My Other Favorite...

Thought I'd share my other favorite birthday present with you...

I absolutely love it because it's the easiest one I've ever read and it's one that you can read completely in a year. It's a NLT which is a first for me (I've always been a traditional King James girl), but reading it feels like I'm having a conversation with someone. It's so easy to understand and I'm not left re-reading a verse five times trying to figure it out. I highly recommend it if you're in the market for something new and different! You can find it here...

Where Do I Begin?

It's only been a few days since I've been here, but it seems like loads of things have happened since then! Where to start.... First of all I have to give a major shout out to my sweet hubby who gave me Auburn football tickets for my birthday today!! I was totally caught off guard and very pleasantly surprised! It's the 2nd most thoughtful thing he's ever given me...it falls right behind the baby grand piano he gave me 2 Christmases ago since I'd been secretly longing for a piano of my own for years. Playing the piano is something near and dear to my heart, and I never knew he realized how much I loved it and missed being able to play since we didn't have a piano {the piano I grew up playing is at my mom's house and she vows never to let it leave there...we've got in many an argument about her being so stingy with it!}. So about a week before Christmas two years ago I'd been out and about one morning and come home to see J's car there which was odd. I walked in to the most beautiful, shiny black baby grand (that had just been delivered) sitting there staring at me as I started back at it for a solid ten minutes...tears in my eyes and speechless! Was it for real?? Mine??? Those are the only two thoughts I could put together!

Seems like everyone else knew about it except me. My sweet in-laws had a package waiting there for me with some of my favorite piano books so that I'd be ready to play as soon as I got home. It was one of my favorite days ever, and one that I'll never forget as long as I live. Anyway, back to the football tickets. This is yet another gift that he put a lot of thought into because I've been wanting to go back to the Plains for several years now for a football game, and for one reason after another we've never gone. Between being pregnant, giving birth, having a small baby, giving birth again, etc. it's never been something we could easily do. But this is our year! And I CAN'T WAIT!! Auburn, here we come!!!

Today was the last day of Princess Ballerina Camp #2 and I had such a fun little group of girls. Towns went with me this week because her friends Gray, Vivi, Josie, and Madelyn were signed up to go. She had a blast and I think the other gals did too! And Towns made several new friends, so she couldn't wait to get there every morning. I had 13 girls total, and I'm all princessed/ballerina-ed out for now! :) They were great though, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I wish I'd have thought to get a picture of Towns and all her friends before they all left today...not sure where my brain was! Towns was super excited that her Daddy came to the finale today. J was glad to be in attendance {not sure if it was because of Towns or because he was sitting a few chairs down from Philip Rivers - his precious daughter was in my camp this week}!

The "Cinderella group" dancing on stage at the finale this morning

Not the best picture, but it's the only one I got of the three of us!

Towns and Vivi (also not the best picture, but the only one I thought to take)

A couple of nights ago I put Towns and Cate both in the bath tub together thinking I'd bathe Cate really quick and get her right out. She's never been in the bath with just Towns, but once she caught on to the idea that it was play time, the quick bath thing went right out the window! It was the first time they'd ever really played in the tub together, so naturally I had to document it! Click the picture to see all the fun they had (if you don't mind seeing a couple of cute, naked babies)...

The picture here is of the artwork Towns so graciously left on the side of the bathtub...thank goodness it's just crayon! Per her interpretation, it's a donkey! :)

Yesterday was another jam packed day, and thankfully my children slept like little angels after it was over (a much welcomed change from a few days ago if you'll remember)! My friend

Amy J invited us to spend the afternoon at the pool with her and Gray, and we had such a good time. I had to drag Towns away kicking and screaming! Thanks, Amy, for a fun afternoon...I promise next time I'll have a talk with Towns before she decides to jump off the top of the picnic tables into the baby pool!!! SORRY!!!

A few funny things Towns has said this week, just so I won't forget them before I write them down....

Yesterday afternoon I took Towns to Birmingham to meet my dad at the Birmingham Barons baseball game. Cate went with me to drop Towns off, and being that she's not her happiest in the car she cried on and off. Towns, being the true southern girl she is, has gotten into the habit of saying things like "Daddy you're eating the mess out of your dinner" or "Mommy, you're cleaning the mess out of those dishes"...not sure where she's picked that up from and she sounds hysterical saying it even though it's not my favorite saying of all time. So yesterday in the car Cate was crying and Towns looks over at her sister (not knowing I was listening to her) and says "Cate, you're crying the mess out of those tears"!

Her new thing is trying to figure out how things work. She'll turn something on and off a dozen times and she's gotten the concept that if something doesn't work, usually it needs new batteries. So she was playing with the hot pink iDog she got for her birthday that goes with her iPod Shuffle and she was trying to turn it on. She pushed every button on it until it finally came to life and exclaimed with the most excitement ever "MOMMY...I BATTERIED IT, I BATTERIED IT!" It was the cutest thing!

My dad's American Legion baseball team is in town for a baseball tournament so we're off to watch them play...and I'm thrilled that that means we've got a built in babysitter for the night so J & I can go out for a birthday dinner! Towns can't wait for "Pawpaw's bus" (aka the chartered bus the baseball team is riding in) to come pick her up for the night! She honestly thinks it's his bus and that it takes him everywhere he needs to go 100% of the time! She informed me that she's going to be riding in style like Hannah Montana tonight! :)

This Is The Face...

{Cate at 2:30 a.m. raring to go!}

...of a baby who NEVER sleeps!!!!

Of course, you wouldn't know it because she's all smiles and on the go all the time...and I do mean all the time!! I don't know what I'm going to do with this girl. We had the craziest day yesterday and with only 2 ten minute naps I thought sure she'd sleep like a rock all night long. Much to my dismay, that was NOT the case! After going to bed at 8:00 and having a bottle around 11:30, by 2:30 she'd obviously had all the sleep she needed and was ready to

p-l-a-y until almost 5 a.m.! {I wanted to cry}

This is the point where I stop and ask myself how on earth it's come to this. Now she's 9 months old, she rarely ever takes naps, she still doesn't sleep through night, and the icing on the cake is that by 5 a.m. she's up and ready to go! I wish I could backtrack and fix it all before it ever got like this!! Apparently I'm dealing with two very different children here, but Towns' sleeping habits were what dreams are made of...two or three great naps during the day and slept at least twelve hours every night. Oh, but not my Cate. She's under the impression that she's going to miss something if she even thinks about closing her eyes. And as a result of all this, I'd be loving the opportunity to close mine!!

Back to yesterday...Cate had her 9 month check-up (2 weeks late) and I just knew she was going to have gained a ton of weight...she's been very heavy on the hip these days which is what led me to have such high hopes. Nope! She's only 17 pounds, 10th percentile in height, and 25th in weight. The good news is that she went from 10th percentile in weight at her 6 month check-up all the way to the 25th percentile this go 'round. I was proud of her, of course. But 17 pounds??!! We need to add a few more rolls to those arms and legs!

Towns had a big day yesterday...gymnastics, Princess Ballerina Camp, she so sweetly accompanied Cate to the doctor to "hold her hand just in case" (we thought she was going to get shots, but she lucked out and didn't get any), and then a super fun trip to Point Mallard with our friends Amy and Hart that afternoon that lasted almost right up until bedtime! I'm thankful that Towns slept like a champ...even if her sister didn't follow suit! :)

As usual, a wild and crazy day doesn't stop me and my camera...

{thanks JM for headhunting the outfits for me! they were perfect! }

On our way into Point Mallard {the kiddos could hardly contain themselves}

Hart and Towns...can you tell they're big buddies?!

Cate loving the new float Amy gave her...

As Madonna Says...

Don't just stand there

Let's get to it

Strike a pose

There's nothing to it...

This is Cate's latest trick...she'll be on all fours and then pop her left leg (or her right, depending on how sporty she's feeling) straight up in the air and she'll hold it there for as long as she can. It's the funniest thing ever, and every time she does it she knows we're going to laugh, so she does it simply for the reaction. I've never had my camera handy at just the right moment...until tonight when we were at the splash pad and she struck this pose on the bench. It's not the best picture of her doing it, but still cute! Usually her leg is much higher in the air. I think I got her mid-pose here!

4th of July Picnic

We opted for a low key 4th of July celebration this year. A picnic in the park for the 4 of us was the only thing on the agenda for the day. We relaxed and did absolutely nothing the rest of the day...it was pure bliss! J talked me into doing something I never do. For the first time in as long as I can remember I didn't load the dishwasher, do laundry, clean anything, pick up a floor full of toys, etc. It took all I could do to restrain myself at first, but after a little while I'd grown rather fond of being lazy! :) We'd planned on going to the big fireworks show at Point Mallard that night, but Towns and Cate were both in bed by 7 p.m. which allowed J and I to enjoy a night to ourselves! Such a treat!

We picked up Bob Gibson's on the way to the park...one of our local faves! Especially for Cate whose personal favorite is their huge sweet teas! Towns shared her tea with her which made for a sweet picture...

After we ate Towns enjoyed the wide open field...she ran until she just couldn't run anymore!

Then her Daddy taught her how to do back flips over his arm...

She was one tired baby and decided to lay down on the quilt and check out the clouds...

We even managed to get the two kiddos still long enough for a few pictures...

Hope you all had a fun 4th! We can't wait for our next 3 day weekend! :)

Sweet Baby Cate

Last Sunday afternoon I took some very sweet pictures of Cate. I absolutely love to watch her and how her little mind works. She gets the most serious look on her face when she's watching something and trying to figure out what it's all about. She sat in front of the fern on the front porch for what seemed like forever feeling the leaves, moving them from one hand to the other, and turning them so she could look at them from all different angles. It's amazing to me that she's learned so much in just 9 short months. I honestly don't understand how someone can look at a baby like I look at Cate and not believe there's a God. I'm so very thankful for my sweet baby Cate!

Click here to see the rest of the pictures (you'll thank me for narrowing it down from about 200 to 42!)...

Blue Angels

Last weekend was a treat for us because we experienced something we've never seen before...the Huntsville Air Show! J suggested we go, and I was none too thrilled about it but agreed to go for the kids. I can't put my finger on why it didn't sound all that fun to me, maybe because I didn't know what was in store. But I'll be the first to admit that I was WRONG! After seeing the Blue Angels in full force, I have a new found respect! I think we had the best seat in the house...the jets were right in front and above us the entire time. We were right on top of a hill on the side of the interstate and had an incredible view. I don't know if you're like me and aren't really interested in things like this if you've never experienced it, but take a look at these pictures and see if you wouldn't have had just as much fun as we did! It's unbelievable how close those jets are to each other and how fast they fly. I was in awe the entire time!

After the air show, I took the girls to the mall (Bethany had money that was burning a hole in her pocket) and check out this beauty I rented in attempt to keep the younger two contained. I hadn't planned on a trip to the mall and didn't have our stroller. So this 4 foot land yacht was what I had the pleasure of pushing around in complete and utter embarrassment! :) Bethany and I laughed so hard once we got the girls in their seats, we just had to take a picture!

Side note: I cut Towns' hair the other day...I couldn't quite go to her chin, but it's still cute!

Here's the before picture:

And here's the after: