Pictures are Up!

Check out the gallery for two new albums:  Carson's 2nd Birthday Party and Audrey's Tenth Month.  

Audrey's Tenth Month is small compared to her others, but in my defense, there are separate Easter and Destin Trip albums from this month.  Just wanted to forewarn you! 

Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

All week long I've been meaning to post an update about my nephew Carson's 2nd birthday party and haven't gotten to it.  So, I'll squeeze that in here before writing out my list.  

Last Saturday we drove out to my brother and sister-in-law's house for the big event.  We got there a little early, which was great because we were able to have a few minutes alone with the Birthday Boy.  

He was so precious and slowed down long enough to interact with Audrey in a way he's never done before.  He kept trying to put a little party blower in her mouth for her to blow on.  When that didn't work, he tried handing her a balloon on a string, which of course she couldn't hold onto because she was busy attempting to crawl in her dress.  Later, after the party got underway, he picked up Cheerios off of her plate and tried feeding them to me.  In each of these instances and many more I saw that day, I realized how much the Little Guy is growing up.  More than that, I realize he's developing such a sweet, giving heart, just like his parents have.  It melted me.

The party itself was a hit, despite the major thunderstorms going on outside.  He got some really fun toys and had a blast playing with his little buddies in the giant ball pit my brother had set up in the playroom.  My sister-in-law outdid herself with all the decor and a homemade cow cake (in line with their animal farm theme) and it was adorable!  No major meltdowns were had and we headed out in time for Audrey to catch her second nap on the ride home.  Of course, it only ended up being 20 minutes long and a bit of crying ensued for much of the rest of the way, but we made it and it was well worth it.

I'm working on posting pictures from the party and AJ's 10th month.  I'll let you know when they're up!  Until then, here is this week's list:

1.  My brother, Kevin.  His birthday is today and I'm so thankful for him.  He could always make me laugh (and still can).  Usually to the point where we would hear, "That's enough, Kevin.  Settle down, Heather" from the front seat of the minivan.  I loved our many walks up to the gas station outside of our old neighborhood.  We'd get a pack of baseball cards and a candy bar and walk back home, sometimes stopping at the playground for a quick swing on the swings.  Good times.  Happy Birthday, Kev!  Love you!

2.  Gorgeous weather and much lower pollen counts.  We've been soaking it up!

3.  Finding just what you had in mind...and then family who will feed your OCD by tracking down more.   I've been on the hunt for Audrey's birthday party decorations.  It's been one of those "I'll know it when I see it" kind of things, like most of my party stuff is.  Well, one of the "its" was a gorgeous butterfly I found at Joann's, but they only had three of them.  So, David's sweet Aunt stopped by the only other Joann's in metro Atlanta that had them in stock to pick up a couple more.  I so appreciated it!

4.  Friends with whom you can pick up where you left off, despite the amount of time that has passed.  Lately I've gotten together with several girlfriends I don't get to see nearly enough.  I love being able to catch up without missing a beat!  I also love that they're so understanding about our schedule and availability post-baby.

5.  Days off from work-outs.  I've been so regimented with my exercise lately (see previous post about vacation weight gain!) that it makes the days I take off all the better. 

Enjoy your weekend and check back for pics soon!

Thankful Thursday

1.  My nephew, Carson, who turned two on Monday.  He's such a blessing to our family and never fails to entertain those that can keep up with him.  I wish I had that kind of energy!

2.  Discounts.  We received our annual termite protection plan bill and it was $18 more than last year's.  I called and talked to a rep, who lowered it to $4 below what we paid then.  That's a savings of $22 in under three minutes.  Yippee!

3.  Caterpillars.  'Tis the season for them!  Though they're cute and furry, it's what they become that I really love.  Seeing them reminds me of the song from Sunday School "Bullfrogs and butterflies have both been born again!" 

4.  Books.  Last week on vacation I was reminded how much I enjoy reading.  I have about 4-5 books on my must-read list right now.  I'm hoping to get them knocked out by 2012.  Maybe 2011.

5. Thick skulls and tough skin.  Audrey is pulling up on everything now and it's hard to leave her unattended for more than 20 seconds at a time.  She has several bruises on her legs and yesterday she nailed her face pretty good on our end table.  There wasn't even a mark, thank goodness.  I'm glad God builds them so well!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Beach Trip

Last week, David, Audrey, David's parents, and I went to Destin, Florida for vacation.  Since David had so many frequent flier miles (the one perk of his many business trips), we opted to fly.  We were nervous about how Audrey would do on the plane, but it is such a short flight that we decided to chance it.  It turns out we had nothing to worry about.  She did great on the flight down and we got there and settled in with no problem.

Audrey didn't know what to make of all the new sights and sounds at the ocean.  The water was still very cold, so we only stuck her toes in it, which she wasn't a huge fan of.  She didn't want to crawl in the sand, but she did pick it up and play with it in her hands.  She never tried to eat it, thank goodness, as we'd planned for a whole week of repeating, "No, Audrey.  Don't eat the sand."  We borrowed a sun tent from my brother and sister-in-law that was perfect for keeping her in the shade.  She played under it with her little bucket of sand toys and was pretty content.  We buried her toes, dug tunnels, and let her splash in her bucket of water.  We pointed out airplanes and seagulls and passersby until she made it clear it was nap time.  

Even after several days of taking her out there, I wouldn't say she was crazy about the beach.  She just kind of tolerated it.  We learned later in the week that evening was a great time to go.  The sun wasn't as bright or hot and she loved holding our hands and walking through the sand.  We had some great sunset views and laughed as she would wave at the waves. 

Despite not being too sure about the beach, she loved the pool.  We bought a little float for her that had a shade canopy on it and she would lay her face down on the front with one hand dragging through the water and just chill.  I kept checking behind her sunglasses to make sure she was still awake!  It was so cute.  We pulled her around and made motorboat noises or helped her kick her feet.  I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of afternoons this summer in our neighborhood pool.

When we weren't by the water, we were eating.  Or talking about eating.  I don't know if your family is like this, but our vacations largely revolve around food.  When we're consuming one meal, we're planning the next.  It's wonderful and I imagine Heaven is like that, in between all the praise songs.  I got some restaurant recommendations from a sweet friend who has a place down there, so we mixed up our usual chain restaurants with a little local flavor.  The best part of the meals, by far, was dessert.  We ate dessert every single night.  Most of the time it was sundaes from Shakes, a local frozen custard place, though we did add variety with some Krispy Kreme and Chili's.  I'll own it:  I gained 4.5 lbs in one week.  Not quite my record of 6 lbs on our 2008 cruise, but close.  And worth. every. calorie.

Thanks to his parents, David and I even managed to sneak in a little time by ourselves.  We played golf (he played, I rode), took some beach strolls, and had a nice dinner date.  We went for a couple of jogs together, which likely burned off at least four bites of one of those sundaes.  I was able to work on and launch my new blog and finished two books, which is more than I could have done in a month's worth of AJ's nap times. 

So, we had a wonderful week of soaking up family time, playing, and eating. Above all, we really enjoyed watching it through Audrey's eyes...even if she doesn't remember it, we'll never forget it.


Pics are in the gallery - enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

I'm taking a break from Thankful Thursday this week (though not from being thankful of course).  I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten you, especially after we shared such a special milestone just a few days ago.

Since you've got extra time on your hands because of this brief hiatus, be sure to read my latest post on Imperfect Perfectionist.

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you here next week with a new list!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Well, we made it, readers. This blog is a whole year old. We've been through a lot together, haven't we? 105 posts of our ups and downs, our milestones, and our memories. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you laughing right along with us in the good times and praying us through the difficult times. Your support, although faceless, has been felt and we are so thankful for you!

As promised, I have a special announcement on this special day. When I started this blog a year ago, my goal was to update family and close friends about our life. Little did I know how much I'd enjoy it and how big the audience would grow to be!

In light of those things, I decided to launch a new blog. Don't worry, this site isn't going anywhere. You can still come here for family/personal updates and your Thankful Thursday fix. The new site will focus more on how-to, ideas, and tips about household management. That way, if you're only interested in our family affairs, you don't have to muddle through the advice posts. Likewise, people that only enjoy the article-type writing won't have to read about every detail of Audrey's latest tooth breaking through. And if you want both? Well then, you A) can have them and B) must really love me!

So, without further ado, click here for the big reveal. Enjoy...and thanks again for reading!

Thankful Thursday and AJ's First Easter

A whole week has come and gone and I haven't been able to squeeze in a blog post, so here is yet another Thankful Thursday that will double as an update.

Audrey's first Easter was wonderful. Since David had been in Vancouver several days last week, he took Good Friday off to spend with us. We went to a local downtown square and took a bunch of pictures then went out again later for a run at the park. All of us slept extra well that night after playing so hard in the sun and pollen!

We spent Saturday in Alabama visiting David's grandparents and family. Audrey showed off her crawling and even had an Easter egg "hunt" (we walked in from being outside and there were about 50 eggs on the floor waiting for her!) We ate yummy food, dyed eggs while she napped, and enjoyed catching up with sweet family. On top of a great day, she did better than she ever has on the ride over and back, so it was an especially nice trip!

Sunday morning dawned and we got dressed in our finest (ish) and went to church. After we got home and took a bunch of pictures, Audrey collapsed into her crib. When she woke up, the Easter Bunny had left her a little basket of goodies! I think she kinda wondered where the candy and chocolate were, but she liked her books and stuffed chick nonetheless. He also brought her two top teeth sometime that weekend. We spent the gorgeous afternoon playing and walking outside.

So, that was our big weekend and here is this week's list:

1. Forward waves. Last week, Audrey didn't quite have waving down. This week, she is waving at everything. Until we want her to, like at the check-out lady in Publix. Then she gets stage fright.

2. Rain! We needed it to wash away this nasty pollen. I hope those of you who live in Georgia are surviving this allergy season. As I said on Facebook, I have decided that Atlanta needs its own pollen count scale. If 120 is extremely high and we're at 5,495, it's time to rethink the categories.

3. Cleaned out closets & Goodwill bags! I finally made the switch to my spring/summer clothes, most of which I haven't seen in two years since I was pregnant last spring. As I was reorganizing, I tried almost every piece on. I ended up setting aside a whole bag full for Goodwill, including one or two tops I've owned since at least 9th grade and a swimsuit I've had for seven years. A little overdue! I love getting rid of stuff. Plus, shopping for a few cute new things feels pretty good too!

4. Bathing suits that fit. I have searched high and low for a two-piece top to accommodate my post-pregnancy/nursing body and finally found something at JCPenny's this week. It ain't perfect, but it's the happy medium I was looking for between string bikini and granny suit. Let's just hope my body is more towards the former instead of the latter.

5. Clinique's bonus gift. I've been using their products for years and love when it times out right that I get a pretty little bag and some free samples with my purchase. (Thanks for the tip, Mom!)

I have high aspirations that I'll get some writing time in next week, including a big announcement coming soon, so keep checking back! (But no, I'm not pregnant. Let's go ahead and squelch that rumor now.) Also, I've updated the Easter photo album in the gallery, so click on the "Our Photos" link on the side of the page to view them.

Thankful Thursday

Well, I survived the day without falling victim to an April Fool's prank or joke. Hopefully you did too!

Here is this week's list, sans the foolishness.

1. Backward waves. Audrey has begun to wave at her reflection in the mirror, except she waves at herself, not her image. It's incredibly precious.

2. Running solo. Don't get me wrong, I love running with David. Every once in awhile, though, I really enjoy going out on my own, cranking up my iPod, and hitting the pavement. It's a great way to clear my head and relieve stress.

3. The GORGEOUS weather we've been having! We've been able to get out and soak it up on several occasions and hopefully you have too. Pollen will be here soon and 90 degree temps won't be far behind, so we're enjoying it while it lasts.

4. Cheerios in the dustpan. Not because it means my floors are clean, but because it's a little reminder that I'm a mommy of a sweet baby girl who is growing so fast.

5. Of course, above all this week, I am thankful for an empty tomb:

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.'" Matthew 28:5-7

Happy Easter!