Sunday, July 25, 2010

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

It's time for this Southerner to put down her mint julep, swallow her pride, and raise a glass of Sam Adams to show some love for all things Yankee.  Well, not necessarily all things Yankee since saying I'm a "Yankee-lover" while in the Red Sox nation would probably earn me a mortal wound from anyone who heard me. What I mean is that it's time the Y&P blog showed some love for "all things Rhode Island-y."    (i.e. lighthouses, beaches, quahogs, stuffies, lobster boats, sailboats, clamcakes, sliders, grinders, fraps/cabinets, coffee milk, Dell's, Iggy's, and the list could go on forever...)

The Yankee, Peach, and lil' Peach just returned from a vacation to Rhode Island to visit Nana and Pop. I promise to soon have boatloads of photos of the little Peach earning her stripes as she stepped foot in the Atlantic ocean for the very first time. (I just have to go through the 700+ pictures that I took!) Sorry to disappoint if you wanted all Evie pics, all the time.

However, before I post a zillion pictures of the cutest little water baby ever, I wanted to post some photos of something I found almost as fascinating: Rhode Island Real Estate! 

Whether a quahog shack or a seaside mega-mansion, everywhere you look there's always a touch of New England...



 My companions for an evening stroll around the neighborhood...





Beautiful rock walls ...



Windows, windows... everywhere.


I loved the look of the wood shingled houses... and almost every house had an American flag.
(I later learned that you always want a flag at your house if you're near the ocean - in order to easily ascertain which way the wind is blowing. Obviously!)


A pink front door. Simply fabulous. 
I loved it.


Beautiful hydrangeas all over the place.


Did I mention there were beautiful hydrangeas all over the place?


More hydrangeas!
By now, I'm pretty sure the neighbors thought I was the paparazzi or stalking someone... 


The nautical theme-
complete with life-sized anchor!

I love the grey and white paint - such a classic beach look.


 Clam rake and wood shed.





Such clean, crisp colors.



A lighthouse in a front yard



A much BIGGER lighthouse.
Point Judith Lighthouse, Narragansett



Simply beautiful.



Can you tell which way the wind is blowing?


A ship is considered real estate, right?



Well, I lied about not including any Evie photos in this blog. Momma Peach can't resist a baby in swimwear, so here you go: 



Hey, Evie... did you enjoy your trip?


"It was totally awesome!!!"


"I mean, really really really awesome!"


THE END.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

BABIES, BLOOMS, AND BAKED GOODS

Before I launch into a zillion pictures of the cutest little baby peach ever, I'd like to take a moment to issue a shout-out and a big thank-you to the handsome hubby that makes up the Yankee segment of the "Yankee and Peach."
 

It was his birthday this past week (on Thursday) and Momma Peach tried to make the whole week enjoyable for him - cooking lots of his favorite foods, trying to celebrate daily, giving him lots of presents, baking a cake on MONDAY (in order for him to eat it throughout the whole week- initially a thoughtful gesture, but realistically a bad idea as both our waistlines enlarged dramatically), and treating him to hopefully an all-around good birthday week in general.  

But.... I came home Friday to find these gorgeous flowers and a pedicure package at Spa Sydell FOR ME! Momma Peach is such a sucker for pedicures! (uh... what girl isn't?)
Everybody together now: "Awwwwwh, how sweet."



What a nice peachy color! And humongous blossoms!
Three of my favorite things in this picture: Beautiful blooms, a baby, and baked goods!





Okay, enough of the lovey-dovey big people stuff and on to the little people sweetness. We are now averaging 2 baths a day in the Yankee & Peach household. No, we don't sweat THAT much... but we do get pretty messy at meal time and need a nice rinse off every now and then! 

On weekends we pretty much let Evie have free reign over her food. Learning to feed herself is definitely an intricate learning process, so we are letting her take her time and determine on her own how to use her own hands, utensils, and cups to feed herself. 





My hands are my favorite utensil!




Come on, spoon. Work for me... please?



Do I have something on my face? Maybe in this general area? Huh?




Hmmm... My mouth is around here somewhere.




"What? You think I'm messy?  Moi?  Never!"



I've finally put the spoon in my mouth and facing the right direction!
Now, why is there no food on it?





Awhhhh.. poor, poor pitiful me. 
Don't laugh at me, momma. I'm trying so hard.
All this food means that....




I'm gonna need a bath!! 




Woman, I dare you to try and wash this mess off.



What?!! You're breaking out the heavy duty washcloths and green foam soap? My plan to savor the flavor all day of the berries on my face has completely been foiled. Dang it!




Come on in, mom! The water's fine.



 Duckies need love (and baths) too.



 
All clean!! 
Nothing like a little elbow grease to shine a baby right up.




Why did you pull the drain?! I'm not done playing yet, Mom!




"Daaaaaaaad, please help me.  Momma wore me out. "
I think I'll just nap right here.




Saturday, July 17, 2010

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!

We've previously posted about the little chompers that Evie has emerging from her gum line. Although her teeth coming in has been a pain to deal with (literally, for all involved), her new teeth are actually somewhat liberating when it comes to her food options now. She's chewing everything she can - so Momma Peach took the opportunity to throw all kinds of new foods her direction. As you will see from the pictures below, Evie took the opportunity to throw some of them back.



Mmm... Cheese


I really, really, really like cheese.
Momma Peach makes this face also... but it's usually over a bowl of queso dip!


See my chompers? 
For those of you who don't have kids, this is what 3 AM hell looks like.


Holding her own spoon! We considered it a resounding success if she manages to get the correct end in her mouth, never mind if there is food actually on it.


She usually resorts to the four finger scoop - it's the way to go when the spoon is too annoying to deal with at dinner time. Efficient and effective!


Much better aim, although the food doesn't always make it into the mouth. Many a squished fruit has been found attached to her backside by the end of the meal.


Shove it in, shove it in!
Please notice we often dine sans clothing in the Yankee & Peach household.  You may want to call ahead if you are planning on joining us or dropping by.



Mother! Do NOT interrupt me during my gustatory process.
What do you mean you are out of strawberries?



FINE. Blackberries will do.


Mmmmm... Blackberries are good too!


And last but not least, the picture below is the reason our child will never be considered qualified to run for political office. She's topless, holding a Republican National Committee card, and she's obviously been hitting the bottle. Once it's on the internet, you can never take it back, right?


 
Eat your heart out, Sarah Palin.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

BUSY LITTLE BEE

I'll keep my prologue short and sweet: Evie is into absolutely EVERYTHING. Nothing escapes her attention. And here's some photos to prove it...


"Hey, mama - look! I just discovered stairs. Did you even know they were here? Here I go up them!"


Um.... wow. That's a really long way to go.


"Well, I'm tired, so I'll just stop at one. But did you see what I can do? I think I've proved my point. I fully intend to keep you on your toes every nano-second of the day!"


Evie essentially has three "faces" when she is busted doing something she shouldn't be doing.
Face #1: "I was just admiring this nice tray, while also covertly inspecting the electrical hazards and oh-so-tempting-and-touchable outlets and power cords over here."


Face #2: "Mom, THAT WAS NOT ME. I have no idea how that happened." 
We should just get used to this face, as we'll probably be on the receiving end of it quite often,  for oh, say...  the next 18 years.



Face #3: "Who me? I'm too angelic to do anything of the sort!"


"You lied to your mother! Drop and give me 20,  kid!"
"Yes, Drill Sergeant Trot, sir!"


I'm the pull-up queen!

"I'm just checking to see if this outlet cover is on here properly.  Yup, it's good."
Some folks freak out when their kid plays with an outlet cover. Evie's parents grab a camera.

 

"Look, ma. I can push this thing one-handed. Who cares that I'm only 9-months old. I'm ready to walk on outta here!"




Nomar: "Uh... who is this kid? She's mobile AND vertical now?"



 If you look closely, you'll see the tell-tale mustache signs of somebody taking sips out of mommy's glass of cranberry juice. But who can say "no" to this face?





"Look, lady. If she gets near my food bowl, that's the end of our friendship."









Friday, July 9, 2010

I'M A BIG GIRL!

Miss Prissy Pants had her 9-month checkup this morning. Aside from screaming like a banshee when the nurse administered a Hep-B vaccination, Evie was fairly well-behaved for a teething, grumpy, tired still-an-infant-but-almost-a-toddler baby girl. We did confirm with the pediatrician that not two, not four, but actually six teeth are coming in on top. Three teeth have fully broken through the skin thus far, but there are a few more who have decided to choose now as the opportune time to make their painful entry into Evie's life. The good news is, all of them are coming in at once, so hopefully it will be a short trip!


Entertaining herself outside the doctor's office while we waited for her check-up. (The Yankee and Peach were early and they didn't let us in. Apparently, we do not have VIP status with Gwinnett Pediatrics!)

Her bodily stats: Our little peach is in the 95th percentile for height, 35% weight, and a 90% head circumference. So that means although she may be physically built like a tall and lanky runway model with a big head, she still walks like a drunken sailor!

We left the exam table covered in confetti, as Evie loves to crunch, rip, shred, and generally destroy the sanitary liner that is pulled over the exam table prior to each patient's visit.  Although we were worried about the extent of her destruction, we're pretty sure the pediatrician's staff is accustomed to cleaning up much worse, considering the age of their usual clientele!
 
In other news, some of you may remember that we found an adorable antique rocking chair and purchased it while Momma Peach was still pregnant with Evie. Momma Peach cleaned it up, but she never bothered to reupholster it (time ran out and a baby came!). We even took some pictures of Evie sitting in it back during the month of April when she first learned to independently sit up:


I'm a rocker chick!
(Get it? .. Rocker/Rocker? It's a rocker?
*crickets chirping* Yeah, lame joke.)


"But, Mom, I'm not a boy. BLUE is not my color!"


Taking Evie's advice, Momma Peach found some fabric that she fell in love with and grabbed while on sale  - and decided to use it on the chair. It came out quite lovely, if I do say so myself. 

And how perfectly ironic that the stars would align so that Miss Evie would be wearing a sailor outfit that matched the chair when the it was in blue-  and she just happened to be wearing green when we put it back together after the re-upholstery job!
 
Here's the finished product:

 
No worries, this is not becoming an interior design blog.  This one picture is to show Mumsy Neal that the pattern of the two pieces DOES in fact line up.
Hmmm... I'm not sure about the new look yet.


Let me think on it a little while.
I've got to test it out.


 
Yeah, it's growin' on me.

"Let me just sit back and have a drink."
(Momma Peach is not scared of potential spills,
as she smartly purchased outdoor fabric for the new upholstery)




Oh, yeah, this thing is awesome!