Happy Birthday Aunt Lindsay!

We all went to the zoo on Sunday for Lindsay's birthday and we had a blast. We started out with full bellies from California Dreaming and that helped sustain our 3+ hour zoo trip. I can't believe how long the babies lasted. Cole and Katie rode around the zoo in style in their Radio Flyer wagon built for two.

For the low price of $1, you can buy a small cup of nectar to feed to the lorikeets. These birds are natives of Australia and I went to a Lorikeet park when I visited Australia in 2002. They are beautiful birds and the ones at the zoo are very hungry! Eric and Mari had some of the nectar and birds were flocking right to them. This one above was perched on Eric's arm and as Katie was watching it eat nectar, she decided to pull it's tail. I am not sure if the bird squaked, but I sure did!

This is close to one of my most favorite pictures of Katie as it captures so much of her personality. She is always so interested in what is going on around and peers at everything. I caught her mid-peer with a cute little smile that just melts my heart!

At about 5:45, after having arrived at the zoo at 2:15, Katie was still all smiles living it up in the bird house/penguin exhibit. Her favorite things at the zoo were in the aquarium and bird area as things were more on her eye level. She really seemed to study the animals and watch them swim and dance. I can't wait to take her back as she grows up and watch her enjoy even more things!

Bye Bye House

I don't think Katie was quite ready to say goodbye to her first house. It was actually quite sad when I left there for the last time. I walked around each room remembering some of my favorite times there. Doug and I got engaged at the house, we brought Katie home to the house, and have had many other fun memories there. I will miss the house!

We are settling in at Doug's parents house and Katie is adjusting to that too. She has been waking up and needing to be held - I think she's really confused about where she is...But last night, she slept the whole night in her crib - she did wake up but only needed a pacifier and then back to sleep!

We have signed the contract to begin our new house. We are lot 26 in Landon Place! They should get started on it the first part of August and we will be in by December.

Jackson's Birthday

Katie attended her first birthday party last weekend in Dalton, Georgia. Jackson Callaway turned 1 on July 15 and celebrated in style at the indoor playground at his church! This playground makes McDonalds Play Place look like a prison yard. Katie and I had a blast exploring. We climbed up into a "tree" and looked out at the other kids playing and scoped out where we would go next.

Katie had ample opportunity to practice her new skill of crawling! She is doing so well with it! There was the sweetest little boy at the party who helped Katie through this Hippo tunnel and played Pat-a-Cake with her. He was too cute! She explored slides and tree houses and tunnels and more. She looked so grown being on a big kid's playground!

Katie got to spend more time with my extended family - The Browns. Lauren had only met her back at Christmas - and honestly, I was so out of it at that point, that I really don't even remember the visit. Lauren gave Katie a few fashion tips as only Lauren could. It was so much to share Katie with her!

The best part of the weekend was watching Katie and Jackson play together. They interacted so well and Katie tried to hold her own with the big kid! They rode in Jackson's new wagon together, shared toys, and jumped together in an exersaucer. Jackson's grandma kept saying "this is rehearsal dinner material" as we planned the future nuptuals for these two! I think they definitely made an imprint on each other (Twilight reference).

It was a fabulous weekend and I enjoyed spending time with my mom as we travelled to and from Dalton. As usual, she was a great help with Katie. We made a pitstop in Madison, Georgia on the way home Sunday which is probably a really nice town, but we wouldn't really know since absolutely nothing, including public restrooms, opened until 1 pm and we were there just before noon! Sheesh!

This Is How I Feel About TIME WARNER CABLE

I can't even begin to go into the details - but this is how I feel about them. Can I get an AMEN from those of you out there that have had words with "Customer Disservice" Reps. That place is ridiculous.

I am proud to say my household is now a Time Warner Cable FREE zone - We no longer use any of their services. Ok, that's big talk - but really - we cancelled all of our services as we were moving out of the house and because of EVERYTHING that ensued, they will not be receiving our business when we move into our new house.

So - if you're looking to email Doug or me, use my gmail account or facebook me.

P.S. Does anyone want to get some t-shirts made displaying our utter dislike for Time Warner Cable?

Discovery Toys

As if I needed something else to do while my family packs and moves houses, I joined the Discovery Toys team as a consultant. I actually joined a while ago and was supposed to have a Grand Opening type of party at my house to showcase the products. The speedy sale of our house pre-empted the party...for now.

As with any home business, there are incentives for getting off to an early start and I am still trying to achieve some level of success, albeit with a home and therefore no way to show you the toys.

However, Al Gore invented the internet for times such as these! Discovery Toys has a great website where you can view the products and learn about the benefits for your children. If you feel inclined, go to the website via the link below and check out the catalog. If you see something you like and you spend $40 before the end of July, you'll receive a $10 coupon good towards something in the Fall catalog in September. If you see lots of things you like, contact me about hosting a party and we can talk about how you can earn those things for free!

Here's the link: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/rachelwjones

Thanks for stopping by and tune in later this week for a look at Katie's first birthday party that she attended this weekend for her friend Jackson who turned 1 last week!

Crazy 8!

Our little girl turned 8 months old yesterday! Her 8th month has been really busy while we have been trying to find a house and pack our own house! This past month has been all about standing. She doesn't even want to sit anymore. She is pulling up on everything she can get her hands on! She has tried to use my hair, a beach ball, Jack...and countless other things. Sha hasn't started crawling but she is somewhat mobile. She lunges forward like she's going to crawl, but then just turns herself around. Which has led to a few incidents. She bonked her head on the coffee table while turning around and even fell off our bed while turning around. (I don't have cat like reflexes - sorry Katie.) After the fall off the bed, Doug made it a point to read "Five Little Monkies" to her so she could learn a valuable lesson. Below is a picture of that reading session.

Katie has still not been sleeping so great - I keep hoping to find some teeth to explain the broken sleep, but alas, we are still toothless. We had a doctor's appointment this month for what I thought was an ear infection (no problem though) and she weighed in at 18 pounds and 5 ounces. She is getting so big!

I hear from lots of people that Katie has a lot of hair - she can rock a bow with the best of them and even has some curls coming in the back!

Katie is the nosiest little baby ever! She always wants to know where noises are coming from and peers around corners when she hears anything. She studies new people and loves babies and animals. She lights up outdoors and is fascinated by nature!

She loves her hands and has started waving (albeit at herself) when we wave at her. I have found her practicing her wave in her crib in the middle of the night - what a hard worker!

She has tried to help us pack the house - but we get very little done when she's so much fun to play with!

Katie lights up our day (and sometimes the night) with her smile! We love her more and more each day - and just when it seems my heart has reached capacity - I love her even more! Happy 8 months bug!

In All Fairness...

Katie did push Jackson first. She shoved her friend Jackson who is almost twice her size. She has quite the Napoloean complex.

Then Katie tried to make a quick getaway before Jackson could retaliate. The look on her face shows she thinks she got away with the shove. Jackson is contemplating which cup to knock her over with.

He picked the green cup. She was down for the count. The big kids always win. Another lesson learned.

Katie absolutely loves other kids. She is very social - no clue where she gets that from!

We're Still Here, Sort Of!

Sorry the blog has fallen through the cracks lately. We have been really busy. We sold our house after just a week on the market and are closing on July 23. We will most likely be living with Doug's parents until we find a house. For now, we are feverishly packing and valiantly looking for a new house! All good things - but very busy and at times overwhelming!

Scroll down for some posts on what else we've been up to lately...

Chickens and Crickets!

Uncle Eric and Aunt Mari have chickens! I guess they fit pretty nicely with the horses and the barn and the pasture and the dogs. They got the chickens for egg-purposes and have built them a little coop complete with ramp!

Mari feeds the chickens chicken feed - but for dessert, they get CRICKETS! She saved a batch of crickets for us to watch the feeding frenzy!

Katie seemed to enjoy watching the chickens eat the crickets- She loves the outdoors and loves to watch animals. I was nervous that we would get pecked by the chickens but they kept a pretty safe distance.

Beach Bum!

We went to the beach with parents and aunt and uncle a few weeks ago. I have been going to the same spot in North Myrtle Beach since I was about 5. I lost my first tooth there (courtesy of my brother) and learned to play Monopoly there (courtesy of Mimi). Took many friends there - Emily, Jenny - remember this place??? And now Katie gets to enjoy it too! She loved the sand and the waves but not the heat.

We spent the early mornings (630 am to 730 am) on the beach together playing in the sand and enjoying the waves. She liked the ocean the first time she was in it - but the second time, she seemed a bit timid and clung to me pretty tightly.

She had a few fistfuls of sand to cap off her beach adventure. A little sand never hurt anyone! We enjoyed our time there and can't wait for next summer!

Water Baby!

This child loves the water! She is so content when she's in the water and loves to try and eat the water, splash in the water, kick the water, and jump in the water! Grandma Jones got the babies an Elmo mat that sprays water and Katie loved it! The water was a bit cold, but she didn't seem to care!

This is Katie at the pool at the beach a few weeks ago. We had a great time there with my parents and Katie enjoyed the pool, kiddie pool, and the ocean!

More pool time on the 4th of July in Camden with Eric and Mari and her parents! The pool was phenomenal and had a great amount of shade that made swimming at 5pm perfect!