Water Babies

All three of our girls are like little fish. They love the water and would rather be swimming that doing pretty much anything else (besides BB who would obviously take shopping over swimming any day)! So last week when Towns' friend Emma invited us all over to her neighborhood pool we gladly obliged. Emma has an older sister, Olivia (she's 7), who also had a friend over so Bethany was a doll and entertained them all by showing them all the fabulous tricks she can do in the water. I think Towns was rather proud to get to show Bethany off to all of her friends....she thought she was the coolest 3 year old at the pool!

10 Months

It's official! Cate's spent as much time in this great big world as she spent getting ready to come into it (she was 10 months on the 24th so this is a few days late)....I do believe she's loving it so far!

She loves sitting in this rocking chair (it was my dad's when he was little - I painted it and recovered the seat) because she thinks she's such a big girl....

She loves drinking water out of the faucet in the bath tub (something she figured out on her own, she's never seen any of us do it of course)...

She loves helping me unload the dishwasher (excuse the diaper shot, classy, I know)...

She loves feeding herself....

She loves being outside checking out the new things around her...

She loves trying to copy her sisters and their stunts....

She loves going for a dip in the pool....

She loves to read books...

She loves showing us that's she's big enough to stand up only holding on with one hand while she has a toy in the other hand. She'll look at you and grin until you tell her how great she's doing....

She loves trying to stay right in the middle of her sisters to make sure she doesn't miss a thing (I love this picture of the three of them all lined up playing together)...

She loves getting a bath in the sink....

She loves being wrapped up in a towel after her bath and me holding her tight to keep her warm, although these days she usually won't stay still very long like she used to....

She loves her daddy like crazy....

And she loves giving me that sweet smile every day which totally and completely melts my heart....

Happy 10 month birthday to you, Cate Bug! I LOVE YOU!!!

In other news, Cate got tubes put in her ears this past Friday. She's had ear issues off and on since December and I knew it was coming...last Tuesday her ENT told us that we couldn't put it off any longer. We'd been trying to wait a little while because of how small she was. I know plenty of babies have them done when they're tiny, but I just couldn't do it to Cate. J and I both finally felt she was big enough and ready for them and I'm so glad it's all over with. It was immediate relief for her and by Friday afternoon we could tell she was a much happier baby. And she's been that way ever since. We were supposed to have our pictures made for our church directory Saturday afternoon and I ended up rescheduling them at the last minute because I wasn't sure how she'd be feeling (and she'd also fallen off of our bed {first time for her, by this age Towns had done it several times and she turned out just fine so I know Cate will too} so she was sporting a huge bruise on her head and a scrape beside her right eye...didn't want her to look back at those pictures one day wondering if she was mistreated!). Should have kept the appointment though because she's been all smiles since Friday! My personal favorite part of the whole deal was that she couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight Thursday night...being that she's still eating almost every 3 hours and her surgery wasn't until 7:45 Friday morning, I didn't know what on earth we were going to do with her. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I knew that the only way she'd be able to go that long without eating would be for the Lord to take control and keep her calm. And He did. Not once did she cry for a bottle. Never in her life has she been that long without eating. You have no idea how thankful I was...when she's hungry she lets the whole world know about it. And I nearly died when we walked into the surgery center at 6:45 a.m. and it was completely dark. I thought to myself surely I've got my dates and times right. Turns out the power was out and the receptionist politely told me that there was nothing they could do, have a seat, and they'd get everyone registered when we could. I'm thinking you don't understand...I have a 10 month old who hasn't eaten in almost 12 hours who also happens to be a baby who normally would have had two or three bottles by now, and unless you want to hear how she feels about not eating all morning you better find out how to get that power back on so she can have her surgery and EAT!!!! I didn't say that, of course, I only told her that I hope she and her co-workers had a set of ear plugs. She laughed and said it wouldn't be the first time they'd had a baby scream so they understood. I don't think she really did. This is Cate. Not just some baby. Anyway, I went and found a seat and sat there and prayed for about five minutes straight for the power to come back on so we could get moving. And low and behold about 30 seconds later the lights flickered and we were good to go. I said "thank you JESUS" out loud before I realized it and turned to see everyone staring at me. And I couldn't have cared less!

Pictures from waiting for Cate to go into surgery....everything is always a family affair and I've always got my camera....I just can't help myself! Poor little Cate looks pitiful here, but at least she wasn't screaming!

Always an Adventure

With a husband like mine, you never know what's in store for you when you get a phone call that starts off with "get the girls ready, dressed for the outdoors, and I'll be there in 30 minutes to pick you up." He's a pretty adventurous guy and I love that about him. I just can't keep up with him. I did indulge him (against my good judgment)and bought him a sky diving gift certificate for his birthday. Although I'm starting to wonder why on earth I did a thing like that. He hasn't gone yet. Therefore I'm still blogging from the comfort of my home vs. a hospital bed recovering from a mild heart attack. Anyway, the other day he took us all to Hurricane Creek Park north of Cullman to hike and rock climb. Us girls (minus Towns - she was busting at the seams to get there) weren't overly thrilled about the trip. It was pushing 100 degrees. B and I are girly girls and aren't keen on breaking a sweat if we don't absolutely have to! {However, J's gotten me to go to the Decatur High football field with him a couple of times this week to run 400 meter sprints and a whole stadium of stairs...which is why I can barely move my legs as we speak.} I must say that we had a grand ol' time. And carrying a 17 pound baby in the Baby Bjorn all the way down a mountain (ok, maybe not quite a mountain, but that's what it felt like) and then back up was a great little workout! Bethany and Towns had a great time and were rock climbing champs! J even showed us a few tricks on the rock climbing wall...he's such a dare devil. I'll just let the pictures tell the rest of the story...

Everyone took a turn on the rock climbing wall (just a small one to practice on before you climb the real thing)...

J's hanging upside down from the ceiling here...

Cate enjoyed climbing all over the padded mats...that was more her speed!

After a practice run, we're all ready to go...

Cate was loving the Baby Bjorn (mama's back, however, was not!)

5 minutes into it and we're already lost...J has to consult the map!

Now we're back on track and had to stop for a quick pic..

B coming out of the outhouse...a first for her, I do believe! :)

All Cate wanted to do was get down in the dirt and see what all her little hands could pick up.

I think Towns had almost had her fill by now...

But then we got to the creek and her eyes lit up...she just had to take a dip! B and I opted to watch from afar! {Just realized you can barely see J & Towns...they're on the far left wading in the water}

Here's Towns wondering how she's going to get across that little walkway to get to her sister (you can barely see B in the background).

Cute Bet-ny! She's going to strike a pose for every camera that comes her way! :)

Cate got a little dirt on her hands and was thinking hard on how to get it off...

She figured out that brushing her hands together did the trick...smarty!

Since we all made the family trip to Hurricane Creek Park, J's roped me into two more hiking adventures for just the two of us. I think I've turned over a new leaf. I've always been opposed to doing things I didn't like, or maybe I should say things I thought I wouldn't like. Turns out I should have been a little more open minded. I've never thought of myself as a very outdoorsy kind of gal. But after a 6 mile hike two days in a row I know now what great exercise it is without really even realizing your body is working so hard! It felt great. It's really neat to be in the wilderness (one of our hikes was in the Sipsey Wilderness which has never been touched and still has trees that have been there since the beginning of time...or so they say) and see God's creation from a different view than what I'm used to. It gives me a lot more appreciation for it. And when you think about it, not only is it wonderful exercise, it's great for the relationship too....where else can you go where it's just you and your hubby for hours, you don't see another soul the entire time, and you have no choice but to talk each other's ears off (something that rarely happens when you've got small children)! Ok, well, other than being on a secluded island lying on the beach which I probably have voted for over hiking through the woods, but you get the point!

A Day at Bridge Street

I think I might be the only person in north AL who has yet to visit Huntsville's Bridge Street, but today was the day. And I'm in love! We didn't have much on the agenda this morning, so I took the girls and we strolled around for hours. Bethany was with us and I think she might have liked it even better than I did...she's the shopper extraordinaire of the family! When we drove up (of course she voted for valet), she thought the place had been picked up from the streets of LA and dropped right here in our backyard! She was in awe of all the stores and had to have her picture made in front of all the "famous" ones! If I had a winning lottery ticket, I could have bought her all the fabulous things she put on her wish list (mainly at the Apple store)! Here are a few highlights from the day....

B at Juicy Couture

B in front of Ketchup...where she says the showdown between Heidi and LC took place on The Hills last season, hence the reason she nearly had a massive coronary when she spotted it!

Towns taking a rest in Kate Spade

Sweet little Cate was just along for the ride and was a doll the whole time...her treat was Maggie Moo's ice cream and she LOVED it! Cheesecake with cookie dough was her personal fave (and mine too)!

Towns thought this was a stage and she performed a few numbers (not even stopping to care that everyone was watching her)

The carousel was our last stop...

And finally, a group shot on the bench in front of Cantina Laredo (which I just know is bound to be my new favorite Mexican spot)

It was a great day, gorgeous weather, and I had the most fun company a girl could ask for!

Pictures!

A few (read: lots of) pictures from the last couple of weeks...

We went to Montgomery a couple of weeks ago to visit my aunt, cousin and grandmother. Cate got introduced to Diet Coke (everyone in my family is obsessed!) and now she thinks every Diet Coke can she sees obviously should belong to her the way she tries to get her little mouth on it! Towns enjoyed spending time with Mary Catherine and was in heaven because Mary Cat does whatever Towns asks her to do without hesitating. Mary Cat's boyfriend, Cam, came over to meet Towns and Cate and he was a hit to say the least! Mary C is 16 and she and I are very much alike so it's always fun to spend a little quality time with her. Melissa and Granny kept the girls one night so MC and I could do dinner, a movie, and a late night Target run...it was the highlight of my week! We enjoyed Bethany's company too...she came and spent the night with us...wish she'd have been there the night we got way too into Guitar Hero...that was a first for me! I always leave Montgomery wishing we still lived there...Decatur is WAY too far north for me! :)

Aunt Melissa giving Cate her first taste of DC!

Mary Catherine and Towns in the pool

Mary C and Cam (the boyfriend)

Bethany and Cate

Towns learned how to get herself out of the pool without using the steps or the ladder...she's pretty strong!

Towns, Cate and Granny (she wasn't excited about having her picture made "without her face painted")

These next pictures are from the splash pad last week...

Let me explain this one...I know she's only 9 1/2 months so technically she shouldn't be in this car seat, but we only live 2 blocks from the splash pad and we wanted to see how she liked riding this way...as you can see by her face SHE LOVED IT! The bad news is that now she can't stand the infant carrier because she's gotten a taste of the good life!

I love her little profile...

Not sure what the look on her face was about!