Where we've been & Where we're going...

Last year at the end of July, we were here:

And in a mere month, this little cutie/trouble-maker will turn 1. It doesn't seem possible...


...And we will celebrate her in true GIRLY fashion! I love to plan a party, and have lots of plans/ideas for this special day! The invitations came yesterday and they are so precious I can hardly stand it!
Even big brother is helping with party-planning. We might be on "dum-dum" overload by the time it's all over!

Mess

Connell has a two week break from Mother's Day Out before the fall semester begins. While I was (and still am) a little concerned that Mommy might lose it during these two weeks, it has been nice to be somewhat "schedule-free." We have spent more time at home which has been good, but the bonus room isn't faring too well! Apparently, it must be "Pull-Out-Every-Toy-You-Own" week and my children are very excited to participate.

But we are having fun, and that's all that matters! We were being silly with the camera the other day.

Playdate

We met some friends this morning at the FMC to play. It's been a while since we've been...we kind of wore it out in the spring with so many birthday parties! Needless to say, Emma has grown and changed so much the past few months, it was fun to see her in action.

Emma & Chase

Julianna & Emma

Pizza lunch break!

C-O-N-N-E-L-L my name is Connell!

Since I seem to be on a roll with videos lately, here is another one that I absolutely love! Tim is great about making everything into a song (I think he did that A LOT in school) and now Connell knows how to spell his name!

Our Little Ham!

Connell might (might) have inherited his love to entertain others from his Daddy. I am just sayin...!
Here he is one morning last week even making his ABCs into a comical event. It's a good thing he is so funny...because he is 3, and we all know how that goes!

Emma's "New Thing"

I guess that Connell has heard us say "that's Emma's new thing" so many times, that he says that now! It's cute that he notices!
Emma has new things every day, it seems, but this is the big one as of late...

Miss Amie was feeding Emma some icecream...so she was highly motivated!

Weekend Review

Meme and Papa came to visit this weekend, and Uncle Patrick, Samantha and Uncle Kelly joined us as well on Saturday. We played outside and had a cookout and then enjoyed some yummy homemade icecream that Papa and Connell made! I did my best to resist the temptation since I happen to know how much heavy cream and sugar went into the icecream...but alas, we now have the leftover icecream in our freezer...you better believe it is CALLING MY NAME!!! :)

My man is a great chef!!! And great at the grill, too!

bubble boy!

Reagan & Taylor turn 8!

It's hard to believe! They will be starting 2nd grade in two weeks! What big girls!
We moved here right after their 1st birthday, and it just doesn't at all seem like it's been 7 years!
Here are some pics from their celebration the other night...the kids had a blast!

Chloe, Reagan, Ian & Taylor Pretty girls! Another pretty girl! (she likes to cheese for my camera now!)

Movie Time (take two)!

This morning we ventured back to the free movies. This time it was the Veggie Tales "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything!" Connell doesn't remember but when he was one, we went to see this with Taylor and Reagan.
So we did that again! This time we took Emma, so it was her first movie too! I knew it was a rather short movie, so I figured Emma could make it. She did great! She even danced to the music during the movie! Connell was very excited to have all the girls with him, and we also met up with some other friends. Everyone is enjoying the free movies...free entertainment in an air-conditioned space...YES please!

Emma loved it - maybe it was the snacks!

Can you see Connell's excitement?! :)

So sweet! They walked from the movie to lunch to the truck like this!

These might be the cutest kids I know!!!!

**Note** they were all great today. However, I don't think God intends for me to

be a mom of 4. Whew!

Our Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us this weekend and we had so much fun! No big plans...just a laid-back kind of weekend, and those are usually the best ones!

Saturday, we went to lunch at Mellow Mushroom. We love it - and it's worth the little drive to Nashville! Saturday night we stayed home, grilled beer-butt chicken and played inside as we were getting some MUCH-NEEDED RAIN! Oh, and I can't forget to mention, my Mom and I snuck out during naptime for some girltime/retail therapy! We don't get to do that much anymore and it was so fun!

A little nite-nite fun! They NEVER get to bed on time when Grandma & Grandpa visit! Oh well!

Connell now knows how to spell his name (I need to get a video-it's so cute how he does it). When he was a baby, Grandma and Grandpa gave him this book called "Your Very Own Name" - and it spells out his full name and tells a story. This is the first time he's read it and really known the letters. Very cool!

Sunday morning we went to church and the Cracker Barrel (of course!) and then had some water fun!

Happy Emma waking up from a nap!

Ten Months...Goes by in a flash!

Emma is ten months old now! She is developing more and more personality each day and is still as smiley as ever!
Here are some things we'd like to remember about Emma at this age:

• You got your 7th tooth during your tenth month. We were in Asheville for Chandler's birthday, and you are such a good baby, we didn't even notice! No fussing, no tylenol needed...you are the bomb! I just looked and saw the tip of a new tooth on the bottom.
• You began using the sign for "more." It's awesome when you use it, because otherwise you use this really high-pitched scream for food. The "more" sign is so much, well, quieter!
• More on the food topic: You are a great eater. You love to eat. You still nurse a couple times a day and in addition, you are all over your food. You are more and more interested in "big people" food and are doing really well chewing since you have so many teeth. You like pancakes, bread/bisuits, goldfish crackers, potatoes, and yogurt. We are still mainly doing baby foods, but are trying more table foods as we go. You like it all!
• You are saying more words all the time. Including: ma-ma, da-da, and ball! It's so cute...you have the sweetest little voice. At the same time, you also have a very BIG voice - you are quite the squealer/screamer! Must be a girl thing...we never really heard that from Connell :)
• You have tried to climb the stairs this month. You just wanna be wherever Connell is! Bless your heart...Mama isn't ready for the stairs yet! Slow down, speedy!
• You LOVE to dance! It's so funny! There are certain songs you automatically move to...John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt (for those that don't know, traditional children's song that is on a cd we listen to ALL. THE. TIME. in my truck. Connell loves it as much as Emma. As soon as the first chord of the song comes on, Emma starts her little dance! Also, both my babies LOVE Imma Be...the clean version! They love the beat!
• You like to play with musical toys (no big surprise) and you like books and your doll. :) You really like to play with all of Connell's toys. We are working on the whole "sharing" thing (ha!). You will pass up every toy in a 5-mile radius to get your hands on a remote or a cellphone.
• You give kisses and it absolutely melts my heart (and your Daddy's)!
• You are the fastest crawler I have ever seen. You are a very determined little lady!
• We are trying to help you learn how to drink from a sippy cup, but you really just want to chew on it. You'll figure it out soon, I'm sure.
• You like to mock sounds...if we laugh, you laugh. If we cough, you cough. It's so funny! You even try to sing along at church.
• You don't like to wear a hat (but Mommy insists while we are swimming). You equally dislike hairbows. You don't have much hair, but I try to put a little bow in sometimes. You usually pull it right out, but then hold it up there on your head like you want it back in. Silly girl!
• You still get a bottle before bedtime and you can hold it by yourself.

Oh how I wish I had done this blog when Connell was a baby. It's so hard to remember the details, and I soooooo want to! I do remember, this baby boy pictured below, entered our world and it's NEVER been the same! Love our boy!

BIG & BUSY 4th of July Weekend!

We had a jam-packed weekend, with festivities from Friday night through Monday afternoon. I need a vacation to rest! Ha! Here's the rundown:

Friday evening we had a babysitter and went to a cookout at our friend Michael Paul's house on the lake. It was just nice and laidback. Before we ate, we went out on the Jacobs' boat for a bit and Timmy got to "surf." This was only his second time, and he was quite impressive!

He was pretty hot on that board! :)



Saturday we tried to chill out a bit, ran a few errands and let the kids take good naps so we could go watch the big fireworks show that night. We joined some friends and met at a soccer field and set up our spot for the evening! We took dinner (my fave - Blue Coast Burrito) and had a picnic and Connell had the best time running around playing with his friends. We got there really early and there weren't many people but by the time it got dark, there were tons of families gathered. The kids loved the fireworks. I wasn't sure what Emma would think, especially since it was past her bedtime but she sat still in my lap during the entire display and didn't take her eyes off of the fireworks. It was a late night but the kids were great! They are such troopers!

watching fireworks! (the only time he stood still all night)

Sunday we went to late church (kids woke up at their normal time - even though we were up so late) but MOMMY couldn't get it together in time for the early service. Tim smoked BBQ all night on the smoker so Sunday evening we had the Jacobs, Wilsons and Joley's over to eat and swim (Wilson's pool). It was fun! We were just back and forth across our yards and it worked out perfectly! The BBQ was phenomenal! Yep! The best he's made so far!
After church - she is so smiley!

Miss Shannon & Emma

Ian's great action shot

working on swimming without his floaties

The big boys!

Monday the Jacobs took us out on their boat. Connell was super excited. I am not sure that he remembers going on the boat last year. We went out early and just skipped Emma's morning nap. She was great!

Connell watched Ian and his friend tubing and then decided he wanted to do it. I was hoping he would! He and Tim had a big time! Connell thinks he should be able to do it by himself because "I am big!"

We headed in by about 3 and they crashed. I headed next door to the pool and hung out with Amie. That was honestly the most relaxing part of the whole weekend! It was crazy and fun! I love these memories we are making as a family!

I think Connell wants to be just like Ian when he gets big! :)

Doesn't her lifejacket look comfy?! It was Connell's. Sorry Emma, can't justify a pink one since you will only wear it once or twice!

Connell was so excited that Kate was on the boat - puppy lifejacket and all!

The best part of the day!

Wish I could have heard what they were talking about...

Connell & Chloe

Connell "helping" Mr. Chad drive