Wednesday: Griffin had is early intervention appointment (I don't think I've written about that yet.) and we left pretty quickly after that. We went straight to my grandparents house for lunch! They have most of my old barbie dolls and dollhouses, so Hadley just played and played while we were there! And they baked cookies, which is a Hadley favorite.
I had to talk her in to leaving so we could go unpack the car at my mom's house! My mom got Hadley a Minnie Mouse scooter for her house and she was in hog heaven! It had 3 wheels, but she was still having to practice balancing on it, and when she finally did it a few times, she kept saying, "I'm doing it! I'm really doing it!" That girl was so proud of herself, and I was, too!
Before my mom got home from work, Hadley wanted to take her tricycle on a little walk down the street. I was just going to carry Griffin or let him walk, but he had other ideas. If Hadley was going to ride a toy, so was he. He has really been trying to be "just like Hadley" in the last week or so and it really is precious. He went to the garage and got the only toy he can really ride on. I pushed him down the street on that while Hadley rode her trike.
Thursday: We took the kids to the Nature Museum. We took Hadley last year and she had a blast, but Griffin was really too small (like maybe just a month old?) to enjoy it. So this year, they both loved it! The museum has live animals, so they got to see a baby alligator, a few turtles, some snakes, an opossum, and an owl (which Hadley loved). They also have a butterfly garden where the butterflies fly all around you. In the garden, they have a little white dove who will fly around and a beautiful gray bunny who was so friendly! Because we were there early, everyone was getting fed (so all the animals were awake!) and we beat the school crowds, so Hadley and Griffin got to pet the bunny! There is a great outdoor play area and nature trail with a really long ramp so the kids enjoyed getting to do that for a while. Unfortunately for me, I had to work Thursday evening, so I left the babies with my grandparents and headed home. The kids had a blast going out to dinner with their great-grandparents, Grammy, and Aunt Diane. Hadley even made them all stand outside the restaurant and do ring-around-the-rosie! Hahaha :) I came back that night after work. I should have gotten in around 10pm, but I got stuck in some major interstate traffic and didn't get home until 11:15pm. Yuck.
Friday: The kids need some play clothes for the spring and summer now that temperatures are warming up and my grandmother had a coupon for Belk, so we headed to the mall Friday morning. We got some awesome deals on clothes and they are set! And of course when you're at the mall you have to throw pennies in the fountain (the same fountain I threw pennies in as a child!). And of course my grandmother came prepared. She had a coin purse for each of them with 50 pennies a piece.
Friday afternoon, my aunt and I took the kids to a park and they played their little hearts out for about 3 hours!
Saturday: Because I've been working on my photography, my grandparents set me up with a one-on-one photography class with a wonderful photographer in their area. It was SO much fun and I learned so much. I can't wait to put into practice what she taught me. And I definitely want to take some more lessons as I get better!
Hadley and Griffin hung out with my mom while I was gone and then Saturday evening, my Aunt Diane had us all down to her house for her famous lasagna. (I'm serious y'all, I have some incredible cooks in my family!) The only person missing was David, but everyone else in my family was there and it was just so much fun. I LOVE having all of my people together and we have been together quite a lot in my birthday month and it just makes my heart so happy. I wish we lived closer and maybe one day we will, but for now, I'll take these sweet moments!
Every night at bedtime, Hadley asks me to tell her about the time I was a little girl and drew smiley faces in my Uncle Mike's bible. (Oops!) She loves hearing that Mommy didn't always do the right thing, haha ;) My aunt and uncle found the bible and showed it to Hadley while we were there and she got a kick out of that! And then my uncle asked her if she would draw a smiley face in his bible, too, and of course she thought that was just the best thing ever. So, now both Mommy and Hadley have drawn smiley faces in our favorite Uncle Mike's bible. :) See? Sweet, sweet memories are always being made with this precious family of mine.
*My smiley face is the top left corner, Hadley's smiley face is the top right corner, she even signed hers with an "H" underneath!*
We got up Sunday, had a quick breakfast, and I packed the car. We headed home pretty early because Hadley had a birthday party to go to Sunday afternoon. We were excited to see Daddy, but missing our family. Such a juxtaposition of emotions for my full-of-emotions little girl. And now we are bringing in a new week. But we all had such a great time, I had to recap so I can always remember our time!
