Random fun happenings at Grandmother's

Annagrace went with Grandmother to a Halloween festival at Tristan's school in Harris County. She went as a Fairy Princess.

Washing dishes - she's such a big helper!

Kicking back, all comfy, watching Mickey Her new toy car (otherwise known as a big cardboard box) it also doubled as an airplane when Granddaddy got home and made the box airborne.

And before we went to the spooktackular, we went to Grandmother's neighborhood cookout.
Of course Annagrace loved the hot dogs and cookies!

Spooktackular

On the 25th, we went to the Spooktacular downtown on Broadway. They had trick-or-treating, games, music, and fun for $1- we couldn't resist. She thinks she is too big to hold our hands. Luckily the streets were wide open and we were able to indulge her in her big-girlness.
We loved bowling!

While I was at work ...

A patient's family member came to the desk and asked "Have yall seen that fire." Everyone's heads jerked around to see the woman and asked at the same time "What fire?" We all feared there was a fire in the hospital. But, when she pointed at the window we were all a little confused. We all ran to the break room to look out our big windows and saw flames ABOVE the tree tops. I called 911, we all thought the fire was on the interstate, a block away from the hospital. They were so big, they had to be close. But, the 911 operator said it was the River Mill on 1st Avenue. The building was over a mile away and across the river. The ICU secretary and I took a break and left to go take some pictures. I couldn't believe the magnitude of this fire.

While standing of the river bank, staring at this beast, I couldn't help but feel sad. This Mill has been in Columbus since 1899. It was built, brick by brick - by hand. All of that work, all of that time, all of that history .... gone in one night.

The long awaited ....

AVA picture

We are so excited for the new addition to the Welch Clan:
Ava Arlene Welch
6 pounds 11 ounces and 19.5 inches
We are anxiously awaiting pictures!! Congratulations Torben and Angela.

Fall Festival

The Fall Festival went great! The games were fun and the kids seemed to enjoy everything. We on the other hand - had a little accident. I thought Tyler had Annagrace, he thought she had walked over to me .... NOPE, she went to the stage, climbed up the stairs, and fell off of the stage. She was brought to Tyler by another mother and told "she fell off of the stage and got trapped under a table." WHAT?!?!? I lost it - I balled like she was on her death bed. Her ear was purple and she had a big knot on her head above her ear. I cried because she was hurt, I cried because she was crying, but mainly I cried because I wasn't there - I didn't even see what happened. She didn't talk for a while and it really started to worry me, but within 30 mins she started acting like herself again. I was reassured by several people at church that she would be just fine, but it didn't make me feel any better. Tyler had, jokingly, said earlier "Candi we are becoming one of THOSE parents." (The ones that let their kids run wild at Church, doing and touching whatever they want to = nightmare at a potluck!) So, I've learned my lesson -she will never be out of my sight again. I don't know how I will accomplish this, being on the activities committee and ward photographer. But, I'll strap her to my back if need be!

I wasn't very happy with the results of the photos from the party - awful lighting! But, this is my favorite. Annagrace spotted Savannah in the middle of the courtyard and ran straight over to give her a hug.

Instead of the park ...

Best Nursery Pumpkin Patch

we opted for the free wagon ride instead

The place was really pretty, it was a rainy day so the ground was a little muddy. But totally worth the time. Annagrace loved saying "WOW" and "pup-kin" over and over. We walked away with only three little pumpkins that Annagrace picked out. The big ones were priced $20-$50. So, we went directly to Walmart from the patch and bought two big ones for $4 a piece!

random happenings

FUNNY BIG FEET TOUCHDOWN!!
We are now UGA fans. The purpose is very selfish, we want Annagrace to have so much pride for UGA that she will want to go there. 1. It's close to home 2. FREE with Hope Scholarship =)

Working Mommy Blues

I'm having a working Mommy guilt trip tonight. I don't know why, nothing is different. I just missed being elbowed while trying to get her to sleep. She is sleeping over at my Mom's tonight so I won't see her until I wake up tomorrow afternoon. And right now, that feels like an eternity. I still love my job, but I'm definitely looking forward to Sunday - it's going to be a fun family day to help break up my work week. I don't know what we will do, besides church, but I can't wait to do it. Maybe we'll go feed the ducks at a nearby park, lay in the grass, play tag, have a picnic, and roll down the hills. Sounds like a PLAN!

GA National Fair

Yesterday we went to the GA National Fair with John and Angie. We had so much fun, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

Some of the pictures are really small, you can click on the slide show and go to the web album to view them larger.

We are also ...

excited to be a part of this as well ...

arthritis walk

Back to Mommy

I am so excited to get back in my full-time Mommy mode. I just finished up my work week and can now relax and completely focus on fun with Annagrace (and Tyler). And maybe, just maybe, get a little house work done in the middle.

Here are some photos of the happening during this past work week. We went to My Gym one morning. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be a more structured class type setting but it was just free play. She loved all of the big kid toys scaled down to her size. She just ran from the ball pit, to the trampoline, to the balls, to the stairs .... I was running in circles. An afternoon trip to the mall resulted in fun rides at the food court.

Tagged by Jen

Here are the rules:
Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours. Tag 6 fellow bloggers by linking them. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

So, here goes ...

1. I have anxiety attacks when anyone else folds my laundry. I have a certain way that I fold each thing, especially towels and t-shirts. If someone else does it, it freaks me out that I have to do it all over again. I don't know why, if they didn't do it, I would still have to fold it - what's the difference??

2. I can not get into an unmade bed. I will seriously make the bed and then climb into it, if needs be.

3. Kind of has to do with above - I have to make my bed and do the dishes everyday. It's something that happened after having Annagrace. I had a really bad post-partum day, realizing I couldn't take care of an infant and the house. I made my mind up that if I could just do the dishes and make my bed I could be okay without doing anything else. Having these two little things done makes a world of difference in the way my bedroom and kitchen look all day long.

4. I hate sand. (I have discussed this in previous posts) It's small, it gets everywhere, when wet it gets even worse ... need I say more?? And yes, Annagrace will NEVER have a sandbox - poor child, she will just have to make do with her other 15, 876 toys.

5. I LOVE Diet Coke - but I'm really picky about it's container. It has to be ice cold in a can. Or from a fountain. If I go to McDonald's I request a styrofoam cup every time - it makes it last longer and just has a different taste from the plastic.

6. I cry - A LOT! I cry about movies, TV shows, commercials, testimony meetings, if I even think someone is going to cry, I cry. I've always been a full water works person. But, motherhood intensified the situation.

What's for dinner?

She is climbing on everything! (and freaking me out of course) After she picked out what she wanted to eat, I opened the dishwasher to throw a couple of things in and she climbed up on it too! She is so grown up and wants to be Mommy's little helper. She loves to help unload the dishwasher and has a hard time accepting when they are dirty and aren't ready to be taken out. She also helped me vacuum today- too cute. We videoed that one and I will post it later.

classy or trashy??

I love the classy shoes, but I'm not so crazy about the trashy, diaper showing look!

(picture taken by my Mom, while babysitting)

cheesy cake

Mom hosted a birthday/baby shower lunch for Jennifer R. We had my normal party meal: bow tie chicken pasta, salad, and cheese cake. Mom decided to share her cheese cake with Annagrace. She could NOT get enough of it!
This is her "cheese" picture face. I don't know why it includes squinty eyes and pinched lips?? She's just a goofball!

Red Robin

We headed to Red Robin for dinner and were pleasantly surprised that it was a day Red was appearing. Annagrace couldn't keep her eyes off of the bird while we were eating. Then as we walked outside Red was there! Annagrace got so excited and started dancing like crazy. She wore Red out. When we tried to finally pull her away, she pitched such a fit that Red had to carry her to the car.

Did you know ... Bees eat cheese??

Tuesday's Playdate

We met at Cooper Creek again. I'm still trying to overcome my hatred of sand. She got down in it and pretty filty today. There was 1/2 a cup of sand in each shoe by the time we left. I just kept telling myself that we were going straight home to take a bath, so let her get as filthy as she wants to right now.

Animal Farm

While watching Dirty Jobs with Tyler the other day, the pig farm episode, Annagrace kept yelling at the TV "PIG, PIG, PIG!!" So, Tyler decided that we had to get her out to see some real animals! We lucked up on an invitation to a community party in Harris County and they had lost of .... ANIMALS!!

I wish we had taken the video camera to record her talking to the animals. So, I will just have to type it in for you:

"gobble, gobble" "baaaaaa"
"chick, chick, chick" when I pulled one out of the box it immediately changed to a horrified "uhhhh"
"neigh"

As soon as I put her on the horse she started bouncing up and down, the same way she does on her rocking horse - she was trotting of course!! (I thought, "Aunt Laurie would be so proud!")
Then we went on a beautiful (but very HOT) wagon ride around the property.

Miss Maggie's Birthday

Saturday we had the pleasure of attending Miss Maggie's first Birthday party. They became fast friends - Annagrace wanted to give her kisses.While trying to get a cute picture of Maggie and her Mama, Annagrace decided she needed to be in the picture as well. She came over, gave Lindsay a hug, smiled for the camera, then proceeded to LICK Lindsay's back.Maggie thoroughly enjoyed her cupcake!

Labor day - Better Late than NEVER

We had a fun labor day. We started out at the Chapman's for a cookout and swimming. Annagrace was copying the Phelps kick off from the side and Triston had a blast entertaining us with his new swimming ability. In the evening we had a couple of friends over for a game night. Some of us got a little competitive (wink, wink) but everyone went home a winner!

Well ...

The good news is ... I'm loving my job, the bad news is .... I haven't been taking any pictures to post (not that there have been any post worthy activities happening around here anyway).

I am really excited about my job - the hours are working out perfectly so far, sleeping arrangements are going swimmingly, Tyler is enjoying being home to tuck Annagrace in every night, and Annagrace is enjoying her days of one-on-one time with Grandmother. Also, I was able to convince my co-worker, who works the opposite days as me, to rework the schedule and had it approved by our supervisor so I will have a week off at a time. I will work Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then be off until the next Thursday!!! I don't think I could have found a better job. It has worked out to be a happy balance of working mom and SAHM.

And, for you fellow bargain hunters out there - Target has clearanced all of their summer swimming gear - 75% off. I scored a large inflatable dinosaur pool with slide for $7!! A couple of Spring floats and a life jacket for Annagrace! I just love a good clearance sale.