A New Look for Spring

Like the new banner? It was harder to create than I expected. I drove Big Daddy to distraction with my steady stream of PhotoShop questions before settling on a design. For the record he likes the old design "a LOT better" than this one.

It was a "Welcome Friends" weekend at Silly Hat Central. Early Spring-like weather coaxed friends and family out of doors. Three sets of visitors beat a path to our door, all of them wonderful!

First was my longtime friend Leslie and her daughter Mallory. They came to help me master a new software program and play with Bruce. We shared a terrific lunch of Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bisque with Shrimp and Romano Cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. All too soon they were called back home.

My parents arrived later that afternoon to spend some time with Bruce, rest and rejuvenate from the first leg of a long drive north from Florida. They hadn't seen their grandson in over a month so it was the first time they saw him walk, climb, dance, and say his latest new words. They were amazed at how fast he could crawl when he wasn't walking, climb the stairs, and how much he had grown since last they had seen him. Every look from him, whether he was flirting, laughing, shy or rambunctious, completely charmed them. He had them at hello!

Gammy and Grandpa got to share yummy cuppy-cake with Bruce, since they had missed his birthday party. He gleefully gobbled icing and fistfuls of tender cake, mashing it all over his face. He even offered to share bites. God love her, my mom accepted his gooey, crumb-covered, fisty-bite offerings without batting an eye. There was icing up his nose and behind one ear, cake matted in his hair, mushed under his chin and smushed thoroughly into both sleeves. Gammy looked almost as messy, but she didn't seem to mind. Now that's Grandmotherly love!

Not long after they had said their goodbyes we got a surprise call from Bambi and her husband Tony. They happened to be in the neighborhood and wondered if they could stop by? Of course, of course! They brought Bruce two adorable shirts: one said "Chicks Dig Me" and the other "Lock Up Your Daughters." Ha ha ha! They also spoiled him by bringing him a toy chest. With all the toys that are threatening to overtake our house, it couldn't have come at a better time. Sadly, they couldn't stay long, since they also had a long drive ahead of them. It was a short, but lovely visit.