Pickin’ Strawberries

I cannot believe it’s been a year since we first visited The Cottle Strawberry Farm!  And it just so happens this go-around, we had the same company as last year… Nothing like a trip down memory lane.

  This time, my baby was old enough to actually pick strawberries.

Although he is able to pick strawberries, he mostly preferred to play.

Callie was our little worker bee when it came to pickin’ strawberries.

Chloe, on the other hand… she had another goal in mind…

I call her the smart one.  Eat ‘em while they’re free.

James and Callie tasted here and there, too.

Wasn’t long before our buckets {and bellies} were full, and we hauled our strawberries off.

{It wouldn’t be a play date if James didn’t deadlift something.}

This year, he carried the bucket like a big boy… even though it hurt his hand.

Taking pictures of antsy kids… not easy!

Since The Grangers Girls live somewhat close to The Strawberry Farm, we went over to their house afterwards.

Just like last year.

James swung on the big boy swing for the very first time!

One day, I’ll get a picture of these three.

“Ca-yee and Chyo-yee,” thanks for pickin’ strawberries with us again!  We’re ready to go back for some more, if y’all are! :)

I have a feeling we might be following you girls for years to come.

Backwards Blogging {Part 1}

The Obvious: I’ve been REALLY bad about taking pictures the last couple of months.

The Good News: I do take pictures from my phone.

The Bad News: The quality is not so great.

The Good News: I capture funny, precious, fleeting moments.

The Breakdown: I have so many pictures on my phone that I feel overwhelmed with the thought of putting them on my blog {which is so ironic, because I LOVE to blog!}  For some reason though, it sounds relaxing and attainable to post them backwards.  Or in no particular order at all.  I’ll start with a picture from last night.

James said “What’s up, Tater Head?”  And Justin and I just looked at each other as we have never heard him say “What’s up?”

"Tater Head” is oddly James’ favorite toy right now.  I say “oddly” simply because it surprises me at such a young age.  I especially don’t understand his favoritism since all Mr. Potato Head wants to do is read Mr. Potato Head books.

We are trying to get back into the swing of things since the holidays.

Number 1:  Eating right.

Which is no problem, because we just love to eat.

Number 2: Watching less T.V.

During the hectic holidays, James often needed down time, I often needed help {even from Charlie Brown } and Christmas movies melted my heart a little…

Let’s face it, The Polar Express is pretty amazing.

And sometimes TV and a snack is the only way I can sneak upstairs to take a shower!  But of course I stop to take a picture of my little munchkin watching “Chat” {Charlie Brown who wears a hat.}

Last but not least, Number 3: Staying active.

Christmas presents help with that.  Like yoga on a car mat.

Surfing with Elmo.

And playing b-ball with Lynyrd.

Thank you, Santa, friends and family, for all the Christmas presents.  We had last year’s presents in our living room for an entire year so, we were happy to welcome some new entertainment into our home!

Part 2 coming soon…  Go Gators!

DO talk with your mouth full {from phone}

I’ve been hearing for a while now that when your child starts crawling, walking and talking, you’ll wish that he wasn’t.

So far, I disagree.  In fact, if I could just skip the whole pregnancy and colicky baby phase, I might just have a few kids by now.  I LOVE TODDLERS.  And I wish James would stay this age forever.

I could listen to him talk all day long.  And many days, I do.  Even with a mouthful.  Am I teaching bad manners? {Don’t answer that}

For some reason, the pictures I took today were during meals.  C is for chomp, chomp, chomp.

Yummilicious

I think I’m the ONLY mom in Columbia that hasn’t taken her kid to Yummilicious (a nearby frozen yogurt place).  Until today.  I think it’s safe to say The Helfers are a fan.  Especially our youngest Helf.

That was the first picture I took.  The we say smile and this is what we get face.  Although, this time there was no request.  As soon as we pulled out the camera, he made sure to show his love for Yummilicious.  {Let’s just hope he adjusts this smile before his prom pictures.}

We tried a few samples.  James chose chocolate with a loud “mmmmmm” that no other flavor received.  I had vanilla, and Justin had cake batter.

Not only did he love the yogurt today, but he loved the camera.  Justin is my witness, I only took pictures for two minutes.  But I couldn’t delete one.

Looking at Daddy

I love that face and know that one day too soon, we’ll say smile, and get a real – or fake – smile.  I’ll take this scrunch face for as long as I can.

*P.S. Amy, although we couldn’t make it to Yummilicious this week, you can definitely count us in next time!! :)

Breakfast of Champions

Frosted Mini Wheats, scrambled eggs and pear juice.  Mmmmmmm!

Groucho’s

Justin will be horrified that I’m making this public, but I’m not a big fan of Groucho’s Deli.  However, to feed his hangover this afternoon, we went to Grouchos for lunch.  Although I still wasn’t crazy about my food, here are five things I do like about it.

1. I have coupons so, our junior got a “Jr. Sandwich” for free.  whoop whoop.

2. I had forgotten this, but they have servers rather than ordering at the counter like most delis.  {Getting waited on is a big luxury these days, since I tend to feel like a full-time waitress at our house.}

3. They have airplanes hanging from the ceiling, which kept our table VERY entertained.

4. They do have really good dipping sauce, which again kept our table VERY entertained.

5. They have crushed ice.  And who doesn’t love crushed ice?!