My Welchy

Halloween Carnival Fun

2011-10-29T20:08:00.001-04:00

My Little Fairy and Butterfly.

All dressed and ready to go to the Halloween carnival across the street at St Mark Church.

Our spooky front doors for this year.

Aunt Carol came down for the fun day too.

Emmalee kept the ball in her hands and walked over and knocked each pin down with the ball.

It's the 18 month old little girl version of bowling

Annagrace was a pretty good shot.

Again, she didn't really follow the rules. She walked over and gently placed each ring on each peg.

Little smarty pants cheater.

miniature hay ride

I know it's blurry but the face is priceless!!

Fun in the bouncy house.

We had a lot of fun and it was totally FREE!! Poor Annagrace tripped over a ladies purse and tore her tights and skinned up her knees. But, since we live right across the street, we just ran home and bandaged her up, changed tights, and went right back over to the fun.

Ghost Poop

2011-10-27T20:09:00.011-04:00

For the church Trunk-or-treat we made Ghost Poop.

My very fancy helper!!

Babyland General Hospital

2011-10-21T20:21:00.001-04:00

We had an exciting fun trip to Babyland General Hospital. It's in Helen, GA so we went to Aunt Carol's house first to get her and then we all headed on up.

It's so different from when I was a kid. They have totally new location and it's awesome.

They had a cute hair salon.

And this is mother tree, where all of the cabbage patches grow. We were even able to witness a live birth. It was super cute.

Both girls got to pick out a doll to take home as their Christmas present from Grandmother and Granddaddy. Annagrace got to pull hers out of a head of cabbage and name it - Kate Ellene Welch

Pumpkin Faces

2011-10-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

We did a "Mr Potato Head" version of pumpkin decorating this year.

The girls each picked out what face parts they wanted and we helped them punch them into the pumpkins.

I think they ended up looking more silly than scary and we loved them.

I really liked this kit, the pumpkins lasted FOREVER and the parts are reusable!

Parent Lunch Day at DCES

2011-10-11T18:38:00.001-04:00

Emmalee and I joined Annagrace for lunch. She was so happy to see us and show off her little sister to her friends.

This is her best friend Miller.

So cute, they are such good friends.

1st post

2011-10-10T08:14:00.003-04:00

Today is my first post on: http://www.theprojectgirl.com/2011/10/10/how-we-get-spooky-2/

Decorating for Halloween

2011-10-09T23:49:00.001-04:00

Beach Trip Day Three:

2011-09-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

We spent the morning in the pools. Annagrace is a little fish and kept practicing her distance of swimming without coming up for a breath. She is getting really good. Hence the above glare of anger for having to get out of the pool to start heading home.

After showering, packing, and cleaning the condo, we dropped by an urgent care for some relief for my head. Then went to Pier Park for a late lunch at Schlotzskys and a couple of rides on the carousel and airplane ride.

I have pictures on my phone that have yet to be uploaded.

Then we took the long drive back home to a clean house and the wonderful Daddy hugs. Tyler was supposed to enjoy his empty house, but it seems being alone made him work - grass cut, car cleaned, house cleaned, and he even did a couple loads of laundry. He's the BEST!!!

Beach Trip Day Two:

2011-09-26T22:26:00.000-04:00

We stopped by the pool for a minute and then made our way down to the beach for the day. The water was so shallow for hundreds of feet out. So, these little crabs were easy to spot in their shells. So, Annagrace and I headed out with our nets and caught a lot and filled our bucket to watch them.

They were fun to watch run around, fight each other, and find their own comfy spot.

Emmalee took another nap under the umbrella.

After we watched them for a while, Annagrace released them back to their home.

And they scurried away.

Emmalee woke up

and headed to the sand for some fun.

Annagrace started making "sand balls" to throw. I guess when you never get snow, you make do with what you've got.

We showered up and headed to Pier Park and had dinner at Margaritaville.

She was thrilled with the drink garnishments.

So patiently waiting for her food.

We watched these huge brownie deserts being walked past us over and over. So, when we were finished with our meal, we couldn't help but order one!

OH, SO YUMMY!!

Beach Trip Day One:

2011-09-26T21:47:00.000-04:00

My Dad was going on a fishing trip for the weekend, I had the weekend off, so my Mom and I decided to take a girls trip to the beach. Just us four girls. It was so much fun and I am so thankful my Mom was there to help with the girls and help to entertain them. One of the main reasons we went was my recent diagnosis - tension headaches not migraines at all. So, I've been ordered to relax and take it easy.

I had a voucher for a 2 day rental of chairs so I was determined to USE it. So, we spent both days on the beach as much as possible.

Emmalee loved the ocean. But she wanted to jump (as in me dead lift her) over every wave. My biceps definitely got a work out and I'm sure her arms got stretched an extra 2 inches or more.

Building sand castles:

Emma napped on the beach, under the shade of our umbrella.

I am in love with this photo. Can you see it? The heart in the clouds over the beach??? I guess it describes my heart exactly, it belongs at the beach.

That afternoon we went on the Pirate Cruise. It ended up being a lot pricier than we had originally planed on, but the girls had a lot of fun and it made it totally worth it.

(Plus we off set it with dinner at Burger King, instead of a yummy local seafood joint.)

They had water gun fights,

dancing with pirates,

sword fights,

they brought up a cannon ball jelly fish that we spotted close to the boat,

they also spotted dolphins, found a buried treasure and hauled it in by rope, were allowed to share in the loot in the chest, got tattoos, played limbo, and fired soft cannon balls. It was a FULL two hour cruise. Annagrace has been obsessed with pirates this past year so she was totally thrilled by this cruise. And Emmalee quite enjoyed herself as well.

I have videos of a lot of the activities, but will have to post those later.

Cute smiles

2011-09-26T14:13:00.000-04:00

spaghetti face smile

monster shoes smile

Annagrace has a talent for heals. This girl has them down pat even when they are double her size.

Yummy yogurt smile

During a brief cool spell she was able to wear her cutie patootie jeans.

Sprinkler Fun

2011-09-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

These were taken back in July at Grandmother's house (I'm just now getting the time to post them).

so cute . . . so fun . . . so crazy
makes my heart skip a beat with joy

I love this girl beyond imagination (I love Emma too). But, she was my first, the first one to teach me what being a Mommy is all about. She tests my limits, my patience, my creativity, and the endless bounds of my heart. She amazes me every day with her imagination, her vocabulary and her unbelievable beauty. When I remind myself that she came from me (and Tyler) I have a hard time believing it. She is absolutely amazing.

1st Day of Pre-K

2011-08-30T21:40:00.002-04:00

Annagrace was so excited to finally go to school. We had been counting down the days and shopped for school clothes. The night before we did a fashion show with all of her new things and picked out just the right outfit for the first day of school. And Tyler gave her a Father's blessing . . . she was ready to go. No matter how much I wanted to keep her my little baby, I had to let go.

She had to wear the "Rock and Roll" shorts that Nana and Papa Sent her. She even decided on her hair do. So stinkin' cute!

She led the way.

All the way down to her classroom.

Grandmother came with us for the first drop off.

During registration they gave me a form asking four general questions, one of them being, "What do you want your child to learn this year?" I answered. "To learn how to be a follower and not always have to be a leader." (along with a few curriculum based items) Well the very first day of school, she was the class LEADER! I guess she'll have to learn to follow the next day.

She did get lonely sitting in that red chair all alone of the first day. She didn't know what being a leader involved. She just knew that she was sitting alone and everyone else was on the floor playing with beads and talking to each other. As soon as I got her a bucket of beads she was okay and told us from across the room that we could go now, class was starting.

When I picked her up after school, she was all smiles and excited about the fun day she had. She said she got a little sad and cried during nap time because she missed me, but the rest of the day she was happy and busy.

Down on the river

2011-08-20T23:04:00.019-04:00

Carol and Gary came down for a visit and we spent the day on the River with Aunt Brenda and Uncle James. They got a new boat and we got to try it out!

And here is where I lost my mind and allowed my Annagrace to get on a tube:

Afterwards, Carol and Gary babysat while we had a date night! I think they were sufficiently entertained.

Krystals!!

2011-08-14T22:59:00.000-04:00

Emmalee enjoyed her tiny cheese burger.

This girl will not touch hamburgers but she sure chowed down on those Krystals! I love my southern girls!

Afternoon fun

2011-08-13T19:17:00.001-04:00

backyard sprinkler fun

My beautiful girls

2011-08-13T14:31:00.002-04:00

Most days, after VBoMS, we would stay at Grandmother's and play before heading home. The girls also helped harvest some vegetables.

It amazes me how she is such a "little girl" now. No signs of baby, toddler, nothing.

Little Miss - I think I will always treat her like a baby, but honestly there isn't much baby left in her either.

The only memory I have of my MoMo (my Mom's Mom) was picking weeds in the garden. She passed away when I was 3, so any memory is special to me. And I'm sure somewhere, someone has this exact same picture of me bent over in the garden with my MoMo. This teaches me that some things never change and eventually we all turn into our Mother, which is just fine with me.

Vacation Book of Mormon School

2011-08-12T22:47:00.000-04:00

We were invited to attend the Vacation Book of Mormon School at the Pine Mtn Branch. It was a fabulous week (July 11-15) packed with lessons, dance, music, and crafts. And then they had a performance to show off their hard work to all of the parents and grandparents.

One day my Mom taught the lesson: shepard leading his sheep.

Our friend Reese dressed as the shepard.

The sheep made during Mom's class.

This is my friend Jennifer and her Mom. They are the amazing duo who put the whole fun week together.

All of the Hawaii girls.

I'll add the video of the performance when Tyler adds it to my computer.

Swim lessons

2011-08-12T21:47:00.001-04:00

A friend told us about an awesome swim coach. So, I signed Annagrace up for the first week in July and it went so great we did a second week. He had her swimming across the entire deep end on day 3 and got her to jump off the diving board and then swim to the ladder all by herself. I was amazed. She isn't perfect yet, but she can save herself if she has to. It was worth every penny.

After the lesson we were allowed to stick around and swim in the baby pool for a while.

Recent photo shoot

2011-08-11T21:36:00.000-04:00

A newborn shoot was my gift to this Mommy at her shower. And I was so excited when she called to cash it in.

Can't get enough of his eyes!!

Such a beautiful family!

lunch with Daddy

2011-07-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

Tyler met us at the mall food court for some lunch and play time.

The fun food court makes trips to the mall much easier. They get bribed with the rides if they behave during the shopping.

Surprise, Surprise

2011-07-16T20:43:00.000-04:00

I had planned on just having game night to celebrate Tyler's birthday. But, without telling Tyler, I changed my mind and called several friends to meet us at Chuck-E-Cheese. When I got home from work Saturday morning, the girls and I made fun-fetti waffles for breakfast and casually got dressed for the day. at 10:00 I told Tyler he had 30 minutes to get dressed that we had a surprise for him. He was blindfolded and I even took the long way to confuse him. We were the first to arrive, which worked out perfect. Every family that arrived, one-by-one, was a new surprise for him. We all ate pizza, played games, played with our kids, and just had a blast.

Tyler was the master ticket winner.

So behind

2011-07-08T02:47:00.001-04:00

I'm so behind on my blog, behind in my house work, behind in my church calling, behind in being a good mom . . . just. so. behind. I don't know what's happening to my body lately but I am consumed by whatever this is, this illness, this deficiency. I'm in constant pain, I'm always tired, nauseated, dizzy, lightheaded . . . . Every doctor visit feels like a new diagnosis. But, they all boil down to no one knows what's happening to me and I am so very frustrated! What started as migraines led to an MRI which led to a diagnosis of sinus pressure due to retention cyst in my nasal cavities. All my hopes of relief was pinned on the ENT "he is going to cure me." The blessed appointment day finally arrived and the doctor was in the room for two whole minutes and the entire time just explained how these cysts had nothing to do with my pain. And sent me straight back to my PCP. After more lab work, I have now been diagnosed with Anemia and was given ferrous sulfate to help build my blood back up. Three weeks later, with no improvement, Tyler researched and found that due to a previous surgery I don't absorb ferrous sulfate. It had been a total waste of time and a waste of money. The new iron that I need . . . well it's $100 a month. Honestly, the price doesn't even bother me at this point. It's much cheaper than my repetitive trips to the ER, urgent care, PCP co pays, and multiple Rx that they have told me to take. So, again my hopes are pinned on a diagnosis, a cure - IRON. Get as much as I can and as quick as I can and MAYBE, just maybe the symptoms will clear up.
In the meantime, I have jeopardized my job with absences, been treated with pain pills and then treated like a drug addict, and WORSE than anything . . . I feel like my children have been neglected. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband and mother who have stepped up to fill in where I have fallen off.
So . . . tomorrow . . . tomorrow is a new day a new prescription and a new hope for a cure. A hope at being my self again, a hope to be the Mom I want to be again. And part of being this Mom means I will be updating my blog. Even through the pain and fatigue I have not forgotten my camera. If nothing else, my children will have photos of their childhood, even if I'm not in a single one.

our own little fireworks show

2011-07-04T23:46:00.000-04:00

Our fourth was busy: lunch and swimming at a friend's (with my parents) and then came home and finished up our pulled pork and had a delicious dinner with the Haralsons and then bubble wands and swinging in the back yard. We were too pooped to go downtown and fight the crowds to get a spot to watch the fireworks. So, Tyler and Annagrace ran to Target and got some sparklers and a few fountain fireworks. And we had our own little show in the driveway.

It was perfect!

Busy 4th

2011-07-04T20:23:00.001-04:00

4th Sugar Cookies

2011-07-03T20:28:00.000-04:00

We had planned out a busy fourth of July for ourselves. So the night before, we decided to make sugar cookies for a party that we were going to.

Everyone had to have an apron. Annagrace has almost outgrown the one her Aunt Carol gave her so it got passed down to Emmalee and Annagrace got a big girl William Sanoma apron.

If you click on the picture below and zoom WAY in you might, maybe, kinda see Emmalee's little pigtails. Her hair is finally growing. I has been getting thicker but not longer. I'll take anything! I was bald until I was 2. So, anything is better than nother. I just need a little more to put a bow in it.

the three bakers

Emmalee got her own bowl and spoon to stir, stir, stir.

The finished cookies.

The next morning I mixed icing into three bowls: red, white, and blue and let Annagrace go crazy with the decorating.

The Mama Bed

2011-06-25T23:38:00.000-04:00

I guess it was fall sleep on mama night.

But, I loved every second of it!

a WHALE of a party

2011-06-21T17:17:00.001-04:00

The girls had a splashing good time at William's birthday party. William lives next door to Grandmother and Granddaddy and enjoys playing with the girls. We were super excited to attend his first birthday, a Whale water party. It was SO hot outside so it was nice that the kids were able to cool off in all of the water. (I just wish the parents had a spot to cool down in too!!)

Annagrace playing with Ford, another neighbor that she plays with a lot.

My little super star.

The cupcakes were super cute, super yummy, and super MESSY.

Annagrace was the biggest kid at the party, not by age but size. I believe this girl is going to hit 5'10" in her teens!

Aunt Carol Aunt Carol

2011-06-15T20:26:00.001-04:00

Aunt Carol and Noah came down for a day visit.

We went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and TONS of fun.

And then, we went bowling. Annagrace loved it, especially when we got the ramp. She just had to push the ball down the ramp and wait for the pins to fall.

It was a fun day and we were so happy that we were able to spend it with Aunt Carol and Noah.

Things to try soon:

2011-06-09T04:08:00.000-04:00

BBQ in a jar

Chili and cornbread in a jar

French Toast

Cafe Rio

Lasagna Rolls

SORRY

2011-06-07T10:46:00.000-04:00

I'm messing around and reconstructing. So, it's a little ugly right now!!

Father's Day

2011-05-30T19:36:00.001-04:00

Front Yard ReDo

2011-05-28T23:36:00.008-04:00

I was sick of the mis-shaped, different sized boxwood hedges in the front of the house. So, we removed them and started over with gardenias, teaolive bushes, and hostas. We also did rubber mulch so we won't have to replace it for another 10 years (or so). I say "we" but honestly it was ALL Tyler, sweating, tilling, digging, planting. He is my superman.

Oh messy day

2011-05-22T23:29:00.001-04:00

It only takes 5 minutes to get this messy but 20 minutes to clean it up.

Sunday afternoon

2011-05-22T23:28:00.002-04:00

Hot days call for cool treats!

Birthday Photos

2011-05-17T00:52:00.000-04:00

Annagrace - 4 years old

Emmalee - 1 year old

Sweet Sisters

(Grandmas and Great Grandmas take your picks and let me know which ones you want printed!)

Weekend in FL

2011-05-16T18:45:00.000-04:00

I had to work a lot of shifts lately so once I had a whole weekend off, we ran away to the beach!

We all had a blast. Emmalee and I played on the blanket (she does NOT like the sand) and Annagrace and Tyler built a lot of sand castles. The water was too chilly to get in and even the pool was a little cold so we didn't do much swimming but we did play a lot.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T19:06:00.002-04:00

I am so extremely thankful for my Mother. She is not only my Mom, she is my best friend and my daily hero.

just one more

2011-05-04T00:39:00.000-04:00

I know this is blurry. But, I love her expression, her excitement!

last day of soccer

2011-05-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

Annagrace enjoyed her last day of her spring soccer season. The U4 (under 4 years old) group is just clinics, not a structured practice and game season. But, I was WAY more impressed with this season than the Fall. They actually tried to teach them how to dribble, kick, score a goal, etc. In the Fall, they played Duck-Duck-Goose, steal the ball from the giant, and freeze tag. They were entertained but certainly not learning soccer skills. The last few practices, this season, were just mock games. They would split each little team in half and they played on tiny soccer fields. It was really cute and they just RAN, RAN, RAN!

Since this was there last night, we had a lot of fans come for the game!

After the game they all received a metal! Annagrace loved it and kept modeling it for pictures. Seriously, I have over 20 pictures of her with her medal.

I am in love with this picture!

OO-OO-EE-EE

2011-04-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

We start with the invitation:

and it sets the stage for our monkey fabulous party

with banana nut muffins for favors

(each with a little monkey attached)

And a monkey cake!

I couldn't find a reasonably priced monkey cake at any of the local bakeries (and I went to MANY). So, I just ordered two 10" polka dot cakes from Sam's and a mini cake (for smashing) from Publix. Then I stacked them up on a server and added a huge monkey head to the top! Oh, and Sam's will not write on the side of a cake so I had to make the "Happy Birthday Emmalee" myself and put each letter on the cake just minutes before the party started. Well, it's long but, there you have it - the cake story.

Food: baked chicken salad on croissants, fruit with dip, chips and dip, orange fluff, and lime sherbet punch

the princess monkey

here comes the cake!!!

She used one little finger and picked off the dots one by one and ate them. We had to shove her hand all the way into it for her to realize there was something else inside.

She loved it!

messy monkey face

I love this little girl and her huge smile.

After a quick bath and wardrobe change, she opened her presents.

She got a lot of fun wonderful toys! And she had fun opening them, well the ones Annagrace didn't "help" her open. I love the look on Annagrace's face on the photo below. You can see the anger and resentment in her eyes at not being able to open the present.

(Poor girl gets so jealous, so easily.)

After the other guests left we went outside and took a few pictures.

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family that attended. We had a great time.

sip sip sip

2011-04-25T20:24:00.000-04:00

she's a sippy cup girl now

(btw - I swoon for these eyes!)

Easter Dresses

2011-04-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

Here comes Peter

2011-04-24T22:15:00.003-04:00

Peter Cottontail that is!

Emmalee's basket: PB doll, VTech catapillar electronic book, monkey, puzzles, books

Annagrace's basket: PB doll, doll clothes, doll chair, monkey, Barbie, nail kit, pre-school activity pages, and Play-doh Eggs.

After church, we went out to Aunt Brenda's to celebrate with our family and for the egg hunt!

While playing hide-n-seek, Annagrace chose this spot.

Yes Annagrace, you are completely hidden, no one will ever find you there!

Asking Aunt Cindy for help.

Getting ready for the hunt.

Easter arts and crafts.

Pirate Party

2011-04-20T12:02:00.000-04:00

I thought having 2 girls meant I would have pink frilly, princess, fairy, ballerina birthday parties for the next 18 years. Well thanks to Disney's Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Annagrace said NO! She wanted a PIRATE party. So, I went for it. We did a full out pirate party with a Captain Hook and all.

All ready to party!

decorating their own pirate hat

Showing off her cute accessories

Tristan fighting Captain Hook

Frankie the Adventurer

decorating their pirate sticker picture

Going on a treasure hunt. Look out for Captain Hook hiding, trying to get to the treasure first.

(I love this photo - a happy accident. Everything and everyone blurred except Tristan.)

FOUND IT

What's in there?

GOLD GOLD GOLD

apple bobbing

John got really serious about Will getting an apple and held him up by his feet to get his head down in the basket.

sweet moment

cannon ball fight against Captain Hook

I loved this cake!

frosting face

opening all of her wonderful gifts

learning to ride her new bike with Aunt Cindy

Emmalee enjoying her new hand-me-down bike.

The party was great. Annagrace (and her friends) had a lot of fun.

April 16th, 2011

Fire station

2011-04-12T17:56:00.000-04:00

Annagrace saw a firetruck speed by today and said that she wants to be a fireman. So, I called my Dad (a retired fireman) to take her to the fire station for a tour.

She went with just her Granddaddy, she didn't want anyone else to go with her. It was their special trip.

Soccer Fun

2011-04-12T17:51:00.000-04:00

Tyler had to work late so it was just me and the girls at soccer. It's a lot of stuff to load and carry as it is, but to top it off, I forgot the stroller! We managed to make it. Annagrace loved it and even scored a goal!

10 years - the best years of my life

2011-04-12T17:46:00.002-04:00

Tyler and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary at Panama City Beach, FL on April 7th. We actually went away alone!! The girls stayed with my parents so we could celebrate and relax, just us. It was hard to leave them, I cried the whole way home from my Mom's house. But, when I got home and started loading up our beach gear I started getting excited.

We rented chairs on the beach and that's where we spent most of our time. We ended up with sunburns - but that's proof that I actually got to sit still, in my chair long enough to get one. With the girls, it's up and down: in the sand, in the ocean, up to the pool, back to the beach . . . on and on and on. I read two books and was just a lazy bum.

The downfall to being alone - no one to take photos of you. So these are the only two that we got.

We made sure we got one right before dinner on our Anniversary night. We went to Captain Anderson's for some yummy seafood and then they gave us free desert and sang to us! It was sweet.

Alright

2011-04-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

I've tried to catch up on the last couple of months. There hasn't been a ton happening. But there are some cute photos of the girls if you want to check them out below . . . . . .

Our Weekend Getaway

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

We needed to get away! I feel like we, as a family, have been flying in all different directions the last couple of weeks and I needed a couple of days of just us time. So, we loaded up and headed to Atlanta for the weekend. Our first stop was IKEA, where we ate lunch and spent way to much money on home goods. And then we drove further north to check into our hotel room and head on into Stone Mountain for the laser and fireworks show. Usually, when we spend the whole day at Stone Mountain and try to stay for the show, Annagrace falls asleep before it can even start. Since we hadn't had a very tiring day we went on to see it while she was still awake. Both girls stayed awake through the whole thing and then crashed in the car on the way back to the hotel.

The next morning we went to Stone Mountain. Annagrace got to help pick the order of the activities for the day. We were pleasantly surprised to find extra things going on for their "Spring Break Extravaganza" (or whatever it was called)

Emmalee enjoined riding in her new hiking back pack. She chilled out in her shades, under the shade.

this is the reason they are called my monkeys - they act like monkeys all of the time

Up first was the skylift to the top!

It was such a beautiful day, we could see all of downtown ATL from the Mtn.

While Annagrace and Tyler did a few holes of miniature golf, Emmalee and I sat down for a snack and got lunch ready.

We ate our lunch on the train - easy to please peanut butter sandwiches.

AND chocolate Twizzlers.

Then we sat down in a big tent for a baby animal show. We (by we I mean Annagrace) got to touch and/or look at a baby porcupine, baby alligator, baby hedgehogs, and a baby kangaroo. Everytime the host would say, "My next animal has fur." Annagrace would lean over and say "I think it's going to be a baby camel." Hmmm . . . really?

They also had a big tent with just simple activities for free play: large blocks, coloring, puppet show, and other random things.

Outside the barn, they tried to pump some water but, I think that well has run dry.

To finish off our day we stopped outside the museum and took some cute shots of the girls. They are growing up WAY too fast.

What a funny girl!

We stopped back by IKEA on the way home, we wanted to pick up some more of their delicious Swedish Marshmellows!! You have GOT to try them. YUM!! By the time we got home both girls were sound asleep so we just crawled right on into bed.

poor sick baby

2011-03-23T15:53:00.001-04:00

that is . . . . until I gave her a powdered donut!

it was love at first bite

fun at the foodcourt

2011-03-21T16:00:00.000-04:00

A trip to the mall in never complete without a ride in the food court. Emmalee has started joining in on the fun.

Thank You

2011-03-18T02:44:00.000-04:00

It's soccer time again

2011-03-07T22:00:00.001-05:00

The new soccer season has started and Annagrace loves it!

geared up and ready to play

her friend Reese signed up for this season as well

Dribbling the ball!! I am so excited that Jenna Lewis (in our Ward) is her coach this season and that she is actually teaching them soccer skills. While last season was fun for Annagrace, I really don't see how playing "duck-duck-goose" and "don't wake the monster" has anything to do with soccer. The last coaches just tried to entertain them for an hour and didn't focus on soccer. I would have moved her up to the next age group, that actually plays games, if she had learned any real skills.

And the super cute spectator!

Mason

2011-02-26T18:40:00.000-05:00

I didn't get much done around my house today but I got to go play with this little guy!

Movin' on up

2011-02-24T09:09:00.001-05:00

Emma's new ride!

Lame-O

2011-02-20T22:49:00.001-05:00

So, after reading everyone else's blog I feel like a total loser, lame-o Mom. On Valentine's Day Annagrace and Emmalee got a card (that Tyler picked up) and Annagrace got some chocolates. THAT IS IT!! Between Lucy, the big baby shower, an RSI at church . . . Valentine's Day just got kinda lost in the middle. It was Emma's first as well, so I feel a little bad we didn't do more. But, honestly I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day (shocking, I know). It just seems like a hyped up day of nothing. I love my family EVERY day and tell them EVERY day! So, one day that focuses on it - not so important. Also . . .shhh . . . I don't like flowers (GASP)! But, hear me out - I love flowers, their beauty, their smell but I don't love their price. And when it comes to getting me a gift I would MUCH rather have something I can keep than flowers that are going to die in a couple of days! One Valentine's day many years ago I hinted around about sending me flowers at work. Tyler got the hint and did so. They were beautiful and I got to carry them proudly down the cubical isle and they made me happy. Until I got home and Tyler told me that my little mixed bouquet was $50!!! I could have gotten some rockin' new shoes, clothes, or jewelery for that! I swore from that day on that I NEVER wanted him to send me flowers again for ANY holiday. They just seem like a waste to me. The only acceptable form is a planted flower that can be transplanted into our yard - cheaper and it lasts longer.
As for Annagrace missing out on fun Valentine's stuff - oh, we still did all of that, we've been doing it since Christmas. She's all about holidays lately. She knows their sequence and as soon as one ends, it's time for the next. We've had hearts and pink and red around our house for a couple of months. She made Valentine's for all of her sweet friends and cousins, her Mama just never got around to sending them out. (Sorry Yall)
So, on to St. Patrick's Day! Annagrace woke up February 15th and asked me why I wasn't wearing green!!
UGHHHH - here we go!

Spaghetti Time

2011-02-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

Emmalee tried spaghetti with meatballs tonight and actually ate some. It only shocks me b/c of my picky eater, Annagrace, who refuses to touch spaghetti but downs pizza and I can't for the life of me convince her that it's basically the same thing. But, Emmalee is my little eater. She is already refusing baby food wanting any and everything that we are eating: grits, oatmeal, potatoes, sweet potato fries, turkey, chicken, roast . . . she loves it all.

The beautiful little Mama

2011-02-13T23:09:00.000-05:00

(I know it's a cheesy shot, but I just had to!)

With Mom/Grandma

such a cute little bump - I kept rubbing it all weekend

The BIG shower

2011-02-12T23:13:00.001-05:00

loving my silhouette

salmon tartar on bagel chips

center piece

goat cheese stuffed tomatoes with toasted pine nuts

The spread included beef tenderloin, roasted chicken, new potato salad, pasta salad, spinach salad, melt away cookie bars, and fruit.

I think this was her favorite. But Grandpa (a tarheel) said it was for Eli to drool on.

Laurie's Dad - Chip

and step-mom Janet

Our gift to her: a loaded diaper bag. Including a blue onsie stating, "My Aunt is the Best."

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

2011-02-11T14:36:00.000-05:00

Sweet Lucy- you were our baby when we couldn't make our own, you were our protector against all who dared to walk down our street, you were my cuddle buddy and bathroom buddy throughout my morning sickness, you were a comforter and companion. We love you and will miss you dearly.

After a couple of weeks of trying to treat with antibiotics, she was only getting worse. We were hoping the huge lump/mass on her neck was just an abscess but her cultures came back negative for bacteria. So our worst fears were confirmed: CANCER.

She wasn't moving more than she was made to, she wasn't eating, and was getting to the point she could barely breath. Tyler couldn't get her to take her meds, including the pain meds, so we made the heartbreaking decision to put her to sleep. Our personal vet was able to come to our house and do it. It was nice to be in our normal environment and to be able to grieve in private. She was buried in our back yard next to Priscilla and Hunter. The sweet construction crew, installing water pipes, were nice to bring a small tractor into our back yard and dig a hole big enough for our 95 pound sweet girl. I just need to get a headstone to make her grave compete.

snip snip

2011-02-06T16:09:00.021-05:00

This hair has been growing for 3 years 9 months and 21 days. We finally decided to give it a trim. The baby fine hair at the ends kept getting tangled and it caused SO many arguments and tears to just brush it. So, I decided to trim it off. Annagrace was terrified that it was going to hurt. She assumed that since it hurts to cut your skin, it would be the same for her hair. After we made it through that hurdle, she sat fairly still, watched Mickey Mouse, and let me cut away.

Lucky for me her hair is curly so imperfections can be disguised. But it looks really cute still long, curly, and flowie with fewer tangles.

She looks much grumpier than she actually was. She has a new aversion to photography. Her eyes are not allowed to look directly at the lens!!

Annagrace got a job

2011-01-30T21:09:00.000-05:00

These tractors are currently parked in our yard! They are putting new water pipes in and they are cutting right through our yard to do so.

The pipes! So the holes to put them in have to be HUGE!

the poses she wanted to do

9 Months!!

2011-01-30T20:52:00.000-05:00

sweet sisters

party party

2011-01-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

Today we had a birthday party. A birthday party for Cooper . . . the dog . . . the stuffed dog.

tiaras were required

fancy dresses

and presents

Annagrace had to help with the unwrapping

and we made cinnamon rolls for the birthday dog.

Everyone enjoyed them, especially Emmalee

Monkey Joes

2011-01-17T23:41:00.005-05:00

While the big girls were all playing on the big girl slides, Emmalee found her own friend. They would crawl around and around each other, smile, and giggle.

I found out from his Mom that they are only 4 days apart.

Emmalee is a crazy crawling champion now. She is super quick and gets into the tightest little spots! I think she is trying to keep up with her big sister.

new tea set

2011-01-13T14:55:00.000-05:00

We found a tea set on the clearance isle at Walmart so we purchased it as a reward. It sat on the top of the refrigerator as a reminder to listen and obey to earn her tea set. Well, today was the day to open it up!

Emmalee is excited to try it out.

Annagrace insisted on keeping the box because she needed to look at the picture to make the place settings EXACTLY like the picture.

(I had planned on cropping this picture down more until I noticed the baby in the corner, stretching down as far as possible to get into the shot! Love it!)

Ice Day

2011-01-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

One night of freezing rain has shut down half of a state for 2 days.

But it sure is pretty!

Christmas Morning 2010

2010-12-25T23:25:00.000-05:00

Santa brought the girls a full furnished doll house.

Annagrace got a set of Disney Princess Dolls, a family of Barbies, and a Buzz Lightyear

Emmalee got a ball popper toy.

Merry Christmas!

So happy to be celebrating Emmalee's first Christmas. She is such a blessing to our family. Such a sweet, happy, smiley baby.

We were busy having fun and didn't take many photos of the unwrapping craziness. We did video some of it but they aren't uploading right now, maybe later.

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-24T23:55:00.039-05:00

THE SPREAD

THE COUSINS - LAUGHING, AS ALWAYS

DEEP IN SERIOUS APPLESAUCE CONVERSATION

RECREATING A PICTURE OF MY DAD WITH HIS MOM. I WILL POST THEM SIDE-BY-SIDE SOON.

PRESENT TIME

In my family we always opened gifts on Christmas Eve and then had Santa presents on Christmas Day. Since marrying Tyler, I adopted the NO PRESENTS until Christmas morning tradition with the exception of presents from my family. So, Annagrace got to open her presents from Grandmother and Granddaddy and one from us (pjs).

She got a Tag and 2 Tag books.

Emmalee opened her first present - Christmas PJs

and then immediately passed out.

So cute in their matching Christmas PJs.

Emmalee opened her eyes long enough for this picture. Both of them were so worn out from our fun day at Grandmother and Granddaddy's party. Annagrace fell asleep on the way home and missed putting out cookies and milk for Santa.

Santa

2010-12-23T23:27:00.002-05:00

Patiently waiting to see Santa.

When we got there he was "at lunch" but as soon as he got back the line went pretty quick.

Annagrace didn't mind the wait, she made friends with the kids around us. If you would have seen her and that little girl in brown, you would have thought they had know each other forever. They kept hugging each other and were glued at the hip.

I honestly have never seen a BABY sit in Santa's lap and smile! I couldn't believe how good Emmalee did. And Annagrace smiled, as always, for her photographer Mama

I think this Santa was getting worn out. He wasn't exactly excited or talkative with the kids. While he looked the part, he wasn't as friendly as the Santa at Stone Mtn.

After seeing Santa we enjoyed a cookie and diet coke/juice in the food court and played on the rides.

Annagrace asked me if I had money for her to put in the rides. I told her no and she responded, "that's okay, someone else will." And she is right! Every time we go there is always some other Grandma or Grandpa or parent popping quarters into the rides for their own kids and Annagrace will hop on in with them. LOL! At least everything is a 2 seater! (That's my thrifty girl!)

Such a smiley baby.

After the mall we headed out to Grandmother's to get ready for the big Christmas Eve party.

Home School Pre-school

2010-12-20T01:37:00.000-05:00

We are still going strong with Pre-school at home. Last week was "B" week for birth (of Christ), bee, bear, baker, butterfly . . .

It's a lot of fun. My MIL gave me lots of tips and I found a fabulous website with lots of print outs and lesson plans. She especially loves the letter books - she colors the pictures and then matches up the words and glues the pictures on. She also really likes the "find-a-word." She is responding well. Some weeks we have more time to spend on the letter than others. And, some weeks she is more attentive than others. But, she seems to be picking it up. She runs up to me all of the time telling me what letter a certain word starts with. Like today: "Mom, did you know that tiara starts with the letter T?"

well visit

2010-12-20T01:27:00.000-05:00

Emmalee had her six month check up on Friday, even though she is almost 8 months old. Somehow, we got behind, her doctor was out for 6 weeks and we were gone to Idaho for half of October. So, it just got pushed back later and later.

These were taken pre-shots. Happy as can be waiting to see the doctor.

75% Weight 77% Height. She's my big girl!

She took the shots like a trooper. She cries at the immediate pain but as soon as I pick her up she stops crying. (much better than my experiences with Annagrace!) I still cry or at least tear up at the fact my child is in pain. But, it's not as bad since she handles it so well.

She developed a fever on Friday night that I am blaming on the shots. But, it hasn't broken yet, 2 days later. She has been on Tylenol consistently every 4 hours. I think we might be making a trip back to the doctor tomorrow if this doesn't stop. Or at least give them a call to see if I should be alarmed.

Tristan's Birthday

2010-12-18T23:52:00.000-05:00

Tristan is my cousin's, Alex, son. He turned 8 and he had is party at Chuck-E-Cheese.

Then we headed out to the Pine Mountain Branch for his baptism.

Alex and Tristan

My Aunt, Uncle, 3 cousins, and Tristan

Such a sweet little moment with Tristan's little brother. He had his hand on his back through all of the talks.

My Mom gave the talk on baptism.

Ma-Ma

2010-12-18T23:25:00.011-05:00

Emmalee said her first word today:

"Ma Ma"

I couldn't have been any happier!

She is totally a Mama's girl, so it was fitting that it would be her first word.

Annagrace's first word, on the other hand, was "Hey." She's my little socialite, so that too was very fitting.

It's amazing how their personalities are evident at such a young age.

a box . . .

2010-12-15T14:06:00.005-05:00

is never JUST a box!

This time - a minivan!

Gifts

2010-12-14T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tyler needed gifts to give to his team since he is a supervisor now, he needed to get something for everyone.

AND, we had to do this on a budget.

So, I suggested monogrammed letter ornaments. We headed to Hobby Lobby (where all of the Christmas stuff is 50% off) and bought boxes of frosted ornaments and little drawstring bags. Angie is my go-to vinyl person and she cut the letters for me. I had to do a little surgery on a few of the letters to make them fit onto the rounded surface of the ornament. But, it wasn't too bad!

I placed just their last name initial on each ornament, tied a small white ribbon bow on the top and placed them into the little drawstring bags.

I printed To/From tags and tied onto the bag.

Viola! And as Tyler said "they are so fancy!"

Christmas Tour

2010-12-12T03:41:00.001-05:00

I thought I would take you on a little tour of our house all decorated for Christmas.

The master bedroom - kept it simple with a Santa and some garland.

The girl's bedroom (the tree still needs a skirt)

I love these little trees. I found them at a thrift store a long time ago and they look perfect in their room.

The toy room.

Dinning Room

centerpiece

I love the simplicity and elegance of these dishes!

I'm slowly collecting all of the dishes and serving pieces of this collection.

breakfast nook

The fun family tree - where we hang all of the handmade, colorful, yearly Hallmark, and anything else. It's my "no theme" themed tree. I take Annagrace to Hallmark every year and let her pick out an ornament. So far she has a Minnie Mouse, Bolt, and Cinderella joined us this year. Underneath - are the Christmas books and the girls felt nativity set. It's also where we put all of the gifts sent or given to us. I'm really crazy and picky and will only allow matching presents under the big tree. So anything that is different goes under this one.

I KNOW!!! I'm crazy!!!!

My big tree - silver, gold, white, and crystal. This is where we hang our annual Swarovski crystal ornaments:

my antique ornaments (They belonged to my Dad's mom. I rescued them from my Mom's house where they were being put into one big box with everything and they kept getting broken. I wrap them individually in tissue paper and pack them in their own slot in an ornament box every year. I don't want ANY of them to break!):

and our baby's first Christmas ornaments. It has an overall snowflake theme. Actually, the whole house has a snowflake theme.

This year, the wrapping paper consists of two different rolls. One silver with fun print birds and the second is a coordinating green and white.

the "fireplace"

We've never had a fireplace in any of our homes in GA. So, Tyler built this mantle for me a few years ago so we would have a place to hang our stockings. I love it! It moves around the house and usually lives in our bedroom and then makes it's way to the living room for the holidays.

nativity

This was the first "nice" Christmas decoration that I invested in. I bought it our first Christmas and look forward to pulling it out every year.

hall bath

(no room is left undecorated!)

Well, there you have it. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. I look forward to the decorating, the traditions, and family fun every year.

Letter continued

2010-12-10T14:43:00.000-05:00

We finally deposited Annagrace's Santa letter into the big red "Believe" mailbox at Macy's. I've heard Santa pays special attention to those and makes sure he sends a letter back.

Progressive Dinner

2010-12-07T23:52:00.001-05:00

For our Christmas Relief Society meeting, we had a progressive dinner. My new calling is Relief Society Meeting Coordinator so I had A LOT to do tonight. My main thing was the food and I cooked 8 pot roasts!! And I had to decorate the main course house where the pot roast would be served.

(I am in love with that HUGE fork and spoon!)

The sister's started out at one house and had appetizers and at the second house they had the main course. Then at the third home we had dessert, a cookie exchange, and had a couple of sisters talk about their family Christmas traditions.

Me and Amy

(She's the Presidency member in charge of the activities)

Each sister was given our gift - the tile as they left.

We had a lot of fun and everything went smoothly. (Except for the disappearing dessert plates!)

Fantasy in Lights

2010-12-06T23:28:00.001-05:00

We really had to bundle up - it was SOOO cold.

Annagrace used my Mom's hat for her steering wheel. She held it up the ENTIRE time to "drive" the trolley. Emmalee fell asleep 5 minutes into the ride. (Annagrace did the same thing when she was a baby.)

#5 Write a letter to Santa

2010-12-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

We are dropping off the letter in the "Believe" box at Macy's tomorrow. They say Santa responds to all of the letters from that mailbox!

Seriously???

2010-12-05T04:08:00.000-05:00

This is Annagrace in 2007:

This is Emmalee:

Did I have twins 3 years apart?

Christmas Crafts

2010-12-05T03:45:00.000-05:00

I've been in a crafting mood lately and what better time than Christmas??

1. Photo Ornaments - unfortunately I didn't take a picture of them before I wrapped them up. But, I plan on making two more for myself and my mom. I got the idea from a catalog, but at $78 a piece . . . I don't think so! I printed out this cute photo of the girls on regular paper and then decoupaged it to a cream color porcelain ornaments that I found at Michael's. I then outlined the photos with a gold paint pen.

2. Advent calendar - I have grand plans to make this elf one! My sewing skills are lacking and time was running out so I looked around at some different blogs, combined a few different ideas and a free template and came up with this:

A square for each day and on the back is an activity to do for the day. The activities include playing with red and green play dough, color a Christmas picture, watch a Christmas movie, make a Christmas treat, do something kind for someone, etc. Just simple fun things. I didn't include "read a Christmas book" to the cards because we plan on reading one everyday anyway.

3. For our Relief Society Christmas meeting we doing a progressive dinner and giving each sister a gift. The gift this year is a tile. Amy and Jessica (RS councilors) did the vinyl words on a Cricut and transfered to the tiles. Then they dropped them off at my house so I could add the ribbon hangers to the back. I'm going to display them in a basket (still trying to decide which one) so the sisters can pick them up on their way out from the progressive dinner.

Rock Band

2010-11-29T22:03:00.003-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Holiday weekend

2010-11-27T23:43:00.001-05:00

We started out the day by going to see Tangled. It was really cute and funny! Then, we went to Grandmother's and Granddaddy's to decorate for Christmas. It's my second house to decorate so far this year. Luckily they had already pulled everything down from the attic before we got there. Well, everything except the 10' tree - that's Tyler's job!

Mine and Santa's little helper. She helps to make sure everyone is smiling.

My big helper

Hard at work

All finished!

I know Emmalee is all blurry but I love the way the tree looks in the picture.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2010-11-26T14:31:00.001-05:00

This year we did Thanksgiving at my Mom and Dad's house. Just us, my parents, and my niece Rebecca. It was so nice and quiet and relaxed. Mom did the main dishes - turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and coconut cake. And I did the sides - mashed potatoes, vegetable mix, mac n' cheese, corn casserole, and pumpkin gooey cake. We had tons of left overs, which were yummy for the next two days!!!

Emmalee got a Thanksgiving roll. But, not for too long. She was getting big pieces in her mouth and I didn't want her to choke.
After lunch we went outside to take a couple of photos.

Emmalee got to try out the rocking chair for the first time. My Mom has had it for over 40 years.
Then we made a gingerhouse village.

At 10:00 that night, we loaded up and headed to Walmart to start our Black Friday shopping. Granddaddy kept the girls while Tyler, me, my Mom, and Becca braved the crowds to complete our shopping lists.

We didn't get home until 7 AM. It was so much FUN!!! I plan for weeks in advance what stores, what toys, what gifts, so by the end of the weekend my entire Christmas list was complete! No more shopping for me. (Well for Christmas anyway!)

Stone Mountain Christmas

2010-11-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun at Stone Mountain. They have already started their Christmas celebration. EVERYTHING is covered in lights, the 4D movie is now Polar Express, the train ride includes a light show, and there is a parade every night.

The Snow Princess

cookie decorating

We should be at the North Pole.

After not wanting to smile in our family shot, she then decided to model and pose and actually smile!

This is seriously my most favorite picture I have EVER taken.

waiting for the parade

perfect seat

She was very detailed and told him she wanted princesses, a house for the princesses, and a house for the little people. A few days later she told me, "Mom I forgot to tell him that I want a Buzz!!"

Two Girls in a Tub

2010-11-18T13:26:00.000-05:00

Emmalee is big enough for the bath seat now! Annagrace loves playing with her in the tub and making her laugh. Emmalee loves laughing at her and grabbing anything floating by and shoving it into her mouth!

Cracker Time

2010-11-09T13:32:00.004-05:00

She loved the crackers. I didn't love trying to keep her from choking to death.

Steeplechase

2010-11-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

I have lived in Columbus, GA my entire life (well, pretty much) but have NEVER, EVER been to the Steeplechase before. Well, this year my friend was the Race Director so she asked for me to do a "Kids Hat Decorating" table. I was made committee member and given 4 Infield passes for my volunteers. I took the best volunteers I know - Tyler, Mom, and Rebecca. My two girls came along as well to party in the Kids Corral.

Annagrace modeling her decorated hat.

She loved the terrier races

Emmalee taking after her Mama - sipping on her first Diet Coke. (not really - she just chewed on the lid)

Our set up.

Cow modeling a hat that I made.

Annagrace participated in the stick pony races. She got a huge button and candy - her "prize" she thought she won! Actually, she came in dead last b/c she galloped and pretended to really be riding a horse instead of running full speed to the finish line. But, she was happy with her loot.

Just chillin'

Folks in the infield.

It was fun! I look forward to doing it again next year!

Trick or Treat

2010-10-30T23:58:00.000-04:00

All dressed and ready to go.

First we went to a trunk or treat at my brother's church. It was FREEZING and raining so we ran down the line as fast as we could then jumped back in the car. After it cleared up a little we headed to a neighborhood and walked a few streets, in the cold, to gather up a little more candy.

Annagrace got MORE than enough candy and Emmalee got an ear infection, poor baby!

Tea Party

2010-10-30T22:41:00.011-04:00

Mom/Grandmother always hosts a tea party while at my brother's house. All of the "Ladies and Gentlemen" are to act as such. Manners and Etiquette are taught and required.

Sarah said she was "too old" to participate so she became a server along with Christopher. The reward for serving . . . ALL of the leftovers!

Tea Party Participators

They also tried walking with a book on their head to maintain perfect posture.

I can't believe it . . .

2010-10-30T14:37:00.001-04:00

She is 6 months old and sitting up like a champ!!

We are on vacation in Idaho and Utah so I will catch up and record her growth progress when I get home. I just couldn't wait to post this picture of my little baby that isn't so little anymore.

Idaho 7

2010-10-26T22:55:00.002-04:00

Emmalee's first snow.

Idaho 6

2010-10-25T22:11:00.001-04:00

Aunt Kim bought the girls haunted houses to build. They wouldn't put them down the rest of the night.

playing in the tub - the only spot where they didn't fight the whole time they were playing

Saying goodbye. They kept hugging and hugging and hugging that turned into wrestling.

Idaho 5

2010-10-24T22:25:00.001-04:00

picking carrots and radishes from Papa's garden

Nana cooked a traditional Idaho Thanksgiving dinner for Tyler. Grandma and Grandpa Haynes came up to eat with us.

and play!

She got so worn out, she passed out on the floor.

Idaho 4

2010-10-23T16:08:00.004-04:00

We just messed around and then went bowling in Pocatello.

Idaho 3

2010-10-22T22:59:00.000-04:00

Lunch at Five Guys. I can't believe that Pocatello has a Five Guys but we don't in Columbus. Someone needs to get on that!

Then we met at Todd and Kim's to get ready for the Halloween Party at their Ward.

I know it's a bear costume but she is a sheep!

So, we have Little Bo Peep and her sheep.

The girls had fun playing all of the games at the party.

Annagrace got a sheep painted on her face.

SO FUN!!!

Us in a field

2010-10-22T13:34:00.002-04:00