C-H-E-E-E-E-E-Z-Z-Z-E-ball

No chastising, please. I'm back with high hopes of regaining my former blogger self. I seem to be absorbed in anything but computing these days. I blame it on the kid. Gracen is crazy. She spins in circles 50 times a day, falling down or crashing into walls. She loves it. She's talking on the phone as often as possible. Please call and enjoy. She's giving kisses to her Mama (WHICH SHE SAYS AND MEANS, thank you very much) and Daddy and dolls. She gives hugs, especially to Harley. She's eating raw broccoli. I think she thinks they're little trees. She's held kittens. We were going to take them home with us, but after watching her "pet" them like she does Harley and Athena, we decided it would be kinder and safer for the kittens to leave them with their mama.

Last week, my cousin Olivia spent the week with us. She's going to be going away for her last two years of high school to South Carolina's Governor's School of Science and Math. She's always been ridiculously intelligent, so it will be good for her to be in a school that challenges that noggin of hers. We had a wonderful time and we were sad to see her leave. The rest of the McDaniel Clan came up to retrieve her on Saturday. Gracen loved the attention. (The pics above are of her laughing at Aunt Minerva and the girls)

And Ghi-ghi is on her way over right now!!!!

Random pictures for Aunt Belle.

Gracen has her very own swing. It's still not perfectly "stable" and we need to get some hooks, but it works. She loves it a little too much and is devastated when she has to get out. It's very "foggy-takes-a-bath-esque."

Gracen and Aunt Minerva. Gracen is playing with her new buddy-to-be, Lily Grey's shower toy.

Gracen and Olivia. Please come back over. She's been looking for you in your room...

You can tell Uncle Ricky's very happy, as his eyes disappear when he smiles, just like his big brother, my daddy. Mine do too. Gracen's do too. What a very odd trait to inherit.

After her first swim in a big pool at her friend Revy's house, she had some fun in the water and sand. We're going to have to get one of these things!!!

AND...

Some of you may have heard me complain about my inability to make my new sewing machine work. I have been assuming it was simply my lack of knowledge and genuine ineptitude that was destroying any attempts I was making at my creative endeavors. BUT, BUT, BUT, Aunt Minerva played with the machine for a while, determined it was "broken," and talked me in to returning it, which I promptly did. I got the same one, and it works like a champ. I still have no clue what I'm doing, but the machine is in run mode. I did make Gracen a shirt last night out of one of my old shirts. I have no idea if it fits, but if so, I'll take a picture. If it doesn't, I'll still take a picture, just off the model.

so sorry for my slackard ways...

yes, those are baby shades she's wearing.

And she even kept them on for multiple minutes at a time. I was very proud, and her eyeballs should still be working correctly. I think she realized that everyone else was wearing them, so she should jump on board without the usual struggle.

Gracen and I headed down to Figure Eight on Monday to catch up with the Papa who had been there on a "boy break" since Friday. We got to meet up with the Archers everyday as well, and Hannah came down on Tuesday with a friend. Fabulous friends, beautiful location, cute baby, sweet boy. Really, it couldn't have been more perfect.

I had fully intended to finish my book, Confederacy of Dunces, while there, but did not. Those that are following my reading list may have noted that nothing new has popped up in months. I've been working on this one for 7 years. I start, I stop, I reread, blah, blah. I really don't know what my problem is, especially since it is by far one of the most beautiful/hilarious pieces of literature I've picked up in my life. And I've read a lot of stuff. It will be finished by Sunday. Maybe I just don't want it to be over, so I'm lingering, feeling every word as many times as possible. And I have been reading. I just didn't think dime store romance novels probably should be added to my official list, as it might taint one's view of my literary aptitude. But sometimes, you just need a little reminder that you can indeed still finish a book in a day, and that dreamy men really do become captive to pirate girls (pretending to be boys), and they go to sea and fall in love and are forced to be married against their will, but fall hopelessly in love throughout their fighting, and have equally gorgeous children who become earls and ladies, who have glorious love stories as well (which will be other books). And they all have good hair in those books. I'm not sure why that's important, but perhaps true love just gravitates to those with a "luscious mane" of hair. Please don't think less of me.

Gracen and Uncle Matt. Thanks for letting us come and play!

Daddy and Gracen. Yes, they are supercool.

Yo, Papa.

See how cute I am when you're away?! Don't ya wanna come home now, please?
I even got to take a nap in your bed.
Really, do you miss me yet?
I crack myself up.
It's MY camera, Mama!!
Ouchie. Okay, it's your camera.

Da Bij.

I didn't make a big deal out of May 31st, and perhaps I should have. It was Athena Marie's 9th birthday (we heart you Thenie!), and the anniversary of Bijou's passing. Had I been a blogger whilst the Bij was still alive, you could be sure that every post would have included him in some capacity, whether it be pictures of him and all of his hairless-gloriousness, pride at some new great feat he may have achieved, anger over some item he destroyed (on purpose and with joy), or embarrassment of another episode of him molesting yet another woman (or man for that matter) by barrelling headfirst betwixt her breasts to nestle next to her skin. If you were blessed to know Bijou, you were indeed blessed. He was a remarkable creature; I dare even call him a cat. He was our monkey-rat-pig-dog with the mind of an eleven-year-old (human) and the charm of George Clooney. He was magnificent. And now he's gone.
Adam and I didn't start out to find a hairless cat (they're a bit freaky and expensive), and after my first meeting with him, I never would have considered willingly enveloping him into our lives. He belonged to my sister (who has a blog, but doesn't blog--please harass, friends). I was in her apartment less than five minutes when he sprinted across the room and attacked my head, completely unprovoked. This became a favorite game of his, and I seem to be the only person he chose to bless with these lovely assaults. He and Harley would busy themselves with wrestling matches for hours, which was fabulous entertainment for Adam and I in our pre-TV days. My sister gave him to us, and we had 6 wonderful, chaotic, infuriating years with him. Now that Gracen is of the age that she would have been able to really appreciate the power and charisma of our Bijou, I find myself increasingly more distraught over his passing. And I think this: WE NEED ANOTHER CAT. But the thing is, we don't need a cat, so to speak; we need another monkey-rat-pig-dog-freakshow-cutie-patutie. That's what we need. So I'm looking. I'm contacting Sphynx rescue agencies, breeders, etc. in hopes that we may find us another family member. I don't want to replace the Bij, for that would never be possible. But we want us a pretty lil' baldie cat...

If you knew and loved our Bijou, stop what you're doing right now, take a moment, close your eyes, picture his precious little face, and send him some love wherever he may be. Sometimes I think he's still under the covers, making sure we get a good night's sleep.

pinecone princess

Preface: This is my THIRD attempt at writing this post. Some of my blogging colleagues may have noticed that handy-dandy-"Now Blogger saves your drafts automatically!"-caption box at the bottom of your edit post window. I would like to be the first to announce that It Is A Lie!!! Let's try again.

We've been well here on McGregor Woods. Our neighbors are off in Spain (I'll try not to interject too much jealousy and bitterness here), so we've been a bit lonelier and lazier than usual. We desperately need for them to return, though hoping you're having a fabuloso time. Quiero ir tambien! If you're reading this from overseas, which I doubt, the critters are happy and your garden thriving. But seriously, come home!

Gracie is talking up a storm these days in a wonderful language only she, and perhaps Walker and Rylie, can understand. Our official words to date: Dada, Mama (sometimes), Juice, Dog, Fish, Shoe, Balloon (ba-dooo), and Rylie (Wi-eeee). Language acquisition is such a fascinating process, and I'm blessed to be able to watch it unfold day by day.

She's into everything right now and has realized just how far her arms can reach, which astounds us too. The breakables and potentially damaging objects in our home are working themselves higher and higher from the floor. No more pretty vases. No more frames with glass. No more candles. No fun picture coasters. No more plants. They've been replaced with Megablocks, pop-up books, stuffed animals, honey-nut cheerios and fruit, diaper wipes, talking animal boards, the list goes on...

She's fallen in love with books lately. Reading has always been a part of her nighttime routine, but over the last week or so, she's started bringing them to us to read to her. She wants you to sit down on the floor, let her turn the pages, then read it backwards, get up and walk around the room, and then come back and start all over. And then again, and again, and again. It's an obsession, which I'm loving! Current book of choice is "In My Garden Pop-Up Book." Thank you Ghi-ghi!

On a very sad note, our niece Jade Lynne passed away shortly after her birth last week. Our sister and brother-in-law, Jenny and Andy, are going through a tough time, one that I can barely fathom. So if you're a praying person, a meditating person, or a good thoughts person, please send some healing energy out in their direction. Our hearts are with them as they journey through this loss. We love you.

beach week.

I'll have to write more later. We've had a bit of an accident today. Gracen face-planted into the hardwood floors via her high chair during lunch. We have a VERY swollen bottom lip, and I'm pretty sure her nose is a different shade/size than before. (no Britney jokes, please) There was much blood and many tears (from both of us). She won't let me in there to make sure all of her teeth are still solidly placed, but I'm hoping for the best.

i got PANTS , people.

I do realize this is not earth-shattering news for most of you. But for me, it is indeed a huge step in my battle-o'-baby-bulge that has lingered many months longer than I had imagined it would or should. The realization was made yesterday when I decided to break down and clean out my closet. This was long overdue. My closet, which is upstairs in the guestroom, has become the holding zone for the miscellaneous "stuff" that I'm not quite sure what to do with or too lazy to deal with, but must quickly hide before company comes over. Hopefully, our guests have not been opening the closet doors. In my cleaning frenzy, I decided to go ahead and get rid of clothing that was perhaps outdated and that was probably not going to fit me again. I'm pretty sure my 19-year-old "4" frame is gone for good as is the style of 1997. BUT, the clothes (pants, more specifically) that I've been waiting, pleading and praying for to fit, slid right on over the hips and were fastened without even the need to suck it in. I have to admit, they do not fit or feel quite like they did pre-Gracie, but they fit, and I am happy. So watch out people, I'm dropping the elastic waste bands of yoga garb and my Tevas and stepping into some slacks and heels!

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(currently napping)

And in Gracie News, she continues to astound us daily with how much she's learning. She's mimicking sounds, says specific words, understands commands and questions, can identify objects, can reach anything off of anything (we think she's miraculously grown 8 inches this week), and is simply happy. Please come visit so you can see in person.She's hopelessly in love with Walker these days and wants to touch, hug, pet, kiss, squeal at and talk to him whenever possible. He tolerates her affection well, and generally reciprocates the attention, though is occasionally forced to run or play dead (as pictured) to get away from the stalker-baby.

Who's 30?!?!

It's one of my most favorite people in the whole wide universe, Mrs. Jessica Jayne!! I hope you have a wonderful day my friend. I love you and will see you IN A FEW DAYS!!!!!!!

Thank you Kim and Tom Haynie for giving life to and raising such a spectacular person. Love you all!

Love, Love, Love...

Big news of the week is that our dear friends Renu and Jeff got hitched on Saturday at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. She was beautiful, he was handsome, and festivity was divine. The wedding was early in the day, so we were able to go out and about with the couple later in the evening, and they were blissful. They are in the process of moving into their new house this week, and will be taking off on honeymoon to Hawaii next week. We love you guys!
And yesterday, Adam and I celebrated our SEVENTH year of marriage. It's amazing how quickly the years are passing, and I can truly say that I'm more in love with him now than ever. I did good. Love you.
Inspired by Eliza, we decided to try some piggies again. Cutie-patutie!
Ghi-ghi and Aunt Belle were in for the weekend. Mama took care of Gracen so we could go play at the wedding. Ladies, please some back over, immediately. Gracen keeps looking for you in the guest room and is pretty upset that you're not there.
First time in a kiddie pool......with the coolest boy in town (Walker Blue).