Busy Week!

I've been trying to post for a few days, hopefully Joanna will nap enough for me to finish! I expect this will be a long post -- beware! Last Monday when Nana and Popo were in town, Popo cooked for us (the first of many times that week!). Here we are in the kitchen making Hoppin' John (or Hoppin' Phil after my dad altered it a bit). It's this fabulous dish we served with cornbread. I'll probably make it again, but it won't be as good. Dad brought a bunch of his own canned stuff to use in it; I'll have to buy stuff at the store.

The last time Dad and Renee were here, Joanna was almost 3 months old and she was still pretty uninterested in anybody holding her except me. Now, she's was as happy as could be with Nana and Popo. She has this new thing we call "the fake out" where she holds her arms out to you and lets you get really close before she pulls back and won't let you get her. It's a game, of course. Mommy very rarely gets the fake out, but everyone else has had their share.

These next several pictures are from our trip to Old Town Spring last Tuesday. We had a great time! Joanna fell asleep in about the last 5 seconds of the trip down there, but she stayed asleep in the carrier that we put on the stroller for a good 20 minutes or so. After she woke up:

Joanna and Popo
Renee was the photographer, so there aren't very many pics of her!
We ate at Puffabelly's for Lunch -- yum!
...24 hours later, and I'm finally getting back to posting...

I found this handy little travel kit at the baby store that has a cup, fork, spoon, bib, and sticky placemat -- all disposable. Very nice for traveling and eating out.

I love this stoller! Sure it's bulky, but it lays flat -- perfect for diaper changes on the go!
A fun butterfly bench. ...and again a break...7 hours later... Joanna's gone down for the night; I really should be able to finish now!

We managed to get the stoller up the stairs and into a store -- Joanna's first antiqueing adventure! Trying on Popo's hat... a little big, but sure cute.I just thought this was cute -- much better than an orange cone.Nana and Popo, taking a rest.We stayed in Spring a little while longer after lunch, long enough to lose the giraffe (yes, you read that correctly). Luckily, I was in a little baby boutique store that sold similar items, so it made me realize we had lost it. We split up and retraced our steps and found giraffe, (!!) seemingly unharmed in the middle of a driveway. Yea!

We drove home while Joanna had a nap. I was soooo pooped when we got home, but she didn't want to take another nap, so I didn't get to. :(
Joanna and I were outside enjoying nature when Nana and Popo drove up on Wednesday. Aren't we cute?
Flying.
On Thursday afternoon, we headed to Nana and Popo's hotel for some swimming at the indoor pool. Yes, this is Joanna's swimsuit from last summer. (Although, side note, I just picked up a new suit this afternoon -- guess what it has on it? Giraffes!)
It's hard to see in the small picture, but her eyes are huge here -- she just looks so silly!

Joanna had a blast! She loooovvveeed being in the water. Frankly, I was cold. The water temp was okay, but I think the room was air conditioned, brrrrr.

A totally unrelated event (and baby!). This is Joanna's friend Abby riding on her daddy's shoulders after church on Sunday. I took the picture because it looked like she was just about to fall asleep up there. If you look closely, you'll see that Miss Abby is wearing the same little strawberry outfit that Joanna has -- so cute!