Friday, July 10, 2009

Christmas Pics and misc.



You have to love getting a good Christmas picture for your cards...I think we dressed up at least four or five days before getting one this year.

We went through all kinds of scenarios...horizontal vs. vertical? One photo or two since they weren't cooperating together? Fruit chews for bribery...a promised trip to WalMart- there is not much I'm not willing to consider. But getting two small children to be happy at the same time is not an easy feat!

(Notice the one of Hannah at her breaking point! The last pic was the keeper.)


The next pic is just a sweet one of Caroline right before she got her big haircut for Christmas...can't believe how much it had grown!




The last pic is pure Hannah...she decided that her favorite new accessory is her 'crown'....aka mommy's headband.

Birthdays, Christening and Vacation!!








Wow, November is a busy month! First of all, there are five family birthdays this month (mine, John Clay, Mr. Johnny, Memaw and Papaw)...add into that Webber's christening this year, a trip to Disney and Thanksgiving and we were going all month long! It has been so much fun though.


John Clay had a Cars birthday party at the park in Collierville...it was very windy (and a little cold) but the kids had a blast.
They had a really nice playground- and of course the car pinata was great....although Clay finally had to break it. I think those things are made of concrete!
Then the next day we all went to church together for Webber's christening. He looked so sweet...afterwards we attempted pics with all the grandkids. Can't say we were really successful, but it is highly entertaining to watch! John Clay had gotten a wooden playset in their backyard for his birthday so the only thing on their minds really was "When do we get to slide?!"



After coming home for about a week or so, we dropped Hannah off with my parents (and then Chris's parents) and headed to Disney World with Caroline. Her first time- we were all so excited. I was a little nervous about driving, but she is a great traveler. We were kind of shocked though...she normally sleeps in the car for hours on a long trip and I think she only slept maybe one either way!
On the way down, we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for dinner and as her dessert she got to pick out one of those enormous lollipops that she has always asked for...and we had always said no. So loaded up on sugar and watching her 'little tv' as she calls it, we were good to go. We spent the night at a Hampton Inn in Lake City, FL...about and hour and a half away from Disney. We got to our resort, All Star Movies, around lunch the next day and after checking in and grabbing a bite to eat, we hit Magic Kingdom.
The first hour really described the theme of our entire trip...we immediately caught a parade which Caroline loved, but freaked out if any character other than a princess came within 50 feet of her...and then we took her to the Barnstormer roller coaster, not really sure what to expect, and she loved it! She rode every ride she was tall enough to ride at every park...but never warmed up to any characters. We went back to Magic Kingdom the next day. Then spent a day at Epcot- we felt really cool there because we got to be VIP at the Spaceship Earth exhibit since it is sponsored by Siemens. We got to go up into a special lounge area where they had a couple of cool things like a picture wall where they uploaded a pic from my camera card that will stay there showing our visit and a floor that would change colors based off of what color you selected off of a laptop...Caroline thought that was really cool.
Then they took us through this door and we got to ride the ride with no wait..we were even in front of the FastPass people. The next day was MGM- not quite as much to do there, but loved the Beauty and the Beast show and I loved the Areosmith roller coaster. Caroline had so much fun and as we were driving home on Sunday she was already asking how much longer before we got to come back?!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Something from Labor Day I forgot...



Well, since I still haven't figured out how to go back and reassign an order (or old dates to an entry) I am just going to go ahead and throw this in...I remembered two events we really enjoyed around Labor Day when Jennifer, John Clay and Webber came for a visit. Actually John Clay came down first by himself to spend a few days with Nana and Poppy. And we all went to the zoo. It was fun, Caroline had been once before with school, but Hannah had never been. They all had a great time watching the animals, but the otters were by far the biggest hit. They were very cute and highly entertaining! The other thing they seemed to think was hilarious that I must admit went over my head was to lean over these large rocks and yell at the fish in the fish pond. I guess whatever works...I did get some cute pictures out of it!

A couple of days later after Jennifer came down, she and I took just Caroline and John Clay to the water park. They had such and good time and COMPLETELY wore themselves out! Caroline has really turned a corner this year with swimming. I think something just finally clicked. Last summer she wouldn't really put her head down to swim and she kept sinking.
But this year, we found a pair of goggles that she likes and that seems to have made a huge difference. We took lessons from Ms. Alicia both years, but at the end of the session this summer she was jumping off the diving board into the water by herself and swimming to the side...we were SO impressed! Yeah Caroline!!

Fall is here- kind of...


The weather here never ceases to amaze me...the temperature changes are enough to do anybody in! Regardless, we have enjoyed September and October with all that the season brings.

Caroline got to experience her first State football game. She had a blast, waving her pompoms almost the entire time...she was going strong through tailgating, walking around and getting ice cream, (did NOT want her face painted- even by Anna Crain, her cousin) and through the first three quarters of the game.

By the fourth quarter though she was about done for (and so was our team) so she and I headed to the car to wait for Daddy.

October was filled with a trip to the pumpkin patch for Caroline and trick-or-treating for both of the girls. Caroline had fun picking out the largest pumpkin she could find- and I think she succeeded!
Then her class had a chance to play on the rope swings and go through the hay maze. She was worn out- I love the pic of her drinking her pumpkin juice (AKA orange Kool-Aid) and her friend James looking at her in amazement.

For Halloween, we recycled the ballet recital costume we wore in May for Caroline and managed to convince her that she was Princess Jasmine. So glad we got a little more out of that $50 or $60. Hannah wore the costume Caroline has worn for the last two years (a fairy) so we were really doing good budget wise then! Both of them looked sweet though and really got into the whole candy thing. Halloween night it was freezing though, so we tried to make it as short and sweet as we could... we went to Memaw and Papaw's house, Nana and Poppy and then the culdesac behind our house. Wow, people give out way more candy per house than when I used to trick or treat! Their bags were bulging from just that- and Hannah wanted NO help with her bag...would carry it all by herself, thank you very much! Two Miss Independents!

Back to School



Both of the girls started a new school this year. I was a little anxious, about Caroline making new friends- and about Hannah going three days a week. I really wanted Hannah to only go on Tuesdays and Thursdays her first year, but we couldn't get in that session.

Anyway, Caroline loves Ms. Paige and Hannah has done great too- after her initial terror of the carpool line. I can imagine for a 20-month of it is a little traumatic to have someone come and take you out of your mommy's car and walk off into a building with you! But after a week or so, she became an old pro!


Hannah loves trying to carry her backpack like her big sister... in the pic of her first day she is actually wearing the same outfit that Caroline wore on her first day of MMO several years ago... poor Caroline's cute little backpack was done at the monogrammer's in time, so she carried her one from a couple of years ago that is SO stained from spilled sippee cups, but my sweet girl didn't even notice...how many times do I need a little of her perspective?

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Summer Fun

We took a Saturday in June to head to the lake for a family picnic. Hannah's first. It was hot, but we had a great time. I cheated a little and we picked up sandwiches at Subway and then hit the road. While we were there, Chris and Caroline walked down to watch the boats while Hannah and I guarded the food- her favorite past time! We even took Sadie so that she could enjoy the sun.

I was a little worried the summer might drag being just the three of us day after day during the week- I was so wrong. It flew. The girls really have so much fun together now. They love to sing and play 'chase' with each other.
I am so blessed. Although both can be a little stubborn, they have such sweet, loving spirits.

Friday, October 10, 2008

The first recital and a few other miscellaneous events...





My little ballerina! Caroline had a lot of fun taking ballet with Ms. Jessica thru Ballet Magnificant. They came to actually do the class at Pinelake which made things easy....
Her recital was in May, and it was definitely the highlight of the year. I was kind of wondering if she would get into it because she can be pretty shy and not really girly-girly. She proved me wrong (one day I'll learn to quit predicting)! Putting on the makeup was definitely at the top of her list, but she also became this different little person out on stage. Jumping and twisting and laughing with all of her friends, it was so much fun to watch. Not to mention hysterical...I think we all had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard.

The theme of the recital was Celebrating Jesus around the World. Caroline's class were representative of the Middle East. That sort of went over their heads though....they were just excited because they got to dress up like Princess Jasmine. Her little friend that she is standing next to in the group shot is Hadley.



The next pic cracks me up...I took it at Caroline's class picnic in May. All the moms were sitting around talking and I looked up and had to laugh- Look, my daughter is riding in a car with a boy! I had to capture the moment for her daddy to enjoy.



The next couple of shots are just everyday recent life with my sweet girls...Caroline has started 'reading' to Hannah (who actually sits and listens for the most part). The only problem is that Hannah likes to speed the story up every now and then.....

and then we have Caroline with one of her favorite gifts she got from a friend at her birthday party- a pair of Princess skates....

We had a new addition to our extended family in May. Jennifer had her second little boy, Webber. This is a pic of Caroline holding him- it's kind of funny, I think she is really going to be great with kids. Almost all babies really seem to respond to her (positively). They were carrying on their own little conversation....

whenever we go over to Chris's parents (Nana & Poppy) the girls have their own mini toy chest under TV in the living room. The other day they got really enthusiastic and decided to forgo pulling the toys out of the cabinet, and just join them instead!


The next pic is of Caroline with her cousin Matt, who at age 6, appears to be teaching her how to hold and shoot a gun!


And last, I think this is such a sweet image of my girls. They fuss and steal each others toys, but at the end of the day, they love each other so much. I am so thankful to God for the miracles of these babies. My life is so richly blessed by them.