… single child life that is. (Come on now!)
Brandon and I got back to Pittsburgh Sunday night one child lighter. My stubborn little two year old decided she was not leaving her grandparent’s house. It is so very sweet to me that she is so attached to my family. We’re happy she gets to spend a few extra days with Mom Mom and Pop Pop, and Uncle Mike, Nick and Sam, but we miss her fiercely.
Our visit was a rare 42 hours of uninterrupted family time that pretty much started (at 10 p.m. Friday night) in the pool and ended in the pool as well. We had no where to be and nothing to do but play in the pool with the girls and pool hop over to my Aunt Lynda’s pool right next door. The girls both love the water so it was easy to keep them entertained. Turns out Denver is a water maniac- so in case you are wondering if he had a good time- he definitely did.
Look at that face (and that pudge of a belly!). You would think at 10 p.m. my child would be sleepy and cranky- but no, she was thrilled to get right into the pool with Uncle Nick and Uncle Sam.
This is pretty much what Denver did non-stop the entire weekend. Sammy would jump in or throw the tennis ball and in the next instant Denver would be flying through the air, landing in the pool with a mighty splash. Kind of like a flying squirrel. It was hilarious.
In between pool jumps, Denver enjoyed bonding with his cousins: Dante the greyhound, Petey the maltese, and Buddy the parrot. Nothing like a good walk around those neighborhood trails.
A long time ago, my Dad made a deal with my Mom while she was pregnant- if my brother Nicholas was a boy, he’d cook breakfast on Sundays for the rest of his life. Real breakfast- no cereal and toast. Obviously Nick was a boy so we all get our breakfast of choice on Sunday’s no matter what. This is a serious deal in my house. If it’s Sunday, Dad’s cooking. Lilly ordered waffles (which were delivered with a smiley face with whipped cream of course) and I ordered eggs and bacon. One of my Dad’s famous breakfast omelets. This particular one was steak, peppers, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. I got a smiley face for Lilly’s benefit.
Please note, my brothers and I were never allowed to sit on the kitchen island as children.
Keeper of the bacon.
Don’t worry, she shared.
Tutu bathing suit from Auntie Lynda!
Dad’s and Daughters.
As always, my beautiful best friends made time to visit with us and the girls. I love that because my girls will growing up knowing very special ladies. Thanks Natalie and Meredith. Means alot.
Lilly got some piano lessons from Uncle Nick. She pointed out to all of us the likeness between Jim Brickman and her Daddy as she kept saying she’s “going to play Daddy music” while unfolding the JB book. Pretty funny- she is right.
I will never, ever, ever get used to that curly hair! So in love with it.
And now for one of my favorite series from this weekend- Lilly’s playtime in my Mom’s bathroom cabinet that houses all of the bath toys…
And she’s gone!
Peekaboo.
Best discovery of the weekend was Lilly’s singular freckle. She gets extremely emotional over the fact that she has no freckles (she loves to point out freckles on Mommy and Daddy) and this weekend my Mom discovered one tiny brown dot on her arm. I think her life is now complete. Ask her sometime about her freckle. You will surely laugh at the proud and delighted look on her face as she searches her arm again for that tiny little dot.
Though we were there less than two full days, we packed in some much needed family time devoid of shopping or errands or running around. We enjoyed each others company in a simple, uncomplicated way. I feel refreshed returning to Pittsburgh for the regular grind of appointments and to-do lists (that seriously feel ten miles long). Little Gracie has a full calendar!
Here are a few of my favorite phone pics dumped from a combination of Instagram and Diptic. Remember, you can follow that feed @jdudtmulzet if you feel so inclined. I’m an instagram junky!
Until next time…
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