Christmas Day

Christmas morning was so much fun!!! David had to work for a few hours that day, so we got Sarah Katherine up early to check out what Santa brought for her... it was a princess's dream! All sorts of dress up stuff, her very own purse (including a phone and lipstick), some pom pom's, etc, etc! Of course her first grab was for the purse (no surprise there since she grabs mine any time I leave it within her little grasp). She toted that thing around the whole weekend - we even had to take it to Nanna and Grandpa's when we went on Christmas afternoon.

The princess and her goodies!

Can I say more?!

This was at Nanna and Grandpa's house (David's parents). We got to spend time with all of David's family - including having cousin time with all 5 cousins! It was so much fun seeing all the kiddos interact and having a great time with all the family. We came home with more goodies, the one SK is now toting everywhere is the blanket Aunt Rachael made for her - from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep, that blanket is not out of her site. I think we may have our first lovey!

What a great Christmas, and it's not even over yet - we get to go see my family this weekend. :) I know some of the goods that are waiting down there, and it is going to be super fun too!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!!

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve together as a family. We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, which is a great tradition we have been doing since we have been able to stay home for Christmas Eve the past two years. We chose our seats very carefully because everyone goes up as a family to receive the Lord's Supper and there is no nursery, so SK got to be with us. Well, needless to say we wanted to sit where we were sure we got to go up fairly quickly in case SK go a bit rowdy. :) While all of this is going on there are people singing, and David was one of them. Sarah Katherin was so cute when David got up there! She danced and waved and laughed. She even had the preacher eyeing her for a bit. Not too long after David did his song was she ready to go, so we snuck out and went home to open presents. We first read the Christmas story from Luke, had a family prayer, and then let SK go wild with her goodies. :)

So excited to get the present party started!!! Such a cute Santa baby. :)

I love my baby's expressions. She was seriously making some fun faces with her goodies!

Not the best quality picture, but what happened was she pulled her Christmas PJ's out of the box and then immediately held them up to herself like she was seeing if they were going to fit. :0) Is this gir going to be an awesome shopper or what?!

Merry Christmas from SK...

Here is a picture SK took for her teachers and some family that lives out of town. She wanted to be sure and share with everyone to have a very blessed and Merry Christmas!!!

Zoolight Safari

This weekend we bundled up and headed out to see Zoolight Safari at the Birmingham Zoo. Of course Sarah Katherine zonked out in the car before we even got on the interstate, but I am just calling that her power nap so that she could enjoy the fun lights! Sarah Katherine has loved our lights at home and has been so intrigued by them. She will point her finger and just lightly touch them (totally picture ET for the visual!). Well, she was super excited about the big lights at the zoo. Plus they had music playing, so SK took the opportunity to jam out in her stroller while the lights and music were going together. :)

In this area they had the trees and lights in time with the music that was playing, so SK pretended she was the conductor and was waving her hands to make everything go! Note that we even got David in gloves and ear coverings, so you can tell it was chilly.

Here is Sarah Katherine and her buddy Emma enjoying the snow! (They had a snow machine right when you came in the gate - so cool! Except when I figured out it was probably soap flakes and the girls were staring straight up at the "snow". Luckily no eyes were burned out during the process!)

I LOVE this picture! As usual SK got her wind to be super cute when we were getting back in the car. I guess her nose was cold, so she was giving me eskimo kisses. :)

Latest Stats...

We went for Sarah Katherine's 15 month check up last week and the baby girl has definitely gone through a growth spurt:

Height: 31 3/4" (90%)
Weight: 25 lbs - 6 oz (75%)

That means almost 2" and 5lbs in the last 4 months! Luckily her appetite is starting to slow down and her running around is very much increasing, so maybe she won't have another 5lbs in the next few months. :) I promise she is eating fruits and vege's! This girl was just overdue for a growth spurt I guess. She has finally caught up to her friends though and doesn't look like the poor little girl someone should feed!

She did have three shots though, and one of them made her run a fever so she had to miss her Christmas party at daycare - so sad! I guess it's better for her to be puny and miss that and not be sick on Christmas day, but I was so upset for her to miss out on the fun. At least she's little enough to not be permanently scarred from missing cookies and sweets day at school!

Catching Up...

Well, a lot has happened in the past month since I have been able to post! Life always gets busy in November and December and this year is not exception. I guess I'll start with Thanksgiving and work out from there. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! My parents came up and brought with them turkey, dressing, and dumplings. For anyone out there looking for the best way to do Thanksgiving this is it - you "host" but everyone else brings the food. :) I did do some cooking (the sweet potato casserole - of course). Everything was yummy and Sarah Katherine loved every bite.

The next day was the Auburn - Alabama game, so we had to get festive in our outfit. Grandmommy and Granddaddy had to leave that day, so we took some pictures before they had to say goodbye.

Not too long after that a good friend of mine at work had her precious baby. This is a wonderful addition to their family, and it is also a short term addition to my excitement at work while she is out on maternity leave because I am handling her project while she is out. So, the days go by super fast because there is always something happening on one project or another. It is teaching me the need for delegation, and I am always up for new life lessons!

Our weekends have been kind of hectic as well because we have been in full swing practice for our Christmas cantata at church (if anyone lives nearby Pelham - come check it out this Sunday the 13th or Monday the 14th). Even though it is a lot of work to pull this program together, it is such a wonderful way to get re-focused and really remember what the true meaning of Christmas is. Praise God for sending his son to Earth for us!

We have been able to squeeze in a couple of trips to the park next to our house, and Sarah Katherine has been determined to be a daredevil! There is a small playground (for her) and a larger one for bigger kids. Well, she has decided that the small slides aren't nearly as fun as the bigger ones so David gets to play monkey man and climb up there to slide down with her! She absolutely loves it.

In the midst of all of this, Sarah Katherine is growing like a weed. We go to the doctor next week for her 15 month check up and I think we are going to get big changes from the 12 month update. She has been eating and sleeping lots - aka - growth spurt! Some things (like onesies) she has jumped from a 9 month size to an 18 month size in just a month. This is a tall girl! The good thing is, she is still not picky about what she eats, so when she is super hungry I just plot down the vege's and that is what she fills up on. I am trying to ride this wave while I can because I am sure when she starts talking I will get the word NO a lot.

Santa is already here in November!

We got a tip from some friends that Santa was already at the mall and since it is before Thanksgiving there were NO lines. So, we packed up and checked it out. Let me tell you - this is the way to go! We walked right up without a wait, because we were the only ones there Santa took a lot of time with us and took several pictures with our camera, and we got to take family pictures using the pretty decorations they have for Santa. This may be the way we gear up for Thanksgiving every year!

The Peanut Festival

A fabulous tradition while I was growing up in south Alabama is the Peanut Festival. Every year it was the one week I could go out on a school night, it was where I rode my first "scary ride", it has more wonderful food than should be allowed in one place, and where I met my first boyfriend. Oh the memories of the fair!! Well, needless to say Sarah Katherine had to enjoy the excitement of the fair. We went down to Dothan on Friday and had a big night out on Saturday. I am so excited about the traditions we get to share with our little girl. What I once thought was great is now taken up a few notches seeing it through her eyes. :)

Here we are with Mr. Peanut.

A MUST at the fair is to get a corndog from THE corndog man. It is the longest line at the fair, but totally worth it!!! As you can see SK was a big fan and chomped down her whole corndog.

I wasn't sure if she would love or hate the rides this young, but man do we have a daredevil on our hands. This girl rode anything they would let her, but sadly being 30" tall has its limits. Maybe next year we can get her spinning on some more options. For now, the Merry Go Round was fun - both times we rode it. :)

Happy Halloween!

This Halloween brought much more excitement than last year. A 13 month old is much more active than a one month old -that is for sure!!! We had a great time with our little Auburn Tiger though. We got to cook out with some friends and then we went over to a church carnival. Because our little bit must have her beauty rest or gets very ill, we didn't get to do a whole lot at the carnival before it was time to go home and go night, night, but SK did get a bracelet and some candy and she got to pet a goat and llamma - who can ask for more?! Because I am a bad mom (and wasn't feeling great this weekend) we didn't take any pictures, but here are some better pic's from boo at the zoo a few weeks ago. She looked just like that but two weeks older this weekend! Happy Halloween everyone. :O)

13 Months and the Pumpkin Patch

I haven't really posted good updates on the little bit recently, but she is walking (with minor wabbles now), she is pointing at everything and saying "that" so that I can tell her the names of things, she is quite stubborn and does not want any help (yes mom, I know I had this one coming to me), and she thinks everyone around her is just waiting to be her own personal audience (this one came from her daddy!). She is so much fun and is more entertainment than any DVR could be. :) Also, since she had 12 teeth now she can eat most anything you put in front of her. Her favorite thing is still bananas and she always eats her meat last hoping another option will come along (fruits and vege's are definitely her preference). She has also been introduced to the wonderfulness of the Arby's curly fry - man is she a big fan! I have officially packed up all the "baby" stuff - bottles, burp cloths, paci's - so I only have a few glimpses of my "baby" left, like when she is tired and wants to cuddle. Sarah Katherine is getting more and more personality every day, and I am loving every minute of it!!

This past weekend Sarah Katherine and I went with some friends to the pumpkin patch. David had to work, so I was EXTREMELY grateful of my friend's husband to help me out during the trip. I brought the "bid" stroller in order to have room to haul the pumpkin back to the car, but I did not think about the fact that you have to ride the hayride to the patch where you get the pumpkins and no strollers are allowed on the hayride. Well, let's just say it's quite interesting to tote a 20lb baby and a pumpkin on a hayride! My friend's husband did carry our big pumpkin and I got the mini-pumpkin for their daughter - otherwise SK and I would still be in the middle of the patch trying to get back to the stroller! :) Here are some pic's from the big weekend.

Nothing like a couple of girls and their tractor! My granddaddy would be proud! :)

This weekend was the "Cotton Pickin' Festival" so SK had to partake in the festivities!

Looking for just the right pumpkin, and only eating minor amounts of dirt in the process.

Who is the cutest little punkin?!

Just SK - sized pumpkin!

And the final result - her very own Jack-O-Lantern. She even helped clean it out and loved the slimy stuff!!!

Boo at the Zoo...

Last weekend little bit and I went to boo at the zoo with some buddies. Here are a few pictures we took of our little Auburn Tiger. :) The family we went with took some other pictures, but I am not allow to post until after Halloween so that they can keep their costumes a surprise until then. So, check back form more (and MUCH better pictures) from "Boo" later.

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger! (even greater when you are this cute. :)

Here we are riding the "haunted train". SK thought the people sitting behind us were her own personal audience, so she hammed it up for them. They clapped for her and even took pictures - can we say drama queen!!!

After the big night out, here is what I saw pulling into the garage.

Slumber party and teething may not be the best combo...

The day of the shower, my friend Danica offerred to pick up SK and have a fun day with her baby girl and then spend the night with them. They had a spend the night party a few months ago and all went well, so I'm thinking this will be great. Sadly I did not factor in the fact that Sarah Katherine is getting all 4 molars in at one time. Luckily my baby girl chooses to deal with the pain by mostly sleeping it all away, but when she did wake up the fussies were here. So, not a big play time for the girls, but thanks so much to Danica for giving David and I a night out together. We went to the Japanese steak house and then to play putt putt (yes - putt putt, did you even know they had those outside of the beach?!).

Here is a pic of the girls after a big afternoon of being cute at the shower...

Diaper Castle for a Princess on the Way

This past week some friends from work threw a baby shower for another friend of ours that is having a baby girl soon. Because this friend is blessed to have a sister that has two young girls and all sorts of other goodies, we decided to give her a diaper cake for our hostess present. Well, in doing some scanning of the web I found this fabulous picture of a diaper castle, and here's what we made...




After a brief thought of quitting my job and going into the diaper castle business I came back to reality. :) We had a blast putting this together and I know all of those goodies will be put to good use when the precious princess arrives. Congrats to Lisa and Chris!!!

Cruisin'

Despite what the remainder of the blog suggests - David and I do get out and about from time to time. Over Labor Day weekend we took the cruise out of Mobile and went down to Cozumel. We had a wonderful time just the two of us! We relaxed, had fabulous food, and then relaxed some more - a much needed time. :)

My photographer skills at the beach in Cozumel.

Our little tiki hut at the resort we went to in Cozumel.

David at the port.

A cruise is not complete without towel animals!!! From the best I could tell they are - a guerrilla, horse, monkey, and frog. :)

Bitsy's B'day Party

Well, to celebrate SK's first birthday we had a big bash at our house. There were two baby pools and a jumpy-jump in the backyard, we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs, and of course chowed down on cake. We had family and friends over to celebrate with us, and we had a WONDERFUL time. It was so great having most of the people that have really gone through this crazy year with us to celebrate our next step. We did miss my parents though who were quarantined in Dothan with the crud. No worries though - I think SK is up for as many b'day parties as possible, so we will celebrate again. :)

The family pic before cake was involved and everyone is clean. :)

Yummy - dig in!

The girl is LOVING her cake!

The kiddo's splashing in the pool!

Gals in the jumpy-jump.Who is the princess?!?!
SK and her cousin Hannah chillin in the princess chair.

SK and Daniley getting into all the toys!