Tea with Memaw

Mother's Day this year was spent on a trip to Minnesota to see Dan's sister Jewel graduate from Northwestern College (not my alma mater, a different NWC).  It was a busy, but exciting trip filled with lots of great family time as some of Dan's extended family made the trip as well.  And while it was wonderful to actually be with several of the dearest "mom's" in Dan's life (and now mine) on Mother's Day, that time was really only gathered around the contintental breakfast table at our hotel before they all headed to the airport.  Sweet time, but rather rushed.  So as I anticipated that, I wanted to do something a little more meaningful for Dan's mom, our dear Memaw, blessing her for all of the wonderful things she does for us. 

And so...we had a tea party :)



I had so much fun putting this together!  I was given a tea set as a wedding gift and have rarely gotten to use it, so this was the perfect opportunity to dust it off.  My Grandma Ann has also given me several BEAUTIFUL serving pieces, including that silver tea set you see above and some pieces of crystal scattered across the table -- it was wonderful to get to use these and I felt a bit like Grandma was a part of it, too.  Plus, a dear friend here loaned me several additional pieces (like that stand above) that finished everything off nicely.  So fun :)

 Aunt Katee got to attend the party as well!  It was so fun to spend some time with her before she heads off on her next big adventure to South Carolina for the summer.  She's such a wonderful auntie!

Every good tea party needs some floppy hats!  Even Ellie joined the party for awhile -- although she mostly enjoyed puffs and milk.

Dan picked the wildflowers out of our backyard.  They were perfect, don't you think?

I hardly know how to describe to you the excitement of this little girl throwing a tea party for her beloved Memaw.  I tried to involve her in the process as much as possible -- she was the perfect little hostess!  She made the decorations, helped me bake, cleaned up her toys and even helped set the table.  

Can you feel the excitement?!

I also let her be a big girl for the party and use the real stuff instead of her plastic-ware.  Oh man, did she ever think she was a big girl!

She was all business, adding as much honey/sugar/cream/sweetner/etc. to her tea as she could manage...

...then carefully stirring after each addition.  She never took a sip, but she certainly enjoyed it :)

We had a wonderful time putting this together for Memaw, and I think she enjoyed herself.  Caroline informed me as we were cleaning up that we needed to have another tea party for Daddy "the day after Saturday".  Yes my dear, that would be fun :)  Happy [very belated] Mother's Day, Memaw!  We love you!

CHEESE!

My sweet Ellie girl just hasn't gotten enough air time on this blog of mine.  And this little ham deserves her fair share!

She has become VERY mobile lately, crawling quickly and efficiently to wherever her little heart desires (usually chasing her sister), and now pulling up on just about anything she can get ahold of.  She is especially fond of Mama's legs, which is a little problematic in the kitchen, but quite endearing.

She LOVES this little table we have that plays music and makes all sorts of noise.  And it's just the right height for her to pull up on.  And she is so very proud of herself for this milestone reached.

My baby blue-eyes.  Man I love this kid.

And she really is becoming quite the little ham.  She can go from throwing a fit to smiling ear to ear if someone just looks at her and smiles (someone generally other than Mommy or Daddy - as in, an audience!).  She absolutely knew she was the center of attention last night during community group, and she took full advantage - waving, smiling, saying lots of "mamama's" (her new favorite!).  It was rather distracting, but really cute :)

And I think she's starting to figure out this camera thing...whatever this little cheesy grin is, it cracks me up!!

Daughter of an Oreo Lover

Last night after dinner, we gave the girls an early bath and headed over to a local frozen yogurt shop (because we had a buy one get one free coupon, of course).  It's one of those where you fill your own bowl with whatever flavor and toppings you choose...and there are a LOT of toppings to choose from.  Caroline and Daddy filled a bowl with cupcake batter yogurt and a smattering of toppings, including her favorites M&M's and Oreos.

As we sat outside and enjoyed the deliciousness, another family sat down next to us.  They had a little girl who appeared to be about the same age as Caroline, and the two hit it off right away.  I should add at this point that the other little girl had about 5 times as much hair as Caroline which was cut in a perfect little bob with a beautiful pink bow holding back her bangs just so, and she was taking tiny little licks of yogurt from her Mom's spoon.  Caroline's wispy fuzz was still a bit wet, she was in her pj's and had already dripped something chocolate down her yellow shirt.  The two starting chatting in adorable 2-year-old babble, and that's when it happened.

Caroline:  "Do you like ice cream?"

Other girl:  "Yep."

Caroline:  "Do you like Oreos?"

Other girl:  "What's that?"

Caroline:  "I LOVE Oreos!"

Other girl's Mama (also looking quite pristine) tries to describe - in detail - what an Oreo cookie is to her 2-year-old.  It becomes quite apparent that this child has never experienced an Oreo.

Caroline:  "You don't like Oreos?  I LOVE Oreos!  But they're Mommy's cookies."

Well, at least she didn't tell her that she might get one if she goes poopy.