The Gulley Gab

This Moment

2012-02-10T12:38:00.004-05:00

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Via Soula Mama

The Ups and Downs of Parenthood

2011-10-17T20:18:00.004-04:00

Parenthood is full of ups and downs, and this month has been no exception for us! Daniel and Lauren are at such a fun stage right now! They are walking, climbing, and discovering the world around them faster than I can blink my eyes. They are also very, very curious, which is why Lauren just about busted her head open a month ago by pulling a table over onto herself (giant gooseegg to scare mommy to the point of calling daddy home from work!).

It's also why Daniel's hand got eaten by the vacuum cleaner on Friday morning. Why, do you ask, was I vacuuming on Friday morning, at 7:00 a.m., mind you? That seems to be the first thing the nurses at the emergency room wanted to know ;-) 7:00 a.m. used to be the time of day that the floor was not yet covered in toys and other debris, and the children were all content to watch cartoons or otherwise occupy themselves while I quickly vacuumed. Ha! Not anymore! Now all they want to do is touch the vacuum, push the vacuum, pretend the cord is a necklace, and I guess even see what it is like to be a speck of dirt on the floor and travel into the vacuum. So our Friday morning started out like any other. The kids got up, had a bottle (yes, still having a bottle), and started to watch cartoons while I vacuumed. This time, however, things went horribly wrong and a few minutes later, there I was, waking Jeremy up with a loud, "Jeremy, I just vacuumed Daniel's hand!" Then he took a look and had a few choice words that I can't write on this blog. Then he was waking Sarah up with a "Sarah, it's time to get up. Put these clothes on. We've got to take Daniel to the doctor NOW." That's how we found ourselves eating popsicles in the pediatric emergency room at the hospital at 7:45 in the morning. What a way to start the day!

I would really, really, appreciate a re-do on Friday morning. Basically, I feel totally responsible for what happened to Daniel's tiny little hand, and it is really tearing me up thinking about how much pain he was in and continues to be in (hopefully not too much anymore, but it still pains me greatly to look at it, and I'm not really that squeamish of a person). Since I obviously don't get a re-do, I'll just move on, having learned my lesson. All vacuuming of the downstairs will now happen at night, after the kids are in bed, whether it disturbs their sleep or not. Better to have a few minutes of disturbed sleep than a few less fingers!

In spite of all the craziness here over the last month (Lauren's goosegg followed by colds for all three children, ear infections for the twins, allergy testing for Lauren, dentist visits for all, hand surgeon visit for Daniel (for what is, at this moment, now his 'good hand'), the worst two cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease I've ever dealt with (ok, the only two cases period I've ever dealt with), and who knows what all else, we have managed to have a lot of fun. How can you not have fun with these three cuties?

Finally, I owe a BIG thank-you to Nana, Mimi, and PawPaw. Nana saved the day last weekend by giving me back some of my sanity (I mean, it was like Mary Poppins showed up here!), and Mimi and PawPaw then came to visit this weekend and were put to work playing with and entertaining the kids so I could get some much needed errands and "to-do's" done. If the grandparents don't think I'm totally crazy by now, then I am surprised! All of this drama with the kids is making me pretty dramatic myself!

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday!

2011-08-31T18:50:00.004-04:00

I know, I know, it's a little overdue, but Happy First Birthday Daniel and Happy First Birthday Lauren! It's hard to believe they are one year old already, and it's hard to believe all that has happened in our lives in the past year. One year ago today we had two-week old twins and closed on a house, loaded everything up, and moved across town. What.A.Weekend! It took a village to get everyone and everything from point A to point B in one piece. I remember it like it was yesterday! But then everything becomes a blur for the next several months....

Continuing thanks to everyone who got us to where we are today!

We had a pretty low-key birthday party for Daniel and Lauren at the house. We decided it would be more fun if we kept it simple, and it was! Nana and Papa, Mimi and PawPaw, Aunt Mary and Uncle David, and Almost-Uncle Jake (he's marrying my sister someday!)enjoyed some food, cake, and outside play time. My so so sweet seamstress neighbor made (yes, made, by hand!) birthday outfits for Daniel and Lauren, so they wore them for the party. Ms. Lisa and her sister even came by for some cake and to share in the festivities :-)

Aside from partying, we've been keeping pretty busy with the routine. I am much more of a schedule-follower this time around than I was with Sarah, I think due to necessity and to keep my sanity with two little bodies toddling around all day. I can count on one hand the number of days Daniel and Lauren have missed a nap time, and I think I'll keep it that way for awhile! Finally, finally (Praise God!) we have a consistent nap routine that includes 2 one-hour naps (approximately) and almost 12 hours of sleep at night!

So tomorrow they'll skip a nap...or two...because....Daniel and Lauren are starting Mom's Morning Out at our church! Ok, so they're really only going once or twice a month, but this is big for us! :-) They do a great job in the church nursery on Sundays, so I am confident they'll do great at MMO, too, and I will really enjoy a few hours a month to do some window shopping (ahem) and maybe even sit and read a good book on my patio, which I've been waiting to do for a year.

Finally, I'm sure you want an update on the "milestones" that Daniel and Lauren are meeting:-)

At one year, Lauren...
- is walking! Actually, she started walking just shy of 11 months. She is always, always, looking to get into something
- has 5 teeth and one more on the way
- eats just about anything but has changed her mind about cheese, a previous favorite
- loves, I mean LOVES, her bottle. The fits she has each morning while waiting for me to fix it are absolutely ridiculous, and if this continues, she will be taking a warmed bottle with her to college ;-)
- says "Dadeee", "Mama", and "Hi" and signs "more"
- is very, very social, and always needs to know that you are right there if she needs you
- loves cats, which is good, because we have about 10 of them roaming our coul-de-sac and patio at all hours of the day
- does NOT like getting into her car seat, but she does fine once we start moving
- does NOT like getting dressed or having her diaper changed

At one year, Daniel...
- is walking! Sort of. He takes about 5 steps at a time now and the proud look on his face when he does it is priceless!
- has 3 teeth and no more on the way that I can see yet
- eats everything and does it so fast you wonder where it all went when you turn around
- likes trying to climb out of his hair chair and up all over the toys
- is a mellow guy unless someone hurts his feelings, and then he can be as dramatic as his sisters
- says "Mama" (especially when he's tired or upset). He also loves blowing raspberries :-)
- loves to push, throw, and otherwise propel toys across the floor of a room and follow them around- he is such a boy!
- does NOT like getting his diaper changed or getting dressed (picture some major wrestling moves going on between mommy and Daniel during these times)

It's amazing the boy/girl differences that are already apparent at such a young age, and when I have tried (semi-consciously) not to steer them towards specific boy/girl toys or activities...

Enjoy the pictures from their birthday! On Monday of this week we met with our photographer Michaele at the park for the last of the baby photo sessions, so hopefully I will have some more adorable pictures to post soon!

Not Me! Monday

2011-08-14T18:58:00.008-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. I'm not even sure if she still does it, but I sure need to this week :-)

I started trying to post these last year, but then I kept forgetting. However, I seem to have not done too many things this past week:

I most certainly did not find Daniel like this on Friday:

I would never have left him unattended in his high chair for even one second while I took Lauren to look at a cat out the window. I especially would never, ever do that without strapping him in. Finally, if I did see him in that predicament, I would certainly not stop to take a picture before lowering him to safety. No, not me!

Also this week, I definitely did not potentially expose maybe 20 kids, or so, to a virus that my kids (yes, all three kids now) have had. I would really not invite other children into my home to play with germ-infested toys. No, not me! (*disclaimer---I really did think we were in the clear! Ooops! Sorry!!!*)

And....I would never make 40 some odd visit to the pediatrician in less than a year. Even if I did, I would not call them three times on more than one occasion just to get one sick visit scheduled, and rescheduled, and rescheduled...

While I'm on a roll, I would not keep two toddlers in the shoe store for over an hour just to find the perfect pair of shoes. Will they even wear them? After not keeping them in the store that long, I would certainly not decide to just skip giving them lunch and put them straight to bed with just a bottle. I mean, these are growing, hungry babies! After they went to sleep, I did not just eat ice cream for my own lunch because it was easy (and tasty!). Nope, not me!

Last, but certainly not least, I would never jump for joy at the thought of my little bitty 4-year old being gone to school for 6 1/2 hours per day. I mean, that's really a long time for a kid, right? Not me!

As you can see, I didn't do a lot of things this week. How about you? I'd love to hear your stories!

She did What?!?!

2011-08-10T20:05:00.002-04:00

So apparently I'm getting old, and so is Sarah. Sarah had her first day of Georgia Pre-K on Monday! No matter how hard I try, my mind cannot figure out how Sarah, my little baby, is as "big" as the kids I taught for GA Pre-K. Those kids seemed so mature to me (in most ways, immature in others!), but Sarah still seems so, well, little. At any rate, she is old enough to go to GA Pre-K, and so that's what she's doing this year. I am very, very excited for her, because I know how much fun "stuff" gets crammed into those Pre-K days, and I know how much "stuff" she's going to be learning and doing this year. Her teachers seem super nice, and are so qualified. Both are certified teachers! She's going to get to do so many great things there, including going on lots and lots of field trips. So far, here is what she has done (in her own words):

"tried to take a long rest, but it just didn't work"
"played those instruments that go together like this (cymbals)"
"they had the 'basagna' that I didn't like (cheese ravioli), so I didn't eat it"

And she is very, very excited to play with the "mushy mashy stuff" (floam), but I don't think she's gotten to chance to dig her hands into it yet :-)

Baby Portrait Session #3

2011-07-16T05:58:00.004-04:00

We just had our third portrait session for Daniel and Lauren's 4-session baby package. It is so much fun to have someone come to our house and take pictures. It sure does save me some stress!

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

2011-07-11T10:07:00.008-04:00

Wow, where has the time gone? Is it really almost the middle of July, and is August really just around the corner? If I don't hurry with this update soon, Daniel and Lauren will be having their birthday and I won't have even covered Sarah's 4th birthday on here yet! That's right, folks, Sarah turned 4 a few weeks ago! Happy 4th birthday (a little late) to my sweet, sweet Sarah. Sarah, you are pure joy (most of the time) to have around, and daddy and I are so grateful that we get to have you for our oldest and first girl. You will always be my princess, and my baby Sarah, no matter how big you get :-) Enjoy these pictures from Sarah's Minnie Mouse birthday party!

This is sort of backtracking, but at the end of May we took our first family trip to Disney World! Thanks to Mimi and Paw Paw, we had a fantastic condo to stay in with a fabulous pool (which the kids would have gladly spent the whole week in, hanging out under the water fountains). Jeremy and I were able to take Sarah to the Magic Kingdom for two days and spend some individual time with her, which was really special. We also took the whole crew to Animal Kingdom one day, and everyone did so much better than I expected! What a fun week!

And we can't forget the 4th of July! We went to a pool party at my parents' pool, and then we came back home and took it easy for the evening. No fireworks this year, but maybe we'll give it a try next year! Happy Birthday America :-)

Hoarders meets My Strange Addiction

2011-07-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

If my calculations are correct, then by the time they turn one, Daniel and Lauren will have used approximately 5,000 diapers. That is a LOT of diapers, in my opinion (not to mention a lot of changing, wipes, diaper genie refills, etc.). How long do you think this stash will last us?

I can't stop buying diapers! Knowing that we will eventually use them, and taking into account my new ~~hobby~~ addiction to finding great deals, I just can't stop buying buying buying! I just hope I really am getting great deals and not only hoarding diapers. At any rate, I've just about run out of room so it's time for a diaper break for awhile. I'll pick back up in a few months...

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-07T21:33:00.005-04:00

Someone shared this poem with me at a church play group and I have been thinking about it this week in anticipation of Mother's Day. I am so blessed to have three beautiful, precious children to love on every day! Hopefully more frequent blog posts will follow soon---I have a lot of ideas (and copycat ideas) in my head, I just need to find time to get them on here! The pictures you see here are from our fun session at Portrait Innovations this morning--first time trying to get professional pictures of all three kids. They did fabulous!

Loving Jesus

I started my day early,
Before the room was light.
I lifted my son from his crib
And wished it was still night.
But as I held him close and said,
"Hi, Kenneth, precious one,"
I knew that as I greeted him,
I greeted too God's Son.

When my daughter woke up later,
Calling, "Mommy! Mommy! Down!"
I picked her up and hugged her
In her worn Elmo nightgown.
I know she felt the closeness
That a mother's touch affords.
I welcomed not just Ellie,
But so, too, the Lord of Lords.

That day, I mixed some formula
And opened jars of peas.
I fixed some "pizza butter" bread
When she grinned and said, "Pleeeeease."
I heated up some leftovers;
I had to nuke them twice.
And when I fed my children,
I was feeding Jesus Christ.

I made some funny faces,
And "played puzzles" on the floor.
I dressed kitties, ran around outside,
And played with them some more.
We laughed and jumped and tickled,
Making memories to be stored.
When I spent time with my children,
I spent time with my Lord.

I wiped up sticky cereal
And washed the dishes clean.
I straightened, picked up, put away,
And dusted in between.
I did six loads of laundry
And folded it like new.
When I cleaned for my children,
I cleaned for my Savior, too.

When my children were both crying,
I held them in my arms.
I cuddled them and whispered
That I'd keep them safe from harm.
I told them how their Father saved them
With His perfect Lamb.
When I comforted my children,
I comforted I AM.

Later on that evening,
I put them in the bath.
I washed their little bodies
As they kicked around and splashed.
I dried them in soft towels
And put their jammies on.
When I had washed my children's feet,
I'd washed the Holy One.

I cooked and cleaned and rearranged,
Made beds and taught and played.
I made sure that we had food to eat
And that we often prayed.
I died to self. I made a home
From ordinary things.
But when I served my children,
I served the King of Kings.

To some, I have done nothing,
But to two, I've done the world.
I made eternal difference
To my precious boy and girl,
And to the One who watches over
Every pathway that I've trod.
For when I've loved my precious children,
I've loved Almighty God.

~Megan Breedlove

8 Months Already?!?!?!

2011-05-02T19:39:00.008-04:00

I just realized today that, for real, Daniel and Lauren are 8 months old! Where did the last 8 months go? I mean, between the feedings, diaper changes, tear wiping, bathing, dressing, fight refereeing (yes, even infants fight with each other and their big sister apparently), and snuggling, I just can't imagine what happened to all that time! Time flies when you're having fun, I guess :-) As much work as they are, having twins is definitely "fun" in my book---I live and thrive on work and stress (yes, really), and without it, I create it anyway. I think that's why God blessed this family with twins---He knew it would suit me just fine. It ain't always pretty, but it's always pretty busy! There's never a dull moment over here!

Last week, we had our local photographer, Michaele, come to our house to take some pictures of Daniel and Lauren. This is the second session in the four-session "first year baby plan" that we are doing. The weather was perfect, so we got to do most of the pictures out in the yard, and it was tons of fun (tons of sweat, too!). Daniel and Lauren both put on their best smiles, just not at the same time. We got tons of cute pictures of them individually and a few cute ones of them together. Here are some of my favorites:

In case you've been wondering what milestones Daniel and Lauren have achieved, here is an update:

At 8 months, Daniel...
*weighs 20 lbs, 5 oz.!
*is a ball of fun, fun, fun
*likes to sleep, but
*likes to wake up and try to play/test out his vocal chords around 5 am sometimes...
*loves drinking a bottle and doing huge burps afterwards
*tolerates baby food but really would rather eat finger foods
*is very good at drinking water from a sippy cup when he wants to
*can sit by himself and is just about to crawl
*still has no teeth and is working very diligently to grow them by chewing on everything
*has a giggle that will melt your heart

At 8 months, Lauren...
*weighs 17 lbs., 8 oz.
*is a ball of energy (sometimes fun, sometimes sad, sometimes loud, sometimes silly, but always lots and lots of energy)--she puts her whole heart into everything she does and is going to wear her heart on her sleeve for sure
*does not like drinking a bottle anymore
*loves eating any kind of solid food put near her (even ice cream--shhh!)
*can sit by herself and is just about to crawl
*still has no teeth, which is good, because her gummy smile and the facial expressions that go with is are priceless

Have I mentioned that I love my kids? Let's not forget Sarah, either.

At almost 4 years, Sarah...
*is just about the best mommy's helper I could ask for
*loves baby dolls, birds, cats and pretend play that involves all of those things
*lights up when she sees her friends outside playing and can't wait to join them
*can be quite impatient sometimes (but, really, she's 3!)
*can walk but falls and gets a boo-boo almost every time she plays outside (she has her daddy's clumsiness, I think)
*sleeps (finally!) all night, usually, and does so ~~tucked in nicely in her comfortable big girl bed~~ on a beach towel on the floor of her room (that's a battle that's just not worth fighting at this point). She says when she gets a little bigger she'll be able to sleep in her bed but right now she feels she is just still too little ;-)
*can talk your ear off and boy, you better be listening or she will tell you over and over and over again
*is a young scientist and impresses Jeremy with her inquisitive nature and astuteness about the world around her

A Hope and Future for This Blog

2011-04-08T21:25:00.002-04:00

I'm still here! Lately, blogging is always on my "to do" list but always is one of the things left undone. I'm not posting any pictures tonight, but I am writing just to let you, my whopping 5 followers, know that (one day) I am going to become a better blogger. I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, and I hope that (one day) people might enjoy reading mine. I'm sure you 5 will regardless :-) Stay tuned for more frequent updates and as always, lots of pictures of the three cutest, most entertaining children in the world!

At Long Last an Update

2011-02-17T20:53:00.007-05:00

For the few of you who actually read this blog, or used to and stopped, since I hardly ever update anymore, here is the update you've been waiting for....drumroll........not much new going on in the Gulley household. Jeremy is loving his job at Kennesaw State University and thankfully does not have late-night classes this semester. Sarah finally tells me that she has fun at school, and I am SO grateful to her teachers for providing her with a safe place to learn and socialize several days a week so that she does not a) get bored to tears at home with me all day or b) drive me crazy with her constant need to go-go-go interspersed with her emotional "outbursts" (which I have chalked up to the fact that she no longer takes a nap---I'm thinking of reinstating the nap/rest time tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes). Sarah is really so much fun to be around and it's nice to occasionally get to sit down and play with just her or watch her play which is just as entertaining. She comes up with some pretty elaborate pretend play themes!

Daniel and Lauren are growing, growing, growing. They had their "4 month" check-up early last week although they are actually 5 months. Aside from each having ear infections and Daniel having a pesky cough that won't go away, they are healthy and strong. The doctor called Daniel "big head" and says Lauren is one of the strongest babies she's seen, but overall, they are right about average on the growth charts, with Daniel being slightly larger and Lauren slightly smaller. Daniel's new skill is playing with his feet, and I find him doing just that anytime his feet are exposed. It's so cute, but I have yet to get a picture. Lauren's trick is still doing her "crunches" and trying to sit straight up and stand straight up. I think she could hold herself up standing at the crib if I worked with her a bit on it. She is a girl on the move and does not like to be still, stop, or sleep. She is too worried she'll miss out on something important, I guess. We have been loving this warm weather lately and taking lots of walks outside in the stroller. Unfortunately, Daniel for some reason stays pretty cranky in the stroller, but Lauren will not make a peep the whole time we're out--she LOVES being outside!

Two weeks ago, we had a local photographer come to the house to take some baby pictures of Daniel and Lauren. I am posting a few of my favorites here. She's going to come back three more times during their first year and then put together some keepsake frames of their first year. Hopefully we can sneak Sarah into some shots next time for some spring/Easter pictures ;-)

Although Jeremy and I continue to feel sleep deprived, things are getting better day by day. I've found several ways to "get out of the house" which is also helping keep me sane and always having something to look forward to (it's so weird not working and now my only "deadlines" involve cleaning the house paying bills, and doctor appointments). We have been visiting at Kennesaw United Methodist Church and so far we love it there. I've started going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meetings there, which is a great time for me to take a "break" with other moms while the babies are well-cared for in the nursery. We've also been going to a playgroup there twice a month. There, Daniel and Lauren are the youngest babies (Sarah is in school when we go) and it's fun to see the "older" babies/toddlers and how obsessed they are with the little babies.

Enjoy the pictures and hopefully I'll start updating more regularly!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2010-12-22T21:20:00.006-05:00

I've been getting subtle (ok, not so subtle) hints that my blog needs to be updated, so here it is, finally :-) We've been keeping ourselves busy since Halloween just going about day to day life and watching the moments fly by. Jeremy is truly enjoying his new job at Kennesaw State, and this week he got the official word that he won the "best presentation" award at the conference he went to in September. What a smart, talented husband I have if I do say so myself! ;-) Sarah is really enjoying preschool at Acworth UMC, and we enjoyed going to her Thanksgiving and Christmas programs (cute videos to come one day). Having her school so close to our house has really been a blessing, although it still seems to be quite the ordeal some days to get Daniel and Lauren loaded in the car and get over to the church to pick her up on time. Daniel and Lauren are almost 4 months old now, and their personalities are really showing now. They both smile frequently, and I don't think Jeremy or I will ever get tired of watching them smile. Our most recent entertainment has been watching them smile and "talk" to each other. It's addictive! I'm still gung ho about getting them on a "schedule," and Jeremy is still convinced that will never happen :-) Can't hurt to try, right?

We're enjoying the Christmas season in our new house. We actually managed to get the decorations out the weekend after Thanksgiving! The Christmas tree fits in the house (I told you so Jeremy!), and so far we have only had a few minor ornament breakages. Although Sarah is still very interested in what is "breakable" and "not breakable," she continues to play with the "breakable" ornaments as if they were any other plastic toy. Oh, well!

We have seen Santa three times now, and each time Sarah has more or less asked him for the same thing---more fairy wings :-) She has also asked, for Daniel and Lauren, for pacifiers and bottles. Our first Santa visit was in downtown Acworth on a cold, COLD, Friday night. We made a fun family memory by getting all bundled up and going out in the cold, but I'm not sure we'll try that again next year. Next, I took the kids to explore the mall last week and we couldn't pass up seeing Santa there. Then, just yesterday, the man in red happened to be hanging out in a shopping center near our house with his horses! (I thought he had reindeer, but I guess Santa likes horses, too). Sarah got to have a quick pony ride and yet another visit with Santa. Sarah has kept me laughing through all of these visits, because she keeps thinking that when we see Santa we're actually in the North Pole. She talks all the time about going to the North Pole (but she just calls it "The North"), and she says things like, "Are we going to the North tomorrow?" and "When we go to the North, we'll be really cold!"

Although we've tried to scale back our holiday events this year to save our sanity and to protect the twins' (nonexistent) schedule, we've still managed to do quite a few fun activities. Aside from looking for Santa anywhere and everywhere, we've done some visiting with family and friends. Last Saturday, we had a family adventure road trip to Charlotte and back, all in the same day. That was an adventure to say the least, and Sarah's temper tantrums on the way home kept us entertained---or NOT! Needless to say, by the time we got home around midnight on Saturday, we were all ready for a vacation from the vacation :-) It was really nice to visit with Jeremy's family, though, and I hope they enjoyed meeting Daniel and Lauren for the first time. We're looking forward to our annual Christmas Eve lunch with my side of the family in Atlanta, and then we're heading straight to Greenville to have Christmas with the Gulleys. It should be a busy, loud, and fun-filled weekend, and I sure hope Santa has no trouble making his way to Mimi and PawPaw's house (hopefully with fairy wings, or we will have a very disappointed Sarah...).

I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures from November and December, and check back soon for some cute video clips!

November Already?

2010-11-01T14:23:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Daniel and Lauren turned 2 months old! I can't believe how fast the time is going by and that we are already to November! Even more so, I can't believe that when Sarah was a baby, by this time I was preparing to go back to work in 2 weeks! I am SO glad that I am fortunate enough at this point to stay out a little while, because I can't even imagine packing up this crew at 6:30 each morning and going to work all day (although it would be nice to have an "8 hour break" every day--I guess if I didn't have to actually "work" at work, I could handle it.....). We had a little scheduling mix up with the pediatrician, so Daniel and Lauren are not actually going for their 2 month check up until they are almost 3 months, but as far as we know, all is well with them. They are eating like champs and growing like weeds.

At 2 months, Daniel....

- is almost 2 pounds bigger than his "baby sister" Lauren, and is probably around 11 1/2 pounds
- puts himself to sleep in his crib with almost no assistance from mommy or daddy--hallelujah!
- cries when he is hungry, poopy, or tired
- is almost always hungry when he wakes up from a nap, no matter how long or short the nap was
- can roll over from his stomach to his back, although we have only seen him do it twice
-smiles, but only when he wants to, like when he hears Lauren cry
-is going to bed around 6:30 p.m. and doing his longest sleep stretch of the day until about midnight
-doesn't particularly care for his pacifier, but sometimes he won't let it go
-wears a size 0-3 month clothes, but will probably move up to 3-6 months before long!

At 2 months, Lauren...

- is almost 2 pounds smaller than her "big brother" Daniel, and is probably around 9 1/2 pounds
-is starting to put herself to sleep IN HER BOUNCY SEAT in her crib with only some assistance from mommy or daddy, sometimes. Other times, she needs LOTS of soothing to fall asleep.
-cries when she is hungry, poopy, tired, bored, lonely, gassy, cold, hot, you name it :-)
-loves to be on her side and does not like being flat on her back to sleep
-smiles often, with a beautiful toothless grin that melts my heart everytime I see it
-looks and behaves very much like Sarah did at her age
-is going to bed around 6:30 p.m. and doing her longest sleep stretch of the day until about 10:30 p.m.---on a good night.
-likes to cuddle her new lamb lovey and watching her hold it is just about the cutest thing you've ever seen
-is addicted to her pacifier and never leaves home without it :-)
-wears a size 0-3 month clothes

At 3 years, 4 months, Sarah...

- is the best big sister ever and is SO sweet to the babies
- loves to play with the baby toys and claims them all as "hers." I guess she's technically right- they were all hers at one point.
- is going to preschool 3 days a week and is learning a lot about letters and reading
- tries to sound out almost all words
- is very preoccupied with whether something is "breakable" or not
- is not sure what the word "chapel" means. Today, I asked her if she had chapel at school today, and her response was, "No, I didn't have apples...." Hmmm....
- is very clumsy and gets boo-boos multiple times daily, especially if she goes outside to play
- has a new "best friend" named Jonathan who lives across the street
- has made tons of new friends in our could-de-sac and is always watching to see when someone goes outside to play
- wears a size 3T clothes

We had a fun Halloween here- we decided to do a costume theme this year. Lauren was a mermaid (Sarah's old costume), Daniel was a fish, and Sarah was a "homemade" snorkeler put together at the last minute, whose costume looked fabulous if I do say so myself. Sarah even won second place in the costume contest at the carnival we attended! She got a $10 gift card which went toward the purchase of a Big Wheel so she can speed around the could-de-sac with her new friends.

Happy Fall!

2010-10-03T10:35:00.004-04:00

We saw camels and zebras on the hayride---so strange!

Daniel's and Lauren's first hayride

Cute as a pumpkin

Cute as a pumpkin #2

Cute as a pumpkin #3 and #4 :-)

Fall family photo

Sarah and her two favorite babies

Sarah, going on her very first pony ride

Feeding the goats

We decided that instead of sitting at the house stressing over all there is to do that it would be better to take a family mini trip to the pumpkin patch. We looked online and found a neat place in Catersville called Pettit Creek Farms and off we went. Enjoy the pics!

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-23T16:32:00.004-04:00

We are finally moved into our new house, and we're trying our best to get settled in. There's not much time to settle, though, with trying to keep up with three children all day! It's been fun not knowing how to find anything around the house--which box did I pack that in? Where are the bowls? Where are the fingernail clippers??? Jeremy and I are loving our new house, and Jeremy is loving his new 15 minute (max) commute even more. As we sort through our boxes and start unpacking things and putting them away here, we have realized that the new house does in fact have significantly more space than our old house, which is super! I've been having a grand old time picking out several "small" items that were missing when we moved in (toilet paper holders, a light fixture, etc.) and making the house really feel like "our new house." Jeremy probably wishes I would stop spending money though!

Sarah, the babies, and I are having lots of fun exploring Acworth, too. We've been to Wal-Mart once and Target several times. SuperTarget, along with lots of other stores and way more yummy restaurants, is literally 3 minutes away, so I am probably going to have to work really, really hard to limit my trips there or else I will go broke and then have a heart attack from eating too much grease. I realized that Target has a buggy big enough for all three children and even some groceries, too, and that has perhaps been one of the most exciting things I've realized lately ;-) We've been to three different playgrounds and Sarah is trying to decide which one is her favorite. Today we found one with a spot in the shade, and we took a picnic blanket and spread out on the grass and had a nice little lunch time, babies and all. Too bad they slept the whole time and didn't really get to enjoy it!

I think we'll like living here and I am hopeful that Sarah especially will make lots of new friends in the neighborhood. We seem to have moved onto the "kid street" and there are LOTS of kids who play outside a lot just outside of our house, so I think she will have a great time. Maybe Jeremy and I will even make some new friends as well! We will surely miss living in Bethlehem and near all of our other friends and family, though! That's definitely going to be the hardest part of this move! We miss you already and come visit us soon!

Double Trouble=Double Blessings

2010-09-14T20:32:00.005-04:00

Our twins are 2 weeks old today! Daniel Briggs Gulley and Lauren Elizabeth Gulley were born on August 31, 2010, and we are having SO much fun getting to know their little personalities. At two weeks, it is amazing to see how different they already are from each other. For example, Daniel is quite mellow and enjoys being left alone sometimes, while Lauren wishes NEVER to be alone or out of someone's arms. Lauren loves her paci, while Daniel usually can't stand it. The one thing they do seem to have in common is that they both have their days and nights confused :-) This makes for long, sleepless nights for Jeremy and me, but on the flip side, the daytime is pretty mellow if they happen to be sleeping at the same time (although that hasn't been happening too much this week). We are grateful to our huge family for being so helpful with sending food, holding babies, shuttling Sarah back and forth to daycare, and sharing in the sleepless nights. We couldn't do it without you!

Enjoy the pictures. I'll post more later, but we're about to have a busy busy end-of-the-week. Our house closings are on Thursday followed by moving day on Friday and then finishing up getting the last things out of our "old" house on Saturday. Then the unpacking process will begin at the new house, although I foresee that project taking months and months to complete :-)

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go...

2010-08-23T14:01:00.009-04:00

Well, sort of...our hospital bags are packed, and we're as ready as I guess we'll ever be to go have these babies! The bags are in the car, the car seats are in the car, the nursery is all set up (for now, anyway), and we are playing the waiting game. My blood pressure was getting a little higher than the doctors wanted to see it, so as of last week I have been home resting and waiting. It's quite a different lifestyle from working full time, especially since Sarah has been going to school. In fact, as of today, I think I could get used to this pace :-) When I went to the doctor last week, they did a routine ultrasound and discovered that Baby Lauren decided to flip around and she is no longer head-down, so at this point, they are recommending a C-section just to be on the safe side, unless she changes her mind and turns around again. We went ahead and scheduled the C-section for next Tuesday, August 31st! I can't believe it's just over a week away!!! I have tried and tried to coax the babies to go ahead and be born now, but it looks at this point like we will be going all the way to the 31st :-) I will be 38 1/2 weeks at that point, so it's still just a little before my due date, but I'm sure they will be plump and healthy by that point!

Two weeks after the babies are born, we're moving. Great timing, right? After a long, grueling summer of trying to sell our house and having no "bites," we suddenly got an offer one day! What an answer to prayer! We are closing on this house sometime between now and September 16th. We also have an offer on a "new" house (after a LONG weekend of stressful home searching- the house we picked was the LAST of about 30 that we looked at), and we'll close on that one on September 16th. So the bags at home are somewhat packed as well. Well, there is still a long way to go, but I think we've made outstanding progress and will be in great shape for moving out in just a few weeks! It's very strange to spend weeks and weeks in your house surrounded by boxes, and boxes, and boxes.....but I know packing now is the smart choice and that once next week gets here, our minds will be elsewhere!

Oh, by the way, Jeremy started a new job two weeks ago. We can't do anything simply, can we? He started his job as "Assistant Professor of Physics" at Kennesaw State University and has been commuting 1+ hours each way at odd hours of the day to avoid Atlanta morning and evening traffic (hence the move to Acworth). So far he seems to enjoy his new job and is so excited about getting his research program going. He's teaching one class this semester, which doesn't sound like much, but it pretty much takes up most of his time at this point. Hopefully once that gets settled into a routine, he will have more time to focus on his research. He's also planning to go to Colorado at the end of September to present at a conference. Thanks to Mimi, who is planning to come stay the week with us here while Jeremy is gone, I think we might survive the week while he is out of town!

My goal this week, besides relaxing and enjoying what I feel like is my last week of "me time" forever, is spending some quality one on one time with Sarah and making sure she knows how special she is to all of us and that she will be a great big sister and that more importantly, she is already a great daughter :-) As much as I'd like to be glued to the couch at all hours of the day, and as hard as it is lately to get up and down off of the floor, I've still tried to do what I can with Sarah and make sure she is enjoying the rest of her summer and getting lots of "mommy time." We've spent a lot of time at the pool, and we are all so excited that Sarah finally wants to swim all by herself (with her floaties)! She has been nothing less than terrified of being let go of in the water ALL SUMMER, until one day this past weekend Nana was able to sneakily let go and Sarah actually realized she enjoyed it! Yay Sarah! This will make going swimming with three children a bit easier (I didn't say easy!) next summer, I assume. Enjoy the assortment of pictures below--it's been awhile since the last update!

Look at me! I can swim all by myself!

Painting a masterpiece for her new bedroom

Sarah "performing" for her last day of dance/gymnastics at The Little Gym

Is that a big belly or what???

Sarah and her new best friend (ie. cousin) Elizabeth

Mary Evelyn's wedding was so much fun!

Preparing for her debut as "The Flower Girl"

Sarah with her quadruplets- I hope she doesn't think I'm having 4 babies!

At Mary Evelyn's bridal luncheon, reading her new flower girl book

Getting ready to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July!

Mommy tried out taking black and white pictures :-)

Happy 3rd Birthday Sarah!

2010-06-24T14:08:00.005-04:00

Our baby girl turned three years old on Sunday, and it's very hard to believe how grown up she has gotten! She got to share her birthday this year with Father's Day, which was kind of neat. We celebrated her birthday mostly on Saturday with a party at The Little Gym where she does gymnastics and dance. Everyone had a great time!

This summer is flying by so fast! It's been really great to spend many, many lazy days at home with Sarah. I try to relax but she does still keep me pretty busy! Some of the things Sarah most enjoys these days are...
*pretending to get married- for some reason, probably thanks to several disney movies, she associates going down steps holding someone's hand with getting married, so that's what we do anytime we're near steps. She says, "Come on mommy, let's get married!"
*practicing for Mary Evelyn's wedding- Aunt Mary recently gave her some petals and a flower basket to start practicing, and it has been a big hit at our house
*having picnics in the playroom with mommy and/or daddy and fixing lots of plates for us
*playing wrestling and tackle games
*playing in the swimming pool and talking about (not going near) the sprinkler. She says she'll put her face in when she "gets a little bigger."
*reminding us that she is little and that she wants to be a little baby. I think she's getting a little concerned that she is no longer our baby since we are having two more babies, and she wants to make sure we know she's still our baby, too :-)
*eating junk food- popsicles, potato chips, lollipops, you name it, but only for "bassert (dessert)
*going on "pacation" (vacation)

Some things Sarah does NOT enjoy these days are...
*being told she is a "big girl"
*getting water in her face
*eating vegetables
*sleeping all night. She has developed many new "fears" in the middle of the night; most recently she is afraid of the ceiling fan (which has never been turned on in her room that I can remember). She wants me to take "that big flashlight" out of her room. Sorry, Sarah, we are trying to sell our house and people like ceiling fans in bedrooms!

Enjoy the photos and video from Sarah's birthday party!

Williamsburg Vacation 2010

2010-06-12T21:36:00.002-04:00

This week we've been in Williamsburg, VA with Jeremy's parents (Mimi and PawPaw), Uncle Joseph, and Aunt Alecia. It has been sooooo much fun! I think this has been perhaps my favorite vacation to take with Sarah, simply because she is at such a fun age! She has loved every minute of the trip and can be entertained by almost anything :-) I do think her favorite part of the week was the swimming pool. I have had the best time this week just making Sarah happy and spending so much quality time with her one on one. It's hard to believe that in about 2 months I will be a mother of three! Eeeck! Enjoy the slideshows of our trip :-)

4 More Days 'Til Summer Vacation!!!

2010-05-24T20:44:00.004-04:00

Every morning I have the same conversation with Sarah:

Mommy: Time to wake up, sweetie!
Sarah: I don't WANNA go to school....
Mommy: I know, but we have to...

...and on, and on, and on. Well, at last, we are down to the last few days of school and then it's time for summer vacation! Yay!

I know I've been bad about updating lately, but all I can say is, it's been a busy spring! Hopefully the posts will be much more frequent this summer :-) We've been enjoying the sunny weekends around here, and Sarah has been able to spend a lot of time at home with mommy and daddy, and she's also been able to spend a lot of time with Mimi, Pawpaw, Nana, and Papa. We're really looking forward to being lazy this summer and enjoying the time together before our family dynamics changes drastically!

Belated Easter Update

2010-04-24T15:26:00.005-04:00

Getting ready to dye Easter eggs with Caleb

She said she made a baby just like mommy's baby

Sorry for the delay in updating-it's been a little crazy around here! After years of job searching and a long ordeal of decision-making, Jeremy has accepted a tenure-track teaching position at Kennesaw State University to start in August, which has put our lives into a mini whirlwind of craziness. It's great not to be wondering about his job prospects anymore, though! We've spent the last several weeks preparing to put our house on the market so that we can try to move closer to KSU. Now that we've just about gotten the house in tip top shape, and the "for sale" sign is in the yard, we can hopefully get back to the normal routine and play the waiting game for as long as it takes to sell our house :-)

We all had a nice Easter and a super (fast) Spring Break. Sarah semi-enjoyed the family Egg Hunt, even though she had a boo boo on her foot and was more or less cranky the whole day. Enjoy the video clip of all the Grant babies. I would like to say that next year's will be without tears, but with twins on the way, I guess we will have even more drama at next year's hunt!

One of the cuter things Sarah has been doing lately is playing with her baby dolls. As we slowly move more and more baby "things" back into our house, Sarah seems to find them quickly and put her babies into all of the equipment. Every time I turn around there is a baby "sleeping" in something. She says she's going to be a big helper to her baby brother and sister, including bringing them pacis and giving them their diapers (which babies wear, but big girls wear panties, according to Sarah).

It's a Boy! It's a Girl!

2010-04-04T10:37:00.004-04:00

Jeremy, Sarah, and I are proud to say that the twins will be a boy and a girl! We are SO EXCITED! The 3-D ultrasound session yesterday was really cool, and if any of you are pregnant and will let me refer you to the place we went in Alpharetta, I would love to ;-) It was amazing to see how close together the babies actually are right now. I guess I figured they would be all out in their own space for awhile until they get much bigger. Instead they are snuggled up close. They are "head to head" although their bodies are going in slightly different directions, kind of like an "L," from what I could tell. They can put their arms around each other and it was really cute to watch :-) Enjoy the pictures--not sure if you will be able to see anything or not. We needed much explaining from the ultrasound tech to know what we we were looking at in a lot of the pictures! The exciting news is that we will be having ultrasounds every 4 weeks from here on out, so we will get "regular" updates! (although I doubt they will be in 3-D!).

Baby A (boy)

Baby B (girl)- waving goodbye to the camera

Baby A and Baby B

Baby A and B

Baby B (girl)

Baby B (girl)- front view

Baby A (boy)

Baby B (girl)

Baby B (girl)- front view. Don't be fooled, they say she's a girl :-)

Baby A (boy)- side view

Spring Break is Almost Here!

2010-03-31T20:05:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in so long that I don't even know what to post about :-) Last time I posted it was snowing, and today it's 80 degrees! What a beautiful spring we are having (at least this week, anyway!). We have had a fairly uneventful March around here. So far so good with the twins---we are hoping to find out their gender(s) at our 3-D ultrasound on Saturday! I had an appointment yesterday, but all the doctor did was check their heartbeats. She did turn on the ultrasound machine to find the babies and their hearts, but it was so quick all I saw were two little blobs. The pictures she printed hardly show any detail, but I have been examining them anyway looking for signs of a boy or girl, though (with no luck). Jeremy and I have been enjoying spending time with just Sarah for now and probably spoiling her as usual, although we are trying more and more to encourage her to be a "big girl." She loves to be my "happy helper" and fetch things for me around the house. For example, the other day, I found myself in the guest bathroom without any toilet paper. Suddenly it occurred to me that Sarah could probably handle the task of fetching me a piece of toilet paper from the other bathroom. She did, eventually, with much effort. It kind of went like this:
Me: Sarah, oh no! What are we going to do? There's no toilet paper!
Sarah: (nothing)
Me: Sarah, can you get mommy a piece of toilet paper from mommy's bathroom?
Sarah: No
Me: Please???
Sarah: Okkkkkkkk......(walks into my bedroom and begins talking again). I caaaan't! It's too dark in here.
Mommy: No, it's not dark. See? The sun is shining through the windows.
Sarah: (goes into the bathroom and starts looking for the toilet paper) Where is it? (starts crying) Where issssss it?
Mommy: No, Sarah, you don't need to bring a whole roll. Just bring me one little piece.
Sarah: Ok. I bring you a big one! (brings me a perfect piece of toilet paper)

So, you see, Sarah is ready for big-sisterhood and will be the best helper around the house when I'm in a pinch :-)

Enjoy the pictures below of some of the things we've been up to this month!

Our "green" St. Patrick's Day dinner

Mary Evelyn and her "girls" at her first bridal shower

Mary Evelyn and Sarah

Sarah showing off her Easter sweater

Waterfall at the new Freeman's Mill Park

There's also a grist mill with a water wheel to explore

Exploring the cool new Freeman's Mill Park

Playing dress up/tea party with her friend Maya

Sarah with her very own "twins." She likes baby dolls now, by the way!

At last!

2010-02-14T16:53:00.008-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day from Sarah! Thanks, Nana, for the adorable outfit!

Jeremy and me with our slouching snowman

Rebecca driving the sled

Jeremy driving the sled

The girls enjoying the snow

Sarah going for a ride with Papa

Sarah with the snowman

Learning how to ride a sled

So much snow!

Baby A (top) and Baby B (bottom). They don't look the same size but they really are.

I know you've been checking my blog daily for updates (well, maybe not quite that often), and you're finally in luck! My sanity has briefly returned for the day, and I'm playing catch up with all aspects of life :-) It's been so long since I updated, I don't even know where to start, so I guess I'll start with the most exciting news first. Drumroll, please..........Jeremy and I are expecting TWINS in September! Yes, that's right--Sarah is going to have TWO baby brothers or sisters in 7 months or less! I am SO excited, although my hormones have been wreaking havoc on my emotions lately, Jeremy is excited, and Sarah is excited, so we are a house full of excitement these days! Our family of three is becoming a family of five, and our house is going to bust at the seams, both literally and with love :-) I am ten weeks pregnant today--it's hard to believe it, but that means I'm a quarter of the way there! We found out I was pregnant early in January but just found out there are two babies about 2 weeks ago. I think the doctor was just as shocked as I was when she saw two babies! Since I'm having twins, I am officially considered a "high risk pregnancy." Hopefully that just means that I'll get extra ultrasounds down the road :-) So far I have been feeling a bit worse than I felt with Sarah, and I could be wrong, but I think I am very much more exhausted than with Sarah. Hopefully the "blah, sicky" feelings will go away soon, and maybe I'll even find the energy this week or next to head back to the gym for a leisurely stroll on the treadmill (I tried running for 2 minutes a couple of weeks ago and it was SO hard!). Last weekend, I got strep throat, and I'm almost done taking medicine for that. Hopefully, I can stay healthy, rested, and sane for the rest of this pregnancy and enjoy every minute of preparing for these precious new additions to our family!

As far as the rest of life, there's not too much new to tell. We got ourselves snowed in at my parents on Friday so that we would hopefully be able to make it to the Ringling Brothers circus in Atlanta at 11:00 on Saturday. Since the roads were pretty much covered in ice Saturday morning, we had to skip the show, but luckily we were able to exchange our tickets for the afternoon show, and we had great seats and had a great time! Sarah said her favorite part was the elephants and the zebras. I will add that the popcorn was another one of her favorite parts (and mine, too!).

We all had fun playing outside in the snow on Friday and Saturday. A bunch of adults outside acting like little kids was probably a humorous site. I put together a little video so you can see all of us taking turns sledding down the driveway on the sled that was my brother Russell's when he was little. I think everyone took a turn except for Nana. We built a really nice snowman on Friday, but since Russell built the bottom part on a hill, you will see what he looked like when we woke up on Saturday to take pictures :-)

Let it Snow?

2010-01-08T19:26:00.004-05:00

We had our first "snow day" of the winter today. We had about 1/4 inch of snow on our driveway and that's it, but Sarah and I sure had a great time staying home and relaxing for the day! Naps all around! We played in the "snow" twice and Sarah learned how to make snow angels. She was so cute and I just can't wait for one day when she can experience real snow (not sure where or when but hopefully one day!) and build a snowman.

We all had a fabulous Christmas, got wayyyy too many toys and gifts, and enjoyed spending so much time with family. Now that Jeremy and I are both teachers, I guess we will be able to enjoy a nice Christmas vacation each year(and hopefully summer vacation too--we'll see)! Jeremy's parents came to our house Christmas Eve, so we got to spend Christmas Eve with the Grants (my mom's side) and the Gulleys, and then we were all back together on Christmas Day for lunch. The next day, Jeremy and I got to go out to dinner to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary! Then, we got up Sunday morning to go to Greenville to visit some more with Mimi and PawPaw and with Uncle Joal and Aunt Alecia. We had a busy time but it was so much fun!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve here--Jeremy and my dad spent the whole day putting in flooring in our attic, a much needed "addition" to our house. Sarah went to spend the night with my parents, and Jeremy and I spent hours and hours and hours moving everything from the bonus room (was the junk room) to the attic and then setting up a "real" office room in the bonus room. We still have some work to do but it's looking pretty good! I think Jeremy's handyman skills are improving quite a bit thanks to some excellent "mentoring" and lots of trial and error :-)

Mini American Idol

2009-12-24T21:47:00.004-05:00

So lately Sarah LOVES to perform via singing and dancing with her microphone. She sings for us, strangers, and her stuffed animals. We got a cute video of her the other day singing "Oh Christmas Tree."

Today we had a surprise visit from Santa at our annual Christmas Eve lunch with the Grant family. Sarah sat in his lap, but she, along with the other kids, was not too sure about him :-) This evening, we went to my parents' church and Sarah got to attend the Christmas Eve service with us--no nursery tonight. She was super excited to go to "big church" and she was soooo good. She even went down front (with Mimi) for the children's story time. More Christmas pics and videos to follow soon, I'm sure!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2009-12-17T21:41:00.005-05:00

We went to see Santa again this week, and to my surprise, Sarah did a MUCH better job.

Week 2

Week 1

Sarah also had her gymnastics "show" this week. It was the final class of the semester so they were all supposed to show off their skills and then they had a little medal ceremony ;-)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2009-12-02T16:47:00.006-05:00

We are all so excited that the Christmas season is upon us. Sarah is totally obsessed with Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, and "ho ho." I think she refers to Santa as "ho ho." For example, she saw a present today and when asked who the present was for, she said, "it's a present for ho ho." Silly Sarah :-) We're going to see Santa tomorrow at The Avenue, so stay tuned for some hopefully cute pictures. I wonder if she'll sit in his lap this year--I'm sort of doubting it. Then we're headed to a Stone Mountain Christmas on Friday evening, which is always lots and lots of cold and fun. We met Michael at Stone Mountain last weekend to take some pictures. All Sarah was concerned about was riding the train (which we were not doing that day) and looking for the train, so it was a bit difficult/impossible to get her into the picture-taking spirit. However, Michael still managed to do a great job and get some decent family photos. Maybe next time Sarah darling will forget about the train and flash her pearly whites for the camera :-)

Tonight, I decided that I probably should ask Sarah what she wants for Christmas instead of just deciding for her. Here's how the conversation went:
Mommy: So, what do you want for Christmas? What do you want Santa Claus to bring you?
Sarah: Ummm....black?
Mommy: Black what?
Sarah: Black....toys!
Mommy: (laughing) You want black toys?
Sarah: Ummmm...or pink?
Mommy: Pink what?
Sarah: Pink toys.
Mommy: You want pink toys? Do you want a train too?
Sarah: Uh huh! I want a pink drum too.
Mommy: You want a pink drum?
Sarah: And pink sticks!

Fall School Pictures

2009-11-09T22:04:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T07:35:00.003-05:00

Whew! This week has been a whirlwind! Halloween is so much fun with kids. At work, all of the teachers had to dress up as dalmatians. Our boss was Cruella DeVille and her assistants were the dog catchers, so it was a cute theme. Since I had to be a dalmatian on Friday, Sarah dressed up as one, too, and I have to admit, it was pretty cute. Sarah LOVED her dalmatian costume, especially the ears, which she called "tails." Yes, she was a little confused :-) We all had a blast at work on Friday trick or treating to the other classrooms and having parties in our own classrooms. Sarah is now a trick or treating pro. She even knows how to say "trick or treat" and "thank you" at each door. Last night, I decided to let Sarah wear a different costume, a fairy princess one that someone gave me a few years ago. She liked this one equally as much as the dalmation and ran around with her wand calling "bibbity bobbity Doo!" The rain held off just long enough for us to make it most of the way around the neighborhood with our friends, finding lots of candy (and a couple of really scary houses which Sarah loved!). She even helped herself to a lollipop on the way back to our house :-) We hope everyone else had a fun Halloween, too!

Furman Homecoming and Disney on Ice

2009-10-22T19:57:00.008-04:00

Last weekend we headed up to Greenville for Furman's annual Homecoming weekend. Jeremy and I are proud to say we've been to every single Homecoming weekend since we graduated (er, I guess since we started) college. Although we do seem to spend less and less time there each year as we know fewer people :-( Despite the drizzly, cold weather we got some great pictures Saturday hanging around the Bell Tower. When we got home on Sunday, Sarah and I turned around and left for Disney on Ice with our friends Leslie and Melanie. It was so much fun! Sarah enjoyed every minute of it even down to the trolley (MARTA) ride. We'll, she didn't so much love the MARTA ride back when we had to stand up on the train because it was so crowded...but she loved everything else :-)

Enjoy the pics! Also, I've noticed that I only have one blog "follower" and it makes me a little depressed :-/ If you are a reader (often, seldom, or anywhere in between), I would love for you to join as a follower :-)

Not Me! Monday

2009-10-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I have been following this blog for a little while now, and the Not Me! Monday! posts are really funny, so I decided to start posting some of my own:-)

This week...(and there's no way all of these happened in one day)
1) I did not walk out of the Carter's store with a new load of clothes Sarah does not need, and I most certainly did not leave the entire stroller inside the store, only realizing it was missing when I got to the car and opened the trunk to put it back inside. (By the way, in case you're wondering, I did have Sarah with me).
2) I would never let Sarah paint while wearing a brand new Halloween dress without a paint shirt, and never, ever, would I let her get green paint on the white part of the dress! (it came out Aunt Mary!!!)
3) I did not let Sarah mess up the packaging in several brand new pairs of shoes at DSW and I did not let her take the "sticks" out of the shoes and wander around the store banging them like drumsticks on all of the mirrors.
4) Speaking of shoes, and this is the worst thing I would never, ever do: I would NEVER let Sarah wander around an antique store without holding my hand, and I would never let her out of my sight long enough to then later see her holding a package of silicon beads from inside a shoe IN HER MOUTH. You know, the beads that say DO NOT EAT all over the package, as if anyone is dumb enough to put them in their mouth or let someone small put them in their mouth. Just so you know, I guess you can actually lick the beads without any major medical disasters, as long as you don't eat the whole package...but I wouldn't try it if I were you. Finally, when I noticed what Sarah was not doing with the package of beads, I certainly did not go over and rip the beads from her hand and proceed to spank her on the hand in the middle of the store, as if it was her fault that I was not paying close enough attention to her in the store!

Fall Fun

2009-10-10T17:50:00.000-04:00

Fall is here! It's pumpkin patch time! I decided to buy a Stone Mountain annual membership, so Sarah, my mom, and I took our first trip out there on Friday to visit the Pumpkin Festival. We had fun but it sure was HOT for October! Sarah painted a little mini pumpkin, decorated a princess crown, and put up with me in the pumpkin patch while I tried to take pictures. Then we went to ride the SkyRide. Sarah totally loves anything mountain, train, or trolley related (thanks to our summer trip to Pigeon Forge), so I told her we were going to ride the trolley that goes up in the sky to the top of the mountain, and she was fascinated. Overall, the pumpkin festival was nice, but the Christmas festival is much nicer! We can't wait!

Today, we all headed out to Watkinsville to Washington Farms to have more pumpkin patch fun. Here, Sarah totally impressed me by riding the cow train in her very own seat all by herself!!!! Jeremy and I just knew she was going to back out kicking and screaming when we tried to make her sit by herself, but she surprised us and loved the whole thing! Good girl Sarah! She also loved the slide, hayride, duck races, mini gourds, and petting zoo. You can tell that Jeremy liked taking Sarah on a wild go-cart ride :-)

I also recorded Sarah's conversation with herself when she woke up yesterday morning, just for kicks:
Sarah: Gonna be strong at Nana's house. Watch Bambi at Nana's house! Gonna be bigger! Gonna be strong! Gonna be strong! (sigh) I'm tired. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go. Hi ho! Tweet tweet. MY birdie. Tap the mat (tapping the mattress). I'm ready to go now at Nana's house!

There's another new post below this one...too many pictures for one post!

2 Year Old Portrait Session

2009-10-10T17:45:00.000-04:00

We went to Portrait Innovations on Thursday for a belated two-year old picture session. Michael took some great pictures for us in the summer, but I was itching to have some more pictures taken, so off we went. Sarah did a fabulous job and was able to follow some directions from the photographer, which made the session so much less stressful. Of course, we ended up buying more pictures than we need (because we needed NONE, and we got the "free" CD, so here are some of the pictures :-)

Riding in the Car, Riding in the Car...

2009-09-19T21:01:00.006-04:00

...we love riding in the car! Well, not really, but we love going on fun trips! Jeremy, Sarah, and I took a mini vacation to Greenville for Labor Day weekend. We went up Saturday and took Sarah to her very first Furman football game. Jeremy's parents were in Hawaii on vacation so they let us have their game tickets. Sarah looked so cute and grown up in her little cheerleader outfit. She enjoyed sitting up in the stands...for about 30 minutes. At that point, I took her out where she could walk around, but she did not want to walk around. So we bought some food, and basically spent another 30 minutes carrying it around (carrying Sarah too) because otherwise she would scream. It had been my idea to leave the stroller in the car (because you can't take a stroller into a stadium, right?), but apparently that was a bad idea. You can in fact take strollers to the Furman stadium, and once we decided to walk back to the car to get it, Sarah was an angel. She also liked getting to take a detour by the lake to feed the ducks her hot dog bun :-) We hung around Greenville until Monday morning, and we visited the Greenville Zoo on our way out of town. Sarah loved the zoo--she was especially fascinated by the giraffes and all of the birds in their respective cages. Throughout the whole weekend, Sarah was slowly coming down with a cold, and she ran a low temp and got pretty congested, but we kept going and having fun anyway. By Tuesday, when we went back to school/work, she was pretty bad off with the congestion and coughing. I had to take her home from school only an hour after we got there because she kept coughing up junk on the floor--yuck! We went to the doctor and they said she "probably has the flu," although I am convinced that she did not have the flu but rather just the awful cold I had the week before. She was fine by Wednesday, which was good, because Thursday afternoon we headed to Saint Simons for a long beach weekend! Jeremy had to stay home because it turned out he couldn't miss work, but we went ahead with my parents, brother (+ Anna) and sister, aunt, uncle, and cousin (+ Shawn). We pretty much had fabulous weather and a GREAT view from our ocean front balcony. We splurged on the unit in our condo since the rates went way down after labor day. It was weird to take off work to go to the beach, but it was SO nice going in September. The condo place was practically deserted, we had no restaurant waits, and the beach was not at all crowded. We had so much fun just relaxing at the beach and the pool. Sarah LOVED the sand and the ocean but was very hesitant to let go of an adult's hand while standing at the edge of the water. She got better and better each day, though :-) She loved having her own personal baby pool to play in (I don't think we ever saw anyone else in that pool the whole time we were there!). Sarah was a trooper in the car on the way home, and I discovered that using the tray for her booster seat as a toy tray in the car was a FABULOUS idea! She also worked really hard during the trip on her potty training, and she stayed dry for both 6 hour trips! It did mean that we had to make LOTS of potty stops, though :-(

At home, we are continuing to work on the potty training. Sarah wore her "big girl pants" to school on Thursday and Friday. She did have 2 accidents late in the day on Thursday and one on Friday morning, so I'm not sure what we will do for school on Monday. I am trying to leave her in the underwear when we're at home, but I am still too chicken to put her in it when we go out "in public." She's really doing great, though :-) Work is going great and we had a fun field trip to the Fire Station on Friday. One little boy got really scared, I'm not even sure why, but all in all, it was a great field trip.

Leslie and I are counting down the weeks (days?) to our 1/2 marathon that's coming up on October 4th--yikes! Today was supposed to be our last "big" run, 12 miles. We had the grand idea to run from her house in Grayson to my house in Bethlehem, since we clocked it to be 11.7 miles. We started out running this morning, despite the awful weather forcast, and we kept going when it started sprinkling. We even kept going when it started solid raining. We went until our shoes were soaked and the thunder began to roll and the cars driving by were splashing us :-) At that point we decided to call Clint, Leslie's husband, to come bail us out. We ended up running about 5 miles, which was still a good run in the rain, I suppose :-) I'm really scared about the distance of the race, but I think we're both ready and it should be lots of fun!

Sunrise from our balcony

Playing with play dough in the car

Aunt Rebecca/Becca/Becky and Sarah

Fun in the pool

Chariots of Fire run on the beach

Do I have something on my face?

Running on the beach

Mommy and Sarah in the ocean

Cute little feet!

Playing in the sand

Sarah making a picture face

Coolest playground ever

Can I climb this tree, daddy?

Go Furman!

Hot dogs, yum! And what a pout!

It's About Time for an Update!

2009-09-03T20:20:00.007-04:00

I guess we've been so busy with school and with life that I've "forgotten" to update the blog (ie. have not put it at the top of my priority list). Sorry! Sarah has been doing a super job lately of reading/reciting her favorite stories. Here are a couple of cute read-alouds plus a video of how entertaining the simplest things can be.

Let's Dance, Little Pookie!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Fun with Noises

The Things Kids Say

2009-08-06T19:49:00.003-04:00

Here are Sarah's latest conversational skills:

1) Mommy:(putting Sarah in her bed at night) Good night, sweetie.
Sarah: I'm going to the store next weekend. (so random!)

2) Mommy: Do you want to watch Bambi when we get home?
Sarah: (gasps with excitement)
Mommy: You do want to watch it?
Sarah: I think that be a good idea!

3) Mommy: (watching Bambi with Sarah) Who's that? (pointing at Bambi's dad up on a hill)
Sarah: That's a Bambi daddy

My favorite one is the Bambi daddy because it reminds me of baby daddy ;-)

Sarah had her first real day back at school on Monday. She's now in the two year old room and is so grown up. Apparently I will be seeing her daily on the playground because her playground and the pre-k playground are next door and our outdoor times overlap---hmmmm. That may be interesting. Even more interesting is that the other teacher in my room has a daughter in the same class, so we will both be trying to avoid that side of the playground! Also, when Sarah moves to the older twos room her class will be right next to mine with lots of windows in between---eeeck! I think they're going to put up curtains, though- phew! I am loving working with the other pre-k teachers at Five Star, and our classroom is so cute--I can't wait for the kids to arrive on Monday to see what fun that brings!

INK! Museum

2009-07-29T20:15:00.004-04:00

Sarah and I went on a girls' adventure today to the INK! Museum in Gainesville. It was SO MUCH FUN! Sarah could have played and played for hours...it was a cool, cool place. We will definitely be going back sometime. One thing that was so neat is that kids of all ages can have fun! Tomorrow, we are going to the pool and to bowling (that will be interesting--Sarah has never been bowling, obviously, and I don't think I've been since college). Friday, we are hoping to have a relaxing day at the house, and Saturday, it's off to Atlanta for the Georgia Aquarium with Mimi and PawPaw! We're doing a combo this week of chilling at home and visiting all the places on our "summer to do list" that we have not done yet. Next week will be a fun back-to-school adventure for both Sarah and me, so we may have a brief hiatus from the blogging world--we'll see!

Jeremy doesn't get the spotlight too much on here (sorry, sweetie), so here's his update: the final exam is tomorrow for the class he taught this summer. I can't believe how fast his first "real" job went by! I think he has to have all of his grades and everything in by Monday, so that's when he will officially be done with that class. He is going to be teaching 4 classes this fall: two at Georgia Gwinnett College and two at UGA, so he will be quite busy! So far he is really enjoying teaching, and we are hopeful that something great will fall into place in the next few months for January and beyond.

P.S. We met the new neighbors today. They do have a 2 year old little girl and a 1 year old boy. Yay for new friends! Sarah also loves their dog :-)

Party Like It's 1999!

2009-07-26T20:09:00.002-04:00

What a busy weekend! Thursday night, I hosted a fun Southern Living Party and had tons of fun. Friday night, Jeremy and I dropped Sarah off at Nana's house and went downtown to my 10 year high school reunion--what a strange, fun night! It was really weird to see people you haven't seen or talked to in 10 years. I didn't really know what to say to anyone since I pretty much haven't kept up with anyone from high school, and as much as I tried to be outgoing, I was still fairly shy. Thank goodness Jeremy was there with me! It made me feel like I should have done a better job at keeping in touch with people on facebook! Awkwardness and all, it was a fun grown-up evening. Excuse me while I brag, but here is the list of things Jeremy and I won during the raffle drawings:
-4 tickets to the Georgia Aquarium
-Family Four pack bowling special
-4 discount rock-climbing tickets
-1 free personal training session (I think it may be in-home!)
-2 tickets to the High Museum of Art

We really scored big on the prizes! It definitely covered the cost of our evening and more! Saturday morning, I had to be up bright and early (4 am!) to go to my last class ever for LMU! Now that that's over, I now officially have my Ed.S degree in Educational Administration and Supervision. For now, I plan to stick with a traditional teaching job, though ;-) I'm looking forward to relaxing this week and enjoying every minute with Sarah before work starts back next week. Since Sarah will be at school with me, though, hopefully I won't feel as guilty about leaving her everyday. Pray that she doesn't flip out when she sees me at work and realizes that I am there all day but that I can't play with her! Today, we went up to Athens to swim at the Anderson's condo. Sarah, of course, wanted to hang out on the steps and do everything from "going under" (up to her mouth) and "floating" (attempting to lie on her back on the top step) "all by herself." On a side note, today I saw our new neighbors moving in across the street, and I have been spying a little bit. It looks like they have a little girl around Sarah's age and a little boy who is maybe one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Sarah will have some new playmates her age on our street and that mommy and daddy will have some new neighbor friends, too!

Photo Shoot

2009-07-07T17:20:00.010-04:00

My cousin Michael took some pictures last week of our family at The Vines. He is a great photographer, even when the "subject" does not always want to cooperate :-)

Also, I forgot to put this cute story in the previous post: Last night, I was putting Sarah to bed, and as usual, I started helping her say her prayers. Usually she just repeats what I say (if even that). Last night, here's how the conversation went:

Me: Dear God
Sarah: Thank you for daddy.
Me: And...
Sarah: Thank you for Sarah.
Me: Amen
Sarah: Thank you for the presents.

It was really cute, and a bit funny when she thanked God (again) for her birthday presents :-) I guess she's beginning to understand how to pray by herself :-)

Miss Independent

2009-07-07T15:53:00.005-04:00

Happy 4th of July!

Watching fireworks with Mimi

Reading stories to her babies

Playing a huge xylophone

Fun on the tire swing

Life with us is a zoo!

Playing another fun instrument

Sarah is definitely Miss Independent this summer. Thanks, Ms. Latee, for the cute "Miss Independent" 4th of July dress--it sure does fit Sarah's personality these days! Everything we do she wants to do "all by myself." :-) We had a fun 4th of July in Greenville with Mimi and Paw Paw. We went to downtown Greenville for the fireworks show, and much to my surprise, Sarah loved them and was not at all afraid! Yay Sarah! We also spent some time in the morning at one of the coolest parks I have ever seen. They had a huge castle maze play structure thing that was so much fun, and they had a separate playground adapted for people with special needs, and it was so cool! My favorite thing was the huge (they actually had 3 different sizes) xylophone with wooden mallets you can use to play them. Wouldn't it be great if our schools could have playgrounds that neat?

Barney Birthday Bash!

2009-06-30T21:53:00.006-04:00

Cake and ice cream is tasty!

Playing in the castle

Caleb getting kissed by our neighbors' pig

Spencer driving the car

Exploring the new parachute

Natalie listening to Elmo tell a story

Sarah's boyfriend Jake from Five Star making a cool hat

We had a ton of fun at Sarah's Barney Birthday Bash. I was originally hoping the kids would have fun playing outside, but it was soooooo hot.....so mostly we hung out inside (plenty of kids wanted to go outside but we kept trying to coax them back in because we, the adults, did not want to go out there!). Sarah enjoyed having all of her friends over for the afternoon, although she was probably confused with everyone there at once. Aunt Rebecca/Becca/Becky (Rebecca, what DO you want Sarah to call you?) made the cutest Barney cake ever, and it was so tasty as well! I only got a few pics on my camera, so hopefully some friends or relatives will share theirs with me (hint hint).

Sarah has really taken off with her singing lately. She can sing the ABC song, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and a few little songs from some cartoons (or "cartons," as she calls them). I got the sweetest video of her singing Jesus Loves Me with Jeremy :-)

Yesterday, after I picked a cranky Sarah up from the day care room at my new gym (the first step among MANY in getting fit again), she felt warm to me and when we got home she had a fever. Then she was SO lazy all day and just wanted me to hold her while she rested. Then she was up just about the whole night tossing and turning. This morning, we decided to brave gymnastics anyway (the fever was gone), but she wasn't too enthusiastic once we got there. We tried going out to lunch with my mom but that, too, failed. Finally she took a good nap and we all thought, she will be so much happier when she wakes up. Nope, not this time. She woke up and the crying and whining began again. I decided to take her to the doctor, but they found nothing. Finally, tonight, I actually started listening to her and processing what she was saying. She has been saying "hurt your tongue," and wouldn't you know it she does in fact have a canker sore on the tip of her tongue? OUCH! Hopefully lots of Baby Orajel will help it feel better and it will go away fast. I hate those sores myself and I can't imagine being 2 and having to deal with it. She's also getting 2 new teeth which is probably not helping the whole thing...

On a different note, we have only 1 more day of swimming lessons--wish Sarah luck! With each new lesson she catches on more and more that I am going to eventually make her jump in, go under, etc. so her anxiety level increases each day I think :-(

Sarah is Two!

2009-06-22T20:15:00.007-04:00

walking on the trail all by herself

Tallulah Falls State Park

Riding the carousel with Mimi and Paw Paw. She would NOT sit on a horse by herself, but she rode on the bench three times!

The duck ride (she sat there for a few minutes but then cried and had to get off before the ride started)

Pigeon Forge trolly ride, one of the highlights of Sarah's week

Fun at the pool

Eating ice cream with Mimi

Reading stories with Paw Paw

Jammin' at the family reunion

Building a block tower with daddy

WoW. Sarah turned two years old on Saturday, and I can't believe my baby is two! Here's a list of fun things Sarah is doing these days:
1) Running, running, running (Her new Sunday School teacher told us the other day, "I think she's going to be a trip.").
2) Forward rolling all the time, with a little jumping in between.
3) Talking about EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME ("favorite" phrases now are..."Oh my gosh," "What," and "Noooooo,") and understanding most things we say.
4) Trying to be quite independent.
5) Paci is gone! She understands it's for the "little babies."
6) Napping in her big girl bed and getting ready to transition to the big girl bed at night time.
7) Going to gymnastics and swimming lessons.
8) Always ready to give hugs and kisses to mommy and daddy.
9) Easy to excite, even about the simplest things--it's so cute!
10) In love with trains, trollies, and mountains (thanks to our recent trip to Pigeon Forge).
11) Learning Bible verses and how to pray (She can say "trust the Lord with all your heart." Too bad that's JULY's verse and she has no clue how to say June's- I got a little mixed up).
12) Repeating everything (last night Nana and Papa were over for dinner. Papa was joking around and said something about someone named "fat boy," and the next thing we heard was Sarah saying "who's fat boy?"----a gentle reminder that we need to watch what we say around her!).
13)Taking good care of her favorite stuffed animals (bear, beaver, and doggie) and baby dolls. She loves putting them night night in her new big girl bed-- enjoy the video of her smothering the baby doll.
14) Putting on purses, bags, belts, jewelry, etc., loading up her bear in his stroller, and going "shopping".

As I am watching Sarah play and grow this summer, I'm constantly thinking about how blessed we are to have such a delightful girl with SUCH a personality. She definitely shows us how to have fun! Also, realizing that she's already two reminds me that I need to savor every little moment because they are going by way too fast!

We went to Pigeon Forge, TN last week for Jeremy's family reunion. Jeremy followed us up there and stayed one day,but then he had to get back home to teach. Sarah and I stayed three more days after he left, and we had so much fun watching the mountains, riding the trolly, swimming, visiting with Mimi, Paw Paw, Joseph,and Alecia, and going to Dollywood. We had several really late nights for Sarah where we were eating dinner around 8 PM and not going to sleep until almost 11. She surprised me, though, and her behavior throughout the trip was SUPER. We dilly-dallied on the way home because we didn't want our vacation to end. I think we stopped 6 times, and the typically 4 hour trip took 7 hours! We stopped for ice cream and visited a local park in Cherokee, we stopped at a couple of McDonald's, and we stopped at Tallulah Falls State Park. All in all, it was a fabulous trip, but we were glad to be back home to our normal crazy routine.

Sarah's birthday was on Saturday, but unfortunately, I had to go to class at LMU that day. Luckily, we did get out early and I was home by mid-afternoon. We took Sarah out to Stevie B's pizza, and she had so much fun eating spaghetti and actually playing real games with tokens. She won some prizes (a candy bracelet which was way messier than I imagined, a bouncy ball, a Dora tattoo, etc.) and loved all of the action (I just love the pizza!). She also had fun exploring some gifts (especially the blocks). On Sunday, my parents came over and we had a little Father's Day BBQ dinner. Papa brought over the big girl (toddler) bed and a schoolhouse tent that we set up in the playroom. Jeremy says next time we bring something into this house that large, something equally large must go :-) He does have a point...

Enjoy all of the pictures and videos. I can't resist these days!

Trail Mix

2009-06-06T20:44:00.004-04:00

Today we went to Trail Mix at Tribble Mill Park. They had a bunch of family activities, and we all had a nice time. We went on a hayride, met some greyhounds, visited the petting zoo, (almost) rode a pony, had a picnic, tried to swim in a giant swimming pool full of bubbles, and of course, played on the playground. Sarah was too nervous on the hayride to sit on the bench by herself, even if it was right next to me. She loved the greyhounds, but during the visit I heard her refer to them as dog, horse, and cow, so she might have been a bit confused by their size and their spots :-) We stood in line for 10 minutes waiting for the pony rides, and she was so excited and could barely stand to wait her turn. However, when her turn arrived, she decided that she did not in fact want to sit on the horse (I knew all along she wouldn't do it, but we tried anyway). She would rather watch them go "round and round." Even though she didn't want to sit on one, she cried when we left them. She also wanted us to drop her over the fence into the cage with the animals at the petting zoo- ha! At the arts and crafts station, she got a cute butterfly painted on her face and actually sat very still while they painted. However, she pitched a huge fit after throwing her bubble wand in the pool twice (and the little girl working at the bubble station kept taking the wand and putting it away, which made Sarah furious) and being told that the bubbles were "all done," so her butterfly ended up with a tear streak down the middle :-( All in all, it was a typical adventure, and I wish they had all those free activities at the park more often!

Sweet, Sweet Summer (and Sarah, too!)

2009-06-04T20:02:00.007-04:00

Like mother, like daughter--Sarah's "bad hair day"

Maybe I drank too much milkshake...

Strawberry milkshake---yummy!

Fun at the new park...

More fun at the park...

Even more fun at the park...

Little Miss Hollywood

Giving Mimi a hug

Getting a kiss from Paw Paw

I'm so cute these days!

Sarah and I have had so much fun mommy and me time this week and last week. I get bored staying around the house for too long, so we've taken many outings: the park, McDonald's, shopping at many stores, the pool, Nana's and Aunt Mary's, picking strawberries, gymnastics, etc. We have been busy, busy, busy having loads of fun! Sarah is talking non-stop, and she is a HOOT! She's really starting to get into pretend play, and she loves to put powder on her babies, take her bear shopping, put her little people in their minivan and drive them around, and eat food from her pretend kitchen. I managed to get several videos of Sarah in her various acts of cuteness this week. By far the funniest to tape was the one of her dancing to a slow song. When the song first came on she started doing a fast "twist" dance, probably because she watched me (little did I know how much attention she was paying to me) twist to the real "Twist" earlier today. You could see the wheels turning in her head when she realized that this song was slow and the fast twist didn't fit, so she just slowed it down a bit, and it was SO FUNNY! You will have to watch from the back because she wouldn't turn around for the camera--enjoy!

Hug Sarah

2009-05-18T20:27:00.002-04:00

So....Sarah was in her booster seat eating dinner, and when she was finished, she started playing with her food and spoon. She was twirling the spoon around, and then it fell on the floor, flinging yogurt everywhere. I looked at her and said something like, "Sarah, that was not nice. You played with your spoon and made a big mess. Mommy is sad." Sarah looked at me with her big puppy dog eyes, and then, instead of being upset that she was in trouble, she tried to cover for herself---she put her arms way out beside her and said, "Hug Sarah?" Then, when Jeremy and I started laughing and saying that no, she couldn't have a hug because mommy was still cleaning up the mess, she said, "Give a kiss?" Silly Sarah!

Congratulations Dr. Daddy!

2009-05-13T21:28:00.003-04:00

Well, Jeremy did it! He's finally a Doctor! Of Physics, that is....we went to his graduation last weekend, and despite the HUGE cost of a cap and gown for a PhD, I'm really glad he walked. Here are some pics and a video from the ceremony.

Things have been really, really crazy busy around here lately. I seem to be moving from day to day like a zombie just doing what needs to be done for the next day. Hopefully after grad school this weekend and the last week of school next week, things will settle down for awhile! I am SO excited about spending the summer at home (more or less) with Sarah! I hope she's excited too and that she won't be too sad to be away from her friends at school!

If You're Happy and You Know It!

2009-05-04T21:20:00.005-04:00

It's been a fun couple of weeks! This weekend we had a little graduation party for Jeremy. Several of his friends from work came and a few other friends, and it was so much fun to see all of the kids playing in the driveway. We had 5 kids here ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Sarah's toys really got a workout, and thankfully, she was OK with the idea of sharing. She was too busy eating Doritos anyway :-)

On Sunday afternoon we hung out at home and just relaxed. Sarah looks so grown up in her "big girl chair" with her "big girl water bottle." I can't believe she's almost 2! During the past couple of weeks she has really taken off with the "princess" idea. She will let you wash her hair in the tub if you tell her to wash her hair like a princess, and she LOVES to go get a new princess pull-up each morning. Her favorite for now is Cinderella, and if she's not asking to watch Barney, she's asking to watch "Cin-rella." She's also still bossy. For example, yesterday I was sitting in the computer chair looking at some papers while she watched tv. She came over to me, told me "hold you," and then as soon as I picked her up, she told me to "get up." Then she told me to "sit down couch Sarah." Basically, she can't do anything without one of us doing the same thing with her. Ughh!

After recording the perfect video of Sarah singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" a couple of weeks ago, I proceeded to record over it before uploading it to the computer--oops. So then I spent several more days trying to capture the moment again, but it just didn't happen. The clips in the video are takes #100 and 103. Just kidding....but they're not as good as the first one. However, my absolute favorite video of Sarah ever is the clip where she is laughing at the hopping toy bunny on the floor. What a laugh!

Finally, this was too funny not to write about: on Friday we were sitting in the driveway eating popsicles, and I took Sarah's shirt off so she wouldn't make a mess on it. The next thing out of Sarah's mouth was, pointing at ME, "take your shirt off." HA! Yeah, right, Sarah!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:40:00.007-04:00

We all had a great Easter weekend. Well, I'm not sure about Jeremy--he spent it working. Only 9 more days until his defense--eeck! Sarah had so much fun at the Egg Hunt on Saturday, except during the group photo ;-) I finally wrote down one of our car conversations this morning:
Sarah: See birdie!
Me: Do you see a bird?
Sarah: See bunny!
Me: Oh, you saw a bunny?
Sarah: Brought treats!
Me: The Easter Bunny brought you treats?
Sarah: Put in mouth.
Me: He brought you treats for your mouth?
Sarah: Eat it?

Enjoy the pics and video! As you will be able to tell, Sarah gets very excited when she sees Play Dough :-)

Spring Break!

2009-04-07T22:34:00.009-04:00

I think I could get used to a permanent Spring Break :-) Sarah, like I seem to say in all of my recent entries, is so much fun these days (and so funny!). I keep meaning to write down some of our conversations and post them, but I keep forgetting them by the time I get to a piece of paper. Her new favorite thing is to read books all by herself. She used to want someone to read to her, but now she wants to do it by herself. She usually will go get a book for herself, start reading it, then realize that I need a book too, go get me a book, and make sure that I sit right by her and read my book. She's a very particular little girl. Everything has to be just in it's place, and you don't want to hear her scream when she gets food stuck to her finger and can't wipe it off! I guess she's just beginning to realize that she can tell people what to do and they just might do it. Sarah spent the first half of her Spring Break week at school--I decided that I would get a "break" the first half of the week to catch up on chores around the house and maybe some LMU work, and Sarah will get her "break" the second half of the week. Today was her last day at school and I went to eat lunch with her there and took her home early, something I never get to do when I'm at work :-)

Jeremy and I dropped Sarah off at Mimi and Pawpaw's house on Saturday morning, and we went to Columbia, SC, for his best friend's wedding. We had a great "date" evening and enjoyed visiting with some old friends. If Jeremy agrees, I'll post the video later of him performing the chicken dance for Sarah! The chicken dance is one of her new favorite songs...

We're looking forward to our family Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday, and I'm sure I'll have some cute pictures to post afterwards!

Spring has Sprung!

2009-03-23T20:11:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's already Spring! The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of stress for Jeremy and me. I put in for a transfer at work back at the end of February and did not really know if I stood a chance of getting one or not. A couple of weeks ago, it started looking like a good possibility, but nothing was definite and it was a bit of a roller coaster ride. Thankfully, things worked out in my favor last Friday, and I got the transfer. Next year, I'll be working in a collaborative preschool classroom, which will be a regular Georgia Pre-K class with 6 kids with special needs and 14 typical kids. I'll work alongside the Georgia Pre-K teacher and aide, and a major perk is that I will be able take Sarah to work with me, since the Pre-K classes are in day care centers, and will not have to miss out on her school activities. We'll also seriously cut down on our daily commute time-wahoo! I am so excited about this new "chapter" in my career, and it will be so much fun to work in an inclusive setting.

Jeremy has officially scheduled his defense of his thesis for April 21st, so it looks like he's really on track for May graduation. He also has his very first "real" job interview this Thursday, in Richmond, Kentucky. He's really nervous because on top of being in a rush to get his dissertation completed, he now has to plan a seminar that he will present at his interview on Thursday. I think his stress might just beat out mine!

Sarah and I spent the day at my mom's a couple of weekends ago, and we got some cute pictures. She's getting a goofy picture smile. All I can say about Sarah right now is talk, talk, talk! She is SO chatty (that is, when she's not trying to be a couch potato and watch Barney all day, as you will see in the picture)! I need to write down some of our conversations so I can post one or two--some of them are pretty funny! :-)

If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes...oh what a snow it would be!

2009-03-02T11:12:00.003-05:00

We've had a great weekend and the snow day tops it off! One of my college apartment-mates came to visit for the weekend so she could go to the GCPS job fair on Saturday. Her trip to the job fair was less than ideal, but we had a nice time visiting anyway. Then we got a great surprise with all of the snow yesterday--I was probably more excited about it than Sarah and definitely more excited than Jeremy, but I think I was able to at least get Sarah into the snow spirit just a little bit. She really enjoyed watching the snow fall through the window and listening to me sing a silly little snow song I made up. She also liked the snow when it first started falling. We were at my mom's for awhile yesterday morning and my mom got some cute pictures when the snow first started to fall. Once the snow was on the ground, Sarah became afraid of it anytime we tried to put her in it. She did enjoy her laundry basket "sleigh ride" this morning, at least until the sleigh capsized and mommy took her on a sideways ride for a few feet. That ended the fun. I've had a fabulous time just hanging out at the house with my sweeties, and hopefully I will now be refreshed enough to make it to Spring Break!

Valentine's with Elmo

2009-02-09T21:09:00.005-05:00

First tea party with Daddy

Using a "big girl spoon" to transfer cheerios to nowhere

Sarah's hair is getting thicker!

Making a Valentine

Watching other kids hug on Elmo

We took Sarah to see her pal Elmo at the toy store on Saturday. She, of course, reacted to him the same way she reacted to Santa--she was terrified! We got a couple of pictures from afar, but no hugs for Elmo from Sarah this year :-) She did enjoy making a Valentine at the toy store.

I have to brag on Sarah--she has woken up dry two days in a row and then used the potty!!! I doubt it will last but great job Sarah! Sarah is learning all kinds of things these days, and it is so fun to watch her grow up. She is climbing and moving all over the place and talking up a storm. As you will see in the video, she is trying to climb, jump, and imitate what she sees on TV (I love the little head twitches with the Barney video). As for the TV, she is totally addicted to Barney and she pretty much gets to watch one Barney show per day. Maybe we can get tickets to see the "real" Barney some day :-)

Finally-a new post!

2009-01-16T20:40:00.003-05:00

My mom was wondering this morning why I have gone so long without a new post since I am usually pretty up to date. So now that Sarah is having a sleepover at Nana's (so that I can go to LMU tomorrow), here's a quick update:

My baby is not a baby anymore! She's growing up way too fast. A couple of weekends ago, I took her for her first haircut. I'm not really sure if she needed it or not or if you can even tell a difference, but it was a fun excursion. Sarah did a super job sitting in the chair like a big girl (the lollipop helped!).

We've (ie. me) had fun getting out the real "wintery" clothes this week, and Sarah praticed her model strut (and funny faces) in our kitchen...

Sarah is a LOT of fun these days. Her personality comes out more and more every day. She is talking all the time, and sometimes says the silliest things. For example, when she sneezes she says, "ah choo! Bless you Sarah." I guess she's heard that before...Her two favorite things lately are Barney and cheese. She also is addicted to The Wiggles, The Chicken Dance, and the Hi Ho song on YouTube. Jeremy calls her a computer potato :-( I guess she gets it from him. Sarah is also learning to color with crayons and on her Magna Doodle, and believe it or not she is beginning to take care of her baby dolls!!!! I thought she would never like baby dolls--until this month she didn't care a thing about them. Now she will give her baby a bottle, give her a bath with "lotion," and take the baby (or stuffed animal or whatever) for a walk in her new doll stroller. Yay Sarah!

Myrtle Beach Anniversary Trip

2008-12-31T21:30:00.003-05:00

Our very fancy, very tasty shrimp and grits dinner at Tommy Bahamas

View of the pier from a not-so-tasty restaurant

Cute little fountain outside of our condo

Our condo

Our 5th Anniversary dinner--I must say that we each look to be about 5 years old in this picture :-)

More Christmas Pictures

2008-12-31T21:27:00.004-05:00

Christmas Day Pictures and Video

2008-12-31T21:23:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve Pictures

2008-12-31T21:20:00.002-05:00