The Pictures

Here are those pictures I promised several nights ago. I've only got a few minutes while Elmo baby sits. These are just random shots from the last few weeks. I have loved every moment of life with Kate but must admit 18-19 months has been my favorite so far. She's repeating almost everything we say and really starting to talk on her own. She's pretty funny too and knows how to make us laugh. She's adjusted to the new house better than expected and seems to be doing fine in her new school. Kids are so much braver than we are!Enjoy the pics and hopefully I'll be back soon.

It's been a while...

Sorry. No excuses really other than life. Well, actually I do have some excuses. Crazy busy at work, new house, new daycare, football season, travel, etc. I guess that explains my absence from blog world. I heard the blog was "inactive" which sent me into panic mode. I just wanted to update and say pictures to come. I am posting pictures of Kate tonight (in a minute so I don't burn the dinner that is on the stove) and will post the renovation pics on Monday. They are pretty amazing. We just have to get all the "junk" out of the way so everyone can see our progress. Be back soon.

Pickles and Ice Cream

No, I'm not pregnant!! Kate had two firsts over the weekend while we were visiting Bebe and Poppy. I gave her one of those miniature dill pickles just to see what she would do with it and she loved it. I didn't get a picture of that. Her Bebe gave her the ice cream cone and as you can see, she loved it too! When was the last time you experienced that much glee over something as simple as an ice cream cone? I know I had as much fun watching her as she had eating it. I did have to strip her down to get out of GG's house without destroying anything. It was a mess but well worth it!! Hope everyone has a great Thursday.

You mean I get to eat this??

It's kind of cold but I think I like it!


Now I'm getting the hang of it.


Yeah- this is good stuff!!! More please!

It's Official...

We're moving!! It's actually been official for about a month now but of course I'm just now getting to it. It's been a whirlwind but we really do feel like we've found our dream house. Peyton is convinced that this is our "Forever House" but being the gypsy that I am, forever seems like a long time. My friends are calling it my "Big Girl House" so I like that. The house was built in 1964ish and needs some love that we are more than willing to give it. Love is expensive!! We are completely gutting the kitchen and opening it up into the den. We've created a laundry room and a foyer and cut a pass through from the dining room into the den. I'm posting some before pictures that might make you think we've lost our minds but we have an excellent draftsman and contractor and they both assure us we have done the right thing!! I'll post more pictures as we move along. We have everything framed and are waiting on a permit to get the electrical work done. Then comes sheetrock and that will really make it all come together. Of course there will be new appliances, floors, ceilings, cabinets, etc., etc., etc., so we have our work cut out for us. It's been fun though.

In Kate news. The baby is a toddler. She is 16 months and busy, busy, busy. She is all over the place and quite full of herself but she's hilarious. My Dad asked me to tell him something funny she did recently so I told him about me finding her on the bathroom floor with a mouth full of Tums. I'm sure she thought they were delicious. I have no idea how she got the top off. She's talking up a storm and dances her little heart out. She certainly has opinions about things though and it is usually her way or the highway. Girls are sassy aren't they? I have absolutely no idea where she gets it... Ha!! She's saying too many words to list but one of my favorites is "bee". A bee is any type of insect or small dark colored object including a freckle on my arm. She is still very much obsessed with dogs but has now developed a little interest in cats as well. She is keeping us very entertained and on our toes. Life is good!

Hope everyone in blog world is doing well. Most of you have probably given up on me. Life is busy, isn't it!! I'll do my best to update about the house.







Oh, and one more...



Check out those thighs!!!

Third Year's A Charm

This post is a little late but I'm sure most of you are coming to expect that these days. I am the Queen of Procrastination! Two weeks ago, on June 3, Peyton and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary!! What a whirlwind 3 years it has been. We have lived in 3 different houses in two different states, each had a couple of different jobs and most important of all- had a baby!!
That was us on the day we went to get our marriage license. This is where we were for our anniversary this year:






And this is where we ate:




And don't worry, we did not forget about Kate. Along with her very first SEASIDE tee-shirt she got this:

Have I mentioned she is obsessed with "DAWGS". Needless to say, this book has been a hit. I highly recommend it. She has begged us to read it with her a million times since we brought it home. We missed her while we were gone but it was really nice to get away and reconnect! Of course, Seaside is the perfect escape. It is so unique and beautiful that even as frequent beach goers we can justify a vacation here. I highly recommend it too!

Sorry there are no pictures of Kate this post. I have some new ones on my other camera and will post soon. She's as dramatic as ever and still having little melt downs when things don't go her way. She melted onto the kitchen floor the other day and didn't like the feel of that so moved over to the rug in front of the sink so she could have her tantrum on a soft surface. All we can do is laugh at our little drama queen! We are having to teach her that "uh, oh" is reserved for actual accidents and not when you throw your food on the floor on purpose. It's pretty cute to hear though and I must admit, it helps her get away with it just a bit. Hope everyone is having a great week- I know we are looking forward to Father's Day at the Beach!! Take care!

Baby Steps

I really don't have a good explanation for my blog hiatus. I wish I could say that our computer crashed or we've been travelling Europe for the past few months but it isn't anything as disastrous or glamorous as either of those things. We've just been busy with life!! Kate is really busy. She took her first few steps about a week after her birthday and she's been on the go ever since. At 14 months she is really moving and has this walking thing figured out. Even though we stay on our feet moving after her, I was relieved when she figured it all out. She was getting really frustrated right before she took those first few steps and now seems much happier.

Because it is entirely too overwhelming to try to recap the last four months I will just do a boring stats post and promise to be a better blogger from now on. Kate is hilarious and has so much personality. She's definitely got opinions about things and is not afraid to let us know them. She is talking up a storm and we have noticed that quite frequently she sounds just like we have a pet parakeet. That's mostly when she is saying "more, more, more" which is pretty much anytime she sees something that she wants or thinks is hers. We hear it A LOT!

Kate says "DAWG and BAWL" constantly. She just reminded me that she also says "uh, oh". She can point to her nose, mouth, ears, eyes, hair and tummy. She does a hilarious version of "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She still LOVES music and dances. Her newest dance move is turning in circles over and over again which usually results in a dizzy fall to the floor. She says "bye-bye" and waves. We just got back from the grocery store where she waved to every single person we passed. I mean everyone. People get a big kick out of it. I wonder if she is running for mayor. She's got my vote!

We just got back from the beach and the child will have absolutely nothing to do with the pool or the sand. I mean she won't go near it. She clings to us for dear life when we get close to either. We are going to have to work on it. I don't know what happened to our beach baby from last summer. I think it will just take some time. She's going to have to get used to it since we spend every weekend there these days. She loves being on the beach as long as she's on her mat and we are close by. I guess that's a start.

In adult news, Peyton and I will celebrate our third anniversary Wednesday!! Hooray!! He actually surprised me with a trip to Seaside so we are headed there for a long weekend on Friday. I can't wait. We'll miss Kate, but it will be so nice to get away just the two of us for a change.

I hope everyone in blog world is doing well and having as much fun as we are. Everyday gets better and better. I promise to do a better job posting this summer as things slow down a bit. More to come soon!

Super Crawl Sunday

It is official- we have a crawler!! She is not playing around anymore and is really on the go. She's pretty fast too which makes me nervous. Every now and then she will stop and look back at me with that toothy little grin like "try and catch me mama"! I know that life as we know it is over but I must say it was getting hard to watch her get so frustrated not being able to get anywhere. She seems quite pleased with herself now and is exploring the whole house. I am going to have to make sure I keep my floors clean or her little knees are going to give me away! There's really nothing cuter than a smiling baby headed straight to you on all fours. Things are just getting better and better around here.

It's been a long week. I am recovering from the worst sore throat of my life which turned out to be mono. I'm sure I picked it up working at the clinic (not kissing any patients mind you) but hopefully I am through the worst of it. I had it once before in college and I don't feel as tired this time around so I'm hoping it isn't as bad. I've had a quiet weekend while Peyton attended wedding festivities for a friend. Today has been beautiful though so Kate and I got out for a stroll and to the grocery store.

Tonight's the super bowl. May the best team win I guess. I can safely say that I could care less. Last year was a little interesting because we like the Giants but the teams this year just don't do it for me. And let's be honest, are the commercials every really that good?? We did pick up some 3D glasses at the grocery store for something that is going to happen at half time so maybe that will be worth watching. We'll see! Hope everyone has had a relaxing weekend. We are just gearing up for another action packed week around here. Hope everyone has a good one!

Better Late than Never

Well, I guess it's better late than never to wish everyone Happy Holidays!! It's been forever since I posted and I have no idea what has been going on but we have surely been busy. Of course, work eats up most of our time these days and Kate gets all the rest. The holidays were as wonderful as expected and we had so much fun in Decatur with my family. Seeing Kate and cousin Liza interacting together was the best part. These girls are sure to be best of friends. Kate certainly had a HUGE Christmas. The girl racked up!! It's nice to be settling back into a normal routine and gearing up for Mardi Gras. Kate turned 9 months old on January 2 and this is my favorite age so far. She is hilarious! She now has four teeth and those top ones are big. She'll bite you if you aren't careful and it hurts. She really wants to crawl but just can't quite figure it out. I think it is only a matter of days before she is off and won't life get interesting then? She "talks" all the time and has started associating certain things with certain sounds. Mostly she knows the dog as "D" and says it every time she sees one. She's eating much better but still prefers table food to baby food. Who can blame her? She had her checkup yesterday and weighed in at a whopping 22 lbs and 28 3/4 inches long. She's a chunk but it's adorable!! I really can't imagine it getting any better than this but I know it will. So fun!!

In adult news, work has been crazy. Starting a new doctor's office has it's challenges but I genuinely love what I am doing and the people I am working with so it makes it all worth it. It is so nice to wake up and not dread going to work. I miss Kate during the day but she loves daycare and her teacher and seems so happy there so I just trust that I am doing the right thing. I have started a new Sunday School based on the themes from "The Shack". It is wonderful. Last week we talked about Grace. Wow, is that powerful. Grace is an amazing thing (hence the song I guess) and almost hard to comprehend. I don't feel like I deserve how much God loves me but it sure is comforting to know that He does even when I mess up. That class last week was like this huge breath of fresh air. It really helped me prepare for another work week. I feel so blessed to have found this amazing church family that has already offered so much to all of us. It will be so fun to watch Kate grow up there. We have finally planned the NYC trip that we have wanted to go on forever. My mom, aunt and I will be heading to the Big Apple in March and I can't wait. My mom and aunt haven't been since they were teenagers so it will be so much fun to see the city with them. I hope it doesn't turn into the three stooges take Manhattan but you never know. We are really excited! I guess that's about all I have time for now. My New Year's resolution was to be more organized and take more time to do the things I care about (like blogging) so hopefully I will do a better job. I am really so impressed by all you super hero working moms out there who can juggle it all and keep your blogs up to date. Hats off to you. Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys this refreshing sort of winter weather.