Jeremy and Laura's Family Adventure

January recap

2012-02-07T22:07:00.001-05:00

So I have been behind on blogging. Usually January is a nice month to lay low after the craziness of December. This January it started off low-key, but seemed to get busier as the month went on. Jeremy and I went skiing with the church youth group again. Last year I went, but couldn't ski since I was pregnant so it was nice to get back on the slopes. Addie has started her ballet classes or "creative movement." She is loving it so far and likes to show us new things she has learned from "Miss Ashley". Enjoy pictures from throughout the month...

We have started a new thing with Addie's bedtime routine. Right after prayers/songs she now wants us to leave the room so she can "read" to herself. After she has read a book or two she turns out her light and goes to bed. So big! She looks so old sitting up in bed and looking at her books. Tried to capture a photo without her looking, but it didn't work.

Enjoying hot chocolate one evening

Kate playing in her exesaucer while I took down the Christmas lights one day...

One Saturday my mom watched Dylan and Dawson for the night. We met up with them at a local park to feed ducks and play on the playground. This winter has been unseasonably warm so it has been nice to get out of the house and enjoy it.

Kate is now sitting up. She falls over once in a while and gets stronger everyday. She turned 6 months old. Our baby is growing up! I will do a post soon about Kate and her 6 month check-up. She is "talking" here. Funny face...

Happy girl!

We had our friends Heather and Peter over for dinner one night. Emma and Addie are BFFs! They go to the same daycare and I work with Heather & Peter so we see each other often. Their little boy Michael was born at the beginning of December so Kate and Michael are close in age too. Michael is a cutie! Here are the girls playing with what they know best...princess and dress-up stuff!

Hugs goodbye...yet they saw each other the next day at daycare. :)

Update coming soon...Kate's 6 months, my cruise trip!!! and more.

Christmas Day

2012-01-24T23:25:00.001-05:00

Christmas Day update...a month later. And it feels like it was AGES ago! Oh well. At least it is posted.

Christmas morning...Addie got a princess bike. Jeremy enjoyed putting it together on Christmas Eve night.

Addie was very subdued Christmas morning. She was excited, but still kinda waking up and figuring out the whole thing. The bike is a little big for her, but we figured she would grow into it. She said, "Well, maybe Santa can bring me a smaller bike." And we said, "I think Santa is finished until next year." :) Addie also got ballet slippers for her ballet class that started at the beginning of January.

Modeling her helmet...

Everyone looks a little sleepy here on Christmas morning. Kate got diapers from Santa. :)

Christmas morning after bathtime...

The weather was pretty nice so Addie got to try out her new bike. She was getting a little frustrated, but is better every time she rides it.

That afternoon my parents came in town (after my dad's service) and we did Christmas with my immediate family. With four kids it was crazy and unwrapping present went by really fast.

Dylan and Dawson got Addie an Ariel doll. She wanted this so bad!!! So bad that she actually had a HUGE meltdown in Target over it in the middle of December. She was THAT kid that could be heard throughout the store. She was screaming, crying, kicking, etc. etc. Thankfully I didn't have Kate with me. It was an evening I want to forget (but never will! Ha!) that ended with Jeremy putting her straight to bed when we got home and with me getting a glass of wine immediately to lower my blood pressure. I know she was so tired that day. December is tough on kids. It was amazing the week after Christmas I think she had two small tantrums all week. Need less to say, Addie was so excited to get this doll.

(Poor Sadie. She's just trying to take a Christmas nap on her new bed and all of these kids and presents were in her way.)

Reading from her "My First Bible Stories Book". A gift from my parents.

My mom got Kate this hat. She is 5 months old here! Where has the time gone?

That night we hosted Christmas dinner. Here's Kate loving on Grandpa...

The day after Christmas we took my parents out to see a house Jeremy is building.

We then went to see a movie with my parents, my brother & family along with all of us, including Kate. Kate was so good. She's been to 3 movies since she has been born. I never would have thought of doing that with Addie. Not for sure if that means I am more relaxed this time, Kate is more easy-going or if we are just so busy Kate comes along for everything...how about all of the above?

Christmas was wonderful with family! It is magical to have kids in the house on Christmas morning. I just wish it wouldn't fly by so fast!

23rd and Christmas Eve

2012-01-11T23:40:00.001-05:00

December is a busy time and it gets really busy at my work. I had a hard time getting everything done during the month and didn't get to do everything I had set out to do. I baked for the first time on December 23rd. Isn't that sad? Don't get me wrong, we still got to do some fun things. I told Jeremy next year I am taking 1-2 days off in October to Christmas shop! :)

Addie baking sugar cookies on the 23rd. She LOVES baking!

On Christmas Eve we went to Jamie & Gary's house (Leigh's mom and stepdad) for an open house. We exchanged gifts with them and Addie got this scarf. Chad knitted it...I mean Leigh did...we told him that would take away his man card if he told people that. Ha! Isn't it so sweet?

We tried to get a family photo, but I am in the sun, Kate is looking down and Addie is being silly. Oh well.

We then headed to church. Addie sang with Melody Makers at the beginning of the service. My favorite moment of the whole Christmas season was at the end of the service singing "Silent Night" with Kate asleep in my arms (she had a cold, poor thing) while Jeremy held Addie. Addie said, "Mommy, I know this song" and she continued to sing along by candlelight. Puts everything in perspective. It brought tears to my eyes thinking of all of our blessings while celebrating the Christ-child. Earlier in the month she asked me how old Jesus would be on Christmas. I told her that is a difficult answer, but we celebrate his birthday. She responded with, "Does Jesus live in my heart?" Melt.my.heart.

After the service we went out to Jeremy's aunt's house. Santa came for a visit. Abigail hated him! Ha!

Addie talking to Santa

Sweet photo of Layton. He isn't always ornery afterall. :)

Josie playing with Kate. She loves kids!

We finally got home and had to get the girls to bed, but not without first putting out cookies, milk and carrots.

Addie was definitely excited and was understanding the idea of Santa. She had been in her bedroom for about 5 minutes and then proceeded to yell, "Daddy! Da-ddy! DADDY!" Jeremy went to her door and she asked, "Is Santa here yet?" Not quite getting all of the concepts.

Christmas 1-3

2012-01-09T22:38:00.004-05:00

Yes, I'm still trying to put up posts on here related to Christmas. It was a whirlwind!

We had 3 family Christmas celebrations the weekend before Christmas. Christmas #1 was on Saturday at David and Carrie's house with my mom's extended family. My aunt and uncle, cousin and his fiance came in town along with other relatives. It was the first Christmas without my grandmother and her presence was definitely missed!

A few of us...

We draw names within the extended family. My cousin got me a Butler snuggie!

My brother got this hat. He's probably not impressed that I put this on here. Sorry, bro, had to.

From David and Carrie's we went to Jeremy's mom's house to do their Christmas. We left our house at noon on Saturday and didn't get back until midnight from the two celebrations. We do a white elephant/dirty Santa gift exchange and it is always hilarious!

Here's Anthony and Layton with some of Layton's new work tools

Addie got princess dress-up stuff and was in heaven!

Kameryn loves Michael Jackson and got a hat, wig, glove and glasses to look like him.

The next day we celebrated Christmas with Jeremy's dad for the third celebration of the weekend.

Layton dressing like Rudolph.

Our little angel...IF ONLY! The month of December is always the worst behavior out of this cute girl!

Abigail didn't care for her hat/headband. :)

Kami loves babies!

Papaw always reads "The Night before Christmas" before opening presents. I think Addie paid the most attention and told Papaw to read it again,.

Kate hanging out in the exersaucer. She loves playing in this now.

Alex and Addie checking out Addie's Ariel microphone. Why are toys these days so loud????

Layton got a Spiderman bike from Papaw and Mamaw!

Aunt Tiffany loving on Kate since she doesn't get to see her too much.

And then we crashed. And then we woke up the next day to go to work. And I was not bitter about it. :)

Pageant and Party

2012-01-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

In mid-December our church always does a Christmas pageant where kids of all ages are dressed as different people/animals while scripture is read and songs are sung about the birth of Jesus. It's always a very cute morning. Addie and the rest of the 2-4 year olds were stars.

Too sweet!

Our daycare party was actually at our church this year. For two weeks in December I would go a little late into work and teach the preschoolers Christmas/Holiday songs. It was a trip! It was a great way to start a morning. The children sang first before dinner and presents. I am upfront on the floor leading the children through the songs while Jeremy tried taking a picture. This cracks me up with all of the parents with their cameras.

Santa came for a visit after dinner and helped distribute the gift exchange presents. Addie is excited for her name to finally be called.

Emma, one of her best friends, actually had Addie's name in the gift exchange. Emma got "Add" (as Emma calls her) a leotard. Addie will be starting ballet in a couple of weeks and will actually be joining Emma's class. She is VERY excited! So much so that now that it is January she asks about 3-5 times a day if ballet is today.

Emma and Addie showing off their presents.

Kate was there too, of course. She got a book and a toy and then took a little nap. Ha! Here they are with Santa.

Celebrating a beautiful couple!

2012-01-01T10:55:00.002-05:00

In mid-July (about a week and a half before I had Kate) Leigh and Chad got married! I don't think I ever wrote a post about it. It was a really small wedding with just about 15 people total. They got married in a neighborhood park and then all of us had dinner at Corbett's, an upscale delicious restaurant. It was such a beautiful evening and we were so happy to be a part of it! I got to take their pictures. Here are two of my favorites.

Since they had such a small wedding they wanted to celebrate with a party/reception in December during the school break (Leigh's a teacher and Chad is finishing up law school). The reception was at the Louisville Science Center so they encouraged kids to come. I got to pull the "grandma card" and my mom came with us and then took the girls home so that they we could all attend the reception, but we could stay later. It was a lot of fun!

Here is Kate with Chad's mom.

Picture of the couple...

Leigh looked beautiful! And, Chad you looked ok. Just joking. :)

Jill (Kelly's mom) holding Kate.

They matched!

Love this photo and love this girl!

Wesleigh is one of Leigh's best friends from high school. Wesleigh also came to the wedding and took pictures. A sweet picture...

Addie was so excited to see her friend Maddy (girl in the middle). They had fun playing in the science center and then dancing on the dance floor. At one point the girls were laying on the ground and "dancing".

Me with Kelly P (who is wearing Addie's headband. Ha!)

Look at that stud! :)

Addie is with Lucy here. Lucy goes to our church and they love each other! Leigh and Chad had placed mistletoe for everyone at the table. Addie gathered about 8 of them to make a bouquet. She held them all night long telling everyone, "This is my bouquet. I'm married." Ha!

Getting back to normal after the craziness of Christmas. I'll post Christmas pics soon. Happy New Year!

Christmas pics

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here are Christmas pictures I took at the beginning of December for our Christmas cards. I had fun playing with Kate. Love her cheeks! Leigh came over to snap a quick on of our family. Enjoy the pictures. Merry Christmas!

Kate has discovered her feet. :)

A "behind the scenes" picture...both girls were crying and we just had to laugh.

Love this one of the sweet sisters!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

The first of many Christmas posts to come... A couple of Saturdays ago we had breakfast with Santa along with Layton, Abigail and Jenny. This was a new event at the Oxmoor Mall food court (different than the one we went to last year), but the best part was that all proceeds went to Make-A-Wish Foundation! The kids had fun and Addie was GREAT with Santa! Last year she was fine with him at the breakfast, but was terrified of sitting on his lap. This year she was totally fine the entire time. It was a fun morning.

Layton spied Santa!

Santa visits our table...

Too cute!

We got to decorate Gingerbread cookies.

Showing off their masterpieces.

And this is why kids love December and why parents have to have lots of patience this month...cookies at breakfast time!

Right after the breakfast we went down to sit on Santa's lap to get a head start on the rush...us along with everyone else at the breakfast. There was a play area by the line so the kids got to play while we waited. Unfortunately there was a new company working the Santa booth and would not allow parents to take photos unless you bought them. $25 for two photos!!! We just visited instead. :) Addie told Santa she wanted an Ariel doll and a bike. She told him that Kate wanted diapers. Ha!

Kate slept most of the time, but was ready to sit on Santa's lap. I just took a couple of photos when we got home. I love this sweet girl and her cheeks!

Wisconsin wedding

2011-12-16T21:46:00.000-05:00

In November we went to Wisconsin for Amanda and Josh's wedding. Amanda was one of the very first people I met at Butler because she lived across the hall from me my freshman year. She is such a wonderful person and it is so great to see her happy! The weekend was our first full weekend away with both girls. We stayed with our friends Chris and Erin Hack outside of Chicago Friday night and then made the rest of the trip on Saturday. I wasn't feeling like myself on Saturday. I thought that maybe my crazy work schedule and balancing everything else had caught up with me. I rallied for most of the wedding and reception, but I still was tired. When we woke up Sunday morning at the hotel I didn't feel well at all. When we arrived home about 5:00 Sunday night I took my temperature and I had a 103 fever. No wonder I didn't feel like myself! I was bummed that our weekend away with friends ended up not like how we expected. It was still wonderful to celebrate Josh and Amanda and to see great friends that we don't see often.

Jessica (who's pregnant with girl #2), Meagan and me

Great photo of Ryan and Meagan!

The bride and groom. Amanda looked so amazing!

Introducing the couple...

The Fab Five! We have all known each other since our freshman year at Butler. Amanda's the last one to get married out of the group.

4 months old

2011-12-04T22:39:00.001-05:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Kate turned 4 months old. Our baby is getting so big! At the doctor she was 25 inches (75%) and 12 lbs. 4 1/2 oz. (25%). Although her weight is a little lower she has some meat on her thighs and is strong! When she is laying in her bouncy seat or laying down she is trying to pull herself up to a sitting position. She now rolls both ways. For about a week only Addie and Jeremy had seen her roll over...such a turkey to not to do it in front of her mom! Kate is such a happy baby and is constantly talking and cooing. Kate always sucks on her fingers and fist and has recently discovered her feet. :) She watches Addie like a hawk. It is so sweet to see them interact. Addie loves how interactive Kate is becoming. We started Kate on cereal about a week ago and she is still getting the hang of it. Unfortunately we still have to give her medicine for reflux. Our hope is that it won't be much longer of it, but she still is uncomfortable at times.

We love this photo! She is about 3 1/2 months here. It reminds me of a picture of Addie at this age. It's crazy how much they resemble each other.

Pictures from 4 months old

Ha! She loves to chew on her fist!

Ha! Trying cereal for the first time...

I have so much to update on here. With the craziness of Christmas perhaps it will be January when I update the blog with pics from November??? :)

Halloween

2011-11-24T08:44:00.001-05:00

On Halloween I went to the girls' daycare to help out for their party. Unfortunately my camera was on the wrong setting so a lot of the pictures were blurry. Here's one of Emma and Addie as princesses. There were SO many princesses there! :)

That evening we went over to David and Carrie's for dinner and trick-or-treating. A crazy evening, but lots of fun!

Look at this little cutie!

All of the kiddos on the front porch...Dylan as Batman, Dawson as a dinosaur, Addie as Tiana and Kate as a flower.

Love this!

Too close to bedtime and not a fan of her costume. Ha!

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-22T05:30:00.001-05:00

On the Sunday before Halloween our church for the first time did a Fall Festival that included trunk-or-treat, storytelling, games and food. It was a great event and probably the first for many years to come. Enjoy the pics! (Yes, delayed. I think I jinxed myself in the last post. I got sick over the weekend with a fever while Jeremy and I were away for Amanda's wedding in Wisconsin.)

Jeremy wearing Addie's tiara. Cute, huh? It kept falling off Addie's head so he wore it some.


Princess Tiana (that's from "Princess in the Frog" if you don't know Disney princess movies)

Kate as a flower and Leigh as a nun. I love how Kate is staring at her! Ha!

Doug as the Man in the Yellow Hat with Benjamin

Here's Addie with Andrew as Curious George (Doug's son...such a great father/son duo). Addie and Andrew are great friends and only a few weeks apart. We would be ok with an arranged marriage here. Ha! :)

I had to take pictures of some of the great people and cars dresses up. Some people went all out for it being the first time.

Tiana and Sleeping Beauty (Alicia)

Dale went as Oscar the Grouch and was trying to give away trash instead of candy. It was great!

Jill and Mike (Kelly's parents) as pirates

Addie with one of her favorite people

Ha! Ha! A Jolly boy at his finest. :)

Addie with two of the girls from the youth group, Morgan and Shelby.

Our family!

Love this! Some of our friends' little boys. The Bendorf twins, Austin and Collin, and Emery (John & Terrianne's little one).

October pics

2011-11-16T23:06:00.001-05:00

Here's a few cute pictures of the girls in October. We were blessed with beautiful weather this fall! It has been a challenging couple of months though. We have been battling sickness. Poor Kate got a bad stomach bug only 2 weeks after being in daycare. It was crazy week for me at work so it was so hard not being home with her! We were worried about her dehydrating since she is only eating breastmilk still. It took her a few days to get over it. Addie then got sick, but thankfully it was short-lived. Then Jeremy got sick the next day. Jeremy has also had a fever two other times. I think we've been running pretty hard lately! I have determined that "I'll sleep when I am dead", to quote my husband. Ha!

Jeremy went on an annual guys camping trip one weekend. I took the girls up for a quick trip to see my parents. It had been way too long since our last visit. It was too short, but at least they got to show off Kate to my dad's church. Here's Addie giving Grandpa a sandwich for $16 at a park down their street. :)

Such a proud big sister...

Boo!

Addie playing in the leaves in our yard.

Our little punkin...

Cute feet! Kate kept staring at her feet whenever she would wear these pajamas.

(Next post: Halloween...just a few weeks behind. Ha!)

Pumpkin patch

2011-11-08T22:52:00.000-05:00

In mid-October we went to Gallerein Farm in Shelby County with Jeremy's dad & step-mom, Jenny & Anthony and all of the kids. We have gone to Huber's the past two years, but thought we would try something not as crowded and closer. They had lots of activities for kiddos in addition to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun, although it was really windy. Poor Kate was wrapped up the whole day to keep her out of the wind. Unfortunately we all suffered bad allergies after being outside all day. After the farm visit we went over to Jeremy's aunt's house for chili. A perfect fall day!

Addie was so funny about baby pumpkins. That is all she wanted. She wanted these two, but kept having a hard time carrying both of them. She would pick one up and then the other would drop. That continued for a few minutes. It was pretty funny.

Ashley, what do you think??? :)

Addie loved getting her face painted

We met up with Blake and Tracy and their family. Here is Addie with Alena (their daughter) and her cousin, Tessa.

Laughing sisters

2011-11-06T23:22:00.001-05:00

I have many posts to still do from all of our October activities, but I had to post this video that we took this evening. It has to be one of my favorite videos ever! I love to watch these two girls together. You can tell already how much they love each other!

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

2011-10-29T17:34:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago we went to West Virginia to my aunt and uncle's lake house. We left on Friday and came back Monday afternoon. It was nice to only do 4 workdays for two weeks coming right back to work off my maternity leave. David, Carrie, Dylan and Dawson arrived late Friday night along with my cousin Bill and his fiance, Lauren. The weather was amazing and the scenery was gorgeous...one of the many reasons I love fall! We fished, took walks, played at the local playground, got in the paddleboat & canoe, made s'mores, ate Jeremy's ribs & chicken, played games and just relaxed. The kids had a blast! Unfortunately Kate's reflux was acting up and she was a little too overstimulated with all the people so she was fussy and wanted me to hold her often. I hung out on the back porch a lot with her, but it was still nice to relax with the beautiful scenery. It was our first trip to their lakehouse and I am sure not the last! Thanks Aunt Cathy and Uncle Phil!

(Sorry, the format is messing up.)

On our walk I took this picture. Enough said about the scenery, huh?

Kate enjoyed walks like this...

The private lake had an area with a playground, dock, some sand, slides and a diving board. The water was really cold, but come Sunday people got more adventurous. This would be a great place to swim in the summer!

The kids playing at the "beach". Yes, my kid can't keep clothes up because her tush is too little. :)

Jeremy took Dylan out on the canoe while the younger ones took a nap.

This is the view from their dock. I think I would live on the dock if I could!

Addie showing off her worms

I love Addie's face in this picture. She looks so surprised that she caught a fish!

Kate smiling and cooing at Carrie.

Love these pictures of Addie fishing. She fishes at Lake Cumberland a lot, but Dylan had never been fishing before. They both had fun!

Jeremy had to be a daredevil and go down the slide. Soon all of the adult men turned into little boys and they all had to get in. :) It didn't last long because it was so cold!

Dylan jumped in too, but immediately swam for the ladder because of the cold.

Addie and Dylan playing in the water...such joy!

Lauren and Bill are getting married next May. Dylan and Dawson are ring bearers and Addie is the flower girl. Lauren made them cute t-shirts. The boys' shirts say, "Ring Security". Addie's says, "Flower girl" in rhinestones (even though you can't see it). Kate's says, "My big sis is the flower girl" (so she wouldn't feel left out. Ha!). Clearly, Kate was having a meltdown. A little too much chaos for her!

Kate's dedication

2011-10-23T22:26:00.001-04:00

On Sunday, October 2, we dedicated Kate to our church. My parents came in town, both sets of Jeremy's parents were there and as well as David, Carrie and the boys. Kate was great! She was really alert while Leigh, our minister, walked her down the aisle to meet the congregation. After the service everyone came to our house for a brunch to celebrate.

Kate's arm got stuck on Leigh's mic cord. He joked that she already had something she wanted to say. :)

They presentedus with a certificate, cradle cross and a rose. They stuck another rose in for the big sister. Too sweet.

Dawson acting silly at the brunch.

Later on that afternoon we went to Cherokee park while my parents were still in town along with David, Carrie and the boys. As you can tell, it was gorgeous fall weather and we enjoyed our time together.

It was actually my final day of my maternity leave. The whole day I definitely had mixed emotions. It was hard going back to work and I was so sad that my time off was over. That morning my colleagues had flowers, party hats and noise blowers when I entered the office so I definitely felt like I was missed. Leaving my girls was tough and still is each morning!

Final days home...

2011-10-20T23:19:00.003-04:00

I enjoyed my final days of my maternity leave. I was really trying to balance getting a lot of things done with enjoying sweet moments with Kate and Addie. I really wanted to be "fully present" during my maternity leave, but especially the final days. Addie was at daycare most days, but it was nice throughout my maternity leave to pick her up early or leave her home so we can enjoy some time together. Kelly and I took the girls to "Lion King 3D" that last week. Yes, Kate came along and slept most of the time. I never did anything like that when Addie was a baby, but second time around one realizes how easy an infant can be compared to a busy preschooler. Oh, the things you do with the second one. :) There was great weather most of my final week home so we enjoyed a trip to the park as a family and making s'mores again. Kelly and I took the girls to the zoo one day. Enjoy the pics!

The zoo was setting us for their big Halloween trick-or-treating event so Addie was very excited about all the characters.

Pretending to be a flamingo...

Kate slept the whole time. :)

Posing in front of the big jack-o-lantern

One of Addie's favorite people...

We took the sit-n-stand stroller with us. I had only used it on walks around the neighborhood so it was my first time using it out and about. Kelly and I could NOT figure out how to collapse it to put it back in the car. I'm not kidding we were both sweating and getting very nervous about how we were going to get home without leaving it behind. We were working on it for a good 15 minutes, trying to get a hold of Jeremy and looking for anyone to help us. A mom parked next to us literally came over with one simple suggestion and it collapsed in seconds. We felt so dumb and looked ridiculously! I wish it were on camera. When we got home Jeremy (who we all know is way too smart and handy for his own good sometimes) said it took him a while to figure it out. We felt redeemed, but it was still pretty funny.

Picture catch-up

2011-10-19T23:42:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to catch up on the blog with pictures of Kate over the past couple of months. Most of these were taken when Kate was about 6-8 weeks old in early/mid September and now she is almost 3 months old! Yikes! Where has the time gone?

Such a peanut..about 6 weeks old here

One of her first smiles on camera...

Such a happy girl... (And notice the sticker that Addie gave her. Ha!)

Cooing at dad...

A lot of people say she looks more like Jeremy. I can see it in this picture. I do need to upload a picture of Addie at the same age. There is one that looks sooo much like Kate is crazy!

Kate looks so different than this now...

So sleepy...

Ha! Had to have one of her crying...

Sweet sisters...

2011-10-13T23:31:00.002-04:00

I feel really behind on blogging and well, behind in life in general right now with me going back to work. It's exhausting! Like I said I will get use to it and we will find a new rhythm. I have so much to update on, but I had to put up this post. I love looking back on the blog over the past years and I know the blog is something I will always cherish along with our girls when they are older.

Here's pictures I took in September of the sisters. If you couldn't tell already Addie adores her sister...a little too much sometimes, but it is better than the alternative. Enjoy!

Sweet sisters...

Two months old

2011-10-06T23:52:00.002-04:00

I can't believe Kate turned two months old last week! At her check-up she weighed 10 lbs and was 22 inches. She is still smaller than her sister was at this age. In early September I took Kate into the doctor because she was really congested. The doctor said to just give her some benadryl and to suction her nose among other things. I saw her normal doctor at her 2 month check-up and he thought she sounded pretty bad. Made me feel like "Mom of the Year" even though I had taken her a week or so before. He tested her for RSV, but thankfully it was negative. He put her on an antibiotic. Unfortunately she started a fever that evening. Poor thing! The thing about this all is that Kate still was really mild-mannered. I would be taking her temperature and she would just be smiling at me. I think she is finally doing better except for her acid reflux. It still really bothers her, especially in the evening. Her "witching" hour is right around 8:00, but I think some of it is attributed to her acid reflux. She really only cries when she is tired or when her acid reflux is acting up.

Once Kate got healthy she was sleeping through the night! Hooray! We put her in bed around 9:30 and she'll sleep until about 7:00. I have been blessed with another great sleeper...crossing fingers!

Kate is so observant when she is awake. She loves just taking in the world. And she definitely follows Addie everywhere with her eyes/head. I have to get her on video "talking" to us. I forgot how much I loved those baby sounds. Too cute. And speaking of cute baby noises, Kate makes the funniest noises when she sleeps. She practically squeals sometimes when she is dead asleep. It's pretty funny.

I have lots to update on, but wanted to get this up. I started back at work on Monday and I am definitely very tired. I know I will get used to it. We're heading to my aunt and uncle's lakehouse in WV this weekend and I am ready to relax! Here are pictures of Kate at exactly two months old. She is so sweet! We love her so much!

Fall evenings

2011-09-27T09:33:00.001-04:00

We've been spending a few of our nice fall evenings with...

S'MORES by the fire pit! Yummy! We did it two nights in a row and one night Leigh and Chad joined us for an impromptu get-together. The following night after returning home late in the evening Addie said, "Mommy, I have a great idea, let's do s'mores!" I think she was thinking it would be a nightly occasion. I think she takes after her mom with having a sweet tooth!

Kate even joined us! :)

Addie's first s'more. Of course she loved it!

Addie got a hang of roasting her own marshmallow the second night.

Labor Day weekend and funny stories

2011-09-19T16:20:00.000-04:00

We usually go to the lake for Labor Day weekend. At last minute we weren't able to make it work out. Although we missed the lake we enjoyed spending time around family and friends over the weekend and getting things done around the house. On Sunday we went over to Heather and Peter's house and on Monday we had David, Carrie and the boys over because Jeremy cooked some meat on the smoker.

We ended up going to Evansville on Saturday for a quick visit to spend time with Jeremy's sister and her family. They have a pool in the backyard so we spent a lot of time swimming. We don't get to their house much so it was nice to spend the day with them there.

Addie is pretty confident in the pool. We are going to get her swim lessons this year. I think she will be swimming without any floatation devices in no time.

Jeremy, Kameryn and Addie in the pool

This girl is a ham sometimes!

Kameryn holding Kate. Kami loves babies and is always so good with Addie.

Addie and Kameryn have something in common...they love ribs! So funny!

I didn't get any pictures of the rest of the family. Alex made us Chocolate Chip Cookies before we left to go home. They were yummy! I think she takes after her mom!

Funny story--Addie learned about Justin Beiber during our trip there. Kameryn has a Justin doll and Addie kept playing with it. She kept calling it "Justin Beaver". At the end of the day Kameryn let her have a couple of pages from her magazine with him on it. On the way home Addie was kissing the magazine pages. Jeremy and I were NOT impressed! She probably saw Kameryn do it or something because she didn't really know what she was doing. We still did NOT enjoy seeing our little girl do this! Oh, what we have to look forward to!

And another one, so I document it...Addie is going to be a flower girl next May for my cousin Bill's wedding. Bill and his fiancee Lauren were visiting a few weeks ago. On the way home that night, it was WAY past Addie's bedtime, we were explaining that Bill and Lauren were getting married and she was going to be in the wedding. She then says, "I want to be married." And we both said, "If you want to be married when you are older you can." She then breaks down and wails, "I want to be married now, daddy! Now! I want to be married!..." Kids can say some funny stuff!

Old friends!

2011-09-15T13:48:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I took Addie and Kate to Lexington for the day. One of my closest friends, Laura, just moved into a new house. Robyn was still in town from L.A. and Liz was in town from Connecticut. The four of grew up together and were very close friends in high school. Now we all have kiddos so it was fun to all get together. We hung out at the house, went to the neighborhood pool and ate dinner. There wasn't too much time for catch up with 5 kids around, but it was fun nonetheless.

I think Lola was getting a little jealous when Robyn was holding Kate

The photos with kids crack me up! The order above is Emma, Lola, Dane, Addie and Kate.

State Fair

2011-09-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

A few weekends ago we went to the state fair with David, Carrie, my mom and dad and the kids. It was the day after my grandmother passed away so it was nice to be together as a family doing something fun.

Petting some of the goats

Addie looks a little hesitant here because the goat had just tried to eat her ponytail. Ha!

I had to get a picture of Kate at her first state fair. She slept most of the time.

Addie is usually pretty fearless. Lately we have seen her be more timid than she used to be. Dylan and Addie picked the motorcycles to ride first. Can you tell how upset she is? It was so funny!

The slides were much better...although it was a rip-off

Riding the merry-go-round with Dawson and Grammy

The water gun game is my mom's favorite and she always wants to compete with anyone

Addie and Kate

One month old

2011-09-09T09:33:00.006-04:00

Kate turned one month on August 26 (a couple of weeks ago). Can't believe she is already 6 weeks old! At her one month appt. she weighed 8 lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches. She still is a little peanut, especially compared to Addie at this age. Addison was 10 lbs at one month! That's hard to believe since Addie is a skinny thing now.

Kate was wonderful for the first weeks of life. She had trouble going back to sleep after I nursed her in the middle of the night, but other than that was a breeze. She definitely is more laid-back than Addie already. Kate got a shot at her appt. and she cried briefly and then was quiet. Her sister has a temper on her and acted completely different. At around week 3 or 4 Kate was becoming a whole lot fussier and wasn't even getting good naps in during the day. Yes, I have learned to survive on much less sleep and a daily cup of coffee. :) I eliminated milk from my diet since that seems to bother babies the most if they are having issues. If you know me, this is a BIG deal! I love milk and I love cereal! I tried to watch other items in my diet (leafy veggies, etc.). At her one-month I talked to the doctor about it all. Even after trying suggestions the doctor had she wasn't getting better. She would sometimes scream, push her legs out and just acted extremely uncomfortable at different times in the day, including 4:00 a.m. We put her on Prevacid for acid reflux a couple of days later and it has improved! The following week should took solid naps and even went a couple of nights of 8 or so hours of sleep! Hooray! She has had a couple of bad nights the last two nights so I think she is still pretty sensitive to what I eat, but will hopefully outgrow this soon.

Kate is finally starting to smile at us and it melts our hearts! She is so alert during her wake time and is staying awake for longer periods. Addie still ADORES Kate! Every morning when she wakes up or when she gets home from daycare Addie immediately wants to know where Kate is so she can kiss her. Addie loves on her a little too much and we joke that Kate will have nightmares of blonde curly hair all up in her face for years to come!

The month of August has been incredibly hard! We have dealt with the adjustment of a newborn in the house (especially one with tummy issues), Jeremy's business picking up (which is a great thing but hard to juggle with our current family situation), our power going out for 4 days (we stayed at my brother's house until then and had to replace our freezer food yet again), Jeremy getting in a fender-bender in our Volvo (not his fault and just a minor accident), my wonderful grandmother being put in hospice care and then eventually passing away and then Jeremy's uncle dying unexpectedly (both funerals were on the same day at the same time but one was in West Virginia while the other was in Louisville). Needless to say it has been a tough month and we are praying for a calmer September, especially since I only have a few weeks left until I go back to work. What doesn't kill us makes up stronger, right?

Funny story: When I was telling Addie about my grandmother passing away, she asked, "So, she died?" I said, "Yes, honey, she is now in heaven." And then Addie asked, with a really funny look on her face, "Did she get squished?" Ha! I think that is because she just watched "Princess and the Frog" and something like that happens to the firefly in the movie. Definitely adds humor to a tough situation.

Enjoy the pictures below from Kate when she is exactly one-month old (I didn't get a chance to edit them). Seeing her sweet face reminds of us God's blessings during trails!

She has already changed so much since these pictures. I don't think these look like her much anymore. :)

Sleepy girl

Who me? So funny!

I LOVE this photo of her after a bath!

Birthday weekend

2011-09-05T09:06:00.009-04:00

Two weekends ago we celebrated lots of birthdays. We first went to my friend Robyn's daughter's birthday party on Saturday. Robyn and I grew up together. She now lives in LA but comes home often to see family. We celebrated Lola's first birthday.

They rented a bubble car for all of the kids. Bubbles came out of the car everywhere and they had tons of bubbles to play with. It was such a cool idea!

Some of the kids playing with bubbles.

The birthday girl climbing through the tunnel of the bubble car.

Kate and Jeremy chillin' outside

Addie was SOAKED after this and of course I didn't bring extra clothes. We ran her dress through the dryer for a bit so she could be dry.

On Sunday we drove to Indy and back. We went to celebrate Olivia, Harry and Madeline's birthday and then hung out at Brad and Tara's house in the afternoon/evening. It was a quick trip but it was great to see our wonderful friends!

This was a cute cake! I didn't get a chance to take a picture before it was cut.

Hard to believe these three miracles are now three!

Olivia having fun with the tissue from a present.

Cole, Addie and Brady playing with some of the party favors.

First trip to the lake

2011-08-31T08:49:00.008-04:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Lake Cumberland and stayed on Anthony and Jenny's houseboat. They have a ton of baby stuff there so it was nice not having to lug everything down there. I was hesitant about going at first, but so glad we went. It was really nice weather and Kate slept the best she ever had! Plus, Addie had a great weekend with hardly any meltdowns, attitude, etc. Addie adores her "Aunt Jen Jen" and Uncle Anthony so she hung out with them more than us. :) I couldn't get in the water but still enjoyed a relaxing weekend. We kept the houseboat at the dock, but I guess the slow movement made Kate sleep well. Kate usually sleeps until about 2 or 3 a.m. but then has a hard time going back down to sleep. She went right back down there! Yahoo! The drive home went MUCH better on the way home than on the way to the lake. On the way there we had way too many stops, but I guess that can happen when traveling with a newborn and a three-year-old that can get carsick. :) Enjoy pictures from Kate's first trip to the lake.

Taking a dip in the lake

Swimming in the lake at the dock. Addie was pretty timid last year in the lake water, but now she loves to swim on her own in her life jacket.

I love this picture with Layton and Addie fishing off the fishing boat with Jeremy

Abigail really likes Kate

We ended up taking the fishing boat to a shore so the kids could play and swim. I was really nervous at first taking Kate out, but Jenny assured me she had a newborn life jacket. Who knew they even made life jackets this small? We didn't go very fast or very far and Kate didn't mind the jacket at all. She is so little in it!

Hanging out on the boat while the kids swim

Love her!

Addie loves to collect rocks and play in the dirt. She is not always all girl!

Cute Abigail...she is such a peanut!

You can just tell in this picture how much she loves going to the lake

Jeremy and Addie fished Sunday morning. Apparently all Addie did was throw the bait in the water! Ha!

I think these two have seen the dogs do this too much

On the way back to the dock on Sunday. Can you tell the kids were ready for a nap?

First trip to the zoo

2011-08-30T13:21:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I took both girls to the zoo. It was my first real outing with both girls without Jeremy. We met up with Jenny, Abigail and Layton along with Jeremy's cousin, Ashley, and her two kiddos. Kate slept through her first trip to the zoo. :) I forget how easy newborns can be when you are out and about. It was beautiful day and a lot of fun!

The bigger kids in the wagon...

Kate was awake when we got there, but soon fell asleep

I LOVE this photo of Abigail. She is so cute!

Addie playing with Abigail at the splash park at the zoo

Mommy and daughter

Melia, Layton and Addie posing

Weekend update

2011-08-26T10:10:00.008-04:00

The first weekend of August we went to Randy's daughter's wedding party. Jennifer and Chris got married in early July in a small ceremony and had a party in August to celebrate. I was feeling pretty good so I decided to go as well. Kate was not even two weeks old so we kept her in the car seat almost the entire time so strangers wouldn't touch her. :) It was a fun evening!

Love this photo of our peanut

Cutting a rug!

So cute! Abigail loved dancing!

Addie LOVES Abigail!

On Sunday we went to church. It felt great to be at church and see so many people. Once again Kate didn't get passed around, but everyone loved seeing her.

After church the Klines came over from Evansville to visit. It was so nice to spend time with them! We don't seem them enough. Brooke is pregnant with a baby boy due in October and she looks fabulous! Here Garrett is practicing holding a little baby.

Look at these two...

Addie and Garrett played outside. Garrett didn't seem to mind the pink princess car too much. :)

I think this photo should be in Garrett's wedding video. Ha! What do you think, Brooke?

When did she get so big?

That evening we gave Kate her first real bath. Addie loves to help out with bathtime.

That Sunday, August 7th, we celebrated 7 years of marriage. We didn't get to do much of anything to celebrate, but I think both of us were very content spending time with our new family of four! When I married Jeremy I knew I was marrying my best friend and hoped we would get to have children together. I did not know what an incredible father he would be (I once again hoped so) at that time! I have had many people over the years tell me just from observing him they can tell he is a great dad. I couldn't agree more. I am blessed to call him my husband! To many more years...

First week home

2011-08-19T09:59:00.010-04:00

I'm trying to catch up on posts and photos. It's been quite a crazy week for us (more to come).

We have had lots of visitors over the past few weeks. Below are a few pics of some from the hospital.

Jeremy's mom, Betty, and Randy soon after delivery

Addie got a princess sleeping bag for being a big sister. She loves anything to do with Disney princesses! It has already come in handy! Addie's room is also the guest room now so my mom stayed in her room and she slept in her sleeping bag.

My parents came in town for a couple of hours to meet their new granddaughter.
Tara and her boys were in Tell City and came to the hospital for a quick visit on their way back home. Brady loves babies!

Kelly came to meet Kate. Kelly helped us out by coming to our house at 3:00 a.m. when we to the hospital (second time). She was there in the morning to hang out with Addie and get her to daycare. Kelly said Addie was super excited to hear that her baby sister was coming. Addie wore her Big Sister shirt to daycare, brought her babydoll for practice and told everyone "My baby is popping out today!" :) Thanks for all of your help, Kelly!

The first week home went really well. My mom came in for the week and our Sunday School class brought meals every other day. My recovery was still going well and Kate was doing well with feedings and sleep. Addie adjusted well, except for us dealing with the typical 3-year-old girl tantrums, attitude, talking back, emotions and not listening! Ha!

I love baby feet!

It has been sooooo nice to get out of the house in warmer weather (compared to Addie being born in February). Here is Kate's first walk. Her hair looks red when she is outside. We'll see what it ends up looking like and if it will be curly.

Hanging outside on a nice evening

Love this photo!

And I had to get one of her crying...:)

Labor and delivery story

2011-08-15T14:21:00.009-04:00

Apparently my body likes to labor for a long time! My labor with Kate was just as long with Addison. It all started Sunday night/Monday morning when I thought my water had broken. We held off for a little bit, but decided to go into the hospital around 3:00 a.m. I was checked and was only 1 cm. My water had not broken despite having a lot of fluid. I had contractions, but they weren't very close together. They decided to send us home and we got back to the house around 6:00 a.m.

During one of my contractions at the hospital the baby's heartbeat had dropped so the doctor wanted me to come into the office to get an ultrasound to check on everything. I continued to have contractions, about 40 minutes apart, up until the late morning appt. Everything looked great with the baby at my appt. so they sent me home to continue to labor. Fun times! I was 2 cm at the office. I had contractions all day long, still not close together, but around 11:00 that night they really started to kick in. I had to take a long hot shower in the middle of the night to help with the pain, especially because I was having back labor. My contractions were about every 10-20 mins by then, but the intensity and pain was like nothing I had experienced before! We called the doctor even though I was supposed to wait until they were 7 minutes apart. We went back to hospital around 3:00 a.m. again. I was NOT going to be sent home this time if my life depended on it! When they checked me I was about 5 cm. No wonder I was in so much pain!!!

As soon as we got to the hospital the contractions got a lot closer together. By the time I was in my labor and delivery room I was 6 cm. The anesthesiologist finally got down to my room, but had a really hard to time getting the catheter of my epidural in. I had several contractions while she was doing it. Jeremy said the last contraction before the epidural kicked in was really high on the monitor and lasted a minute long. Ouch!!! She finally got it to work and I was 7 cm around 5:00 a.m. I went quickly to 8 cm. We thought I would be pushing soon and I would be having a morning baby again. Unfortunately my blood pressure dropped and my contractions almost stopped. We waited for hours for things to progress. Finally after several rounds of Pitocin they finally broke my water and I was eventually ready to push. I didn't have to push
very long and she was here!

They did kangaroo care at the hospital where they keep the baby in the delivery room for quite some time and encourage the mom and baby to be skin-to-skin for an hour. So nice! After they cleaned her up they brought her to me for skin-to-skin, but they quickly realized she was taking quick breaths. The nurse had to pat all over her chest and back until she "transitioned". Her coloring was much better along with her breathing.

We hadn't named Kate until after she was born. We were down to a few names and I told Jeremy it was his turn to name the baby since I had the final say on Addison Grace. He shocked me with "Kate" about 20 minutes after she was born, even though we both liked it, because he has loved the name Reese for years. Ellen is my middle name, my mom's middle name and my great-great-grandmother's middle name.

After Addie's delivery I got really sick to my stomach so they gave me medicine that made me pass out for a few hours. It was nice to enjoy some time in the delivery room and afterward with family this time around. Once I got up to my room I had immediately since it had be about 20 hours sent I last ate.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to write this down to document it all. Enjoy pictures below of the first hours of Kate's life! More updates and pics to come.

Here she is!

Much smaller than Addie. Addie was 8 lbs 7 oz while Kate was 7 lbs 4 oz. That surprised me! You can tell here that her coloring is bad.

Although her coloring wasn't right here yet, I think she looks a lot like Addison here.

Smitten already!

Cute feet!

She started sucking her thumb pretty soon after delivery. Too cute!

Big sister meeting her little sister

So sweet! It's crazy how much they look alike, well at least as babies.

Me and my girls!

Sisters!

2011-08-08T22:15:00.003-04:00

When we found out that we were expecting our second girl, I have to admit I was a little overwhelmed. Jeremy actually handled the news better than I did. My mind immediately went to two hormonal teenage girls under the same roof. I think some of my feelings related to Addie's personality that can be so strong-willed, independent, sensitive and emotional. (One of her daycare workers says that her personality is "all girl".) I don't know why our minds like to jump ahead years and years from the present.

After the initial shock wore off and the news settled in I really got excited to have two girls. I was excited that we would have the same gender so they would play well together (hopefully!) and would probably be into similar things. Of course practically it was great since we could reuse so many items. But I was most excited that our kids would be SISTERS! I think every girl that doesn't have a sister grows up always wanting one. There is such a special bond with siblings, but you can definitely see that with sisters. I'm so excited to watch them grow up and witness their love for each other. Pictures below of two sisters and the beginning of their bond!

This one melts my heart and a picture I will remember for a long time!

More pics

2011-08-05T13:26:00.005-04:00

Things are going well at home. Kate was back up to her birth weight at her one-week check-up on Tuesday. She was at 6 lbs 12 oz when we left the hospital...such a peanut! This means I can push her longer during her middle of the night feeding...that is if she cooperates. She is a really good baby, though. She really only cries when she wants her diaper changed or if she is hungry. I don't want to jinx myself though. Reality is definitely not set in yet. My mom just left today (Friday) and has been here since Sunday helping around the house. Our Sunday School class at church has been delivering meals every other day since Sunday and will do so over the next two weeks! It is so nice to have such a wonderful support system! We'll see how everything is once the newness goes away. We went on our first walk yesterday and my mom and I met my aunt and cousin for lunch on Wednesday. It feels so good to get out of the house!

Below are pictures taken in the hospital from our great friend, Jason. Check out his website at www.stillblissphoto.com. Enjoy!

We're home!

2011-07-29T09:21:00.004-04:00

We're home! Unfortunately when we were getting ready to be discharged from the hospital Addie's daycare called to tell us she had a 102 fever. Ugh. Welcome to the world of two kids, huh? We were very bummed because we were looking forward to just being a family of four at home. We brought Addie home and let her watch a movie while we kept Kate in another room until Jeremy could take her to the doctor. We wanted Jeremy to pick her up from daycare because Addie has been passed around the past few days while we were at the hospital and every kid wants their mom or dad when they are sick. Of course it is just a virus, but we wanted to know what we should do with Addie now that Kate was home and only 2 days old. Addie is not supposed to get too close to the baby, but they can be in the same house. Poor thing! Addie just wants to love on her baby sister but doesn't quite understand, especially when the tylenol kicks in and she is feeling ok. It has been an obvious challenge. Today (Friday) Addie couldn't go to daycare because of the fever so Jeremy's mom is keeping her for the day so we don't have to worry about her getting in Kate's face all day. We're looking forward to Sunday when Addie will probably be over her fever and able to love on Kate.

Everything else is going really well. My recovery has been MUCH better than last time. I don't know if it is the second time around, a smaller baby (Addie was 8 lbs 7 oz) or because I labored so much naturally before getting an epidural (not the plan!). I do plan on blogging about my labor story just so I have it on record since the blog serves as a scrapbook for us. I was up walking around in the hospital room on Wednesday doing some things while last time I hardly could get out of bed the whole time. Nursing is also going MUCH better than last time. It took Addie and I about 2 weeks before everything was ok. It was a big challenge! I'm crossing my fingers that things continue to go smoothly.

Last night we had dinner as a family and when were saying prayers before dinner I started getting emotional. I feel so blessed to have two HEALTHY, beautiful children and a wonderful husband! I know a lot of people can't say the same thing so I count blessings everyday for such wonderful gifts from God.

More pics to come...until then enjoy the slideshow of the hospital pics. The hospital didn't use this service with Addie and the pictures are precious! We didn't order any because they were so expensive and we'll get some pics as a family, plus my friend Jason came to the hospital Wednesday night and took a bunch of cute photos. I'm excited to see them. Follow the instructions to see the gallery. We picked #6 of Kate yawning for the hospital website pic. So cute!

www.bellababyphotography.com
Click on "View my photos"
The login password is sgre0726angermeier

Enjoy!

Welcome to the world!

2011-07-27T22:00:00.004-04:00

Our second daughter entered the world on Tuesday, July 26th. Kate Ellen was born at 2:05 p.m. and was 7 lbs 4 oz and 19.5 inches. After a really long and hard labor she was worth it all...she's perfect! She looks A LOT like Addison when she was just born. Addie loves being a big sister and we're looking forward to being a family of four at home! We go home tomorrow (Thursday) and I'll post more pics then. Thanks for all the wonderful calls, texts, emails, FB comments, etc. We are so blessed!

I'm here!

2011-07-22T22:23:00.005-04:00

I'm back from a huge blog hiatus! I survived working and living in Lexington for the month while being very pregnant! I even survived a horrible stomach virus for about 3 of those days. Words can not describe how incredible Jeremy is for everything he does for our family normally, but especially during that month. He is a single dad and does everything without complaint. We had several friends and family help him out over the month. I don't think I even have posted on here, but he started a business, Paradigm Constructions Services LLC, in February while working only part-time at his job, New Directions Housing Corp. (I'll update more on that later.) He managed to stay afloat with his business during the month and be a single dad. It was very hard being away from my family, but the program went really well this year. Since Addie is older she had a tough time with me being gone and it was soooo hard leaving her when I got to come home or when they visited. She always screamed and cried when we left each other. Talk about tears being shed on my end, too!

I got home a little under two weeks ago and as soon as I got home it started to sink in that we will be bringing a new baby home anyday now! Since my life is on hold for that month I was very overwhelmed when I first got home thinking about all that needed to get done at work and at home before she is born. I've gotten a lot accomplished during the past two weeks, but also know that not everything has to been finished by the time she gets here.

This pregnancy is VERY different since Addison was born in February. This heat is awful and I have a hard time cooling off! My feet have been swelling the past couple of months and I now only wear flip flops (even at work) to keep them cooler to help with the swelling. On the plus side, I'm looking forward to being able to take walks and get out of the house with a newborn instead of being cooped up with one in the winter.

We moved Addie in a big girl bed in mid-May and we just have a couple of little things left to do before her room is completely finished. I'll post pictures once it is complete. The nursery is staying the same. Addie has done pretty good with the transition. She still takes a long time to fall asleep sometimes and wants to get out of bed for various reasons, but once she is asleep she never makes a peep and doesn't get out of her bed until the morning. It definitely could be worse.

We are getting really excited about meeting our little girl! She is a squirmer! Addie would stick her booty out all the time, but this one seems to squirm more. We are so eager to see what she looks like, how she will act, how Addie will be as a big sister and much more. And no, we still haven't picked a name. We're down to a few just like last time so stay tuned.

There is so much to update on here with things that have happened in our life over the past two months, but I don't know if I will be able to get it all on here before the baby is born. I'm 39 weeks today! Addison was two days early so this baby could make her debut very soon. I definitely am getting uncomfortable, especially at night.

Stay tuned for more updates, especially the BIG update when our new little girl enters the world. Much love to you all! Stay cool...if that is even possible!

Here I am at exactly 39 weeks. Yes, I am huge! A cashier in a store last Saturday called me, "Grande!" What am I supposed to say to that? And yes, my belly button is like a torpedo. Addie is always kissing on it. I think she thinks the baby will "pop" out of my belly button. :)

Mother's Day weekend

2011-06-04T08:59:00.023-04:00

Yes, I am that far behind with the blog. I am VERY busy with work and we are trying to make time to get things done around the house before the baby gets here. I leave for Lexington in less than a week! Yikes!

Anyway, we had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. That weekend was also Derby weekend so we have fun Friday night for a cookout at a park for Oaks and then went to a Derby party that Saturday. I love Louisville during Derby season! Addie drew the winning horse name and won a pot of money. I let her have a few dollars for her piggy back and kept the rest. Ha! Well, it was my money to start with. :)

On Sunday Jeremy surprised me with a new lens for my DSLR for Mother's Day. It is a 50 mm prime lens. It is a great lens and it is supposed to be better for portraits. I was super excited! I have played with it some and really like it. It is definitely different than lens that comes with the camera.

We went to church, went to Jeremy's dad and stepmom's house and then met my parents along with David's family at Spring Mill Park in Mitchell, IN. It is a little more than half-way to my parents' house from Louisville. We don't usually get to see my family on Mother's Day so it was nice to be all together. It was an absolute gorgeous day! We have had only a handful of spring days. All the rest were rain and now HOT weather (and YES I AM SO HOT right now)! Spring Mill Park is an old village from the 1800's where you can walk around all the different houses and the corn mill. We walked around the village, played on the playground and had a picnic dinner. It was a great day!

Enjoy all the pics...some of them with my new lens!

Look at this cutie!

So funny...pretty hairbow while riding a little four-wheeler. This is at Papaw and Mamaw's house.

This is right behind their house. They live on a lot of land. So pretty!

Walking with Grammy

Trying to get the cousins to pose for a photo...

Part of the old village. So beautiful!

Family shot

In one of the village houses

Yes, I'm even larger than this now! :)

Too cute

Throwing rocks in the creek

Playing with my new lens

And this is why...

2011-05-28T14:38:00.002-04:00

Jeremy is not worried about having another girl. He loves that his child, no matter the gender, wants to learn about something he loves!

Charleston, SC with great friends

2011-05-23T22:12:00.023-04:00

We went to Charleston, SC at the end of April for a long weekend for Ann Marie (college friend) and Bryan's wedding. We rented a van with our 3 favorite couples and drove through the night. The two preggos survived! We were then joined by 6 other people in a house that we rented. It was an awesome weekend spending time with sorority sisters and their spouses/significant others. We had incredible weather and got to see some of Charleston during the visit. Jeremy and I had never been to Charleston, SC before and now want to go back after the quick trip. The city is absolutely gorgeous. The wedding was wonderful and Ann Marie was beautiful! The weekend was filled with lots of laughter and memories!

The house we rented was on Isle of Palms and we were right across the beach. This is the view from the rooftop! We spend our evenings on the rooftop.

Downtown Charleston shops

The old slave market

Rainbow Row

Pretty ladies!

Right off the harbor
Love these girls!

I mean, how could you not want to live there?

The house we rented. So nice!

At the rehearsal dinner. Everyone was invited! The rehearsal hall was right on the beach.

All of the DGs (except Ann Marie)

Tara and Brad...Great photo, great couple!

Ashley and Bryan...ditto! :)

The church was right off the beach on Sullivan's Island

Brandon and Brooke...ditto! And you can see a little of Brooke's bump! :)

Jeremy and I before the wedding...much bigger bump! :)
The girls before the wedding

The beautiful bride! She is one awesome person! We are so happy for her!

Everyone with the bride!

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Hart!

Yummy cake!

The bridesmaid, groom and bride. Great reception!

Congrats Ann Marie and Bryan! To happily ever after...

P.S. Sooooo behind on the blog. Hope to catch up soon. We've both been really busy with work, getting Addie's new room ready and ummm...preparing for a baby! (She'll be here in about 2 months! Eek!)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:14:00.021-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Christ is Risen!

On Saturday our church had an Easter egg hunt scheduled at a local park. Needless to say with all of the rain (we have bad flooding in Louisville!) that it was moved to the church. Layton and Abigail joined us, too. Addie's age group "hunted" for eggs in the youth room.

Maddy and Addie pre-hunt

On Sunday we went to church then had a couple of hours at home before heading out to Jeremy's aunt's house. The sun came out for a little bit right when we got home. We actually had better weather than we expected and were able to be outside most of the day, although the ground was so soggy and we did get sprinkled on a bit.

Addie posing with her Easter basket. Jeremy got her dressed this morning since I had to get to church early to sing and he said she was so excited to put her dress on. We may be dealing with a little princess for the rest of our lives. Ha!

Posing in her new sandals that the Easter bunny brought her. She wanted to wear them all day.

Running off some energy in our yard.

Papaw and Mamaw got Addie some Easter goodies including this cute shirt that Mamaw (Annette) made. She has gotten very crafty!

And they're off!

There were plenty of eggs to go around!

This is unfortunate that the only picture I have of Annette and Abigail is this! :) They did this as a joke.

Later on they flew a motorized airplane and the kids loved it!

I think every picture I took today Addie said "Cheese" and did this fake smile. What a ham!

Happy Easter from our family to yours! Hope yours was filled with many blessings!

Palm Sunday

2011-04-23T20:51:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday Addie sang with the Melody Makers for Palm Sunday. She's singing pretty loud in the beginning and does a great job waving her palms despite her friend Mitchell rubbing his palms in her face. :) Pretty cute!

(I would have done a larger video through Vimeo, but my internet is acting funny so hopefully you can view this.)

And before I forget to blog this (since this is kinda Addie's journal/baby book), she said the best thing the other morning. She just woke up and Jeremy was holding her getting ready to leave for work and she summoned me over to them. She hugged me so that the three of us were having a group hug and said, "Family...I love our family!" Be still my heart. Me too, kiddo, me too.

Tomorrow is Easter. It is always a wonderful day to remind us of the true reason of the holiday and celebrate the Risen Christ! Hope yours is glorious!

Proud to be a Bulldog!

2011-04-18T22:17:00.004-04:00

Even though the NCAA final game was NOT what anyone expected, I have never been so proud to be a Butler alumnus. The team wasn't for sure if they would even be in the tournament to then make it to the Final game back-to-back. The team and Coach Stevens showed the true meaning of being a team: integrity, class, maturity, sportmanship, selflessness, being student athletes, etc. These guys are great role models and gave hope during a time in sports when we don't read many hopeful stories. I could go on and on, but if you saw or read anything about the Bulldogs then you probably already know this.

We went up to Indy to watch the Final Four game with fellow Butler alumni. The Callahans hosted us and the Sabelhauses came over along with some other Butler fans. It was a quick trip for us, but I really wanted to be around Butler alumni to watch at least one of the games. Since I went to the final game last year and was in a Butler bar in downtown Indy for the Final Four game last year this was the least I could do. It was a great game!

BU cupcakes before Jeremy let Addie carry them to the car...they did not arrive in Indy this pretty! Grr!

So maybe we were being neglectful parents. The kids were watching a movie on the main floor while we were watching the game downstairs. :) It wasn't too long until all of the kids were downstairs with us.

Cole cheesin' for the camera!

Spring flowers

2011-04-09T11:59:00.008-04:00

I LOVE spring for many reasons, especially because of the flowers! (Although my allergies suffer in the Ohio Valley during this time of year.) We have a lot of tulips, daffodils and crocus in our yard right now. I am such a dork and everyday after work I look to see what has bloomed. I was also excited to see them bloom so I could practice using my camera after taking a class in February. Here are a few I snapped and then played with a little bit on an editing program that came with the camera. I'm just beginning with this whole photography thing and beautiful flowers are easy to practice on! Enjoy!

Makin' history...

2011-04-04T16:47:00.006-04:00

So excited for the Bulldogs to be in the National Championship game tonight! I could go on and on about this school, this team and this coach! This would be the perfect ending to an amazing two years!

So proud to be a Butler Bulldog! Read this article to see why...(the picture alone says it all)...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/2011/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=6287770

Picture taken last year at the championship game with Ashley and Tara! Here's hoping for a different outcome!

Spring is in the air!!!

2011-03-31T21:20:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago it was so beautiful after work so Addie and I played outside (Jeremy was working) and I played with my camera some. Where did this weather go??? Getting outside in the fresh air and warm sunshine does every body good!

What a goose!

I LOVE this photo!

Silly girl!

And GO BUTLER! Final Four Back-to-Back! This team and Brad Stevens are incredible!

Belly "bump"

2011-03-29T21:22:00.003-04:00

Here's a picture from about a week and a half ago. I'm about 21 weeks here. Trying to wrap my head around that we are more than halfway through. We're just now starting to work on Addie's room. She is still sleeping in her crib. She has never pushed us on getting out of it and sleeps well so we haven't rushed her. The guest room will become her room and we'll keep her current room just about the same for the new baby...one of the benefits of having another girl! We will replace carpet, paint, Jeremy will do a new closet and decorate her room. She's super excited!

Oh, and totally random, I forgot to mention that at Addison's 3-year check-up she weighed 28 pounds and was exactly 3 feet tall. She is such a skinny thing with no behind! I can hardly get pants to stay up on her. She definitely takes after her dad. Ha!

More people are rubbing the belly these days. :)

Layton is two!

2011-03-29T20:51:00.007-04:00

It was Layton's 2nd birthday at the beginning of March. They had a birthday party for him at Pump it Up! Addie was in heaven. She was such a big girl floating around from bouncy thing to bouncy thing and wanted nothing to do with her parents. It was a great time with family celebrating Layton!

Sleepy Abigail on Mamaw...

This picture is blurry, but you can see how much fun she was having with her family. Here she is with Aunt Cristina and Uncle Justin.

I think she liked the chocolate cake. :) Silly girl!

Yes, we got Layton dress up shoes and necklaces! That is what he likes to play with most at our house, plus it was payback for the princess vanity she got for her birthday. :)

Abigail celebrating! She is too cute and such a peanut!

One thing to say...

2011-03-25T00:11:00.003-04:00

Let's Go Butler!!! Gosh, I love this team! (Oh, and down with Duke!)

Picture from night of Final Four 2o10

Here SHE is...

2011-03-20T21:57:00.005-04:00

I think everyone who reads this blog already knows about the results of the ultrasound. It was wonderful to hear that we were having a healthy baby GIRL! Admittedly I was probably more surprised than Jeremy in the ultrasound room and had a harder time processing the news that we will have two girls in our house...two teenage girls! For some reason all I could think about was two teenagers even though that is sooo far away. Addie LOVES to get in the shop/garage and work with Jeremy so he doesn't feel like he has to have a boy since Addie is beginning to enjoy some of things Jeremy enjoys. Plus, Addie is a daddy's girl on most days and she has won his heart. He may be a pushover by the time the second girl comes into our lives. :) I was happy to hear that I will be able to use all of the girl clothes again I have been storing. Addie wanted a baby sister and was very excited to learn that she was indeed having a baby sister. I think every girl wants/has wanted a sister if they don't have one. I'm excited to see them grow up together.

Ultrasounds are such blessings! They are so fascinating! It was comforting to get a healthy report since so many medical conditions can be discovered from these. It was a huge sigh of relief for me and now it is all beginning to sink in that we are having another baby. My placenta is in the front again (just like Addison) so I don't feel as much movement or as strong of movement as other women would at this time (the doctor said it's like she is kicking a mattress), but I have definitely felt her kick. They are starting to get stronger. Last time I never felt any of the initial flutters (due to the placenta and it being the first time), but I have felt a little of those this time.

Now onto picking a a name...

Enjoy the pictures of our littlest princess!

This was too cute on the screen. I think she is telling her big sister that she is #1. Ha!

Love the profile shot!

It's a girl!

Three-year-old princess

2011-03-16T22:04:00.014-04:00

Wow, it's been quite some time since I have posted anything. Sorry! I work every weekend for our auditions in March so it's been hard to just keep up on normal things during this busy month. I am also trying to pay attention to my body and rest when I should instead of pushing through since I have very long days on my feet on the weekends and don't want to get swollen or wear myself out.

We can't believe our little girl is three!!! Some days I just look at her and wonder where the time went. Although she is soooo strong-willed, stubborn and independent, she is soooo loving, caring, smart and sweet! It's hard to imagine our lives before she was born because she brings us so much joy.

On her actual birthday we went to Addie's daycare to celebrate. We sang to her, ate cupcakes and hung out for a bit with the cute kids. We then did fun things as a family of three. We took her to Build-A-Bear, although that didn't go over as well as we thought (the stuffing machine was too loud and I think she had too much "celebrating" that day), and then we went out to eat. We then came home and Addie opened "Beauty and the Beast" DVD from us. She loves princess stuff...ugh...and we like to keep things simple since Lord knows she has enough stuff. We watched the DVD altogether that evening. Funny how many words I still remember. :) It was a great day!

All the kiddos singing "Happy Birthday!"

How cute are they?

I think she liked her cupcake! :) She can be a picky eater sometimes, but she sure does love her sweets!

One of her BFFs...Emma!

At Build-A-Bear giving her monkey a bath...

On Saturday our families came over to celebrate. Addie LOVED having her family all in one place. Of course she was spoiled rotten. It was awesome that David, Carrie and the boys could come to her party since they have only lived here since the fall. Apparently the whole month of February Dylan kept asking when it was going to be the end of the month so he could go to her party.

Addie doing Kameryn's hair

She hates the attention! HA!

Chocolate cake on a Disney princess plate...what more could a girl ask for?

Abigail flirting with Alex and Tiffany

Unwrapping a "Fancy Nancy" book. Leigh got her one of these for Christmas and she really likes it. She specifically asked my mom for one so that's what she got.

A "Tangled" doll from Honey and Papaw Randy

A pink Princess convertible from Papaw John and Mamaw... Gee, thanks! :)

And a Cinderella vanity from Anthony and Jenny. Once again, gee thanks! :) Here's the before...

He's such a great dad!

We're in TROUBLE!

We love you Addison Grace! You are three!

Annual Sleepover fun

2011-02-27T10:13:00.013-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Indy to spend time with some of our best friends and their kiddos. There are 7 kiddos (with one on the way, of course) between 4 couples. This time we stayed at the Callahan's house for the weekend for our annual sleepover. We went to the Children's Museum on Saturday and then just hung out around the house the rest of the time. Unfortunately Addie came down with a fever on Saturday so she wasn't 100%. Once the motrin kicked in she acted a little more like herself.

Playing at the Dora & Diego exhibit...

More fun with water

Who would have thought this girl would love the Barbie exhibit? (The boys went to the dinosaur exhibit while the girls did this.)

Addie and Olivia walking the runway with Brooke. Am I in trouble or what?

Playing with Barbies

My future fashion designer!

Ashley and Bryan and their crew in the choo-choo. I love witnessing all of the looks they get for having triplets! It's hilarious!

Two cute girls!

The kids played the Wii in the basement for a little bit. I love Garrett's expression here!

What you can't see is all of us piled in on the couches with each other's kids on our laps. That was the first thing Jeremy said to me on the way home, "Did you notice how everyone had someone else's kid on their lap when we were hanging out in the basement?" We truly love all of the kiddos!

Two sweet Sabelhaus boys

Trying to get a pajama shot with all 7 of them. It took a lot of takes!

Here's one of the best ones I got. :)

Girls with wild hair in the mornings

It was a wonderful weekend spending time with people we love so much, but don't get to see often. Can't wait until next year! (And in April when all of the adults are taking a roadtrip to Charleston, SC for Ann Marie's wedding. Should be interesting with these boys...I mean, men!)

Quick post...with belly pic

2011-02-24T22:39:00.002-05:00

My laptop crashed at the end of last week. We've had it for years. Jeremy has a laptop that he brings back and forth to work so I'm working on this computer for now. Unfortunately our router is messed up and I can hardly upload any pictures. Hang tight for now!

I was able to get a picture up of the bump. People are now rubbing my belly (people I know, not strangers...yet!) and people are looking at my eyes then at my belly and then back at my eyes. I forgot about all this happening. Below is a picture of me last Saturday at about 17 weeks. Yes, we are going to find out the sex and that is scheduled for March 7th. Not too much longer. I keep thinking about waiting to find out, but it definitely makes it easier. Jeremy really wants to find out too. Addie is still very excited to be a big sister. She says "Hi!" to the baby everyday and talks about all the things she wants to do for it. A few weeks ago when I walked in her room to get her in the morning she said, "Mommy, your belly is getting BIGGER!" Kids sure are honest! The other day we were eating muffins and I had two muffins on my plate. I told her I had two muffins to feed the baby and she responded, "Awww...that's really sweet!"

Speaking of Addie...she turns 3 tomorrow! CRAZY! Can't believe our sweet girl will be 3.

Stay tuned for more posts and pictures...hopefully! Next up is an update on our weekend trip to Indy with some of our best friends!

Interview with Addie

2011-02-08T21:11:00.003-05:00

Here's a recent interview with little miss thang. She definitely was showing off! Thought you would like to find out more about her from her.

(Tara--you'll like this one! :))

Thanks and updates

2011-02-03T21:44:00.007-05:00

Thanks to everyone for their sweet comments about baby #2. We're very excited and so is Addie. This morning I walked in to her bedroom and the first thing she said is "Mommy, your belly is getting bigger!" She has no clue how big I'll be. Ha! I'm 15 weeks on Friday and last weekend I already had a stranger ask me when I was due. Yikes, not a good sign for the summer! This pregnancy has been incredibly different then when I was pregnant with Addison. I've had hardly any symptoms! I know that is a good thing, but it is just so different and caused me concern the entire 1st trimester. I was pretty tired and hungry in December, but then again, it was December when everyone is tired and eats a lot. :) I've had some heartburn already (had a little bit with Addie at the end of the pregnancy), my complexion is different and I've still been a little tired. We will find out the sex and my ultrasound is scheduled for March 7th. That date will be here before we know it.

And for some updates...

A couple of weekends ago we watched Dylan and Dawson for a couple of hours. We had seen them in a while so Addie was very excited to see her cousins.

I swear everytime I see Dawson he looks so much older!

Addie and Jeremy made a tent in her room. She was climbing all over him under the tent.

These two love each other. (Addie's hair early in the morning is quite comical!)

Last Saturday it got in the 40s and 50s outside and it made it feel like early spring! Addie loved going out on her swing.

Love this sweet face!

Wild hair again

And for a walk around the block. Of course baby had to come along.

So nice to get outside!

Then we headed over to David and Carrie's house for dinner. Great day!

An announcement...

2011-01-20T20:03:00.003-05:00

I'm...

We are so thrilled to be welcoming a baby due July 29!!! Yeah, not great timing with my work, but there is only so much we can control in the world, right? Crazy to think I took this picture before Thanksgiving. The first trimester creeps by, but I know the next two will fly by! It was so much fun telling our families at Christmas. We're praying for a healthy baby everyday. We feel blessed beyond all measure!

Picture taken Wednesday night at almost 13 weeks. It's true when everyone says that the second time around you show sooner. I've been wearing bella bands for a couple of weeks and broke out a pair of maternity pants today.

This one is excited to be a BIG sister!!!

Right now she says she wants a baby sister, but I think this will change weekly or daily. It's funny because the other night she said "Mommy's baby is going to POP out! POP! Kinda like a bubble!" We'll see about that!

Fun in the snow!

2011-01-17T20:41:00.002-05:00

Last week we got a few inches of snow and were able to play in it for a bit.

Addie's favorite thing to do was play with the shovel. Maybe we can put her to work in a few years!

Sadie is now 10 years old, but you wouldn't know it when there is snow on the ground! She gets so frisky!

Addie loved throwing snowballs!

Jeremy trying to get Addie to sled. She didn't want anything to do with it this time. She was getting pretty cold.

Yummy, hot chocolate!

A little later Anthony, Jenny, Abigail and Layton came over. Layton and Addie were playing with a dry-erase marker and board. We weren't watching too close and look how it turned out.

Bath time came soon after! :)

New Year's Day...yeah, I am still behind

2011-01-13T20:21:00.006-05:00

We enjoyed a relaxing, long weekend for New Year's. I took off on Thursday because Addie's daycare was closed. We watched "The Princess and the Frog", played and relaxed. We hardly even got out of our pjs! It was awesome after the busy Christmas weekend.

Last picture of the tree before it came down. I was playing with my new camera. I can't wait to really learn how to use it!

Can you tell they love each other? So sweet!

On New Year's Day we went over to Jeremy's aunt's house with his extended family (it's big...well, much bigger than mine). The kids all played well together and the adults watched football and played cards. It was a fun time!

Showing off her bunny backpack. Too cute! Sure wish she was this sweet all the time! :)

Kissing cousins playing dress up!

She was in heaven playing dress up with all of the princess stuff at Vicki's house!

Babies everywhere! Jeremy's cousin, Jen, had a baby, Tyson, a couple of days before Christmas.

Showing Papaw her baby. Such a girl!

Josie (another cousin's daughter) with Abigail

Sweet Abigail! We compared pictures recently and Addison and Abigail have some similar features.

Kylie (yet another cousin's daughter...I told you his family is big) is so proud holding baby Tyson!

More kiddos...

Christmas Day

2011-01-10T21:43:00.004-05:00

I know I am behind on posts...oh well...

On Christmas evening my entire family got together at David and Carrie's house. They are insane! Their stuff arrived from Florida the week of Thanksgiving and they hosted about 18 people for dinner on Christmas. My aunt and uncle came in from Northern WV along with my cousin and his fiancee. They normally come to Louisville in mid-December. This was the first time that my entire family had been together on Christmas day in years! It was wonderful!

Trying to get a pose with the great grandkids with my grandmother that night. Addie was NOT cooperating. Too much holiday and not enough of a nap=meltdowns!

Bill came in from Pittsburgh with his fiancee, Lauren. They are so much fun and we hate only seeing them once a year.

One of her favorite gifts..."a princess pooter" (computer). She doesn't know how to play, but just pushes buttons.

Dylan trying on his new snow boots...he didn't have any while in Florida. :)

David opening their mirror from Jeremy

Uncle Jer and Dawson

Dawson jamming on his new guitar

Grandpa getting a turn...

Addie's turn. She'll kill me one day for this one!

Our Christmas fairy!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

2011-01-09T21:42:00.000-05:00

I don't have any Christmas Eve pictures (for now). I couldn't find my camera anywhere on Christmas Eve morning. I was really bummed about it. It all ended up being a part of Jeremy's scheme for my Christmas present...see below. I need to get the pics from Jenny's camera from Christmas Eve. We went over to Leigh's mom's house for an open house and then headed to church. Addie sang at the beginning of the service. I absolutely LOVE singing "Silent Night" by candlelight. It makes the amazement and glory of Christmas so real. It is always my favorite moment of the season. Addie's favorite book this month played "Silent Night" so she was really excited to sing along "for baby Jesus!". She kept trying to blow out the candles. It was pretty cute! We left the service with snow falling and it was beautiful! It doesn't get much better than that. We then headed to Jeremy's aunt and uncle's house for dinner and dessert. Addie was singing "Jingle Bells" over and over on the way to their house. I think she sensed the excitement. Santa (aka Anthony) came for a visit and handed out presents to all the kids and naughty gifts for some of the aunts, uncles and cousins. Some were pretty hilarious! My parents arrived late on Christmas Eve night.

Christmas morning was wonderful! Addie was so excited to see what Santa had brought her. Kids make the season even better! We were able to capture some of her excitement on video with our video camera, but I still didn't have my camera so I don't have many pictures from the morning. Soon after Jeremy "found" my camera in Addie's play kitchen. We opened presents and I saved the best for last. There was just a card under the tree for me from Jeremy. I opened it up and it told me to grab the camera and it would lead the way to my present (he had taken the pictures on Christmas Eve and he didn't want me to see them so that is why he hid the camera). He sent me on a scavenger hunt across the house using pictures with the camera. It eventually led to the shelf above his closet that had a Canon DSLR T1i camera!!! I was so spoiled! I did not know I was getting this and was completely floored because we don't usually spend a lot of money on each other for Christmas. I have wanted a nice camera for a long time, but could never justify it (if you know me I HATE to spend money). He bought it at a local camera shop and it comes with a free class. I hope to attend the class soon. I may even take some life-long learning classes at UofL on photography to learn even more about it. I was so excited and it was a Christmas morning I will always remember.

Enjoy the few pictures below. I'll post more from that afternoon. Sorry for the lengthy post...it is more for me to remember/document.

Opening presents Christmas morning

The only thing she asked for was "The Princess and the Frog" and "presents". She was super excited!

Jeremy made my mom & dad and David & Carrie both mirrors out of cherry for Christmas. My mom's checking it out.

Hooray for my new camera! I can't wait to learn how to use it! I love photography!

Christmas #1 and #2

2011-01-05T20:51:00.009-05:00

We celebrated Christmas with Jeremy's side of the family the weekend before Christmas. Great times!

Christmas #1 at Papaw John and Mamaw's house

Kameryn holding Abigail

The 5 grandkids before opening presents. Are they excited or what?

Papaw reading "The Night Before Christmas"

Her first Barbie...do you think she liked it?

"Painting"

Layton loved his tractor and gator!

Along with Jenny and Anthony, we got Kameryn the Michael Jackson Wii game. It was a BIG hit for all!

Addie loving on Abigail

Dancing to Michael Jackson

Christmas #2 at Honey and Papaw Randy's House

Honey brought out all of the Barbie stuff now that she knew Addie liked Barbies. Addie's favorite thing to do is play with Barbie's hair.

Addie got a Princess Castle from Honey and Papaw Randy. Our house is getting taken over by Disney Princess stuff and we did NOT introduce her to all of them! The things kids just pick up!

We did a Dirty Santa/White Elephant gift exchange with all of the adults. There were some GREAT gifts! Here is Justin opening up his gift...a certificate for the Jelly of the Month Club along with 12 jars of jelly. "It's the gift that keeps on giving, Clark!" :)

Jeremy got this HOT pair of Superman underwear! :)

It was a great weekend with family with lots of laughs!

Jingle Bells

2011-01-04T21:50:00.006-05:00

In mid-December Addie's daycare had a Christmas party. The kids sang a few songs and I posted one below. They have a Spanish teacher at her daycare and she has learned a lot from her. The kids learned Jingle Bells in English and Spanish. Some days it is hard being away from her (although I know I could never stay home 5 days a week!), but it is nice to know she is at a place where she learns, loves to play and has wonderful teachers and friends!

Jingle Bells in English and Spanish from all of the kids. Addie clearly likes to dance while she sings! :)

Here's Addie singing it in Spanish.

When did she get to be so old???

Mid-December festivities

2011-01-01T08:46:00.002-05:00

In mid-December Addie and I met Jenny and Layton at Breakfast with Santa in The Summit. Addie did really well when Santa came around to every table when he first arrived. When it was time to sit on his lap she FREAKED! I have two awesome photos from our attempt of sitting on his lap that I will have to scan and post on here. Hilarious!

Eating breakfast and making her list...

Evidence that she did great initially...

Making ornaments before sitting on Santa's lap

Sitting on Santa's sleigh in The Summit

We are loving having David and Carrie and the boys in town! It is great to spend random nights with them. Addie adores her cousins. That night David and Carrie watched her why we went to a Tacky Christmas party.

The Tacky Christmas party was at Blake and Tracy's house. Jeremy's shirt says "What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe" and he rigged up a mistletoe over his head. I love how creative he can be!

Catie was Cindy Lou Whoo and her hair was awesome!

All of the girls...with Derek (who was kinda like a Pat that night). Ha!

All of the guys. We all looked so hot!

Early December...catching up

2010-12-29T20:47:00.006-05:00

Shew! Christmas has come and gone! I am still recuperating from the marathon month...and so is the blog. We were blessed with wonderful times with family and friends. I'll blog a lot over the next few days to get caught up on this month's activities. Enjoy some pictures from early December.

We got family pictures taken (mostly because of the grandkids) for Jeremy's family to give as presents for Christmas. Here are a few...

My aunt and uncle got Addie this nativity set last year and she played with it all month long. She talked about Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus non-stop.

Heading out to get our Christmas tree in early December...

We went to Home Depot while it was snowing. Nothing glamorous, but here's what we picked out. Addie kept saying "It's too big!" so we let her get a little tree to put on the countertop. :)

And the finished product...

Stay tuned for more...

Angel Band

2010-12-07T20:07:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday Addie sang again with Melody Makers. Check out little miss thang. She's the one with the big hair shaking her hips! :) Here's the Angel Band song...

Can you tell she loves it? We knew we had a drama queen on our hands since Day 1! :)

Kalightoscope

2010-12-04T21:35:00.002-05:00

I got free tickets to Kalightoscope, a new holiday feature in Louisville. The attraction is full of large lighted sculptures inspired by Chinese art. We went to it a few weeks ago and it was great to kick-off the holiday season.

At the entrance...

In front of the Derby/local section

We are LOVING the beautiful snow! Not too much here, but enough to make it so pretty! I had to work some today so Jeremy played with Addie in the snow (of course no pictures). We got our tree this morning and we'll decorate it tomorrow. I love the Christmas season!

My Blessing: Like father, like daughter

2010-11-26T21:23:00.004-05:00

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We enjoyed time with family and eating lots of fabulous food. We're enjoying a lazy day today after hosting family at our house. We have so much to be thankful for this year and always! We are blessed beyond all measure! Thanks be to God!

One of the things I am most thankful for is a beautiful, healthy daughter and a wonderful, loving husband that is an amazing father! Addie definitely has times when she is all about mommy, but she ADORES her dad. So much so that she wants to be just like him some days.

Here Addie is working in the shop with Jeremy in the morning. He built her a little work bench so she can go out there (when it is safe) and "build" things.

Addie is laying right next to her dad watching a woodworking show. Notice how her baby is right in between them. She has tom-boy features, but definitely is all girl! Ha!

Here's a video of Addie "helping" in the shop...

May we all remember how blessed we are, especially in this country, and continue the spirit of gratitude into the advent season!

Introducing Abigail Emory...

2010-11-22T22:22:00.004-05:00

Our new niece arrived on Nov. 4th at 2:53 p.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 inches. It was a surprise what they were having, but both Anthony and Jenny were thinking girl. We went to the hospital a few hours after she was born. On the way to the hospital Addie kept saying she was going to "change her diapers, feed her a bottle and put her night-night". When we got there Addie was fascinated with the little baby, but wasn't quite ready to tackle all of those tasks. She was really gentle with Abigail. I am so excited to pass down so many of Addie's clothes. Bring on the pink!

So happy to see "Aunt Jen Jen" (Addie) and "Mommy" (Layton)

Putting hats on Abigail...

Mommy and new baby! This mom is SUPERMOM! The day after she got home from the hospital Jen was running errands and two days later took Layton, Addie and Abigail to the zoo with Anthony. Her recovery has been insane...so wonderful for her! I joked with Jen telling her I wanted whatever superpill she had!

October catch-up

2010-11-15T22:26:00.004-05:00

I've been really busy at work, traveling on the weekends, so I haven't blogged too much. Below are miscellaneous pictures from the month of October...

We went to a costume party with our Sunday School class in early Oct. The Rolings just had a baby in August and were bringing Nathan along. We decided to incorporate Nathan into our costumes so we went as characters from "The Hangover" movie. Jeremy was Stu, the dentist that was missing a tooth, and I was the baby mama/stripper, a little bit of a stretch, but it was still fun! What do you think?

All of the guys...

All of the gals...

A trip to the zoo in early October with Layton. Too cute holding hands!

The zoo was getting ready for boo at the zoo so Addie and Layton had to greet Elmo.

One of my good friends from high school, Robyn, had a baby girl in August. Robyn lives in L.A. and was in town for a couple of weeks with little Lola. The four of us girlfriends got together for dinner and we all got to love on Lola. Doesn't Robyn look great?

With the high school girls along with Emma and Lola! Beautiful! (Addie and Dane stayed home so we could stay longer.)

Halloween morning after church. Addie proud of her jack-o-lantern again.

I think she looks so old here! :(

I think she was pretending to fly here. Such a ham!

Stay tuned...pictures to come of our new niece, Abigail Emory!!!

Over the river and through the woods...

2010-11-07T16:01:00.002-05:00

to Grammy and Grandpa's house we go. A couple of weekends ago we finally got up to Bloomfield, IN to visit my parents. It was great to spend some time with them and meet their new puppy Chrissy. My camera died so I didn't get a lot of pictures. It was a great visit and we wish we could see them more often.

My mom, Addie, Chrissy and I walked down the street to the town park while Jeremy and my dad went fishing. Apparently they caught a TON of fish, yet there are no pictures to prove it. Hmmm...do we believe them? :)

In the afternoon we went to a local pumpkin patch and family farm. Addie is enjoying popcorn waiting for the tractor to take us to the patch...

Looking for pumpkins with Grandpa...

Addie wanted a green pumpkin this time and my mom wanted one with lots of warts. We like to be different! :)

We then headed to an Amish restaurant and over indulged ourselves on food. The restaurant was on this beautiful lake.

Addie and Jeremy going to throw rocks...

I wish this picture wasn't blurry! Love it!

Fall fun with family

2010-11-02T21:16:00.004-04:00

I love that David and his family have moved to Louisville because of moments like these! They came over Saturday night and Carrie made us jambalaya and then we carved pumpkins. We actually have never carved pumpkins with Addie before because of her age. Dylan and Addie were very into it. Addie adores Dylan and constantly is laughing at everything he does.

Addie designing her pumpkin's face

The beginning of Dylan's jack-0-lantern... :)

Addie's design (with a little help from her dad)! Too cute!

Posing with their jack-o-lanterns! So proud!

Maybe next year Dawson will participate

Addie's all lit up (sorry, the setting messed up)

On Sunday Jeremy and I watched Dylan and Dawson while David and Carrie went to the UofL game in the new arena. I made sugar cookies with the oldest two. Dylan has his shirt off because he fell off our swing, busted his lip and had to get his shirt washed. I promise we are good parents and a good aunt and uncle! Ha!

After naptime...can you tell? Ha!

What a fun, fall weekend with family!

Happy Halloween!

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Little Miss Tinkerbell went trick-or-treating with the monkey...aka her cousin Layton! They both did a great job and had lots of fun. I loved seeing all of the kiddos in the neighborhood dressed up. It is such a great holiday! Addie loved being Tinkerbell (don't mistake her for anything else or she'll correct you) and the best part was that I borrowed the costume from a friend. Score! The photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Ending the night trick-or-treating at Jenny and Anthony's house with Jenny's dad

Reaping the rewards...

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We had such an AWESOME weekend! Lots of blog posts to follow!