Fame in Philly

We travelled to Philadelphia this weekend to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday which happened to fall on Friday the 13th this year. He was born on Friday the 13th as was his wife, my aunt, one of his great great grandchildren, and me. (My father-in-law was also born on Friday the 13th.) My grandfather could have had an entire hour dedicated to his life story about how God has taken care of him over the years, but you'll catch just a brief glimpse of that here.

This is not my television debut in Philadelphia. My photo has been on the news twice before when the reporters covered the same story with a different angle. This is, however, my first interview on the news in Philadelphia!

Happy 90th Birthday, Pop-Pop! Proud to be one of the fellow Friday the 13th-ers in the family!

(Print version can be found here.)

Poops

String Bean sat on the potty yesterday and tried to "push out the poopies" and was thrilled when some came out. Yes, I know this is a discussion only a mother of a toddler could love. Please note the name of this blog.

Upon finishing her business in the potty, she decided to call her family and friends and share her success. As always, Pop was the first on the list. Luckily, Nana was with him. Next it was Ama and Grandpa. Auntie Carolyn soon followed. Then Rob and Connie. After that, she wanted to call Lucy, so we did. After she hung up with Lucy's voice mail, she wanted to call Snoopy and Charlie Brown. (Which leads me to believe that the Lucy we called wasn't THE Lucy she was intending, but oh, well.) She finished the night of calling by calling Cashew, who is 2 1/2. Cashew simply said, "Hi, String Bean!" the entire conversation long.

Other than the call to Cashew, all other calls went like this:

String Bean (SB): Hi!
Mom or Dad (M/D): Tell them what you did.
SB: Poopies!
M/D: Where did you do the poopies?
SB: Potty!
M/D: What did you get for doing poopies on the potty?
SB: Chock (translation: chocolate)
M/D: Tell them your name.
SB now spells her name instead of saying her name.
M/D: Do you want to count?
SB: One, Two, Free, Four, Five, Six, Eye!
M/D: Say "Bye-bye!"
SB: Bye-bye! (long pause) Insert name of who you are calling.
Abruptly hang up.

A Perfect Party

As you know, String Bean turned two this week. Today she had her birthday party. Had we invited all her friends and fans our house never would have held everyone, so we had to limit it to family and babysitters.

The morning started out with String Bean taking Pop (grandpa) to her favorite park. With the two distractions gone, Mr. Bean, my mom (Nana) and I were able to set up for the party and cook lunch for everyone. Mr. Bean assembled his famous homemade lasagna the evening before and prepared most of the green bean casserole. Mr. Bean also put together an awesome slide show of String Bean's Second Year. He got the garlic bread ready while my mom and I spot cleaned, moved furniture, set the table, laid out the buffet, and decorated with photos of String Bean.

String Bean and Pop arrived home from the park and while Pop took a bath, String Bean took a (very brief) nap. When she awoke, Nana gave her a bath while Mr. Bean and I took care of last minute details.

Auntie Carolyn showed up early to the party since today was String Bean's fitting for her flower girl dress for the wedding. My mom made the dress and had to do some last minute hemming, but wanted to be sure the length was correct first.

Guests began to arrive at 11:30 and lunch was served at noon. Just prior to eating and saying the blessing, String Bean lead the group in singing the "Choo-Choo Song" which introduces everyone in the room. String Bean was the perfect hostess.

Following lunch, we watched the slide show Mr. Bean had made. It was a hit. By demand of the cousins, presents were opened immediately following. Ama and Grandpa tuned in for the present opening via Skype and enjoyed seeing everyone and everything String Bean got. String Bean enjoyed opening the gifts and loved everything she got (which was evidenced by her playing with every toy this afternoon).

We ate ice cream and cupcakes while String Bean made a mess.

It was the perfect party and we are happy that String Bean is loved by so many!

Adventures with Nana and Pop

String Bean has had a blast here so far with her grandparents. Here are the highlights of the last 36 hours:

• New toys and books (from mommy's childhood)
• tractor ride
• swinging
• splashing in the water on the banks of the river
• swimming in the kiddie pool (twice!)
• sidewalk chalk
• climbing stairs
• Wiggles music in the car
• "sleeping" alongside the dog
• chasing the cat
• grilled cheese sandwiches and other yummy food from Nana

We are off to a wedding today so Nana and Pop will not get time with String Bean this afternoon and evening.

Traveling with a Toddler

Tomorrow, String Bean and I are traveling to Seattle. It is about a 5 hour flight from here. The airport it about an hour away, and we have to get there two hours early. We are renting a car and the hotel is 30 miles from the airport in Seattle. So...we are looking at an 8 or 9 hour journey when it is all said and done.

Luckily, my parents (Nana and Pop to String Bean) are meeting us at the airport. They planned their layover to be here so they could take the flight to Seattle with us. I am spending all day today getting laundry done, carseat vacuumed, random kid things packed, and wondering what is missing from my list.

On this trip, I am taking a small plastic bucket with a lid and putting all String Bean's little toys in it so she has something to play with on the airplane and at the hotel on the other end. Since "in" and "out" are her favorites right now, this bucket should do the trick!

Wish me luck!