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Showing posts with label Granddad and Groovy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Granddad and Groovy. Show all posts
30 June 2011
Because, if you're going to pull style notes from someone, why not the late style editor of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar?
We are in Michigan enjoying a relaxing, non-humid, Northern-summer visit with Ryan's parents this week. Oliver is a swimming maniac, diving for toys, backstroking in the deep end and staying in the pool for nearly six hours straight, only to break for potty and dinner. Isn't vacation lovely?
What are y'all up to this week?
31 January 2011
28 January 2011
We've been so busy soaking up our time with Groovy (whose plane landed safely in Nashville, by the way!) right now that there just hasn't been time for much else.
Well, except getting to flit around in my sewing room without the responsibility of caring for small children! Who wants to play with Mommy when Groovy is here?! (Hazel does. She's a Mama's girl. But to Oliver, Groovy is the sun and the moon!)
While Oliver was at school this morning and Hazel was napping, I enjoyed getting my own special time with Groovy while she helped me re-fold and sort by color all my messy stacks of fabric. I think we could have spent all morning in there with all the pretty colors. We're kindred spirits like that. (Note to self: share photos - it's so pretty now!!)
Since I don't have much to offer today in the photo department, I offer you a bit of video footage from lunch yesterday: Hazel learning to clap!
Have you every seen a smarter or cuter baby girl? :) (All you Mamas of little girls out there are saying, "YES!! My baby girl!" That's okay, it's our job to dote on our littles!)
Have a lovely weekend, Friends! I'll work on getting some photos of my progress in the sewing room and you can also look forward to some really great giveaways next week!
21 December 2010
20 December 2010
We're in Michigan visiting Ryan's parents for the next few days and man, have I forgotten what a real winter is like! In Tennessee, the snow is exciting and fleeting! You're lucky if you're awake to catch a glimpse of the rarity and it's usually gone by noon. The general sentiment is, "Don't go, snow! Quick honey, get the camera!"
Snow in Michigan is a whole different can of worms. We'd been there for only a few hours on Saturday but already the snow was taunting me. I would glance out the window at it excitedly and it unflinchingly returned my gaze. And then I remembered. I was on the losing end of a staring contest with a substance that had the stamina to not even blink until March or April.
This white stuff isn't going anywhere. It's cold here. Not windy and horrible like our Chicago days, but just a sort of quiet cold.
Ryan found himself running out to the van in the middle of a family Christmas party last night to fetch a pack-n-play and couldn't help but notice the stillness. Without a coat on in the 25-degree night he closed his eyes and remembered the Michigan winters that we grew up knowing. Quiet and still with no wind. Bright even at night because of all of the snow. The cold doesn't sting, it just is.
And so we have hunkered in to the warmth of Ryan's childhood home. There's home movies and bowls of cashews and shrimp and meatballs and an endless supply of homemade Chex Mix. Granddad and Groovy are at the ready to color with Oliver and scoop Hazel out of her bed as soon as she makes the slightest indication that she might be done napping. There is love and a lot of it.
There's nothing like coming home and bringing your kids to see their Grandparents. Apart from the comfort and familiarity of being with people who know and love you, and the great luxury of having your meals prepared for you, there's the sweet relaxation of kicking back and reading a book and knowing that if Oliver need a glass of water, Granddad will hop right up to help him.
Oh, these trips to Michigan - however long and laborious the trek can feel - are some of the best kinds of vacations.
Merry Christmas, Granddad and Groovy! Thank you for a warm, safe happy home to visit. Thank you for loving each other and being a godly example to our children. We love these quiet winter days in the comfort of your home. The stillness of the winter outside - cold and persistent though it may be - is a sweet picture of the still, calm comforts of home inside. No wind, just a quiet calmness as we enjoy each other's presence and look to celebrating the birth of our Savior.
Merry Christmas!
02 September 2010
Dear Hazel & Oliver,
Do you know how blessed you are to have the Granddad & Groovy that you do?(Heck, any Grandma that prefers to go by "Groovy" is already starting out pretty cool, right?!)
Do you know how adored you are?
Adored enough for your Grandparents to invite you to stay at their house with them for a week. To take you golfing and to the zoo and to every park in a 15 mile radius, while filling every spare minute with swimming, snacks and games. (Talk about a let down when you come home, eh??) ;)
Adored enough to drive 9 hours to see you, then do everything they can for you for three days straight, taking hundreds of photos of you and gushing about how impressive each of you are in your own fabulous and unique ways.
Ah yes, doting grandparents.
Boy do they love you.
Boy, will you love them.
Thank you, Lord, for giving these children Grandparents that love them and, most importantly, that love You. We do not take this for granted!
26 August 2010
24 August 2010
Well, it's been a lovely couple of days visiting Ryan's parents in Michigan.
We've squeezed out as much summer as we can,
played with cousins we only see every once in a while,
met new cousins for the first time,
protected popsicles from melting prematurely,
snuck tastes to the little sister we adore,
and promised to come back again soon.
Thanks, Granddad & Groovy, for loving us! We love you!
23 August 2010
Hello, friends!
We're visiting Ryan's parents for a few days before we head back South to that muggy Tennessee weather. (Can you believe it's 11am here and still to chilly to take a dip in the pool!?)
Oliver and Hazel are enjoying all kinds of attention from their Granddad and Groovy. You know, there's no faster way to a parent's heart than through loving their babies! :)
Also, Hazel is becoming more mobile by the hour. I know babies are supposed to start crawling at around 8 months, but I'm not sure this 5-month-old can wait much longer. She's already been scooting around for a week or two, but in the past few days she's been up on her hands and knees, belly off the ground, just rocking back and forth with that determined look in her eye.
An old soul, I tell ya.
Alright, we're headed out back for a dip in the pool. The one great thing about swimming pools in Michigan is that they're heated! Even if it the air is still 75, the water is 90!
I'll leave you with a few photos I snapped from our time at Rolling Ridge Ranch in Millersburg, Ohio on Saturday. We actually rode in a horse drawn wagon with buckets of feed that all the animals (including zebras!) came right up to eat out of! As you can imagine, it was a hit for the kids and adults alike. :)
Happy Monday!!
09 February 2010
So, what do you do when you haven't blogged in several days and have too many things to package into one, tidy, focused post? Well, I suppose some folks would either write several posts or just choose not to write about some things and not others. I guess that would make good sense.
Well, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to unload my camera and compose for you all an incredibly long-winded post that leaves you in a weary stupor.
That's what I'm going to do.
In list form.
Here we go.
1. First, I just have to record this time in our lives. The time when I come across little arrangements of toys (or in this case, a dinosaur parade) because my sweet little guy loves his toys and does a great job of playing on his own. He loves to imagine and I love that about him.
2. I am that crazy sewing lady right now. Especially at 2am when I can't sleep. I made this dress the other night on just such an occasion. Ry was already asleep and I knew I'd just lay there for hours so I went up to the sewing room, made a dress and came back down and slept like a baby. I'm sure it's a nesting thing. I do realize that Hazel probably doesn't need any more little dresses - but making them for her is my way of feeling more prepared for her, I guess.
3. Ry suggested that we set up a changing table in our bedroom and I love him for it. The kids' room is upstairs and ours is downstairs. Hazel will be rooming in with us for several months and it just makes perfect sense to have a little station set up for her in our room. I used some cozy flannel to make a cover for her changing pad and some leftover scraps to make a little bird in a frame to hang on the wall.
5. Ryan's parents came to visit this weekend from Michigan and we had a really lovely time. They took care of us so much that I didn't have to cook a single meal (save waffles on Sunday morning, which Ryan helped with) for them. They even left the guest room all tidy and wonderful. Somehow we got through the weekend without a photo of Groovy, but here's Oliver with his Granddad. 
7. My sister made matching outfits for Beatrice and her new birthday Bamboletta doll (Clementine). I'm only sharing this because I adore this girl and because my sister is such a good Mama.
6. We took them to Sweet CeCe's downtown and had some fantastic frozen yogurt! I also enjoyed acquainting myself with the 50mm prime lens that Claire lent me while mine is recovering from it's fall last week. (Have I mentioned that pregnancy makes me rather clumsy?)
(I love this guy.)
7. My sister made matching outfits for Beatrice and her new birthday Bamboletta doll (Clementine). I'm only sharing this because I adore this girl and because my sister is such a good Mama.
8. I disappeared into the sewing room last night and came out several hours later with a big stack of these:
I've got more (including some more boy patterns) nearly complete but need to make a run to the fabric store for snaps and such before I can call them "done". All the bibs shown here are (at least as I type) available for purchase in my Etsy shop. If you don't see exactly what you want, feel free to speak up and tell me what you're looking for!
I've got more (including some more boy patterns) nearly complete but need to make a run to the fabric store for snaps and such before I can call them "done". All the bibs shown here are (at least as I type) available for purchase in my Etsy shop. If you don't see exactly what you want, feel free to speak up and tell me what you're looking for!Okay, that's all. Are y'all weary yet? I am.
I have an appointment with my midwife in the morning. Can you believe I'm 35 1/2 weeks!? (Yes, I'm counting half weeks now!) I'm looking forward to it. It seriously never gets old to hear a medical professional tell me that everything looks good/normal/healthy. Sometimes I just like to call my midwife to hear her say it.
I'm such a dork.
A very happy, grateful dork, though!
15 October 2009
Guess who just turned 3?
In honor of Oliver's 3rd birthday we enjoyed a visit from Ryan's parents (Oliver's Granddad & Groovy) and threw a big party for all of our friends. (If there's one thing that we love to celebrate in this house it's life!)
Ry's Mom, Oliver and I set out the day before the party to assemble a cake much like the one pictured here.
She was a trooper, but boy it sure would have helped to know that MckMama posted a very helpful recipe here. We totally winged this one, and I imagine my sweet and helpful mother-in-law would have been less nervous about the whole matter had I given her a recipe to go from. Next time. :)
So, about an hour before the party began, we finally completed our masterpiece. Our only main difference from the original is that, in a house full of art majors, we just could not let ourselves leave out sweet little Indigo from the rainbow.
Our TRUE Rainbow Cake:
(admittedly not as perfect as the original, but we're learning!)
A few photos from the party:
And, in a lame-o effort to catch up on the past few weeks of garage sales,
here are a few of my recent finds:
$2.00 - 5 great fall candles - I have a few burning even as I type!
$0.25 - Brand new bottle of Nexus Humectress conditioner (they had a bunch of these, so my Mom, sister and I all grabbed one).
$0.50 - Headphone shirt for Oliver - he's actually wearing this right now too :)
$0.40 - 3 eyeshadow pallets and 1 Pier One Bath tea - seriously, so many people had big boxes of brand new things to buy. There were probably 20 bath teas and a ton of eyeshadows.
You probably can't tell from the picture, but on the right beneath the bath tea is actually a $15 gift certificate to the Macy's Salon. The house that was selling the new candles and eyeshadow was actually handing these out as well! How is that even possible?? I'm planning to head to the mall for a pedicure soon!
(In case you're keeping track, so far I'm up $11.85!)
$5.00 - awesome natural wood basket, pears, 4 fall votive holders with votive candles and one large candle bowl with 3x5" pillar candle. Oh, and a bunch of glass bead garland that is happily displayed on my fireplace right now.
Free - old, red, cast iron skillet - I think it's maybe for making cornbread? It is perfect hanging above my kitchen sink!
(notice the curtains I recently made to dress my window? A bit of hemming, a few staples on a board, some wall brackets and a couple of contrasting ties and VOILA!)
$3.00 - blue square vase/planter thing - not sure if it's maybe uncool to display this with nothing in it, but I adore the color and it makes me so happy! (There is still a price sticker on the bottom for $82 from a home decor boutique in LA). Not bad!
Final tally: I got all that great stuff and I managed to be UP $3.85! Not too shabby!
27 July 2009
As you can see, we couldn't keep Oliver out of Granddad and Groovy's pool. At two years old he's diving head-first, running and jumping and floating on his back from one end of the pool to the other. Isn't he a fun guy?
Talking heavy machinery with Granddad.
We celebrated my birthday (a little belated because of when the visit fell) one evening (though by the pictures, it's hard to tell if it's my cake or Oliver's). :)
Cute cousin Chloe was SO excited to play with Oliver!
And, yes, this is the best we could do - two out of three ain't bad!
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