Hazel's first visit with Grandma

Grandma came to visit us this week, and we're having an awesome time. We've been doing lots of my favorite thing - reading books - and Sunday she took me to the park, where we had loads of fun. After my nap Sunday, we welcomed her to Austin by taking Grandma out to dinner at Shady Grove, where people are keeping Austin weird (there was a kid there with a scary two-headed doll) and where they have fantastic blackberry cobbler. Grandma was nice enough to share hers with me. As you can see, I loved it!

Monday was a special day because it was Grandma's birthday! We celebrated by slave driving her - she took me to the grocery store in the morning so Mom could take a nap. The afternoon was fun because we went to Whole Foods, then had a nice dinner from Freebirds. I hear there was some cake involved, but that must have been after I went to bed. We are all really glad we got to share Grandma's birthday with her.

Mom, Grandma and Hazel dropped me off at school Tuesday, and I came home to some fun surprises from the book store - Cat in the Hat for me and Guess How Much I Love You for Hazel. Both books are nice, and I hope I can one day convince Hazel that we should share.

Mom's birthday was last week, the day after Hazel's. She got some gift cards and so far I have really benefited from them. Tuesday we went to get the mail and I was surprised to find a Word Whammer, a toy that looks like an airplane with magnetic letters. When I put the letters in the plane, it tells me what letter it is and what sounds each letter makes. There is also a button that sings the alphabet when I push it. I really like playing with it, so much that Grandma and Mom caught me walking around singing the tune to the A B C song Wednesday.

Wednesday we got off to a slow start because Mom and Hazel were up partying all night (which led Dad and Mom to agree to start giving her a pacifier), but we eventually went to Ikea to shop for Mom's birthday presents from Dad and me. We finished our shopping with a nice lunch Grandma packed, which we ate in the store's cafe. Mom said Grandma was very smart to have brought my watermelon, avocado, yogurt and cheese, as well as a nice chicken salad sandwich for Mom. Mom can't stop eating because she feeds our other little voracious eater, Hazel. In fact, the sandwich, which Mom ate while feeding Hazel at Ikea, was Mom's lunch #1. She came home for round two - squash ragout with chicken and rice - which she conquered while I took a nap. After that, I had an exciting afternoon hanging out with Grandma and Hazel while Mom ran a few quick errands.

Hazel is getting bigger. We are having a good time seeing how cute she is in all her little girl clothes, and are amazed at how many diapers she goes through. From Thursday to Monday she went through a whole pack - 40 diapers.

It is good Grandma came to visit because she confirmed Mom's suspicion that Hazel has dimples. Speaking of Grandma, she has noticed lots of things she thought we should mention here on our blog, since she doesn't see me every day like Mom and Dad. She pointed out that any time someone says, "Osh Kosh B'Gosh," I laugh my head off. She also said when they sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," I applaud, my eyes light up, and my smile is huge.

Wednesday, Grandma pointed out that I seem to know when it's almost time for Daddy to come home from work. She said with every sound I hear, I get excited and run around shouting, "Da Da!" Hazel can tell time too, especially "scream o' clock," which Mommy lovingly calls "happy hour."