Little Chef

We decided to give Sarah Beth her big Christmas present, a play kitchen, a little early because we will be at Grandma and Grandpa's for the actual holiday.  Ok, plus we couldn't wait to see her excitement at having her very own "titchen" as she calls it.  She LOVES the play kitchen section at the toy store.  I have to drag her out of there every time, prying plastic Salisbury steak and peas out of her hot little hands.  As expected, the kitchen was a big hit.

Our hidden agenda with giving her a kitchen of her very own is that she may spend more time cooking in her kitchen and less time playing in Mommy's kitchen.  SB has learned to drag the kitchen chair over to the counter to access whatever her little heart desires, including the upper cabinets, so there is literally no safe place in the kitchen other than above the fridge.  I'm guessing she'll learn how to conquer that in another week or so.  We're just keeping our fingers crossed for the time being that she doesn't develop a fondness for steak knives or glassware.

So far, "Sarah Beth's kitchen," as she calls it, is keeping her very busy.  She loves opening and closing all the doors, washing her hands in the sink, and fixing Mommy and Daddy all sorts of things from chicken and pizza to bacon and soup.  Along with the kitchen, we bought her a set of tiny stainless steel pots and pans to bang around.  And bang them, she does.  At least I know where in the house she is at all times thanks to the rousing clang clang clang of the pot lids.

I mentioned she likes to cook for us.  She was so inspired the other morning that she came in our bedroom at 4:30 AM having made us "breakfast,"  pushing her little saucepan under Mommy's sleeping nose.   "Eat, Mommy!  Try it!"  she said with such enthusiasm.  Oh boy.

Another unforeseen hazard of the kitchen has been her tendency to hoard food to play with later.  Thus far, we've found half eaten cheese, bunny crackers, raisins, a stale cookie, and quartered grapes (sticky!) in her kitchen.  I've learned to check it after snack time to make sure she hasn't saved anything for later.  The rest of her Christmas presents will include some sort of toy food products in an effort to curtail the hoarding.

The other thing we decided she needs is a baby doll.  Right now she has an Elmo, a Baby Bear, and a few other stuffed critters.  No dolls.  Probably because her Mommy hates dolls.  I had a Joey doll and a Mandy doll as a kid, but in general, I always thought dolls were creepy.  As a kid, I distinctly remember banishing a Victorian china doll to my window seat, then stacking heavy books on top so it couldn't get out.  And this was pre-Chucky era.  They were totally onto something with that movie though.  Dolls are evil.  I am only relenting because in the shower the other day, Sarah Beth picked up an empty shampoo bottle, wrapped it up in a wet washcloth and started calling it her baby doll, changing its diaper and rocking it to sleep.  Part of me feels a little guilty she's reduced to playing with empty personal care products for dolls, the other part of me is impressed by her vivid imagination.   The guilt is winning out though so I will do my best to find a non-creepy baby doll for her before Christmas.  Any suggestions?

First Haircut

Sarah Beth inherited her Daddy's beautifully wavy yet unruly hair.  Ringlets underneath, curls at her forehead, and some random straighter pieces in the back.  It's been getting longer and crazier lately, so we decided it was time to take her in for her very first haircut. Our girl is not a big fan of people messing with her or her hair, so we had some concerns that it would be a disaster.

The before:  happy and carefree

 Wait, we're going where to do WHAT?

The scene of the crime

Hmm...toys.  This place is not so bad.

It's your turn!

So far so good.

 Uh-oh.

 

 Downward spiral into full-blown sobbing.

Not a fan of the blow dryer either.

 Almost done baby!

 She made it.  Reward?  Her choice of stickers from the "treasure chest"

The After:  Ok, looks alot like the before, but they did take a whole inch off!  Her hair is still a little crazy.  But that's how we like her, so it's ok.

Boobies!

Today SB and I took our weekly trip to Trader Joe's for critical supplies: Trader Joe's O's (aka Cheerios),  Squeezie Fruit (applesauce in a squeeze container), and Chocolate with Sea Salt and Caramel.  Guess which one was for Mommy?

As usual, SB rolls into Trader Joe's with a resounding "I TRY IT!!!!" which refers to the free samples they offer every day at the back of the store.  She knows when we get to the parking lot that this is the "I TRY IT" place so her chant gets louder and louder as we approach the automatic doors until she reaches full on joyful wail when we cross the threshold.  And she WILL try it.  Regardless of what it is...hot and spicy Thai chicken?  She'll try it.  Creamy spinach artichoke dip?  She'll try it.  Steamy lentil soup?  Well, you get the idea.  Anyway, now that everyone in the store knows what's on her mind, we make it back to the sample counter.  She tries it.  And likes it, of course.  I swear they could put cough syrup out there and she'd think it was the greatest thing ever.  I may have to invest in some of those little paper sample cups, maybe she'll be more apt to "TRY IT" at home. 

Anyway, we cruise around.  SB, happy with her sample selection, was singing a made-up song, something about Pa-ga's house (that's Grandma) and bacon and cheese.  We get to the checkout line when she stops her song, eyes the cleavage in my v-neck t-shirt, and changes her tune to "BOOBIES BOOBIES BOOBIES!  Booby booby BOOBIES!!"  Lovely.  The other folks at the checkout line got a chuckle.  I felt like changing into a turtleneck.

Belated Halloween

Oops I got busy.  I didn't get around to posting this pic of two cutie pies on Halloween.  Sarah Beth in her Bavarian Girl (aka Beer Wench/St. Pauli Girl) costume, and her Lion friend Mimi.

Is Beer Wench an inappropriate costume for a two year old?  Perhaps, but she looked awful cute in it and loved twirling around in front of the mirror.  Would you believe she kept that headband on the whole time too?
She knew it completed the look.  Such a girly girl.  I'm hoping this still fits her next year because it's about the cutest outfit ever.  

Pumpkin Patch

I totally forgot to post pictures of our trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  We went a few weeks ago.  Ever since our Farm Tour, Sarah Beth has been obsessed with going to the farm, or "the sarm" as she calls it.  She talks about cows and pigs and chickens and roosters non-stop.  We awaken to the sound of her singing "cock-a-doodle-doo" in the mornings.  She loves the farm.  And the pumpkin patch was no exception.  There were animals there - pigs, chickens, mini-horses, and cows.  But she was enamored with the pumpkins themselves.  She thought they were fascinating and spent the afternoon flitting from pumpkin to pumpkin.  Here are just a few pictures of our beautiful day at Hodges Farm.

 This is possibly my new favorite Daddy/Daughter pic.

 Daddy's gonna get her!

 Something about a church pew under a tree that is just awesome.

Big blue eyed silly grin.

For the record, we bought two large pumpkins, two hot dogs (one plain, one all the way), a bottled water, cotton candy, and homemade pumpkin ice cream.  Sounds like a great day, right?

The Cat Came Back

 

Apparently we stole a cat.  Or more accurately, seduced a cat.  It all started weeks ago when this fuzzy orange cat started hanging around the yard stalking chipmunks.  It was very friendly, coming over to say hello every time we ventured outside.  He’d plop himself down on the ground in front of us, rolling around, scratching his back until someone showed him a little affection.  Full disclosure here, I am not a fan of cats.  Highly allergic, actually.  If I spend any time in a house with cats, I’ll start making a wheezing sound and end up with a wicked migraine that lasts for days.  Cats kind of freak me out too, the way they stare at you with their creepy cat eyes, as if to say, die you stupid human.  (Yes, I have a vivid imagination.  For the record, I don’t like clowns either.)

That said, this cat won me over by the way he amused Sarah Beth.  Every time she saw him, she’d yell “Kitty Cat!” I taught her to gently “pat pat” him which she thought was great fun.  Soon, Kitty Cat was hanging out at our house morning, noon and night, and we began to wonder if he had a home or what.  Maybe someone abandoned him.  He seemed too friendly to be a stray.   So Kurt, a former cat owner, thought we should feed him.  I feared we’d be new cat owners if we started doing that, but I didn’t want the poor little furball to go hungry, nor did I want him eating our chipmunks, so we bought some cat food and before you knew it, Kitty Cat took up permanent residence on our front porch.

 

He was there first thing in the morning when we opened the blinds.  He sat on the porch all.day.long.  Staying for dinner  and he was still there when we went to sleep at night.  He sat on our windowsill, staring in at us.  Pawing at the screen as if to say, let me in!

It was starting to make me a little uncomfortable.  Have you ever dated someone knowing it would just be a fun short little fling, but the other person starts getting way too serious?  That's how I felt about Kitty Cat.  It was cute at first but it quickly got out of hand, coming over all the time unannounced, peeking in the windows, wanting to take it to the next level and I didn’t know how to cut him loose.  At least with a guy I could just send an “it’s over” text message.  Kitty Cat would be a little harder to break up with.

After a week of being stalked by Kitty Cat, we headed out of town for a long weekend, thinking, surely he’ll find some other suckers while we’re gone and the free buffet is closed.   After 4 days, we pulled in the driveway, and not 30 seconds later, Kitty Cat came bounding up the driveway to great us.  Our neighbor said Kitty Cat hung out at our house the whole time we were gone.  I started to wonder if you get a restraining order on a cat.

We started growing concerned because the temperature is dropping and soon Kitty Cat is going to be pretty freaking cold out there.  Sitting on our warm couch while Kitty Cat meows and pounds his little paws on the glass is unnerving to say the least.  Just when we thought we were going to have to do something, a strange car pulled in our driveway the other afternoon and a woman walked up to the door.

I opened the door and stepped out, careful not to let the cat in.  She said, hi, this is my cat.  I thought something had happened to him.  She lives around the corner and spotted him as she drove by.  Evidently, she gave Kitty Cat (whose real name is Tom) a new brand of food that he did not like, so he decided to move on to greener pastures.  Cats are so fickle.  I swear I could not lose my dog Moose if I tried.  (Well, unless someone had a more comfortable sofa for him to lounge on.)  Last time I accidentally left the gate open, he just wandered around to the front and sat on the porch.

Kitty Cat/Tom had been going home late at night and sleeping in his house, but the past week he hadn’t returned at all so his Mom was worried sick.  She said he’s very social and probably likes that we’re home all the time. 

I said I’d close down the food trough and leave him alone so he’d get the hint, and she went off to buy him his normal food, taking Tom with her.  About an hour later, he was back.

The next morning, there he was, sitting on our windowsill.  About a 30 minutes later, his Mom came to get him.  He was back within 20 minutes. 

The owner, while happy her cat was alive and well, seemed slightly miffed Tom had found another source of food and companionship.  I think she just gave up because he still hangs out at our house most of the day, even without the food trough.  We’ll be having breakfast and hear the telltale bang bang bang on the window or meowling at the door when he’s feeling bold. 

I’m not sure about cat etiquette, being a dog person myself, but I think we stole a cat.

Folly Beach

 Finally!  Photos.  It took me awhile to get these ready.  But wasn't it worth the wait?  Don't be surprised if you see some of these on my photography blog soon (hence the watermarks.)  I love the way they turned out.

Our trip was wonderful, however it started off with a bang!  We rented a beach house for the week with my parents.  They beat us down there by an hour or so, and had wine ready by the time we arrived.   The house was on the second level as are all beach houses, with one set of stairs to an outside deck, and an elevator from the driveway area up into the living room area.  The deck had 4 sets of french doors.  It was lovely.  We noticed that the locks on the doors were on the doorknob, the kind where you just turn the lock from the inside and the door is locked.  As Sarah Beth, who loves doors, was running in and out repeatedly, we talked about how easy it would be to lock ourselves out.  Well, within seconds of us saying this, wouldn't you know it, SB ran inside the house and slammed the door shut.  Locking us all outside!  Holy crap.

Well, cool collected me ran over to open the door and as soon as I couldn't get it open, started freaking out.  SB, of course, thought it was soooo funny, laughing and pointing through the window.  Meanwhile, I started a Mommy meltdown.  My phone was inside along with the homeowner's phone number.  Awesome.  Kurt had just gone downstairs to get the dogs, so when he came back up, you can only imagine how thrilled he was to see his daughter locked in the house by herself.  I suppose there was no immediate danger, but when you can't get to your kid, you start to panic.  Thankfully Kurt had his iPhone in his pocket, so I was able to go into his email and find the owner's phone number.  Meanwhile, Kurt was in full rescue mode, trying to kick in the doors like Steven Seagal as my parents tried to remain calm.  Fortunately, the owner answered his phone (thank you Jesus) and had a spare key hidden outside (thank you again Jesus) so we were able to get in without breaking the doors down. Sarah Beth thought this whole episode was quite hilarious, and wanted to continue playing "slam the door" so we quickly decided to stash the key outside to avoid any further incidents.   Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy lost about 7 years off their life spans. 

So that was the first 30 minutes of our vacation.  On Day 2 of our trip,  SB got a jellyfish sting after about 15 minutes at the beach.  Really?  We were afraid of what day 3 would hold, but we managed to sail through the rest of our vacation without incident.  We had a wonderful time actually.  The house was great (other than those pesky doors) and we loved the town of Folly Beach.  The beach itself was beautiful, and the restaurants were fantastic.  We highly recommend Taco Boy, Rita's, and Lost Dog Cafe if you ever visit.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. Photos!  Yes, I did manage to haul my butt up out of bed at 6AM on vacation to photograph the sunrise.  It was totally worth it.  Look how beautiful this place is!

 

 

We did some driving around the area and stopped to see the Angel Oak Tree.  It's a massive live oak tucked away off a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  According to the website, it's the oldest thing in the U.S. east of the Rockies - estimated at 1500 years old.  SB was asleep in the car when we got there so I only snapped a few pictures, but it was one of those things that makes you feel pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  To think of all that this tree has lived through.  It has had some help in recent years.  There are metal piers and cables holding up some of the branches, and it is protected from stupid humans who would want to climb it or carve their initials in it.  It's well worth the stop if you're ever on the road from Charleston to Mount Pleasant.

Here's our bathing beauty in her Copacabana inspired swimsuit.  She loved building sandcastles.  We spent hours sitting in the surf, building impressive structures only to have the ocean wash them away.  And if the ocean didn't knock 'em down, Sarah Beth did.  Not sure what would trigger it, but at a given point in the building process she would get a gleam in her eye and yell "destroy!"  

The next set of photos are from the tip of the island facing the Morris Island Lighthouse. 

We did a little family shoot before dinner one night.  I love how Sarah Beth is gazing at her Grandpa in this first one.  She thinks he hung the moon.  At the beach house, she determined that a certain chair was Grandpa's chair and that no one else should sit in it.  She would kind of lean in the chair, saving it for him, and when he walked in she would say "Panga's chair!  Sit! Sit!"  So sweet.  She loves her Panga.  Where "Panga" came from is anyone's guess but that's her name for him.  Grandma, incidentally, is "Paga" which makes things a little confusing.

A family photo!  No one was hurt in the taking of this photo.  Using a timer to take photos sucks.  I need to replace the batteries on my remote clicker thingy.  This turned out pretty good though.  What a handsome bunch we are!