Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over

Dear Laney,

Tonight, your great-aunt Sandra hosted a little get-together at her house so the whole family could meet you. I was so impressed by the turn-out for little ol' us, until someone mentioned that it was also Sandra's birthday, making us the worst guests ever.

You had a great time taking the ornaments off Sandra's tree, eating potato chips with Katie under the table, turning the Christmas tree lights on and off, and rolling an ornament back and forth across the coffee table with your great-uncle Keith.

You even got to go outside with your great-uncle David to hunt for the neighborhood cat who weighs more than you do and might actually be an exceptionally furry Great Dane. Your great-aunt Melanie gave you the cutest hat/scarf/gloves set, which turned out to be quite a blessing, since we had made our packing choices based on everyone assuring us that it would be in the 60s in Vienna during our visit.

Lies.

But we knew you were done for the day when you oh-so-subtly went to Sandra's sitting area, chose a throw pillow and put yourself to bed smack-dab in the middle of the party.

Thanks to Sandra for having everyone over, and happy belated birthday!

Love,

Mom

There Are Certain Benefits...

Dear Laney,

There are certain benefits to having a grandfather who owns an antique store.

You get your pick of anything on the accessories display. Amazingly, you chose the one necklace that actually matched your outfit and you worked it, honey.

You get to field test all the toys - in this case, a Bob The Builder construction game. Since all Bob can say is, "YES WE CAN build something!!!" it was decided that the game should be called Obama The Builder.

You can pet the concrete version of Gus.

You can double-check all the bookkeeping and point out any errors, in between throwing handfuls of AA batteries off the counter.

Thanks for not breaking anything.

Love,

Mom

Goodbye, Montgomery

Dear Laney,

Just felt like we should wrap up our Montgomery trip by telling everyone how much we enjoyed our visit. It was especially good that you got to spend some quality time with Peg Peg, so you could work on your choreography.

I’m not sure what you guys are doing in these photos, but I look forward to seeing you both on “So You Think Your Granny Can Dance?” debuting on Fox in 2014.

Love,

Mom

Granny Jack's Birthday Celebration

Dear Laney,

Tonight, we celebrated Granny Jack's 80th birthday at a great little party put together by Aunt Robyn. You also celebrated the leaves in the front yard, the adjacent playground and the cheese and cracker assortment.

We got to meet so many of Granny Jack's friends who all knew everything there was to know about you. You were so famous that I started to feel like I was toting around a 30 pound Elvis. We also met a few people who mentioned that they read this blog. Now that we know we have an audience, we'll have to work on being more interesting.

In preparation for the party, I got to look through boxes and boxes of old family photos. We even saw photos of Granny Jack when she was your age. I enjoyed seeing them so much that I included a few in the video below, along with some highlights from tonight's party.

Thanks to Granny Jack for inviting us to such a swingin' party, for introducing us to all her friends, and for being the best great-grandmother a toddler could hope for.

Hope you like the video, GJ.

Love,

Brooke & Laney

The Difference Between Parents and Grandparents

Dear Laney,

Tonight, we went to dinner with Peg Peg and Tex at an Italian place here in Montgomery. You were extremely well-behaved, so we walked over to the bookstore across the parking lot after dinner. It was in the children's section of Books-A-Million where I rediscovered a major discrepancy between parenting and grandparenting.

When we found out that the store sold stuffed animal versions of the Backyardigans, I suggested that you pick your favorite. As in one. Peg Peg looked at me like I had suggested that instead of booking The Beatles for our party, we should just get Ringo. And then she said, "Well, you couldn't possibly break up the set."

Never mind that until last month, your grandmother had never HEARD of the dang Backyardigans. Never mind that we don't have room in our suitcase for Tasha, Uniqua, Tyrone, Pablo AND Austin. Never mind that the animals aren't actually a living breathing set of friends who would notice if they were missing a member.

When we got home, we called Dad and asked, "They had stuffed Backyardigans at the bookstore. Guess how many we came home with?" He silently counted, then said, "Five."

Apparently, your dad was aware of the Grandparent Rule of Excess.

Love,

Mom

Welcome To Talbot's

Dear Laney,

Today, we went shopping with Peg Peg, Aunt Robyn and Granny Jack - four generations of bargain hunters. This is you, wondering if you belong in Petites. Trust me, you do.

Tex says that if you're planning on spending quality time with Peg, you should get used to hanging out in the waiting areas in and around Talbot's, so that's just what you did today.

All in all, it was a productive shopping day, as your retail Yoda got one more chance to teach you the art of the deal. Great shopping potential in this one, there is.

...And then you went over to Robyn's and met her dogs and you got to have tacos with guacamole for dinner and we talked to Dad on the phone until you hung up on him and then you went to bed without a fuss because you're just as exhausted as the rest of us. Whew.

The End.

Love,

Mom

A Note On Our Flight

Dear Laney,

Flying solo with a toddler is a lot like childbirth; unless you're able to forget how painful it is, you will never, ever do it again.

So in order to start the forgetting process, that's all I'll say about our flight to Atlanta.

Love,

Mom