A birthday, a broken leg, and a whole lot of crazy...

After Easter our activities around the house substantially decreased. We spent most of our time hanging out with Macie, working on her skills.

As you can see she has NO problem sitting on her own now and has developed great balance (I should know, I am always trying to find sneaky ways to knock her down-fortunately for her large size and strength I rarely succeed).

She is a lot more fun now that she sits up all the time. She has become more of a playmate than a spectator.

Last weekend I went to the Big Red Barn with Dad while Mom, Macie and Aunt Hayley went to Costco. When they picked us up we had purchased a new addition to my already large repertoire of outdoor transportation; a scooter!

The scooter Dad bought me was awesome! I have to wear a helmet to be safe, its one of my new big kid rules, but I have already taken a few spills and am sure glad I had it on!

Since Macie is getting so big Mom decided she REALLY needs to learn to eat like a big girl! We placed her in my high chair and the outlook was promising...

I ate my own banana while watching her try and pick up the banana slices we had placed in front of her. She couldn't seem to understand how to get the food from her hand to her mouth, but did a great job of making a big mess everywhere.

After many attempts at teaching her to use her hands and failing we tried a fork- unfortunately that was unsuccessful as well. At least she enjoyed banging the fork on the tray, it provided some much needed entertainment to lighten the mood.

A warm front moved into town towards the middle of the month giving us no excuses to be cooped up indoors. I took advantage of the weather by riding my scooter around and around the front yard. My neighbor Caroline leaned how to ride a big girl bike and I was envious of her. My scooter no longer seemed like the cool thing to be doing, so I informed the family that I was ready to ride my bike.

Mom pulled my bike down from the garage and let me give it a try. Here I am on my VERY FIRST big girl bike ride (with training wheels).

Mom and Dad were super proud of me and genuinely impressed that I did so well my first time out. They are now determined to get rid of my training wheels by the end of summer...

Although the weather remained nice and warm Mom had some sewing to do, so I tore up the backyard on my own while Macie sat inside watching mom make tutu's. She loved playing with the tulle, and was quite the helper.

When the weekend came John flew in from Wisconsin to visit Aunt Hayley. It was fun having a buddy in the house and we all took a walk around our neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful sun.

That Monday we celebrated Aunt Hayley's 28th birthday! The whole family took her out to our favorite Sushi place, Edamame, and we all ate like pigs until we were too full to move. Back home I had to go straight to bed, but Macie tells me that Mom, Dad, and Jack all sang Happy Birthday to Aunt Hayley.

I don't mind missing the birthday song, but after seeing this picture I am bummed that they left me out of the cake festivities. Come one guys- that's just NOT FAIR!

A couple nights later Mom got a phone call from her Aunt Pam and we learned that Grandma Judy had a skiing accident and broke her leg. At that moment our extended plans were up in the air. Mom toyed with the idea of taking us out to California to help Grandma Judy recover, but knew that our crew taking over her house may be more intrusive and overwhelming than helpful. After lots of coercing on Mom's part it was settled, Grandma Judy was going to to come visit us in Ohio!

I was SUPER excited at the prospect of helping Grandma heal her leg and promised to be a great nurse. While Mom got the house ready for Grandma Macie and I played with my kitchen. The fruits and veggies turned out to be perfect for improving her hand and eye coordination, and before long she was picking everything up.

Practice in my kitchen has given e confidence to work in the big kitchen with Mom. I have to follow some basic rules, but am allowed to be on my own. Sometimes I make a bit of a mess, but I always have a good time...

A few days later Grandma Judy flew into town and I couldn't have been more excited to see her. The whole family woke up bright and early and went outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather.

We soaked up the warm sun and helped Grandma relax in the front yard. Grandma did some reading while I showed off the Grandma by riding ALL of my toys from the garage- the cozy coupe, both tricycles, my scooter, and my big kid bike. Grandma was sure impressed.

Once I became bored with my toys I tried out her crutches- they weren't nearly as fun as they looked and I have decided that I will not be using them anytime soon (Mom is grateful that I have made that decision).

Being injured allowed Grandma to spend a lot of quality time with Macie as she was forced to stay seated (something new for Grandma). She used some of the time to begin teaching Macie "so big". Macie kept laughing and laughing as she raised her arms to the sky,

Over the next couple of days I took care of Grandma Judy and the family spent a lot of time catching up. Thanks to help from Grandma Macie learned how to do "so big" all by herself:

I made sure to take full advantage of Grandma being here to play in the back yard. Together we built castles in the sand, and believe it or not, Grandma Judy was even able to push me on the swing!




When the weekend came around again it was time to go to the pool! Grandma's leg was still sore and unable to be submerged in the water, so Dad and I went solo. Check out my new bathing suit with a tutu (apparently a tutu is my signature piece of apparel as I am called "Tutu Riley" around town- Mom rarely lets me leave home without one).

Macie and I are having tons of fun with Grandma Judy. We get to spend lots of quality time with her, and aren't rushing around having to do things. She sits and reads me all my princess books and even supervises as Macie and I while we play with our toys.

Mom said that Grandma's injury came at a good time because she is able to see Macie at a special time in her life when she is growing leaps and bounds.

She is currently working on making all sorts of noises, and as of recent has begun making noises that sound disgustingly similar to that of a fart:

Grandma is going to be staying with us for another whole week and we are looking forward to all sorts of fun activities. Macie is getting closer and closer to crawling with everyday and may even learn before Grandma leaves. Check out her current way of moving around (continuous rolls), personally I think it takes WAY more effort to roll around as Macie does, but you can be the judge..

Mom and Dad better watch out because as soon as Macie becomes mobile I will have a partner in crime...