weekend update

After a couple days of crazy cleaning of the house, Anna Kate and I started the weekend a little early with a declared fun day on Friday! We headed out to meet the Hamptons and Commanders at Lupis for lunch and then to play at Heritage Park! A few sprinkles did not keep us from playing! Heritage is one of Anna Kate's favorite parks!

Jackson sporting Molly's hat!

Jessica and I have decided that if these two were to ever get married we would have some killer pictures for the slide show!

good buddies

cooling off in the creek

Saturday, I went to Athens TN for a impromptu visit with my childhood friend, Angela! She was in NE Tennessee visiting her sister, so we met halfway for coffee on her way home. It was so good to see her, and let our kiddos play together for awhile.

Anna Kate and Ally.

Chris and Reed's daddy had a softball tournament Friday night and all day Saturday (they came in 3rd place!) In between an afternoon and night game, we took a break for a picnic dinner and round two at Heritage park.

the creek again...

lovin' the wet little girl in my previously dry arms...

daddies and kids... too cute

After two late nights in a row, at the last game, we broke out the portable dvd player. It was a lifesaver! The tired twosome, kicked back and relaxed with a little Blue's Clues.

mini-vacation and reuniting with old friends

Yesterday afternoon the Bradberry clan headed to Nashville! We were thrilled to make the trip to see some friends from TX who we don't see nearly enough! Let me go back, let's say, almost 28 years. Skip was the only friend at my very first birthday. To make a long story short... we've been friends ever since! I am so very glad that we have kept in touch all these years! This was a special visit because he finally got to meet Chris, and it was the first time we had met each other's kiddos! I was also thrilled to be able to spend a little more time with Skip's wife Kate! Reese and Anna Kate hit it off right away! They took over the Gaylord hotel and ran around chasing each other for most of the evening!watching the GIGANTIC fountain was another hit!

playing under signs...

walking down the hall hand in hand...

picking out dessert...

Kids are great, but unfortunately we had to wrap the evening up around 9:00 to put the tired kiddos down to bed. We met this morning for a couple pictures and hugs goodbye!

I really wish we did not live over 800 miles away. We all have so much in common!

Reese and Anna Kate saying goodbye!

Baby Beau is so precious.

After we said our goodbyes, we went to eat breakfast and explore the fabulous hotel!
Lily was in tow as always. Instead of Anna Kat riding in a stroller, we decided to let her push a stroller! She LOVED it! Minus almost plowing down a few people, she did great with it!

Neigh! Anna Kate loved the horses!

Looking at the the fish and flowers, and throwing pennies in the pond!

She loved all the water! Could not get enough of it!

Rainforest Cafe' for lunch. AK loved the elephants, fish and monkeys!Getting away was nice! Even it it was for only 24 hours!

4th of July

We started off the day with lunch at Granna and Granddaddy's and then off to play at a playground! Anna Kate's favorite thing right now is to slide and swing!

After a short nap, we went to Ya Ya and Granddad's to celebrate Addie's birthday!
AK sat at the "big girl" table. :)

the firecracker birthday girl

looking at her photo book from me, Chris and AK

opening Ya Ya and Granddad's present

A fish! Addie thought long and hard about what to name her new friend. And very seriously came up with the name, "Platter." I don't know how we did it, but we all (with straight faces I might add) assured her that that was a perfect name for her fish! She is something else. Always keeps us laughing! She is kinda awesome like that.

My first attempt at fondant. Not perfect by any means, but not terrible!

five candles

We love spending every 4th celebrating Addie's birth! What a fun thing to look forward to every year!

a month or so in a LOT pictures and few words

I am so far behind on blogging at this point, that I could not even begin to go into the normal detail of my posts. This may be the BIGGEST catch up blog ever! Have fun looking at all the pictures!

Our niece Addie had quite a few "end of the year" activities that we attended. Here is a photo after her play. She was a raccoon on Noah's Ark. Anna Kate was not quite sure about her cousin's transformation. :)We have had really busy schedules this month! This is on the way home from daddy's late softball game.

Addie's K-4 graduation! Isn't she pretty? Her headband was courtesy of Sweet Chocolate Swirls!

After Addie graduation we went to Heritage Park to play!

Liam almost walking!

Happy birthday "Jacks"! We celebrated little Jackson's 1st birthday on June 6th. The party was perfectly planned and went off without a hitch! Anna Kate loves her little friend "Jacks." AK and her tucked out buddy, Reed

little Molly

We've been attempting pigtails every once in a while! It is still a bit of a stretch, but cute!

To this day, Anna Kate talks about Jackson being a "mess" at his "birtday."

a better shot of the pigtails

AK and Ada cooling off with ice!

The next weekend my mom's very best friend from childhood came to visit. Mom and dad booked their other friends' AMAZING cabin/property in Soddy Daisy. Chris, Anna Kate, and I spent Friday evening there and had a blast riding in the golf cart, catching "light bugs", and cooking s'mores.

the beautiful property

Brenda and Allen taking a stroll

a series of "light bug" pictures (the lighting was terrible, therefore the quality of the pics not so great) If you look carefully, sometimes you can see the fireflies. She LOVE this! Dad got a video that I hope to be posting soon.

talking to Brenda

fireside with Granna and Brenda

amazed by the fire

telling Granddaddy about the fire

The next morning, Anna Kate and I completed our first 5-K! Don't be too impressed... we walked! We had a fun with our friends! Ashley, Jackson, Jessica, Reed, and Molly walked along with us!

The next day, Jessica invited us to spend the evening with them on the lake at her parent's house. We had a great time! What a beautiful place!

AK and mommy going for a swim. :)

This picture is for all the women in my family freaking out about right now that I had my daughter in/near a lake. The kiddos were well restrained in very safe, toddler approved life jackets and had very cautious mommies and daddies by their side every second.
:)

Miss Molly taking a lazy Sunday afternoon nap.

Daddy brought his fishing pole! :)

The gang.

so funny! Jessica caught this happy little funny face.

Happy #1 to Liam! Time flies and I can't believe my little nephew is one! I have enjoyed watching him grow so much! He is so fun to be around and always makes me laugh!

sharing his cake with his cousin

with bib sis, Addie

sweet smile

playing with his "rocket" from Ya Ya and Granddad

it was Aunt Brooke's birthday too! I love the look on her kids' faces in this one.

Last Friday I kept Addie and Liam for the day! We had a blast at the Creative Discovery Museum! AK adores her cousins!

playing at the Curious George exhibit

she always wants to hug and kiss this George

We found the "real" George! Anna Kate and Liam were scared of him, but Addie wanted a picture with him!

Ashley and Jackson met us for lunch and then we went back to the museum for more play time! Liam and Jackson are about two weeks apart in age. They had fun playing together!

Another birthday??? Yep... this weekend we celebrated Addie's birthday (which is really not until July 4th). Fun for all at a gymnastic center here in town. Addie and her friends and family definitely burnt off some energy jumping and running around!

addie being bounce on the trampoline

Anna Kate and Liam rolling down the wedge (or slide as AK called it)

flying high!

jumping with daddy

what's this mommy?

fun!

running on the inflatable "runway"

getting tired

giving it up? :)

happy birthday to you!

FIVE candles... this little girl is growing up!

AK enjoyed her chocolate cupcake! Mommy on the other hand was not so happy about it.

Talking to Addie before we left.

That concludes the picture half of catching up! Hopefully videos to come soon! And HOPEFULLY in will keep up week to week from here on out!

an impromptu trip to the beach

So I had this crazy idea... The constant rain we had been having in Chattanooga starting a couple weeks ago made we dream of sunny skies. I am not usually a spontaneous person at all, but I casually mentioned the idea of spending a couple of nights at the beach to my friend Jessica. Knowing that one close friend had just returned from the beach, and another was there, made us even more jealous! We got to talking about it, and decided to start looking for places to stay "if" we decided to go. We even called our friends Brittany and Ashley who had recently enjoyed the beach to see if they were up for a repeat trip. Although they were sadly not able to make it, to our surprise, we found a deal on a three bedroom condo that we could not pass up. On top of a fabulous rate, they were offering us one night free! So a day and a half later with three kids in the back of my car, we were on the road!

We had such a fun trip. It was worth every second of the drive down to sink our toes in the sand, wake up to the sound of the ocean, and soak up a little sun. The kids all did surprisingly well! Anna Kate had not been a huge fan of getting sand stuck on her the last couple times we have gone to the beach, so I was a little worried about how things would go. To my surprise, She followed her buddy Reed out, and did not flinch! They were both covered in sand the whole time, but loved every minute of it! Anna Kate also love being with her friends all the time. The first thing she said when she woke up every morning was "Maa-eee?" "Dee?" (her -ever so cute- version of Molly and Reed).

I took way too many pictures to choose a couple to post, so here is a slide show to enjoy! Believe it or not, Jessica and I were there, although somehow we came back without a single photo of either one of us on the beach.

rainy weekend

Rain ruined all chances of our fun outdoor plans last weekend. Anna Kate kept asking to go play outside! Since she was feeling better and it was very warm outside, we decided to let her splash around in the puddles for awhile. As you can tell, she does not own any galoshes yet, but had a blast getting her tootsies wet!

fun with reflection... it was hard to pick my favorites!

first ear infection

May 27th, 2009: AK's first ear infection (this is more for my records) :o)

The smile seen below on our little girl's face did not last long after this picture! After a fun lunch and playdate with her buddy Isabelle, Anna Kate's mood got progressively worse. After screaming through dinner, I brought her her home to discover that her temperature had risen to 103 degrees. An immediate call was placed to the on-call pediatrician. Following orders of a luke warm bath, and rotating Tylenol and Motrin, we got her fever down to 101.8 by about 8:30 p.m. At that point I put her to bed with the intention on checking on her every hour. When I went to check on her at 10:15 p.m. she was burning up to the touch. I picked her up to take her temp, and to my horor it was elevated to 104 degrees! Minutes later we were in the car on our way to P.M. Pediatrics clinic. One look was all it took to confirm that our baby had her first ear infection! Still so fevered and yucky feeling the next day... all she wanted to do was lay on our bed and read books, sleep, and watch Elmo.

A little better by Wednesday, but still laying in bed! I was thrilled when she ate some applesauce and cheerios!

That night she ate a good dinner and seemed to have her appitite back. We were stir crazy, so we took AK out for a treat. Baskin Robins was having the 31 cent per scoop night!

Finally well enough to be out and about on Thursday! Off to a yummy lunch with friends!