more times in the past month, than you previously had in your entire life.

     ( I would like to add that yes I think I say No, No like ten thousand times a day with no real success most of the time. I just can't wait til the day comes that she actually listens. She is getting better.)

7.  You devote time each day to practicing your "animal sounds"....Moooo!
     ( I am getting really good at singing Old MacDonald had a Farm)

6.  You speak in the third person.  "Mommy wants Gianni to eat all of his dinner and then go to sleep like a good boy."

 5.  You have played "Hide and Seek" or "Peek-A-Boo" at least six times today.....(and probably will at least two more times--same hiding spots everyone!.)

4.  You now appreciate the power and brilliance of Chicken Nuggets.  Thank you Costco for your extra-large bags of Disney, whole wheat nuggets.  We will be forever grateful for getting us through many-a-dinner.

3.  You know the words to the opening song for EVERY show on [fill-in-the-blank].  PBS, Nick Jr., Disney, Sprout etc.  (We are on a Nick Jr. kick.  Gianni's girlfriend has her show on that channel, so we really can't betray her.)

2.  If you are missing something (i.e. keys, remote control, wallet, cell phone, hair brush), you automatically look in the toilet, trash can and toy box. 

( So far keys are the only items that she likes to take and usually she doesn't take them far.)

1.  Your heart melts when your crazy little toddler comes running for you when you get home from work.  (But you are ready for a break after 10 minutes.)

Reading this list made me think of my own top ten list of ways you know you are parenting a toddler.

10. You find yourself browsing every mom website you can find for play dates and new recipes to try to get your child to eat something other then cheese, waffles, and chicken nuggets.

9. When at Walmart or Target you can't resist going to the baby section and toy section even if you will need to add a wing onto your house to hold all the clothes and toys you already have.

8. Going to the Consignment Store and browsing Craigslist for the cheapest baby items you can find is exciting.

7. Sleeping past 8:00am is sleeping late now. 

    (Virginia's wake up time is 7:00am now. I don't think I will ever get use to this wake up time.)

6. Going to the bathroom by yourself is a rare occasion. 

5. You find yourself talking about your child and what they did more then yourself when you are talking to adults. Also taking one million photos of your child is not to many and you love posting them all on facebook for your friends and family.

4. Leaving the house takes a little longer then 5 minutes now. 

( I am getting better at this now. I try to limit the amount of cloth diapers I put in my diaper bag. But you still have to make sure you have everything and manage to get it all to fit in your bag. I no longer am the crazy lady that brings along 20 diapers, 10 outfits, and 10 toys.)

3. You find yourself hating certain books because you have read them 10 million times in one day.

( Virginia's favorite books at the moment are Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Disney lullaby songs, and The Berenstain Bears Bedtime Story.)

2. Going to the grandparents house is pure joy and excitement! It is like a vacation during the week or weekend. Also you don't understand why your dad gives you a strange look every time you stick your nose up to your child's butt to see if they have pooped in their pants.

1. You start worrying more about that little child that has stolen your heart then anything else in the world.

( I am a major worry wart sometimes. I am always thinking Virginia has a fever or I am having a heart attack every time she falls.)

But really all of these things make parenting a toddler the best adventure I have been on so far. I look forward to watching Virginia grow up and seeing her discover new things everyday.

My Life List....

I was browsing though the list of mommy bloggers on momversation.com one day and came upon Karen Walrond. That day her blog post was about making a life list. She had gotten the idea from another mom blogger, Mighty Girl: Maggie Mason. It is a list of 100 things that she wishes to do in her lifetime.

This really intrigued me and though out the day I started reading though Karen's list. Then the next day I came back to her blog and she had another post talking about how to get started making your own life list. I decided then what the hell, I am going to make a life list. Call me crazy, but this mission kind of intimated me. I mean 100 things is alot. But I said that I am up for the challenge and that this is going to be fun.

So here goes my life list:

1. Fly over to California and visit Lisa Harland and Laura Kirkpatrick. Which in one way is really two things because I have never flown before and I really want to visit Lisa since she has flown over here alot to see me.

2.  Spend a week in NYC and go see a Broadway Play!

3. Learn how to sew.

4. Learn how to make the fabric friendship bracelets.

5. Own my own house with Reiggin and Virginia.

6. Travel overseas maybe to London, Ireland, or Greece. Actually make that travel to all three places.

7. Go see Circus Sol La

8, Own my own art cafe/studio space. I am thinking old loft, first level is a art cafe food and music. Then the second level is studio space that artist can rent and use.

9. Join a pool league. I have done a bowling league and now I think a pool league would be fun.

10. Take a cooking class.

11. Take a trip to Alaska.

12. Watch Virginia graduate high school and maybe college and see her get married.

13.  Learn how to spin clay on the potters wheel.

14. I may steal this idea from Karen, but I love the idea of taking 1,000 pictures of faces. This includes kids, adults, and animals.

15.  Have my artwork displayed in a gallery or business.

16. Decorate Virginia's room.

17. Travel and see the Grand Canyon.

18. Plant a garden and not kill everything I plant.

19. Read 20 books in one year.

20.  Make a baby or photo book of Virginia's photos.

21.  Construct a toy box for Virginia all by myself from start to finish.

22.  Start a collection of something. any suggestions will be welcomed.

23. Go Scuba Diving.

24. Stop biting my fingernails.

25.  Travel to Hawaii and go surfing.

26. Attend a Halloween Ball dressed up in a fancy costume.

27. Do a habitat house start to finish.

28. Find a volunteer job that I enjoy and can get involved in.

29. Find a church that I love and can get involved in.

30. Travel to Cananda.

31. Attend an Olympic event.

32. Rent a booth at a large craft show.

33. Design my own t-shirt line.

34. Order a cake from Ace of Cakes

35. Travel to the top ten water parks in the USA

36. Take a cake decorating class.

37. Go to the Price Is Right

38. Travel to Chicago

39. Go horse back riding again either on the beach or some where new

40. Have dinner with all my good friends once a year.

41. Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary

42. Travel to Las Vegas

43.  Have my own art studio space in my house one day

44. Drive cross country with just my best girlfriends

45. Meet Damon from Vampire Diaries

46. Eat pizza in Italy

47. Swim in the Pacific Ocean

48. Visit the Amish Country

49.  Visit all 50 States and get a postcard in every state

50. Learn how to drive stick

TO BE CONTINUED........

Happy Dance

 Well if you heard a loud sound coming from Statesville yesterday and today. Don't worry it was just me doing the happy dance and screaming for joy. Yesterday we found out that someone has offered to buy Reiggin's car. One less car payment is a huge blessing.

Then today the doctor's office called and said that Virginia's lab test came back negative. So Virginia is RSV free. Hopefully Thursday when we go for our check up we can see if all the whizzing that she did those two days was caused by seasonal allergies. I am crossing my fingers that it is not peanut allergies.

To top off my week I am going to have lunch on Thursday with my good high school friend Heather. Then that night I am driving to pick up Lisa Harland from the airport.  Friday I will be heading to Gastonia to have another play date at Katie Apple's house. If that wasn't enough Reiggin and I are going to the MerleFest this weekend. Sunday, we will be seeing The Avett Brothers. It has been a long time since I have seen my boyfriend, Scott Avett. Bob is not to bad looking either.

Now if today and Wednesday could just hurry up and go by I would be happy as can be.  Also could someone tell all this rain that it needs to go away by Friday. Hope everyone has a great week.

Say What?

This past week was some what eventful. Monday, Reiggin and I went down to Gastonia so my parents could babysit Virginia as we went on a date night. Before we dropped her off we all went to Martha Rivers park along with Grandma Ford. Man, was I impressed with this playground. It was a huge castle with tons of slides, monkey bars, and other little hiding spots. The best thing was there was a small area for little kids to play. The playground was packed with kids of all ages.

Virginia has gotten so much better about playing in crowds and not just hugging onto my leg. She was happy as can be. She just ran from place to place.

The swings and slides were a big hit with Virginia. Reiggin was the photographer for the day. He got some great shots. And some shots that probably should have not been published on the internet. I promise no child was hurt in the process of this slide.

Ok so that is a little better.

Virginia really enjoyed this one big red swing. I guess it was really more for a bigger kid, but she couldn't resist. It was like one big lounge chair, nothing like what we had as a child. She swung for hours just smiling and checking out all the kids running around.

After playing we headed back to my parent's house to drop her off and be on our way to dinner. Oh it was so nice going to dinner without a child by my side. Don't get me wrong I love Virginia. But being able to enjoy my food and not gulf it down before she gets to antsy is so nice. 

We went to Red Lobster and I ate stuffed tilapia. It was delicious. To be honest I wasn't always a fan of Red Lobster. Growing up I thought it was nasty and why would someone go there when they could go to a good old fashion fish camp. Don't ask me where I got that idea since I had never been to a Red Lobster until I went with Reiggin.

After dinner we just drove around and did some shopping. It was nice getting to enjoy some one on one time with Reiggin. Well, time flew by and we had to go pick up Virginia and head home. Man you could tell Virginia had a blast at Grandma and Grandpa Ford's house. She was running around like crazy. That night as we were leaving we noticed Virginia breathing really heavy and whizing. We gave her some medicine and it helped her breathing. But then the next night it happened again and the medicine didn't help.

First thing in the morning we called the doctor and rushed her in. They looked her over and gave her a breathing treatment. The breathing treatment helped and the doctor prescribed some medicine. We also had to go over to the hospital to do some lab work to rule out RSV.

When we got to the hospital and got checked in I should have known this was going to be interesting. First our nurse had wrote the descrition on the wrong line. So as soon as we figured out which area we were suppose to go too we were on our way. The nice lady walked us down to the respiratory area. This was like a back room closet where they kept the oxygen tanks. At least that is what it looked like to me. 

The lady gave the people in the back our paper work. Now next is something I really don't ever want to hear someone that is suppose to be treating my daughter say. She asks, " do you know what a Respiratory Panel is?" The people answer, " I have no idea what that is." Really, Really that is not making me feel good. Then a male hospital worker comes walking out from the back and says, "I will be honest I have no clue what a Respiratory Panel is. Can you tell me what your doctor told you." Now should I really be the one to tell the doctor how to do there job, I think not. So I tell him what she had told me and he realizes I should be in the lab area down the hall. 

We make our way down and he hands the paper work over to the nurse behind the counter and asks, " do you know what a Respiratory Panel is." Answer, " I have never heard of that." Ok so by this point I am not feeling very happy and all I want to do is grab Virginia and say forget this we will go home. 

Finally they call our doctor and ask her what she wanted. Turns out it is just a simple swap of Virginia's nose. Something so simple caused so much confusion. So now we are just waiting to hear back from the doctors. I am hoping it is just seasonal allergies that Virginia has and not RSV. But then I worry that they will want us to do allergy shots. After reading Katie's blog on this topic really makes me not want to do this. But I know if it helps Virginia that is the important thing.

To end on a happy note I did find a great deal on a water table and play kitchen for Virginia. Since we have had to stay inside so much until we hear if Virginia is really sick, I thought some new toys would be nice.

Photo of the Day!

Flashback.....

This morning I was browsing my favorite mom's site LakeNormanMommies.com. I have noticed a couple of Moms have made photo slideshows of their children. I just had to dig though my photos and make a slideshow of my own. I created a photo slideshow of Virginia's first month. It is hard to believe she is almost 19 months old now. Time sure has flown by.

Chewy Granola Balls

I came across another great snack recipe on Weelicious, a healthy kids recipe site. I have been trying to find some healthy snacks for Virginia to enjoy. I am trying to cut down on the amount of animal crackers she eats. I decided to try out the Chewy Granola Balls.

The recipe is very simple. It does call for some interesting ingredients like almond butter and rice syrup. I was able to find almond butter at Walmart, but I didn't find rice syrup. I do admit that when I was shopping I wasn't sure what rice syrup even looked like. Maybe now that I know what the product looks like I will be able to find it in Walmart. I subsituited maple syrup for rice syrup. After making the snack I did discover that I used Sunbelt Banana Nut Granola Cereal instead of regular granola. I am known for going shopping and not reading the product name completely. The banana nut granola cereal was delicious, so I was happy.  I also used a little extra almond butter and syrup hoping it would help the balls to stick better. I am a huge fan of peanut butter too and almond butter tastes the same.

My only complaint was I found it hard to get the balls to keep their shape.  Maybe the rice syrup would fix this problem. Other then that the recipe was a big hit with Virginia and I.

The very last photos are for Lisa Harland. She always teases me about the photos of me as a child in my mom's room. Lisa, I believe Virginia has almost mastered the pose.

1/2 Cup Almond Butter

1/2 Cup Rice Syrup

1 Cup Rice Crispys

1 1/2 Cups Wee Granola (or your favorite store bought granola)

1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries, Cherries, Blueberries and/or raisins, chopped

1. Place the almond butter and rice syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and warm for 2 minutes or until it becomes smooth and combined.

2. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

3. Pour the warm almond butter mixture into the bowl with the granola mixture and stir to combine.

4. Roll into 1 inch balls (I used a mini ice cream scooper to scoop out each portion, but you could also use a tablespoon) .

5. Serve.

Finger licking good!

Apple Dip

So I am trying to find new recipes to try out. Also I am trying to find new foods for Virginia to try. As I was searching for toddler recipes I came across this apple dip on All Recipes. After Virginia went to bed last night I went ahead and made the dip. It was super quick, maybe five minutes. I used a blender to mix the ingredients together. A mixer probably would be the best tool to use.

I would suggest cutting down on the amount of cream cheese in the recipe. Unless you are a huge fan of cream cheese it tastes really rich. Overall I give the apple dip a big thumbs up.

Sunday Afternoon

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon we had! Even the 5:30 a.m. wake up call couldn't ruin this Sunday. I lounged around the house with Virginia during the morning. Then, in the afternoon, I drove out to the Conover Walmart to meet a couple that brought our poker table topper off of craigslist. It is nice getting rid of some of the junk that is filling up our closet. While I was at the Walmart, I decided to walk in and check out the bird feeders and flowers. I came out with a nice bird feeder and some beautiful snapdragons for the front porch. I am also glad to announce it looks like all my prayers to the flower gods may have helped and it looks like the flowers that my parents and I planted in the ground may live.

Once I got back home, we packed up and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Hilderbrand's house. With Virginia being sick or Reiggin and I being sick, we have not been able to get over to see them in awhile. I always love driving out to their house and seeing the country. I was amazed at the bright yellow field that covered the left side of a house. Turns out it was only alfalfa grass, but it was beautiful. Virginia was super happy to get some loving from Grandma Hilderbrand. She also was beyond excited to play with Sadie and the other dogs at Grandma Hilderbrand's house, even if she is allergic to them. She also got her belated Easter basket. It was a small wagon full of goodies. Someone isn't spoiled by both Grandma Hilderbrand and Grandma Ford! Reiggin's parents' house sits on beautiful land. We pulled out an old wagon and took Virginia for a walk out to see the cows. I loved seeing Virginia's reaction when she saw these huge cows staring at her. One cow decided that he wanted a little lick but, luckily, Virginia was quick.

Reiggin was taking photos throughout our visit and got some really good shots. I love the shots of Virginia and I really enjoy the shots of an old house that is barely standing behind his parents' house called the Lackey House. Something about a run down old house is beautiful and full of mystery. I always wonder what the house looked like in its hay day. There is a old metal tub that sits in front of the house that I am dying to have. I told Reiggin that I would love to take it and clean it up and make it a reading tub for Virginia. Reiggin thought I was crazy. He didn't know what a reading tub was. I told him in my kindergarden class, we had a tub that we read books in and, if we wanted to, we napped in. I thought that was the coolest thing.

After visiting for awhile and a lovely walk, we headed back home to enjoy a couple huge porterhouse steaks that my loving husband perfectly prepared on the grill.

I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday afternoon with my family.

                            

            Virginia loves this magnet that Reiggin made 

                             as a child for his mom.

       She had a blast picking up all the rocks off

          of Grandma Hilderbrand's driveway.

She made sure we all had at least two rocks.

  She also enjoyed walking around and looking 

     at all of Grandma Hilderbrand's flowers.

            You know you love the wind action in 

                        my hair in this photo.

   Grandma Hilderbrand pulled down some

     toys that she had saved over the years.

 

Virginia thought the wheel barrow made a perfect wagon.

                               Grandma Hilderbrand with Virginia.

 The cow tried getting just a little lick

    of Virginia, but she was too fast.

                 Taking a walk behind their house to see the cows.

                      Sadie playing around out in the field.

Hickory Here I Come!

The day started off a little rough when Virginia decided she wanted to wake up at 5:30 a.m. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't stayed up til about 1:00am the night before watching TV. Needless to say, this mommy was very grumpy. Luckily, Virginia took a nice long nap at 8:30, allowing me to catch up on some sleep myself. When she did wake up, Reiggin was kind enough to get up with her and let me nap a little longer.

By the afternoon, I was starting to get into a better mood because I knew that we were going to Hickory to go shopping. I went ahead and put Virginia's new car seat in the car, the one that has a cup holder. She was super excited to have her own cup holder to place her sippy cup in. Our first stop was Once Upon A Time. I could go broke in this place. I love this store for the wide variety of clothes and toys they have. All their items are in great shape and are low priced. We walked out with a great start of summer clothes for Virginia and some new books for her to enjoy.

For dinner, Reiggin was super nice and took me to the Chinese buffet. I have been wanting Chinese for awhile. Reiggin is not a huge fan so we don't go very often. The restaurant was very busy. When we got a table, I had to take Virginia into the bathroom to change her diaper. I just want to state that I believe it should be a law that every restaurant and major business should be required to have a changing table in their bathroom. This restaurant didn't have a changing table so I had to change Virginia on the ground.

The best thing was that Virginia chowed down on the sweet and sour chicken, sans sauce. For dessert, I had an ice cream cone which Virginia was all too happy to help me finish. She is just too cute.

After dinner, we headed to Walmart to pick up a few items. I was happy to pick up some disposable diapers because I need to wash a load of the cotton diapers. I know I am silly when disposable diapers are a treat for me. I also got some super cute sippy cups for Virginia. We made a stroll down the toy aisle which is always dangerous. Reiggin picked out one of those cute write and erase boards for Virginia. Virginia was loving her toy all the way home. She fall asleep holding onto the pencil of the toy.

My day was very busy but I enjoyed getting a chance to spend the whole day with Reiggin and Virginia. This weekend is going to be lots of fun since Reiggin is off work Saturday and Sunday.

Oh How I Love Thee....

I am a simple woman when it comes to things that make me happy. Other then my husband, child, and family the core of my heart. I truly love my tv shows and blogs. I know you were expecting something more profound with that kind of lead up. Sorry, I said I was simple.

I am a huge WB or CW fan and not to many of their shows have not made it onto my favorites list. Currently Vampire Diaries has found its place into my heart. It is a show about Vampires and a small town called Mystic Falls. It has everything a woman would want, romance, vampires, and mystery. The main characters consist of Elena, her brother, aunt, and friends, a poplar yet with drawn high school girl that has just lost both parents due to a car crash.  The two main vampires are Stefan and Damon, two brothers that have just returned to town.

Most WB shows story lines will have a let down point. I mean they start strong, but by the end of the season I am struggling to keep my interest. Not Vampire Diaries, so far the writers have kept me on the edge of my seat. Yes it does help that I am a huge vampire fan and the fact that the vampires in the show are hot. I am a huge Damon fan myself. If there was a team Damon I would be the captain.

If you have not watched this show yet, shame on you. If you are a teenage girl at heart then you will love this show. I find myself every Friday rushing to the phone to call Lisa to discuss the latest episode. There is alot of Oh My Gosh, No they didn't, and Isn't Damon hot!

Two other notable shows that have kept my interest is Parenthood and The Marriage Ref. I find myself crying and laughing at every episode so far.

Parenthood is a show about growing up and the struggles of being an adult and parent. The show focuses on a huge family and their individual stories. Ranges from the parents that are supportive at the same time have their own problems. To the kids that are adults now with kids of their own. You have the oldest brother that has two kids one that is diagnosed with aspergers. The two sisters that can't be more different. One has just moved back home to live in her parent's house with her two kids. The other a successful lawyer that has a young daughter that is taken care of by her stay at home husband. Then there is the youngest brother that is my favorite. He has just discovered that he has a 5 year old son.

So far every episode of Parenthood has made me either tear up or laugh so hard I may pee in my pants.

The Marriage Ref is a great show. It is a show that finally declares a winner for those fights that husbands and wives get into. It consists of a host and three celebrity judges. The three celebrity judges change with every show. To sum it up they have about three or more couples that are in a fight. The fight can be as silly as should the husband be allowed to stuff his favorite dog to should the wife be allowed to clip her toe nails in bed. The celebrity judges debate and tell who they agree is right. Then in the end the host declares who he believes is the winner.

The couples that have been on the show so far have been crazy. It has been so funny and entertaining to see how silly people can be. I find myself laughing and giggling so hard that I could roll off the couch. If you ever need a good laugh or pick me up you should watch this show.

Last I have fallen back in love with The Pioneer Woman. My friend Lisa Harland first introduced me to this wonderful blog. It is a blog that is written by Ree Drummond a red headed stay at home wife that lives in the country on a ranch. She lets you into her life, her marriage, and her kids. She also has a section on photography and recipes. Her manner of writing is so fresh and straight to the point that I love it. I read her blog pretty regularly for awhile, but then lost my way and forgot about it. Then recently I was reading a post on my lakenormanmommies site about The Pioneer Woman's cook book tour and I found my way back to her blog. I have spent the past couple of days catching up on blog posts that I have missed out on. It is so much fun to read her posts and to have a glimpse into another woman's life. She is so funny and really does a great job with her blog. I can only wish that one day I can make my blog half as good as hers.

Well I believe that sums up some of my current loves. I am signing off and watching The Sopranos with Reiggin. We are currently watching the first season of The Sopranos. So far it is pretty good, maybe not my all time favorite. But it does make me laugh and I love spending time on the couch just me and Reiggin.

Garden Buddies

After being sick and required to stay away from babies and little kids we were super excited to get the green light from the doctor on Monday to start socializing again. That very day we rushed down to Grandma and Grandpa Fords for a play date with Aunt Susan and Cousin Samantha.

It had been a long time since both Virginia and Samantha had gotten to play. They have been doing daily skype sessions to keep up with each other. But it was so funny to watch them as they slowly walked towards each other giving each other the once over. Then it was off to play and grab goldfish from Grandpa Ford.

Both Virginia and Samantha love going outside and playing. After dinner we made a promise to let both girls go out back and run around as Grandpa Ford watered the many flowers. I say run, but really Virginia is still working on being confident in the grass. Samantha on the other hand is a little speed demon in the grass. 

Both Virginia and Samantha were huge fans of picking flowers. It was just too cute watching Virginia bend over and smell the flowers. She thought it was great picking flowers and taking them to Grandma Ford. 

Wednesday was also a fun filled day. Mom, Dad, Susan, and Samantha came up to my house to help put in a small flower bed and grab lunch with Lisa. Unfortunately Reiggin got called into work early so we had to think fast on what to do for transportation for all of us. Lets just say that if the circus ever needs a family clown car we are perfect for the job.

We had lunch with Lisa at this small burger place. I remembered why I always have a stroller in my car. It was not to fun carrying Virginia up the hill to the burger place. After lunch Lisa took us to her workplace and introduced us to all her co-workers.

As we were making our way back home, it was so cute watching Virginia and Samantha make each other laugh. I believe that they will be best buds. We finished the day by putting in the flowers and playing outside with bubbles and sidewalk chalk.

Virginia was super excited to be Grandma and Grandpa's garden buddy. I believe she would have played in the dirt all day if I allowed her. Grandpa would put the dirt in the pot and Virginia would help level it off. She may have snuck a little taste of the dirt when we were not looking.

I have had a great time catching up with family and can't wait for Saturday to come. Grandma and Grandpa Ford are going to babysit Virginia so me and Reiggin can have a date night. Reiggin  doesn't get to many weekends off so this is a real treat. Well hope everyone is having a great week. I will leave you with one of my favorite photos of Virginia and Samantha. You just have to wonder what is going though their heads.