Bury Cute Bath

Look at all of those eyelashes.....

Kate loves a washcloth...



My beautiful Maddy



Nana's visit

Nana (my step mom Allison) was in town over the weekend so the blog has been a little neglected but I am back. :-) Nana flew into town Thursday and left this afternoon and from the minute she landed we have been on the go stopping only for food and sleep.

On Friday we (Mimi and Kimmy too) took Allison to Madison for some antiquing and pizza. We had such a great day. As usual the girl's were amazing, but the photographer (me) forgot to charge the camera batteries so we don't have any pictures... I know, I know, how could I forgot the batteries. Despite the lack of pictures, I think we'll always remember when Maddy told a shop owner "that's not a boy that's a Kate" when someone asked her about her "baby brother."

Everyone was tired from a full day in Madison but we recovered enough Friday night to spend a day at Scott's Antique Mart in Atlanta on Saturday. David and Poppi watched the girl's while Allison, Marge, and I went up. I had never been to Scott's so I wasn't sure what to expect but, oh my goodness.... It was crazy! I don't think I have ever seen so many antiques in one place before. We saw so many beautiful and interesting things and we came home with a few of them. The food was good too. I am thinking we need to go back soon and next time bring a trailer (hint, hint Peggy). After spending the day with both Allison and Mimi I am not sure who loves antiques and shopping more: me, Mimi, or Allison.....it's probably a tie. It was another fun day with two of favorite women. :-)

And sadly today, Sunday, came quickly and we had to take Nana back to the airport. Before she left I charged the camera batteries and snapped a couple of pictures. Below are a few of my favorites, Nana loves to laugh and she's great at getting both Maddy and Kate to giggle. Everyone in the house was a little somber this afternoon, even Zack who was laying on Nana's bed tonight. Her visit was so much fun that we can't wait for Nana (and Grandaddy) to come back soon. We love you Nana!

The Good, The Bad, and The Snotty.....

 

Good news.... in yesterday's mail we received a check from Whirlpool for "pain and suffering" due to a week with no refrigerator....And I am happy to report the refrigerator is still working, despite the repairman's negative opinion about the life expectancy of said appliance.  

Now for the bad and snotty news.... Kate has her first sinus infection and is currently taking her first  antibiotic. Poor baby has had a runny nose for almost two weeks and I kept telling myself it's allergies, it's her teeth, etc. Don't forget, I probably made a dozen "false alarm" visits to the doctor with Maddy but she was our first baby and now I am trying hard not to be the "worrywart" mommy. Well when the snot finally turned green and Kate started not sleeping well we decided it's time to see the doctor. I am glad we did because I could tell tonight that she was already feeling better. And she has to get better fast because Nana is coming to town on Thursday!!!  We can't wait for her visit because we have lots of fun things planned.

24 Hour Play date....

The hardest part of leaving North Carolina last March was leaving behind friends. It was hard because not only were David and I leaving friends behind but Maddy was leaving friends behind too. I always knew that we would keep in touch with those that we loved but it was hard to explain that to a 3 year old. As luck has it our best buds from Greensboro, the Bedford's, also moved and are now in Birmingham, AL which is only a 3.5 hour drive from Macon (easy drive compared to 8 hours to Greensboro).  

Reif and Maddy have known each other since the were about 6 months old and their birthdays are only a week apart. Us mommies, Jessica and Carolyn, met through a playgroup and instantly clicked and our husbands got along so that made the friendship even better. Over the course of 3 years we watched each other kids, went on vacation, played tennis, and had dozens of play dates together.

So on Wednesday I picked Maddy up from preschool and we headed over to Birmingham to see the Bedford's for what I call a "24 hour play date."  The kids (Reif, Maddy, Pepper, and Kate) played, and played, and played. Carolyn and I talked, and talked, and talked for almost 24 hours straight. We did take about a 6 hour break for some sleep. :-) We played outside, watched movies, did crafts, went to a great park, and had a picnic. It was so much fun. It was just what Maddy and I both needed.

To me it reaffirmed that no matter where we are we will always be close friends. Both kids and mommies were able to pick up right were they left off 7 months ago and in my opinion that's a sign of a beautiful friendship. People keep in touch, send Christmas cards, etc, but you know you've got a true connection with someone when you can go weeks without talking on the phone yet show up at their house and feel totally at home.  And that's exactly how the Bury's feel about the Bedford's. :-) We can't wait for the next "24 hour play date."

Over the course of 24 hours I took 200 pictures.... Once I go through all of them I will post the whole album but in the meantime here are some of my favorites.

Kate (left) and Pepper (right) playing together.

Pepper, 20 months old

Reif and Maddy riding trikes at the park.

Peek a Boo, I see Reif

Peek a Boo, I see Maddy

Kate - 9 Months Old

Kate is 9 months old today! This morning was the first morning it was "chilly" so I forced her into a sweater and took her outside for a formal photo shoot. :-) There are lots of pictures so be sure to click on the link below to see the full album.

Kate, at 9 months old you are crawling all over the place. You can just about pull up to standing. You love your big sister Maddy and your doggie Zack. You've been a little grumpy lately but I think that's because you are teething. Within five minutes of getting dressed everything is soggy with drool. Even bibs can't absorb that much drool. :-)

Speaking of teeth, you love to eat. Your favorites this month are Cheerios, peaches, and you still love green beans. You are not a fan of pureed meats, like chicken or turkey (but honestly I am not either, so why should you have to eat them). Mommy and Daddy are very fortunate because you love to sleep. You like sleeping with your head in the corner of the crib, on your belly, with your lovey under your arm. It's precious.

You babble a lot, probably to keep up with Maddy. You say "mama" and "dada". You melt Daddy's heart when he comes home from work and you say "hi dada."  Keep that up and eventually Daddy will buy you a car. :-)

We can't believe that in 3 months you will be 1 years old! Save the date everyone, on December 28th we going to have a party. And yes, it will probably be over the top for a one year old, but hey I am the mama and it's my right!


Click on picture below to see full web album.

Click on picture to see weblink of our Picasa Album.

Chess

I don't even know how to begin to explain this photo. Let's just say it started this morning, the girl's spent last night with Mimi and Poppi so after church David and I went to pick them up. On the drive David asked me if he could teach me chess so we could play together. I'll admit my first reaction (albeit a silent reaction) was NO, I've got too much other stuff I need to do and want to do before playing chess. But before blurting that out I stopped and thought, "would it be so bad if I learned how to play chess?" David enjoys chess, it's something we could do together, and if I say yes to this, one day when I ask him to go shopping or to a chick flick he can't possibly say no because I learned how to play chess with him... OK maybe that last reason isn't the best reason but we've all done things for our loved ones that we don't really want to do. It's called compromise and balance.

So you are probably thinking what does this have to do with Maddy playing chess. Well I'll tell you. When we got home this afternoon from picking up the girl's David started looking in our closets for a chess set. He found one (oh joy, I thought to myself, I didn't think he'd find it) and he set it up on our kitchen table in anticipation of teaching me after the girl's bedtime. In the meantime Maddy comes in and gets interested in what Daddy is doing. "Daddy can I play checkers with you?", says Maddy. David responds "it's not checkers Maddy, it's chess." In my head I am thinking "this is great maybe I won't have to play now, maybe teaching Maddy will be enough", I know that sounds terrible but I have so little free time and I have lots of reading and other little projects that I want to finish before learning something new. 

David proceeds to teach Maddy chess and of course she's hooked because there is a knight and a queen involved. I listened to them "play" chess for 30 minutes. Maddy was amazing and David was a great teacher. So she now knows more about chess than I do. Guess that means I really will have to learn how to play because I try to make it a habit to always know more than Maddy. Plus like I said earlier, it's about balance. In the end David and I like to play other games together so I am sure I'll like chess too, and from the looks of it chess is going to be a family game. :-)

Cheetos and the art of sharing

Maddy: Mommy can I please have some baby Cheetos?

Me: Maddy these are baby Cheetos just for Kate, would you like big girl Cheetos with your lunch?

Maddy: I think Kate can share. See Mommy, (picking up the can and pointing to the label) it says right here. "Baby Cheetos can be shared with big girls like Maddy."

Me: Oh OK, I guess I didn't read the label. Here a few for you and a few for Kate.

Maddy: It's okay Mommy, just be careful next time.

So that's been my day today. The refrigerator is still very dark and very empty, but there is hope. The part came in and they will repair it tomorrow. Yea!  Plus I spent 30 minutes on the phone today with Whirlpool and they are sending us $100 to reimburse us for food (and ice for coolers). Double Yea!!!