A Visit with Santa Claus

As you can see, Santa is not yet Addie's BFF! Talk about a death grip on my arm when we got close! I can't say I blame her though - strangers aren't her favorite normally, much less a big stranger in a red suit with a long white beard...

:-)


Just for fun, here's last year's...

(Too young to know she should be worried, I suppose ;-))

Eighteen-month checkup (a.k.a. Bad Mommy Moment)

Yesterday was Addie's eighteen-month checkup with Dr. Hood! It went a little differently than her past checkups. This time, as soon as we started to go back with the nurse, Addie stopped right in her tracks. John Michael had to carry her back to the exam room. Once we got in there, she clung to me for dear life! I'm pretty sure this is because last weekend, we had her flu shot. I'm guessing she realized what was to come (as she was scheduled to get her last hepatitis shot yesterday)!

Anyway, Addie weighed in at 21 lbs, 9 oz. and 30 3/4 inches long. STILL a peanut! She continues to hover around the 20-25th percentile in weight and 25th percentile in height. Again, Dr. Hood said she is doing great, growing well, and staying on the growth curve well!

So, very unlike herself, Addie wailed the whole time Dr. Hood was checking her out! She has never done that, but at least Dr. Hood laughed it off by saying that at least she's sure her lungs are doing great :-) She was a little fussy all week long - I attributed it a phase and beginning tantrums of the terrible twos. I even pointed out to Dr. Hood that her tantrums were becoming frustrating. Then came the bad mommy part - Dr. Hood checked out Addie's ears and it turned out her left one was VERY infected. :-( She had not been herself, and I didn't even think about her being sick! She had a slight fever last weekend, but it was right after her flu shot, so I just thought it was that! I was wrong. I felt so terrible, thinking my poor sweet baby has been in pain for God-only-knows-how-long. Boo. Her left tube has come out (which is normal - they're supposed to last 6 to 16 months, and this one stayed in about 6 months). Dr. Hood said that if after a course of super-duper antibiotics the ear doesn't look better, then she will recommend reinsertion of the tube (this is her second infection since the tube fell out about two months ago). At this point, I'm up for it, as they really made all the difference in her health, and her hearing is definitely something I don't want to mess around with...I'll keep you posted.

On the bright side, Addie is already back to her happy self today after two doses of her medicine. She did not nap today and was STILL running around giggling (maybe she was delirious - either way, she was fun!)! And, I got a fair amount of her Christmas shopping done today with Lynn, which means that all I have left is EVERYONE ELSE! I feel so far behind... :-)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Mimi & PawPaw & Gigi and have also enjoyed spending time with Uncle Nate & Aunt Rissa this week, too! We hope to have our Christmas decorations out by the end of the weekend. And speaking of Christmas, we had a visit to Santa on Wednesday evening - our second annual Addie & Holland trip. I'll have to scan the picture, but in the meantime I'll spoil the surprise and just say that it is ADORABLE!

Here are a few from Thanksgiving at my parents' house...

"I loooove my rocking chair!"



I was trying to get Addie to laugh by sticking out my tongue, and instead, she decided to copy me.

Addie and PawPaw



Addie and Mimi

Happy One-and-a-half!

Okay, so I'm a week late, but last Saturday Addie turned EIGHTEEN MONTHS old! Can you believe it?! Obviously, I can't. :-) Anyway, being the huge birthday person that I am, we decided to celebrate Addie's half-birthday! We had Lynn, Kris, Holland, Leslie & Skye over to watch the UT/Arkansas game, and celebrated with a half-cake! The funny thing was to see Addie & Holland using forks to eat their cake instead of just digging in with their hands like they did six months ago.

Time has just flown. I can't believe it was a year and a half ago that Addie was born. And I know I say it at each stage, but this is truly the cutest stage that she has been in. She is talking SO much and loves to "chat" on the phone and also loves to sing to herself in the morning before we come get her out of her crib. She is becoming more shy (shier?) but she's also warming up to people more quickly than she used to (if that makes sense). She loves to read books and uses them to postpone bedtime whenever possible. She is just TOO precious! We are getting so excited about celebrating the holidays with her!

Addie's 18-month checkup is this Friday, so I'll post her stats after that. But I'm pretty sure she's had a decent growth spurt since her last appointment. She's now in all 18-month clothes (as opposed to most of her 6-9 month clothes still fitting her at her 15-month checkup), and today we went shoe shopping and she is now wearing a 4 1/2 (still little, but JM & I both have little feet) - and the last pair of shoes we bought her were size 3 (oops!). I'm excited to see how much she has grown!

The half-cake!
(Thanks for the help, Lynn! Love ya!)

"My nap was way too short!"
(Look at that cute cheerleader outfit!)


"Mmmm...cake..."
(Still half asleep - Holland was more animated, but I'm a bad photographer and the pics I took of him are blurry. Probably because he was more animated. Hehe.)

Addie-isms

So I realized that I haven't recently blogged about some of the cute things (I know, I'm biased) Addie is doing lately, so I thought I'd take the time so that I have them written down whenever I get around to that baby book :-)

• knows all of her animal sounds - but her favorites are "ssssssssssss" for snake, "dack, dack" for duck, "ha ha ha" for dog, "booooooo" for cow, and "oooo eeeeee" for monkey.
• always has to have a book and knows which her favorites are!
• shakes her finger whenever she sees the "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" book
• asked Gramma to "read, please" last week
• when I asked her to "hold on for a moment, please" she said "I hold on." TOO CUTE!
• is really catching on to the whole potty concept (no, we're not pushing it, but we did buy her a potty to sit on!)
• is learning & using even more sign language (more, hungry, outside, thank you, please, all done)
• always has to have shoes on
• always has to have Mommy (awwww!)
• does NOT like to have long sleeves on, but...
• loves to have her jacket on
• shakes her head no profusely when we ask her if she's ready for night-night
• still loves bath time
• likes to run around naked after bath time!
  
• loves to be outside
• throws tantrums often (and is cute even then)
  
• is not a morning person!
• loves the dog and doesn't understand "gentle!"
• TONS more cute stuff that I can't remember right now!
  

I'm realizing that I should do this daily...maybe I'll start that. But here are some more pictures and a cute video:

They were getting along great til Addie tried to climb on Hops...

As a matter of fact, she is trying to eat the grass.


Addie makes sure the tomatoes are okay for us to eat:

A fun few weeks!

We have had a great past few weeks! We celebrated my birthday on 10/24, which was lots of fun! I got to celebrate that weekend with my parents on Friday, and then with Lynn & Kris on Saturday. We had a blast! We started off the afternoon by Kris taking a few pics of the kiddos in their Halloween costumes. Then, we went to California Pizza Kitchen and then wandered around the new shopping area at Green Hills. After that, we went to a Predators game! We had a blast. Addie was a little nervous about the crowd, but I think she was just a little skittish because she had just fallen and gotten a boo-boo on her nose (I'll post a pic). Holland had a great time, though, and cheered enough for all of us!

Halloween was awesome! Both sets of grandparents came over for dinner and to help us greet our trick-or-treaters. And Addie was the cutest little pumpkin fairy ever! She LOVED the shoes and headband to her costume (so much, actually, that she has been wearing them around the house for about a month - all we have to do is ask her if she wants her pumpkin shoes and she is thrilled!). She didn't like the costume itself so much, but looking at the pictures - can you blame her?! Anyway - here are some pics! The professional ones are by Kris.

Kris decided it'd be cute to get some of the babies together...

That lasted a long time...


Then off came Addie's costume!

We also carved some pumpkins last week!

Addie's not so sure...


What IS this thing, Daddy?!



I'll just read my books instead...
(and a closeup of her boo-boo :( )


Ewwww!!!



My pumpkin with her pumpkins



Our jack-o-lanterns :-)

A few more...

Halloween jammies! It's a little skeleton and the "bones" glow in the dark! Too cute...

Mommy, Addie and Gramma - One...two...three...JUMP!



We obviously cannot get enough of the pumpkin farm :)

Picture time!

Catching up!

Addie's favorite activity!

This was Grampa's desk when he was a little boy!

Holland, ready to roll!

I am pretty sure that Addie is in the middle of a cough in this picture, but I thought it was a pretty decent one of me - ha ha ha :)

The babies didn't quite feel like cheesing it up for this pic, but Lynn and I sure did!


Clapping for the band & Rocky Top!


Yay! It's Smokey!

Okay, I have a few more to post, but apparently Blogger is done with me for now. More later!

Babyfest 2007

I am a SLACKER and am just now getting around to blogging about our cabin weekend (two weekends ago, for the UT/Georgia game!)! We had a blast! We stayed at this cabin, which I would highly recommend! There were six couples there and FIVE babies ranging in age from 10 months to 21 months. What a full house! It was so much fun! The babies all played together well, and they all slept well both nights, too, which was a huge surprise with all the activity going on. We did have a few wake-ups on Friday evening because all the grownups were playing cards and catching up rather loudly :)

On Saturday, John Michael, Addie, Lynn, Kris, Holland and I went to campus to join JM's parents for their tailgate. Our friends Alan & Cindy and Travis & Stacy and Nate & Misha offered to keep the babies, but we wanted them to experience UT at its finest :) We had a blast, but after about 30 minutes at the tailgate, Lynn and I decided we had had enough of trying to chase the kiddos in the heat, so we took them into the Communications building and let them run off some energy in the air conditioning. Then we decided to head out (JM and Kris were going to the game - had decided all along that we didn't want to attempt the game with the babies - a.k.a., we didn't want to pay for tickets for them :)). Our timing was perfect, and we ended up walking down Neyland Drive right as the band was coming in! The security guards let us bring the strollers in front of the barricades, so we literally got front row seats. It was AWESOME! Addie and Holland were thrilled, and clapped along to Rocky Top just like the rest of us :)

We had quite an adventure getting back to the car (I'll sum it up by saying that it was HOT and stupid Andy Holt garage has independent levels and doors without handles and stupid, stupid stairwells...use your imagination), but were cracking up so it was fun :) Then, we stopped at Sawyer's, which is always a treat...

By the time we got back to the cabin, we were exhausted, but were SO excited to watch the game on tv. And, JM and Kris had a BLAST at the game, so we were happy they had gotten to go. The whole group had a good time that evening watching even more football. I'm pretty sure JM and I went to bed at about 10 p.m. that night (yes, that is 9 p.m. Central time) - it was a long day! And keeping up with 5 babies is exhausting, even when you have 12 adults!!!!

We said our goodbyes on Sunday - I think we're all really looking forward to next year! It was a great group with old friends and new friends!


Here's one pic - I have more that I will upload later (I'm at school right now):

From left to right:
Travis with Madison (10 months)
Stacy (pregnant with baby girl #2!!!! - yes, her girls will be less than 13 months apart!)
Alan (JM's roommate)
Cindy with Jacob (21 months)
Lynn
Kris with Holland (16 months)
Me with Addie (17 months)
[JM is taking the picture]
Misha with Sophie (12 months)
Christie
Nick (JM's roommate)
Nate (Nicks brother, Misha's husband, Sophie's dad)

PHEW! :)

PUMPKINS!

We had a BLAST this weekend! We started out Saturday morning by taking a trip to Gentry's Farm in Franklin with Lynn, Kris & Holland, and a couple of Addie's school friends and their parents. We had such a good time! It is a farm with a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and a great little activity area. The kids had a blast and I think us parents had just as much fun! We took tons of pictures and bought a few too many pumpkins! On Saturday evening, we went over to Lynn & Kris' for dinner and then Addie and Holland painted their pumpkins. And by "painted their pumpkins," I mean they made a big mess of themselves and us. TOO CUTE!

Unfortunately, John Michael and I have misplaced our memory card reader. Fortunately, Kris is an amazing (AMAZING!) photographer and has set up two pages on with the kiddos' pics from this weekend.

Gentry's Farm pics

Pumpkin painting pics

What an awesome weekend! Can't wait for this weekend, when we're all going to Knoxville for a cabin weekend and some UT FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!

I'll keep you posted :)

It was bound to happen...

Addie is officially a "Daddy's Girl" now. For the past week or so, she has wanted DADDY. Not Mommy, but Daddy. I guess I know these things go in phases. And I really can't complain - for the past 16+ months, it's been ME she's wanted (and really, no one else could even compare). But the times, they have a-changed. She cries when he leaves the room. She cries when I take her from him. She pushes me away from him when I give him a hug! (Yes, seriously!!) Daddy is #1! And I think it's adorable!!!!


(Okay, did I have you fooled for even a second? It's killing me! Hehehe. Ready for a "phase" change again... :))


Ha ha - but honestly, on the bright side, this has coincided with Addie and me having a stomach bug. So it was nice that she wasn't super-attached to me when I was feeling my worst earlier this week, and then again when she came down with it today (since JM was the one to pick her up from school). Phew! Anyway, keep us in your thoughts and prayers as our tummies heal and get back to 100%. Also, pray that JM doesn't come down with it next! Oh, and also pray that I reclaim my #1 status (no, not seriously ;))! HA!

Park time!

Last weekend was John Michael's 10-year reunion! We had a good time. We went to the "formal" part of it on Saturday evening and really enjoyed seeing a lot of old friends. Since we dated in high school (and I graduated just two years after him), a lot of my friends were in his class, too! So it was fun for both of us. They also had a family picnic on Saturday afternoon, so we got to show Addie off to his classmates. That was the highlight of our day :) It was at a park, so Addie had a blast on the swings and the slide! I wasn't able to catch any really good pictures, but I did get a few decent ones. We were all decked out in our UT gear to watch the game later that day...

Although the game was LAME, we had a blast watching it at Lynn & Kris' and really enjoyed (ahem...) Kris' margaritas. Thanks (as always...) for having us over, guys!

Here are the park pics!

Addie stole my sandwich and then took all the meat off so she could eat just bread & cheese!

"I. Wanna. Go. HIGHER!"

"You all look like little ants from up here!"

Just some random pictures!

Addie and the princess-mobile (and the paci...we're slowly starting to wean away from the paci - wish us luck!!!!!)

"Look, Mom! No hands!"

Just thought poor Hops probably felt left out :)

Fun at the zoo!

This past weekend, we took a trip to the Nashville Zoo with one of Addie's friends, Olivia, and her parents, our friends Amy and Randy! Olivia is 4 months older than Addie and is an absolute DOLL! We had such a good time, even though the weather was a little iffy. It rained while we were driving up there, but was dry (although VERY humid!) the whole time we were there! And thankfully, it was cool enough for the animals to want to get out and play, so we didn't have to worry about trying to point them out to Addie. It was great! We ate a quick lunch there, decided it was time to go home (Addie & Olivia were getting sleepy), and it started raining on us as we were leaving! We couldn't have timed it much better than that :)

Here are some pictures!

"Daddy, look!"
(She was probably saying, "Sthat?")

Addie and Olivia checking out the meerkat!

Cougar cubs - check out the size of those paws! Yikes!

Addie wanted to walk, so she held Daddy's hand! Then she held both of our hands at the same time and was SO happy! :)

The merry-go-round - Addie was NOT impressed! But look at Olivia's big smile! CUTE!


And. She's. Spent...

My 100 things...

My friend Amber had this on her blog and I decided I'd participate, too! It was a struggle to come up with 100 things, but once I hit 100, I bet I could've listed 10 more. Funny how that works :)

So here it is - 100 things about me (some of them are just random thoughts that popped into my head at the time I made the list). Enjoy!

1. I knew I would love being a mom, but I had no clue just how much!
2. I secretly would love to be involved in politics, but I don’t think anyone would vote for me because my political beliefs are so moderate.
3. Oh yeah, that, and that I’d NEVER put my family through that lifestyle!
4. There are days when I am very thankful I work outside the home.
5. There are other days when I cry having to leave Addie at daycare.
6. I am amazed at everything Addie learns at her “school,” and wonder if I’d do as good of a job if I were the only one teaching her! (I know, I know…)
7. I am a truly messy person. I try, try, TRY to keep the house clean, but I just get overwhelmed. But the mess does bother me.
8. I married an equally messy person. The problem is, messes don’t bother him!
9. I am ready to find a church that we truly love, but feel overwhelmed by the task.
10. I was baptized alongside my brother, when I was 13, and cherish that moment every day.
11. I wish my brother and I were as close as we used to be, and I miss the fun times we used to have!
12. Before I was pregnant, I wanted a boy SO badly! But about a month before my ultrasound, I just started thinking we were having a girl, and I think I would’ve been disappointed otherwise.
13. I still cried a tiny bit out of jealousy when my best friend called to tell me she was having a boy, even though I was THRILLED with the thought of having a girl!
14. John Michael and I had Addie’s name picked out for months, but could never agree on a boy name (we were leaning towards Jackson, though, and calling him Jack, after JM’s grandfather).
15. John Michael really wants to still have a boy, but I think it would be fun to have another girl so that Addie could show a little sister all the fun girly things that sisters get to share.
16. I would be just as thrilled to have a boy, and I actually change my mind each day as to which I would prefer. :)
17. I LOVED being pregnant, even though I had morning sickness for five weeks.
18. I agree with Amber – childbirth wasn’t so bad! I told my friend that same day, “Yeah, I’d do it again!”
19. That was before I realized it would hurt for me to sit down for about a month! Ha ha ha. Sorry, TMI…
20. I’d still do it again, and look forward to having another child soon.
21. I breastfed Addison for nearly 10 months. My “goal” was 6 weeks. I’m very proud of that accomplishment, because I am a working mom and that entailed me having to pump 3 times a day in the locker room of my company. I did at least get to lock the door and everything.
22. I found myself being a total breastmilk snob and didn’t let Addie have any formula until my body just couldn’t keep up with her.
23. I have to admit that I enjoyed how easy formula is when it was time for us to use it for Addison!!
24. I am a Tennessee Volunteer and wear orange every Friday before a football game (and of course, on every game day)!!!
25. I followed John Michael to college. I can freely and proudly admit that now, although I never would’ve admitted that in college :)
26. John Michael and I have been married for over 5 years, but started dating almost 11 years ago, after we met my sophomore year and his senior year of high school.
27. I cannot have my feet covered up when I sleep. Because of this, I never tuck the top sheet under the mattress when putting new sheets on a bed. I also have to untuck the sheets whenever I sleep in a hotel bed.
28. I also like to have a fan blowing on my legs and feet when I sleep! This also serves to drown out JM’s snoring – ha ha ha.
29. If you’ve told me your birthday once, it’s very likely I still remember it. I have a crazy memory for numbers.
30. I buy birthday/anniversary/thank you cards, but rarely get them sent out!
31. Although I have written most of them, I still haven’t sent Addie’s thank you cards for her birthday out! The shame!!! :(
32. I truly enjoy giving more than receiving – although I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy receiving thoughtful gifts, too.
33. I consider my birthday a HUGE holiday (it actually is a national holiday – United Nations Day!).
34. Not only do I love my birthday, but I love others’ birthdays too! I get so excited!
35. I’ve been counting down to my birthday for over a month already, and I still have a month and a half to go. I hope I never grow out of this.
36. I floss at least once a day!
37. I still get cavities because I love to eat sweets.
38. I made it 6 months into my pregnancy without caffeine before I decided we’d all be better off if I just had one small cup of coffee each morning. It was also my way to try to begin teaching Addie the difference between night and day, since her favorite time to “play” in my tummy was when I wanted to sleep!
39. It worked! She was a good sleeper from the time we brought her home, and slept through the night consistently before she was two months old!
40. I suffered from the “baby blues” pretty badly after Addie was born, but thankfully, never had to seek medical advice (just lots and lots of family support and prayers!).
41. I am in my fourth year of law school, and hope to graduate next year!
42. After I graduate, I would like to start a small firm and work part time to have more time with my child(ren).
43. I gained almost 20 pounds from the time of my engagement til when John Michael and I moved back to Nashville, a year after we got married.
44. Because I knew we’d be thinking about starting a family within the next few years, I did Weight Watchers to get to an acceptable weight (in my own mind) that would be a healthy “starting point” for a pregnancy. I lost all 20 pounds.
45. I gained 29 pounds during my pregnancy and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight within 3 months. I think this was due to breastfeeding a little monster :)
    
46. My parents always call me Krissy or Krissy Leigh. A few of my close friends do, too! I almost decided to go by Krissy at school one year, but decided against it at the last minute.
47. I bake a few cookies for John Michael and myself almost every night – gotta love the break ‘n bake! It’s become one of our little “things.”
48. I’ve discovered that the Kroger brand snickerdoodles are the BEST break ‘n bakes.
49. I am not a huge fan of driving. Okay, I admit – I hate to drive! I always have. I even put off getting my driver’s license for like 3 months after I turned 16!
50. I get my eyebrows done on a regular basis (probably not regularly enough!). I thank my sweet mother-in-law for her gift cards to my favorite day spa to have this done!
51. I am blessed to have been raised by the most loving, wonderful parents in the world!
52. I am equally blessed to have wonderful in-laws. I absolutely adore my mother- and father-in-law and think they did a fantastic job raising their sons.
53. John Michael and I both look to our parents quite often for guidance and feel so fortunate that we have such AWESOME mentors!
54. I have so enjoyed watching our parents in their roles as grandparents. They are all so giving and selfless in helping us raise our daughter.
55. I am a spelling geek. I actually won second place in the Williamson County spelling bee in sixth grade, and went on to the state bee. I lost in the first round on the word “dumbbell.” I left one of the Bs out. What a dumbbell…
56. I just started a new job and am not enjoying being the “new kid.”
57. I am a perfectionist and am so hard on myself when I make mistakes (hence why I am NOT enjoying being the new kid).
58. I love flowers, but don’t like the scent of most of them.
59. I have a black thumb. John Michael does our landscaping.
60. I am a compulsive e-mail checker. If you want to get information to me quickly, send me an e-mail! But, I only write back when I have time to send a thoughtful response :)
    
61. I love to cook but find myself making the same things over and over again.
62. I don’t exercise enough, but just joined a gym for FREE with my new job!
63. I enjoy red wine.
64. Ever since I had Addie, I can only drink about half a glass of wine before I’m tipsy! So annoying. I guess it could be considered good sometimes though – hehe.
65. When I get home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I go up to Addie’s room, pick her up, and hold her for little while. She never wakes up!
66. I hope she is always as sound of a sleeper as she is now! :)
67. My favorite feature about myself would have to be my hands.
68. I desperately need a manicure, but I do NOT enjoy them!
69. I also don’t enjoy massages. I know, I’m weird! I think I just haven’t had a “good” one.
70. I do enjoy pedicures!
71. I broke a bone in my foot once when I stubbed my pinky toe.
72. I am a Delta Gamma and would be thrilled if Addie wants to join a sorority (especially if it were DG – ha ha) when she is in college.
73. I enjoy a show on the SciFi channel called “Eureka.”
74. I’m not a sci-fi geek, honest!
75. I enjoy ridiculous movies. If most people think it’s a waste of film, it’s probably on my top ten list.
76. I played the piano for 8 years and was pretty darn good!
77. I also played the flute for 5 years. I was never any good…
78. My husband wants 5 children.
79. I want 2 children, and we AGREED on 2 before we got married. John Michael!!!!! :)
80. I don’t do well with change.
81. I just told JM I was running out of things to say and he told me to say that I’m a wonderful mother. So I’m putting it, because I think he knows what he’s talkin’ ‘bout ;)
82. My favorite part of every day is when Addie walks over to me to sit in my lap and read a book.
83. My second favorite part of every day is bedtime, because I’m usually exhausted by that time!
84. I’ve never had a credit card because I don’t think I’d be responsible with one!
85. I worked at TJ Maxx for 3 years and do not like shopping there. I hate having to hunt for things!
86. I once backed into a parked tractor trailer.
87. I ran over a dog a couple of years ago and cried hysterically off and on for three days about it! I couldn’t even pull over to see if he was okay! (I’m pretty sure that was a negative – he was a little yap-yap dog and I drive a small SUV :( ).
88. I got hit by a deer a few years ago. It ran right out and hit my drivers’ side window with its hoof, knocked off the mirror, then bounced down the side of the car! THEN it got up and ran away!!!!
89. I nickname my cars. The car that the deer hit was from then on out known as the “Deer-mobile.” I have also had the “Check Engine-mobile” and the “Katie-mobile.”
90. I have an amazing husband, and he is also an amazing father!
91. I was dreading having a last name that was a vegetable, but now I love it and collect corn stuff! I swear, I thought I’d be dead before I’d do that! :)
92. I read all seven Harry Potter books in a little over one month.
93. I like to eat cereal for dinner sometimes (when JM is out of town).
    
94. I don’t really believe in horoscopes, but if you look up the “definition” of someone born on the cusp of libra and scorpio, you’ll find a pretty accurate description of me!
95. I have never really figured out how to do my hair right, although I think the Chi is the best invention in beauty products since mascara.
96. I was almost 9 before I learned to ride a bike!
97. I have bad luck keeping hair stylists – they always seem to move!
98. I use exclamation points WAY TOO MUCH!!!
99. I am overall a very happy person, although I am becoming cynical in my “old age.” :)
100. Last, but certainly not least, I am amazed every day by the miracle of my daughter’s birth. What an amazing gift God has given me, and what a wonderful and blessed life I lead!

It's FOOTBALL time in TENNESSEE!

Yippee! I can't believe it's already here! We started yesterday morning out by getting Addie in her Vols cheerleader outfit first thing! We woke Daddy up by singing "Rocky Top" - it doesn't get much better than that :) We did end up having to change to a different dress though, because the cheerleader outfit looked scratchy to me (it comes with a turtleneck, but it's obviously too hot for that right now)!

Anyway, the game didn't go quite as planned, but we still had a blast! We went to Lynn and Kris' and watched the game with them, and also with my old roomie Elizabeth, and Lynn's sister Lee came over, too. We had so much fun and taught Addie and Holland to say "Touchdown!" We're working on "Go Vols!" still. We even thought we'd compromise with "Go Ball!" I'll keep you posted :)

Tonight we had a great time, too - we had Lynn, Kris and Holland, and Leslie and Skye over for dinner! It was so nice outside, so we got to eat out there. You'll notice in the pictures the beeeautiful fence. I have to brag and say that John Michael did it all by himself (with a little help from his dad). He is still going to be doing a top lattice-work part, but at the very least right now we have a FENCED-IN YARD!! Yippeeee! That means no worrying about Hops being outside, and no worrying about Addie and Holland running out in the street! I'm so proud of my husband. I think I'll keep him... ;)

Anyway, Addie is doing great. She is really comprehending SO much lately! She can follow directions very well, knows almost all animals by sight and can point to them when asked, and her vocabulary is expanding daily! She can also make animal sounds, too (I'm totally stretching the truth on this one - I'll have to post a video as to her interpretation of how animals "go" :)). It is just amazing to watch her learn and grow. It's as if everything just "clicks" with her lately. She's such a smart, smart girl! I'm so proud of her!

Picture time!

Addie and Holland on their "couch" (and Addie not looking at the camera...)


Addie and Holland cheering on the Vols!

"TOUCHDOWN!!!"



My little DG legacy :)

Holland sitting on the Cornhole game and eating the bags!


Holland & Addie, ready for game time!