Annie and Avocados.

#BloggerBeTRIPPIN. just had to get that out of my system. :)

last night, i cooked dinner for the three Uncle Cs and my daddy. and me, of course (Gee's dinners mostly consist of Chef Boyardee, green beans, and maybe fruit. don't judge me, it's easy and she likes it!). we had chicken fajita taco salad, so really the only thing i had to cook was the chicken, which took longer to cut up than it did to actually cook. womp. however, it got good reviews, and all three of the boys had seconds, so that's always a good sign! to go with the taco salad, i had planned to make some fresh guacamole. i bought three avocados, not even bothering to look at the sticker that read "RIPE WHEN SOFT". needless to say, all three of the avocados where not only not soft, but they were straight up hard. i spent 30 minutes trying to get the flesh out of those avocados while cooking the chicken and wiping Chef Boyardee sauce out of Gee's eyes. fun fun! not. the escapade did make me think about my Granny Annie, who passed away last October after battling breast cancer.

she absolutely loved avocados. i used to turn my nose up every time she mentioned them, but now i absolutely love guacamole. i have yet to try avocado in non-guacamole, but it's probably cool, too. anyways, my Granny Annie was also a lover of all things beautiful. paper, cards, writing, quotes, verses... and she loved sunflowers, too. the last time i saw her alive was the Thursday before she died. she lived right around the corner, so i put Gee in the stroller and walked over there, just to visit for awhile. by that time, she wasn't eating very much, but she had me put some strawberries and sugar in a bowl, and put in on the table to sit awhile. honestly, i found the task to be a bit tedious, because i figured that she wasn't going to eat them anyway, but i did it anyway. when i came back into the living room, both Granny Annie and Gee were asleep, Gee in Granny Annie's lap. i kick myself daily because i didn't take a picture; i take pictures of almost everything, yet i have not one picture of Gee and Granny Annie together. not one. i just have to be satisfied with memories of the two of them, such as when Gee was just a few weeks old. Granny Annie told me that i should put a blanket on the surface of the play pen, because it might be cold to Gee. seeing as the surface was fabric, i thought it unnecessary, but since she insisted, i did it anyway.

memories of Gee and i driving Granny Annie to her radiation treatments, as she shared with us family history between the chest-rattling cough caused by fluid building up around her lungs. memories of Granny Annie holding Gee while i ate, and her giving me her meal to take to my brothers because she couldn't eat it. though i saw her condition deteriorate before my eyes, i always figured i would have more time with her, that Gee would have more time with her, that she would have more time with Gee. but she didn't. i didn't. which is why her memory must be kept alive. i will make sure that Gee knows that she had a Granny Annie who adored her, who watched her grow for the four short months she had with her. i think about her every day, especially when trying to make guacamole. or when i see a sunflower. or when i stop in the store to admire something that i would buy just because it's something pretty. while she may not be physically present, i feel my Granny Annie's spirit all of the time. as i go to the Relay for Life tonight, it will quite frankly suck to see the luminary with her name on it say "In Memoriam Of" instead of "In Honor Of" as it did just a year ago. but instead of getting depressed about her death, i will choose to celebrate her life. i love you, Granny Annie, and miss you soooo much.

me, Gee (still in-utero), and Granny Annie, prepping me to waddle across the stage [May 8, 2010] :)

and to think, this whole post originated from me trying to make some friggin' guacamole. :)

-love elle&gee-

"i got canned heat in my heels tonight, bay-bay..."

[title courtesy of "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai. love that song!]

well, not tonight, but rather a few nights ago. definitely got a little boogie on with some of my lovely LSs; yes, i left my punkin with the babysitter overnight TWO nights in a row! it was my first time ever leaving her overnight. she cried when i left, but the first night, the babysitter sent me a pic of Gee sound asleep just ten minutes after i'd left her house, so i felt MUCH better. plus, it worked out for both of us: i got to hang out with my friends, and Gee got to hang out with her BFF, G2 -

precious girls! and here's mama, trying to work a lil' somethin' somethin' [LOL] -

and, of course, had to rep my Crimson & Cream while i was there :)

Gee & i also did a "mommy & me" photoshoot, which you can see here if you're not my Facebook friend. i'll let Gee tell you how it went down...

***MAN, mama was tripping the morning of our photoshoot!! She knew it was time for my morning nap, yet she was steady trying to do something cutesy to my hair. She already had me in this cute and un-comfy dress; I suppose I have to start learning the trials and tribulations of being a girl at the tender age of 10 months old... Anyways, she finally gets the both of us together, and as we step out of the door, I'm expecting it to be at least 50-something degrees outside (after all, it was basically summertime when we left southeast Arkansas). It was 4-freaking-2 degrees Fahrenheit! And my mommy, lover of all things cutesy, wanted us to take the photos OUTSIDE!? It was just too much for me to stand, so I promptly fell asleep in my car seat. I wake up to this little girl poking and prodding me. "HI!" Well, hello to you, too! Definitely wasn't what I was expecting to wake up to, but eventually I warmed up to "T.T.", and she prevented the post-nap meltdown I'd been planning. Lucky you, mother dear. :) As stated earlier, it's pretty durn cold outside, and my nose is doing all kinds of reacting, and by that, I mean running like someone forgot to turn the faucet off in my nose. Yep, that bad. However, I put on my best model faces and rocked that photoshoot...if I say so myself. Hehe. We only had to go inside to warm up once, and that mother of mine STAID on nose-wiping patrol [BLAH], but my photographers - that's right, with an S, as in TWO cameras, baby, POW! - did an excellent job catching all of my good sides AND editing out the snot. And drool. Et cetera. The proof is in the pudding, er, pictures -

 And if you want to see more of mommy's and my foray on the Old Main Lawn, check us out here! Gee*Baby, Baby Gee, over and out!***

jeez, tell me how ya really feel, why don't ya?? i know she can't wait until i can understand the words she says...and i can't wait either, honestly. hold up, that means potential talking back, doesn't it? ok, nevermind. stick with the babbling, Gee. lol. just kidding... sort of... ;) until next time!

-love elle&gee-

PS: the lists will pop up again in the near future...let's say, before the month of April is over. sound good? good. :)

a day in the life: video exclusive :)

before we get started, let's have an "awww" moment at how precious Gee looked today:

rock that outfit, girl! and i promise, i won't make you wear that bow anymore this week...LOL!

tonight, Gee decided that, instead of doing all of that writing, she'd rather show you what she's been up to lately [with narration by me, of course]. the oldest Uncle C is the videographer, and all three of the uncles co-star in this video tid-bit which all five of us find quite hilarious!

and, in an effort to just do one list a day [instead of five], here's list number 4:

enjoy!

-love elle&gee-

a day in the life: SPRING BREAK EDITION

***So, my mommy was supposed to help me write this, like, a million days ago. But she gets easily distracted, so we won't hold it against her, I suppose. Anyways, let me tell you what happened last week. We went to Little Rock with Nana & the 3 Cs (my uncles), just to get out of the house for a day. They took me to this restaurant called Famous Dave's, made me sit there and smell all of that delicious BBQ, and didn't even let me have any! Triflin'. At least my Nana let me chew on some rib bones (my mommy had tried to give me yogurt earlier, but I wasn't having that, especially since she was eating rib tips and fried fish and garlic mashed potatoes and didn't give me not one nibble. Hmph.). I decided I needed to leave my mark on the place, so I was really good throughout the whole meal; then, when it was time to go, I reached my hand out and grabbed Nana's glass of water, pulling it off of the table. Oopsie :) It's just water, anyways. I just had to make it known that I was ready to leave! So leave, we did. Next stop: Museum of Discovery. I chilled in the stroller while mommy wheeled me here and there. The coolest part about the whole thing was the snake I got to touch; yes, yours truly touched a snake. Not like a had a choice, of course, but I didn't know I was supposed to be scared of the thing, so I just thought it felt weird and went on about my business. After being super-snake-petting-baby, it was PLAYTIME! In this huge area filled with toys just for the little people. And by little people, I mean babies. Not munchkins or midgets or dwarfs. Just to clarify. Moving on...

So I was in this awesome little people play area, trying to dodge my mommy's arms (I don't know why she didn't want me to chew on anything; doesn't she know I'm "at that age"?). Then, in come some Big Kids. I must say, I was a little confused because I was pretty sure that I was in a little people place; yet, I played on. I saw my mommy giving them the side-eye reallll tough, though, and hovering over me even tougher. Good thing, too, because after a while, one of the Big Kids passed by her and (accidentally?) hit her with one of toys she was carrying. I don't know why the girl thought she could fit through that small space, but whatever. That was the last straw for mommy. "Excuse you," she said with an edge in her voice. "You need to be more careful, and y'all aren't supposed to be in here anyways. This area is for children four and under."
"I'm sorry," the boy with her said. "Is that your baby?"
In her sulky voice: "Yes."
"She's cute. What's her name?"
"Gabriela." She's thinking, Why is this little boy still in here AND asking me questions on top of that?
"Oh, that's a pretty name. Well, we're sorry."
"That's ok," with a softer voice. My mommy's a sucker for kids with manners, especially since so many seem to lack them these days. Bet I won't! :)
So the Big Kids left, and it was just mommy and me again. I played some more, then it was back in the stroller to see what the 3 C's were doing. After leaving the museum, we went down to the River Market to get some dessert. Once again, I got NO love. I couldn't even get one bit of ice cream! Life as a baby...jeez. I was getting sleepy, anyway, so I guess I didn't mind too much. After loading up the truck, it didn't take too long for me to get snoozing. Not too bad of a trip. But let me tell you what else happened over Spring Break.

So, when my mommy is in the bathroom doing whatever, she puts me on the rug with some of my bath toys. The rug is next to the wall. Now, usually I have pretty good balance, but I guess that day just wasn't my day. I tipped over and hit my head on the tile, after which mommy scooped me up saying, "Oooh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Yeah, ok sure. It was just one time, so I accepted the apology. However, later that night, while she was running my bathwater, it happened AGAIN. "Ooooh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Umm, not gonna fly this time, mommy! I let her bathe me and wash my hair, but when she put me on her lap to dry me off, let's just say I "sprung a leak." Maybe she'll take more care with me and bathroom walls from now on. She laughed it off, but then she pinched me with the pacifier clip! "On accident" she says. Jeez, mom, how clumsy are you!? If this is what I'm gonna have to deal with for the rest of babyhood, just give me some magic grow-up potion, I'm begging you! As soon as she took me in the playroom, I practically jumped out of her arms into My Nana's. Yes, My Nana. Mine only. She always takes good care of me and shnuggles me close. That day, mommy could've kicked rocks. But we were friends again 10 minutes later. Sometimes, she just needs to be in mommy time-out...

Well, I have been off-schedule all spring break, so I guess we could say that that was payback, pt. II. Hehe! As usual, I'm napping with My Nana, which leaves me really confused as to how I could possibly be writing this...but we'll worry about that another day. Until next time!***

a day in the life: 3.12.11

since the last post technically should've been written two days ago, it's not weird to post twice today. or maybe it is. no matter! today begins what i hope will be an ongoing series of snapshots into a day in the life of Gee. it's easy to write about what i observe, but i'm always wondering what Gee is thinking. here's where i'll take a guess at it. we'll see how it turns out...

***Since Mommy somehow managed to get me to fall asleep before 7:30pm last night, I was up at 6:30 this morning instead of my customary 8, 8:30am Saturday wake-up time. I don't think Mommy was too thrilled, but she played with me sleepily anyways until she was ready to get up. As always, she put me on that tall thing by the window and tried to change my diaper. I don't know why she doesn't change her strategy: she knows that I'll either flip over, play with the blinds, or mess with my diaper. Yet she does the same thing every morning, as do I. I wonder about that woman sometimes...

Anywho, after relaxing and watching a few of my shows on Nick, Jr., Mommy got us dressed and popped me into the stroller. What what!! I love riding in this thing! Today, we went over to Old Ben Ivery's (my great-grandpa's) house with my uncles. I finished my milk and took a refreshing nap on O.B.I.'s bed. Naptime. Is. Awesome. I know I fight it, but once I'm asleep? HEAVEN! After waking up, I hung out with my apple juice and watched the Golf Channel with Grandpa. In case you haven't noticed, I looove watching T.V. Hee hee :) My mommy (who was cleaning out a closet) seemed to be ignoring me, so I got her attention and POOF! there she was, like magic! Reassured that she hadn't left me, I went back to Grandpa and the Golf Channel. After Mommy was finished, the five of us rolled back home, where I snacked and got my afternoon nap in (I didn't get one yesterday, that's the only reason Mommy got me in bed so early!). After I woke up this time, Mommy brought my toys into our room, and I played and played while she cleaned. I let her clean for about 45 minutes, but I made sure she gave me plenty of lovin' by having her move me from the crib to the floor to her bed and back to the floor. Mommies need exercise, you know. When it was feeding time again, I had milk and these weird apple and cinnamon Gerber snacks, which Mommy put in a bowl. I figured the floor needed decorating, so I put most of the snacks on the floor. Our dog, Ewey, ate them, though, so my decorations didn't last long. Then, it was time for playtime with PawPaw and the Uncles.

Those Uncles of mine, I tell ya. My Uncle Cs. I love them a lot, as evidenced by how much I laugh and grin anytime I see one of them. But they can be so touchy-feely! Sometimes, I just need my space. Other times, I smother them with hugs and kisses. This time, I just hung out, watching PawPaw and the Uncle Cs play videogames. Then, yet another naptime, this time with Nana. That's actually where I am now, which may leave you wondering how I'm writing this. Well... I'm wondering the same thing myself, so if you find out, let me know!***

she's so articulate for a 9month-old, right? LOL! now, back to typing up my autobiography [FUN, not]. until next time...

love -elle&gee-