Thursday, April 23, 2009

Ever try to get your house ready for company with a toddler underfoot? A pool in the playroom with a water table in it worked like a charm for me today. She thought it was funny and so much fun! Hey, it kept her occupied and I got more accomplished! Sometimes mommies have to be creative. :o)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My friend Kimberly and I finally coordinated a time to go to the Creative Discovery Museum! A potentially stressful day of four kids vs. two adults turned out to be very relaxing and fun! All the kids were very well behaved and we mommies even got in some time to chat!

Here is baby Cole (7 months). He really is a perfect baby. His mommy is very thankful for this.Ty is about 6 weeks older than Anna Kate. He is very sweet as well. Although, I've not seen it, his mommy says he has a temper to match his hair! He loved playing with the vacuum and broom, much like out other friend Reed!
Gracie (who just turned 3) is so cute and love to take care of her friend Anna "Cake."Anna Kate in the "kitchen" pretending to eat an apple. If only she was not picky about her real food... :o)
Gracie and Anna Kate preparing our dinner.
My dinner that Gracie made for me. All chocolate! She thinks like a true woman.
Ty and AK sliding together! Awwww.
Gracie helping Anna Kate in the sand pit. AK is not a big fan of sand on or off the beach.
This is quite a milestone! Thanks for coaxing her out there Gracie-girl!
Anna Kate's favorite part of the museum!
Such a little mommy. She wanted to give "the baby" "milka." Thanks Kimberly for letting her feed Cole! It made her day! She love babies SO much!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter weekend has come and gone in a whirlwind of activities. The fun started early Saturday morning with meeting Mr. Bunny himself! Boyd Buchanan High School hosted an Easter egg hunt for their alumni with children. Since Chris and I both graduated from there, we thought it would be fun to go see a few familiar faces and let Anna Kate hunt some eggs.

Not quite as leery as we thought she would be, Anna Kate decided to shake the Easter bunny's hand!
Look Jackson was there! Jackson's daddy Chad is also a BBS alum and LONG time friend of mine and Chris (although, not a BBS graduate, we've known Ashley for a long time, too!). So glad that we are all still so close.
After warming up to this giant white rabbit, she could not get enough of him! She followed him around waving. They even took turns dancing!

Anna Kate found her friend Wil, too! Wil's mommy and daddy are another BBS-made couple, just like me and Chris. We have also known James and Ali since middle school! It is so good to keep in touch with good friends. Who would have thought we would be back twelve years later with our kids? Crazy.
The three kiddos.
As most of you know, Anna Kate cannot go anywhere without her doll, Lily.
After the egg hunt and a few errands, we met Anna Kate's cousins at YaYa and Granddad's house for lunch.
Liam is growing up so much! He changes every time I see him, and I can't believe he will be ONE in a couple months.
And Addie is almost FIVE! Seems like yesterday that she was born. She has grown-up so much this year, especially.
the pretty gals...
I say it every time, but it is SO hard to get a decent picture of these three. Someone always seems to have a silly face, not be looking, or wiggle away at the last second. Out of the umpteen hundred I tried to take, this was the best.
Addie and her big (prize) egg.
Anna Kate LOVED hunting eggs. I think that we may have many more egg hunts before next Easter. A great way to keep her entertained!
examining her "loot"
bunny-Liam... so cute!
This morning we went to a church service at Coolidge Park with my mom, dad, and brother, Chris' parents, and the Commander family. It was a very well organized service with beautiful, music, testimony, and message. It was nice to be outside enjoying the sunshine. We especially loved it because Anna Kate did not have to go to the nursery! She did great reading books, coloring, eating snacks, and "taking care" of her friend Jackson.

keeping themselves entertained...
We accidentally left her Easter basket at Boyd Buchanan (I was SO SAD), so I had to make one last minute for the Easter bunny to fill up.
Checking out her surprises at Granna's house.
Here she is in Granna and Granddaddy's backyard on her THIRD egg hunt in a little over 24 hours! She had fun each time!

some "fun with flower" pictures...


Allergies? Oh goodness! Thank goodness for Zyrtec.
Although hectic, it was a fun weekend! Great times with friends and family.

Monday, April 6, 2009

We've gone from bare feet and spring clothes back to winter for a few days this week! Too cold to play outside, we stayed indoors today.
I'll let the pictures do the talking! Just a typical afternoon of fun!








meet molly

We are so glad to introduce to you Anna Kate's newest playmate! Little Molly Ruth Hampton was born one week ago on March 30th. We were so excited to hear of her long awaited arrival and could not WAIT to go meet her. We rushed to get ready as soon as we heard the news, and went with Brittany, Ada, and Molly's big brother Reed to see this sweet girl. Precious, indeed.
Celebration of Molly started long before she came. On a FREEZING (12 degrees, to be exact!) Friday morning in January, Brittany, Ashley, and I packed up the kiddos and headed down to the Calhoun, GA outlets to start shopping for Molly! Needless to say we were some of the few shopping at the outdoor outlet mall on that day! Although our fingers, toes, and noses were numb as we went store to store, and our babies had on so many layers of clothing they could not move, we had a BLAST!

Proof of the temp. Crazy cold for Chattanooga!More fun came when we (with the help of Jessica's husband Michael) surprised Jessica with a baby shower and basket-full of goodies in February. The Gallery Cafe' on the southside of Chattanooga was the location of choice. This favorite lunch spot did not disappoint! Yummy quiche and soup, homemade, cupcakes, fun girly gifts, and of course lots of laughter made for a great time!
We were lucky enough to see Molly again this last Friday when we (as a group) made dinner for twelve (thirteen if you count Molly!), and took it up the mountain to the Hampton's home. Fun times as always as we ate a yummy dinner, visited, watched the older kids play,and "oooed and awwwed" as we passed the sweet sleeping baby around . Anna Kate could not get enough of her new friend, and was perfectly content just staring at her as she slept in the bassinette.
Sweet Molly girl! We are so glad you are here, and look forward to many fun times to come!