Keepin' Up With The Joneses

2011 Sendoff

2012-01-01T17:22:00.000-04:00

We have celebrated New Year's Eve with the Boozers and the Clarks since the end of 2007. It's crazy to think how the celebrations have morphed since having kids but it's still always a fun time. Here is our attempt at getting 5 kids to pose for one picture. There must be 50 shots within 2 minutes of this group and not ONE has all of them looking at the camera. But it's funny watching the progression of each child through the pictures. Caleb moves farther and farther away. Maddie gets up one or two times. Katie gets exasperated quite a few times. And Peyton and Allie were the best we had!

After our photo shoot, we headed outside to do some fireworks and sparklers. The kids were all a little hesitant to do the sparklers, but each of them got a little help from their parents. Katie wanted Doug to hold it until it lit up, she was mostly afraid of the lighting process.

They all eventually got a little less cautious and seemed to have a good time trying to write their names in the air or just do some twirling. Surprisingly, no one tried to light anyone else on fire.

Then it was time for the real fireworks. The Boozers live in a culdesac and we had it pretty much to ourselves. The dads took turns lighting the bottle rockets, etc while the kids watched from the safety of the back of my car.

Now for the real treat of the evening...We had our first NON FAMILY babysitter. Shelley's sister drove up from Charleston to watch the kids for the rest of the evening and then put them to bed so we could go over to some other friend's house for some adult interaction. We stayed up late enough to watch the ball drop and had a great time ringing in the new year with so many friends!

Pete the Elf!

2011-12-26T21:14:00.000-04:00

We jumped on the Elf on the Shelf bandwagon this year during Christmas and Katie loved it. He arrived a little too early - Black Friday to be exact - so we had to get really creative closer to Christmas to find new spots for him everyday. Pete did a few relatively funny things like ride on Bullseye or make a pallet on the dining room table with napkins, but most of the time he was just hanging out in a different, hard to reach spot.

She woke up every morning wanting to see where Pete was hiding. If it ever took longer than 30 seconds to find him, the tears would start pretty quickly as she was worried he'd gotten lost on his way back from the North Pole. She started to get really attached to him and we worried what it would be like when Pete had to get picked up by Santa and wouldn't return for a year. So we devised a plan to let her hold him on Christmas Eve since in our eyes, he didn't need his magic anymore. Pete wrote her a poem and was hanging on her door knob on Christmas Eve morning.

She was thrilled she got to hold him and carried him around everywhere that day. That night, she boxed him back up and put him under the tree exactly like his letter told her. She said bye to him and then ran upstairs for bed. As we put her to bed, she politely asked us to ask Santa to let Pete stay with her instead of going back with him. It broke my heart. Then, on Christmas morning, she walked all around the Christmas tree searching for his box smiling the whole time saying "I think he's just hiding." We quickly diverted her attention to other things to get her mind off of her missing elf. She didn't mention him again for a few days but then she started wanting to know when Christmas was going to be here so Pete could come back. I'm sure I'm scarring her for life with this shenanigan, but it was fun for the time he was here!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T17:11:00.000-04:00

Christmas morning arrived and while it was still just the three of us, we let Katie head for her stocking. She had been touching her stocking almost daily and was surprised to finally feel that there were presents inside!

A few little squinkie toys (if you don't know what these are, consider yourself lucky) and that bought us some more time while we waited on Sue Sue and Dandaddy to come join us.

I made a french toast casserole that was one of Paula Deen's best reviewed recipes ever. It was pretty easy and it was good, but not great. It all got eaten, so that's probably a good review in and of itself.

After a relaxing morning with my mom and dad, we headed to Grandma Jones' house to meet up with all the cousins and aunts and uncles. 9 adults and 6 kids seems like a manageable ratio, but it was pretty chaotic when you throw all the presents in the mix. We had a great time hanging out together and enjoying Christmas dinner. By far the best moment was when we got four of the little ones to watch The Grinch. We grabbed cameras and snapped quickly thinking the moment would soon pass, but they must've all been pretty exhausted because they laid there for a while and the adults got to visit a little more.

As usual, it was a wonderful Christmas spent with our wonderful families. This year seemed so special as we worked on teaching Katie the true meaning of Christmas and she seemed to understand. She's at such a precious age where she just soaks everything in and it's hard to know when she really gets something. But it was so cool to hear her sing Happy Birthday Jesus and understand why we were celebrating. Now we're off to ring in the new year!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T17:04:00.000-04:00

Christmas Eve was a relatively low key Saturday for us. We got to spend lots of time some last minute shopping, wrapping, and baking. Before we headed to church service with family, we had to put out the reindeer food Katie had made at school. (It was basically oatmeal and glitter - Breakfast of Champions, right?)

After just completely dumping it all in one spot, she figured she might need to spread it out some since there would be many reindeer trying to eat from the same spot and that might not work.

Then she scooped up little handfuls and placed them in various spots of the front yard so the reindeer would all have their individual feeding station.

After the Christmas Eve service, we came back to our house with my parents and had some chili together. We showed Katie a special video from Santa and let her open one gift from us. She got a pink soccer ball that Doug picked out for her and went to town showing us her Bend it Like Beckham skills.

This is a throw in since apparently the ball went out of bounds in the hallway.

Getting ready to receive the pass I just made to her...

Pass received...But she used her hands. She might make a pretty good goalie!

After all of this excitement, it was a little difficult getting her to go to bed. But one quick threat of Santa not being able to come until she was asleep and she was putting on her pajamas pretty fast! We sent her to bed with hopes of visions of sugar plums dancing and got busy getting the rest of things ready for Christmas morning.

Lights Before Christmas

2011-12-18T16:50:00.000-04:00

We headed over to the zoo for the Lights Before Christmas to get a look at some of the nocturnal animals and see all the lights and listen to the festive music. But no trip to the zoo is ever complete without our obligatory ride on the carousel.

It was actually really cold that night so we had to all get bundled up to endure it! I loaded her down with hat, coat, gloves, hooded sweatshirt, and fleece pants. Hat and gloves were gone within the first five minutes. She's not a fan.

One last pose with the penguin before we head out...This lighted penguin had to suffice since the actual penguin exhibit was closed for the evening. She handled her disappointment with all the poise and grace normally attributed to 3 year olds...NONE.

It was a fun evening with just the three of us which rarely happens. We usually thrive off of extended family-family adventures of friend-filled time so it was nice to be just us and enjoy our time together!

Not So Camera Shy

2011-12-06T15:55:00.000-04:00

We set up a little tree in Katie's playroom this year and let her decorate it with her own flair. She picked out all different types of ornaments from our collection and I tried to tell her where each one came from. She did a good job remembering lots of them! She looked pretty angelic while decorating her tree, so I grabbed the camera to take a few pictures.

And then she got sassy. She wanted to hide behind the tree and just out and scare me. She almost knocked the tree over twice.

This is apparently her scary face...The one that wanted to jump out from behind the tree. Not scary, but pretty darn laughable!

She had enough of the tree and just wanted some pictures of herself playing in her room. I call this her "word to your mother" look.

This is the "there's something I want to ask you but I know you're going to say 'no'" face.

This is her response any time I ask her to clean up one of the many messes she's made.

Ok mom - just take a picture of me and my bear. (Actually, it's Uncle Gabe's bear from when he was a kid.)

What Does 3 Look Like?

2011-11-29T15:50:00.000-04:00

Okay so we probably lucked out with a relatively tantrum-free 2 year old. The year wasn't terrible and neither was she. BUT, the day she turned three, the switch flipped! She became sassy and stubborn and sometimes incredibly belligerent. I'm purposely writing all of this and posting it with pictures of her in a rare, sweet and cooperative moment in hopes that one day when I look back, I'll skip the writing and simply see a cute little innocent child.

She doesn't want to do anything the way we ask. If we say run to the car, she'd rather walk - and walk slower than ever before. If we say cookies are for dinner, she'd rather have raisins. If we talk too much to each other, we're told to be quiet because her babies are sleeping - upstairs - in her closet. During disciplining, she cries because "you guys say bad things to me." She also likes to tell me "we're not going to talk about this anymore." She wants to do everything by herself. Pick out her clothes. Feed the dog. Pour her drinks. Brush her hair. She gets things in her head and will not be convinced otherwise. For example, she thinks the laundry hamper is what cleans the clothes and want to pick her outfits from there. I try to tell her those things are dirty and she yells back that DEY ARE FLEAN!

And then there's bedtime. And while her routine is still pretty lengthy with books and singing and back scratching and tucking in all the animals, it's the one time of day that, without fail, she returns to being my sweet little princess. In between each book, she'll lean over and say I love you or I had a great day. She wants lots of kisses and hugs. She loves to have her back rubbed and be told the story about the day she was born. She likes to recount the dreams she had last night. She wants to know what's happening tomorrow. She asks and she listens and she responds. She is an absolute angel. And as I walk out of her room after saying prayers together, I say a silent one as the door shuts that this will be the child that wakes in the morning. And after all the exasperation she's caused in the day, I crash onto the couch and am reminded that she, like all of us, is a work in progress. I am a work in progress as her mother and we are growing and learning and testing and challenging each day. And the frustration lessens a good bit and I think of her sweet smile and her infectious laugh and I'm in love with her all over again. Which works out, since right about then - she is standing in the hallway explaining that she hasn't told Jack good night yet or that I forgot to catch a kiss when I left the room. Luckily I have had a good 3 minutes to relax so I am able to stay calm.

I promise there was food...

2011-11-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

We had Thanksgiving lunch with my dad's side of the family at our house. We had such a fun afternoon of family and food. However, somehow - we took ZERO pictures of the food. And man, there was food. We had an entire room of just desserts. We had so much food leftover, we made plates for 12 people working at the hospital that day. I took the leftovers to some of the residents that I work with and some of the nurses who were caring for my Uncle Marshall (mom's brother) that week in the ICU at Richland.

The best part of the day was having the family from out of town here. Here's my cousin Josh (from Nashville) playing soccer in the backyard with one of his nieces, Amilia.

I can't accurately describe how much I miss my brother living here. He and Nancy and Griffin flew in from Texas and it was so wonderful having them here. They were here for so long that it began to feel so normal to see them everyday.

Nancy and Tasha (Josh's wife) - married into the Wilhelm family - they tolerate us so well! Loved having us all together to celebrate the things we are thankful for.

Maybe it's fitting that we didn't take pictures of the food. The food isn't what was important. It was important having 3 generations of family together in the same place loving life and laughing together. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Superstar!

2011-11-16T15:42:00.000-04:00

Katie's debut as a stage performer was at her preschool's Thanksgiving day celebration. It was a precious time listening to 30-50 year old women sing songs while most of the kids stood there with blank stares on their faces or pointing at their moms and dads and grandparents in the audience.

This is Katie's class filing out of their room headed to the risers to take their spots in front of the crowd. Katie and Cole have their fingers over the mouths to remind them to be quiet.

Up in front of the crowd now, getting ready to start the signing. I crawled over parents and teachers to try to get a quick snap shot of her before she started. She seemed happy to see me...Cole, not so much.

Each class had their own head-wear that identified their age group. Our kids were indians of the construction paper tribe. There were also boy/girl pilgrims and indians from the neighboring feather and glitter tribes. A few turkeys were seated in the front row.

In all seriousness, the kids did a great job signing. The teachers had their hands full getting the cooperation of 1-4 year olds, but they managed magnificently! Katie sang for a few of the songs and did the motions to most of them - but at least she was all smiles and stayed put. That was the most I was hoping for.

Here's one of our superstars after the performance waiting on his Thanksgiving feast. I had to snap the picture when he wasn't looking, otherwise, I would've been blocked by his forearm!

And finally, here's Katie with Grandma Jones. She's telling her about how someone tried to stand between her and Cole and she moved them to the other side. Apparently no one is allowed to stand between them.

It was so fun watching Katie be a part of her school and participate with the other kids. She seemed to enjoy being up there and talked about it the rest of the day. She even gave me a solo performance of one of the songs later after I got back home from work.

The First Haircut Ever

2011-11-15T15:39:00.000-04:00

One more thing to ring in being a big girl...We got her first haircut! This was a big deal for all of us, including grandparents who were queasy at the thought of us chopping her curls off. I assured all of us this was just to make her ends health and the curls would be back. But just in case, we got a few last shots of her weighted down ringlets.

Stoically listening to the hair stylist to tell her what's going to happen. No drama here. Not from her anyway. Doug and I may have been crying a little bit in the background.

Instead of washing her hair and combing it out straight, we decided it would be less traumatic to just straighten her hair with a flat iron and cut from there. She looked totally different with straight hair. Seems like the curls are part of her personality.

The first SNIP! No turning back now. It really was just a trim; I promise. And the stylist said, the longer you wait to get a haircut, the more you have to cut off since the ends get so ragged. So I was glad we went when we did.

This is Katie's "I'm scared to death but you people act like I should be enjoying every minute of this" face. Talk about a deer in headlights!

Finally facing the mirror. Inspecting every cut with an attitude not unlike Liam Neeson's in the movie Taken.

I guess it's over at this point. The stylist is smiling - it looks a bit like a nervous smile, wondering what Katie is going to say or do next.

And at last, we got the flip of the head just like a 90s Vidal Sassoon commercial. And a slight smile in there too. She was pretty pleased.

What hair cut is complete without a style to go along with it? She got a little bang braid and ribbon...Scroll down to see the immediate sass that the braid brought.

My memory may be a little foggy, but I'm pretty sure she sang "I'm too sexy for this braid" at that point.

One quick shot of the back - straight as a board and perfectly trimmed!

For being such a good girl and easy customer, she got to get a prize from the prize machine. It was a pretty flower ring which she wore all the way home and then lost somewhere between getting out of the car and walking into the house (approximately 7 steps).

Little Picasso

2011-11-15T15:33:00.000-04:00

One of Katie's favorite things to do is create art! She loves play doh, paiting, coloring, chalk...Sometimes the only way I can get her out of the car to go to school is to tell her they're working on an art project inside...Which isn't a lie - they're always coloring when I drop her off. I took the afternoon of her actual birthday off from work and we had a mother-daughter playdate at Tag It Art Studio. One flat fee gets you an hour and a half of playing with all their fun art supplies and none of the hassle of clean up.

A child's paradise...A wall full of paper and paints and markers and stencils...The hardest part is deciding what to do first!

We started out simple with plain paper and blue and purple paints. We drew some clouds and horses and pigs.

We moved on pretty quickly to stencils and her favorite color, orange! When the slightest bit of paint got her hand, she feared that she'd made a mess. I told her it was no big deal to get paint on her hands and the next thing I knew, she was literally painting her hands.

Who am I to put her creativity in a box. Paint away my dear child...Easy to say when it's not my kitchen table and I'm positive it's all water based washable paint.

After the painting of the hands, we headed back to the wall of supplies and picked out more stencils and lots of colored paper. We made about 20 mini-masterpieces while we where there and she's since given them away to people as gifts. Treasure those pieces people - those will be worth millions one day!

Adieu, Two.

2011-11-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to think the cliche people are right...Time does fly. They do grow up so fast. And we should cherish every moment. I blinked and my daughter turned 3 years old. Two was such a fun year for us and not at all terrible like some cliches suggest.

This is Katie's birthday lunch...Nothing special, but it was what she wanted. Peanut butter and jelly (which she calls peanut jelly and butter) and a chocolate milk. And not to mention a side of the most precious smile I have ever seen.

We had a few friends and family over to celebrate. The party was the day before her actual birthday, so we sort of billed her gathering as a Bon Voyage to 2! I let her pick two balloons that she wanted from the store and we went to the back yard and released them just before the party kicked into high gear. We sent her balloons soaring and she yelled "Bye 2!" over and over. We watched them fly through the sky until we couldn't see them any longer.

We headed back inside for cupcakes and singing. She stood by very somberly as we all sang. Turns out she was interested in her cupcake yet and wanted to open presents instead.

Off to the presents them...Cake can wait. One of her first presents was a few packs of stickers that she promptly stuck all over her dress and face.

She got a Loin King puzzle and spent considerable time speculating how big Simba is in real life. Seriously.

Her big gift from us was a tricycle. She won't let us call it that - we have to call it a bike. She loves to ride it on the culdesac and the driveway. There's a nifty little basket on the back and so most of her animal friends get to come along for rides too.

Another gift that was immediately put into action was her new artist easel. Dry erase and chalkboard sides and special clips to hang your masterpieces. We've been practicing writing names and drawing shapes and erasing. Oh how she loves to erase! (Thanks Boozers and Clarks!)

Now that the presents were opened, she had worked up an appetite and wanted to return to her cupcakes. She pretty much just ate the icing. She made such a production out of eating this cupcake - it was as if this was the only cupcake she'd ever get to have in life and she wanted to savor every second of it.

Finger Lickin' Good!

I'm 3!

Are you talking to me?

Ding! (I hear the Orbitz ding/sparkle sound effect when I look at this picture)

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet Katie! Your daddy and I can't wait to see what's in store over the next year. You continue to amaze us and make us laugh every day. We thank God that you're ours and that we have the privilege of being your parents. We love you to the moon....and back!

Get Lost!

2011-11-05T15:24:00.000-04:00

The first weekend of November, we headed out to Cease Farms in Lexington for some corn maze fun. There was so much more than a corn maze! It was pretty chilly but we tried to stay bundled up and enjoy everything there was to do.

This 40ft tube slide was both the high and low point of the day. The kids all had a great time sliding on it but one crash into the person in front of you tends to spoil it for you. Glad we got some pictures of Caleb loving it before it turned bad!

Who doesn't love a good barrel roll? We (the parents) took turns rolling each other back and forth and then the person inside the barrel had to get out and try to run straight. Good laughs all around.

Highlight of the day for me...The inflatable horse rodeo. Jessica and I raced around the course and although it appears she has the lead in this picture, I was definitely the victor after she took a major spill.

An actual maze...There were several different types of mazes at the farm - marshmallow, haunted, kiddie, corn, and tire...The tire maze was probably our favorite - maybe because it's the only one we were able to fully complete.

And animals too! They had goats and donkeys and cows...The goats could be fed by putting their food in a can and spinning a wheel to roll the can up to the goats. These were the smartest goats ever - as soon as we put the food in the can, they started pulled on the rope to pull them can up themselves!

Finally, the reason we actually came to the farm...The Corn Maze! The kiddie corn maze was about 1 acre and pretty easy to navigate. Several stop points throughout to make sure you were in the headed in the right direction!

And we couldn't leave for the day without a few more times down the big slide...Now that the trauma of Caleb's accident was erased from our minds. My usually timid and nervous girl was having a blast!

Can't let Daddy miss out on the action. You should've heard the screams coming from this child on the slide. She loved every minute of it.

It's safe to say Cease Farms was well liked by adults and kids alike! It was also one of the last things we did while Katie was still "under 3" which is usually the cut off most places have for allowing children to enter for free. Even though we will have to pay for her to go, I'm positive we'll go back next year.

Bippity Boppity Boo!

2011-11-01T08:25:00.000-04:00

The day after Halloween, it was time to transform our pumpkin! With a wave of our magic wand, we turned our pumpkin into a...

TURKEY!

Katie has named him Turkey Gobble and checks on him EVERY DAY! Sometimes several times a day!

A Cowgirl's Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:14:00.000-04:00

Katie's obsession with Toy Story came full circle when she asked to be Jessie Cowgirl for Halloween. She asked with plenty of time to change her mind, but luckily she stuck to it. Here's the breakdown of her costume.

Red Hat from a real cowboy store in Dallas, Texas...I found it when I was out visiting Griffin!

Jessie shirt from the Disney store...again, in Dallas.

Cow chaps from scratch...We cut up some cow print pajama bottoms and sewed them to the front of her jeans.

Boots from Target...still getting good use out of them now.

And the braid...I never thought Katie would sit still long enough for the braid, but she surprised me! She actually got to dress up several times in her costume and sat for the braid every time!

We went to my cousin's annual Halloween party and trick or treating bash! Katie got to decorate her own cookie with icing and sprinkles. She kept licking the icing off and wanting to start over. Just the beginning of her sugar rush.

All the kids from the party line up every year for a group picture before setting off to trick or treat.

My sweet little Jessie Cowgirl! She's always a little timid in these big groups and it took quite a lot of coaxing to get her to join in for the picture.

Her 2nd cousin, Lucas, was dressed as a cowboy so we made sure to get a picture of them together. They look ready for some Wild West action!

Maddie lives in the same neighborhood as my cousin so she and Katie got to trick or treat together. This picture cracks me up because Katie is sitting like a cowgirl and Maddie is sitting with her hands so dainty just like a princess!

This was the first year that Katie actually went door to door for candy. We practiced saying Trick or Treat and Thank you for a week or so! She did a great job and loved all the candy! (So did Mommy!)

Buddy Walk 2011

2011-10-27T08:02:00.000-04:00

We headed out to Saluda Shoals Park for the Buddy Walk. We had great weather and lots of fun celebrating all of the Buddies! Katie rode instead of walking but it gave her a better view to all the action.

Here's the action I'm talking about! Loads of people at the start line listening to a marching band kick off the festivities.

We also got some good playtime in at their playground. There's a mini rock climbing wall that she adores!

The guest of honor! We love you Lilly and had so much fun celebrating our favorite buddy of all! Great job Team Lilly Pad!

Best Party Ever!

2011-10-25T07:44:00.000-04:00

My nephew, Dylan, turned 4 recently and we headed up to Raleigh to help him celebrate. Smart choice on our part! Melissa had his party at one of the coolest places ever. Hillridge Farms is a child's paradise and I think parents have almost as much fun!

After a train ride around the farm, the party guests hopped on for a hayride!

The birthday boy and his mommy on the hayride!

The hayride took us all to a pumpkin patch where the kids all got to pick one to take home. This wasn't Katie's first rodeo with pumpkin picking, so she knew what to look for!

Need an idea for some cheap fun for kids? HAY BALES! There was an open air barn filled with hay and hay bales and it was all just for jumping!

And more jumping!

And seriously cute jumping! He's the bravest one year old ever!

After jumping, it was time to explore more that the farm had to offer. And sweet snapshot of the day with cousins walking hand in hand.

Did I mention how fun this place was? There was a maze for the kids to go through. Dylan and Katie did a good job winding their way through and Chase did well with some outside parental coaching.

And what farm is complete without animals? We made one last stop before heading hom to peek in at some bunnies. It was a great day and completely worth our trip! Happy Birthday Dylan!

Mud Running!

2011-10-21T07:31:00.000-04:00

Every year we say it's going to be our last mud run, yet we keep signing up to do it again. We had a change in our team make-up this year and recruited some friends who had never done it before. (Adam ran the preview with us last year, but there wasn't real mud at the preview.) This is our team after we got our number tattoos, using energy that we should've preserved for the race.

Post race - everyone's still all smiles so it must mean they had fun. They also look like an Orbitz advertisement.

There were no major injuries but we all had the usual shin scrapes and bruises for about a week after the run. And I'm pretty sure I was still cleaning mud out of my toes for several weeks!

Pickin' Pumpkins

2011-10-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Doug's family's church. We headed over one day after work and let Katie pick out the one(s) she wanted. She went for some really big ones first, but we told her we were downsizing a bit this year.

We also spent some time playing in their photo area, but instead of posing for pictures she wanted to demolish the place.

She absolutely loves these things but usually goes up the wrong side of them. Or she spends the whole time looking down to see what character she's become.

We gave Katie some quarters of her own to pay for her pumpkin and this is her sweet little face waiting on them to put the pumpkin in her bag.

She also got some pumpkin face stickers to decorate her pumpkin when we got home. She made some scary, silly, and happy faces on all sides of the pumpkin.

And then she wanted to make sure we had a picture of her matching silly face! She doesn't have the same cross eyed look as her pumpkin, but otherwise - their likeness is uncanny!

Number Five

2011-10-19T07:20:00.000-04:00

A mere 8 days after my 4th nephew was born, my 5th nephew came along! This is Cooper! It was so much fun to be able to be at the hospital during all of the excitement. It's so fun to see grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins as they get ready to meet their newest family member. I remember when Cole was born (Cooper's big brother) and I thought he seemed really alert for a newborn. Then Cooper came and blew that out the water. He is probably not even an hour old in this picture but he is certainly bright eyed! Welcome to the family, Cooper!

Battlecat Wilhelm

2011-10-18T21:07:00.000-04:00

Meet Griffin Wilhelm. He was born September 28, 2011 and is my 4th nephew. He was 10 days late and I will let you make your own jokes about how this apple doesn't fall from his daddy's tree.

I flew out to Texas and got to meet Griffin when he was two days old but he was still being called Battlecat (his in utero nickname) since Gabriel and Nancy hadn't yet picked a name. From the moment I got there, I realized while they didn't have a name for their son, they were the most natural and at-ease parents I had ever seen! They were so relaxed about everything - I could certainly take a page from their book.

Considering how brand new he was, Griffin slept most of the time I was there. But it made for some really sweet snuggle time.

Gabriel, Me, and Griffin...I loved watching him be a dad!

And Katie couldn't make the trip with me, but we still made sure she got to see Griffin!

They are traveling here for Thanksgiving and we couldn't be more excited to get to see all of them again!

More Edventures!

2011-10-11T15:14:00.000-04:00

Every time we go to Edventure, we find new things to explore that somehow we missed the time before. A few weeks ago, while my mom was in Texas, I took Maddie and Katie to Edventure on one of my days off. These first few pictures just scream "a woman's work is never done." Doing dishes in the kitchen.

Bulldozing...I mean really...What kid wouldn't love to drive a bulldozer?

Bucket pulley system. The girls worked together to make a big mess and get really wet. I'm quite sure that's not the educational objective of this, but at least mommy learned to keep a closer eye so they both end up drenched.

All those chores were tough work, so they rewarded themselves with a slide! The spiral staircase leading up the slide was super steep but they didn't seem to mind.

One happy slide rider!

And another...

This was the first time we'd gone when the Aha Factory was open, so the kids got to do some artwork.

Cole and Lindsay met us there too and we found that we have 3 little Picassos in the making!

One last ride before we go! Here's to you, my leader of the pack! Vroom Vroom!

It's Fall Y'all!

2011-10-04T21:06:00.001-04:00

How do I know?

The temperatures are dropping and the air hasn't kicked on in a few days.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back at Starbucks (but actually an Americano with Pumpkin Spice in it is just as good and $1 cheaper - thanks Jessica!)

Our calendar is slammed full of festivals and birthday parties for loads of kids in our family.

I'm irritated at the Gamecocks but loving the Gamecocks all at the same time.

Flip flops are behind the boots in my closet.

Katie's closet is switched out with long sleeves and pants.

Days are shorter but are full of crisp air and we're soaking up the daylight until it's gone.

Chili recipes are filling up my counter space.

A piece of pie always sounds good.

Halloween costumes are being planned.

Candy corn is being stolen out of the dining room table centerpiece.

Our anniversary awaits us.

The State Fair is dreaming up something new to deep fry.

My pants are already snug from the prospect of the coming feasts!

Winter has Christmas and that's hard to compete with. Spring is the season of renewal and fresh starts. Summer is for stretching out of our normal routines. And fall...it's just like it sounds. Time to fall back to ourselves and sit back with something warm to drink, wrap up in a blanket, and open a good book. Fall is here and the good times are waiting!

Preschool

2011-10-03T15:21:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, Katie's preschool invited a children's train conductor to come to the school for a visit. He brought his own children's train and took them all for a ride! It's a good thing too, because when we pulled into school that day, Katie could see it in the parking lot and I told her (even though I didn't know) that she'd probably get to ride it. Phew! Here she is strapped in with Cole and seemingly having a great time!

Next stop, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! She has quite the wave going on here and I have no clue who she's waving to since it seems like none of the other kids are waving!

Back inside after the ride, the conductor did a puppet show about trains for the kids. Katie and Cole parked right next to each other and hunkered down for the show. I'm quite sure that she was picking her nose immediately before this picture. That's totally her M.O.

Looking like such well-behaved students! In fact, most of the kids in the picture look like they're behaving! Those teachers must be doing something right. I could use a few tips on toddler management from them!

We're really enjoying Trinity so far! The director of the child care center posted all of the train day pictures on Facebook so it was nice to be able to see how much fun Katie had since parents don't usually get to spy on their kids at school!

So long, Summer!

2011-09-21T15:22:00.000-04:00

As the temperatures outside are dropping (albeit ever so slightly), we are saying "so long" to summer. My dad's side of the family was scheduled to get together for a Labor Day picnic but it got rained out. We rescheduled for the next weekend and although not everyone was still able to come, we had a great time hanging out and enjoying what now seems to be like the last weekend of sunshine and pool time!

Katie isn't a water baby and preferred to run around the pool and hang out in the shade.

Katie and Lucas (he's 4, she's 2 1/2) had fun hanging out and talking together. It was easy to forget they were "babies" as they told each stories and sipped their Juicy Juices together in the sun.

My dad and his siblings. They haven't all been together in many years and it was a really special time together so we made sure to snap lots of pictures!

The cousin cousins. Or second cousins or something like that. All of these girls' parents are first cousins, so I need genealogy.com to tell me what that makes them to each other. From left to right, there's Amilia 'Mimi', Katie(youngest), Sofia (oldest), Gracyn, Morgan, and Sierra. These girls were hamming it up for the camera and could've had their pictures taken all day long!

The boys, not so much. They could've cared less about capturing family memories. They made no effort to say "cheese" or "snufflepants" or anything. But somehow, we managed to get a decent picture! Back row, Jacob (oldest), Benjamin. Front row, Lucas (youngest), Brycen, and Logan.

The first cousins! We are the kids of the elders 3 pictures up...We're missing 5 of our first cousins, all of which are boys...Again, we haven't all been together in probably 10 years. From left to right, Stacy, Michael, Cathy, Amanda, Michelle, me, David. Not able to join us were Gabriel, Josh, Cary, Tim, and Scott.

The kids loved the pool and we had a hard time making sure they ate since their eyes were on the prize of the water! We tired to get them all to hold still for a picture and this is about as successful as we could hope for! The variations of bunny ears in this picture cracks me up! Especially Lucas!

We had a great time celebrating FAMILY! Many thanks to Aunt Betsy and Uncle Phil for opening their home to all of us for the day! Special recognition to all the spouses/in-laws who aren't in any of these pictures...I'm sure you'd rather not have photo evidence of being linked to our family, but we love you just the same! Thanks for being a part of the Wilhelm family!

Another Hash Mark

2011-09-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, I turned 31. 31 arrived with much less pomp and circumstance than 30, but it arrived nonetheless. If you know me well, you know that I love birthdays. I love other people's birthdays just as much as my own. Last year, when many of my friends turned 30, I loved being a part of the celebration! My dad turns 60 next year and I'm already thinking about fun things to do for that. But in the meantime, I got to celebrate my 31st birthday with some of my favorite people.

The Sunday before my birthday, Doug arranged for us to go to dinner with 2 other couples without all of our kids. We went to Miyabi's which is one of those Japanese restaurants where they cook in front of you. I am typically a champ at those types of places and clean my plate! But this place is different. I challenge anyone to finish their meal.

The whole week of my birthday, I used my e-club coupons for free meals at places like Jason's Deli, McAlister's, and Moe's. My actual birthday was filled with pop ins at work from coworkers, a few gifts here and there, lunch with a fave friend, tons of facebook posts, and open house at Katie's school.

On Saturday, we got together with some of Doug's family and my parents to celebrate again! We had fun watching the Gamecocks beat Georgia and eating subs and birthday cake!But this was not just any birthday cake. My dad took Katie for the morning on Saturday and helped her make a cake for me. She used a real mixer (with his help), licked the batter bowl, and helped with the icing and decorating. We're still not sure how it cracked down the middle, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with her. It was the best cake ever made by two super special people!

Thirty-one looks and feels a little different than I expected. I didn't expect wrinkles and cellulite this early, but when you sleep in your makeup and eat like I do, there's a recipe for disaster. Parts of my plan for my life aren't exactly in place as I would like. But there's so much selfishness in that statement, it's pitiful. However, I am constantly reminded of the blessings that I do have. I have a wonderful husband, my dream job, an incredible daughter, supportive friends and family, and a heavenly father who gave all of it to me despite me not deserving any of it. My hope for the future is rooted in the Lord. He has blessed me beyond measure for 31 years. This year, I want to grow in gratitude to Him for all that he has done. I can't wait to see what He has in store!

Paparazzi!

2011-09-09T20:25:00.000-04:00

We've recently had a celebrity sighting around our house. Woody Cowboy (of Woody's Round Up and Toy Story fame) was spotted coming down the stairs last Saturday. Maybe it was because he didn't have his signature hat or his boots, but he clearly didn't want to be seen by our cameras. He nearly lost his footing which would've made for an even better story on E! News.

Rumor has it, he was partying all afternoon and into the evening with a certain Space Ranger but our sources can't confirm it.

Playdate

2011-09-05T20:36:00.001-04:00

We got to have a rare playdate with some of my college friends on Saturday. The Callaways were in town from Dalton and headed over to The Children's Garden to let the kids run around and let the adults catch up!

There's a little house there that has different "stick your head in" spots. (What is the technical name for those things?) Don't they make a cute little flower and ladybug?

Next up was the 3 Little Bear garden area where Jackson and Katie took up stumps together!

Then Jackson headed to the lake. Katie knows there are alligators in that lake and raced behind him yelling "I'll keep you safe from alligators Jackson! Hold my hand!" Sadly, she never caught him. But somehow he still managed to stay safe!

Lastly, we hit up the stage at the Children's Garden. Katie on a stage = one proud mama! Granted she stood in a corner, wouldn't face us, and sang very quietly, but it's a start! Here Katie was singing Twinkle Twinkle and Jackson was singing a song about how God made him unique. It was quite the spectacle!

We had a great time spending time with friends that live too far away! We miss you guys and thanks for visiting with us!

Bookworm

2011-09-02T19:54:00.000-04:00

We've gotten into a routine with our book reading. We always read before bed and then we frequently read before naps and at other times in the day to pass the time. At bedtime, I always say (in my head) we're going to read just 3 books, but it usually turns into 4 or 5.

Here's a typical lineup..
The Lady with the Alligator Purse - It's quick and has lots of repitition and I try to change up the little boy's name every time just to see if she's listening.

The Dr. Seuss trio - Again, these are quick books and Katie has most of The Foot Book memorized and helps us read it.

Madeline - This is actually one of my books from my childhood! There's some of my own scribbling inside the cover. It's kind of weird to hear Katie point out certain things in the book, like the Eiffel Tower and say "appendix", but she likes it.

The Kissing Hand - we read this over and over as we prepared to go back to preschool. Chester Raccoon is going to school and his mommy kisses his hand and tells him to hold it to his cheek to feel her love while he's at school. The other morning when I was headed to work, I told Katie I would miss her! She reached out her palm to me and said, "you can kiss my hand, mommy." Melted my heart.

Pete the Cat, I Love My White Shoes - we just got this book after a friend recommended it. It's funny and has a bunch of You Tube videos of kids singing the song from the book. Pete is walking in his white shoes and keeps stepping in things that turn his shoes different colors but Pete doesn't seem to care. But Katie does! She always asks, "Why he not walk on sidewalk like he mommy says." It cracks me up because there is no mommy in the story and Pete is so laid back and goes with the flow and Katie just wants him to follow rules!

The Baby Bible - another recommendation from a friend. It has Bible stories at around 5 sentences and each sentence has some sort of motion that goes with it. They're easy to remember and fun to act out. Her favorite one is Noah's Ark. She gets a little carried away making animal noises.

A few more favorites...
Duck in the Truck - this book has great rhymes and cute characters but I'm not so thrilled with the ending. The duck gets his truck stuck in the muck and enlists the help of a frog, a sheep, and a goat. They try lots of different ways to get him out and when he finally gets his truck unstuck, he leaves his friends stuck in the muck. So, we always have a bit of a talk after this one saying the duck wasn't very nice.

All By Myself - Who doesn't love Little Critter books? Everytime Katie asks for this one, I think she's saying she wants to read by herself and then I remember it's what the book is called. Gets me everytime!

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy - My favorite book ever. My mom brought this book back from London last year. Our cousin from Australia who lives there told her this was a classic Australian children's book; one she had read to all her boys. However, I was told I had to read the book in an English or Australian accent. Challenge accepted! If I was reading at a children's story time, I would definitely pick this book. Next time you're over, ask me for a reading and I will oblige (I'm now thinking in my English accent as I type).

We're trying to branch out and start getting more books from the library to change up the rotation, so hit me with some suggestions!

School is in Session

2011-08-23T17:00:00.000-04:00

First day of school today! Here's her "card." And for those of you still laughing from when I made a card for her nursery class at Shandon when she was 1, NO - I did not give this to her teacher!

We had a slow morning at home...We're usually out of the door by 7:30 but didn't have to leave to go to school until 8:30 and we still got there a little early. We took advantage of the extra time and took our obligatory "first day" pictures. Here's a few of the outtakes!

I didn't realize how much the chalkboard looked like prison numbers...Especially with this face! Looks like a mugshot! And she smeared the writing, but it gives the picture some flair, so I didn't fret over it.

And speaking of prison, you probably could get there by showing a little too much of this attitude to the wrong person!

It looks like someone just told her an unbelievable story and she's saying she believes it but doesn't really mean it.

And here, in all her southern-ness, is a Bless Your Little Heart!

Okay, enough pictures at home...We were off to school to take some more there! Trinity is in Blythewood and this is the first time she's gone anywhere other than our church for any type of childcare. We took just a few pictures outside and then headed on in.

Man, a backpack sure does make you look grown up!

She did pretty good getting dropped off. I probably stayed a little too long because by the time I was leaving, she had gotten used to me being in there and wanted me to stay. Her eyes started to fill with tears and then her chin trembled, but I quickly redirected her attention to Cole who was playing with dinosaurs. Then I headed on out and prayed for confidence for her and patience for her teachers (and no potty accidents). I picked her up at noon and she ran to me and gave me her signature hug (squeeze til it hurts)! I asked if she had a good time and she said YES! I took her to Wendy's for lunch and interviewed her about the rest of her day. Her favorite part was the playground. They sang songs but when I asked if she remembered the songs, she told me her teachers would remember the songs for her. She had goldfish for snacks and drank water out of a real cup (no sippy). As we were leaving Wendy's, I had to retie the belt on her dress. As I tied it, she said, "My teachers already tied it mommy." Then of course I worried that it came undone several times and I was already "that mom" who sent her child in an annoying outfit.

All in all, I think she had a great first day! She will go on Tuesday and Thursday and I think she's going to love it!

Mommy, WOW!

2011-08-22T13:11:00.001-04:00

I'm a BIG KID now!

All the signs are there...we haven't bought diapers in a month. There are toddler toilets and toddler toilet seats all over the house. There are stickers and lollipops given out daily. I think it's safe to say we are potty trained! Obviously not 100% (do you ever really get there???)...but we are close.

The potty training was relatively uneventful. I made a few half-hearted attempts to make her go which resulted in tears or 10 hour stretches of holding it. So I was going to buy stock in Pampers and Depends and never really try again. I had resolved to let her go to her new preschool in diapers and maybe it was my own subconscious way of holding on to her as a baby for just a while longer.

But after Jessica went back to work and Katie and Maddie (potty trained/ing) started staying together again, Katie had an interest all of a sudden. We came home one Friday afternoon and my mom told me Katie was in BGPs (big girl panties - but I hate that word - I can't believe I just typed it) and had been dry all afternoon and had actually gone in the toilet a few times. We were going to Chuck E Cheese that night and I decided I was going to keep her in the BGPs. We haven't looked back since and that was the end of July. She actually has only had a few accidents...one on a long car ride (1 hour), one from me spanking her (scared the pee out of her, I guess), and one because we all just got caught up in doing other things and no one made her go. I'm sure there have been some more - but nothing that has made me super frustrated.

Katie doesn't usually tell us she has to go - but she almost always goes when we take her. So she can definitely hold it! She loves to go to public restrooms which totally grosses me out. I've never been a germaphobe - but this could do me in. We are still not great with #2s, we're getting there. But we're far enough along this road that I would call her potty trained.

She wears BGPs all the time - except for nap and bedtime and she's almost always dry after a nap. She's going to her new preschool tomorrow and has a special pair of BGPs with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck all picked out.

MTV Cribs - Preschool Edition!

2011-08-18T14:24:00.002-04:00

Katie has been in a big girl bed for a while now, but her room has been a work in progress. I think I finally have it finished...for now! I'll take you a tour and for documentation purposes, I'm detailing a lot of what's what...Just so I can remember down the road!

Here's the view from the door...Curtains and wall color "recycled" from her nursery. I purposely tried to find stuff so I could keep those the same. The bed, dresser, and night stand are from my first apartment my sophomore year in college.

And now a view from a corner...The green chair in the far corner was her present from Santa this past Christmas. She likes to read in it and hide behind it and she knows it came from Santa.

The Owl Bench! I love it. It is from Kirkland's and was a Christmas present to me from Grandma Jones! Curious George hangs out here all the time. I covered the bench with a pillow sham because her quilt set accidentally came with 3. I didn't have another pillow so I improvised.

This yellow bench and cubbie set was painted by Doug. It holds some of our go-to toys. On top is a blanket my dad had made for me shortly after Katie was born. It's a t-shirt quilt with poems that I wrote in 8th grade.

This piece is actually a dining room buffet but I've used it as her changing table. Now it holds some clothes and diapers and wipes. The monogram decal is one of my favorite things in the room!

This dresser holds most of her clothes. On the side of the dresser are her bows. Yes, I know that is a crazy amount of bows. They were a dollar each so don't judge me quite as harshly.

The Organic Bloom hand and footprint frames. Still can't decide how I like the way they turned out, but I love the frames and love the colors!

And finally the canvas. The. Canvas. One of my best friends, Jessica, made this for me. She is uber-talented and previously made one for Katie's nursery too. The scripture is from Proverbs 31, a passage I have always loved. After seeing something similar with this scripture on another website, I personalized and tweaked it a bit in hopes that Katie will feel worthy as a child of God in her heart. She IS worth far more than rubies.

Pinning!

2011-08-17T20:25:00.002-04:00

Thanks to someone who will remain nameless (in case she needs to hide her addiction), I now have a new web obsession. It's Pinterest. It's a website that lets me bookmark or "pin" things that I like. Until now, most of my web surfing consisted of facebook, blogs, People, MSN, and various links from these main pages. I sort of thought I had reached the end of the internet. Enter Pinterest. Not only can I pin and organize all the things on the internet that I like, but I can look at what other people pin. And man, there are some creative, talented, witty, beautiful people out there pinning until the cows come home. So I steal their pins...which is legal; it's called "re-pinning."

So aside from funny sayings, recipes, fashion, and fitness, I have found myself drawn to DIY crafts. I have pinned many things I want to try one day but in the last few weeks, I have actually put the pedal to the metal and done a few things.

Wreaths! Who doesn't love a good wreath for the front door? I've made a coffee filter wreath and have a few others pinned that I want to try - but I found an easy ribbon wreath that was right up my alley. I used some ribbon leftover from Katie's birthday party and bought some more to fill the wreath. It's about 50-60 pieces of ribbon tied in a double knot to the wreath. That's it. And now I have a perfect wreath ready for the baby shower I am having at my house on Sunday for my sister in law, Lindsay.

Monograms! There are so many fun things out there to do with letters and monograms. Stuff I couldn't have thought of in my wildest dreams. Some are way above my skill level and some fit me perfectly. This yarn wrapped letter was easy and looks even cooler because I used multicolored yarn. And the C is another decoration/gift for the baby shower.

Wall Art! Yes please! Again - much of what's out there exceeds my abilities. (Can't sew, can barely cut thanks to being left handed in a right handed scissor world, and can't stay in the lines whatsoever.) But this one screamed "Try me, I'm simple!" Two canvases (18x20) and a small jar of sample paint from Home Depot. Tape up the canvas with painter's tape or masking tape in a pattern that pleases your style and then paint the rest! Pull off the tape and you've got Genuine Homemade Wall Art! These are now hanging on either side of our fireplace and add a nice pop to the living room!

Different patterns with the tape make each of them unique, yet similar!

Lastly, Pinterest could be Doug's worst nightmare. Do you know how many "projects" I've dreamed up in my head for this man?! But this one is actually something he wanted to do a while back and I searched Pinterest for some tutorials and pictures to give us a starting point. We wanted to spruce up the builder's grade mirros throughout the house so we started with the one in the guest bathroom. It's the smallest and is the most visible, so it was easier to tackle and more rewarding since it will get more spectators. Doug bought some crown molding that goes well with the molding around our fireplace (since this bathroom is right off the living room) and framed the mirror! I'm not sure what all went into the process, but he didn't groan too much and seemed pleased with the outcome!

Not sure what my next project will be, but I'm feeling a change needed in the decor for the upstairs guest/Katie bathroom...Stay tuned!

Hands (and feet) Down!

2011-08-16T12:10:00.001-04:00

I bought some Organic Bloom circle frames in orange and yellow for Katie's room. I honestly couldn't decide what pictures to put in the frames and I was nervous about making things fit into the circle. So I thought about her initials but we already have a monogram decal on one wall. Then I thought about pictures/clip arts of owls - but I thought it was overkill with the owl theme.

So I decided to create some art! Katie and I went and got some scrapbooking paper with coordinating colors/patterns for her bedroom.

Then we mixed up our paint (only had blue, red, yellow, white) and made orange, green, yellow, and pink to match her room.

My idea was to do both hand prints and both foot prints - one for each frame. We bought some extra paper just in case some of them didn't turn out right.

So after mixing the paint, we headed outside to make ART! Doug was assigned the task of painting her hands and feet and helping her place them on the paper. She watched very intently. She was a little confused about getting paint on her hands since we usually try to keep paint on the paper!

She did pretty good spreading her fingers out to make the hand print and even held her hands still long enough to make the print turn out!

Next up were the feet! She giggle and squirmed through the painting of both feet and really liked STOMPING her footprint onto the paper!

The prints only took a few minutes to make and very little paint. So with the time and paint we had leftover, we freestyled on the craft paper taped to the sidewalk!

We laid all the pages out to dry and waited to see how they would turn out...

So about that...Have I ever mentioned how big Katie's feet are? She's 2 1/2 and wears a 9 1/2. That means her footprint is that of a 9 1/2 size foot. Which didn't exactly fit into the opening of the frame! But - I trimmed it a little and it doesn't look too bad in the frame after all.

A few of the patterns on the scrapbook paper were too bold and show through the foot/handprint making it hard to tell what the picture is. I think I need to go back and paint the prints a little darker/more opaque.

Nevertheless, they are hanging up in her room now! I'm still deciding if I like the way they turned out and may just eventually break down and put pictures in the frames. But for now - we've got hands and feet of our little girl to adorn her wall and another fun memory in the book!

Some Things DO Change

2011-08-09T15:12:00.002-04:00

Just before my maternity leave ended in February 2009, I took Katie to My Gym for some free classes. Lindsay and I met there with our kids who were right around 3 months old.

Here's Katie in the ball pit saying she's going to bust me up if I don't get her out of there pronto.

My solution is to ease her fears by plopping her cousin down next to her to make her feel safe. Doesn't seem to work at all, especially because fears aren't eased when the person who is supposed to calm you down is crying too.

So she tries her hand at screaming and quickly gets picked up out of the ball pit. I get the idea Katie doesn't really enjoy anything at My Gym and most things where way too advanced for her. So we don't ever go back.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years and someone gives me a groupon for a free month of classes and free play. Can't turn down free classes or air conditioned play time so we try our hand at My Gym again...And turns out she likes it!

You can't see it - but there are definitely smiles on these faces as they are buried beneath all the balls!

This time he's not screaming to get out - but screaming for someone to help him cover up completely!

Success! Don't worry - they eventually came up for air!

Even a face plant on the trampoline couldn't spoil her fun!

Bouncing away - she used to be terrified of trampolines but has recently warmed up to them. Check out all that HAIR!

A little hanging bar action too...Hang for a few seconds and then SPLAT on the mat!

And finish up the trip with a little quiet reading. Don't they look ready for preschool??

Doug took her back to an actual class the following Saturday and she loved that too. We will get 3 more free plays and 3 more classes so that's our strategy at beating the heat for the month of August!

Chicago...all by myself!

2011-08-08T15:32:00.002-04:00

Back in July, I got to go to Chicago for a conference for work. I had never been to Chicago before and got to spend a good bit of time doing lots of walking and sightseeing (read: eating). I did get to travel with a co-worker but I was by myself in the sense that I had no husband or child with me. It was the longest I had ever been away from Katie and I was thrilled to see her when I got home. But I did have a good time in Chicago (thanks in part to tips from my Chicago-loving friends, Curtis and Elizabeth).

Here's the John Hancock building on Michigan Avenue. My hotel was very near this building so I used it as a frame of reference most of the time since it was the tallest building around.

4th Presbyterian Church - I flew in on a Sunday and had missed church to make my flight. They had a 5pm Jazz service so I went to that. The music was good but it made me miss my home church for sure! The building, however, was absolutely gorgeous!

6 floors of Bloomingdales? Yes, please! Don't worry, Doug - I didn't actually buy anything. I was afraid to touch most things there, let alone try anything on!

This is more my travel style! I like to spend my money on food! On several people's recommendations, I went to Giordano's Pizza for dinner. The wait was over an hour and by the time we got a table, it was 8pm (9pm my time) and the sole of my shoe would've tasted good at that point. But the pizza was delicious. However - we couldn't finish it. I kept trying to give myself a pep talk and eat more not knowing when/if I'd ever get back to Chicago! But I just couldn't. My 25 year old self is extremely disappointed.

We took a boat tour of the skyline. Well worth it. The skyline just goes on and on. Nothing like it.

A wrong turn down one street on my way back to the hotel one night let me stumble upon this "artwork." It was quite the tourist attraction, for sure!

The Chicago River - at night...Just beautiful!

We had lunch at The Signature Room on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building the day before we left. After lunch, I headed down one flight to the observatory and spent some time looking at the city from above. This is a picture of my hotel. It's in the center of the picture - close to the green patch of trees. I had a great location - just a minute walk from the Lakefront Path and a minute walk from all the shopping too.

Proof that I was actually up there. I've never been a fan of "self-portraits" but I also wasn't a fan of asking random people to take a picture of me by myself since my work friend didn't go to the observatory floor.

A much longer walk from our hotel was Grant Park and Millennium Park and this other fun piece of art. This "reflective kidney bean" is a magnet for tourists!

One final picture...My hotel...The Drake! All lit up at night with the John Hancock Building in the background!

It was a great trip and only reminded me of my love for travel. I must've walked 20 miles in the 3 days I was there! I was determined to see as much of the city as possible! I had started reading Devil in the White City before I left to give me some history of Chicago. The book is about the World's Fair in the late 1800s that grew the city into more prominence but also set the stage for a serial killer. It's a true story and I was wrapped up in the history the whole time I was there. I was about 3/4 of the way through the book and was determined to finish it on the plane ride home. But guess who left it in the pocket of her seat on the first leg of the flight. I wish I could blame someone else but I can't. I need to go pick up another copy and finish it!

Boy Meets Girl

2011-07-29T15:28:00.006-04:00

Try to forget for a moment that these two are cousins and just enjoy the story.

Meet BOY. Lost and looking for love. Searching for the yin to his yang, the apple for his pie, the milk for his cookie.

Meet GIRL. Waiting for Mr. Right to stumble upon her.

With his eyes on the ground and her head in the clouds, they nearly miss their date with destiny.

Fate intervenes and they go on their first date to a fun house to make silly faces in the mirror.

Boy has great time with Girl and tries to hold her hand.

Girl reluctantly agrees. Boy is smitten. Girl is secretly smitten too.

Boy gives token of his affection (golf tee, of course) to girl who's shocked.

Girl takes gift from Boy and hugs her appreciation. Boy leaves.

Girl texts her BFF to talk about Boy and golf tee and being smitten.

TIME PASSES. LOVE GROWS.

Boy proposes to Girl. Girl says Yes!

Girl gets cold feet.

Boy chases her down to give her some socks for those cold feet and tell her everything will be ok.

Girl is reassured. Boy and Girl walk down the aisle in front of their closest friends and family.

Boy and girl dance the night away and live happily ever after.

THE END.

To see pictures from the actual Bride and Groom from this wedding that featured the cutest flower girl and most handsome ring bearer ever, click on over to Melissa Devoe photography. Congratulations to Audrey and Anthony and thank you for letting our daughter be a part of your special day!

Fishing Frenzy

2011-07-22T14:10:00.003-04:00

Katie nuzzled up next to Doug's Uncle Tim every chance she got like they were long lost best friends. He was great with her all weekend, teaching her about S'mores and fishing and skipping rocks.

He brought fishing poles for the kids and got them all lined up on the edge of Pine Cradle Lake. At any given moment, there were 6-8 people fishing at the same time. I tried to cast a line a few times and realized it is not like riding a bicycle at all. I have totally forgotten how to do it and definitely looked like a big dork as my bobber plopped down in the lake about 2 feet away from me.

Katie and Jamie enjoyed each other a lot...They are only 8 days apart in age and had a blast being 2 year olds together!

Katie tried her hand at fishing but mainly just wanted to reel the line in and out. She didn't have the patience to watch for a bite or anything.

For those that did have the patience, here are the fruits of their labor (or non labor - as in standing and waiting for a bite). It's a catch and release lake, so this little guy was sent right back in the water after the picture was snapped!

Child's Play

2011-07-22T14:04:00.002-04:00

Pine Cradle Lake had several different playgrounds so we tried to scope most of them out. Katie would seriously swing all day long if you'd keep pushing her, so this one was just perfect.

She gets braver than brave when swinging constantly asking to go higher and higher. She has quite the death grip on the chains though.

I told her it was safe to let go and let her arms fly! As she threw out her arms, she started yelling "Hey everybody, look at me." Hmm...wonder where she gets that from?

Pastoral...

2011-07-21T14:01:00.002-04:00

Anyone else remember this term from high school english? Nope? Just me - the boring English major? OK - well it has nothing to do with a church pastor - as I found out when answering incorrectly on an English test I didn't study for in high school. But it means pertaining to the country or to life in the country; rural; rustic. (Quoted from the dictionary)

Is this not pastoral at its best right here? Camera set to AUTO (still trying to learn - sorry Melissa) and this is not photoshopped. Just beautiful. I kept expecting to see Belle from Beauty and the Beast come up over this hill.

The pasture/hill was just a two minute walk from our cabin at Pine Cradle Lake. We strolled up there in the mild 80 degrees (sans humidity) and let Katie run wild. Here's just a few shots of her playing with flowers, etc and her best Maria (Sound of Music) impersonation at the end.

Can't you just hear "I am 16, going on 17."

Or..."These are a few of my favorite things."

The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Yelling! I think this was right in the middle of an "E-I-E-I-O!"

Katie - if you're reading this one day when you're grown and reading on your own - and you don't recognize the song references, please sit down and make us watch The Sound of Music on whatever we're watching movies on in the future!

Kumbaya

2011-07-20T13:57:00.001-04:00

Is that not the quintessential campfire song? One of my favorite parts about our trip to PA, was our campfire night. Doug's Uncle Tim made a big campfire at their cabin and we made...you guess it - SMORES! But we had chocolate and coconut marshmallows so we cranked the normal smores up a notch!

Katie enjoyed watching the fire come to life with her Nana Baggerly and cousin Zian(probably 2nd cousin or twice removed - genealogy is not my strong suit).

Katie and Zian and Jamie spent a large portion of the evening racing each other around parts of the lake. They were very careful to FREEZE when golf carts were coming by and then they picked right back up running.

The weather was perfect...down in the low 60s at night (maybe cooler) and the campfire provided the perfect amount of warmth. Katie also enjoyed telling her Daddy to watch out because the fire was "very hot." Hmmm, I must've made an impression with my "Touch it and you'll be sorry" lecture beforehand!

You can also see the wet spots on Katie's jeans from a few spills she took while running around the lake. It had rained earlier in the day and everything was wet and muddy, but she loved it!

Splash Pad Fun...Not so much

2011-07-19T13:53:00.003-04:00

We arrived at Pine Cradle Lake Campgrounds in Rome, PA on Friday afternoon. We got checked into our cabin and then made a bee-line for the splash pad. We had already scoped out the splash pad while checking in and it was all Katie could talk about. There were frogs and turtles that squirted water and water guns you could squirt at other people.

There was also this bucket. Similar to the bucket at Great Wolf Lodge but nowhere near the volume. But not in Katie's eyes. Once she eyed the bucket, she was done. She wanted nothing to do with any of the splash pad. But Doug got to enjoy it!

And so did Michael. (Doug's cousin's husband.) Although they definitely kept out of the main splash zone, they still got a little wet.

Which didn't make Katie happy. She was concerned for their safety. She kept yelling, "No daddy, that bucket!" Doug kept frolicking in the splash pad in hopes that she'd see it was no big deal and would come back to play. But no such luck. She kept her disgruntled face on the whole time. No additional visits to the splash pad were made but we found lots of other fun things to do!

Road Trip Pit Stop!

2011-07-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

Just after the 4th of July, we headed north for a road trip to Pennsylvania for a Baggerly Family Reunion. We took our time getting there (2 days) and tried to make stops along the way for everyone to stretch their legs. On day 2 of the trip up there, we stopped at a Penn State campus to walk around and buy some official Penn State merchandise. We stopped in Hazelton, PA where there is a PSU campus less than a mile from the highway. The campus was really pretty and had some great mountain views! Lots of stone buildings and gazebos and flowers...and LIONS! Nittany Lions, to be exact! We spent a little over an hour shopping in the bookstore and running around the main part of the campus. Katie picked out a lion stuffed animal who has been named "Joe" (as in Paterno). We also couldn't resist plopping her down on this lion statue for a father-daughter picture!

Photo Shoot!

2011-06-29T23:12:00.002-04:00

After our photo disaster last year at the beach, I opted for self photography and kept it to just Katie! I found a great linen dress at the Tot Trade and saved it for the beach "photo shoot." We got up early on our last day at the beach and headed out to take pictures.
No stress. Run around. Be a kid.

Smile if you feel like it.

No big deal if you don't.

Refuse to leave Woody Cowboy at home? Who cares?

Take the cutest picture with Nessie and Cowboy Woody in tow? Yep, that's what makes it one of my favorites!

Ten minutes later, we're back at the house and you're still game for a few more pictures!

Bye bye beach! Until next year!

Come on in, the water's fine.

2011-06-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

The weather at the beach was just perfect. Much cooler than when we normally go. We were able to spend most mornings hanging out on the beach and then head in for lunch and naps.

The house we were staying in was a quick two minute walk to public beach access and then onto the sand and waves!

Katie loved the sand and loved building towers and castles. We searched for shells and fish and crabs and rocks.

Doug spent time buidling sand castles. Keep in mind that he's an engineer which = perfectionist in all things sand castle! He worked to find the right sand to use to build the various castles. Katie would get water from the ocean to help pack the sand and make the castle stronger. But as soon as she would pour the water, she would stomp the castle. No castle lasted long enough to get pictures, for sure!

We had such a great time splashing in the waves! Katie was a bit braver than she'd been last summer. She didn't do much splashing on her own, but could kick up a storm if someone was holding her hand! She even let me take her out in the waves and dip her in them!

Each day's trip to the beach was not complete without a meltdown upon returning to the house. She would've stayed out there from sun up to sun down if we let her!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2011-06-29T22:16:00.001-04:00

While we were at the beach, we took a family trip to a Myrtle Beach Pelicans baseball game. They are a single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. My brother works for the AA Affiliate of the Rangers so there was a fun connection to the players.

We had a great time cheering the Pelicans on to a big win. My sister in law, Nancy, caught a foul ball outside the ballpark while waiting at will call for the tickets! My dad got us some great seats and Katie had a perfect view of the ballpark at her first ever baseball game.

We didn't get peanuts and cracker jacks, but we did get peanuts and dipping dots! The dipping dots were served in a small baseball cap/cup but she wasn't quite sure about them.

We moved from our excellent seats to a picnic area just for a different view of the ballpark and so we could be with the rest of our family. (We had a few last minute additions to our group and we couldn't get more tickets in the same spot.) Katie and Doug had a good time watching things so up close!

Katie is full of crazy faces and this one just couldn't get left off the blog!

After the game, we prowled around the ball park for a little while. My brother likes to scope out different stadiums and see how they operate and take notes for his team. One of the last events for entertainment was to let the kids run the bases after the teams had cleared off the field. We were half way out the ballpark and decided to let Katie do it. I ran onto the field with her and told her to touch every base. She bent down at each one and touched it. As she rounded third, I darted in front of her to get to home plate to take some pictures. As she neared home, she started screaming and freaking out crying. There was another mascot-esque character (guy dressed as a wrestler with a full mask) and it sent her packing. I had to squash the pictures and comfort my child who was "scared of that bad man."

My parents and brother, who had begun their exit of the ballpark, said Katie's run around the bases was caught on camera by their film crew and was on the television at the ticket window so they got to watch it. Man, I wish I knew a way to get a copy of that film. Katie has not stopped talking about getting to run the bases but her story always ends with the bad man who scared her!

Brave New Girl

2011-06-29T21:41:00.003-04:00

We went to the beach with my family in mid June. My parents took Katie a few days before Doug and I were able to leave. When we arrived on Tuesday, Katie wanted to show us a video on my dad's phone of her jumping. I watched with bated breath as the video turned out to be Katie strapped into a harness on one of those bungee trampolines.

My Katie. My child who won't go down a slide at a playground. I remember reading a blog a while back about a lady whose daughter stepped out of her comfort zone and did one of these things. I remember reading it and thinking to myself that Katie would never in a million years do anything like that. Ever. And then this!

The next night after dinner we were walking down the main street of Garden City and Katie just non chalantly went and got in line for this thing again. She was confident and nervous at the same time. She didn't show much emotion, good or bad. But she got back in the harness and went to town jumping!

When she would slow down on the jumping, the guy running the jumpy thing came back and threw her higher to help her get jumping again.

I'm not going to try to "captionize" all of these pictures. But know that this mother's heart swelled with pride at my brave new girl!

This one needs a caption...She's asking her daddy to let her go jump just a "little bit" more.

3rd Times the Charm

2011-06-20T23:12:00.001-04:00

Katie was a chunky baby, wearing 9-12 month clothes by her 6th month of life. So it made perfect sense to buy her a 12 month bathing suit her first summer when she was 7 months old. She was always biggest in her belly so considering this was a two piece, she didn't really the extra room so the rest of the bathing suit swallowed her! Then, last year, when she was 18+ months old, she fit into a bit more but it still wasn't the greatest. Now, finally, at 31 months, this 12 month bathing suit finally fits!

Now if only adult bathing suits were so generous with their ability to look cute regardless of how they fit!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T00:54:00.001-04:00

looking for sharks with my daddy

walking hand in hand with my daddy

cheesing for the camera with my daddy

any ordinary day becomes the most fun when i'm with my daddy!

Katiechisms

2011-06-18T23:48:00.002-04:00

Time to document some of the things Katie says that are worth noting! Plus some pictures! Win-win, right?

Katie hath not the patience of Job. I think I've mentioned that before. But she gives every task about 2 seconds worth of her effort and then exclaims, "Mommy, it's hard do (insert task)." It's funny because of the way she grunts as she says it and the because by the time I reach her to help, she's already figured it out.

If someone says something that she has never heard before, she says "What you say me?"

If someone says something she doesn't want to hear (it's time to go, NO, Stop, etc), she says "No want you say that to me." But then she doesn't drop it. You could be 15 minutes removed from the activity and she will keep repeating, "No want you say that to me."

The whole world is made up of parents to Katie. She calls all women, "mommies" and all men, "daddies."

For every thing that she does on her own, she says "No need your help mommy (or daddy)." A simple "I did it" would suffice but she has to rub it in that she's growing up.

She loves to tell me to "SLOW DOWN" when we're driving even if we're completely stopped. She also likes to say "Green mean GO Mommy" even if the light isn't green. I foresee a failed driver's test in her future.

She takes after me in that she has a new ailment every day. Literally, every day, she tells us "something hurt me" and then points to different body parts that may be hurting. After a little kiss, she seems to be better.

Everything in the past is "yesterday" to her. If you aren't careful, she'll lead you to believe we went to the park, the beach, and the movies "yesterday."

"Bad guys scare me" is a new thing now that we're watching movies that have antagonists and villians. She's not too afraid but it's a good excuse to get some extra cuddles.

This one's really weird...She tells us that she sees things when she closes her eyes. It all started when I was trying to talk to her about dreams at night and I mistakenly explained it as "stories we see when our eyes are closed." So now, she tells people "I see numbers and letters and animals when I close my eyes."

It tastes like chicken? Not to Katie. Everything tastes and smells like lemons to her. Her grape tylenol medicine - "taste like purple lemons." Peas taste like "tiny green lemons." Orange scented clorox wipes "(s)mell like lemons."

The other night at dinner at my parents house, she wanted some more cheese. She had already had some shredded cheese on her spaghetti but then started asking for more cheese. I told her we didn't have more shredded cheese and she said she wanted other cheese. So I went to the fridge and found some string cheese and pulled it out. She turned with a smile and said "that's what I'm talking 'bout."

Appreciation

2011-05-31T20:52:00.005-04:00

Who doesn't take things for granted, right? I know I surely do! But after having my husband gone, I have a new appreciation for a lot of things. And a lot to say thank you for!

Thank you to the sisters-in-law who checked on me via emails, texts, phone calls, and invitations to do things!

Thank you to friends who brought me dinner and came to hang out at my house even though they had newborn babies! Thank you to the friends who invited me over for dinner and then sent me home with leftovers!

Thank you to friends who came and cut our grass and to the countless others that offered! Thank you to friends that monitored the dryness of our grass and instructed me on how to operate the sprinklers. Thank you to the world's greatest edger! Thank you to the dad who gave the yard one last once-over the day Doug got home.

Thank you to parents and inlaws who helped with Katie when I thought I needed to jump off a cliff.

Thank you to the sweet friends who understood and didn't think I was crazy for never mentioning his absence on facebook or the blog so that the world of "bad guys" wouldn't know I was home alone.

Thank you to friends who let me cry a few times when I was just plain tired and easily irritated.

And what a new appreciation I have for my husband, my partner, my best friend. Man - he does SO much that I never paid attention to or said thank you! Thank you for always making sippy cups, for always feeding Jack, for always getting me up in the morning, for taking turns bathing Katie and putting her to bed. Thank you for being such an amazing dad that your daughter missed like crazy.

Never in a million years would I have thought Katie would understand that Doug was gone. But boy was I wrong. She said every day that Daddy was far away, that he'd taken a plane to get there, and that he'd be back in a few weeks. She loved skyping with him and talking to him on speaker phone. She was sad that he wasn't there and knew that I was sad too. She missed him so much that she wanted me to pretend to be him by talking in a deep voice or chasing her like Daddy does. She was so happy he was coming home on Saturday. She started saving up kisses on Friday and would only give a few away since she had to save most for her daddy! She had been planning on running to him or letting him chase her or tickle her - but was clear that she didn't want him to get her toes!

We picked up Grandma Jones Saturday afternoon and made the drive to Charlotte. Grandma Jones let Katie bring the Elmo camera so she could take some pictures of her daddy when he got off the plane. She practiced a lot!

She also got to wear some lip gloss! She wanted to look good for her daddy! (I found myself pondering what to wear that day too...It kind of felt like a first date!)

This is how Katie "looks" for things. Instead of using her hand like a brim of a hat, she lifts it up like this. Too cute...looking for daddy!

Daddy's coming down the stairs and Katie bug is watching so intently!

She froze when he got to her and just stared at him! Finally she gave him the kisses she had been saving along with some pretty awesome hugs!

They were inseparable after that. She would not let go of him. She helped him find his luggage and talked to him about taking her to Bouncerrific when we got home.

And this is her souvenir from Scotland. A stuffed animal version of the Lochness Monster named Nessie. Nessie has gone to bed with her and pretty much everywhere else since she got her!

We are more than thrilled to have Doug home. I'm exhausted from parenting alone for three weeks but it's all fine now that he's home! We love you Doug and missed you more than words can say!

All I Need to Know in Life...

2011-05-25T20:30:00.000-04:00

I learned from Zumba! Ok, I have learned things a lot more places other than Zumba, but I would say for the amount of time I've put into it (2 hours), it has yielded a much higher volume of knowledge than other things.

Here's my dumbed down version of what Zumba is - dancing. in a group. led by an instructor. with specific moves. and fun music. I've taken it twice at a rec center with my mom. Close to the best $10 ($5 each class) I've ever spent.

Here's what it taught me.

All women - regardless of age, ethnicity, size - want to dance. They just don't want the world to gawk at them.

Two words seem to be the same in any language - SHAKE and BOOTY - every woman there understood it and had their own version of it. And SEXY can't be said EVER without someone laughing somewhere. That someone is usually me.

Yelling releases all kinds of fun endorphins. People in the class just holler "yeah" at random! I didn't yell the first week but I let out of few "Woo"s that the Nature Boy Ric Flair would've been proud of at my next class.

Teachers are there to guide you. If you can't see the teacher, you can't just follow people following her. They're not always doing it right.

Falling in front of people is not fun. But being able to laugh about it makes you a better person.

Spend time doing something that someone else wants to do because you love them. You might just be surprised at how much you like it. (Or love it.)

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Exercise should be part of life and therefore should be enjoyed.

And something I learned about me, specifically, while doing Zumba...I really love to write! I spent most of both classes preoccupied with writing this blog post. I should've written things down after each class because now, two weeks later, I can't remember all the things I thought of. I'm reminded that "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray!" But my mind is always writing. And I wish I had more time to do it. I want to try to make more time to do it! It's hard to put yourself out there and not worry about criticisms, but I think I'm past that point now. There's so many half started books or essays in my head and I wand to get them out.

Crafting with Crayons

2011-05-24T20:12:00.002-04:00

There is a little birdie that comes into my house everyday and leaves me post it notes on my mirror or magazines in my bathroom or pictures on the fridge or letters in our office. Recently, this little birdie left a fun craft project print out on my counter. Katie and I decided to make use of some mother-daughter time and make new crayons thanks to our 2 page instruction print out!

First - dump out your bag of crayons and separate the broken ones. Usually these broken ones cause something similar to a seizure from Katie, so she had no problems taking them out of her everyday crayon stash!

Next, peel the paper off these pesky broken crayons!

Place the broken ones in your greased muffin pan. You can sort them by color or just toss them in with no rhyme or reason.

Now that the muffin pan is full, get them ready to meet their maker!

Place them in a 275 degree oven for about 8 minutes or until melted. Katie must've asked 15 times in those 8 minutes, "They melted yet Mommy?"

Now that they're out of the oven, you can use a toothpick to swirl some of the colors. I got a little swirl happy and they ended up stirred to a nice brown. The ones I didn't bother at all turned out the best. They were taking a while to cool off and harden so we put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then they were more than ready!

We dumped the pan of crayons onto the counter and talked about the fun new colors we saw.
She picked out her favorite one - green/yellow - and then was off to the races!

She's having fun with her new crayons and loves to tell you "I made them!"

You've Got a Friend in Me

2011-05-18T19:58:00.000-04:00

Katie tries to be a good friend! She loves to hug her friends and give them kisses. And she's always very consoling if one of her friends is sad. She comes over and rubs their back and helps wipe tears. She knows who all the kids are in her preschool class and at church. She rattles off their names when we are on our way to school/church.

She loves the concept of friendship. She knows that mommy and daddy have friends and that she has friends. She knows friends help each other and laugh and play together too.

Two of her closest friends are Maddie and Caleb. They are frequent flyers on the blog and we are always trying to snap some good pictures of the three of them. Recently - there must've been some total eclips of the sun that allowed us to catch this on camera!

Three friends - arms around each other - loving life!

And then the stars aligned for this one! Two girls who can fight like sisters but love like it too!

A big change for Katie these days is that Maddie is no longer hanging out with her everyday. Maddie's mom is on maternity leave and is soaking up both her girls for the next few months! Katie certainly loves her Maddie Cakes and can't wait for their next playdate!

Two to the Core!

2011-05-14T19:18:00.002-04:00

Katie is officially two and a half! These half birthdays have certainly stayed a big deal...in my head at least. I don't actually tell Katie that it's her half birthday, but I do everything in my power to make it a special day for her! This year, we did some Sandhills shopping and I accidentally dressed us alike! Then we went to a firend's surprise 30th birthday party at Sesqui and then capped it off at Chickfila with my dad!

She is talking so much more these days. She speaks in coherent complete sentences that aren't just repititions of what we say; they are frequently her own thoughts. She is so much fun to talk to and hang out with!

She still loves to color and play with play doh and read. She has also enjoyed playing with babies a bit more than she used to. She is quite the mother to them - wraps them up and feeds them and reads to them. Another new love is water guns! WOW - how did we go 2 1/2 years without water guns! She likes to stick the water gun in her nose and squirt away! I can imagine it doesn't feel good, but she laughs hysterically! She has started to enjoy music more. She will dance and sing along to some music from her preschool class. She'll even sing some on her own without being prompted!

A new milestone for her is sleeping in a big girl bed! We moved her in April and she's done really well. She's tried to get out a few times but will usually go right back to bed. Putting her to bed is still quite the process! Now that we lay with her to read and sing and pray, she wants us to "lay a little bit more" every night! It drags out bedtime close to 9pm sometimes!

She still isn't the best eater in the world. Her best meal is lunch. She typically does oatmeal or pancakes for breakfast and then a single chicken nugget and some sort of vegetable and a string cheese for dinner. It's crazy how little she eats sometimes!

We've toyed with potty training some. She just could care less about pull ups or big girl underwear. She doesn't care for the potty, whether it's hers or someone else's. She's very proud of her friends who are learning and even claps when they earn their potty rewards! I guess I will get serious about it soon. I was really hoping to have her potty trained before our beach trip this summer but that doesn't seem likely at this point.

We had two ear/sinus infections this spring. Both required antibiotics that were awful if you ask Katie. It was so annoying trying to give her two doses of this apparent "poison" each day for ten days. She just hated it! They were pretty rough on her stomach too and caused a good bit of throwing up as well!

She's wearing mostly 24 month and 2T clothes - but lots of 18 month shorts and dresses still fit. She weighs 27 pounds. She's in a size 8.5 shoe. She has all of her two year old molars now. Her hair is super long - about half way down her back. Her eyes still seem to fluctuate color between brown and hazel.

She is living up to the Terrible Twos as well. We do lots of time outs and "I'm sorry" and popping. She screams with frustration at little things all the time and can be such a whiner - about NOTHING! She thinks she should be able to dictate everything around her (like who should drive her places) and gets infuriated when she can't.

But she is without a doubt, the light of our lives! Her personality is strong for the most part but she can play "shy" with the best of them. We love you so much Katie! Happy Half Birthday!

A League of Our Own

2011-05-09T22:31:00.003-04:00

It seems like almost every day last week, I was staring down the face of motherhood in some huge ways. I was surrounded on all sides by many different ideas of being a mom.

On Monday morning, one of my best friends, Jessica, gave birth to her second daughter. What an incredibly sweet thing to be a part of. I got to sit in the waiting room with her family and her daughter and then race to the nursery when we got the news that Peyton was here. I got to see Jessica shortly after giving birth and the light in her eyes that was all about Peyton gave me goose bumps. I can't wait to be that MOM again.

On Monday afternoon, I got a text from my brother that they're having a BOY! Nancy was thrilled (so was he - but this is about moms). She sent ultrasound pictures and just looking at his spine and hands and feet was breathtaking for me and I can remember how it felt to be that MOM.

On Tuesday morning, I emailed with a friend who told me of her recent miscarriage. My heart broke for that woman longing to be a MOM.

Later on Tuesday, I received news that a longtime friend of mine had just lost her 4 week old son. I sobbed for that MOM.

On Thursday, I attended the funeral for the little boy whose short life touched so many people. I sat with 3 other lifelong girlfriends. Two of these girls (women, actually) had each been given fatal and near fatal diagnoses of their children while in utero. One little boy is now 3 years old and the other turned one in January. These MOMs understand the miracle of life in its truest form. I watched from several rows back at the funeral as my friend who was saying goodbye to her son was cradled, literally, by her own mother. As my friend's shoulders shook from the uncontrollable crying, her mom squeezed her tighter and tighter and never let go. That MOM is tougher than steel.

On Sunday, I made breakfast for my Sunday school class using two of my grandmother's recipes. I had her handwritten recipe cards and couldn't help but wish she was there in the kitchen with me while I was cooking. She wouldn't even have to look at the cards and she wouldn't actually measure anything. That was an amazing MOM.

I spent Sunday afternoon with my mom at lunch and opened some really sweet cards from her and my dad. I always get two cards for every occasion. That is simply my MOM! The other part of the afternoon was spent with my mother in law and her mother watching cousins play with water guns and look for bugs. What an awesome time to reflect during the presence of four generations of family with those MOMs.

I am not any of those moms I encountered this week. Nor am I my friend who is celebrating Mother's Day for the first time with little twin boys after battling infertility. I am not my friend who lost both her grandmothers in a year. I am not my friend whose mom died when she was a teenager. I am not my friend who lives a thousand miles away from her mom and sisters. I am not my friend who boards a plane in just a few days to go meet her son she will soon adopt.

I am this MOM...

I am easily irritated at things that don't matter.
I am easily overjoyed at things that do matter.
I love to hear my daughter say "Mommy, don't go." But I hate it too.
I am the mom who has bows in every color for her daughter.
I am the mom who leaves for work every day and thanks God for a job to go to and a daughter and family to come home to.
I am the mom who struggles to find a balance between life's demands.
I have yelled at my daughter louder and longer than I care to admit.
I don't do a good job making sure my child eats properly.
I measure her height on the back of the laundry room door.
I let her go to bed with wet hair sometimes.
I forgot to make her brush her teeth tonight.
I love Wednesdays because she goes to school and always comes home with a craft.
I love watching movies through her eyes.
I have her pictures all over my desk.
I share milkshakes with her.
I discover new ways to "pretend."
I do summersaults in the grass.
I shove medicine down her throat because she hates most medicine.
I clean up throw up.
I change diapers (hopefully not too much longer).
I lay in bed with her for just "a few more minutes."
I smile at her love for her daddy.

But the truth is, none of us moms are any different after all. We are all MOMS. We love our children with every fiber of our being. We read books on how to be better moms. We try to give them an equal balance of what they want and what they need with a few sides of "because I said so" just for good measure. We pray for our children. We pray for ourselves as their mothers. Our hearts hurt when they hurt and you better not be the one to have hurt them. We rejoice when children are born because we know a new MOM was born that day too. We love our moms and usually end up just like them.

We rejoice. We marvel. We miscarry. We lose. We witness miracles. We sustain. We nourish. We remain long after we've gone.

We are weak but incredibly strong. We are steady but so unstable. We are real and magic. We are MOMs.

I'm so proud to be a mom and while part of that pride comes from being a mom to my wonderful daughter, most of the pride comes from being in a distinguished society of women whom God has called to be mothers.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-26T16:00:00.002-04:00

I love Easter for many reasons - mainly reflecting on the cross and what it means for me personally to have had Jesus die for me. I also love the ushering in of Springtime that comes with Easter. Everything just seems happier in the light of spring. Colors are brighter, days are longer, and food feels fresher!

This is Katie's third Easter and as such, our 3rd Easter photo shoot! We make it a point to get to church early to snap a few family pictures together with some friends. Without further ado, here is Easter 2011!

The Jones Family

The Kids Pictures!
This one is my favorite - even though it's blurry! Caleb is loving on his little sister and Katie and Maddie are soaking it all in! Maddie may be taking pointers since she's set to become a big sister herself in just a matter of days!

This is what happens when 3 different moms are taking pictures at once. The kids are all looking in different directions! I love it despite that! (By the way, welcome to the picture club Allie Boozer!)

Mother-Daughter
Me and my sweet girl - all cheese!

After church, we headed to Riverbanks Zoo for an Easter Brunch. We also got to stroll around the zoo for a while. My parents and Doug's mom joined us!

The food was delicious, but Katie was much more interested in coloring and the candy on the table!

Later, the Easter bunny came to visit and this was Katie's excited face! She got up enough nerve to go give him a high five - but it was not caught on camera!

After lunch, we visited with more animals and took a ride on the train! Then we headed over to the botanical gardens! They were so beautiful and just did more to reinforce my love of spring!

It was a really hot day (almost 90 degrees) which is why I didn't really think much of Katie's flushed cheeks for most of the afternoon. But when we got home and out of the heat, I realized she was running a fever. She just wasn't herself the rest of the day - so we visited Dr. Cabiness again and she has a double ear infection...We're on antibiotics and are hoping it clears up quickly!

It was a really wonderful Easter - spending time with family and friends, reflecting on the gift of salvation made complete in Christ's death and resurrection!

Early Easter

2011-04-17T15:07:00.005-04:00

Easter comes just once a year, but in our house it comes twice. Spending Easter with all your cousins makes it 5 times as nice!

We gathered at Aunt Lindsay's house for lunch and hunting eggs. I dusted off my Easter basket and stretched out my legs.

The eggs - there were plenty! We had lots of fun in store. But first we had to wait and then we waited more!

Cole wasted no time and started doing some damage! He really had the most eggs - but he had a home field advantage!

I was on a mission for eggs and just couldn't stop! But then I tripped over something - a purple lollipop! Instead of limping around and wasting precious time, I plucked it from the ground and yelled, "Gotcha Sucker, you're mine!"

Chase was an expert at hunting, even though it was his first. He didn't use a basket, so he must've worked up quite a thirst!

Dylan's another story. He's the egg hunting pro. He's been around the longest and he's the oldest, don't you know? He knows how to find the good eggs, he's really got the knack! But if you find a better one, you'd better watch your back!

About a million eggs later, eggs are still left unfound. Seriously Mom? Get creative - quit hiding the eggs on the ground!

The eggs are all gathered and we've had our fair share of candy! Cole was feeling extra sweet - he kissed me! Ain't that dandy?!

Another hunt is in the books! Now we rest our weary bones! We wish you all a Happy Easter from Doug, Rachel, and Katie Jones!

Palindromic Birthday

2011-04-16T14:49:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Doug's 33rd Birthday with a feast fit for 25 people and we only had about 10 people there. I accidentally ordered the 6 foot party pack from Substation II for the party and considering it's also nearly 8 inches wide, we had a lot of sub leftover! The stack of napkins from Substation should be an indication of how large they thought the party was!

I also got Doug's favorite dessert, cookie cake! It was a nice change from a typical Birthday cake and the family (kids included) had no trouble polishing this off!

We all had a lot of fun hanging out together and celebrating Doug!

Doug, you're a great father, a wonderful husband, and my best friend! I love you and hope you had a wonderful birthday! And Katie sends her love too!

Disney on Ice!

2011-04-15T13:40:00.000-04:00

Disney on Ice was the first event we've taken Katie to that we wouldn't have gone to if it weren't for her. We've done plenty of kid-centered things like the Fair or other festivals - but we would've done all those things anyway - just with a different agenda.

I was a little nervous about taking her - not sure if she'd be scared. She can be quite the scaredy cat sometimes and when she's the least bit afraid, she will say "ready to go Mommy" until you actually let her leave. But we talked about for a few days prior to the event. She doesn't know too many Disney characters but she knows Mickey and his friends pretty well. We told her we going to watch Mickey and his friends skate - not even sure if she knew what "skate" meant. But she seemed excited! On the way there, she kept thinking she would get to skate with Mickey so that was disappointment #1 for her.

We had great seats and the show was really fun. The whole Disney gang was there - lots of princesses and Toy Story characters. (Some of those movies are now on our list to watch.) Her second disappointment was that Nemo wasn't there and neither was Elmo. I tried to tell her that Nemo couldn't leave the water to ice skate and that Elmo was the wrong production company, but she didn't care. She wanted to see them skate!

We bought three tickets so she could have her own seat. She climbed into her seat at the start of the show and thought it was fun to sit by herself like a big girl. Then some taller people came and sat in front of us and she moved to Doug's lap for a while to get a better view.

She also spent a great deal of time just standing in the row watching the show. Half of the time, she had her fingers in her ears. She said it was loud, but not too loud so the fingers must've just been a precaution. She stood next to Maddie while Maddie danced through every song.

It was a lot of fun just being together as a family. We had fun talking about it on the ride home and all weekend. We have a box of wipes with Woody and Buzz from Toy Story on it and every time she sees it, she says "They skate with Mickey."

Up Way High (by Katie)

2011-04-12T13:41:00.004-04:00

My church had a big carnival on Sunday. I've been before but I don't really remember it. So it must not have been as fun last year because I can't imagine not being able to remember this! Mommy was working the helicopter ride so me and Daddy got to walk around together for a while, but not before Mommy slathered me with sunscreen giving me a nice pasty look for the afternoon. Daddy took me to the bean bag toss, train ride, and petting zoo. They were all lots of fun.

After Mommy finished her shift at the helicopters, I thought it was time to go. But the best was yet to come! We walked over to this great big pirate ship ride. It had parrots on it and the boat rocked back and forth and went up way high! Mommy asked if I wanted to ride and I said, "YESH!" Mommy told me she was too big to ride it with me and it was just for little kids. I still wanted to ride it. I found my friend, Mary Wallace, and we got in line together.

We watched a group of kids climb up on the ship and get buckled in (to be safe). They all looked really brave and sort of scared too.

We watched as the big pirate ship began to rock back and forth and swing up way high. The kids on the boat screamed! Were they having fun or freaking out? I wasn't sure so I squeezed Mary Wallace's hand tighter.

The boat finally stopped and the kids got off. It was my turn now! I climbed up the big silver stairs still gripping tightly to my friend's hand! When we reached the top step, we let go of each other and went to find a seat on the boat. We didn't even end up sitting next to each other. I found my own seat and buckled myself in all by myself (to be safe). I was feeling like such a big girl until I looked up and saw my mom shoving people aside to catch a picture of me. She can be so lame sometimes. What's the big deal mom? It's just a pirate ship!

It was almost time for the boat to start so I held on tight to the bar and prepared myself for the ride! I knew there was no turning back now.

Um, did I mention this thing went up way high? It. Was. Awesome. I couldn't believe I had lived two whole years without experiencing the wind in my hair and the view from up high. The boat rocked back and forth and got higher and higher and then finally came to a stop. The ride was over, but the memory will last forever.

I unbuckled myself and climbed out of the boat and made my way back toward the silver stairs. I needed to find my Mommy and Daddy so I could tell them about the boat and the wind and the view and the screams and the parrots. They weren't hard to spot. My daddy was grinning ear to ear and my mommy was still plastered behind her camera snapping pictures in rapid fire. When she stopped long enough to give he a hug, I saw a few tear drops coming down her face.

Sheesh. I hate to see her when I go on my first date next year.

My Wall

2011-03-28T15:13:00.003-04:00

I absolutely love my nieces and nephews. They are so special to me and I love the part they play in Katie's life. Some are near and some are far, but I wanted Katie to see them every day and be reminded of how much fun they all are. So - I started my wall. My wall of nieces of nephews and Katie. The idea was to put a picture of each of them in a frame and change it around the same time each year. Then, by the time the kids go off to college or get married - I would have 18 (or so) pictures of each child to put in an album to give back to their parents or to the child (now adult) to keep for themselves.

I got some really inexpensive frames from WalMart. I won't tell you how many - but let's just say I assume I have a fertile family. I have visions of some super cool frames one day (like the Organic Bloom ones my sister in law offers in her photo sessions) but those aren't in the budget at the moment.

I got the 8x10 pictures printed with a Snapfish giftcard a coworker gave me for my birthday. Each child's picture is so totally unique. Most of them are ones that Melissa (the sister in law mentioned above) and I suspect they will probably always be that way. It's hard to find a better picture than hers!

Then I got some wall art with a line from Jesus Loves Me. I love the generic-ness that just entails "little ones" and remembering that these children will always be "little ones" to me.

The pictures are arranged in order of the children's births. Katie likes to stop on the landing of the stairs and tell her cousins Good Morning or Good Night. Sometimes it's a stall tactic - but other times - she is genuinely interested in talking to them!

I had my "mechanical engineer perfectionist when it comes to wall hangings" husband draw it out and hang everything up. He did an awesome job. He spent an enormous amount of time on it. The spacing is perfect...

For 5 children...

But we have new children being added later this year. No - not Doug and me specifically...I'll pause to let my mom and mother in law catch their breath.

2 new children arriving in/around September and October.

My sister in law, Nancy - married to my brother, Gabriel is due to have her first child on September 18. They find out in May what they're having! They did a great job planning to have the due date about a week after the baseball season ends! (My brother works for a minor league baseball team and is pretty MIA during the 5 month long season.) We are all thrilled for them and can't wait to meet MY first blood niece/nephew.

My sister in law, Lindsay (Doug's youngest sister) is due to have her second child in October. Two nephews (including her first son) already have October birthdays so October stands to be a fun, busy month for our family forever! Lindsay and I were pregnant together with our first children and we had a lot of fun swapping sickness and weight gain stories. I can't wait to find out what she'll be having too! Will we get another girl in the family or will Doug's sisters continue to have boys!

So Doug - you have a few months to draw out the plan for a 7 picture wall and get the other frames hung up. I'm sure by the time you finish it, someone else will be pregnant and you'll, quite literally, get back to the drawing board! Good thing I picked the biggest wall in the house for this project. We have lots of room to expand!

Queen of the Castle

2011-03-25T16:13:00.000-04:00

We have a new backyard addition! It's actually kind of a family heirloom. Kind of. Here's the story. Once upon a time, there lived an aunt of mine who had several grandchildren of her own. She also ran a daycare out of her house. Enter - large castle. Her grands outgrew it and it was passed on to some friends of my cousin. These friends just happen to be our friends, The Smoaks! Well, the Smoaks have since graduated to a bigger playset for their backyard and the castle now finds itself in a new backyard with a new Queen!

To say she is smitten with the castle is an understatement. She loves the slide and the tower. She loves to "let" you into her castle, once her permission has been granted. She was truly bothered by the pollen all over the castle and wanted to clean every inch of it with a wipe. Nice to know she takes pride in her possessions. She really likes for someone else to be on the other playset across the patio and look through the plastic telescope so she can wave at you from high atop her tower.

I think I've now been relegated to court jester.

Spring is Here!

2011-03-23T14:47:00.000-04:00

How do I know?

Flowers are blooming.

Knees are no longer protected by fleece and denim but are left exposed and vulnerable to daily spills on the concrete. Neosporin is on my key chain.

And my world is yellow with pollen.

Our to do lists are full with the type of cleaning that isn't cumbersome, it's more like organizing and renewing.

Long sleeves and shorts are perfectly comfortable in the evening.

Toes are painted because the sandals are back.

Zoo membership has been renewed.

Easter outfits are coordinated.

Plans for summer vacations are being made. I can almost feel the sand in my shoes.

Katie gets frustrated when we drive past parks and don't stop to play.

I'm running again...outside...in daylight.

Basketball is wrapping up, baseball is gearing up, and football is looming on everyone's minds.

Cold pasta dishes sound delicious.

Sun screen is on sale.

Welcome back Spring. You haven't changed a bit.

How Being A Mom Changes You

2011-03-22T16:06:00.001-04:00

Disclaimer - Obviously I have been changed in many meaningful ways by becoming a mom. But these are the not so meaningful, yet still documentable ways. I love a post about fierce mama love that makes you cry - but this is not one of those posts.

It changed my fashion sense. I have always longed to be fashionable and trendy but I know I can't pull off most of the current looks. I balked at capris knowing they wouldn't look right on my 5'1" frame (hips included). I eventually got some, albeit four years later. But now, being a mom (especially to a daughter), I get to make her trendy. I am all for "girly" outfits with smocked animals on them or a scripted monogram, but when there's a new style out that I would love to sport, I just let Katie sport it instead. Vicarious Fashion! Case in point - pink cowboy boots with pink leggings and a sweater dress. Who wants to see me in this? Probably no one! But Katie turned some heads in her get up!

It changed my view of daylight savings time. Growning up, I was always a huge fan of Fall Back (gain an hour) and not so much a fan of Spring Forward (lose an hour). But fast forward to parenthood, and I have done a complete 180. Fall back - I don't gain an hour of sleep. The clocks go backwards so I stay up late to revel in this extra hour. But no one explained this theory to kids. No one told them about the extra hour. My daughter is still up at the normal time which now becomes abnormally early and I'm even more tired because I took advantage of the falling back! And now it's dark earlier and no one is happy. But Spring Forward - simply amazing. I know I'm going to lose an hour of sleep so I prep myself by going to bed early. Again - I don't explain this theory to my 2 year old so she still wakes up at the normal time which now becomes "sleeping in" on Saturdays while she adjusts to the change. And - it doesn't get dark until 8pm so everyone is happy! No more driving home with the sunset in my eyes. It's still light after dinner allowing ample time for chase and bubbles!

It changed my parking style. I admit - I was that person that would drive around for five minutes to find a parking spot to save myself 10 additional steps. But now, I look for spots closest to the cart return. I hate people that don't return carts! But shopping with a child in tow means I don't want her walking through the parking lot more than she has to and I want to be closer to the return after I unload groceries. It's still all about saving myself some steps - so maybe I haven't changed as drastically as I thought.

It changed my view of smiles. My brother has always had a funny little smirk that he does in pictures. He hates it. I have always had a gummy smile. I hate it. But smiles are so unique to each individual that it's hard for me to see any type of smile as bad anymore. Katie had a crooked little grin last fall that has since straightened out. I am forever grateful that that crooked little grin was documented in pictures! Now her eyes squint a bit and it's still a cheesy grin - but it's not as fake as it appears! I love it. Looking back on her pictures one day, I am sure she will hate it. But hopefully I can convince her that it was all a part of her fantastically wonderful little personality!

Caption Crazy!

2011-03-09T19:02:00.000-04:00

I posted this picture on Facebook last week and it was funny the comments that racked up "captioning" the picture. So I figured I would blog it too and add some more suggested captions! Oh yeah - by the way - the picture was taken inside EdVenture in the automotive room. It's not a real car.

1. (Posted by my mom) M: Our moms think we're at the library. K: Yeah, they're so lame!

2. K: (Singing) The wheels on the bus go round and round. M: Oh girl, that's my jam! Lemme turn it up.

3. (Posted by their preschool teacher) M: You pull up on the brake when I say when!

4. K: Can you believe the price of gas these days? M: My mom says prices used to be below $5/gallon. She really is old.

5. M: If we drive backwards, the mileage will never show up on the odometer. K: You are so smart! What a great idea!

Regardless of what we think they're saying - they will no doubt be TROUBLE by the time their teenage years roll around! Lord, give me strength!

EdVenture Adventure

2011-03-07T17:05:00.004-04:00

EdVenture is a children's museum in Columbia and we got a weekday membership on Groupon a few months ago. It's mainly for my mom to be able to take Katie and Maddie during the week - but I got to take advantage of it recently when I had President's Day off at work.

Having lived in Columbia my entire life (except for a year spent up north in Rock Hill, SC), most things aren't new to me. But the museum was only recently built so it's not a place I went to as a kid myself. So I enjoy exploring everything too. There's so much to do there - it would take a week going for a few hours at a time to see and do everything. Here's some pictures from our favorite places.

The Piggly Wiggly grocery store. Shop with kid size carts and then go ring each other up! Leave the restocking to mom, of course.

This ramp is in the automotive section - not sure how that all connects but the girls loved racing the tennis balls!

Fire(wo)man Katie! Dress in coat, hat, pants, boots and drive the truck! Explore under the truck and slide down the fire pole too! (Katie was afraid of the tunnel under the truck and the pole.)

Ice Hockey Rink - part of the Winter Wonderland! This is Katie's around the back move that is sure to land her a spot in the Mighty Ducks remake someday.

More Winter Wonderland - in the penguin perch. We're loving some penguins lately after some trips to the zoo to watch them eat. This one got the tickle treatment from Katie.

The Music Room - musical hopscotch and compose your own piano pieces. Play some drums - virtually anything to make lots of noise and have lots of fun!

Arts and Crafts - give this child a marker and let her run. This acrylic booth lets kids draw and color until their hearts are content. Unfortunately - there is no limit to Katie's desire to draw, so we always leave this part with a little kicking and screaming!

Loved my Mommy's Day Off with Katie exploring the museum - watching her learn and explore so many fun things!

Kid Tested, Mother Approved

2011-03-03T15:37:00.001-04:00

I'm not usually one for product reviews because I don't assume that anyone cares what I think about certain toys, etc. But our favorite new thing just had to be mentioned publicly!

The bubbles from Gymboree. Have you seen these? They are the most awesome, kid friendly bubbles ever. It's crazy to get this excited about bubbles, but that's just life with kids, right?

They aren't very expensive - $10 will buy you the special bubble pipe, the bubble tray, and a decent size bottle of bubbles.

A parent can pour the bubbles into the tray and then the kids can go wild. Katie and Cole did a great job taking turns dipping the pipe in the bubbles and then letting the other one chase down all the bubbles. The bubbles are tiny but they float around forever, kind of like snowflakes.

I actually tested the bubbles at work before I gave them to Katie and some of them were still around the next day! They refused to pop!

So take it or leave it, but if your kids are into bubbles like mine is - head to Gymboree and get some of these! Or come play in our backyard!

What Did the Groundhog Say?

2011-02-15T16:48:00.001-04:00

I'm not exactly sure what Punksatawney Phil predicted about Spring/Winter this year, but after the snowy winter we've had, I am more than ready for Spring. If this past weekend was any indication, Spring is just around the corner!

Doug had to work Saturday morning but we met him for lunch at Polo Road Park. The weather was really nice but a little windy - hence the jackets! But we just couldn't pass up the opportunity to play outside!

We took to the swings first. Honestly, I think this is her first time in a non-infant swing and she did really well. I remember helping my nephew, Dylan, learn to swing last year around this time - but Katie didn't quite get the concept. She kept kicking her legs in a wild fashion when I told her to kick. But she held on really well and enjoyed it anyway!

Then we had a nice game of Hide & Seek. Katie loves to do the counting! It goes 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10. Not sure about 4, 5, 6.

But then, after she counts, she runs to go hide! She's a little mixed up! Here she is hiding from Doug after she counted.

There is a little cement track around the playground part of this park, so we had a lively game of chase as well! This was more exercise for me than I intended to get.

What park visit is complete without some sliding? There were a few slides on the playground but after she fell off of one on her very first slide, she was super timid and would only go on this tunnel slide. It took a little coaxing to even convince her that this slide would be ok, so...

Daddy got in on the fun!

Interview with a 2 year old

2011-02-10T16:53:00.000-04:00

I have been trying to get Katie on video answering some questions about her likes and dislikes, but she gets so sidetracked during the film that it's nearly impossible. So, I settled for listening to her answer my questions and documenting them here. And here's a few pictures to boot!

What's your favorite color?
Orange (But sometimes she says purple. I can handle either one on their own, but the combination of the two is worrying me.)

What's your favorite snack?
Fruit Snacks

What's your favorite food?
CAKE!

What do you like to drink?
Bite! (Sprite - it's become a bad habit but she gets Sprite when we are out and she's behaved well - it's cheaper than the milkshakes from Marble Slab she was becoming accustomed to!)

What's your favorite game?
CHASE (followed closely by Hide and Go Seek)

Who loves you?
Dandaddy (what she calls my dad), Dabe (what she calls my brother), and then she says "Lots" as in lots of people love her.

Who do you love?
YOU (but she says this to whomever asks her the question)

Who's your best friend?
Katie (this means Maddie - but for some reason she has started calling Maddie, Katie)

What's your favorite song?
Happy (Happy Birthday - she loves to sing it to my dad and her Uncle Denny)

What's your favorite animal?
Dog (plain and simple - she loves them)

What's your favorite day? (They've been learning days of the week at school)
Sunday!

Why do you like Sunday?
Church! See friends - then she lists friends such as Caleb, Maddie, Quinn, Riley, Bryan!

She has become quite the talker lately - she has this very pronounced syllabic speech - every word seems to be it's own sentence with pauses before and after. Mommy. No. Like. That. Eat. This. One. - ok the periods don't do it justice so I will just work harder on getting her to focus on film!

Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-07T16:39:00.001-04:00

For the 5th year in a row, we hosted a Super Bowl Party at our house. It feels too formal to call them our Sunday School Class - because we are all such good friends. Doug and I got the house ready over the weekend and then relaxed and settled in for food, commercials, and football!

By the numbers -

7 babies under the age of 7 months, 2 of which were under the age of 1 month = lots of infant carriers and bouncy seats!

5 appetizers including the labor inducing bacon wrapped jalapenos, smoked ribs, and a new favorite - buffalo chicken dip.

3 desserts including awesome brownies, football shaped donuts, and pretzel caramel bites!

7 toddlers only one of which was a girl. A girl who found it really fun to sit in her big green chair in her room and watch the boys play with her toys.

Total minutes of Super Bowl watched? ZERO!

But we loved every minute of it...Some would say it was kind of like Christmas!

Bless Her Heart

2011-02-01T12:37:00.001-04:00

Our niece, Lilly will be nestling into her little Moses basket in Charleston tonight, right alongside her parents and two of her dogs. Tonight is the last night she has to go to sleep with a broken heart. Tomorrow, she is being operated on at MUSC to repair holes in her heart. After five days in the hospital, she will get to come back home with her parents and her healthy heart.

We have prayed tirelessly for the doctors who will operate on Lilly. We have prayed for her parents - for their calm and their patience as they wait to see and hold their baby girl after the surgery. We have prayed for the family that surrounds Eric and Mari - to have the right words to say to help them through this.

God says in Revelation that He will make all things new. He is very specific to not say "I will make all new things." He is not making a new heart for Lilly - but he is making her heart new - just as perfect as she is. He knows the heart he gave her and has the power to heal that heart through the wonders of modern medicine. He is an awesome God. And as scary as I know thinking about the scar on her chest is - I try to see it as a reminder from God about his work. A reminder of his love and grace and mercy. A testimony for Lilly as she gets older and conquers one thing after the other - knowing how far she's come.

We are so in love with our niece and all of our nephews. They make up some really fantastic branches and limbs on our family tree. A tree I am quite sure is unlike any other. A tree whose branches cling to one another and hold each other up when the winds of life blow something fierce. A tree whose branches will blossom with flowers tomorrow - despite the cold winter. I'm pretty sure lilies don't grow on trees - but tomorrow, they will.

In my most Southern of voices but with more sincerity than ever before, I am asking God to "bless her heart!"

So Modeling is Out of the Question

2011-01-27T16:42:00.001-04:00

I was hanging out in the backyard last weekend trying to let Katie get some energy out since we've been stuck inside so much with the cold. We played CHASE mixed with Hide and Seek (her favorite combo lately). We took a break to take some quick pictures.

This is what I got when I asked her to "smile for Mommy please." Funny little body positioning and crooked, totally fake, and coerced smile.

So I told her to relax. As if she could grasp the concept of relaxing. When she didn't move, I said "relax" again and flopped my arms out by my side to demonstrate relaxing. Then, this happened.

On the other hand, she does seem to be really good at having that far off look that models are so good at.

Move Over George!

2011-01-06T17:17:00.000-04:00

Remember this? Well, there's a new man in my life and his name is Frosty! He's been living at the bottom of my stairs since Thanksgiving. He always has a smile on his face.

He gives the best hugs ever! Even though he's made of snow, I don't feel cold when I hug him. I'm not sure why he hasn't melted yet inside our house!

His nose is pointy and I like to kiss it. Mom says I can only kiss on the nose for now...Nothing more until I'm 30!

Frosty tells me all sorts of secrets...secrets that come from the world of ice and snow and secrets that make me laugh and giggle.

But now my world has been ripped apart since he's been moved to the attic. I will miss you Frosty. I will think about you everyday until it's time for you to come back! Be safe up in the attic...There's all sorts of crazy things living up there!

A White Christmas!

2011-01-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

We had the closest thing to a white Christmas that I've ever had! It snowed on December 26...and not just a few flakes! It snowed all day long and we got quite the accumulation (for South Carolina). After church, we went back over to Grandma Jones' house and played in the snow with Dylan and Chase! I was not dressed for the snow at all but made sure to keep Katie bundled up. I was also still supposed to be on crutches so I couldn't really do much other than make sure I didn't fall!

Katie loved the way snow tasted...or maybe just how it felt on her tongue! But she kept scooping up snow and eating it and saying "cooooooold!"

Dylan had an absolute blast in the snow. He rolled some snow balls and tried his hand at making a snowman. He stood on his head once and made snow angels that he called "snowbodies" which is so stinking cute! This picture shows Dylan at his finest, rolling UP the hill in the front yard with absolutely no regard for how cold it is outside. And I know there had to be some snow hitting his skin, but he didn't care!

We had a lot of fun in the few minutes we were out there! It stayed in our yard for another day or so but we never ventured back out. It's just not as fun without your cousins, I guess!

Christmas!

2011-01-01T16:40:00.000-04:00

Christmas was a little different this year as I was a few days post knee surgery. I didn't know what to expect from this surgery other than it was going to be less involved than my previous 3 knee surgeries. Nonetheless, I got everything done for Christmas a few days before the surgery and was able to relax and lounge in the last few days leading up to Christmas. Gabriel and Nancy stayed with us a few days too to help out. We did Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve. My dad made us a great breakfast and my mom brought presents in by the wagon-load! Katie had fun helping sort the presents...This has traditionally been my job (and one of my favorite things to do) but I let Katie take the reigns since I was confined to one spot!

After handing out all the presents, we spent the next part of the morning opening everything! Katie spent most of the morning in different people's laps helping them open stuff! But once she opened her 100 piece play food set, it was off to the playroom for her! She was thrilled with her food and despite knowing what most of the food is, she still calls it all "cake."

She also seemed to enjoy the chocolate that was in everyone's stockings. None of it was for her but she managed to sneak a few pieces when we weren't looking so instead we just went with it! We plopped her in the high chair and rolled her into the living room to make sure she didn't miss the festivities!

On Christmas morning, we woke Katie up and took her downstairs to show her what Santa brought her - a green chair with her name on it and a doctor's kit! (The doctor's kit is not to push her into a career - it's to try and ease her fears of the doctor!) She has since enjoyed giving shots to everyone and of course, covering us in band aids!

After a quiet Christmas morning and early nap for Katie, we headed to Grandma Jones' house for the Jones Clan Christmas! Ten adults and five kids and oodles of presents and NOT ONE PICTURE! Are you kidding me? Even my photographer sister in law missed out on taking pictures! The tree was gorgeous, the food was delicious, but the time spent with family really was priceless.

4th Times the Charm

2010-12-31T16:41:00.000-04:00

On December 22, I had my 4th knee surgery...2nd on my left leg. This knee surgery was by far the simplest of the four I've had which I am really thankful for considering I'm much older than I was before and now I had a two year old to chase around!

My least favorite part of surgery is the anesthesia. It makes me sick after waking up. It also makes me say funny things, some of which my husband chose to post on facebook.

I'm certainly no "David after Dentist" sensation, but I think a video camera would've made these conversations much more memorable.

Conversation #1 between me and the recovery room nurse:
Me: (teeth chattering)
Nurse: Oh honey, you look like you've got the shakes. Anesthesia does that sometimes.
Me: Yeah, I've got the shakes and not the good kind either.
Nurse: (perplexed) The good kind?
Me: You know, the hippy hippy shakes. (Shoulder shimmy ensues)

Conversation #2 between me and the surgeon when he comes to my recovery room to tell us how surgery went
Surgeon: Oh good, glad to see you're eating some crackers.
Me: Are you calling me a cracker?

I'm told those are the highlights of the post-anesthesia talk, but who knows what they're not telling me!

What a Difference a Year Makes

2010-12-20T12:08:00.001-04:00

Christmas 2009 - Katie, Caleb, Maddie picture at the big tree at church. All 3 families arrive early to have time to take pictures. Most pictures are taken on the couch where all 3 children sit and smile. Then, we venture to the tree and try to prop all the kids up on the big present. Passers by oooh and aaah at the 3 little children and how cute they are. Biggest challenge - getting all three to hold themselves up at the same time.

Christmas 2010 - No one gets to church early enough to have time to go over to the big tree so pictures are taken at the tall, skinny tree in the children's hall. We try to get all three kids over by the tree and looking at us at the same time. Passers by laugh and giggle at the mom completely laid out on the floor to try to snap a good picture while the kids run in 3 opposite directions. Biggest challenge - finding that Windows software that will let me mesh the best of each child into one picture!

(N.B. Katie is in the same dress both years! I love how some girl clothes can totally extend their shelf-life!)

Reindeer Games

2010-12-16T10:43:00.000-04:00

Katie's preschool class had a Christmas celebration yesterday! We have been to so many birthday parties lately that she's beginning to think weekly parties are just part of her normal routine. Parites mean cake and cake makes her happy so it's no wonder she was all smiles in these pictures (sent to me by her teacher).

Here's some of the kids enjoying cupcakes, raisins, and cheese. I think we all know what their favorite was!

The kids got to paint their noses red and pretend to be reindeer with reindeer hats! They made reindeer tshirts a few weeks ago with their hand prints so it completed the look!

Here's Katie with two friends from school enjoying her party and smiling for the camera! It does my heart good to know she's enjoying her class and seems so happy!

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-07T17:23:00.006-04:00

Doug and I got married in November 2004 and one of my favorite gifts was a bunch of Christmas ornaments from his sister Melissa. Our tree that year was complete with lots of ornaments despite our having been married only a few weeks by the time it got decorated! We each had some of our own to contribute and we've accumulated some more in the years since. And this year - we had a lot of fun pulling out all of the old ornaments and decorating the tree for the first time as a family of 3! Here's some of my favorite ornaments!

We each have our own "Baby's First Christmas Ornament!"

Doug's first Christmas - 1978

Rachel's first Christmas - 1980

Katie's first Christmas - 2008 (given to us by my Aunt Betsy)

Just Married - 2004 - bought at a craft's festival (given to us my by Doug's mom)

Jamaica! We bought this on our honeymoon and decided we would always try and buy an ornament from anywhere special that we went together!

The Boot! - I hang this in honor of my brother and sister-in-law in Texas!

The Bowling Santa - We all know Doug's a bowler and this cheesy bowling Santa couldn't be more UNLIKE Doug - but it's cute just the same! (given to Doug by my mom)

The Pomeranian - We got this ornament before we had Jack - it looks so much like Punkin - The Jones family dog that lived with us for her last few years. She was such a pretty dog - she wore the pomeranian fluff much better than Jack does!

The Paper Mache Ball - this ornament came from my grandmother's house after she passed away. I got several ornaments from her house and they all have their own box with note cards handwritten by my grandmother stating where the ornaments came from. This one was from a friend of hers who lived in Texas.

Finally, our allegiances!
Here's Cocky driving a little sports car near the top of the tree.

A Clemson one just to even things out!

And the beloved PSU ornament which is way near the top so Katie doesn't accidentally break it.

Most of our other ornaments are plastic this year since Katie seems fascinated by them all. Her favorite is a series of snowman that have slinky-like arms or legs!

Deck the Halls!

2010-12-06T17:19:00.000-04:00

This is our first year in our new home and our first year decorating a house for Christmas since Katie was born. When she was born in 2008, we didn't make the time/have the time to get anything going. Then, in 2009, we were living with the Joneses and while they did do some decorating, it wasn't our stuff so it didn't count.

On Sunday afternoon, we headed over to Lowe's to get a tree. It's not the same picturesque event as a Tree Farm and cutting down your own, but you can't beat the price!

Katie helped do some decorating on the tree but she mainly carried one bouncy snowman ornament around the whole time looking for the perfect place. The perfect place ended up being buried deep in one of the branches where it may not ever be found when the tree gets taken down in a few weeks.

We were going to push the tree back further into this corner so that it wasn't so "out there." However, Katie has decided she has to do a daily walkabout around the tree inspecting the hidden ornaments and all the lights.

Can you spot her hiding? She's also decided "behind the tree" makes a really great hiding place! And also a place to run when she's got something she shouldn't have!

So Cooperative!

2010-12-02T15:55:00.001-04:00

Last year, Katie's Aunt Lindsay gave her the cutest Christmas dress that I've had in the closet all year long waiting to make it's debut this December. So I got Katie all dolled up in the dress and took her over to the big tree at Sandhills to snap some pictures. I met the Smoaks over there to help take some for them and vice versa. As the camera started snapping pictures, the screen read "no card." UGH - I had done all this for naught! But alas, Katie (Smoak) had brought her camera too and snapped some photos for me. Katie (Jones) did alright but took a lot of coaxing to get to smile. We headed home and I put the card back in my camera and tried to get a few more pictures of Katie just in case the outdoor ones didn't work. I got all sorts of smiles and lots of pictures of Katie running away, so I made a faux card with the outtakes!

I got free cards from a few different places (Snapfish, Shutterfly, and Vistaprint) and had fun making them all different since each place was only giving 5-10 free ones. Don't be mad if you get a different one than you see on someone else's fridge!

Katie's Kitchen

2010-12-01T12:01:00.000-04:00

Back in the fall, I got this great little kitchen from the Tot Trade. I saved it for Katie's birthday and hid it in the garage for a few months. My mom bought it from me to give to her and then I had a friend make her a dish towel with her name on it. A few people gave us some pots and pans for her birthday too and we've had a blast cooking in the kitchen!

She and Doug have become experts on cooking cake and chicken - those are Katie's requests. She puts her pan in the oven and turns the dials and then they count to three and yell, "DING!" (It should be noted, Katie only says two when we're counting - she knows that number well now that she is 2!)

We don't actually have any play food so it's really neat to see how much pretending Katie is capable of doing. She feeds Doug cake and chicken with the measuring spoons and even blows on them to make sure it's not too hot.

She has the concept of HOT down very well in her mind but it doesn't always come out right. Take the oven mitt picture below - she knows the pan is hot coming out of the oven, so she wears the mitt. But notice what hand she uses to hold the HOT pan! Too cute!

The Kid's Table

2010-11-21T11:09:00.001-04:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving early with all of the Joneses - both parents, 4 kids, 4 spouses, and 5 kiddos. Chase rocked it out in the high chair and Lilly slept in Grandma's arms while the 3 oldest kids shared a table in the playroom. The playroom is right next to our dining room and the adults could see all of the kids and make sure nothing bad was happening. Everyone commented on how well the kids were doing and that this set up really worked and we should do it again next year. It was pure bliss...

...for about six minutes. Then they were done eating and ready to play and wreak a general havoc on the playroom. They were still within sight so we all just kept eating. The food was delicious - everyone brought a few dishes and we had way more leftovers than what should be allowed! A homemade apple pie topped my favorite list along with corn casserole and a rockin green bean casserole.

We Had a Hoot!

2010-11-20T16:50:00.000-04:00

We had Katie's 2nd birthday party surrounded by friends and family a week after she officially turned 2. It was a better football weekend and travel weekend so it just worked out! The theme was OWLS (which are apparently all the rage these days)! I got some fun invitations and accessories from Vistaprint and some more owl things from World Market back in September. I used my ubiquitous drink bucket adorned with owl ribbon along with some owl clothespins to hang her "year in pictures." Publix did the cake, extremely last minute, for me without issue. I made some finger foods and it all turned out nicely!

Here's the birthday girl waiting on her guests to arrive! She stayed at the window for so long calling out people's names that she thought should be there.

My friend Elizabeth made the owl shirt for her. She made it without seeing any of the party decorations colors or styles and it matched perfectly! (Unfortunately, now the shirt is light orange - anyone know any tips for dyeing your clothes back to their natural white???)

She enjoyed her fair share of all the food - mainly grabbing it from Bama's plate. (Katie has started calling her grandmothers - Bama - pronounced - Beh-maw.)

She actually helped open her gifts this year, but still showed more interest in the tissue paper than her actual presents. And if she was excited about a present - it made her mad that we wouldn't stop to open it that very moment. I stashed most of the presents in the closet so I can have some things to bring out during the year.

The biggest hit at the party was her new cozy coupe from Bama Jones. All the kids got to take turns riding in it. Katie has loved riding in it in the evenings and doesn't care that it's 40 degrees out. She still wants to RIDE!

Happy Birthday Katie! We had so much fun celebrating with you!

Turning 2, Part 1

2010-11-19T21:00:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, November 14, Katie turned two years old! Her party wasn't until the next weekend, so we had lots of fun still trying to make the day super special for her. We woke up to get ready for church and made her usual breakfast of oatmeal, but she got to eat in her special birthday bowl! Here she is trying to show us 2 fingers for how old she is!

When we got to church, her Sunday school teachers, Greg and Caroline, had made a birthday banner that seriously made me cry. I never knew Crayola and streamers would have that effect on me! A friend of mine told me they heard them singing Happy Birthday to her later that morning so it made me feel so good that even when we weren't there - people were loving on our little girl!

After church we headed over to Monkey Joe's to bounce around! She was super timid at first and we spent almost an hour trying to get her to go on some slides and bounce a little. Each of us (me, Doug, my mom, and my dad) took turns trying to convince her that everything was safe. But she was mainly concerned with how loud the place was.

I was just about ready to pack her up because I felt awful for her - but then she climbed into one of the bounce houses and there was no turning back. She started hopping and laughing and falling and sliding and we eventually had to coax her into leaving!

Before heading to our next stop, we let her open some presents in the back of my parent's car. She ripped into the presents like it was something she did everyday! She knew exactly how to tear the paper and get to the goods! She got a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and has had a blast putting rearranging their faces.

From Lexington, we headed out to Camden and Katie took her "nap" for the day in the car. The Jones Farm in Camden is one of Katie's favorite places: horses, chickens, dogs, a cat, swivel stools and on this day - SPARKLERS and CUPCAKES. After a great time with cousins and aunts and uncles and gradmas and grandpas and friends, we finally headed home to wrap up the day and put our brand new (worn out) 2 year old to bed.

Grandma Jones had one last surprise for Katie and brought a few presents over when we got home. Katie got some leopard print shoes that totally rock, especially because I have some that match them!

And lastly - some adorable ballerina ruffle bottom pajamas. She's working hard at putting on her own clothes these days, but somehow both legs always end up in the same leg hole!

Katie's birthday diet consisted of more sweets that I can admit in public. She had about 45 minutes of sleep during the day and was just plain exhausted by the end of the night. We put her to bed feeling totally satisfied that she knew she was loved in so many ways by so many people!

One and Done!

2010-11-17T22:20:00.006-04:00

Dear Katie,

I am several days late on posting about you turning 2, but rest assured I have good reason. We spent your whole birthday playing together as a family (next post) and had an absolute blast soaking you up! Then, on your first full day of being 2, you were sicker than you've ever been. You threw up for the first time and ran a high fever all day long. I couldn't wait to get home and just snuggle with you (even though you wanted to be left alone). On Tuesday, I was plumb exhausted from the fun on Sunday and work on Monday so I just rested. Now, it's Wednesday and I've had a lot of time to think about what to write to you for your two year birthday but words still seem to fail to convey how I feel about this milestone.

I find it hard to believe 2 years has gone by since you were born, let alone even one year since you turned one. But "they" are right and time really does fly by. At the same time that time has whizzed by us, I can't remember life before you and I don't want to. You make me look at life differently now that I am your mom. I want the world to be a better place for you and because of you.

There's so much that I wanted to do with you this year that just never happened. It's a good thing we have the rest of our lives to do them though! But if you're old enough to read this and we haven't gone to a "make your own pottery" place or fingerpainted together or wore raincoats and boots to run through the sprinkler, then let's stop what we're doing and do whichever thing you want!

I think back to all the firsts that happened this year - especially after thinking that all the big "firsts" were over after you turned one. You had your first major boo-boo and your chin still bears the scar of that fall on the living room floor. You had your first taste of soda, chocolate, and bacon and chocolate is the only one you wanted more of!

Your personality seems to blossom everyday. Your expressions are priceless and your eyes could write their own language! Your timidity about many things is so precious to me because it's those timid moments when you lose your independent will and seek help from daddy and me.

You know exactly how to get your way and dad and I are learning that you know that! What mother turns down a child who wants to "read" - even if we've read 15 books before bed and it's 30 minutes past bedtime. What mother turns down a child who wants "fruit" even when it's her 4th snack right before dinner.

I think about you all the time and try to picture what you're doing when I'm not with you. I love coming home and seeing your eyes light up that first moment when you see me (it quickly fades to a question of when daddy will be home). I love to watch you color and wonder what's going through your head at the moment while your tongue is partially stuck out and your eyes are incredibly focused.

I think about when you'll say your first sentence. I think about what you'll want to be when you grow up. I think about what things will inspire you and what things will challenge you. I think about what the Lord will call you to do as you grow into your own and how you will respond. I think about what you'll look like on your real first day of school and try not to think about your last day of school, because as I've seen these last 2 years, time really does fly. And I could spend all my days thinking about your future and being consumed by it, but I know I must live in the moment of now. Live in the moment of being a mom to a precious 2 year old who surprises me every single day. Surprises me by filling me a love that I never knew was possible. It's crazy momma love - love that will never fail or cease no matter what.

So for now, as the list of things I have to do seems to grow with each passing day, be confident that being the best mom I can be will remain at the top of that list always!

I love you Katie bug! -Mommy

Chili Anyone?

2010-11-03T21:58:00.001-04:00

Our Sunday school class has had a chili cookoff two years in a row now. Couples sign up to bring their own special recipe chili and we become gluttons who taste test all that everyone has to offer. There were 5 chilis and they were all fantastic. An array of meats, spices, bases, veggies, toppings - I was in heaven!

This year, the cookoff was the day before Halloween so all the kids (and one or two adults) got to dress up. Katie had donned Elmo twice already so we went with a makeshift ballerina outfit made from her 1st birthday tutu. She was much more comfortable and enjoyed the occasional twirl!

The cookoff is held in a backyard cookout wonderland also known as The Beam's Backyard. A treehouse and a fire pit are just the beginning of the setting. The fire pit has become the staple to the chili cookoff as we wind down after chili while making s'mores. Katie and I made a killer one that had the perfect amount of charred marshmellow mixed with metled chocolate on our graham cracker!

*Note - my chili won the SPICIEST, which is a nice honor - but it wasn't all that spicy. I think most of us knew there were kids around and kept our chili PG. I hear it's getting kicked up a notch by some of the menfolk for next year!

Ten Tryouts on Tuesday

2010-11-02T14:27:00.003-04:00

There are so many things I would have liked to have done in life - but way too many of them required that I "tryout" first. Sometimes I just didn't have the patience to go through that. Sometimes I had the smarts to know there was no way I'd make it. And sometimes, I just jumped in with both feet and tried out! Here's a list of 10 things I tried out for in life - not all with good results!

1. Cheerleading - I had to try out every year in middle school and high school that I wanted to cheer. It wasn't one of these things where you automatically made the team again either. Each year, I went to a week of tryout practices that resulted in bruises, sore muscles, and an upset stomach the night before the actual tryouts.

2. I tried out for a production of Cheaper By the Dozen at Town Theater. I had to do a reading on stage in front of lots of people. I thought for sure I would get a part because there only seemed to be 10 kids auditioning and, as the title suggests, there needed to be 12! But - I didn't get any part and never tried out for community theater again.

3. Classic Soccer - I think it's called club soccer now or traveling team - but it was sort of elite. I had played rec soccer for most of my life and the year before, my brother had made it onto a classic team so I decided to try too. I did make the team - it was a U-12 (age) team. I only played for one season but really enjoyed it.

4. Church Youth Group Solo - My frenemy, Lauren Brown Armstrong, and I both wanted to audition for a solo in the youth group choir. At this time, we were known enemies and had to sing in front of the choir director and each other. It was awful and nerve racking to sing in front of her. I knew my voice was shaking the entire time. Apparently she was just as nervous because the choir director ultimately decided to let the entire choir sing the solo portion instead of giving it to either of us.

5. SNA - Sunday Night Alive is a comedy show at USC that is performed every Sunday night and is formatted like Saturday Night Live. My brother was on the cast his freshman year at Carolina and I wanted to try out when I transferred there. Man, to try and be funny in an improv manner with a room full of comedians is pure torture! I never felt more lame and not funny in my whole life. But I did make the cast, I'm sure I just got grandfathered in because of who my brother was but I loved doing the show! I'm still waiting, however, on my call to host the show.

6. Fear Factor - the early version! Before Fear Factor turned into how gross of something can we put in front of you and you will eat it for money - it was about daring, scary, adventure type things. So I printed and mailed in an application in 2001. I got a letter from them saying they received it, but never heard anything else.

7. Varsity Soccer - I was on JV my freshman and sophomore year in high school but was pulled up to varsity for certain games and got enough playing time to earn a letter in the sport. But when I was a junior, I only had one option: play varsity or play nothing (because of my age). But I was up against really good freshmen and sophomores who could very easily earn starting spots because they were so good. I was beyond nervous, but ended up making the team.

8. Church Basketball - I'm not sure that there were really tryouts - but we were carefully watched during practices to see what position we'd play. I never was really assigned a position (I'm not sure I could even list basketball positions anyway) but I did get to play occasionally. Enough to score 2 points in the 2 seasons that I played!

9. Miss RNE - Didn't necessarily tryout, per se, but had to apply and be accepted to participate in our high school beauty pageant. And as seniors, we had to have a talent - mine was a monologue, which was pitiful compared to some of the dancing, singing, and instrument playing that was displayed. I won Miss Congeniality which, according to a student I taught many years later, meant I was nice and not pretty. He didn't get a Miss Congeniality response to that, I promise!

10. 8th Grade Chorus - I auditioned for 8th grade chorus at my middle school. (Probably around the same time as #4.) I didn't make it at all. Some part of me thinks that if I had made it, I would've had a better chance at getting to guest star on Glee!

The Freaks Come Out at Night

2010-11-01T14:58:00.002-04:00

Boo at the Zoo was the first of FIVE Halloween event we attended this year. Not all are blog worthy, but this one definitely is. We didn't get a chance to go last year to Boo at the Zoo so this was a first for us. Katie donned her Elmo costume (pronounced Melmo) and, after dinner in the Vista, we headed to the Zoo!

Upon entering the zoo, there was some awesome music playing and what appeared to be a dance floor! The adults (mainly me) enjoyed shaking our groove thing while the kids played around. But, as you can see, I'm not the only one who enjoyed the music. There was music playing all over the zoo that night and I couldn't stop my toes from tapping and my lips from singing! I had a blast although I am sure I embarrassed those I was with!

Next it was off to the creepy crawler exhibit where we saw a hedgehog, a cockroach, and a snake (all living)!

This tarantula skin was also in the creepy crawler room. I learned that tarantulas shed their legs when they die and reminded myself how much I hate spiders.

Then we made our first stop at a Trick or Treat booth where the kids got their first treat! Caleb got a sucker which occupied him for a good half an hour!

Katie got a Reese's Cup which took her about 10 seconds to scarf down. It was her first ever Halloween treat so I let her have at it! She didn't really understand the concept of saving the candy, but had the mentality to try to eat it as fast as she received it. (Kind of like my Japanese restaurant strategy) So I ended up having to sneak up to the trick or treat booths and get candy for her but I felt like the people thought I was too old to be trick or treating!

We found a perfect photo opp spot for the kids, but Maddie was the only one who cooperated. I'm pretty sure Caleb and Katie were fighting over who got the pull the wagon at this point in the evening.

So, this is our best shot of all three kids. Caleb was a tiger, Maddie was Tinkerbell, and our little Elmo! We told them to chase each other and I snapped my camera over and over trying to get all of their faces in the same direction. I think I took 30 shots and this was the best!

The kids were tuckered out by the end of the night. It was definitely in the 80s and super muggy so Katie was drenched in sweat but she didn't seem to mind keeping Elmo on the whole time! She sort of had celebrity status that evening. One little boy was so excited to see ELMO in person that he ran up to Katie yelling, "Elmo! Elmo!" and gave her a big hug!

Inaugural Lilly Pad Buddy Walk

2010-10-28T14:05:00.015-04:00

The 2010 Buddy Walk was held on October 17 at Saluda Shoals park. Yes - that was almost two weeks ago but I have a very good reason for waiting to post about it. I've been eyeing my blogger dashboard for the last 2 months and watching the number of posts climb. I knew the big 200th post was coming up and I kept wanting it to be for something special and not ordinary and definitely not a 10 on Tuesday. So I dragged out all of our Fall activities into individual posts and kept my eye on the number. So this is it - the 200th post on Keeping Up With Joneses - and now, I'm going to turn it over to Katie to tell you about the Buddy Walk.

Hey Guys! It's Katie! I'm going to tell you about the Buddy Walk at Saluda Shoals Park with my family and my cousin Lilly! Hope you enjoy!

This is Lilly. She's the reason we went on a walk together as a family. She's only been around a few months - but she managed to bring our whole family together over something we never knew we'd care about so much. But my family believes in joy and we believe in each other and Lilly reminded us of that when she was born!
This is Lilly's mom, my Aunt Mari. She is the most laid back and easy going mom I have ever seen. She is so much fun to be around and has helped me learn so much about animals. This is also Lilly's award. My mom says she won it because a lot of people gave a lot of money in Lilly's name, but I'm pretty sure it's just because Lilly is awesome. Although that doesn't explain 3rd place - so maybe it was about the money.
I tried to warm up my muscles before the walk by running around and getting loose. Little did I know my mom was going to shove me in a stroller for the walk! Oh well, at least I got some good energy out.

And here's us all walking (although I use that term loosely given my previous statement about strollers). We made posters and carried them around the park. There was a marching band that led us on our walk and it felt like we were in a parade and not just a walk. We were parading around celebrating the lives of all the buddies out there all over the world, but mainly Lilly!

Aunt Mari got some pretty yellow tshirts for everyone to wear. Here's a picture of me and Mommy before the walk sporting our matching shirts. I'm glad the colors for Down Syndrome awareness are yellow and blue because they seemed to look good on everybody!

I know no one likes to have pictures of their backsides taken, but the back of the shirt was too fun not to show you. It was two big footprints made up of lots of little footprints. I like to think all those footprints on the back belong to our family and they symbolize us all walking together with Lilly!

This park has the best covered playground I've ever seen. It was hot outside but that didn't stop me and Cole from getting some quality toddler time on the playground. Here's Cole and his daddy on the monkey bars, using some techniques we picked up at the mud run this year!

Cole let me borrow his daddy so I could do the monkey bars too. My daddy was in Pennsylvania and let's be serious - my mom doesn't win awards for her height! So Uncle Marshall helped me get across and back across twice!

At the end of the day, all of Lilly's walkers gathered together for a group picture. It was hard to get us all in one shot because there were so many of us. There were friends and family and our commonality was that we were all there to support Lilly! It was so much fun to be together and I love being a part of a family that loves and plays and prays and walks better than any other!

10 DIYs on Tuesday

2010-10-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of crafty friends and family who design stationery, paint canvases, take fanstastic pictures, embroider anything, decorate cakes and the list goes on. But craftiness does not run thick in my blood. However, I have dabbled in the occasional DIY project around the house. Today's list is 10 things I've made...

1. In 4th grade, my grandmother and I took a sewing class in 5 Points. I made a skirt for myself and wore it all the time. I was so proud! I don't know where it is - but I'm sure it hasn't left my parents house. I want to go find it and put it on Katie one day.

2. In 7th grade, my cousin Zach was born and I made him a stuffed animal in my home/ec class at school. I picked out blue puppy dog pattern and it was seriously intense. I had to get lots of help from my grandmother.

3. For my parent's 20th wedding anniversary, my grandmother (notice a pattern???) and I made a quilt for them. We picked out lots of fun fabrics and she let me cut the squares and help with the sewing. I wasn't a very straight cutter so the quilt is not really perfect but the time spent making it with her sure was!

4. I made this name sign for Katie before she was born. Lindsay and I had a crafting afternoon at my house to make something for each of our babies. All it entailed was paint and hot glue, but I sure felt accomplished after finishing it. It hung over her closet at the old house and is now IN her closet here. It needs to get hung up again!

5. A few weeks ago, when Grandma Baggerly was here, I made churros - a spanish cinnamon pastry. It was my first time using pastry sheets and they were simple and easy and best of all, delicious!

6. OK, I don't really think "I" made this one, but I feel like I helped somehow and it totally bears mentioning! When I was a little girl and taking gymnastics, my dad built me a BALANCE BEAM! It was in our backyard and I got to practice on it all the time and make up routines. I think I remember helping hold the dark red carpet to it while my dad staplegun'ed it on. I passed it on to my neighbor when I grew out of it, but I will always love that thing!

7/8. Several years ago, I started learning to knit and found it so relaxing. I started out by making scarves and gave a few to friends one year for Christmas. I loved trying to pick out skeins of yarn that would match people's personalities! I also learned to knit purses and then turn them into felt purses. I had to knit "in the round" in order to make the purses and was able to knit patterns (mainly stripes) in the purses. I probably would've stuck with it and maybe even tried to sell them, but they took forever! One purse would take up to 10 hours to knit. It just wasn't worth it to me.

9. One more thing I made with my grandmother. One year for Christmas, we made stockings for every single person in the family. We must've made 17 stockings. We had all different kinds of red and green fabrics and then added lace, rick rack, bells, etc to each of the stockings making them unique for each person. Then we got to go shopping to fill them with all sorts of fun stocking stuffers!

10. Most recently, I made this wreath! I absolutely don't claim credit for it. I saw it on my friend Megan's blog. It sounded so easy so I ran to the dollar store to get the necessary materials. It turned out to really be very easy and now I have it on the front door. It's made of coffee filters! Can you believe it? Don't be surprised if you get one of these for Christmas from me!

What's your best crafty accomplishment?

Windy Mill Orchard

2010-10-21T17:55:00.000-04:00

My dad and I took Katie to the Windy Mill Orchard in York, SC last Saturday for their 17th annual Apple Festival. The directions said to look for a windmill to know you're in the right place. I never saw the windmill, but I'm thinking maybe they meant PISTOL!

Our first stop when we got there was to a cider stand. We bought Katie some fresh pressed cider but she was pretty confused on how to drink out of an apple!

She squeezed a fair amount of it on herself and never really figured out how to keep the green cap from out of her face, but she loved the cider! We refilled it twice while we were there!

Next stop was the outdoor amphitheater where the seats were made of bales of hay and plywood boards. We waited patiently for Johnny Appleseed to come press some more cider.

Johnny Appleseed wore a skunk-skinned hat and overalls and taught us all about the health benefits apples, one of which is that eating an apple is better than brushing your teeth! Here's Katie clapping because she thinks she never has to brush again!

Next stop was bagging apples. The orchard had already been picked and there were bushels and bushels of apples to pick through. We picked a 1/4 peck each and even through a few to some pigs!

Last stop before we left was to feed some goats. We were given "goat feed" in an ice cream cone to pass through the fence. However, the fence was surrounded by the line for the hayride so I can imagine these goats had been fed pretty well for the previous few hours so none of them came close enough. But we just threw our food inside the fence and hoped they would have it for a late afternoon snack.

Our walk back to the car took us right through the orchard and my dad was convinced there were still some apples that were ripe for the picking. He and Katie sludged through the field to pick a few.

Then Katie wanted to pick every single one that she saw still hanging on a branch so the walk back to the car took a solid 30 minutes as she picked apples and threw them on the ground.

OK, seriously - how much FALL can one family take??? We are loving it and gearing up for nephews birthday season, Halloween, and a Chili Cookoff for which I still need a recipe!