Sprinkle Time!

Our weekend fun started off with a little Florida Baby Rite of Passage for Whitney :) I grew up in Connecticut and have lived in Florida for over 10 years, but I will likely never get used to the harmless dinosaurs lizards that creep up on me as I lay in the sun or scurry across my path as I go to get the mail.  I am determined not to pass on to Whitney my involuntary, immediate gasps and screams at these creatures, as I'd like her to be a well-adjusted kid who's classmates dont ridicule her for being afraid of a lizard that is A) harmless B) a gazillion times smaller than us and C) always going to be a part of our lives as long as we live in the Sunshine State. 

Eric is afraid of nothing (except heights), so he is my hero on a regular basis, fishing these dinosaurs out of the pool or chasing them off the porch, and on at least two occasions, hunting the buggers down in the house (though I think he might have allowed the lizard to live among us if he didnt believe me when I screamed that we would be putting this house on the market if he didnt find that dumb lizard.)  

A lizard scampered away from Bailey on the other day, and found itself near-drowning in our pool.  Whitney was playing on the pool steps, so I calmly asked Eric to get the lizard out of the pool and toss it in the grass (I never want them dead....just not in my sight....and certainly not on my lounge chair.) Eric grabbed the lucky lizard and brought it over to Whitney who loudly yelled, "EWWW!!" Determined not to let her "fear" these creatures the way her Momma does, I told her it was just a baby and pretended it was super cute. She quickly changed her tune and started, "awwwwwww"-ing at the "Baby Wizard" and even wanted to pet it. (shudder...i couldnt look).

Eric took things a bit further by telling a slightly horrified Whitney how he used to let lizards like this hang off his tongue. "Wanna see?" Ok, folks.  THIS is where I drew the line.  I could pretend, for my sweet daughter's sake, that this tail-regenerating freakishly fast creature was "cute" and "just a baby" and "not scary AT ALL"...but I simply could NOT allow my husband to dangle this lizard from his tongue. No way. I "get" that he used to do this on a stupidly regular basis "in his younger days", but we are grown ups now. And that's just....gross. I was glad Whitney thought Daddy was just kidding. 

Finally, it was time to set the gross being go "back to his mommy and family". Phew. Gross. Shudder. Ewww. The very next day, while playing on the porch, Whitney pointed to a lizard on her slide, walked right up to it, and said "Hi, Wizard!" and was actually disappointed when the thing fled the scene too fast for her to get to know him. Eww. 

Last weekend was the start of our Month 'O Baby Showers! My FABULOUS Sisters-in-law and the aunts and cousins from Eric's Dad's side of the family pulled together an AWESOME Sprinkle for our man, Grady! We could wait for Saturday's festivities to arrive, and were happy to get the weekend started off with some Grandma Debbie time for the Whitterbug.  Eric's mom came into town for the shower, and it was so fun seeing Whitney light up and get excited to see her Grandma Debbie.  Since Debbie and Butch live 8 hours away, it is hard to get together often, but I always love how Whitney falls right back into place with them, as if she saw them just last week. :) 

Whitney thought Grandma Debbie was hilarious playing with their food at dinner :) 

Belly laughs for everyone! 

After dinner, Debbie and her parents (Whitney's great grandparents) headed back to our house to catch up a bit.  Whitney was THRILLED to have a larger audience to watch her attempts at jump-roping :) 

"Watch DISS, Everybody!!!"

And of course I was proud when Whitney "read" the "New Baby" book to Grandma Debbie :) Whitney has such a great memory, and while we havent read that book in a few weeks, she still remembered almost all the words verbatim, and had fun making the silly voices for Papa Bear :) 

Saturday arrived and it was Sprinkle time!! Whitney was very excited to spend time with her cousins and see all the gifts her little brother received! She has been SOOOO good about the packages and gifts that have already arrived for Grady.  I wasnt sure how she would do with a pile of presents that were for someone else (who isnt even here yet!), but she did great and our AWESOME family really spoiled her with attention and books and princess stuff, too :) 

The food was fabulous and the decorations were adorable! All the cousins and sisters on Eric's Dad's side of the fam have gathered to throw showers for weddings and babies before, so it was so nice to have OUR turn in the spotlight :) 

Aunt Carol made these AWESOME diaper trikes/motorcycles for the table centerpieces...amazing! They are Soooo cute and I hate to take them apart to use the diapers! 

It is hard to take pics and be the guest of honor, so there are a lot of things/people I didnt get good pics of, but Lynzie has great pics on her blog. Including a pic of the cake our Aunt Cindy made. Not only was it delicious, but it was a rainbow of blues inside! Each layer had a different shade of blue and it was adorable!! 

The girls made up a Jeopardy game and the teams had to answer questions about me, Eric, and Grady. How many colleges did Eric attend? (6) How many embroidered onesies does Grady have already? (ummm...12? ish?) What sport did Kathleen play in high school? (trick question, but Tennis was the best answer). Who is Grady named after? (His two grandfathers, Gary and Ray). :) So much fun, though I think the competitive spirit in my mom thought she had it clenched :) 

We were really, reallllllly spoiled with gifts! These girls literally bought half of our registry PLUS more! Diapers, wipes, breastfeeding supplies, clothes of all sizes, toys, teethers, etc etc etc. I am so grateful and we appreciate everyone gathering to celebrate our son, and the gifts are an added bonus that make our lives easier.  We really cant thank everyone enough!

This is my "Oh my gosh, that is SOO CUUUUUTE" face :)

Big sis and her cousins came back to the party just in time to help open a few gifts!

After the gift-opening, the men-folk came back to the scene of the crime and we let the kids hang in/around the pool for a bit before nap times called and my pregnant-swollen feet couldnt take much more.  It was such a great day, from beginning to end, and I will say it again....I LOVE being a part of Eric's family. :) 

Charlotte and Devin.....Yall know Devin as "Whitney's personal dress-maker" :), but she helped make my day so special in so many ways.  And Charlotte was one of Whitney's biggest cheerleaders back in June when we were going through Potty Training Weekend :) She isnt "technically" family, but she fits right in and I love that she spent the weekend in Florida when I am certain there are countless other cool things she couldve been doing back at school in Georgia.  I am really honored that these girls took time to celebrate our kids, and hope Whitney grows up to be as thoughtful and funny and beautiful on the inside and out as these girls are. 

My SIL, Crystal, was also on the sprinkle-planning committee (and made a delicious tomato pie!) and has always made raising boys look easy and fun! I have always adored our nephews, Kyle and Dean, and know that they are the awesome, smart kids they are thanks to their parents. Crystal has two of the the NICEST, most thoughtful boys Ive ever known. They make having a son sounds like so much fun, and I cant wait for Grady to look up to them and learn from them and laugh with them the way Whitney does now. 

Eric's sister, Lynzie spearheaded the sprinkle efforts and really did an awesome job! I have so much love and respect for this girl, I just wish I could find the right words to tell her how much I appreciate her, her friendship, her support, and her excitement about our babies.  She has always been the backbone of the Bass fam, and I love that she stands up for herself and her loved ones, shows intense compassion and has the best sense of humor that will have you wetting your pants.  Her kids are awesome. Her husband is awesome.  Her house is awesome.  I just love her to pieces. :) THANK YOU, Lynzie!

And after a day filled with excitement, Whitney crashed HARD. She brought her hand-me-down Buzz Lightyear to bed with her, and I had to catch a pic of her holding Buzz's hand in her sleep :) I just know she is going to love having a little brother, and he is certainly going to think she is the coolest big sister ever! :)