the Grannis Family

giveaway over @ sprinkles of scarlett

2009-10-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

Okay ladies, I am BEYOND excited about this giveaway!

AllModern.com is an AMAZING website. Seriously, I could spend a fortune. They have the BEST modern bedding selection ever, the cutest baby & kids stuff, and I'm kind of dying over these ADORABLE kid's chairs.

So imagine how thrilled I was when their promotions team contacted little ole me to do a giveaway for them!

*THRILLED*
{and kinda jealous that I don't get to enter myself!}

Up for grabs is this sweet diaper bag by JJ Cole.

Made of Polyester, Durable Nylon Lining , Polyester Fill

Includes Changing Pad

3 Compartments, Zip Closure

Exterior Features 3 Accessory Pockets

Detachable Shoulder Strap

Stroller Clips

Ideal For Hanging on the Stroller or Around Your Waist

Wipe Clean

Phthalate Free

The bag is so super cute and perfect for a boy OR girl mom! Win it for yourself - or give it as a gift to your fave mommy or mommy-to-be!

Here's how you enter...

1. Become a follower of Sprinkles of Scarlett & leave a comment. {1 entry}

2. If you're already a follower - just leave me a comment saying so! {1 entry}

3. Click on over to AllModern.com and tell me your FAVORITE thing on the site. Who knows...it just might be another giveaway one day! {1 entry}

4. Blog about the giveaway on your blog and leave a comment linking to your site. {2 extra entries!}

The giveaway will end WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH @ 12 a.m. central standard time.

Can't wait to find a winner! and thank you SO MUCH to AllModern.com for this fun opportunity!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

Meat Free Monday News

2009-07-24T15:35:00.001-05:00

Meat Free Monday News

Shared via AddThis

ladies and gentleman...

2009-06-23T21:23:00.001-05:00

well, probably just ladies...

please direct your web browser to the following...

Sprinkles of Scarlett

and have a lovely day :)

back with a vengeance.

2009-06-16T19:53:00.002-05:00

new blog name.
new look.
new posts.
new focus. (sort of).

life has been crazy in more ways than one the past few months. i sincerely apologize for the lack of blogging, facebooking, and commenting. i've missed you all, but i promise, i'm back!

come back SOON for an update blog friends.

love you all.

easter and such

2009-04-12T00:51:00.005-05:00

sorry it's been so long. lots of stuff going on! we had a great easter in rockwall with robert's side of the fam. holiday's take on a whole new meaning when you have a kid to share it with. and that's exactly what scarlett is these days, a little kid. i cant believe my sweet little baby is going to be 2 in less than 2 months. mer gave me an AWESOME birthday party idea and i'm so excited about it. more details on that to come...for now, here are some pics.

hunting for easter eggs.

so pretty in her easter dress.

found some!

decorating eggs with dad.

dying them with mom. i'm showing off my princess bracelet, scarlett is supposed to be as well.

scarlett thought today was so fun. i think she is going to want to have an easter egg hunt everyday from now on. she's the funnest, sweetest little girl in the world and i am so blessed she is mine. i dont know WHAT i would do without her smiling face everyday. she is a constant reminder to count my blessings, relax, take time to enjoy life, and just be happy. she's amazing and i love her.

ok, so i probably have tons more to write about but its late and my eyes aren't really focusing anymore! i really will start updating more, i promise. facebook is going slooooow right now so tomorrow i'll post the link to the rest of the easter pics. have a great week!

that post i promised...

2009-03-13T14:56:00.004-05:00

alright let's start from the top: I'll randomly insert pictures as I go.

Scarlett's first time out - My sweet baby is pretty well behaved for the most part. She throws her temper tantrums, but even those have gotten a lot better since a few months ago. (the not giving in thing really does work) Anyway, last week we were pretty low on groceries and I was trying to find Scarlett something to eat, and fast because she was repeatedly telling me "I hung-uhr" which means find me something quick mom before i lose it. We had a can of healthy choice chicken tortilla soup so I thought I'd give it a shot, even though she'd never had it before. So I heated it up on the stove and poured it in a bowl and gave her a spoon. She kept saying "it's hot, it's hot" so we would blow and blow and finally it had cooled down enough - or so I thought. Scarlett thinks things are hot even when they're bordering on room temperature. She kept spitting it out after every bite and I was getting pretty irritated. Finally I let her feed herself and she was doing pretty good, until I guess she got a "hot" bite again and threw the entire spoon full of soup at the wall. I reprimanded her of course and told her if she did it again it was time out. She looked at me like "what the heck does that mean?" and I guess she was so curious she decided to find out. So she deliberately threw a spoon full of soup at me. Ha! So off she went to her crib for two minutes and she did NOT like it. When I got her out she ate the rest of her soup :)She looks like such a big kid in this picture. She loves to pull her hoodies up.

Barney - better known in our house as "Barduh." Scarlett can say "Bar" and she can say "knee" like your real knee, but she cannot put the two sounds together to save her sweet life. It's so cute. Phyllis introduced Scarlett to Barney a few months ago with a DVD she had bought her, but she wasn't really interested. Then a few weeks ago at my parents house my mom put in an old Barney tape for her and she LOVED it. There has been no going back. She now has 3 DVD's and a stuffed Barney from my mom that is her new best friend. She loves to sing the "I love you" song, which yes, makes me cringe, but honestly, I don't care. Barney's not exactly my first choice of programming, but it makes her so incredibly happy that it doesn't matter. And its not like she just sits there watching it. She's up and dancing and singing and having so much fun and actually learning. Plus, since Robert and I canceled the cable, she doesn't watch any other shows at all, so 30 minutes or so of Barney is awesome because I can do whatever I want and she's completely occupied. So, I never thought I'd say this, but, YAY for Barney!

she is almost always wearing a necklace or something girly.

Me working - Robert has played "Mr. Mom" these past two weeks because I've been meeting with lots of different retirement communities around Ft. Worth. It's been fun and so far every one I've met with has been super nice and excited about what I do. And it's been really good for Robert and Scarlett to get so much play time together with out me around. Scarlett went through a period where she only wanted me to do things for her like get her milk and snacks and change her diaper, but I think this has really helped! So yay for working and yay for some precious father-daughter bonding.

First push-up ice cream.

Sugar Land - We had a great time house sitting for my parents while they were in Mexico the other week. It was a business trip - My dad was the #1 salesman for his company for the second year in a row - go Dad! and also their 25th anniversary trip a little early. They went to Puerta Vallarta or however you spell it, which is where they went on their honeymoon too! So cute. Anyway, I met with a retirement community there too, we played with our faves, the Tichenors, and got to spend lots of time with Uncle Wes. The end our trip was bittersweet though. After such a fun week, my very best friend from high school, Devin, lost his dad that Friday. So instead of going home Saturday we stayed until Monday to go to the Memorial Service. It was so sudden and so, so sad. My heart just broke for Devin and his family. I was really thankful though that I was in town when it all happened because I was able to go to the house and spend time with Devin along with the many, many other people there to support the family. Please, please pray for the Hotzel's as they struggle with finding peace with their tremendous loss.

Robert's job status - still searching. he went through 3 interviews with a company in Ft. Worth but ended up not getting it. :( That's OK though, I guess it means it wasn't where he was supposed to be. At least that's what I believe.

Me being a vegetarian - Blah, I've written enough. I'll go into it in another post. I will say though that I feel better and healthier than I have in my entire life and I know it's because of how I've changed my diet.

Scarlett loves doing her "pudders"...aka puzzles. She cracks me up the way she says some things.

Other things about Scarlett - she's just the best little kid in the world. She's saying 2 to 5 word phrases and sentences. It's getting easier and easier every day to have conversations with her and long gone are the days that I couldn't figure out what was wrong when she was crying. She can put most of her shoes on by herself, she is picking out her own clothes, which is always entertaining, and she even knows what clothes to wear when it's hot or cold outside. When it's time to play outside she runs to her room and puts on her shoes and a hat and jacket if it's cold. She is always amazing me with how observant she is. We drove by Uncle John's school today on the way to the gym and she said "Where's Don?" She knows when we turn on our street and says "Our house! our house!" and she always remembers where she put things, even when I don't. She sleeps with a pillow ("pirder") now, and calls her blanket a "beddie" - it's too cute! She LOVES all of grandparents and gets SO excited when we talk about them and she loves to call them on the phone. She eats milk and cereal every morning for breakfast now, all by herself. She doesn't let us help her until the last few bites when she has trouble getting the last couple of floating pieces. (Don't worry GiGi- she eats fruit with her cereal too..haha). She has been using the potty pretty frequently at home and is finally realizing it's better to poopoo in the potty than her diaper. She's learned lots of funny things at the gym like how to "pop like a bunny" so she "pop pop pops" all over the house and attempts to do somersaults. She loves to sing and dance and will not let me leave her room at night until I have sang twinkle twinkle little star, jesus loves me, the barney song, hush little baby, and you are my sunshine at least 3 times each. It's exhausting but worth it.

This is how we found her the other night. She put all those "babies" on the pillow by herself. I take away the pillow once she falls asleep.

Alright I've gone on and on enough I think. Thanks for reading it all if you did!

yes, we're still alive.

2009-03-10T10:28:00.003-05:00

I have TONS to write about. That's the main reason I've been putting off posting, because it's going to take me forever. Look forward to me ellaborating on these things in my next post:

Scarlett's first time out.

Scarlett's obsession with Barney.

Me "working".

Our trip to Sugar Land two weeks ago.

Robert's job status.

Me being a vegetarian for the past 3 months. I don't think I ever mentioned that.

Overall update on my amazing, wonderful, sweet child. She's so much fun right now.

I have meetings all week with various retirement communities around Fort Worth to tell them about Blissful Transitions. Everyone I've met with so far has been really excited about it and have agreed to refer me to their new residents. Hooray! So if you could send some good luck vibes or prayers or whatever my way I would REALLY appreciate it.

Have a great day. I'll be back soon!

because videos are better than pictures

2009-02-26T09:24:00.002-06:00

Sweet Scarlett & Carson playing at a cute little frozen yogurt place.

adorable.

2009-02-21T22:26:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures of our fun playdate last week with Meredith, Carson, Stacy, & Ava.
(Blogger will not let me undo the underlining?)

Lunch at Bakers Street

Swinging at the park. I wish I would have videotaped them giggling. It was too cute.

First she was running after Carson. Then she pulled up her dress and actually started explaining to me that "uh oh" she had just pooped in her diaper and there was no potty.

Time for some popsicles!

Sweet girls.

Typical

Yes, they are kissing.

3 babies + 3 mommies + 6 popsicles = a wonderful afternoon!

I feel like I have a lot to write about but zero energy or time. I am seriously exausted. Robert and I stayed up until 3 am last night for absolutely no reason and now I'm paying for it. After only getting 5 hours of sleep, for some reason I had the urge to go to the gym this morning and just about died during spin class. I won a really cute t-shirt for pedalling the longest though so it was worth it I think. I never win anything! Anyway, we have to get a good nights sleep so we can get up and drive back to Sugar Land tomorrow to house sit for my parents while they take a much deserved vacation in Mexico. Hooray! Can't wait for some playtime with our fave friends! Night!

cuteness.

2009-02-19T15:53:00.003-06:00

Hey mamas and mamas to be! You MUST check out this cute new shop on Etsy that my friend from highschool, Lauren launched today. She has unique and so, so fun onesies. Makes me want another baby! (Or I may have to ask her to make some in toddler sizes.) Here's a sampling of their stuff...

How CUTE is that? Hmmm...some of you preggo mama's just might be getting these for shower gifts. Anyway, pop over and buy something! They are SUPER affordable. :)

Have a great day!

things

2009-02-12T01:09:00.002-06:00

1.) The Grannis Fam is in Sugar Land until Monday (I mean, what else did we have to do?)

2.) Robert got a job interview with TTI in Fort Worth next Tuesday! It's not ideal, but HEY, beggars can't be choosers, right? Plus, they have Houston offices. We're just believing God has a plan.

3.) The screen on my phone is completely non-functional so if you call or text message me I have absolutely no way of knowing. Keep calling me back til I hear the phone and pick up! My new one should be here Monday.

4.) Roxanne's baby shower is on Sunday and I AM SO EXCITED!

5.) I beat Robert at Wii bowling really, really bad tonight. I am SO much better than him and it's driving him crazy!

6.) Scarlett and I are going to be pretty sad when Robert has to go back to work. It's so nice having him around all day!

7.) Scarlett poo-pooed in the potty for the first time this week!

8.) We're celebrating my Aunt Kem's birthday on Valentines day in the Woodlands and it's going to be so much fun!

9.) I might start selling some really amazing, high end skin care products just because I believe in them so much. They are seriously THE. BEST. My worst nightmare is to be an Avon lady, but it's not really like that. This stuff will change your life. I really can't imagine anyone who would not fall in love with these magical products. Betcha wanna know what it is huh? Well, you'll just have to wait. :)

Can't think of a 10.

Happy Thursday.

tour de casa

2009-02-05T14:51:00.007-06:00

I can't believe its February 5th. This past weekend Scarlett had a tummy bug, and then Robert got it and was sick all day Monday. Super Mom (that would be me) avoided the yucky virus, thank you Jesus. We've been busy with our "new usual"...job searching and keeping the house clean, which is no easy task thanks to our busy little 20 month old.

Here are some pics of the house, all ready for someone to come fall in love with it we hope.

Front, we pulled the bushes our in front of the house to expose the brick work. I think it looks SO much better, but we still need to plant a little something. I do have gorgeous flowers in the pots though, which is rare.
Walking in the front door to the living room.

View from the office.
View from the dining room.
Dining room, staged and everything.
View from the kitchen.My pretty kitchen I will be so sad to leave.

More kitchen.Breakfast area. Thank you Target, Lisa, and Phyllis for helping me pull this look together!
Some of mine and Robert's bedroom.

Sorry, she's not included.
I left out the bathroom, office, and Scarlett's room because they weren't "picture ready", if you will, while I was taking pictures. Robert has been working really hard on the bathroom re-grouting, painting, and cleaning it up. Funny he never wanted to do that before we put it on the market, huh?

20 month post tomorrow (even though it was yesterday). Have a lovely day.

honestly.

2009-02-02T21:25:00.002-06:00

Ohhhhh, man. I've been putting this off but since I've been tagged by three people now, I guess I better do it.

The rules, are as follows...

Choose 7 spectacular blogs that you can't live without and pass this goodie on to them
Post the "chosen ones" on your blog in link form AND...
List 10 honest things about yourself.

So here goes nothin'....

I am addicted to sugar. I can go a few weeks without it but then I cave and eat a bunch. I swear I would weigh 100 pounds if I could just quit it.
I LOVE exercising. I think everyone would love it too if they just kept at it. I look forward to going to the gym or doing something active every. single. day. (and if I quit eating sugar maybe I would have a little more to show for it! ha.)
I do not eat animal products whatsoever. Meat, eggs, cheese, milk...nope, nope, nope, nope.
I have a skin disease called Vitiligo, the same thing Michael Jackson has. I've had it since 7th grade. There is a huge circle of white skin on the right side of my face that won't tan and I have white eyelashes on my right eye. You will never see me without mascara on. Never.
I want Scarlett to have a sibling so incredibly bad, and I loved being pregnant. But whenever I think about having the actual baby I get a little overwhelmed.
I wish we could pick up our house and move it to Houston if we end up moving there. I love this little house so very much and will be sad to leave it.
I've been amazed by how many people are trying to help Robert find a job. There is such kindness out there and it's very humbling to be on the receiving end.
I hate painting my nails and am usually embarrassed by how bad they look.
I wish that all my friends lived in one city so I could hang out with them everyday.
I am so incredibly happy that football season is OH-VER.

I'm not linking anybody because everybody I would have tagged has already been tagged. Check ya laterrrr.

happy stuff and crappy stuff

2009-01-29T22:53:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging. The past two weeks have just flown by. Let's start at the beginning...

Last week we were in Sugar Land. Robert was working and me, Scarlett, and my mom were playing ;) We got to hang with the Tichenor's two nights in a row which is always awesome. When I say I wish we lived next door to eachother, I am in no way kidding. That would be my dream come true. I stole this little collage from Meredith's blog because she got much better pics of the kiddos playing than I did. Our babies are growing up fast.

Scarlett also got her first haircut while we were visiting. She did so great and her hair turned out super cute! You can see lot's more pics of the first haircut here.

Yesterday Robert, Scarlett and I got to go visit the Bradfords. The boys played video games and Roxanne, Scarlett, and I went to Babies R Us to get Roxanne registered and ready for baby Avery! :) It was so fun and just made me wish that we lived closer to them too! Could all my friends just move to one city please? Thanks.

Scarlett loved Roxanne and was just amazed by the fact that she has a baby in her tummy. We kept telling her there was a baby in there and now she points to her tummy and says baby.

Scarlett is SUCH a girly girl. Barbie, necklace, bow, and two purses. What else does a girl need?

OK, so that was all the happy stuff. Now for the crappy... This past Monday Robert got laid off from work. It was COMPLETELY out of the blue, with no warning, and a huge shock. Especially since he had actually recently been offered a position in Houston with the company that we were seriously considering taking. Apparently the week we were in Sugar Land, the investors of the company came in and slashed jobs. The company was losing a lot of money, what could they do? The guys on salary had to go. So Monday afternoon, after working his butt off in Houston all the last week, Robert came home with the news and we immediately started the job hunt. Let me tell you, it is SLIM PICKINS. After finding absolutely NOTHING in Ft. Worth or Dallas for the past year (because Robert really hated his job anyway and we've been looking for other options forever with no luck) we have started searching in Houston. As much as we absolutely HATE the idea of leaving all our friends and family in the Metroplex, it just seems like Houston has way better opportunities right now. The city actually has had job GROWTH in this shiteous (sorry) economy while everyone else had tremendous decline. It's not set in stone, but it looks like the Grannis family is making our way South. It is very bittersweet. We have lots of family here and even more friends, but we also have lots in Houston too, including my parents who I haven't lived close to in 5 years. We'll see what happens, but as of now, our house is on the market and we're getting ready for some big changes. I know there are of people out there with bigger problems than ours, but if you would please keep us in our prayers that Robert finds a job and we can sell our house in a VERY timely fashion, we would be forever grateful. We know God is in control and are trusting Him that we are doing the right thing for our family and trying our very best not to get discouraged.

Sorry if you are finding all of this out for the first time on the blog and felt that maybe you should have been told in person. This week has been an absolute BLUR with cleaning and organizing the house to put it on the market AND scouring the internet for job possibilities AND keeping up with Scarlett. We have seriously had very little downtime so PLEASE PLEASE don't be offended.

More updates as they come!!! If you want to live in a really cute house in Ft. Worth give me a call ;) haha.

these are the bomb.

2009-01-22T12:23:00.002-06:00

Yes, I said the bomb. I found these stickers on etsy and since they already have Scarlett's name on them, I knew she was meant to have them. $22 for 40 at this shop.
We're in Sugar Land for the week and already having so much fun. We went to the Tichenor's last night for pizza and Scarlett and Carson had a blast playing with each other. It was obvious when it was time for bed though. They were so tired they were falling down all over the place but when we said "OK guys time for bed" they both said "NOOOO!" too cute. Hope you're all having a great week. More updates to come...

a much needed reunion.

2009-01-14T16:50:00.002-06:00

Saturday night was Chelsea Gray and Matt Farmer's wedding, some good friends of mine from ACU. It was the ultimate DT/Sub-T reunion, plus other college friends, a beautiful wedding and SO much fun.

Val, Carrie, moi, and Manda...Biddie Class of '04

We are so excited that Carrie and her hubs, Brian, are moving to Dallas very, very soon!

I don't remember the last time we were all together like this. Usually one or two of us is missing.

sweet Carrie, silly Robert, and me. I am so lucky to have friends who love my husband and a husband who loves my friends.

mostly girls I pledged with.

420 College Drive roomskies.

I have to give a BIG shout out to Cool Papa Jim, Grandma Doreen, and Uncle Daniel for driving all the way from Terrell, LAST MINUTE, to watch Scarlett all night. Thank you SO MUCH for coming to the rescue and letting us go out for some much needed husband/wife/friends time. Y'all are the BEST and Scarlett is so blessed to have such amazing and COOL grandparents!

Lots more to come, but Robert just walked in from work and that means we're all going outside to play before it gets dark!

oh, and we are all feeling much better now. Scarlett ended up going to the doctor on Saturday morning and has a double ear infection but the medicine is doing its job. Soon we'll all be good as new! Until next time...

progress...sorta

2009-01-08T09:29:00.004-06:00

Cleaning out the fridge with my favorite little helper? CHECK.
Look how clean!

I know my mom is so proud. Think we need some food though.

4 loads of laundry washed and folded...

CHECK AND CHECK!

Not throwing away these bottles because I didn't feel like rinsing them and actually recycling...CHECK!

Organized toys and a shiny clean floor....CHECK!

Sharing a smoothie with my baby girl...CHECK!

Veggie Tales and 2 happy, albeit sick and pretty rough looking, girls...DOUBLE CHECK!

So yesterday was pretty productive although I haven't put even a tiny dent in the Christmas decorations at all. I figure if they're still up by February I can just throw some hearts on the tree. Actually, Phyllis is coming over today to help me with Scarlett so I can actually FOCUS and try to organize everything into boxes.

Scarlett's sick too by the way. She started running a fever yesterday afternoon and woke up in the middle of the night at 103.5. Poor baby, I hope she starts feeling better soon. Send some prayers up for her if you would please! :)

Have a great day and STAY HEALTHY!

where's the maid?

2009-01-06T15:36:00.003-06:00

Oh, right. That would be me.

But I'm sick.

And I have a REALLY messy house.

We had company over on New Years Day and the house was spotless. Amazing how fast a tiny little family of 3 can turn a house upside down.

Speaking of said company, and the fact that I have piles of laundry to do, here's a funny little story...

Robert's friend Chad and his, um...well, I wouldn't exactly call her his girlfriend, I really don't know what to call her... came over on New Years because Chad, at the time, wanted us to meet her. Maybe at that time she was a potential girlfriend, but not so much now. You'll find out why in a second. This girl is from Arkansas and her mom is a VP at Wal-Mart and her dad owns a steel company that builds Wal-Marts. As you can imagine, they have a little bit of money. She was nice enough, but then she happened to mention that her parent's maid, and hers because she lives with them, had put all her clean laundry on her bed in piles but didn't fold it. "So I threw it on the floor and she's gonna have to do something with it if she wants to vaccuum." Talk about wanting to burst out laughing at someone and then give them a good slap to the head. Don't worry, I showed restraint. She's 23 and has never done a load of laundry, or dishes, or cooked a meal. Hence why she is no longer a potential girlfriend. I think Chad is looking for someone a little more...domesticated? And a little less used to a chauffeur.

Anyway, it's January 6th and my Christmas tree is still up. I've been awake for 2 nights in a row coughing and it's not like I can say, "Hey Scarlett, mommy doesn't feel good so she's gonna go take a nap...just ask Woody if you need something." Although, that would be awesome. I feel a little better today but not exactly motivated, ya know? As much as I, now that I'm a wife and mom, can't stand it when girls think it's cute that they don't know how to use an iron, I wouldn't mind a personal servant right about now. They could fill in just until Robert gets home. ;)

Have a good day. Pictures when I get my house under control.

2009 so far...

2009-01-03T21:34:00.004-06:00

thanks to the glorious weather today robert and i decided to take scarlett olivia to the fort worth zoo. it was her very first time and i think she had a lot of fun. especially since we didn't bring the stroller and let her walk most of the way.

this is at the end of our trip, she was definitely tired of being a big girl.
our little fam looking at the fish.

our wonderful friends, casie and joe.

she walked a long way. such a little kid. loving the shorts and t-shirts on january 3rd!

looking at the flamingos. she made sure to say "byeeee" to all the animals she saw.

and that's it for the zoo pics. it's hard to think about the camera when you have a toddler on the loose. we did actually snag an abandoned zoo stroller during the final leg and she happily rode along in that. thanks, casie, for being our photographer :)

i believe this is new years day. i had just told scarlett that val was coming over for the second annual goode/grannis new years eve. she was super excited! (hehe)

yeah, she slept in that shirt. here she is snuggling with val and eating some waffles on new years morning.

her new favorite toy is an empty lip gloss i gave her. she thinks she's really putting it on and makes the kissy face and everything. i promise i'm teaching her important things too.

and here's a pic of me with some of my very best friends from acu. manda, val, and morgan. we all got together for chelsea gray's bachelorette party in fort worth the night we got back from jackson hole. robert was super husband/dad and watched scarlett and let me have some much needed time with the girls even though he was exhausted from the trip. love you baby daddy! :)

last but not least, i've been meaning to do an update of everything scarlett's been up to lately. i mentioned in the last post that she is not a fan of sitting down whatsoever in any sort of contraption. shopping carts...bad. strollers...very bad. highchair...practically not even worth trying. truthfully, it's been really frustrating. i can't think in the grocery store because she is either begging for things on the shelves or is just generally unhappy. people look at me like i'm an awful mother. our fun and pointless target trips are a thing of the past for now. a man at wal-mart actually came up to me the other day and said "ya know, they have those buckles in the seat so you can strap them down" because scarlett was standing up and trying to jump out. he wasn't being rude. in fact, i'm pretty sure he was partially mentally handicapped, but still, that was pretty much the last straw. i was about to start bawling when BAM scarlett fell straight back into the basket. luckily there was enough food to break her fall, but it scared the poop out of her. i was beyond embarrassed. i almost just left the basket right there with all the food and was about to walk out but she finally calmed down. so i've been reading a lot about the terrible two's, because obviously, sweet scarlett is starting them early. much to my relief, she isn't the only one and i've read tons of hilarious and similar stories to mine all over the internet. i've just been expecting too much of her. you can't expect an 18 month old to ride in a stroller for hours with you at the mall. (because if you do she will start hitting you in the head in the dillards shoe department. another memorable mother-daughter trip of ours.) and you can't even expect them to sit in a shopping cart for half an hour. i guess robert and i are kind of entering that stage in parenthood where you pretty much can't go anywhere that involves a well behaved child. the good news is, everything i've read says with a little "tough love" it will all get better. meaning, when she throws her fits and screams and cries we're just going to have to ignore it and eventually she'll get the picture. giving in just once will ruin it all. so i'll have to make my major grocery trips with out her, and robert and i will be looking for babysitters if we ever want to go out to eat for the next, well, who knows for how long. :)

despite the couple rough patches we go through in a day, scarlett is still the sweetest little girl ever. just not when she isn't getting her way. she is talking up a storm and being BOSS-Y. she loves her new baby doll and "Ming Ming" from WonderPets that grandma doreen got her for christmas. she loves bath time, helping me clean, and being outside when we can. she is a dancing machine and when we play "single ladies" she puts her hand up and starts shaking it. i'm going to try to get it on video tomorrow because it's hilarious. potty training has kind of come to a hault, she sits on the potty a few times a day but hardly ever tinkles in it anymore. it will happen when it happens. she's starting to be able to repeat most words after we say them once, learning about 5 or so new words a day. it's still kind of a struggle to get her to sit down to be read to, she prefers to 'read' the books herself, so i've been trying to think of clever ways to teach her things like colors and animals and stuff. obviously, she is MISS INDEPENDENT and no matter what i do i'm not going to be able to change it. and i don't want to.

alright, well that's enough for now. hope you all are having a fantastic new year so far. i have a feeling 2009 is going to be a VERY good one. ;) more to come...remember, updating multiple times a week is my new years resolution!

a very merry jackson hole christmas

2008-12-31T13:51:00.006-06:00

We got back from Jackson Hole on the 27th and I've been putting off this post because I knew uploading the pictures alone would take an hour. After I uploaded them the first time, they all got erased, so here I am, an hour and a half later just starting to write! We had a fun, snowy, cold Christmas, which is the way it should be, right? OK...I'll break the trip down with the pictures. If you make it to the end I consider you a very good friend. ;) (or obligated grandparent)

Remember how I asked you all to pray that Scarlett would not be THAT baby on the plane? Weeeell, either no one except Val did, or God just thought it would be a much needed lesson of patience for Robert and I. Yeeeeah. She. was. terrible. It started off OK in the airport, we made it through security without a hitch and she ran around the terminal for about an hour. That was about her limit though, because boarding the plane and most of the 2 and a half hour plane ride she was my worst nightmare. She kicked and screamed, not because she was uncomfortable, but because this child was born to run. She hates strollers, shopping carts, car seats, highchairs, and now I know she especially hates plane seats.

See how red her little face is? She calmed down for a few minutes after I gave her my coin purse, which for some reason she loves, and a magazine.

Buying some time with stickers. It was hilarious watching Robert try to drag this out as long as possible. It bought a good 20 minutes but once the stickers were gone it was bad news.

Ahhh. I now know why they serve alcohol on planes. I had two glasses of wine and I don't care one single bit what anybody thinks about it. I was about to pull my hair out, people, I deserved it.

About to get off the plane. Hallelujah!

OK, so after we met up with the rest of the family at the airport, it was already dark so we headed to the hotel. It was 2 story and reminded me a lot of Robert and I's first townhouse in Arlington. Grammy and Papa did an awesome job of making the whole place feel like home with pretty Christmas decorations and even our own tree in our room. This is Robert and his mom injecting the turkey with a LOT of Tony Saschers butter stuff. Robert pretty much won't eat a turkey without it.

Day two, about to go searching for moose.

Kelsey and her daddy, Uncle Mike, eating lunch at the Snake River Brewing Company the first afternoon we were there. Rachael Ray went there on one of her shows and raved about their whole wheat pretzels with mustard. Robert and I tried them a few years ago and they were just as good as I remembered.

Scarlett and her first pickle. She thought the sourness was so funny! This was one of the few times the entire trip she sat still for more than 15 minutes.

The first of many, many attempts to get a decent family picture.

Scarlett and her new BFF, Keh-Keh.

Try #2. Scarlett looks so sad. She wasn't sure about the snow yet.

Until Kelsey built her a snow man!!! She was sooo excited and cried when I told her he couldn't come inside with us.

All the girls playin' in the snow.

We were all stuffed from Christmas Eve dinner so we decided to play games the rest of the night. Robert, Marty, John and I always play Scrabble when we're together and the object of the game is not to let Robert win. He is freakishly and annoyingly skilled.

Day three. Christmas morning. Scarlett woke up way too early so we let her open her very first real baby doll to try to keep her in the room and let everyone else sleep. After about an hour of Dora she just couldn't take it anymore so everyone got up to open presents.

Kelsey and Uncle John reading Scarlett the Christmas Story.

Opening all her fun presents. This elmo thingy, a play kitchen, a shopping cart, and lots more.

After presents, the boys went skiing and Lisa, Scarlett and I all took naps. Then we went to the Four Seasons for Christmas dinner. Thankfully we were upstairs in our own separate little space because like I said earlier, Scarlett + being made to sit down = disaster. She ran around everywhere and would not get in the high chair until the food came.

After we ate she was off. Robert and the guys took her downstairs to look at the decorations while the girls ate some yummy dessert. Here she is trying to get away yet again when we all met up.

And again.

After dinner we came home and made a gingerbread house. I was really surprised how into the decorating Scarlett was. She didn't even try to eat the candy OR get away.

As soon as she got a taste of the icing though, it was all over. We had to finish it and hide it. This is Scarlett's way of sayign "where eeehys iiiit?"

"Grammy! Where eeeehys iiiit?"

Scarlett finally started warming up to touching the snow the last day we were there. She would ball it up and bring it inside and give it to everybody.

See, she thinks it's so funny! Check out her cowboy boots from Uncle Mike!!

Yummy snow ball.

Robert and I on the last day having a little afternoon getaway. We went shopping and had another delicious pretzel at Snake River.

It snowed 4 feet or something crazy while we were there and there were huge walls of snow surrounding the hotel. Super cold but super fun to climb. You can't tell but we're like 8 feet above the ground.

I had to leave out a ton of pictures but, if you so desire, you can look at the rest here and here. We had a wonderful Christmas and are so thankful we got to spend it in a winter wonderland with Robert's family. I love how having a kid brings the excitement back to the holidays. Watching her open presents and stare wide eyed at the huge Christmas trees was just too much fun and I know it's only going to get better and better as she grows up and has a brother or sister to share it with too.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas as well.

OH! And duh, it's New Years Eve. As for us, we're laying low as usual and probably going to Central Market to get some fun snackies and play with Scarlett all night. Please have a fun, safe, time tonight!

Happy 2009 everyone!

2 down, 1 to go

2008-12-23T10:48:00.003-06:00

Well, we're about to leave on a plane for Jackson Hole, Wyoming but I had to get one last post in before we go! Just a few pics from our Christmas with the Grannis side. We had a great time and Scarlett was spoiled rotten as usual by her Cool Papa Jim and Grandma Doreen! :)

She looooves to get new clothes.

I promise she's having fun.

"OOOOH!!! BUPPEEEES!"

Ming Ming from the Wonder Pets, her favorite show!

Crashed after all that hard work.

My little goofball.

We let Scarlett open all her presents from Robert and I last night so we wouldn't have to take them on the plane. Yesterday afternoon, while she was taking a nap I turned this...

into this!! Notice anything else different?

A couple weeks ago we were at a friends for dinner and they're little girls had a baby stroller just like this. Scarlett, usually the social butterfly, ignored them practically the whole night just to push it around the house. She even tried to put their one year old little boy in it and kept calling him "the baby." It was so funny and I knew we had to get her one for Christmas!

Anyway, I'm just a little nervous about the plane ride with Scarlett. She's going to be lapping it and she is NOT a fan of being constrained. Soooo if you think about it, send a few prayers up that she doesn't scream the whole time like she is known to do in the car! Right around 5:00 would be good. :) Haha. I'm trying to be positive but I just can't help but think that she is SO going to be "that" baby on the plane.

Hope you all have a blessed and VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS. Pictures from snowy, beautiful, Jackson soon!

our life in reverse order

2008-12-19T14:20:00.003-06:00

warning: insane amount of pictures.

bucket head.

stomping grounds with the Tichenors

action shot - so fun!

little C having a blast

just chillin'

eating her applesauce with chopsticks.

a yogurt eating photo session

little cutie

this child loves yogurt

yikes. before robert's work's christmas party. i'm holding scarlett's sippy behind my back, hence the awkward pose. pics like these are why we leave it to the pro's.

opening some early christmas presents. you have never seen such excitement.

imagine her gasping.

and oooohing

look she's 18 months and can finally crawl. scarlett and robert's funny little game.

So one of my many new years resolutions will be to get better with this blog. Before Scarlett became so active I was so good about updating every couple days, but she just doesn't let me anymore. Hope you enjoyed the pics! :)

ps Mom...I need the Christmas pics so I can post them!

18 months.

2008-12-04T13:23:00.006-06:00

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by.

Look at this little dumplin, just barely 6 months old. How is she a year older already?

We've been a busy family the last week or so. We had such a great time in Sugar Land for Thanksgiving, and of course, ate lots of yummy food. Scarlett had fun going up and down the stairs at my parent's house and playing with Gigi and "Poppy" as she has now named my Dad. She can say both their names clear as a bell and it is SO precious.

We decorated our tree before Thanksgiving this year. To say Scarlett was excited about it is a gross understatement. She was infatuated, and is doing an awesome job at not trying to play with the ornaments. She just looks, and feels the tree, and climbs around it. She loved it so much that we decided to get her one for her room too.

Playing with Papa Marty before we left for Sugar Land. Gotta get these pictures in there when we can. We wish we got to see him more often!

Getting a package in the mail...of course from Carson (and his amazingly thoughtful mom, Meredith). What could it be?!

Personally thanking him for her advent calendar... :) (By the way, Meredith, I totally forgot to thank YOU for this and feel like such a dork...but thank you! you guys are so sweet)

Putting the lights on her tree. She loves to help me do EVERYTHING. As soon as we get home she runs to both the trees and points at the plug so that I'll remember to light them up. Then she says "happy, happy, happy." It melts my mommy heart.

We hung Christmas lights for the first time this year. They look awesome.

OK...so back to the fact that I have an 18 month old today. Scarlett is becoming more a kid and less a baby everyday. Duh, but you know what I mean. She loves to put on makeup. I give her a little make up sponge and pretend to put my foundation on it and she'll dab it all over her face. She knows powder is next, and so on... It's awesome because I used to have to put my makeup on in tiny increments all morning because I couldn't keep my eye on her. But now all I have to say is "Let's go put on our makeup!" really excitedly, and she runs in the bathroom and stands on her stool and it takes 10 minutes instead of an hour. She also loves to get her hair blow dried. I started drying mine in mine and Robert's room instead of the bathroom...again...so I can keep my eye on here if she's awake while I'm doing it, and it turned into the easiest thing. She sits in front of me on the floor and just watches fascinated and waits for her turn. I'm sure it won't last forever but it's pretty convenient now.

She's is learning new words all the time. The best ones lately though are "happy" and "i love you." She also says "mmmm!" when she eats something yummy. And if it's really yummy, she'll say it after every bite. The other day I was getting her some raisins and she said "oh baby!" WHAT?! I have NO EARTHLY IDEA where she got that from. Seriously, no clue. But it was hilarious. Other favorite phrases are "where is it?!" which she says very clearly and "where'd he go?" most of the time talking about Woody who has an even shorter attention span than she does. She gets so sad when he stops playing with her :(

Last thing. Robert and her have invented a special little game to play. I say that with the slightest hint of sarcasm because Scarlett wants to play this game all the time and I think it has begun to wear her daddy out. She brings him his green Santa hat (he's wearing it in the light hanging pic) and he is supposed to put it on and chase her all over the house. This child LOVES to be chased. She full out runs all over the place and does not stop laughing. Why he needs to wear the Santa hat, I don't know, but my guess is it's how she figured out to tell him she wants to start the game. Scarlett also prefers for Robert to feed her lunch, give her baths, and for him to blow dry her hair at night. It's so, so, so, so sweet. I love to see them bonding the way they have lately.

Alright, I'm sure you've all had your Scarlett fill for the day. Sorry if you think I go on and on, but that's just what moms do. :) Have a great rest of the week and weekend!

sneak peak

2008-11-25T16:27:00.006-06:00

We're heading out for Sugar Land in just a few minutes but I wanted to post a few of Scarlett's 18 month pics real fast before we go! These were so much fun to take and Dori and Jason did such a great job. We only managed 1 wardrobe change and Scarlett wouldn't hold still for anything, but we just let her run around the park and Dori and Jason followed her while Casie, Joe, Robert, and I tried to make her laugh. I'll get my posed pics in fairy princess outfits one day. :)

A humongous thank you, again, to Dori and Jason for taking these beautiful pics!!! I'll post a link to the rest later, but for now we gotta pack up the lap top and hit the road! (Can you tell I'm excited to go home for Thanksgiving by my use of exclamation points?!) Honestly, I'm not a fan of Thanksgiving food at all, but I love the cranberry sauce and hanging out with the fam! AND, we couldn't let a trip to Sugar Land go by without seeing our fave fam, the Tichenors. So, everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving and travel safely!

2008-11-22T08:12:00.003-06:00

When: Saturday morning, 8:12 a.m.

Where: Our kitchen

Who: Me and Scarlett

Me: "Do you want pancakes for breakfast?"

Scarlett: "No"

Me: "Do you want cheerios for breakfast?"

Scarlett: "No"

Me: "Do you want a banana and yogurt for breakfast?"

Scarlett, now pounding on the fridge: "NOOO!"

Me, opening the fridge: "OK, then what do you want?"

Scarlett, reaching for left over spiral noodles: "Dis?"

Me: "We don't eat noodles for breakfast."

Scarlett, getting the spiral noodles and handing them to me: "DIS." It's not a question anymore.

Me, desperate because I know if I try to give her anything else it will go to waste and at least she wants to eat the left overs. "Fine, you can have noodles."

Scarlett, running to the couch: "Ches! Ches! Ches!" (That's Scarlett language for Yes! I got my way!)

And now she's sitting there, watching Jack's Big Music Show and eating noodles while Robert mows the lawn and I attempt to make coffee and get ready for the day. OH, and blog about it real quick.*

Have I failed as a mother?!

We're going to Cool Papa Jim's and Grandma Doreen's house to watch the Ohio State/Michigan game, then leaving right after to go pick up Grammy Lisa from the airport because she's been in Wyoming all week. We have to leave in about an hour, and a 20 minute fight with Scarlett to eat fruit and cereal for breakfast just isn't gonna fit on the schedule this morning.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

*disclaimer: most mornings to not go this way. I do indeed try my best to give Scarlett a healthy breakfast. We're just short on time. Some mornings you just gotta do what you gotta do. I'll sneak the fruit in veggies in sometime today.