Keeping Up with the Joneses

Pinteresting Finds

2012-01-26T09:09:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love Pinterest? It would be hard not to. I like the idea of trying all the DIY and crafting projects, but I'm just not crafty and never seem to get around to it. However, I do get around to the recipes. Here are some I am dying to try or have tried lately. For example: I made this last night. LOVED it.

It is a fried egg, bacon, avacado & tomato sandwich. I toasted the bread and added a little ranch dressing to it. Quick, easy and delicious.

This is what I am making Baker's teachers for V-day gifts. I will make them heart-shaped though.

This dip looks AMAZING! Hot corn dip. I will be making this, hopefully this weekend.

I made this last week. Its a Weight Watchers crunch chicken/honey mustard dish. The crunch is from corn flakes. It was great. I had to leave out an ingredient that may have made a difference, but I liked it alot.

If you follow this blog, you might know that I am challenging myself to only buy USED, CONSIGNED or REFURBISHED OR WITH A COUPON this year. This rule does not apply to food because its unrealistic I think. I would love to use a coupon for everything I buy, but its not going to happen. Anyway, my next project will be to paint our kitchen table. I love this grey color and I also love the yellow incorporated around it. Can't wait to see how it comes out. I plan to distress it too.
.

For more of my USED finds, I bought Baker's big boy bed off of Craigslist and I love it! Its shabby, cute. I will post pics on that another time.

Anyone have tips on painting/distressing a kitchen table? I'm going to try to accomplish that this weekend.

Hayes turns 3!

2012-01-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

My sweet little niece, Hayes turns 3 tomorrow and she had her party on Saturday at the Jump Zone. It was a great place for a party. I think all the kids had a great time.

Unfortunately, I could not get any good pictures of the birthday girl looking at the camera. She was WAY too busy for pictures.

While most kids were bouncing or sliding, this boy was playing air hockey. What?

Or baseball...

After the party we had a nice lunch at Nathan and Amy's house and had an all-around fun day! Happy Birthday Hayes! We love you!

A Little Baker Re-Cap & Challenge

2012-01-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a post about Baker's latest and greatest in a while. I don't want to forget this stage because like all the other stages, its really cute!

For the most part, I just love two. We are always laughing, never sure of what he will say next or learn. He is such a sponge and we have to be so careful of everything that we say.

*Catching up on "Lost Atlantis"

Fun Facts

Weight- 28 lbs

Favorite Foods (in no particular order)- chicken nuggets, green beans, FRUIT SNACKS (all caps b/c its #1), eggs, bacon, cheese, pancakes, crackers, grapes.

Current Favorite Toys- his train set, Toy Story 4 Wheeler, and although this is not technically a toy, he still is obsessed with www.starfall.com. If you are a mom and haven't introduced this to your kids, go now. He calls it ABC's and Amy introduced us to this early on. He has been addicted ever since.

Favorite Books- Elmo's Favorite Places, School Bugs, Penguins, Are You My Mother, Oh My OH MY Dinosaurs and really this list is too long to complete. For various reasons we own 2 billion kids books. Its a great thing, but they seem to be overtaking Baker's room. His night time routine includes probably 5-7 books before bed. I have to admit this can be exhausting. I'm all about reading and its a great bonding time, but by book 2 or 3, I'm really ready for some me time.

Cute things:
Everytime we go to get in the car he says "Baker Dwive" and wants to sit in the drivers side and drive us wherever we need to go. If we have time, I let him sit there and steer the wheel, do the wipers and the radio. He loves it.

He is very into helping. He feeds the dogs outside every night. He carries it very carefully without spilling and then has to put the cup back in the bag.

He loves the Birthday song and I light a random candle for him and he will sing Happy Birthday (usually to Mommy) and then "blow out the candle" which is hysterical. We usually have to sing it/light the candle 6 times or so.

Now that we live by a pond with ducks, we do a lot of duck feeding. I have a cute video on Facebook of him feeding the ducks, but of course it won't upload here for some reason.

He is still not interested really in potty training. I have to admit I feel no rush on this. While saving on diapers sounds great, it doesn't outweigh the hassle of having to always stop what you are doing to take them to the potty. Baker is the king of "crying wolf" too so I feel like he will use that power against us. However, he always goes potty right before his bath. He throws a fit if we don't let him try, even if its just one drop.

He has known all of his letters and colors for a while. He counts to 10 very enthusiastically, but we haven't worked on knowing what each number looks like.

It is safe to say we love this boy with all we have!

Now, for something I am challenging myself with for the year 2012. I saw on Pinterest a challenge for yourself to only buy USED, CONSIGNED or REFURBISHED in 365 days. This is something I strive to do anyway. Not so much with clothes but pretty much with most everything else. So, I've set the same goal for myself but added OR WITH A COUPON to this list. I started out by buying this from Craigslist:

Its a beautiful pine armoire. At first, from the pictures I thought it would definitely need painting, but once I saw it in person I actually love the look of the wood. Its very rustic already (which is how I would paint it) but it has that "barn" look that I love. It was needed for the very empty wall in our living room that the Christmas tree was covering when we moved in.

I've discovered in buying this that I have an armoire obsession. I realized we have five. FIVE! In the house...only 2 of those actual hold TV's. I just love them.

I'll keep you posted on more of my "challenge" finds.

Au Natural

2012-01-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

I've always thought Baker was cutest in nothing but a diaper. Up until VERY recently, he was not a fan of the camera. However, like a miracle sent from above he now works that camera. He says "CHEEESSSEEE" when he sees me getting it out.

In addition he has recently wanted Licorice to participate in things Licorice had no business participating in. Like baths or playing trains or smiling in our pictures. I am really trying to make an effort to learn more about my camera out of AUTO so I did my own little photo shoot with them.

Please note: Lic in bottom left, football stance, and "cheese" smile.

And a shout out from the bathtub...

Sweet, sweet boy.

Vicks

2012-01-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

I just haven't been on board with blogging lately. Just being honest. So this post might seem "cheap" but I love it. I love a good home remedy. Some of these tips I cannot wait to try!

Twelve Surprising Uses for Vicks

1. Decongest Your Chest
The most common use of Vicks is to decongest your chest and throat area. When applied to the upper chest, it provides excellent relief of cough and congestion symptoms.

2. On Your Tootsies
Applying Vicks to your feet provides nighttime cough relief. Generously rub VapoRub all over your feet and cover them with socks. Within moments your cough will subside—in the morning you’ll wake up a new, hacking free woman.

3. Achy Breaky Muscles
Vicks relieves sore, overworked muscles. It increases circulation and provides almost instant aid. Use a generous portion and apply it all over the aching area. (Be sure to warn your bedmate as the stench can ensure a nookie-free night.)

4. Get Rid of Nasty Nail Fungus
Rub VapoRub on your toenails if you suspect you have a fungus. Within days, the nail will turn dark—this means the Vicks is killing the fungus. As your toenail grows out, the dark part will grow off and you will have fungus-free feet. Keep applying the ointment over a period of two weeks to fully cleanse nail beds of any remaining bacteria.

5. Stop Your Cat from Scratching
Cats are notorious for scratching every hard surface they get their claws on. To prevent Miss Kitty from ruining your doors, walls, and windows, apply a small amount of VapoRub to these areas. Cats detest the smell and will steer clear. Vicks can also be applied to your arms and legs if your kitty is prone to scratching you.

6. Pet Pee-Pee Deterrent
If your dog or cat is not yet potty trained, put an open bottle of Vicks on the area he or she likes to mark as their territory. The smell will discourage them from lifting their legs and wetting your rug.

7. Headaches Be Gone
Rub a small amount of Vicks VapoRub on your temples and forehead to help relieve headaches. The mentholated scent will release pressure in your head and instantly relieve pain.

8. Humidify Your Sleep
Vicks VapoRub can be used in special types of humidifiers and vaporizers. Ensure your humidifier has an aromatherapy compartment before using. The humidifier will circulate Vicks throughout the air and keep you breathing easy all night long.

9. Paper Cuts and Splinters
To prevent infection and speed up healing time, dab a small amount of Vicks on any small cut or splinter.

10. Ticks and Bugs
If you get bitten by a tick, apply Vicks immediately. The strong odor might help get the critter to release itself and stop bugging you.

11. Reek-free Racehorses
Professional racers smother VapoRub under the nostrils of racehorses on race day. The strong stench deters the stallions from the alluring odor of the female pony and keeps them focused on the race.

12. Go Away Mosquitoes
Vicks wards off mosquitoes. Apply small dabs of Vicks VapoRub to your skin and clothes and mosquitoes will steer clear. If you do get bitten, apply Vicks to the area and cover it with a Band-Aid to relieve itching.

Via http://www.divinecaroline.com/22175/84075-twelve-surprising-uses-vicks-vaporub/2#ixzz1jGDfmS00

Christmas...a little late

2012-01-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

Despite my tardiness of this post, I still need to share pics from our Christmas Extravaganza. (Everything is more fun if you add "Extravaganza" to the name, fyi)

We started off with our annual Jones Family Party at our house on Christmas Eve Day.

Baker kissing Lexi

Baking cookies for Santa!

Santa came!

Santa was nice enough to leave a note to Baker about his train not being complete for Christmas morning. I realize why Santa ran out of time. This set came with 8,567 screws. We JUST finished it this weekend.

After we finished up "Santa" we got packed up for Dothan. I was so sad when I realized I left my camera at home! So, I have no pictures from the great fun we had in Dothan. Baker and Hayes both got motorized four-wheelers from Shug and Daggy and they were hilarious riding them together. It was more like bumper cars than anything. We loved getting to see Uncle Hank and Aunt Regina too. I just hate I have no pictures of this. Ah well, what do you do?

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas weekend!

2011-12-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

I just love December weekends. They are always jam packed with festivities. Friday night, Brent and I took Baker to see Santa, ride the train, eat Chick-Fil-A and then to a home in Tusc that has enormous decorations and they let your kids walk around their yard to get a better look. Baker loved it!

Noah's Ark

Saturday we left for Prattville for the Wright Christmas party!

I LOVE this picture of Bake pinning Hayes on the ground with a ball! I'm sure it won't be the last time.
\

Then of course we had to move to the farm for a bonfire and cookout!

New House!!

2011-12-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

We are in! We are in! Just in time for Christmas. Before we actually started the moving, I wanted to take some empty house pictures. I have to admit, it feels great to be in a brand new house. We feel so blessed.

Come take the tour- This is right inside the front, in the foyer

The kitchen
Baker's room
Looking over the balcony into the living room
Game room looking over the stairs
And of course I left a lot of rooms out because I don't want to bore you, but you get the gist. It has some great features and a few let downs, like storage..Don't get me started on storage, but the majority of the house is great. Again, we are blessed to finally be here. It has been a long road my friends.

Project Christmas

2011-12-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

This year I am in Christmas spirit overdrive. Kids add so much to the all around Christmas excitement. So, in an effort to document our December of 2011, I am doing my own little blog project. Its no "December Daily" as I have seen some people do with the scrapbook and so on,but its an online scrapbook so I will be forced to take pictures of the everyday/mundane/Christmas activities for this month. We shall see what happens.

I realize it is the 6th and I have some catching up to do. So, I will attempt to show you what we've been up to thus far.

Baking CookiesI was a little surprised at how much Baker "helped" with these. He did a great job cutting out the shapes. Once the decorating began he was the resident "eater" but before that he was pretty skilled.

Playing with all of the toys: Enjoying having toys EVERYWHERE since we are still in our rental house so nothing has a "place". Don't get used to it buddy.

Singing: We have been doing a lot of singing. Bake loves to belt out a tune he has learned. Some favorites are: Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee, Old McDonald, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and my personal favorite is a song I have no idea about. He must have learned it at school but it sounds something like "Maggie's House, Ding Dong Ding Dong". No clue.

Feeding Ducks

Saturday we visited a pond in the neighborhood across from us and let me just say, these.ducks.were.pushy. They met us at the car to get their bread and forced us not to come any closer with their quacking and carrying on. I have a new fear of pushy ducks now. We fed them some bread but I didn't even put Baker down because they were not scared of us at all.

and there were LOTS of them!

More Christmas card attempts: None of these made the cut.What is coming up? Well, we have adopted a Christmas Child through our church and I am really excited about it. She is a 4 year old girl named Alyssa. I can't wait to get them all wrapped and given to her dad. I really really can't wait.

We also move into our new house on Saturday!! It is being built right now and we had our first walk through last night. There is still a lot to be done and I'm really not sure how they will get it done in 3 days. Those pictures will come in another December post.

Thanks

2011-11-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

Long time, no blog. Moving on...

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as usual. We wore out our welcome in Dothan, but had a great time. Baker was in heaven. Not only did he get to shadow Hayes for 3 days, but he had Shug and Daggie's undivided attention too. He played so hard. We headed into the week on the mend from tonsilitis and impentigo, but that did not hold him back one bit.

This little wagon was a hit. Many many leaves were collected and dumped to "help" out.

Please note Hayes' fake smile

Who knew an old Fisher Price record player was oh so fascinating?

A moment captured about their feelings for each other

Cousin Julie

It's never too early to "run the option". (I can't wait for Brent to read this and tell me this is not the "option")

We found the perfect tree for toddlers to climb.

Just when you need them to smile for some possible Christmas card pictures, this is what you get:

Oh, and I had a birthday...on the day of the Iron Bowl..happy birthday to me. However, this Reese's cup blizzard Ice-cream cake from the DQ really helped. Let me tell you, this is my request every year from now on.

These were my candles. 2 toddlers with flashlights. The lights are off but you can't tell in the picture.

Whats more fun than making a pallette with cousins? Nothing . Nothing is more fun. Just ask Hayes.

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars

2011-11-16T07:36:00.001-08:00

So, I made these yesterday for Baker's Thanksgiving feast at school. They were great!!

Ingredients
Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.
To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

I havent completelyy forgotten about this blog, but life has been way too busy to post. More to come later...Spelling Bee is going great! Only 5 more performances left.

The Bee

2011-11-02T07:59:00.001-07:00

In the next week I will be in full promotion mode for my show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We open November 11-20.

If you are in or around Tuscaloosa, you will thoroughly enjoy this show. It is witty, clever and highly entertaining. Disclaimer: It is not for kids in case you were considering bringing them. Mainly because the jokes will sail right over their heads but there is also some material that is more for mature audiences.
Thursday, November 10th is our final dress rehearsal and called "Pay-What-You-Can" which is exactly that. You pay whatever you can to see it before we open and if you are cheap (like me) this is a great option.

Halloween

2011-11-01T13:26:00.001-07:00

Dumbo says "Happy Halloween"!

Celebrate! Part 2

2011-10-25T08:21:00.001-07:00

Baker celebrated his 2nd birthday with an ABC's and 123's party at Wald Park in Vestavia this weekend. One great thing was that some of my friends that live all over the place got to join us! It was so fun to see their kids and hang out for his birthday. We had perfect weather and I was really pleased with this venue. If you live in Birmingham, I highly recomment Wald Park for a party.

A few of my lovely assistants! Thank the Lord for them! The birthday boy
Miss Leah Jane joined us in style. The art table Hey girl! I got some bouncin to do..
Even at his party, Baker managed to keep up with everything Hayes was doing.

Thomas and Leah Jane took 10 seconds to pose for a quick picture.

I love that my college friends came, even the ones that don't have kids. Love these people!

Lexi Poo was there too!
The Ambergueys & The Mahtanis

Precious Watson!

Zoe and Lexi are new best friends!

Kat made it too!

Susan and Mike just got engaged! We will be celebrating them very soon..

Meg & Ted

Daggy and Baker Man My homeade party hats

Honey showing B how to show his age on his fingers. Brent

seems to be learning also.

Brett & Harper

My birthday boys!

Peyton

I think it all turned out really well. I was afraid it was all going to be so thrown together due to my lack of time these days, but it was fun and I got to see a lot of people I love.

Next stop- Closing on our house and moving- All this week...

Celebrate! Part 1

2011-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, we have had quite the celebration this weekend! My boys share birthdays on October 21st and I refused to let the chaos of our life prevent me from celebrating them and making them feel special. I rushed home from rehearsal Thursday night to hang the birthday banner, blow up a few balloons and set out presents for Brent and Baker.

Friday morning was still a little early for Bake to be in the party mood.
Brent requested sausage casserole and Baker requested pancakes and got to blow out his candle. He clearly didn't remember what to do with candles and needed a tutorial.

Oh, this is super fun, mom!He got to open a present from us (books) since he already recieved his big gift a couple months ago.

Then we had a very small (and I do mean very small) party at school. I brought some mini cupcakes, stuck some candles on them and we celebrated at school with our friends. This time he felt confident in blowing them out..too bad we accidentally got trick candles.

I picked him early from school to take him to the park to play. It was fun to just hang out, the two of us and we were the only ones on the playground which is always nice. Friday night we squeezed in a fiesta right before my rehearsal. Baker loved his birthday sombrero and dessert.Saturday, Baker and I headed to Birmingham to hang out with Shug, Daggy, Nathan, Amy, Hayes and Watson. Brent took one for the team and stayed behind to clean out the attic. (yea) It was a great day to play in the playhouse. Baker's current obsession: Hayes Kennedy. He follows her everywhere she goes and has a panic attack if she is out of sight. He copies everything she does. They play so well together which I am thankful for.

Stay tuned for the birthday bash! I am saving that for a separate post.

War Eagle!

2011-10-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

In July, I planned a trip with friends to meet in Auburn for the Auburn v. Florida game. Molly and Vince were coming in town and I asked my friend Betsy to be my "date" since neither of our husbands are Auburn fans. My friend,Lenzie, graciously allowed us all to stay at their house. I think there were 9 of us all weekend. Clay & Lenzie were such great hosts. They planned a fun itenerary and a super fun tailgate.

First on the itenerary- Niffers for dinner. Seriously, my favorite restaurant in Auburn.Then back to Lenzie & Clay's for a dance party..We may or may not have headed out to the Supper Club after that. I have no pictures of this though.

We got the tailgate started at 10:00 am. Betsy and I went to the game together and sat in the..wait for it...Student Section. Ok, this is the way to go. Great seats and SO much enthusiasm! I loved it. Our fun win was the icing on the cake.

I was so glad to get to see so many friends that I rarely get to see since we are scattered in all directions. It was a nice "escape" from the stress of life right now. I really can't complain though since its all technically good stress, but alas that doesn't help my sleep deprivation.

Stay tuned for a cute 1st birthday party we attended on Sunday...

Homecoming

2011-10-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

We are not too busy to partake in some Homecoming festivites.

Auburn peeps, be warned, there is A LOT of crimson in these pictures. Go ahead and throw up, collect yourself, and read on...

Friday, I got to walk with Baker's class to sorority row to view the lawn displays. There is a lot of time put into constructing these things. I was impressed.

Baker's sweet class (minus a few)Eli's grandmother is the house mother for Chi-O so we go to stop there for a cookie and lemonade break!!

Chlo-Chlo has always been in Baker's class until this year. We miss her.

Kyler back in the classroom.

Abigail. This is who Baker blaims everytying on. "Who scrached you, Baker?" Abigail.

Saturday, we went out for a long day of tailgating. Again, Brent's neice and nephew set up their awesome tailgate on the quad and we got to partake.

It was so fun for dad to come in town! He was without mom because she is on a cruise, but we had fun just hanging out with him! Baker Man was happiest of all that he was here.

Addison is 2 months older than Bake. She is full of spunk too!

The tailgate lifesaver if you have kids!

Thomas came too! Always fun to hang out with Katie and T-Pain.

Sunday, we celebrated Charles' 50th birthday at Fig for brunch! It was a great time.

Fall. is. busy.

2011-10-06T09:32:00.001-07:00

Why so busy you ask?

All good things (I think).

Number 1: The Bee.
Here is a picture from our "shoot" last week. This truly is a funny, funny, funny show. This is what takes up my nights..as in every.

Thankfully, Baker has adjusted his schedule to remove everything from the drawers so that he could stand in them. Thank goodness he is helping out.

I do love the new camera though.

Number 2: We sold our house! Baker says "YEA!"

Guess what that means? We have to be out by Oct. 30th!! Right, there's that downside.

How will we be out by that date when all of our weekends in October have been filled and booked for months now and we both work full time, I have rehearsals at night and we have a 2 year old??

I will get back to you on that.

Those weekend plans include a fantastic 2nd Birthday party and lots of football plans with friends & family.

And no, we do not have a house yet. Honestly, I should have probably held this post until I had some details, but you need to know whats going on.

I might need a temporary IV of pinot noir to keep my stress levels down. Who could hand this?

Lion King 3D; a Jones Family Nightmare

2011-09-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

The first Baker movie experience = EPIC FAIL.

Being the brilliant parents we are, we thought Sunday would be a fantastic day to take Baker to his first movie. Afterall, the boy LOVES movies. He will sit quietly at home and watch an entire movie sometimes. So we thought, since the Lion King is in our theatres in 3D for only a short time, he will love it...(Stupid thought #1)

Well, here is how the story goes. Read on if you want to feel better about the behavior of your own child.

First, we should have seen the enormous-slap-you-in-the-face red flag when he started a tantrum before we ever got in the car. He has been sick and is on medicine that makes him cray-cray, but we still wanted to take our chances. (Stupid thought #2)

We get there and Baker enthusiastically states "I go to MOOBIE" Great. He's excited!

Immediately he wants to get down in line for the tickets. "No, you can't there are cars all around and lots of people."

The walk to our theatre, equally protested.

Brent thought if we made him sit down in a seat from the beginning he would know this was not a playground. One of many ways we were wrong. (Stupid thought #3)

Tired of fighting him, we allow him to do one walk through of the theatre, up the stairs, down the stairs and across the front hoping he got it out of his system. Nope. (Stupid thought #4)

The final attempt at making him sit in a seat (we are on about preview #2 at this point) resulted in high pitched screaming and many many stares. I was that person I hate in movie theatres that bring their 2 year old to the movies. 2?? Come on lady? Who brings a baby to a movie?

So, I take him "out" into the hallway where he continues his fit of screams. Brent stays in the theatre with our stuff. Finally, I gave up and realized if we ask for our money back now they will surely understand. So, I find a manager (Baker still screaming) to ask for our money back. As I'm talking to her Baker uses all of his body weight to shove her as hard as he can. Excellent.

I can't even take him back into the theatre to get Brent so another employee has to do that.

I bet the Lion King 3D is great fun. We will never know. I do not plan to attempt the movies again until around age 7?

Again I say, Epic FAIL.

Cammy Cam

2011-09-23T10:21:00.001-07:00

Aw, I wish this post was about Cammy Cam Newton, but alas...its about my new camera.
Here are some of my first snaps. Keep in mind I have no idea how to use this thing. In fact, I am overwhelmed at all the settings and how when I read the manual I only know what 20% of the words mean. I am so afraid I just won't learn this stuff an keep it on AUTO forever and just roll with it. The pics are still pretty good without anything fancy though. A lot better than my point and shoot.

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2011-09-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am excited to share that I will get to be onstage again in this super fun, hilarious musical with Theatre Tuscaloosa!

First let me tell you how this came to be. Brent has been trying to encourage me to audition for a show in town since I moved here 3 years ago. Once I had Baker I knew it would be a while before I was on stage again and that was fine with me. He strongly believes in keeping your own identity even though you have children. Its just hard for me because I hate guilt more than anything in the world. So, I just don't want to feel guilt every night when I leave for rehearsals.

With that being said, I decided I would only audition for a show if one came around that I really really really wanted to do. Well, that show came around. I was only right for 1 part. ONE part. So, I knew it was a slim chance anyway but I went for it.

So, I will be playing Logainne Schwartzandgrubinierre (yes) aka "Schwartzy". She is awkward, has a lisp, and wears high braided pigtails.

The show opens Nov. 13 and the cast is excellent. We start rehearsals Monday. I am very excited about this for several reasons.

For those of you worried about Baker, he goes to bed at 7:30 and rehearsal start at 7:00. (Honestly, I am reiterating this point to make myself feel less guilty).

Come see me debut my lisp!

Here is a description of the show:

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is a hilarious tale of overachievers' angst chronicling the experience of six adolescent outsiders vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. The show's Tony Award winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes: a quirky yet charming cast of outsiders for whom a spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time.

Weekend

2011-09-19T12:17:00.001-07:00

We had a lovely weekend. My parents decided to come for a night on Saturday and although it was a short visit, it was lots of fun.

First, I found Baker like this, watching TV Friday night.

We watched football and went to the playground, ordered wings, and just had fun visiting with them.

Sunday after they left, we went to church and played in our bouncey house.

Now for a recipe you HAVE to try.

In keeping with my cookie kick, I decided to try a new recipe that was calling my name. Oreo Pudding cookies. So, so so good.

Oreo Pudding Cookies
Source: Sweet Treats And More
1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Candy Bars broken into small pieces (I used 2.6 ounce King Sized bars)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I only used 1 cup and it worked well for me)

Note: I found Oreo Pudding mix at my grocery store but I also saw it at our Walmart and Target.Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. You do not want to overbake these! Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before moving to a cooking rack. Store in air-tight container. Makes two dozen.

Last, after bidding and losing and bidding and losing on nice cameras, I finally got a nice camera! My friend Katie sold me her Nikon and I can't wait to get started taking great pictures.

Bakerisms

2011-09-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

You know how its never as funny or cute when you try to explain the cute things your kids are doing verses actually being there? Well, I'm doing it anyway. Try to use your imaginations.

Trying his best to look around me to see the TV

I won't say this is my favorite age because I feel like that makes all the ages look un-fun, but I am really enjoying where Baker is right now. He is talking so much, in full sentences and just able to communicate, which makes him less frustrated with life in general. Its a win/win.

I want to remember the cute things he is doing right now because they will change in an instant. All I know is that we laugh a lot and I stand amazed at him every single day.

- From the beginning Baker says "Hold you" instead of "Hold me". Well that is cute enough on its own, but now he wants the characters painted on the wall at school to hold him and I encourage this. For example, he always goes up to the mouse and says "Mouse, Hold you?" and presses his cheek up to him. Hilarious. Then, the other day, he did it to the car. "Car, hold you?"

- If we ask him if he wants to do something and he does, he replies "Do want to walk" or "Do want popsicle"

- I can't begin to do this justice but he prounounces blue- "Beloooooo"- very stretched out and hilarious.

- When one of us leaves the room he immediately asks "Where'd Daddy go?"

- When we say goodnight to him, he now says "Sweet Dweams"

- "Dees way" is a common command when he wants us to go a certain way.

- Lately he likes to say "Thank you, your welcome" in the same phrase.

- If he wants to color its "Color paper" and never just "color". He saw ink on my hand the other day and said "Mommy, color paper"

-In order for him to agree to have his teeth brushed each night, we have to say "Gar Gar Gar" like a pirate. However, everyone has to be "gar gared" first before he will take his turn.

my pretty girl with his "gar gar"

- As soon as I pick him up from school he says to everyone "Bye evwybody, see you lader"

Love, love, love that boy.

Burlap

2011-09-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

First let me make you aware of my new obsessions: Pinterest & Burlap.

I'm not sure why I was a late comer on the Pinterest train, but I am on board now. If you havent browsed around Pinterest, let me urge you to do so now.

Now, be warned you will probably feel less creative, like your house is ugly, and that you don't make enough fun meals, but it is sure to give you new ideas.

Ideas that I have had to form a spreadsheet for since there are so many I would like to try. So far, I have only tried some of the recipes- I am 3 for 4 on success rate with Pinterest recipes. I told you about Smores Cookies-those came from Pinterest, I also made Nutella cookies. They were not my favorite. They were easy, but just not that great to me. Fail. I posted about the Cinnamon Blondies- total success...

Last night, I made Chicken Cheesy Lasagna and it was a huge success. SO good.

I will be eating these leftovers today.

Now, there are several "crafy" things to do from Pinterest and honestly, my mind explodes when I see all of them. I am really not crafty, don't claim to be. Its just not my thing. However, Pinterest is really encouraging me to be more crafty. I was going to post about the many things I want to attempt, but then it would spoil the fun of me actually doing them. I will give you a hint though:

I've had my eye on this guy for a while now. Mainly because I love the burlap background and the project as a whole seems easy enough. In fact, ALL of the burlap ideas call out to me. I have a fall burlap project I WILL be doing. I just love it. More on that if I accomplish this anytime soon.
I also think these are cute:

Burlap Halloween pillows

The blog world these days is all about crafts and recipes and outdoing each other with the better ideas. I am fine with simply stealing said ideas (as long as they are easy and not very time consuming or expensive) So, hopefully I will be posting many completed projects/recipes from here on out.

Wow

2011-09-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

"Wow" is all I have to say to summarize my gameday feelings.
I am equal parts happy/relieved/impressed and sad/ disappointed and scared for the rest of the season.
If you saw the Auburn v. Utah State game I'm sure you felt the same way. Of course Auburn has not been predicted to be very good this year (which is exactly how I like for it to be- fly under the radar) so that didn't bother me, but I have never seen us have to fight so hard to win our season opener. I had accepted our "loss" after Utah State's last touchdown. I just prepared myself for a long season and tried to come to grips with "there's always next year", but then a miracle happened. I am so impressed with the comeback and unwillingness to give up. That speaks volumes to me. A win is a win is a win! I know coming into this season as the reigning national champs is not easy. I can't imagine the pressure they were under going into this season.

As I mentioned in my last post, the deal was that if Baker wore his Bama jersey to school, then he wore Auburn on gameday. And he wore it proud, I might add.
I took this picture myself (obviously) right after the game and just told Baker to smile. I wasn't expecting this hilarious expression when I looked at the picture. What in the world?
And a little less enthusiastic...

The rest of the weekend was low-key, but fun. I really enjoyed the overcast weather. It was a nice change of pace from the sweltering heat. Saturday after the games we spent a LONG time in the pool. I love it when Baker will play and play and not try to get out after 10 minutes.

We have done aLOT of this all summer. Sitting in the swing, eating popsicles. Boy can put away some popsicles. I think he would eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner if we let him.

Yesterday rained hard the entire day so we blew up the bouncey house and put it in the garage. Again, I was SO glad Bake lasted more than 10 minutes. I think he had to do with it being cool and not sunny. I prefer not to play in the sun as well.

We went to church, Barnes and Noble, TCBY and did various other activities throughout the weekend, but it was nice to be at home with pretty much no plans.

And last, we had a "first" over the weekend. Baker tee-teed in the potty! I have not been rushing into potty training at all. I don't feel strongly about him hurrying to the potty and losing the diapers. So anyway, we have mainly just been talking to him about it to get him excited about going one day. In fact, we just bought a potty seat yesterday. He begged us to go "tee-tee" in the potty even though I knew he didnt really have to go. So, it was time for dinner and I was finishing that up while Brent let him try on his new seat. Lo and Behold, after some waiting, he tee -teed in the potty! It was glorious! We cheered and cheered and he was confused, but excited. Zoe was by far the most excited though! I don't think we are quite ready to go full out pull-ups, but its a start.

Almost time...

2011-09-02T08:46:00.000-07:00

War Eagle everybody!

I'm in total gameday mode! We shall see what the Tigers pull out tomorrow.

Brent and I worked a compromise. Today is school spirit day and I told Brent he could choose for Baker to wear his Bama jersey at school or tomorrow in exchange for wearing his Auburn jersey the other day. He didnt want Baker's friends to make fun of him so he chose Bama jersey today.

War Eagle and Happy Gameday!

What we've been up to..

2011-08-29T12:39:00.001-07:00

This post will be scattered, covered and chunked.
Someone got his first pair of tennis shoes and his teachers reported that they made him "fast" which was very funny to me. Did I mention that I LOVE his new class at school? Ms. Beth teaches a bible truth every week along with a color. They wear that color at the end of the week. He knows all of his colors but still gets confused on red and green.

We decided to take our first trip to UA's pool, which I have to say is really cool. They have this cool slide, a lazy river and a great baby pool. Baker loved it and cried when we had to leave. It was a great thing to do on Saturday!

Friday night, I made Smores Cookies. O.M.G. is all I have to say. They are from scratch and completely wonderful. I will be glad to share the recipe if anyone wants it. It makes a good bit so they would be great to take somewhere if you want to be loved by many.

I have been on a really big baking kick lately. I've used more flour this month than in my lifetime. Thats the truth.

Last Tuesday, Brent and I celebrated 3 great years together! I had a post for that, but no pictures so I didnt post it, but we took our anniversary trip to the beach this summer (Seaside post) so we just went to dinner Tuesday night at Evangelines. My sweets also sent me beautiful flowers to work! Why are flowers so much better when they are sent to work? Probably because you get lots of attention the rest of the day. Who doesn't like attention? Well, except my brother. Thats here nor there.

We also had some company Saturday night and I had dinner with an old friend Sunday night. It turned out to be a pretty great weekend all around. I am very ready for football this weekend though!

WAAARRRRRRR EAGLE, HEY!

Anna's Wedding Weekend

2011-08-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

My baby cousin, Anna tied the knot this weekend in Spanish Fort and the weekend was hectic, to say the least. Hectic, but so fun!

After luncheons, meeting up with friends, dad's birthday lunch, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception, along with lots of driving completely wore us out!

Bridesmaids Luncheon (family) Bridesmaids

Playing with Leah Jane at Chick-Fil-A! We were so glad to get to see them for a little while.
Family at the rehearsal dinner

Cousins

My favorite part of the reception was that the wedding party was told to throw this enourmous collection of beads to the guests like Mardi Gras. The bride and groom live in New Orleans. It was so much fun! I cut myself out of this picture because of the awful face I was making.

The bride, having no fear as always.

It was great to meet up with some friends while we were there and spend lots of time with family. As much fun as we had, I could not do this every weekend! I will be recovering this entire week.

Brent was there too, I promise. I just had to rely on other people's pics since I still don't have a camera. More pics to come with him in them. After all, we have a special day to celebrate tomorrow!

The weekend

2011-08-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thomas turned 3! We got to attend his super fun birthday party on Saturday.

He had the most awesome water slide in his front yard! Too bad Bake is too little to go down it. He attempted to climb the part that gets you to the stairs, and then turned around. Ah well. Thomas was a champion at the slide. It never got old watching him fly down and then go airborne into the pool at the bottom. Hilarity.

Baker laid low in the bouncey house (exactly like the one he is getting)

and did some sliding of his own.

Moving forward.

That afternoon, things started off well for "Teddy". A nice calm afternoon of watching toons with my friend, Baker.Then started to get a little wild...And then took a turn for the worse...Better luck next time, Teddy!

It was Squad Sunday at our church, which means the Alabama football team and Nick Saban join us for church. Bobby Bowden was the speaker this year and I really enjoyed it. Regardless of the fact that I am an Auburn fan, it was still neat to be there. Coach Bowden took some jabs at Saban (all in good fun) that judging from the back, he did not laugh at. Shoulders didnt shake in the least. Can he lighten up a little bit, please?

Brent tried to take a picture, in church, of the back of Nicky's head. I stopped him.War Eagle!

Who wants to bounce?

2011-08-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Because we are getting this:

Here is the story. Last football season Brent's niece Heather and her husband, who set up ridiculously fun tailgates (and have 2 little ones) brought this exact bounce house to the tailgate. I thought it was genius. It kept the kids entertained and contained all day! Baker was not yet one, so he wasn't really able to enjoy it as much as he can this year. For pretty much this entire year I have been contemplating/dreaming of buying our own. I think it will be well worth the money over the years and burn off some toddler/kid energy at the same time. Plus, it will be great for birthday parties.

If you read this blog much you know that I am A.) thrifty and B.) love Ebay- see last post. So, of course I could not see paying the full $250.00 it sells for at Toys R Us. Even with the coupons they give. So, where to I turn? Ebay.

I got a brand NEW, IN BOX, Little Tikes Jump N Slide for $130.00. Shipped yesterday and I am so so so excited.

This is Baker's birthday present and will be involved in his birthday party! If anyone wants to come over and bounce, bring it.

Electronic Bay

2011-08-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Anyone watch Parks and Recreation? I'm so glad I gave that show a second chance. The first season was kind of slow, but it is so much better now and makes me laugh aloud.

Anyway, Andy (or was it Ron) called Ebay "Electronic Bay" the other night and I thought that was funny...

Now that I have lost this crowd, this post is devoted entirely to my not-so-new-but-more-intense-obsession, Ebay.

Reasons I love Ebay:

1. Finding NEW/UNUSED items that the rest of the world pays full price for, but I get for half price (or less).

2. Not leaving home to find said items

3. The thrill of being "the highest bidder"

4. The feeling that you "won" an item that you just knew someone else was going to steal.

5. Selling baby stuff for the same price you bought them for!

6. Transfering Money from sellers into your bank account! Its like an online garage sale, but way easier.

I started playing around on Ebay back in college. I would need something hard to find and just browse around Ebay to find it. Over the years, I have been able to find more and more stuff that I need. Its just so easy and usually SO much cheaper than real life.

I recently bought a Canon Rebel- used- for $175.00 that retails for $650.00 +. I have wanted a nice camera for awhile, but not wanted to pay full price for one. After all, I admitted in my last post that I hate to take pictures. I am just a sucker for the nice quality pics and I thought Ebay would kill 2 birds with one stone...and I was right. So, I am awaiting the arrival of this guy:

Cinnamon Blondies

2011-07-29T08:13:00.000-07:00

Oh.my.goodness.

I found this recipe on Plain Chicken, although it just popped up on the side and immediately sparked my interest because I love all things cinnamon. Pretty obsessed with cinnamon actually. And who doenst love a blondie? Applebees anyone? Anyway, I decided to make some for us and for Baker's teachers as part of their end-of-the-year present. Well, I died, they were so good. The only disappointing part is that you use an 8 X8 pan and that just doesnt make much. I was so sad that I had to give some to his teachers.

These were pretty easy to make and I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry. I love when that happens.

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour¼ teaspoon salt2 teaspoons cinnamon1 stick unsalted butter1 ½ cups light brown sugar1 large egg plus one egg yolk, room temperature1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment and grease the parchment.
Sift the flour, salt and cinnamon together and set aside. Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Cook one more minute until the mixture bubbles, but doesn’t boil. Set aside to cool – approximately 10 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla to the brown sugar mixture and blend. Pour sugar and egg mixture over flour and stir until just blended.
Pour batter into the pan. Bake for 25 – 35 minutes until the center is springy; do not over bake. When it has cooled slightly, run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto a cooling rack. Carefully peel off the parchment. Let cool completely, then cut into small squares.

If you even think this sounds good, you wont be disappointed. YUM.

Wuh, Two, FEE!

2011-07-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Cute little words we heard all weekend. I guess we count everything he does and so he will ask to do "wuh, two, fee" which can mean many different activities. We have to use context clues to figure out what he wants to do. If we are in our room, he wants us to throw him on the bed (counting of course). In the pool, he wants to jump off the side to us...
We had a swimming good weekend. I've discovered the best time is to go out at 5:00 pm when its not quite as hot and we don't have to wear sunscreen. We did that Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Bake has grown braver and braver in the pool. He will just jump off the last step into the water like he is an experienced swimmer. He's not. Thats why God made parents.

Bubbles and Dexter think he has a popsicle to share.

Current favorite game is "Cwose door" and he slams it. Then wants us on the other side to knock loudly and say "Let me in" and then he opens it back up and laughs. Repeat.for.hours.Let me interrupt this post to say that I am fully aware that 99.9 % of my pictures are of Baker only, doing various activities. This is because I hate taking pictures. I usually forget my camera or don't care enough to get everyone posed together. I wish I was like that, but I never like to interrupt the moment to take a picture. It always feels like a buzzkill. Anyway, Bake is the only one I take the time to really photograph. He is also the only one that says "NO PICTURES MOMMY!"

On Sunday, we headed to the middle of nowhere for Brent's mom's family reunion. Guess who didnt want anything to do with the food or the air conditioner there? Guess who was ONLY interested in the food and the air conditioner there? Baker wins again. So we spent most of our time outside getting our red faces on.

Other notes from the weekend: I bought a Groupon with a friend to "All Fired Up" where you paint your own pottery. I planned for it to last about 1 hour or so on Saturday. 3 hours later, we were still there, unfinished and had to leave. Plan ahead for this one people.

Drowsy Chaperone at Theatre Tuscaloosa was FANTASTIC. The cast did an amazing job. Such a fun show!

21 for 21

2011-07-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

A mini-golden birthday if you will.

For those of you that aren't familiar with "golden birthdays" it is the birthday where your age coincides with the number of the day. For example: My b-day is 11-26 so my 26th birthday was "golden".

All that to say that Baker is 21 months today on July 21. His birthday is October 21st. His actual golden birthday will be his 21st birthday...You get it.

So, in honor of this special day that he knows nothing about, I will do a list!

Top 21 Things that Baker Loves (in no particular order)

1. The tunnel

2. Tyson Chicken Nuggets

3. "Helping"

4. Glasses

5. Raisins (as seen in picture above- 1 box was not enough)

6. Slides

7. Stickers

8. Pushing anything that will move

9. Yo Gabba Gabba

10. Elmo Cookie (which really just means "Elmo". I think he thinks his last name is Cookie)

11. "Ms. Bicki" (Ms. Vicki)- his lead teacher at school

12. Popsicles

13. Making "Biggie tents"- go under the covers while mom or dad makes a "tent" with their arm or leg. Everyone has to laugh while in the tent.

14. Movies- all animated movies, but his favorites are Shrek the Third (random), Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda, Finding Nemo, Up, and Happy Feet- You know, all baby movies. Psych.

15. Books

16. Cheese Pups (which is Cheese Puffs)

17. Bubbles (preferably "Amazing Bubbles" from Target)

18. Play Dough

19. Special Agent Oso

20. Talking, Talking, Talking! He is a toddler of many words these days.

21. Eggs- of the scrambled persuasion

What I learned on vacation...

2011-07-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

Brent and I had a lovely, childless time in Seagrove, FL this weekend.

We left from my work on Thursday and took Baker to Dothan to stay with his grandparents. We left Dothan around 10:00 p.m. so we could go stay at the beach Thursday night and wake up at the beach.

I learned a few things from this trip that I would like to share.

1. Everything is easier without a toddler. I don't want to imply that I wish I did not have a toddler, because I love that boy more than life itself, but all things in one's daily life are easier when a toddlers needs don't dictate everything you do and how you do it.

2. I can, in fact, sleep past 6:00 if I'm allowed to.

3. Rain does not effect a good time at the beach.

4. Rain does not prevent one from going on the beach and relaxing.

Picture it: Pouring down rain, Brent and myself trecking down to the beach with 2 beach chairs, an umbrella, a cooler and a bag full of "stuff" as if it was 90 degrees and sunny. Then, having a "can you hit the stick with the koosh ball" contest for a while. I am not a big fan of super hot days on the beach anyway, so this actually might have been my ideal.

5. Baker Man does not like sand. (We met up with my parents in PCB to get Baker back and he walked on the sand for 2 seconds and then asked to be held.)
6. Brent's and my normal life run like a well-oiled machine. We are more scheduled than I even realized. So much so that when we are given tons of free time and zero responsibility, we arent really sure how to use it.

7. We cannot sleep without a TV. Period. Our condo did not have a TV in the bedroom so we had to resort to watching YouTube videos of How I Met Your Mother on Brent's phone. Really? Thats sad.

8. I have a karaoke max of 4 hours and Brent's is unlimited...

9. Singing with Brent at karaoke means your voice will be overshadowed. I'm just sayin'.

10. Flip Flops Grill is completely awesome. Our condo was 50 yards ( i'm not good at estimating distances..lets just say very close) from Flip Flops Grill and we ate all breakfast there and one lunch and we were sad we didn't eat all meals there, honestly. This place was once "Beach Java" which was equally great for us. This place made an impression on me so I bought a T-shirt. I.never.buy.T-shirts.anywhere. Even as a middle schooler when all my friends HAD to have that Fudruckers T-shirt or Billy's Bar & Grill or Hard Rock Cafe, I never sucumed to the pressure. Not sure why, I just never cared. Point is, for me to buy a T-shirt means that this place really means something to me.

11. You have to be a super model to eat at the Roly Poly in Seaside. This is actually a discovery made a few years ago, but I wanted to throw it in there because its always makes us laugh when we go back. Brent and I felt so ugly that day. HA!

12. Angelina's in Seagrove is worth sacrificing a seafood meal for Italian. We have loved this place for years and it just never disappoints.
Pretty sure my make-up didnt look this "clownish" in person

13. No matter how relaxing and nice it was, this boy is still wonderful to come home to. Thanks to Shug & Daggy for entertaining this boy all weekend. He came back looking relaxed, healthy and happy. Its always nice to know they are in good hands!

Weekend?

2011-07-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

I say this as a question to mean, "Was this really my weekend?"

On Friday around noon when I got off work I started feeling sick. I immediately got in bed and stayed until that night when Glenn/Beth crew came back through town. I did feel better enough to at least hang out with them for a while. Saturday turned very ugly, very fast. Turns out I just felt so nauseated. I realized I probably had a stomach virus. So, that never quit for the rest of the weekend. Lovely way to spend it I tell you.

We had our friend, Shawn, coming in town Saturday/Sunday to help Brent with some handyman projects around our house (which is officially on the market, btw in case anyone wants to buy it). So, if Brent is working and I am sick, who takes care of Baker? Well, that was the trouble. We ended up hiring a babysitter to play with Baker Sunday even though we were both at home. Uggh.
So, with that re-cap, we somehow managed to get a family picture. I mustered up some energy to get dressed to bring Shawn to dinner Sat. night.
Favorite part of this picture is Bake's fake smile. At least he knows now to look at the camera.

I have to give Baker props though- He was an angel all weekend. I guess he knew we really needed him to be. He was just sweet and content and funny. His new thing is to say "Come on Mommy" as he leads me to a new room. Its really cute since he uses it in the right context.

Our favorite summer treat has been these little gems that they sell at Dollar General. Did I mention we live walking distance from a Dollar General? You think that sounds like an eye sore, but man, its oh so convenient.

At first sight you think they will be just like the popsicles from the skating rink, but then you realize they are so.much.better. Baker is obessed with them. Whenever we open the freezer he says "popsicle?" and we take it on the back porch and swing while we eat them....then I might sing a song I made up called "Baker and Mommy Swinging" but thats embarrasing so I won't go there.

Thursday, Brent and I are headed to Seaside for a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary!! I can't wait. We are dropping Baker Man off in Dothan to stay with Shug and Daggy. He will have fun and so will we!

If Not For You

2011-07-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

I want to share this song that I have been singing to Baker since he was teeny tiny. You might recognize it partially from an Amazon.com commercial from a few years ago. I loved the snipet they played on the commercial so I searched and searched until I found the whole song. Anyway, Its' by Joey and Rory (who I'm 99% sure are married) and I just adore her voice. This song has a very "Judds" quality to it that I love.

The main reason I am sharing this though is to hopefully find the guitar chords. I can't find them anywhere, but I want to learn it. I'm not sharp enough to figure them out by just listening.

Enjoy

4th of July

2011-07-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

I love love love the 4th of July. This year did not disappoint. Although, I have been out of blog commission for 2 weeks due to Theatre Camp. During those 2 weeks we had company, I taught dance at camp from 8-12, then to my real job from 12-5, then Baker duty, then cook dinner, prepare for the next day and repeat! It.was.exhausting. We ended camp on Friday and jumped right into an action packed 4th of July weekend.

I am ashamed to say I basically took 3 pictures all weekend which is awful. We had so much fun, I think I just forgot.

My family came to our house again this year which was great. We grilled, swam, played with babies, and just had fun together. I hope this can remain a tradition!

These two have become besties. Its blurry of Hayes b/c she would not stop jumping. It makes me happy to see them playing well.

Sunday night, Glenn, Beth, Izabelle and Kelsey came over for the rest of the weekend. We got up on Monday and swam again with them. Baker and "E-belle" had fun running around in circles. I would love to sit with a camera on Izabelle just to capture some of the hilarious things she says as well as the facial expressions to go with them. Classic.

Brent, Baker and I had a 4th party to go to that afternoon so we packed up our life to go over there for a little while. Great food and friends there too. I wish I had at least one picture of that. We swam in their pool until the lighting started back. Baker came 2 inches from his first sip of a margarita. Sorry Lisa!

Then, we came back home and got ready to go to dinner with the Glenn/Beth crew. I think B was past the point of tired because he acted the fool at dinner. I had to take him out. This was right before his tantrum when I asked him to "smile".

This was an event that reminded me why we always stick to a schedule. If he goes past his point, we are all miserable. Kids don't undestand "staying up late" for a special occasion.

The picture above was just a moment I caught Baker in a "pose" and I had to take a pic. I'm sure this will be embarrassing one day.

Glenn's crew will be back this weekend and hopefully I will take more pics!

On another note, I haven't been diligent about updating Bake's newest tricks and catch phrases. I will take this time to document them.

-He has started saying "Mommy Look" or "Daddy Look" or "Kitty Look" when he thinks he is doing something funny.

-"Have it" "Hold you" "Do it" are all common phrases in our house

-If something happens to him that we don't see, he runs to us and says "HAPPENED!" and points to whatever it was.

-He loves to tickle people and lately will tickle inanimate objects and say "Tickle computer" or "Tickle the water"

- He counts 1,2,3, like this "Wuh, Two, Fee!" and its the cutest thing ever.

- He has started "reading" his books to us at night instead of other way around. My newest goal is to catch this on video. He knows certain words from that page and will jabber, say the one word, jabbers more and turn the page. Cute overload is what it is.

A Special Day and more!

2011-06-22T11:38:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a special day for Watson, Amy and the fathers in my life!

Watson was dedicated at Dawson on Sunday with all of his family members there to celebrate. It was so very sweet. He smiled at the pastor and even made some coos that melted my heart!
The man of the hour!

Grandaddy with his grandsonsThree generationsSerious talks with "Lag Daggy" Hayes and big cousin, HollyWe were happy to celebrate Amy's birthday as well. What a wonderful sister-in-law she is to me. I don't know what I would do without her. She is such an asset to our family. I hope you had a good one, Amy!

We also celebrated Father's Day this weekend! I did not want to wait so I gave Brent his gifts in parts, starting Friday. I am so thankful for the wonderful fathers in my life. The examples they have been and continue to be. I have the best father in the world and married to the best father in the world. (yes, there can be two)

What other father gives unlimited horseback rides...

and wrestles on the floor...
and makes us laugh...

I love you and Whoa!

2011-06-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Let me set these videos up for you. Amy inspired me post more videos so I don't lose or forget about these precious times at these ages. Both of these videos are about a month old, but still cute so I thought I would share.

In the first video, you will see Baker "wallering" around alot on the floor saying "WHOA". He thinks its really funny to pretend to fall, or get hurt and act like he is in pain. This is more silly than anything else.

The second video was right when he started saying "I love you". Maybe he had to be persuaded, but it is still very cute.

Fun with cousins

2011-06-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

Baker was long overdue to see his big cousin Hayes and little cousin Watson, so we took a day trip to Birmingham to play! They have so much fun together now which is precious. They squeal a lot and chase each other around the house. It makes my heart happy to see that.
I am truly loving this age. Bake's vocabulary expands daily and hearing a new word, sentence, phrase or gesture is like Christmas to me. I get so excited to watch him learn new things. I know all parents can relate to this.

Chick-Fil-A playground. (Baker loves "nug-eets")

Still a little short to climb to the top like Hayes does
Uncle Nathan took us on a wagon ride so our mommies could hit the neighborhood estate sale.

Speaking of that, I scored the cutest magazine rack from the sale that is now in Bake's room and looks precious. It houses all or most of his books. This boy loves a good book and between new books and C & Z's hand-me-down books, we are fully stocked.

This boy loves "wrestling" in the floor with Daddy.

Splash!

2011-06-08T08:02:00.001-07:00

I am consolidating two blogs into one since I didn't post about our trip to the zoo last weekend.

Check out these cute friends. Baker and Thomas hit it off this time.

Thanks goodness the zoo has a splash pad. It was way too hot not to get into some water.

Since the splash pad was a pretty big hit with B Dozen, I decided to figure out the closest thing we have here in Tuscaloosa. Shelby Park has a huge fountain that kids are welcome to come and play in. In fact, our church had an ice-cream social at the park Sunday night, but we wanted to go on Saturday too. I think this was a littel more overwhelming to Baker because he just didnt have much to do with it.

Don't you splash me, fountain!
We went pretty early on Saturday and we were the only ones there! I loved it. Of course I forgot my camera for the ice-cream social, but it was a lot of fun and something I hope Calvary does again!

I noticed Monday morning that B was trying to sing his ABC's (which he calls "A,B, Ceeps") As you can see, he doenst sing past E, but its still cute. I also love how quickly he decides he is done with this game.

Susan Hudson Photography

2011-06-05T08:25:00.001-07:00

5th Annual Girls Weekend

2011-06-02T08:56:00.001-07:00

I love that we still do this.

Taylor, Emily, Susan, Carrie, Me, and usually Caroline, have gotten together after college for the past 5 years to reunite and just hang out. Its great. We all live in separate towns (except Carrie and I who both live in Tuscaloosa which is so odd to me)

Stupid Caroline went and got a job in San Diego, CA and had to miss this year. Boo on good jobs and following your dreams...whatever Caroline.

So, we kicked off the weekend with dinner at "5" which is a fun, artsyish atmosphere downtown. I attempted to capture a picture of the table. Oh well.

Here we found out some extra special news that is not mine to share, so I will leave it at that.

Susan arrived later and we stayed up talking and having wine until about 2:00 am. The late nights bring me back to the college days when my bedtime was never before 1:00 on any given night.
Saturday, I made breakfast (thanks to a recipe via Amy via Plain Chicken) and then we got pedictures and toured the tornado damage.

This is a mild picture of what so many curbs look like in town.For the afternoon, we laid out at our pool and swam. Then we got ready for a cook-out at Carrie's house. Good food, good drinks, good conversation.

Suzie here is an amazing photographer in Dallas. (this is my dumb camera picture, not hers) She so kindly took a few of Baker on Sunday morning and I can't wait to get them back. That will be a separate post.

Sunday we had a lovely little brunch at Chuck's Fish. I was brave and ordered "outside the box". This is Chicken & Waffles with a side of bacon ice-cream. Yes, you heard the correctly.

It was delicious.

After the girls left on Sunday, I took Susan to Birmingham with Baker Man in tow. We met Katie & Thomas at the zoo! I will save this for another post as well.

Honk Shoo

2011-05-31T07:05:00.001-07:00

This boy is funny. I mean, really funny. While, you really have to be there, I have to try to explain the newest "Bakerism".
So, a little while back, Brent started to fake sleep for B's entertainment. It would go a little something like this:
Brent: Night Night
Honk Shooo, Honk Shoo ( he even made the 'shoo' a whistle)

Baker: Daddy, Daddy (as to wake him up)
Brent: (acting disoriented) What, what what?
*Repeat*

So, Sunday I noticed Bake laying on the hardwood floors out of the blue and he said "night night" then, his little back was clearly rising and falling on purpose. I had no idea what he was doing. Then, he lifted his head and said "what, what what?" WE DIED.

These 3 pictures are compliments of my new phone with an excellent camera. I'm pretty excited about it.

Stay tuned for the post about our "Girls Weekend", the zoo and Memorial Day! It was a wonderful weekend. I just have to get my ducks in a row for that post.

If you need any help with your animal sounds...

2011-05-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

I am finally able to upload videos!! Why was this such a task you ask? I really don't know, but it makes me so happy that I finally can. You can expect a lot more where this came from.

Hiatus

2011-05-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

I know my two readers have noticed my brief blog hiatus, but I just haven't been able to muster the energy or time to take pictures...I always say a blog without pictures is boring, so I try to always at least include one.

A short weekend recap for you: We broke the pool in for the first time this year which was refreshing. Baker "liked" it alot, which was his review last year as well. "Like", not "love", but we will get there. I was a little fish as a child and I'm just waiting for him to love it the same way.
I took him to Storytime at B&N on Saturday. Again, I'm greatful for this fun/free activity. It doesn't take much more than endless amounts of books and stuffed animals to please this toddler.

Baker is definitely in a "labeling" phase as I like to call it. Whatever he sees that he knows, he has to point it out and say it multiple times with enthusiasm. "Puppy, Colors, Ball, Zoe, Turtle, Tunnel, Toys, Diaper, TV" and so on. Whats even cuter is that he feels the need to tell all things "bye" when he leaves them. Bye toys, bye biscuit, bye teddy, bye door"...and so on. This is complete with a wave. So polite.

This coming weekend, is our 5th annual Girls Weekend here in Tuscaloosa. It has been at all other destinations (I think my Auburn friends were trying to avoid this town) but will finally be here and I'm excited! Brent has strict instructions to make an appearance but stay out of the way.

Wow. it sounds a lot meaner typed out.

Last and also least - Did anyone watch the Bachelorette last night? Am I the only one that still follows this nonsense? Its a total train wreck for me. However, after last night's premiere I just don't know if I have the energy for this season. Ashley is fine, but the "glimpse into the season" looks exhausting. I am angry at her choices already and the season just started.

Mother's Day

2011-05-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

My sweet, sweet, sweet husband surprised me on Wednesday with a Mother's Day gift that just couldn't wait. I was indeed surprised and excited!

Brent had his friend, and amazing artist, Paul Looney, sketch a picture of me and Baker x 2. In real life, there is only 1 Baker.
I really love it. What a great surprise, B! I get to go pick out a frame of my choice!

On Friday, I got a second Mother's Day gift made by the hand of Baker Jones. I think I was delirious and exhausted because I cried. This is the 800th hand print I have of his, but this one really got me. The first line reads "I miss you when we're not together, I'm growing up so fast..." How is that for tearing at your heartstrings? Man.

My third Mother's Day suprise was a hand drawn picture delivered to wake me up Sunday morning by Baker. So sweet. He put a lot of hard work into it and I love it.

My fourth Mother's Day surprise was the gift of MONO for me and my little baby. How sad is that? Who knew babies even got mono? Well, they do.

We had a couples baby shower in Dothan this weekend for my friend, Courtney. The moment we got inside my parent's house, Baker threw up everywhere. We still got to the shower, but got a call from my parents that Baker was running high fever, asking for us, and generally pitiful. So, we came home. Long story short, I starting feeling equally bad Sunday night. We found out Monday that we both have mono.

Still, a few pics from the shower

A little distraction...

2011-05-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

Professor Baker T. Jones

In the midst of what has been a crazy week, Baker and I did have a great distraction while in Birmingham. Brent was still in Montgomery after the storm and since we were staying with Nathan and Amy, we took the opportunity to entertain our babes.

First stop: Chuck E Cheeses (where a kid can be a kid)

I have a precious video of these 2 dancing at Chuck E Cheeses to "Party in the USA" but of course, I still can't figure out how to upload those to my blog.

This was Thursday morning...Thursday afternoon I took Baker to Ross Bridge where my parents were staying for the weekend for the family reunion, which is a whole event separate from this post, but I have zero pictures to show. Sorry family that might be reading this. I was preoccupied all weekend I guess. Anyway, my parents kept Bake at Ross Bridge while I drove back to Tuscaloosa to check on our house, feed the animals, clean up our mess from hunkering down in the storm etc...

Friday we got up pretty early to take the babes to the McWane Center. How cute are these little aprons they wear so they don't get wet?? Very. Guess how effective it was in keeping the water off of Baker? About 10%.

Giant Lite Brite! This was taken about 10 minutes before the meltdown of the century. To the point where I had to "take him out". People were staring. I was embarrassed.

Saturday I was called in to work on Tornado Relief, so I missed a big portion of the family reunion, but I got back to Birmingham Saturday night in time to join the family for those festivities. Again, no pics.

Brief Update

2011-04-30T12:17:00.001-07:00

Hello friends and family,

I wanted to do a short update on our tornado situation. Thank you to all that called, texted and made some kind of contact to make sure we were ok.

As of Monday night, I started coming down with what I discovered was strep. (for the 4th time this year) and stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday. Brent left early Wed. for his state tennis tournament in Montgomery. I knew we were supposed to have bad weather but I've never been scared or worried about bad weather. Little did I know what devastation was about to hit our city. I was alone with Baker in our "safe place" staying relatively calm. I could hear the TV reporting on how large this tornado was and how it was coming for Downtown Tuscaloosa which really isnt that close to us. Then, they said it hit parts of Skyland, which is close to us and I panicked, I mean, like, freaked out. I envisioned our house being whisked away and clinging to my baby for our lives. Thank GOD this was not our story, but it is the story of so many people here and its just heart breaking.

The power went out right as the tornado was coming through town. I just held Baker tight and tried not to scare him and prayed it wouldn't carry us away. I was unable to call or text out but I could recieve calls. I kept in contact with Brent and my dad consistently and got advice to go to Birmingham to stay with Nathan and Amy since we were alone and had no power. After shoving the bare necessities in a bag and manually opening the garage we headed to Birmingham. Scariest.drive.of.my.life. I was listening the the radio talking about the tornadoes all around us. Long story short, we made it fine and watched the storm coverage on TV. I was stunned at what I was watching and even more stunned at the video footage of this tornado, still in route, devastating parts of the state.

Aerial view of some of the destruction

Local Hobby Lobby- :(

I work at Calvary Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa and we are offering several ways to help with Tornado Relief. First, you can visit our website http://www.calvarytuscaloosa.org/ to find updated information on how, when and where to volunteer.
There is a button to donate money (through PayPal) if you are out of state and just want to help. Giving money to our Tornado Relief Fund would be awesome at this point. The good news is that the people calling in to volunteer is overwhelming. The bad news is that that people calling in to volunteer is overwhelming. We just don't have enough places organized yet to send volunteers to. However, if you keep checking our website, the needs change quickly and we might have options.

Easter

2011-04-25T08:45:00.001-07:00

Easter is one of my very favorite times of the year. Especially going to Dothan every year. My mom makes a big deal of all holidays and Easter is no exception. My boss let us leave after our noon Good Friday service. When I told Baker we were going to see Shug & Grandaddy, he was READY!

B LOVES going to new places. I think he gets bored with being at home. He was this happy all weekend. Mom parents pantry was the.place.to.be.

We made another attempt at practicing the egg hunting, but climbing the stairs was way more fun.

We set some records this weekend, also. Since the dawn of time, Baker has gone to bed at 7:30 and woken up at 6:00. RARELY does he sleep past 6:00 but if he does, its maybe 6:10. However, on Easter Sunday when we actually needed the extra time, he woke up at...drum roll please.....8:15. I tell you, this has never, ever, ever come close to happening. I guess he played too hard at his grandparents house.
Sweet Grandparents

My cute boys!

The Easter bunny brought some fun stuff, like this tunnel!
Is it terrible that the E bunny put zero candy in his basket? I never thought I would be the mom that deprives their child of sugar and desserts, but I kind of do. I don't think Baker has ever had a piece of candy in his life. I guess I just feel like he doesnt know what he is missing, so why hype him up? He's hyper enough.

We had a great lunch with family and friends at my parents house. Baker loves his Honey, Uncle Hank, Aunt Regina, Cousin Scott and Aunt Beth! I'm so glad we got to celebrate together. We missed Nathan, Amy, Hayes & Watson though!

A fun addition to this trip was getting to bring home 8 new outfits that my mom made! *See shirt and matching shorts below*. She made with her own two hands, 8 precious shorts and had someone make the matching appliqued or monogrammed shirt.

Excited is an understatement!

Another fun addition to the weekend was getting to see lifelong friend, Mandy. We never get to see each other and I saw her twice!

Sidenote- if you havent watched Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill singing "How Great Thou Art", its a must see. It was on a special that came on Friday night and I just happened to catch it. Chills.

He is risen, indeed!

One and a half

2011-04-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

A milestone if you will...

I couldn't let my baby's half birthday pass by without recognition. Although I have no new pictures, I still need to celebrate via blog.

Dear Bakerton, Bake, Baker Man, B Dozen, Binks, and all the other billions of nicknames you have,

It's funny to think that you have only been here for 1 1/2 years. I have shirts way older than you.

You are such a funny boy right now. Its obvious that you like to perform (apple doenst fall far) because you get a look on your face when you are obviously trying to make us laugh. Like here below- You knew we thought it was funny that you made walrus tusks out of a straw, so you kept doing it.

You are such a little mimic right now, which you also get honestly from our #1 mimic, Daddy. I loved how you pretended to throw up in your breakfast the other morning after watching Licorice throw up right in front of us. Thanks for making a gross situation hilarious. Kudos.

Congrats on knowing MOST of your letters! This is all thanks to Starfall which is all thanks to Aunt Amy and Hayes. I'm so glad you have soaked that in and loved every minute.

While we know you think violence is absolutely hilarious, I hope you grow out of this soon. Who am I kidding? Little boys love violence. You laugh so hard when we take your feet and pretend to kick ourselves in the face. Yesterday, you found a new love for taking your lawn mower and mowing over our feet. I wish I knew of something nicer that makes you laugh harder, but I can't.

I have to admit that I think its really cute how you want to carry a bear everywhere you go now. Mommy carried a baby everywhere she went until about age 5, so maybe you inherited this from me!

Its real cute how you are obsessed with being "side" (outside) and puppets and bubbles too. You are hilarious when you try to blow bubbles. You blow real hard but can't quite aim the wand so actual bubbles come out.

I'm so glad you have learned to use a fork now. Even if you stab your food with the fork and then take it off the fork with your other hand to eat it, we are pleased that you try.

I love every minute I have with you, buddy. I love that Daddy and I sometimes fight over who gets to put you to bed. What a blessing you are!

Weekend

2011-04-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Our weekend went a little something like this: playgrounds, A-Day game, lunch with family, sidewalk chalk, baby showers, church, Easter bunny, more playgrounds. It was just a good, family weekend.

While I try to stay away from all things Alabama football, I did snap their little group shot for kicks.

After a little debate, I decided I would not actually go to the game. Bake had a great time with his daddy, Zoe, his cousin Paige, grandmother and other cousins/aunts/uncles.The Easter bunny was just "eh". First of all, what is up with the cheesy flowers flowing down in the back? Now, I know the bunny is cheesy anyway, but this one in particular left much to be desired. Plus, there was all this random sunlight coming in and they wanted me to pay $18.00 for 1 5X7. What?

In addition, he was not even a huge fan. He waved at him from a distance which was good, but actually sitting in his lap was just complete bunny confusion. He kept saying "Mommy, Daddy, Zoe" in a rotation, hoping one of us would pick him up.Anyone? Pick me up, please. I just don't think this bunny and I can be friends."Why are your hands hairy?"Our first experience with sidewalk chalk.

"What? Did I get it on my pants?"

Practice and a haircut

2011-04-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

I want to show off Bake's new "do". His hair grows SO fast and I didnt realize how long it had gotten until it was cut.

I thought he needed an introduction to Easter Egg Hunting, so we practiced yesterday. At first, I threw a bunch of eggs in the yard sporatically and this made him so mad. I have no idea why. I guess he thought I was being irresponsible? This went on for about 3 rounds of throwing them in the grass and asking him to pick them up. After that, he finally thought it was pretty fun.

After reading Jessica's blog (if I knew how to link them I would do it here) about the words AL was saying, I decided to do the same thing and even make a spreadsheet (I love spreadsheets). I got to about 50 words and decided to stop. Then I got home and Brent reminded me of several more so I realize now that I need to stop the spreadsheet because he is truly repeating anything we want him to say and I can't keep up. A few favorites are:

Zoe- "Thoe"

Turtle- "Toytull"

Sit Down- "Seat Down"

Mommy- "Mummy" (no longer Ma Ma)

Teddy- this is said with MUCH enthusiasm for his gigantic bear in his room.

Other new and precious things include: When he wants a hug he comes over, hugs us and says "OOHHHHHH".

If he is watching a show that he doesnt want to watch anymore he yells "BYE BYE" at the TV for us to change it.

He HAS to point out any puppy he sees. He will find a puppy that we don't even see. He says PUP-e. (stress the Pup)

If he has done something wrong and he senses he is getting in trouble, he looks at us with this sweet smile and sweet voice and says "hey, hey, hey, hey" and I have to hand it to him, it works.

If he wants something we are eating he says "Num, Num, Nummy" and comes at us with mouth wide open.

O-H-I-O

2011-04-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Long time, no blog.

I have taken a short blogging hiatus, due to my lack of interesting-ness.

However, I just got back from visiting my BFF, Molly, in Ohio. She has 5 month old twins and they are rather cute!

Jackson and Blake.

Molly claims I made this guy laugh for the first time. I think she was just trying to make me feel special, but it was PRE-CIOUS!We are no strangers to a singing performance.

One of our main events for the weekend was to attend the 2011 Jebby Awards. Molly's friend Jeb created his very own award show about 6 years ago and it has grown and grown and is now this legitimate awards show in Columbus. Its hilarious, but also kind of serious. This guy puts ALOT of work into getting this ready. There were live performances, acceptance speeches, and a red carpet. This is our picture before we hit the red carpet.

In rhetrospect, I would have spent a little more time getting the wrinkles out of my dress and less time with my hand on my hip. Whatevs.After the Jebby's we went to a restaurant with some of Molly's theatre friends. So dramatic..Imagine that.

I had a great time and wish we could see each other more often. I loved getting back to my main men though. Can I just say that I had been home 10 minutes when the tornado sirens went off and we had to hunker down in the hallway? Talk about perfect timing!

Disney Magic

2011-03-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

You know how I hate blogs that are way sappy? Well, I have to apologize to myself for being so positive, but this trip was so great I don't know how to bring it down to a tolerable level. So, bear (bare?) with me? While it was short, we got a lot accomplished and I feel full of Disney magic. I will take you in order of events. First, we left Thursday afternoon to drive to Tallahassee and spend the night. We planned to stay with Betsy and Gavin in Tallahassee, but Elise got sick so we got a hotel instead. The DVD player purchases specifically for this trip was its own set of magic. Best money ever spent and will continue to be.

We left early Friday and got to Orlando around 1:00. Glenn and Beth have a great condo! We took a walk around the lake by their condo first and tried out Bake's new shades. He left them on for 2.3 seconds.We headed out for Downtown Disney!

Baker got to ride a few rides to get warmed up for the parks. This is his first carousel ride. Izabelle kept saying "Ride Em Cowgirl" and "Giddiup" and Baker kept trying to repeat it too. Very cute!Attacking Donald and Daisy. Please notice Izabelle on Daisy's back.After Downtown Disney, we headed back for a delicious dinnner. Beth is an awesome cook (yes, I know you are reading this, but its true) She even made a Ho-Ho cake. Best.cake.ever.

We got up bright and early Saturday to head to Animal Kingdom. First stop: Safari. Bake was ready!

This giraffe was SO close.I have to say one of our favorite things was this "Festival of the Lion King" show (imagine that) but we were very impressed and entertained. Baker was glued to it. They make it interactive which is fun. It's very high energy the whole time. Fun for all ages. We also went the the Finding Nemo Show which was also great. I was relieved that Baker liked both and paid attention versus trying to get down, ect.Worn out after a few hours.

Let me point out that we did the Bug's Life in 3D and I do not recommend this for children under the age of 5. I was kind of scared and Baker would have been if he had been paying attention. This was the last thing we did at Animal Kingdom so he just wanted to stand up which was fine, b/c it was pretty intense. If you do not like bugs, DO NOT DO THIS.

Other high points at AK were Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Finding Nemo, Dinosaur ride for kids, The Boneyard (playground that Baker was obsessed with. Thank you Glenn & Beth for chasing him in this playground while we rode Dinosaur)

Let me also point out that we only had to wait in line for ONE thing the entire time thanks to Fast Pass and Baby Swap. It helps to have people with you that know what they are doing!

We ended up getting to go to Hollywood (we all know its actually MGM) which was a nice surprise for us. I LOVE Tower of Terror and Rock N' Roller coaster. So, while Baker napped (again) we got to ride the big kid rides.Waiting in line for Toy Story Mania. Such a fun idea!

We put in a full day and really got to do/see alot at both places. I couldnt have been more pleased with everything. The weather was great, crowd wasnt too bad, Baker behaved so well, and we packed in ALOT of fun. Sad for the trip to come to a close, but we got to stop in Tallahassee to see these fun people!

I can't wait until Baker gets a little older and can really appreciate Disney and all of its wonder. I predict we go again at 4 or 5? It was indeed a very successful first trip though.

17 months and a trip

2011-03-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

My sweet, precious, opinionated, hilarious baby is 17 months old today. Man, I love him.

We do not give him enough credit for how smart he is. He reminds me daily though. For example: The dishwasher was opened and empty. He picks up the silverware tray (empty) and then goes over the the silveware drawer and points at it as if to say "Shouldnt there be some of those in here?" I had no idea he knew where we got the silverware from.

So, in honor of his 17 months, we are going to DISNEY! Not really for his birthday, but wouldn't it be neat if we could do that for random birthdays? Anyway..here is the deal.

Glenn, Beth and Izabelle are living in Orlando until May and have graciously invited us to come stay. We really didnt think we could find a weekend until the end of May (sadly) that we were completely free, except this coming weekend. So, no time like the present, eh? We're doing it!

So, we are going from Thursday to Sunday. With a baby, we knew it wouldn't be wise to try to visit several parks so we decided to pick one. Animal Kingdom. Plus we want to be able to hang out with G, B & I as much as possible too.

I've been to Disney several times, but never Animal Kingdom. We think Baker will enjoy it the most because of the animals and such. It just so happens that I work with a guy who worked at Animal Kingdom and got us free passes! YIPPEEE!! I am pretty cheap so this almost free trip sounds AWESOME!

We shall see if the 8.5 hour drive will be easy with a toddler..ha.ha.ha. No worries I have my priorities straight. DVD player bought specifically for this trip- check. Carseat tray bought specifically for this trip- check. New toys- check. Bendadryl- check. (jk..or am I?)

In not as exciting news: The weekend was nice with the hot weather. Zoe got a HUGE inflatable beach ball that you connect to a hose and it squirts water out all directions. Baker laughed then cried, laughed then cried and it was over. Great for Zoe, not for Baker.

He did drive us around all weekend.

And last, I made something. Be very impressed.

Shirt- Hobby Lobby- $2.99

Iron ONLY applique- $3.00

However, they suggest adding a stitch around the edges anyway if you plan to wash it. Come on! Whats the point in "IRON ONLY" if I have to stitch it too?

Down by the river on a hanky pank...

2011-03-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely little country Saturday this weekend, filled with family, four wheelers, fires, seafood, beer, boats and yeah..thats what it was.

I have a lot of fun with my extended family and I love that we still get together with aunts/uncles/cousins because once you get older I could see how easy it would be to stop getting together since we are starting our own families. There are 8 grandkids on my mom's side and Nathan and I are the only ones with kids yet. My grandmother (Honey) has a birthday in March and so do some cousins so we met at the "farm", which is down by the river, for a good time.

My grandparents have about 500 acres in Autaugaville and a place right there by the river bank. I remember going there some as a child, but we didn't go much. My uncle now redid some things and made it their place and my other uncle put his own trailer next to it. Don't worry, some things will never change...like the patio furniture.

I have to admit I had a few nightmares beforehand about taking a 1 year old because of the drop off into the river...

Me, Anna, Abby & Jamie

Nightmare #2- Guns. The guys (and girls) on this side of the family are not afraid to hunt or shoot a gun. I am TERRIFIED of guns. I knew they would have them out (and they did) and Baker does not know about gun safety yet.

Nightmare # 3- Dogs. Now, I am not totally afraid of Baker being around big dogs, but there were 6 dogs there between everyone and most of them are big. You just never know when a dog will snap at a curious toddler.

So anyway, I basically never left Baker's side and it was fine. He had a ball!

If you look closely, you can see B Dozen chit chatting with Jamie.

Hayes was there too! Whats great about this picture is that we have a similar picture when Claire and Cameron were this age, I was 3, with our Grandaddy in this very same chair. Priceless.

Anna likes to tell stories...

We had a TON of crawfish and other fixins. I didnt realize at a crawfish boil, you basically eat "trough style". It was fun.

All the girls
Brent was cold so he wore his hood and everybody kept saying he looked like a drug dealer. For the record, he is not.

I rode a four-wheeler for the first time since high school when my neighbor Jason had one and my parents would make me wear a helmet. I was always so mad that they made me wear a helmet, but as I was riding I thought "Baker will be wearing 3 helmets and bubble wrap. Good call parents.

It was another great time with family. I hope we still get together when all my cousins have kids. Right now I don't think they understand why its hard to bring babies around..

Good times ahead...

2011-03-04T13:28:00.001-08:00

Just a sneak peek of the weekend:

Brent and I are long overdue for a date night. So, we took advantage of a recent Groupon (which I totally love by the way) for Chuck's Fish. I've been looking at their menu all day.

http://www.chucksfish.com/Chucks_Fish/Welcome.html

I am going to get to see this little guy on Saturday!

And my friend Betsy as well for Girl's Night in Birmingham! Meg & Katie too, but they live in Birmingham. Bets is coming from the Hass.

We are also pretty pumped about our new summer sandals. I failed to get Baker some Saltwater sandals last year because he wasn't walking so I thought it was a waste. These sandals just remind me of my childhood and I think they are precious. I'm thinking of getting them in red also.

Hope you have something fun going on too!

James Watson Kennedy

2011-02-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Wats made it to the world safely!!

8 lbs. 3 oz and 100% cute. This picture melts my heart.

It was such a fun weekend being in Birmingham with all the grandparents and playing with Hayes and going to the hospital (minus Baker since Grandaddy offered to watch him) and then a trip the park and a dance party!

Let me elaborate on the dance party. I think I have mentioned that B Dozen has a few smooth dance moves. Well, I started a cheer/chant from my past DHS cheerleader days and Baker started shaking his booty to the beat. I do mean shakin' it. There is no way I can recreate the hilarity, but take my word for it, we were dy-ing.

If I can say one thing about myself this weekend, it is that I completely lost the game of picture taking. I did not snap ONE picture of Baby Watson and I got a total of 3 pictures of everthing else. I missed so many great picture taking moments. Ah well. My mom got several good ones, but still has no idea how to upload them, so we will consider them "lost forever".

B & H sharing her nativity scene. This is right before Bake threw Baby J as hard as he could to the floor.
Baker got his first real "boo-boo" whilst running on the driveway. See bandage.

In other news- I finally made cake balls on Friday night! I have been wanting to make them ever since I took a bite of one a while back. I went with Red Velvet/Cream Cheese/White chocolate combination. Guess what I don't have? That's right. A picture. Take my word for it, they did not turn out very pretty, but tasty nonetheless.

I made the mistake of buying the Bakers White Chocoale instead of Almond Bark. Big mistake to me. The coating was too thick. They were still good, but I was going for "less is more" on the coating, but got "too much of a good thing" in my opinion.

"Garage Sale", Doughnuts & Tubes

2011-02-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

"Garage Sale" is in quotes because...well, let me start from the beginning. Our garage was atrocious. Completely out of control. I kind of wanted to gag everytime I was in there. So, twas time to clean it out and prepare for a garage sale. Some hate garage sales, but I love them. I mean, what better way to kill 2 birds with one stone? Its not that hard to prepare for them and then you make a little money and get rid of your junk at once! Anywho, so we decided we would clean ours out on Saturday and get organized for the sale in two weeks. So, we piled ALL of our junk in the driveway to sort and get organized before we put everything back. Well, so many people kept stopping by thinking we were having a garage sale so we let them shop early. God was on our side in sending people to buy certain things we never thought we would sell and then taking things off our hands that we did not want to haul. We got rid of TONS of "space takers" like the couch and ended up making $100 without actually having a garage sale. I'm not sure if I can get more excited than this. This was basically killing 3 birds with one giant stone wrapped in a beautiful day and a cooperative baby.

Moving on...Baker was scheduled for tubes on Monday in Birmingham at Children's. So, we decided to spend the night with Hayes the nigth before so we didnt have to make the early drive. We stopped in Bessmer on the way to an awesome "Doughnut Party". Brent's niece Lauren, her husband and baby Lexi invited us over back in December since they won the Doughnut Maker in our family Dirty Santa. Zoe was pretty devasted we got a Quesadilla Maker instead of a Doughnut Maker. Anyway, it was too cute. Lauren had all the ingredients and icing and toppers and the doughnuts were great. Plus, we got to hang out with cutie pie, Lexi Mexi.

And play outside

and wait longingly by the door because we came back inside.

And play with Lexi's toys

Then we headed to Amy & Nathan's house to play with Hayes! It is so cute to me how excited Hayes gets to see Baker. If you read Amy's blog you already know this, but she kept saying "This is sooo funny!" while they played in her tunnel and tent. Baker was having so much fun too.

I am loving that they are finally at an age to actually play well together. They both can "do things" which make it so much fun.

Then, it was bathtime.

So, our tubes experience was a good test for my uneccesary anxiety. I have tried recently to live by the motto that you need not worry because 99% of the time, what you worry about will not happen and even if it does, you worry twice...well, I was not so much worried about the actual surgery but that Baker could not eat or drink at all when he woke up. For some reason I was picturing a horrible scene of desperation from him and THANK GOD he was fine with it. The entire process was so easy (as far as surgeries might go) but I think so highly of Children's Hospital. Unfortunatley this was our second experience at Children's but they are just amazing. He did great! Glad that one is past us.

Free is fun!

2011-02-14T12:38:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely little weekend hanging out with Baker and doing various things. Saturday, we thought it would be fun to partake in Storytime at Barnes and Noble. It was even cuter than I expected. They did a Valentine's theme with a story, sang songs, took soloists, passed out cookies, passed out free stuff and then let the kids make Valentines. I was very excited to find a fun, free thing to do for Baker on Saturdays. From there we had lunch at Panera Bread and attempted another trip to Gigi's. Nope again. I don't even want to talk about it....

This is also the site where a "big kid" (approximatelyy 2) pushed Bake out of the way. The mom literally whispered "no, no". I just knew Bake was about to bite this kid, but he didnt. He just looked at him very confused.

I choreographed a number for 2 of Bren't students to take to competion in exchange for free babysitting. I guess if I can't get paid...

We saw Zoe again in The Miracle Worker. (My second time, Brent's 7th). He's a proud papa.

Sunday, we all went to church, lunch and a little play outside.

One is never enough. "Tennis ball, you better bounce where I want you to bounce" Our newest obsession is "Mr. Potato Head". Thank you Hayes for this wonderful addition to our toy box.

Snow Re-Cap

2011-02-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Snow Day 2011 went a little something like this...

Totally unaware last night that it had even begun to snow. I look in the backyard and see:

Wow, Ok. thats pretty legit. (Too Legit to Quit, if you ask me)

Calvary actually made an early judgment call to close until 1:00 today which was awesome. So, I asked Baker if he wanted to play in the snow and he said yes. So, we "suited up" and headed outside. Things were going well in the first 3 mintues. I even got a nice smile..

He looks hilarious here to me.

So, we proceed to stick our shoes in the snow. I tell Bake to walk around. He does not comply. Instead, his only interest was running out into the street. He would not take no for an answer. I would pull him way back onto our driveway and bolt, he would go. Here he is bolting:

He looks mad here because he is.

Please take note of his outfit- Fleece Pj's, under a sweater hoody, and mismatched tobogan. Looking good, dude.

So, after I realize he wants nothing to do with snow but everything to do with playing in the streets, we took it back inside. He got so mad.

Snow Day- FAIL.

February

2011-02-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

I love the month of February and I love Valentine's Day...That is really not what this post is about, I just thought I would throw that out there.

When asked to smile, this is what B Dozen gave me.

He is a boy of many facial expressions. I wish I had a picture for each one. Especially his "I'm trying not to laugh but a smile is still creeping through" face. That one gets me.

I have 2 great videos of him "showing his muscles" but I CANNOT for the life of me upload videos anymore. I used to put them on Facebook and embed them here and now it won't let me do that. HELP! Just uploading a video straight to Blogger never has worked either. Frustrating because I love a good video.

So, The Miracle Worker is going GREAT! Zoe is amazing and doenst even know it. She had everyone bawling at the end. Such a powerful little actress at age 10. I am just so proud of her. If you live in or near Tuscaloosa, please come see her. You won't regret it.

My parents came last weekend to see Zoe in the play and to hang out with Baker Man. It was a short visit, but very fun. I have been talking about and dreaming about a new place that just opened up in Tusc. and is all the rage-

Gigi's Cupcakes!

We got in line on Saturday and found it that it was an hour wait for these guys. I was devastated. They have 8 billion different types to choose from and they all look divine. I have my eye on the Wedding Cake and the Red Velvet though. However, this Banana Creme Pie is totally calling my name.

Brent and I are in a weight loss competition for the month of February..then, Gigi's had to open up and crush my motivation to loss weight.

Last, is anyone watching the Bachelor? I really love the Bachelor and I can't completely pinpoint why. I know so much of it is scripted and staged yet I can't NOT watch it. The best thing is reading the recaps from Lincee- I know, I know. She has been doing this since 2003 but its still hilarious. Check them out at http://www.ihategreenbeans.com/. Hilarious. I will say, I totally cheated and found out the winners/runners up because I am 5 and can't wait for the actual episode to air to find out. Whatevs.

The beginning of a "Miracle"...

2011-02-03T13:21:00.001-08:00

Our very own Zoe Jones (my stepdaughter) is going to play "Helen Keller" in Theatre Tuscaloosa's The Miracle Worker beginning tonight! Although this is a HUGE role, she is not unfamiliar with playing big parts. She was "Scout" in To Kill a Mockingbird last year with Brent's school. This is much bigger deal though because its her first lead in a community theatre production and Theatre Tuscaloosa just happens to be very good. I can't wait to see it Saturday with my parents and Brent. Especially since I've never seen the show, movie, or any of her rehearsals. So, its very exciting for us and especially for Zoe. She is super talented and very sweet and from what I've heard has been quite the hit at rehearsals. So, I wanted to share a picture from the show and a link to the story on ABC 33/40.

http://www.abc3340.com/global/category.asp?c=189742&clipId=5526856&topVideoCatNo=192263&autoStart=true

Fun Weekend

2011-01-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

This was a fun "friend" weekend. Since 90% of my friends live out of town I love when they come to Tuscaloosa (or Birmingham) to visit and we can all get together. This particular weekend, our friend Jeremy, who was our neighbor for 2 years in college, had a dinner party/reception for his upcoming nuptials. We are very excited about his engagement to Meredith. Since I took zero pictures at the party, I stole a picture of them from Facebook.

So, this party prompted my 2 Mobile friends, Susan & Kristin to come to town. Kristin has a baby the same age as Baker and they had never met. We have tried in the past and sickness got in the way. So, Kristin and Leah Jane came to Tuscaloosa for the morning and it was great to finally see her in person. She is oh-so precious and sweet. Baker is in a hitting phase (now that the biting is over) so she got some slaps which are always embarrassing, but LJ didnt seem to mind. In fact, it wasnt long before they were "hugging it out". Isn't she pretty?

Then for the grand finale, Holly and Brett were in Birmingham all weekend and we got to meet baby Harper on Sunday. This was the first time 4 of our 5 babies were all together! We wish Elise could have been there but we will do it again.

Baker, Harper, Leah Jane & Thomas (there are 2 more on the way and Elise that is missing)

After this gathering we went to wish Hayes a Happy 2nd Birthday since we missed her party. I didnt take any pictures but B & H were SO happy to see each other. They just squealed and squealed. I really wish our families could have seen them together this time. I'd say it was the first time they mutually enjoyed each other.

And last, I call this picture "These are a few of my favorite things"

Me me me me...."New York and Baker and Onesies and Auburn...."

One more month old!

2011-01-21T10:49:00.000-08:00

Since Baker turned 1 I havent felt the need to update each and every month like I did in his first year. However, he is changing so much daily I need to document all of his new tricks at 15 months. I LOVE this age for the most part. We have had some trying times too. I will include them both.

FUN FACTS

- He gasps and does a huge "O" with his mouth constantly like he is surprised by everything. So we have started gasping at him for no reason which sparks his gasp. Never gets old.

-He makes it his mission to get on to the cats for jumping on things. This has always made me laugh really hard. He thinks its his job to keep them off and says "no, no" and shakes his finger at them.

- Still loves Baby Einstein videos a LOT and does said gasp whenever we turn it on.

- He knows all of his face parts and likes to point out our eyes, nose, hair, mouth etc.. and he pronounces "eye" "Ieeyee".

- Really loves bouncing on things. I totally regret not getting him the Circo bouncer for Christmas. We decided not to since its big and didnt get good reviews, but the boy wants to be on the bed, counch, chair and just waller & jump/bounce all the time.

- He is not solid on "s" words but when we show him his shoes or socks he tries by saying "ssssss". Very cute.

-Boy loves to dance as most toddlers do, but its always very cute b/c he also tries to snap and it looks very funny.

- We have been trying to teach basic sign launguage for a while. He knows "more", "please", "thank-you" and "milk". He uses them correctly as well.

- Still loves applause (and I'm willing to bet that he always will) so I try to give him his applause after any little thing he does, like turning off the light. I let him turn off all the lights when we leave in the mornings and it sometimes takes forever, but he loves it.

- I have been teaching him how to put his toys away when we are finished and I thought that might be silly for his age, but he totally picked up on it quick and does what I tell him to. Which brings me to the realization that I sell him short alot on intelligence. I sometimes think he is too young to learn certain things but when I just try, he usually gets it. My bad.

- I wish I had introduced coloring earlier but this is another thing I thought he was just too young to do yet, and now he still doenst know not to eat them. I tell him 1,000 times "not in the mouth" and its not registering. He will make a few marks on the paper though which go immediately on the refrigerator.

-He loves for us to chase him. He runs well so its fun for all.

NOT- SO- FUN FACTS

- We have had enough ear infections to get an appoointment for the ENT. We are looking at tubes in his little future. I was so hoping the pyloric stenosis would be our only baby surgery, but I hear tubes are pretty non-dramatic so hopefully this will solve alot of problems.

- He is currently in a very early morning routine. He has been going to bed at 7:30 and waking up at 6:00 for as long as he has been really sleeping through the night (a long time ago) but just recently decided his wake-up time was 4:00. Well, we don't even entertain the idea of actually getting him up that early so we let him cry it out. However, it wakes us up and then its hard to go back to sleep for an hour until he really gets up (at 5:30) 5:30?? Really? I thought 6:00 was bad. The doctor has no advice here. Yea.

- Daycare= constant sickness.

- Tantrums do not wait for the "Terrible Twos". Apparently they should rename them "Terrible Ones" b/c boy can throw them and for no real reason.

-I don't know if its b/c he has been sick or what but Baker is really clingy right now. He had gotten to he point where he wouldnt even cry when I dropped him off at daycare, but this morning, for example, he was in complete devastation about it. I felt terrible for leaving him there so distraught, but what do you do?

Bathtime fun

General Information

Weight: 23 lbs 3 oz

Height: Short

Teeth: just got a molar! Which makes 8 teeth total

Eats: He generally is a good, well balanced eater. He loves green beans, sweet potatoes, cheese, carbs of all kind,s some meats especially if they are disguised in a meal, all fruit, yogurt. Right now he has some stomach issues and doenst want anything.

Drinks: whole milk all day, some juice but I really don't offer juice that much because of the sugar. Sugar and Baker don't mix well.

One thing is for sure is that Baker does not lack personality or cuteness. We could eat him up all day and we do. He's brought us ridiculous amounts of joy and laughter and I'm loving all the things he is learning every day.

Champs

2011-01-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

We will let this speak for itself.

I am soooooo excited! What a great game and an incredible season full of fear, stress, big wins, close calls and complete joy all packed into one. I could not be more proud to be an Auburn Tiger.

Reflection

2011-01-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Each and every year at this time I seem to reflect on my life and what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. It seems I am in a little funk about all the things I am doing wrong, without focusing on the positive things I have and do.

Now, nothing bothers me more than reading a blog that is ALL happy ALL the time. "I have the PERFECT husband" really bothers me because no one has the perfect husband. Yes, they can be perfect for you, but don't tell me they are perfect. I certainly am not the perfect wife.

I'm not sure what is is about adulthood, but I remember growing up and knowing I was truly happy and being content with that. I was rarely unhappy with life growing up. Adulthood has brought a new set of struggles that I guess I'm not used to and it weighs heavy on me more than it probably should.

Lately I am down on myself for not having a "thing". Some people sew most of their kids clothes, some create wonderful, elaborate meals for their family, some just have some kind of "trade" that helps pick up the family finances. Some eat right and exercise and don't even get me started on how far behind I am on the weighloss game. Whatever it may be, I usually end up feelign like a failure for not doing more when I know the majority of my time is spent taking care of my family, just without a "thing".

The truth is, I am blessed and not because my life is perfect, but because I am where I am supposed to be regardless of the struggles. This morning, Baker woke up at 4:00 a.m. for whatever reason and I was determined he would not "be up" for the day. I kept trying everything I could to get him back to sleep. He would fall asleep on my shoulder, I would put him in his crib and then he immediatley popped up crying again. I asked "WHY GOD WHY? PLEASE make him go to sleep. Please" and I truly expected immediate results from that prayer. It didnt work... and it was just a small reminder that this life is not on my watch. He is preparing me for something else. 30 minutes later, he went back to sleep.

So many times I make comparisons of my life with where others are in theirs. Sometimes I think blogs are a way the devil gets to me. I can read 1 blog, 1 day and feel like a complete failure. (thank you Darby..jk) But I cannot do this in 2011. In fact, I have thought so many times of deleting this altogether and stop reading blogs , but thats just silly and absurd.

For now, I am choosing to remain positive and continue taking care of my family, cooking less than perfect meals while struggling to contain Baker's tantrums, still without doing my husband's laundry (that's right, I don't do his laundry) and hoping that is sufficient in God's eyes.

With that being said we had a great 2010. I wanted to go through a timeline of the highlights for us last year.

January- I got a job! After being jobless for 1 year, I finally was employed again. It was a blessing to be jobless while I was pregnant and to have a little extra time with Baker as an infant too. However, I need to thank God every day for this church and how perfect (I said perfect) it is for me.

March- Fun girls trip to Atmore for Kristin's 30th Birthday! Any girls trips are noteworthy since my college friends live all over the place and getting back together is a treasure.

April- Claire's wedding and Girls trip to Austin, TX

May- Baker's Baby Dedication on Mother's Day. The perfect scenario for that day.

Different Girls Trip to Fairhope!

June & July- Lots of Pool time and a beach trip!

August- Baker started walking & Football season kicked off- WAR EAGLE!

September- Katie's 30th Birthday party

October- Baker's 1st Birthday! (Brent's birthday too)

November- NYC trip and the IRON BOWL!! (Both enormous highlights)

December- Of course Christmas is always a highlight of every year!

Within the years LOTS of babies were born and weekend trips were taken as well as fun changes to our house. but I can't timeline the whole year. So, I will leave you with this quote:

One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. ~John Burroughs

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

Let's see, our Christmas celebration kicked off with the annual Eve Party at our house with Brent's side of the family. Every year they all come to our house and I really enjoy it. It gives me a good reason to get the house really festive and clean. However, there are so many kids and so many gifts that 10 seconds it the house is a disaster, but thats okay.

Zoe & Izabelle love each other!

Lauren & Brent's annual posed picture they have been doing for 23 years
An unplanned family picture. I love this.

On to Christmas morning. We were up bright and early to see what Santa brought!
Bake was way more interested in Zoe's presents..

Finally playing with his own stuff.

Not quite sure yet how to use the "Sit N Spin"

I so wanted him to love this "Leopard Cup Alive" but so far, not so much.

Then we packed up and headed to Dothan...

This time he was more prepared for Hayes' love.

We got some fun visitors while in Dothan- Including Porter Chappell, Emily Chappell and Kay Bostic. Porter and Bake kind of look alike. They are 2 months apart. Instant friends- for 1 minute. Then, Baker stole Porter's toy and IT.WAS.OVER! He was done with Bake forever. Babies are so dramatic.
Mom & Dad

Happy New Year to all!

Wright Christmas

2010-12-22T08:14:00.001-08:00

Every year we get together the weekend before Christmas with my mom's side of the family. There are 8 grandchildren (now 2 great grandchildren) and we always have a LARGE time. We always meet in Gulf Shores (with the exception of a few years) since both of my uncles have condos in the same complex.

We play Dirty Santa every year and this particular year, emotions seemed to run high. It was not a "friendly" game at all. I bet a knife has never been pulled out at your family Dirty Santa? Thats how we roll I guess.

My cousins- Abby and Anna

My cousin Daniel and his wife Jamie

In unrelated news, my mom got a Christmas DVD for Hayes and Baker to share and watch at her house. Well, while B was with my parents while we were in NYC, she brought out this special treasure and he was HOOKED. I love it because I too loved these movies growing up. This is only certain songs from the movies though which is great.

He is so obsessed with it. When he knows we are turning it on, he starts yelling WHOOOAA! I actually have a cute video of it but can't upload it to blogger anymore. BTW, I hate Blogger's new method of adding pictures and videos too obviously.

So, Sorry Hayes that you havent been able to watch this yet. I really don't know if Baker will share or not. I have a hard time even prying the case out of his hands. So much that we had to bring the case to school today.

Bundles

2010-12-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

There have been an abundance of babies born in the last 2 months to my friends and family. In fact, I thought I would do a post with these precious new additions, as an introduction to my (2) blog readers.

Introducing....

"Mr. Pheney"- Born October, 2010

Mr. Pheney is a special little baby, adopted by a sweet friend. Due to the adoption not being final yet, I am sharing limited information. Let's just say that he is one blessed little boy to have two wonderful believers who are already great parents. I can't wait to see him grow to become as artsy and fun as they are!

Introducing...

Jackson and Blake Finney- Born, November 5, 2010

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

These precious boys are the sons of one of my best friends in the whole world, Molly! Conceiving them was a long, hard road to say the least. J & B have no idea what their parents went through to bring them into the world. The word "blessing" is an understatment. I so wish they didn't live in Ohio, because I NEED to get my hands on them.

Introducting...

Harper Caroline Amberguey- Born, December 2, 2010

Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Better known by me as "Harpsie". Her parents are Holly and Brett. Holly is a good friend and sorority sister of mine. We have been waiting for her for what seems like forever. She is a precious little thing with a scowl that looks alot like her mama's. Another baby I can't wait to get my hands on. We hope she is as fiesty as Holly with a splash of Brett's laid back nature.

Introducing...

Alexis Rainey Rhoton- Born October 14

Hometown: Birmingham, Al

Lexi is the daughter of Lauren and Brandon. Lauren is Brent's niece. This little girl is already spoiled rotten as far as we can tell. She is actually the only one of these babies we have met! She was only a few days old when we met her so we can't wait to see her at Christmas. She is blessed to have 2 awesome parents as well.

Introducing....

Cromwell Espy Letcher, II- Born November 17, 2010

Hometown: Freeport, FL

Baby Cromwell is the son of Haley & Espy. Haley has been my friend since pre-school. We went to school together for preschool and then never went to school together again. However, we stayed good friends regardless. Cromwell has a big sister, Maggie Lee who is about to be 3! I don't know when I will get to see him in person, but it makes me sad that they don't live closer. This is a common theme amongst my friends!

Someone's on the nice list...

2010-12-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

"SANTA!! I KNOW HIM. I know him"..- Elf

We took B Dozen to see ole St. Nick on Saturday. I had no idea what to expect. I don't think he has been exposed to many costumed characters in his life. We really didnt know.

He didn't really want to wait in line patiently. So, he paraded the mall a bit and greeted everyone joyfully with a "HEEEYYY". Thats his new thing. Its high pitched.

Verdict? Loved him.
He just smiled and smiled and grabbed his beard. I don't think our boy is going to be scared of much. In fact, he LOVES for us to jump out and scare him. Laughs his head off.

A batch of random...

2010-12-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

Hey Baker....

Yes? Santa Claus is coming to see you!!

Are boys born with this knowlege?

This is a fun new face we see alot lately

Where is the "Never Rake Again" when you need it. That is one Infomercial I have been sucked into after seeing our yard lately.

I hope this post changed your life.
The End.

N.Y.C.

2010-12-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

I don't want to overstate this, but this New York trip was the best.trip.EVER! Its not hard to please me in New York though. Throw a few Broadway Musicals my way, some Christmas decor and a star sighting or 2 and its a total success!!

I have been to the Big Apple several times. Once a couple of years pass, I get the itch and start having New York dreams (not kidding) and go again. I would pass up pretty much any other destination for a chance to go back to New York. Anyway....

First thing we did when we arrived was hurredly put our things down at the apartment we were staying and hop on a subway to Times Square. We stayed with our friend, Jonathan in Queens.

We really wanted to catch a matinee on Saturday so we didnt lose that slot to see a show. So, we got tickets to "Promises, Promises" with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. LOVE them both, of course.

This show is very fun. We really enjoyed it. After the show, they bow and Sean Hayes says "and now we are going to do something we have never done before. We are auctioning off a chance for one audience member to come onstage and Kristin will sing "Popular" from Wicked. WHATTT? I freaked out. (Without going into extreme detail, I am obsessed with "Wicked" and have been for about 6 years. I saw Idina Menzel in the show, but not Kristen) So, I am super excited. They started the bidding at $1,000 and I quickly supressed my dreams of being onstage with her. But, man that would have been awesome. Anyway, I did get a video of it which I will upload as soon as my camera will cooperate with this blog.

So, then we immediately get back in line at TKTS for the night show. That night, we went to see "Memphis". This was our favorite of the four we saw. So energetic, great music and set! Its a must-see.

Sunday we were waiting in line for the matinee and I hear someone behind me saying "Look, my show is up on the board" (at TKTS, shows randomly come available at 50% off, which is how we see all of our shows) and so I knew there was an actor behind me. I turn around and it was none other than John Tartaglia, the original "Princeton" in Avenue Q. Of course, I immediately knew who he was. Plus, I had just watched him on the Macy's Parade, promoting his new show. ANYWAY, I asked him if he was "Princeton" and he said "yes". He was SO nice. He asked us if we were in theatre, what we had been in etc. Then, introduced us to his family and was just the nicest guy. I was so pumped to meet him!!

So, we saw "The Addams Family" for the matinee, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neworth. We were 7th row, so we were very close to them. The set was amazing too. The show itself was just "eh" to us. The least favorite of the four we saw.

Let's see, we then went on an NBS Studios tour. We visited the SNL studio, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Dr. Oz. At the end they have a mock news station and asked for 2 volunteers to deliver the news and weather. Who volunteered? You're looking at them.

That night, we went to see my old Birmingham roomate, Katherine, at her bar, Pourhouse. It was great!
Monday we went to Central Park and took a carriage ride.

We did some ice skating at Bryant Park.

Then we HAD to go to Tom's Restaurant where Seinfeld is taped. After making the haul, we ate there as well. Brent was very excited. I never really watched Seinfeld, so I wasn't quite as thrilled.

That night we decided to see a fourth show and decided on "Next to Normal". Wow, what a powerful show! Its about a family who experiences a tradgedy which causes the mother to go insance. Wonderful music, super sad story. I cried multiple times.

Ok, I am exhausted just typing this. After this show we went to "Dont Tell Mamas" which is a piano bar I have been to every time I've been to New York. They let us sing too!

Thank you sweet husband for a wonderful birthday present! I could not have asked for a better time!

Thankful

2010-12-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

I am anxious to post our New York pics and details because we had the PERFECT trip. So wonderful. However we first had an excellent Thanksgiving.

We left for Dothan on Wednesday and had the extended family over on Thursday. We have a very fun family.

IRON BOWL DAY!! The night before I had 2 Iron Bowl dreams. First, that Auburn won, though pretty non-specific. Second, that Alabama was leading Auburn 28-2 in the 2nd quarter. I can't believe I was so close in those dreams!! Maybe I am a little psychic?This picture (below) completely sums up Hayes' feelings for Baker and vice versa. She was so sweet to him and wanted to hug him constantly. If he wasn't in the room she said his name 1,000 times. He, however wanted no part of her hugs. Sad.

War Eagle!

Before the game we attempted to get my parents a Christmas card picture. It was a FAIL.

I am very thankful for all the blessings in my life!

New York post to come....

Start spreadin' the news...

2010-11-22T14:13:00.000-08:00

We're leaving in 5 days!!

Oh, the Big Apple. You make my heart sing..and sing and sing.

I love New York City SO much more than any person should. I could go there every month and go there only on vacation and be just fine. I don't know if you have been at Christmastime, but it is a magical experience.

Brent and I are taking a much needed 2 person trip to New York on Saturday. In fact this week goes a little something like this- work, drive to Dothan Wednesday, Thanksgiving, birthday(my 30th to be exact which is the reason for the trip), Iron Bowl, drive to Atlanta 5 seconds after the Iron Bowl is over. Fly out Saturday morning. Arrive in NYC at 11:25 (thank you direct flights). So, we have a big week ahead.

Brent and I went together back in 2006 and had a fantastic time. We saw 3 shows and plan to see 3 again this time. I have 9 that I would like to see, so narrowing them down might be tough.

This will be the first time Baker is left overnight at all without one of us with him. I'm nervous, but mainly I am nervous that we are all going to get sick. Zoe just found out she has the flu, so naturally I am freaking out that we are going to get it.

Let's also hope and pray really hard that the Auburn Tigers pull out a win. It could be the best birthday ever, or the worst. I really don't know what the drive to Atlanta is going to look like after one of our teams has just lost. That alone could be intense. Either way, this football season as an Auburn fan has been crazy and amazing and disappointing and happy all at the same time. I won't get into all the Cam allegations b/c frankly I am tired of hearing/talking about it. For now lets just say WAR EAGLE!!

In other news: I have some serious eye issues going on that will effect my vision for life. I am very scared so if you could say a quick prayer for that, I would really appreciate it. Going blind is my #1 fear and I feel like its all coming true at least at some point in my life.

Until then, have a very Happy Thanksgiving and an even happier Iron Bowl (to the AU fans out there)

More from the Patch

2010-11-16T14:11:00.001-08:00

The sweetest wedding...

2010-11-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends and roomates from college got married last weekend. Susan and Andrew truly had the sweetest wedding I have ever been too. It was in a small, rustic chic, old brick church in the middle of nowhere and I loved it. (Don't forget I wanted/had my reception in a barn so this was right up my alley).

This pictures was taken at the rehearsal and there were pretty flowers everywhere at the actual wedding.

This little church sits on a block with an old post office, houses and an old restaurant which was where the reception was located.

The bride on the way to the rehearsal

This is Emily, another one of our roomates/friends from college. She went to Rehobeth and was a big time pageant queen in her day. (1st runner up Miss NPF) Hence, the high hair. The thing I love about pictures with Emily is there are rarely any "non-posed" pictures as seen here. I didnt even realize how leaned back she actually was. You can't see but her knee is also popped in perfect pageant form. The hair is NOT a bump-it because she reminded me she doesnt need a bump-it b/c she gots "skills". I love her. She also just had a baby. Let me just puke on how skinnys she already is.

Huntsville Art Museum

The roomates minus April & Meg.

This was also the sweetest and most emotional rehearsal dinners I have been to. I'm pretty sure 95% of toasters cried. These two are very loved.

The bridesmaids luncheon
We all made our own bouquets for the wedding at this luncheon. It was a really cool idea.

The happy couple

Another neat thing they did was to write a brief paragraph in the program about each member of the wedding party. It was so sweet & personal.

Congrats Susan & Andrew!

Sneak Peek

2010-11-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

B Dozen got some pictures taken at the pumpkin patch. I think they turned out really well. These are a few proofs until I get all of them.

School

2010-11-03T12:19:00.001-07:00

B's teachers have been tagging me in lots of pictures of his class and all of their shenanigans. I love to see them and see what he is doing all day since I can't be with him. I thought I would share.

Pajama Day #1

Took him to the stadium on "school spirit" day and put a dumb Alabama shirt over his cute Auburn shirt.

Buggie time

Baker & Raegan

I realize this is only interesting to me, but this blog is kind of my own little scrapbook.

The End.

Halloween

2010-11-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I can't pinpoint why, but I just love the silliness of it all. I love the decorations and costumes (although now I really prefer not to dress up) Every year I would trick-or-treat with Beth in Chapelwood (Dothan) and it was the most fun! In fact, we made up a chant and would sing it at each house...I'm actually embarrassed about the chant, so I won't share.

This year, the awesome city of Tuscaloosa would not decide on a night for trick or treating, so they said we could choose Saturday or Sunday. This was stupid for several reasons. Anyway, we decided to wait until Sunday. Saturday night we had TONS of "treaters" at our house which I felt was a bad sign for going on Sunday.

I forgot to mention that Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch in Vance, Al and it was something. By something I mean, hilarious. Let's just say part of our admission included a "pumpkin tattoo". Really?? I took zero pictures, because Erin went along with us to take Baker's 12 month pictures. She got some really good ones, so I'll save that for another post.

Here are some of the cute one's from our trick-or-treating. Bake had no idea what was going on, but was good the whole time and never complained. We brought his wagon to haul him, his candy and his diaper bag. Zoe went with us too!

Suited up and strapped in the wagon

The first 2 houses we got to said "Oh, sorry we ran out of candy last night. Our neighborhood did Halloween last night" which immediately put me back on my soapbox about why Tuscaloosa should PICK A NIGHT instead of spreading it over 2 nights. So, I thought our night was going to be a disaster, but it turned out fine. Down a few streets were plenty of houses giving out candy. Whew! After the "no candy" fiasco we passed some ducks that this chicken was interested in. At the time I thought this was going to be the highlight of the night. Then I saw the entire cast of Wizard of Oz and I got SUPER excited and asked if I could take a picture. A little embarrassing since we had met the mom/dad/baby at a party once before.Zoe was a nerd, but everyone kept calling her Hermoine, so she went with it.

Introducing...

2010-10-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Baker Thomas Bones (thank you Brent for loaning me the nickname)

This cute little blurry boy dressed as a skeleton today for his class Halloween party. I think its so cute AND it glows in the dark. We are holding our for actual trick-or-treating to wear the "chicken".

The next three pictures are to stress how OBSESSED "Bones" is with Baby Einstein videos. I know you should not use TV to babysit, but when I'm in a rush in the mornings it sure is nice to occupy this busy boy. No, these are not the same 3 pics taking one after another. This is over a span of about 20 minutes. Notice the progression of time, yet the face stays the same.

Minute 2

Minute 9

Minute 18

Birthday Party!

2010-10-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay on Bake's big day. I have had round 2 of strep and busy at work etc..So, here you go. We had a lovely Halloween party at our house for Baker's party on Saturday. It all turned out GREAT! The best part was that I actually feel like Baker had a great time and could tell all of the fuss was over him. This video sums up the party for him

I'm ONE!

Smash cake

Precious ghost nutter butters that Amy made- recipe on her blog

Pumpkin cupcakes

YEA! Zoe's here! I will kiss you now.

Welcome to the party Hayes!

Baker & Kendra

Mom, Bake, Connie

The older kids made Halloween cups outside

The one moment Thomas relaxed

He was showered with gifts!

Cake Time
Shy?

Nah

YEA FOR ME!

Bake got a red wagon from Mommy & Daddy! They loved this thing. It was so cute.

Hayes loves B's horsey

Tuckered out the next day!

In a year...

2010-10-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

Day One

Firsts...first bath

First time in room

First Halloween

1 Month old

2 Months

3 Months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months

A trick and a class party

2010-10-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I made cupcakes for Bake's class party. I did forget to bring hats (terrible, just terrible) This was B Dozen's first cupcake ever.

Classmates- Levi,Abbie, Ethan, Bake, AJ (notice the one orange megaphone on the board amidst the Bama megaphones that says "Baker". I love it)

We do ALOT of reaching these days.