Happy 2nd Birthday, Emma Grace!

I had issues loading Emma Grace's two year pictures.  I think I will have to retake them, but that will happen another day!  Until then, I'm using these two as fill-ins.

My sweet Emma Grace,

Today you are two years old!  What a milestone!

When I think of your current stage right now, a couple of things come to mind.  You are so funny and make your Daddy and I laugh all the time.  You are a smart cookie and we constantly look at ourselves and ask, "Did she just say that?" or "How does she know that?".  You are strong-willed and try to test your boundaries with the occasional disobedience to see if the consequences are the same each time (they are).

You have turned into a big girl right before our eyes.  You talk ALL THE TIME.  Your vocabulary amazes me.  You put together three and four word phrases as you try to form sentences (sometimes you even do five words - like today you threw your baby doll and said "oh no, baby fall down!".).  It seems like that happened over night.  You like having jobs, too.  Right now, you help us feed Charlie in the morning and evenings.  You pick up his bowl and bring it to us so we can fill it up.  You are certain to boss Charlie around by telling him to sit and stay, and then you tell him to go get it.  Other responsibilities include taking your diaper to the trash and putting your clothes in the hamper.  You get really excited at these accomplishments and yell "I did it!".

You are in a big girl bed, a twin bed, and you do great in it.  You sleep about twelve hours at night and take a nap in the afternoon that lasts two or three hours.  You have become a lighter eater over the past few months and you let us know when you are done.  We don't make too much fuss over meal time, since you are still a great eater my many accounts.  It's just much different from the baby we could never keep full enough!

You are in summer camp right now and are loving it.  You cry when I come to get you because fun time is over!  You will start preschool in the fall at a near by church and I know you will love that just as much!  You have handled our move to Georgia so well.  Your world was rocked as we left Raleigh, lived in Jacksonville for a month, and finally moved to our new home.  You went from a crib to rotating between a toddler bed and pack-and-play, to your very own twin bed.  You haven't missed a beat.

Your hair is still brown, but your baby blue eyes have turned green.  You ask for a bow if one isn't in your hair, you tell us you look pretty in a dress if we haven't already told you, and you love to wear my shoes, jewelry, and sunglasses.  You are the girl I always wanted!

You know that Mommy has a baby in her belly and have finally started staying "girl" or "sister" when we ask.  I can't wait to see you come into your role as a big sister this year.  You are sweet to your baby dolls and love to give your baby milk or food and I also see you give hugs and kisses.  I know you will be just as sweet to your sister.

When you are playing alone, you are either reading books, coloring, playing with your Mr. Potato Head, or unloading your toy bins.  You still do really well with alone time, but love having company, too!  You love getting tickled by Daddy, and you'll say "more tickle, Daddy" when he stops.  You still like to cuddle with Mommy, especially when you are upset, and you will say "hold you, Mommy" to let me know.  I secretly hope you always say it this way.  Like, forever.

Currently, you can count to 12 and do your ABC's really well (you leave out a couple of letters, but still really well!).  You are still learning colors...most times you'll answer with pink or green (love it!) when I ask you what color something is.  You name all of your grandparents and great-grandparents and some other family members all throughout the day.  You get on a roll and it's like you're set on repeat!

Your Mommy and Daddy love you so much, sweet Emma Grace.  You fill our days with so much joy, and our family was not complete until you came along.  Happy Birthday!

Father's Day

We did our main celebrating of Father's Day on Saturday.  I got us tickets for an Atlanta Braves game a while back, knowing Jereme would love that (and it would cross off an item from our ATL bucket list!).

We got out of the house a little late, and traffic was horrible.  But we finally arrived to a full stadium and a very comfortable 97 degrees.  I'm not even exaggerating.  It was 97 degrees.

I should say it was 97 degrees on the ground.  I can only speculate that our seats, being much closer to the sun, might have hit 100.  Really, they weren't that bad.  They were a good price and we had a pretty good view.

A view of Atlanta over the top of the stadium.

Here is EG "running the bases" in the kids area.

It started raining during the 4th inning.  We took shelter and waited it out for a while (here we are, wet).

The rain stopped for a while, then it looked like the bottom was about to fall out of the sky.  We (and hundreds of others) took off for the parking lot.  Jereme had Emma Grace and I told him to go ahead.  I couldn't run and I didn't think there was much sense in them getting wet just for me.  You might call this gracious, but I call it a mistake.

You see, when Jereme drives, I never pay much attention.  So after he took off, I realized I couldn't remember exactly where we parked.  Yikes.  I walked in the direction I thought we were parked and happened to look out on the street to see my car driving by.  Let's just say there is nothing scarier than seeing your car drive away.  Did I mention I didn't have my phone?  Long story short, Jereme was trying to find me by driving back towards the stadium.  Luckily, I waved him down, he came over to me, and all ended just fine.

We stayed in the city and ate at a BBQ place.  Jereme and I are self-named BBQ snobs.  It was really good and we got to watch the rest of the game on TV near the bar.  It was a fun day and Jereme was a good sport about his day getting cut short.

Happy Father's Day, Jereme!  You are so loved around here.  It melts my heart when I hear you and Emma Grace laughing while you tickle her.  I love that she won't go to bed until she has kissed you.  You have so much to look forward to by being her Daddy, and she is one blessed little girl.

Big, big girl bed

When we were in Jacksonville for the month in between selling our North Carolina house and buying our Georgia house, Emma Grace did a lot of sleeping in her big girl bed that her Papa made her.  It was a toddler bed, and the perfect transition from her crib.  She did really well in it.  When we moved to Georgia, we took the bed with us until we got her a new set of furniture.

Today was the day!  After waiting for weeks and weeks for it to be delivered, the nice deliverers unloaded everything and set up her room!  I could hardly wait to make her bed and show her the finished product.  She has been calling her toddler bed a big girl bed, so I tried to be extra excited and tell her this was her new BIG, big girl bed.  Her first response when she walked in the room was a very dramatic "Oh, no!".  When I asked her if she liked it, she said no, but I think it's growing on her.  At nap time she was very excited to get in and get under her blankets.

Here's my big girl, in her big girl bed.  It seemed like she aged 5 years when she got in the bed!

Home Tour Thursday: The Office/Playroom

It's another addition of Home Tour Thursday!  We're kind of backing up to the front of the house since I originally skipped over this room since it doesn't seem to stay organized.  I finally decided today was the day and took pictures while Emma Grace was at summer camp.

The french doors are what you see when you come in the house.  I usually keep them open, but Emma Grace loves to close them.  Here is the wall with our desk and computer.

The back wall houses Emma Grace's toys.  She is great about coming in here and playing by herself when I need to get something done.

 I love having the sofa in here.  It's a great place for reading.

 This is a bit of the view from our foyer with the doors open.

We are just about out of rooms downstairs!  I think it's safe to say next week will be the living room and then we'll move upstairs!

Baby Stout #2: The Big Reveal

It's a girl!!!

Yesterday was a day that seemed like would never get here.  It wasn't quite as long a wait as it seemed with Emma Grace; this time I had the move, getting settled, and working on the house to pass the time.  But we were still so anxious to find out if we'd be bringing home a little baby wrapped in pink or blue.

We had asked Emma Grace many times what she wanted.  Half the time she'd say brother and half the time she'd say sister.  So she wasn't too reliable.  The morning of my appointment, her only response was NO.  We got the biggest kick out of that.  We told her it was too late.  She was getting one or the other.

Or original plan was very similar to our last reveal...have the doctor give us a sealed envelope with the sex written down and we would open it when it was just the two of us.  We had a spur of the moment change of heart in the waiting room and I'm so glad we did.

The ultrasound went great in terms of everything looking ok.  The only problem was Baby Stout was in a funny position to see things (faced away from the top of my stomach), so the doctor had to really work hard to get a good picture of the heart (looked great from what we could see, but we have another ultrasound scheduled for our next visit).  And Baby Stout would not open her legs.  Not even all the nudging we did would get her to spread out enough so we could see.  She would wave, give us a quick kick, but go back to her scrunched up position...legs crossed.  We have a modest little girl...thank you Lord.

When the doctor told us we might have to wait until our next appointment (in FOUR WEEKS!) to find out what we were having, I nearly lost it.  In my head, I was willing her to move.  Just for a second.  Show us what you got.

After we had seen and measured and checked everything else, the doctor went back for one last look and that's when she saw what she was "almost positive" was a girl.  She said she wouldn't say anything at all if she wasn't sure.  We saw some ultrasound pictures of what a boy looks like, and we definitely don't have that, so I feel confident that she is right.  It wasn't the ideal angle or view that we got, but some things are kind of hard to hide.

I can hardly believe it.  Another pink blessing.  We are so thrilled.  Especially Jereme.  I mean, he definitely knows he's in for it, but he got choked up after our visit at the knowledge that he will be a Daddy to a little girl for the second time.  And me?  Well, I'm just tickled that I get another round at pink, monograms, bows, and dresses.

I'm sure there will be days when the hormones nearly kill us, and times when my girls think they can hardly stand the other, but I so look forward to the day when they will be best friends.  I can't wait.

Here is what Baby Stout and I looked like on her big day at 21 weeks.

Spine

 Profile

Waving to the crowd

Water Day at Summer Camp

Yesterday was water day at Emma Grace's summer camp.  I was so excited for her to go because she loves all things water and I knew she'd have a blast with the other kids.  She got really excited when we started putting on her bathing suit and sunscreen.  (Side note: I've never gone through so much sunscreen until I had a baby.  Every inch of that child was covered with a THICK layer.  When it comes to me, I use it sparingly because I "hate to waste" it.)

I was in the kitchen, packing her lunch, when I saw she had brought my camera to me saying "picture! picture!".  So I obliged.  'Cause she looked so darn cute in her bathing suit (which you can't really see) and pink flamingo cover up.

In between every picture, she had to run to me so she could see herself.  Then she'd run back to the door for another picture.  Then back to me to see herself.

I tried to take a couple of pictures in a row, but here I caught her as she was about to run back to me to see her picture.

Home Tour Thursday: The Kitchen

So here's the deal: I LOVED my old kitchen in Raleigh.  It was a little small, but I didn't care.  I loved the granite, the big, cherry cabinets, the hardwood floors, and the stainless steel appliances.  Everything was new, too.  But in my mind, I always dreamed of having an island, a place for a table (and a separate dining room), more counter space, and a few extra cabinets wouldn't hurt either.  I those things with my new kitchen in Georgia.  Granted, I lost some of the things I loved about my old kitchen, but it's give and take...

Our kitchen is blue.  Actually, two shades of blue.  It bothered me at first.  But there were other rooms that needed to be painted first, so the kitchen got put on the back burner.  The lighter shade of blue has grown on me, but the darker one is still a problem.  We'll get around to painting it soon.

I'd also love to update the flooring and counter tops, but that will all depend on how long we are here.

This is the view from the table looking at the island, stove, and refrigerator.  You can see the the stairs through the doorway and the light is coming from the front door.  The door on the right is a coat closet.

This is a view from the island looking at the kitchen table.  The windows look out to the backyard and the door on the left goes to our sun room.  To the left of the table is the living room.  I'm noticing the coloring in this picture looks like the walls are lavender.  I assure you they are not.  The first picture is a better representation.

This is a view from the doorway looking at the sink area.  You can see the dining room to the right.

From the dining room.  The door on the left goes out to the garage (there is a little dogie door that Charlie can barely get 1/3 of his head through).  There is a door to the right of the garage door that you can't see; it goes to a 1/2 bath.  The door in the middle of the picture is our pantry.  You can see part of our living room on the right.

First day of summer camp

Note: I tried to capture pictures of this big day.  But there was a bug nearby, and everyone knows a bug beats out mama with a camera any day of the week.  This is why she is neither looking at me, nor happy that I'm trying to grab her attention away from the bug.

Dear Emma Grace,

You started attending summer camp at a nearby church last week.  You go two days a week for half the day.  When we were planning our move to Georgia, I thought a summer program would be the perfect thing for you to  look forward to since there would be so much change in your little world.  I also knew this would be a good warm up to preschool in the fall.  It all sounded so good in my head.

Then the morning came to follow through on all of these plans, and I didn't know if my heart could handle it.  You see, it's just been me and you for 23 months.  No babysitters, no daycare, just us.  And even though the days can be long sometimes, it felt so unnatural to drop you off somewhere and leave you and let someone else take care of you.

You knew you were going to school, but you had no idea what that meant.  As we walked in, you with your little book bag on your back, you said "school, school, school!"  I was so excited for you and sad for me.  I had no idea what I was going to do for four hours. (I got lots of cleaning and laundry done, by the way.)

Mommy must have been a little rattled with the thought of you growing up right before her eyes, because I made lots of mistakes that morning.  I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for you to take into your "Peanut Free Zone" of a school, I left your birth certificate on the counter in the lobby, and dropped my checkbook in the parking lot.

But I was so proud of you.  You took your teacher's hand and walked into your classroom without ever looking back.  Other little girls around us were crying and clinging onto their parents' legs, but you were so big and brave.

Both days of your first week ended in tears as I picked you up.  You didn't want to leave.  It made me a little sad, but mostly happy that you had so much fun you didn't want to come home.  I am so excited to begin this new stage with you as you enter preschool.  You are going to grow and learn so much.  You are getting so big, sweet Emma Grace, and I'm loving the journey.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Charlie's Hat

Charlie has had a rash on his lower stomach for a while that he just wouldn't leave alone. Jereme took him to the doctor on Friday, found out it was some sort of allergic reaction, and got some medicine. The doctor said it would take longer to heal if Charlie continued to lick and scratch. So...



He's now sporting a cone for 2 weeks. Emma Grace calls it "Charlie Hat".

It's the funniest thing. It drives him crazy and he's constantly running into things or getting himself stuck. Poor Charlie...

Greek in the Kitchen: Pastitsio

One of my favorite memories of my Yia Yia (Greek Grandmother) is her cooking.  She was the best cook and I'm so glad I got to experience that part of my heritage.  She set the bar very high when it comes to cooking, and I'm not sure if anyone will pass it.

But I thought I'd try.

Spoiler alert: I didn't even come close to the bar.

One of my favorite things Yia Yia used to make is Pastitsio.  I just might miss it more than anything else she made.  Her Baklava was good too, but that was more seasonal and Pastitsio was available pretty much anytime I asked for it.  Pastitsio is a baked macaroni dish with a meat sauce in the middle and a fluffy cream topping.  It has more eggs and butter than you could possibly imagine.  It's like heaven on your plate.

This is a picture I got off the internet that shows what it kind of should look like.  Yia Yia's looked way better and she didn't need the fancy garnish.

My mom recently made a copy of Yia Yia's most used cookbook for me (although I doubt Yia Yia needed a cookbook) and I decided to give Pastitsio a try since it's also one of Jereme's favorites too.  When I told him what I was doing, his only words were "please don't mess it up."  You see, Pastitsio gone wrong is like Thanksgiving dinner going wrong.  You spend all day in the kitchen building up much anticipation.  And the fall is hard.  So I knew it needed to be perfect.

In the end, it wasn't perfect.  But I know if Yia Yia were here she would have been so proud of me for trying.  Papou would have been proud too, but he probably would have begged Yia Yia to make him another pan so he wouldn't have to eat mine.

As I was browning the meat, I realized I had never browned over 2lbs of meat before.

Then I realized I had never cooked over 2lbs of pasta either.  I've lived a sheltered cooking life I suppose.

Here are the recipes I used, complete with kid doodling all over them.  I even saw where my Dad had written his name on one of the pages when we was a kid (the book is old).  Funny that my phone is in this picture, because I can't tell you how many times I wanted to call Yia Yia and ask her a question.

Ok, this might have put my grandmother to shame.  I used a chopper for the onion.  I can so clearly remember Yia Yia chopping an entire onion in the palm of her hand while never cutting herself or missing a beat.  She probably talked on the phone while she did it, too.  I'm just not that good.  Plus, I was trying to get the onion really small so the hubs wouldn't notice it too much.

Of course, I had good help.  Nothing like having to step over an 80lb dog every time you move.  For a split second, I thought to myself, "Yia Yia didn't have to cook under these circumstances."  Then I remembered she had 4 kids, a husband who just might have been a little particular about his food, especially his Greek food, and a live-in mother-in-law.  So I'm thinking she had her hands a wee bit more full than me!

 Yia Yia had her own special pan for Pastitsio.  And it was big.  I had to split mine up into two dishes.  This is it before going in the oven.

Hot and fresh out of the oven!

So, like I said, it definitely wasn't Yia Yia's.  The taste was pretty good, but my fluffy topping wasn't very...fluffy.  And it didn't totally cover my pasta.  I have all ideas that the recipe in her head called for a few extra eggs or more flour to get that perfect topping.  Heck, maybe even more butter.

I miss you, Yia Yia.  I sure wish we could have one last talk over a plate of your Pastitsio.

Home Tour Thursday: The Dining Room

I intended on going through the house in a particular order, kind of how I might show the house to a visitor.  Well, after last week's foyer, I would show the office/toy room.  It's the first room on the right when you come in the front door.

Unfortunately, Emma Grace made a mess with her toys (this happens multiple times a day with her making a mess, me cleaning it up, her making a mess, and so on) and I just didn't feel like cleaning it up for pictures.  I blame the heat...that's my reason for everything for the next 3+ months.

So, today's tour is the dining room!

When you come in the front door, the dining room is the second doorway on the right.

The furniture was Jereme's great-grandmother's, so it's special to us.  The buffet needs some work...I'm looking for two tall, thin lamps to put on either side.  But for now it will just have to look bare.

Please notice the hubs in the next room on is laptop.

The small china cabinet on the left holds some of our everyday (since we didn't get china when we got married) that we don't exactly use everyday, like teacups, gravy boat, serving dishes, etc.

Eventually, I'd like to update the seat cushions, replace the chandelier, and get new curtains (they were left by the previous owner and I'm waiting on the perfect fabric to come my way).

I was so excited to finally get a dining room.  I think a dining room is one of those rooms that you don't use that often, but there are times when you really need it.  We've used it a couple of times already and I know we'll use it even more when we have guests.