the bradberry family

a month of visitors

2010-09-09T15:36:00.005-04:00

July was full of visitors! We were so thrilled to have family and a good friend in town to meet sweet baby Carter! Anna Kate was certainly glad to have a little extra attention as well. :)

Great Granddaddy and Great Grandma Strickland were the first to visit. They could not get enough of the kiddos! It was so nice to have them here.

Next to arrive were Aunt Pam, Uncle Hank, Kevin and Brittany from Dallas. I was so bad about taking pictures! I just got a few of Pam. She is so thoughtful. She threw a "welcome" party for Carter, and even got AK a pink "big sister" cupcake!

A few days later Grandmama and Papa arrived! We were so happy they were able to make the trip! They spoiled AK as usual and started Carter out as well. :)

And finally Courtney was able to come visit toward the end of the month! I was so happy to see her and have her here. We missed Bobby, Isabelle, and Emma so much. I felt like I kept Courtney busy the whole time. She was such a fabulous help with the kids.

welcoming baby Carter

2010-09-06T17:10:00.013-04:00

On Tuesday June 29th, after two doctors appointments, we were informed that little Carter would be coming into the world 5 weeks early. I had to be induced because of pregnancy induced hypertension and low amniotic fluid. We arrived at the hospital at midnight on June 30th, and eleven and a half hours later we were holding our beautiful baby boy.

One last pregnant pic (much to my dismay) before we left for the hospital.Laboring with love... and a whole lot of pain!

I was holding my breath and praying as the NICU nurses were assessing him. I was so very happy to hear that my baby boy born 5 weeks early was perfectly healthy!

6lbs 14ozs!

Because he was so early the nurses took him as soon as he was born. I finally got to hold him about 30 mins later.

Big sister!

Love this.

Daddy's boy.

Dressed and ready for visitors!

Anna Kate showing off her new baby. :)

Granna.

My sweethearts.

Time to go home!

Getting dressed in his cute personalized outfit from Granna!

So anxious to take our new addition home.

In the car with big sis for the first time.

Finally home.

Bath time for Carter.

He was not the biggest fan. So happy to have both kiddos in my lap! I love it!!!

Sleeping in a very special cradle. Carter's PaPa (great-granddaddy) built it for me when I was born. So Mommy, Uncle Brian, Anna Kate, and now Carter have used it.

What a complete joy he is to our lives!

I know I am very behind on pictures... I am in the process of going through them, so more to come very soon!

from mother's day to father's day

2010-06-27T16:08:00.009-04:00

This post may be a lot of pics and few words because we are headed to the hospital in just a few hours to meet our little Carter! It has been WAY too long since an update and my goal was to get this up before Carter's arrival, so here it goes!

Anna Kate was tickled to death when Granddaddy asked her to help in help in his garden. They planted peas one afternoon and she had so much fun that she talked about it for nearly a month! Talk about one happy little girl... you should have seen her excitement when she got to pick them off the plant and eat them! It was so cute. They were delicious, too!

Mother's Day was a whirlwind, but tons of fun. Jessica and I had to work at the Chattanooga Market with our company, but we took turns going to eat brunch/lunch with our families. Blue Water is always delicious!

With our mommy dearest. :) (Pardon the shadows)

Who knew a four dollar sprinkler could be so much fun!?!

Anna Kate is obsessed with holding our cat Lucy. She told me here that she was practicing for holding her baby Carter.

Happy birthday little Liam! Can't believe this little guy is two! AK had a blast celebrating her cousin's birthday on a real train ride! I was so sad I was confined to bedrest and had to miss it.

We were so happy to welcome this beautiful little girl to our family last week. Harper Marie Arnold made me a a proud aunt for the third time on June 21st. I snuck to the hospital to hold her for a few minutes, but have not seen her since! Can't wait to hold her again and introduce her to her new cousin. It will be so fun them being just a little over a week apart in age!

All the girl cousins. Don't worry Liam, another boy is on the way!

AK loves her new cousin and talks about her all the time!

AK really likes to play in the rain with daddy! A nice summer shower was a good boredom break for her.

AK spent last Thursday playing at her buddy Reed's house. She had so much fun! She made mommy some flowers out of her finger painted art. I love them!This picture makes me happy. Love these two so much! Happy father's day to Chris! What a wonderful daddy he is. Our father's day celebration will have to be a make up. :) I was stuck on bedrest again... I am very luck to have some great father's around me though. :)

I was about 31 weeks pregnant in this photo. I will have to take one last "belly shot" tonight. AK loves talking to Carter in my belly and giving him kisses. So sweet!

My pre-delivery pedi. AK begged me to get "blue toes" for Carter. So... I did. What can I say, they are kinda fun!

Next post, Carter! Can't believe it! I am feeling so excited and and anxious at the same time! It has been a long hard journey, but I can't believe it is about to end! For those of you who don't know, I started having blood pressure "issues" at 24 weeks, was put on "home rest" at 30 weeks, and bed rest at 32 weeks. A big thanks to all of you who have hepled me through whether it has been a meal, help with Anna Kate, or prayers! I am especially grateful to my mom who has sacrificed her whole summer break thus far to help me. She has been here almost every single week day taking care of AK and helping in my house. I could not have done it with out her!

Here is a little fun fact... Carter is scheduled to arrive on the exact same day of pregnancy as Anna Kate. 35 weeks and 5 days. :)

a busy month!

2010-04-04T14:40:00.010-04:00

So yes. I know. I have not blogged since Valentines Day. There has certainly not been a lack of events happening at our household though! Here is a little recap of our month of March. :)

March 1st was a day that our family had been looking forward to for quite awhile! At 1:00 p.m. we had the ultrasound to check up on the smallest of the Bradberry crew and to find out if that little one was a he or a she! Much to daddy's delight, we have a BOY on the way! It took Anna Kate and I a day or two to warm up to the idea, but now we are so excited as well! I can't wait to meet little Carter Christopher!

AK wanted to lay where mommy had to lay for the ultrasound. :)

Later that week, we had some very special visitors. We were thrilled to have our much missed friends in town for a few days. Although visits with the Davis family are never long enough, Anna Kate and Isabelle are just like their mommies. It takes less than a minute to catch up and pick back up from where we left off!

So fun to wake up to a house full of sleepy little girls!

At the children's museum with Rebecca and little Jackson.

Anna Kate LOVED having another girl to play with!

The Davis, Iwanczyk, and Bradberry families after a yummy dinner at Big River.

playing at the mall

so cute!

sweet Emma!

she loves to swing!

taking turns pushing Emma in the swing :)

It was so great to see these guys! We miss them so very much! CT is just way too far away!

St. Patrick's Day was also known as "green day" to Anna Kate. She had fun picking out green shirts for both her and mommy to wear. We had green milk for lunch, along with green goldfish for snack. Then we went to target and went on a green hunt. She was allowed to pick out 3 small toys/knickknacks that were green. She had a blast! We ended up with a green play ball, a pink "turtle" with green spots, and green toenail polish!

We had a great time celebrating Daddy's birthday on the 20th! I love when birthdays fall on Saturdays. While daddy was on an early morning fishing trip, Anna Kate and I wrapped his presents and iced his cake. When he got back we all went to a yummy lunch and then to Harrison Bay to enjoy the beautiful weather on the first day of Spring! We ended the day with dinner with the parents and birthday treats at our house!

Our next celebration was for this little cutie! Can't believe Miss Molly is one! She is such a precious baby! So glad we got to celebrate with you!

The kids all had fun at the park where we celebrated Molly's birthday!

my beautiful girl

cupcake time!

The next morning, AK and I headed to FL with Granna and Granddaddy to visit my grandparents. Great Grandparents are sure spoiling people. :) It may take me awhile to "straighten her out" after spending the week getting her way 90% of the time.

An egg hunt with PaPa.

quiet time

AK had a REALLY bad bout of allergies while we were there. A nurse suggested we give her decaf hot tea before bed to help break up congestion. She loved it!

Even allergies can't keep this girl away from pretty pink flowers! Though mommy cringed at what the pollen was probably doing to her, she loved picking flowers from the Azalea bush. She was was constantly begging for "one more flower."

Grand MaMa and AK

Her first time dying eggs!

We took a really quick trip to the beach. Wish we could have spent more time there!

Great Grandmother and Great Granddaddy pointing out a seagull for AK.

She love the constant attention. When someone did not play with her for more than 5 minutes, she would walking around the room saying "play with me, play with me, PLAY WITH ME" until someone did. Yes... I told you she was totally spoiled on this trip.

Goodbyes with the Stricklands.

Goodbyes with the Browns.

I am not a big fan of "belly shots" while pregnant, but this is for the out of town friends and family that have been asking. :) Carter says hello!

Chris and I celebrated five yeas of marriage last Saturday. Can't believe it has been that long! So happy I found him twelve years ago! It amazes me to look at our life now with five years of wonderful marriage, a beautiful daughter, and a baby boy on the way! Time flies!

AK put her empty Easter basket by her bedroom door on Saturday night with wide eyes of anticipation. She was so super excited when she opened her door Sunday morning to see that the Easter Bunny had not forgotten to fill her basket with presents!

She was equally excited about going to church at the park to sing and hear people talk about Jesus. She is such a sweetie.

I can't get over how grown up she looks! Where did my baby go?

That catches you up our our little family's happenings from March 1st-April 4th! In the next few months we are planning a lot of home improvements and preparing for Carter to arrive, so hopefully some more fun pictures to come!

valentine fun

2010-02-18T09:06:00.004-05:00

Valentine's weekend was filled with fun! From visits to grandparent's homes to fun with friends we stayed busy! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Snuggles with Lucy on Valentine's Day morning...

Pink cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast!

On Monday we took Anna Kate on a very special play date with Reed and Molly to Build-A-Bear! The kids loved their first experience there, and came home with a couple of super cute bunnies and a super cool frog!

After helping stuff their own buddies, the big kids "helped" Molly with hers.

AK's favorite part was "bathing" her bunny. She asked to do it again about 3 times.

Paying for her new friend with her very own money from her great-grandparents. :)

Snuggling with the appropriately named Snuggle Bunny.

"Four" friends having fun on the playground. :)

snow cream!

2010-01-30T19:37:00.002-05:00

first sledding adventure

2010-01-30T17:02:00.002-05:00

We braved the roads (which were just slushy) this morning to venture to Granna and Granddaddy's house. They have the perfect backyard for sledding and everywhere around our house is very flat. They even had sleds from when Mommy and Uncle Brian were kids! We just had to take advantage of today for AK's first sledding experience... who knows when we will get a decent snow here again? Anna Kate was really excited about "sliding" down the hill. She was so brave that she even went by her self after the first time with daddy. She loved it, and here is the evidence... :o)

let it snow!

2010-01-29T19:10:00.004-05:00

Finally a decent snow for us! Hopefully more fun to come tomorrow!The most snow we have seen here in 10 years!

She L-O-V-E-S her snowman!

first hair cut and a playdate!

2010-01-28T15:09:00.003-05:00

I know, I know. Two posts in one day is shocking, right?

Anna Kate got her very first haircut today! Her hair was basically, well completely out of control! I am so very thankful to my dear friend Kimberly for cutting it for us! What a friend!
I did not get any great pictures of the process, because AK insisted that she sit in my lap while getting her hair cut. And yes... I bribed her to sit still with candy. :)

It was also so wonderful to get some "catch-up" time with her, and let Anna Kate play with her friends Gracie, Ty, and Cole. AK really took to Gracie, and followed her around the whole time! She really looks up to her. After all, Gracie is such a big girl... she will be all of four years old soon.
It cracks me up how Kimberly's kids are always perfect posers for pictures. Mine on the other hand looks everywhere but the camera in most cases.

Thanks for a great afternoon Holland clan!

just having fun!

2010-01-27T08:27:00.003-05:00

In the past few weeks, Anna Kate has had some really fun experiences! Here is a little peek into what she's been up to. By the way I am typing this mostly with one hand, because my sweet girl is insisting on sitting in my lap. The wording may be short and sweet. :)
On a FREEZING day in January, the Hamptons invited us to join them at the bowling alley. This would be both Reed and Anna Kate's first time bowling. They had a blast!

Thank goodness for the ramps they have for young kids. They are perfect!Daddy teaching AK to bowl... she of course had to have a pink ball!

Check out her styling, tiny bowling shoes! I could not believe they had them this small...

Close game!

Although Reed is ALL boy and Anna Kate is so girly, these two are buddies for sure!

Exciting news! After months of begging and pleading, Anna Kate now has her very own big girl bed! No more crib for this baby of mine. This is the first night she slept on it. The right rails to fit into her headboard and footboard did not come with it, so I will have to take more pics once we really get it set up!
Quick funny story... About two weeks before we got the bed for her, she was playing in my room and climbed up on my and Chris' bed. She very dramatically plopped down -head on the pillow- and sighed loudly. I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "Oh... Anna Kate just NEEDS a big girl bed SO BAD, Mommy!" Like she had been waiting her entire life.

We took Anna Kate to Sesame Street live for the second year in a row! She has changed quite a bit since last year! Anna Kate and Reed both talked about going to see Elmo and Abby for weeks! They were so thrilled when the moment finally came! They both thoroughly enjoyed the show!

After a long weeks of really cold weather, we enjoyed a nice break of weather in the 50's for a few days. On MLK day Granna and Uncle Brian joined us at the park for a picnic and playing. Anna Kate had a blast playing outside! It had been awhile!

More to come soon!

"snow"

2010-01-10T10:29:00.003-05:00

Our hopes for a decent snow here in Chattanooga were once again let down. Our predicted 1-3 inches might not sound like much to begin with, but we did not even get close to that! It was so cold out (13 degrees with a windchill of 1 degree! OUCH) that we did not last outside anyway. Anna Kate BEGGED me to go outside and make a snowman so much, that I finally told her we would try to make a small one. Well small it was. The little snow we did have was so powdery that it was almost impossible to get it to stick!

As tiny and deformed as it was, our "snowman" made my little girl happy!"

Bella had fun, too!

poor little thing...

anna kate's special wordless wednesday

2010-01-06T13:27:00.003-05:00

(The shirt says... "Who has a secret? I do! I do!)

goodbye 2009!

2009-12-31T22:23:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone! Many blessings in 2010!

wordless wednesday

2009-12-30T19:35:00.002-05:00

merry Christmas from the beach!

2009-12-28T13:38:00.014-05:00

It was such a blessing to get to spend the days surrounding Christmas at a b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l house right on the gulf. To make it better I was there with with my family... my WHOLE family (minus one cousin). Anna Kate loved having Mommy, Daddy, Granna, Granddaddy, Uncle Brian, both sets of great-grandparents, Auntie Pam, Great Uncle Hank, and cousin Kevin there. She was certainly not starved for attention!

Our view from the back deck. I could get used to looking at this everyday! I already miss it.

Our home for a few days.

Our bedroom. It was just one of six and they each came with their own bathroom! This house was just perfect!

About 1:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I was stricken with a terrible stomach virus. Unfortunately about four hours later it hit Chris as well. Needless to say, we both missed out on the Christmas Eve festivities with the family that night. It was so hard especially to be away from little Anna Kate on such a special night. I was SO thankful though to have so many people there to continue to make it special for her in our absence. I had to rely on my mom for a couple pictures from that night. Getting ready to go to bed so Santa could come!

Luckily, Chris and I were able to join the world again on Christmas morning and see our bright eyed little sweetie enjoy all the fun!

Bed-head and all, I love the Christmas morning grins when she saw all her gifts!A Christmas morning tradition... cinnamon rolls! Yum!The one thing she said she wanted Santa to bring her... a "big Lilly." She loves babies!A George game! One of her favorites!

Watching their great granddaughter open presents. Another favorite! A new stroller from GrandMaMa and Auntie Pam!What a view.

Pam and Punkin on a Christmas morning walk.

Brian and Kevin. We missed you Jay!

Mommy and Anna Kate on Christmas morning.

Daddy and AK.

Love this one.

Showing Great-Grandma her favorite ornament.

Bella was quite relaxed. :)

My Granddaddy is one heck of a seafood cook! It is always a special treat for him to cook for us, and what better way to enjoy Christmas lunch than a fish fry?

Yum. Wish I had some more of this!

Dinner table!

The gang's all here! Not the most in focus picture, but I forgot my remote and we had to use the self timer.

One of my favorites. Christmas evening.

The guys could not leave without a fishing trip! Even on a cold afternoon, they caught two sharks, a mullet, and a catfish! Not too shabby.

A true fisherman making fun of his own "fish stories."

Great-Granddaddy and Anna Kate watching the waves.

The Browns.

Relaxing on the deck.

The deck was enormous! AK loved playing with all her new toys out there! I love the fact that is was glass "railing." The unobstructed views were beautiful.

A little help from GrandMaMa.
Lovin' on Bella.

Going to feed the seagulls with GrandPaPa.

Shhhh. Don't tell. :) No, dogs are not allowed on the beach. We had to let Bella play a little frisbee out there though! She LOVED it! I have never seen her have so much fun! We were all lucky though. We had all three of the dogs with us out there for a little while almost every day and never got caught. Our neighbors were not so lucky... the beach seriff caught them a wrote them a hefty ticket. Oops.

Anna Kate and Granna.

Pam and Punkin.

Looking for seashells.

Although our trip had it's share of setbacks... two failed transmissions (my parents on the way there and my aunt and uncles' on the way home) and three people with a virus (my mom caught it too), it was all around a wonderful time. Precious memories with family.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-12-22T10:10:00.009-05:00

Christmas fun started last Friday with a cookie making fun day at the Hampton's house! Anna Kate and Reed had tons of fun putting decorations on the cookie dough, although I think they had the most fun EATING the sprinkles. :)

Showing off her creations. :)A hug for her buddy.

Uncle Brian was horse sitting at his girlfriend's house last week, so on Saturday we got to tag along! AK had a blast "helping" feed the horses!

Since we will be in FL for Christmas this year, we celebrated with Chris' side of the family early this year. On Sunday we had a wonderful brunch at YaYa and Granddad's house and got to open gifts and spend time with the family. The kiddo's had a blast!

Liam checking out his new plane!

Cheesing for the camera!

Addie playing her new (fake) Wii game. :)

AK and Liam have a love/fight relationship. Check out this fight over Cheerios. I caught the O's in mid-air!

The hit gift from YaYa was pillow pets! They all loved them!

On Monday night, to let Anna Kate have a Christmas celebration at her house, we had my family over for a Happy Birthday Jesus party. We let AK open her stocking early and two gifts!

One of her favorite things in her stocking... CHAP STICK! She quickly became obsessed.

We put Uncle Brian and Kaysie to work putting up AK's new tent.

She was so excited about singing happy birthday to baby Jesus!

Then she had to have just one little taste. :)

Don't they look cute?
Peek-a-boo Anna Kate and Granna!

wordless wednesday

2009-11-04T22:35:00.002-05:00

swine, pumpkins, ponies, and a cute little cupcake

2009-11-02T09:39:00.011-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Anna Kate came down with a cold. Just your run of the mill cold, little bit of a runny nose and a bothersome cough from drainage. No fever, so I was not overly concerned. On Wednesday of that week, she started throwing up. We had been around some friends right before they came down with a stomach virus, so I thought she was having really bad luck. A cold and a stomach virus. Poor baby, but still NO fever. The next day she was puny, but not anything more than what would be expected from a stomach virus. By Friday, I thought she had an ear infection. After blowing her little nose, she grabbed he ear and stated crying. So I took her to the doctor, and the nurse out of the blue does a flu test. The doctor (not our regular doc) comes in, says she has a sinus infection, writes a prescription, and is ready to send us home. I mentioned to him that I presumed the flu test was negative since he did not say anything about it. Turns out he had no clue a flu test was done but lets me know that he highly doubts that is what it is. He goes to check the results and comes back in shaking his head. To all of our surprise, little AK tested positive for h1n1. We started Tamiflu that day and in 24 hours she was acting like herself again. I am assuming she had a very mild case, but nonetheless I am glad it is over.

This was taken on the very "tail end" of being sick. I just wanted to have a picture of when she had the "swine flu" to show her when she is older.*Oh... quick funny story. I did not realise how ironically funny this was until the other day. When Chris got home the day we found out she had the flu, I went to Target to get her a few things to quietly entertain her. I came home with stickers, coloring books, and a couple of new movies. Her favorite movie that I got was Charlotte's Web. She started calling it the little pig movie. Well now after having SWINE flu, she is really into pigs. :)

Once she was totally better and "cleared" to be out we took trip #2 to Mayfield Farms. This time with all her buddies.

Reed and AK swinging on the fence. This was right before she went through the gap in the fence (on the right) and stated walking toward the donkeys saying "here donkeys!" Yeah... she loves animals.

The girls and I made the kiddos Halloween shirts to wear on our outing.

Cute little Jackson in the "corn box." An awesome alternative to a sand box.

Reed climbing "tire mountain."

On the cow train. Anna Kate found a cow named Bella!

Ada and Anna Kate. We get asked ALL the time if they are twins.

This picture would have been perfect, if any of the kids would have smiled! I promise they were having fun, but none of them knew what to think about sitting there without their mommies. This was actually the best out of about ten pictures.

Reed: "ewww. I have to sit by a girl?" Ada: "Help me Anna Kate, I am busting out of here." AK: Why do Ada and Jackson have their hands on my knees?" Jackson: "Why is Molly laying on me?" Molly: "hmmmm. Look at this hay guys!"

She really like to sit on pumpkins. Strange, I know.

In the pumpkin patch.

Pretend cows that the kids could "milk." So cute!

I would really like to hurt whoever taught her to "smile" at the camera.

Taking the pumpkins to the car.

Our little cupcake at a church festival Wednesday night.

Reed came too!

And the smallest cupcake. Miss Molly.

On Friday night we went to Granna's school's fall festival. AK discovered smarties this week.

Much to my surprise, she rode a pony! I could not believe she was not scared! She really does love animals! She is a lot like her mommy.

First pony ride.

Granddaddy stayed by her for the ride.

Pony ride. Check. Next on the list... petting zoo!

First trick-or-treating. At Granddaddy and Granna's house. She was so excited!

Then after a couple neighbor's homes, we went to Granddad YaYa's.

Goodbye October!

pumpkins!

2009-10-18T21:40:00.005-04:00

Pumpkin time is here! Last week AK and I spent a rainy day carving a pumpkin. She had fun scraping the pumpkin "guts" out with me, although she was terrified of them when I first pulled the top of the pumpkin off. :) I did not get to take many pictures, as my hand were covered in the before mentioned "guts."Saturday we went to Mayfield farms in Athens, TN. They have a great farm, corn maze, and pumpkin patch! We definitely plan to visit again with all her little friends! We knew a cold front was coming through this weekend, but did not know it was going to be quite so chilly! Good thing I made the last minute decision to bring Anna Kate's heavier jacket. It did not get out of the 40's! Crazy for Chattanooga area in October!

I thought this giant corn was so cute! It is made from Mayfield's famous yellow milk jugs!

Looking at cows with Ya Ya, Granddad, and Daddy.

little pigs! They were freezing!

she loved this little white "pun-keen"

feeding the donkey... I was amazed at the sunflowers in the background!

it was strange to see them all so vibrant in cold weather!

silly goats!

a freezing hay ride!

picking the perfect pumpkin with daddy

she kept telling us she wanted a baby pumpkin
she found one and was so excited!

beginings of fall fun!

2009-10-06T08:29:00.007-04:00

I am a sucker for fall. I love the crispness of the air, fall colors, sweaters and jackets, hot coffee and cider, soups, and fuzzy socks. I also so enjoy fall activities! Pumpkin patches, carnivals, fairs and festivals... all fun! This weekend we checked one annual October tradition off our list. We took advantage of a chilly Sunday afternoon and made a trip to Ellijay, GA. Like any good autumn road trip, it started off with lattes and macchiatos from Starbucks. Anna Kate had fun riding in Granna's car and finding cows and horses on the way. When we got to our favorite orchard, we strolled though the rows of trees. Anna Kate thought it was funny that so many apples "fall down" on the grass.

posing on the tractor with grandaddychoosing the perfect apple

ready to go for a walk with uncle brian and daddy!

in line for petting farm tickets

a baby "pun-keen"

anna kate: "I find the mommy pun-keens, mommy!"

in the orchard

feeding a goat an apple

our favorite~ a precious, snuggly, tiny baby goat!

"anna kate hold it"

a pig!

petting the mommy bunny

snuggling the baby bunnyshe was amazed at the "pig tail"
I was terrified she would touch it! eewww.
thankfully she did not.

playing with the goats.

I could not get enough of this sweet little guy!

she was a little timid with the sheep

turkeys, chickens, and roosters!

granna loved the little goat, too!

I love this tradition! What a fun day with family!

a birthday girl...

2009-09-10T11:38:00.005-04:00

The celebration of Anna Kate's second birthday started a week early on August 29th. Since so many of our friends and family were planning to be out of town for Labor Day weekend (as were we), we had Anna Kate's party early. This little girl looked forward to her "A-B-C-D birthday party" for at least a month ahead of time. When we arrived at the party she excitedly screamed "Yay! Anna Kate's birthday!"
I was busy running around taking care of things for the party, so I did not take many pictures. Shocker I know. Don't worry though, this area was well taken care of by my talented friend, Brittany. Her pictures of the party should be ready some time in the next week. I will be sure to post some and write more about her party.
For now... these few will have to do. :)During her "birthday week", we tried to doing something small everyday that was special for Anna Kate. Monday we surprised her with new bath toys at bath time. Tuesday we took her to Chuck E. Cheese (a nightmare for mom and dad). Wednesday during a family photo shoot with Brittany, we let Anna Kate get an ice cream cone. Thursday she made cookies with mommy during the day, and went with daddy that evening to feed some ducks. Friday we were in the car on the way to FL, so that was not much fun, but she did get to watch Blue's Clues on the way... I am sure she saw that as special because we never watch TV in the car unless we are on trips.On Saturday, her actual birthday, we went to a brand new restaurant in Pensacola with my grandparents. Then my grandmother gave her a Sesame Street birthday party. She was very excited to have a "more" birthday party and to see Elmo and the gang on the plates, cake, etc.
In addition to singing "Happy Birthday" to Anna Kate, she wanted the whole family to sing to her baby, Lily and her duck, Ming Ming. It was super cute. Anna Kate really likes to sing and stated really liking the birthday song. I put her down for a nap before this party and when I went to check on her she was -ever so sweetly- singing "appy birtday to yous, appy birtday to yous, appy birtday a Anna Kate..." It made her mommy melt!
We finished off her birthday by feeding some ducks at a pond near my grandparent's house. This is one of Anna Kate's favorite pastimes. She was extra excited because in addition to the duck in this pond, there were also turtles!
Hope to be able to share more (and much better I am sure) pictures from her party soon! Stay tuned!

summer vacation... day by day

2009-08-20T14:58:00.016-04:00

disclaimer: this is going to be LONG

Wednesday

We started our summer vacation on Wednesday the 12th when we headed to Nashville for the night before our early flight the next morning. Before we got to our hotel, we happened to pass a Chuck E. Cheese, and decided to take Anna Kate for her first time there. She LOVED it. Her favorite part was watching "the monkey" (really Chuck E. Cheese) dance and sing.

When we got to our hotel, we decided to go for a quick swim before bed.

Thursday
After waking up at 4 a.m. to catch our flight I was in a bit of a daze, but excited about seeing friends and going to a concert later that night. While putting Anna Kate's car seat in the plane, I happened to glance at the guy sitting behind her seat. I did a double take and was a bit star-struck. I was 95% sure that the guy occupying the seat behind my daughter's was one of the lead singers for Lady Antebellum, one of the groups we were going to see in concert later that night. Chris tried to persuade me to ask, but I was too nervous that I would look like a freak if it was not him. We settled into the flight and I settled into a magazine. About halfway through the magazine there was an article about the Charles Kelly, the guy I thought to be behind me. After getting off the plane for a layover in Baltimore, we found our next gate and my suspicion was confirmed. Two rows away from me sat Charles, Hillary, and Dave from Lady Antebellum with their entire band. I was SO excited. Since I was in a rush to change AK's diaper, go to the bathroom, and get some breakfast, I did not talk to them before we all boarded our next flight to Hartford. I hoped the whole way, that I would have a chance to speak to them once this flight was over. Charles again sat close to us, and once we landed Chris tapped him on the shoulder and told him that I was looking forward to his concert that night. He smiled and replied, "Oh cool! Thanks." Once we got to baggage claim the whole crew ended up right next to us. Hillary came over and started talking about how cute Anna Kate, Isabelle, and Emma were. That broke the ice and we started talking to them a bit, and asked if we could get our picture made with them. This is the result! They are an awesome band, very down to earth people, and were great in concert that night!

Court and I about to leave for the concert. Yes... jackets for an outdoor concert in August. Only in CT. The HIGH was 70 that day, so it got pretty chilly at night!

Friday
We left CT Friday morning and headed to MA to Bobby's family cottage by the ocean. So beautiful and relaxing! We were most thrilled with the 72 degree weather!
Anna Kate feeling that salty sea air in her hair!

Our home for a few days.

We brought the girls a little pool to play in. They LOVED it!

Sweet Emma.

Chris getting ready to go fishing.

Don't think I would ever get used to the "norm" of not having air conditioning like in the North. Anna Kate was so very hot during her naps!

Later that evening after dinner, the boys wanted to go clamming (or quahogging as it is called there), so we gals watched them from the beautiful rocky shore. The girls had fun collecting rocks in plastic cups and trying to spot their daddies when they emerged from snorkeling.

Chris waving while taking a break from diving for quahogs.The guys a small little specks in the right side of the picture. You might be able to see them if you click on the picture to enlarge itTheir catch that night. They ended up going every night but one and caught so many!

Carrying their "treasure" back to the cottage.

Saturday

We loaded up the Suburban and took about an hour trip to Boston. This was my first time to visit this very old city. If it had not been so stinking hot there, we would have LOVED to stay longer! We started the day off at a playground on Boston Commons (one of the oldest parks in the US, dating back to 1634!). Anna Kate of course loved the slide the best!

A new froggie buddy at the "frog pond" by the playground. The Frog Pond is an enormous wading pool that doubles as a skating rink in the winter.

"Paul Revere is probably the most famous name heard around the Boston area. We were able to see his home and his grave. Really neat! Other famous men buried in this cemetery were John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

"Sometimes you want to go... Where everybody knows your name... duh. duh. duh. duh. And they're always glad you came! duh. duh. duh. duh." Anyone recognize this bar? Lunch at Cheers was fun! And yummy, too!

Tea anyone? The boys and kiddos at Boston Harbor (or "Haaabaa" as a true Bostonian would say it). Dang. Their accents are so super annoying.

The highlight of the girl's trip was definitely this fountain by the harbor! I am sorry about the abundance of pictures from this! This is actually narrowed down! I just got so many cute ones! Anna Kate was cracking everyone up by sticking her head straight down into the water! She LOVED it!

Sharing a cannoli with mommy from the famous Mike's Pastry. They were amazing!

Sunday

Sunday was a restful day. It was a day to just kick back, hang out on the beach, and take it easy. Courtney and I even got to sneak away at nap time and leave the daddies with the kids!
Breakfast on the sun porch at the cottage.

She actually WANTED to wear her hat. This was a first! Maybe there is some hope for keeping hats on her this winter!

Emma found a rock! Oh wait... that is not a shocker for beaches up North. They are brutal on bare feet!

Isabelle's sand castle!

AK was not the biggest fan of the rocky sand, so she elected to stay in the chair most of the time. Still had fun though!

Tired girls in the "Blues Clues zone" before nap time.

Three cuties who were keeping a look out for their daddies who were out on the boat.

Water hose time! They took turns chasing each other.

Granna called to say hello before bedtime.

We put the kids down to bed a little early Sunday night, so that we adults could enjoy a scrumtious dinner by ourselves! How can you beat a dinner consisting of homemade clam chowder (from clams caught by your husbands), baked cod, crab legs, and lobster that was moving around in your fridge 30 mins. before? YUM.

My first time eating lobster. It was good, although I still prefer snow crab legs!

Monday

After a 45 minute drive, a 10 min. bus ride, and a 45 min. ferry ride, we set foot on Martha's Vineyard! It was fun because it was a first for all in our group except Bobby.

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L place. I can see why so many rich and famous people choose to have residence there. We saw the properties of Dianna Ross, Jackie Kennedy (now owned by Caroline), Charles Lindbergh, Ted Danson (this is where Chelsea Clinton's "secret wedding" is rumored to take place this weekend!), James Taylor, and so many more! We missed the Obama's big arrival by 3 days (they were scheduled to arrive today), but the island was buzzing with talk of their coming. Even t-shirt in every shop stating "I vacationed with the Obamas." Funny. We were told that Caroline Kennedy was there with special house guest Oprah. Seems like a fun place for celeb watching!

The "big boat" as Anna Kate called it. A rather large steamship!

Getting windblown while "watching the water".

What a view.

Of course Lily wanted to "watch the water" too!

Fun to ride the oldest carousel in America!

Another georgeous view.

My favorite part of the island, the Gay Head Cliffs. Pictures do not even come close to doing them justice. A must see if you are ever there.

Playing in a field waiting for our bus.

All the girls.

Leaving Cape Cod. :(

Tuesday
Goodbyes are never easy. I was so sad to part ways with my friend! Tuesday morning was brutal. To catch a 6:30 a.m. flight in Providence, our alarm went off at 3:00. Ouch. Anna Kate somehow did AMAZING. This was right before we borded the plane. She fell sound asleep shortly after take off and slept the majority of the way home.

cutie in a carseat

2009-08-06T17:00:00.003-04:00

Just some random cute shots.

A girl has to be pretty tired to fall asleep mid-way through an ice cream cone!Anna Kate and her "buddies."

a few for fun

2009-07-29T22:24:00.002-04:00

Tonight we went to a cookout hosted by my dad's company to entertain some visitors from Russia. The food was good and company was great, but I am kicking myself. We had planned to have our friend Brittany join us and do a photo session tonight. I canceled this morning because of rain yesterday and all morning today. Of course it cleared up. Of course it was perfect weather. Of course it was not nearly as muddy as I thought it would be. Of course it was perfect lighting. Thus why I am kicking myself. I only hope we are able to use this beautiful property when we have our makeup session!

Here are just a few pictures for fun!

weekend update

2009-07-20T22:00:00.007-04:00

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

2009-07-11T20:20:00.008-04:00

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

2009-07-06T21:10:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-28T14:32:00.019-04:00

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

2009-05-11T23:39:00.006-04:00

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

2009-05-03T22:19:00.005-04:00

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

2009-05-03T22:16:00.002-04:00

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!

a few days with friends is never enough!

2009-05-03T22:10:00.010-04:00

Last week, we were blessed by a visit from our sweet friends the Davis family! After a long 16 hour plus drive with two little ones, they arrived in Chattanooga on Thursday night. It was so good to finally hug their necks and see them face to face!

This was little Emma's first trip to her big sister's birthplace, and she met lots of her family's old friends for the first time. It is absolutely stunning and somewhat heart breaking how much she has changed since I saw her in November. I was so glad to get some good snuggle and playtime in with this little cutie.Isabelle and Anna Kate were so cute together this time. Although they both have very similar "strong willed" personalities, they got along great. Anna Kate was in awe of her (nine month older) friend "Bell" and looked up to her. She followed her around with a grin on her face and wanted to do everything she did.
Isabelle was also a huge fan of "Eddie Tate." She wanted to ride in the car with her, be in the same room with her, and play with her all the time. Seeing little friendships blossom is precious!

Here are some pictures of the older two in action.

We had a fun playdate at Coolidge park with Isabelle, Emma, Reed, Molly, Jackson C., and Jackson I. (missed you Ada)! We were so excited to see the fountains on for the first time this year!

Caught them holding hands in the backseat!

Playing in the backyard. Anna Kate was still a little leery of her pool...

but she adores her water table!

Good morning friend!Playing blocks before going to church on Sunday.
Peek-A-Boo!
An uncooperative group shot. :)

sweet, sweet Emma

Fun on the slide at Chick-Fil-A. Anna Kate had a blast climbing up the slide after Isabelle and the coming down with her! Little did we know that she would be running a 104 degree fever that night!

We were looking so forward to a group photo shoot with Brittany (aka Moncrief Photography) on Monday, but because of Ada being sick, Anna Kate being sick, and trying to work around so many schedules it did not work out! We can't wait to schedule it for next time they are in town! Although we did not get the pictures we were hoping for, Courtney and I did manage to snag one together.

Miss you so much already friend! Can't wait to plan more for our trip up north this summer!

creative entertainment

2009-04-23T15:18:00.003-04:00

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)

museum playdate with the Holland gang

2009-04-16T09:42:00.003-04:00

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!

easter weekend

2009-04-12T21:36:00.007-04:00

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.

an afternoon with anna kate

2009-04-06T15:02:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-06T13:49:00.004-04:00

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!

daddy's birthday and a quick trip to FL

2009-04-02T21:51:00.007-04:00

On March 20th, we celebrated Chris' 28th birthday. It is hard to believe how close we are getting to the big 3-0! We had a great dinner with great friends at Bonefish, and yummy cake and ice cream back at our house! What a fun night! We (sadly) did not get a group shot of everyone, because our minds were on our friend Jessica, who was having strengthening contractions all night! Much to her mother's dismay, it was another week before Miss Molly was born, but it added a little excitement to the night! ("molly" post coming soon!)

The next Monday Anna Kate and I took a little road trip with Granna and Granddaddy to see my grandparents in Pensacola, FL. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip and the weather did not cooperate, but it was good to spend time with family none-the-less.

Anna Kate keeping herself entertained in the car with a new puzzle!

We only got a few hours one afternoon on the beach and the wind was blowing like crazy! Anna Kate was still not crazy about the sand. We made the best of our time there. It was therapeutic to have that white sand between my toes and watch the HUGE waves roll in. The wind and a cranky child made picture taking tough, but here are the few that we got.

watching the waves

AK's favorite thing about the day was feeding the seagulls. She emptied her snack bag by throwing all of her goodies to the birds. When all the food was gone, she begged with fer famous "MORE!"

Although not such a great day for anything else, it was a fabulous day for flying a kite!

Blowing bubbles on GrandMa-Ma and GrandPa-Pa's back porch.

My Granddaddy has quite the green thumb! I gave him this flower at Christmas. He grew it into a monster!

Fun times with the great-grandparents! AK loved their back porch and big backyard!

Great Granddaddy and Great Grandmother Strickland must have the soothing touch! They were so kind to watch her each morning we were there while I took a shower and got ready for the day. Both times I came back to a sleeping little girl! There are two reasons this took me totally by surprise. My baby girl gave up her morning naps at least two months ago, and she has never been one to easily fall asleep on people. It was very precious though, and the grandparents ate it up!

18 months!

2009-03-08T22:13:00.005-04:00

Anna Kate turned 18 months last week. She continues to grow and change everyday. The most noticeable change lately, has been her vocabulary! She surprises us with new found words every day. Her passions right now are still baby dolls and Elmo, and she loves playing outside now that the weather is getting pretty.

wordless wednesday

2009-02-18T22:33:00.003-05:00

valentine's weekend

2009-02-15T20:35:00.003-05:00

This weekend has been a whirlwind!
Friday night, Anna Kate spent her first night away from Mama. She went over to my parent's house and spent the night, while Chris and I had a much needed date night. We enjoyed a nice, quiet dinner at Tony's, picked up a few V-Day surprises for our sweet girl, and some very yummy ice cream. It was STRANGE not having Anna Kate here at night. I woke up panicked a few times. Not because I was worried about her -she was in great hands- more just because I've never spent a night away from her. AK did fabulous at her grandparents' house. She did not cry when mom put her to bed, but did let out a very sad "Mama?". While it broke my heat to hear it, I think moms are always a little glad to hear that their babies missed them.
Saturday, after picking AK up, we went shopping for birthday presents for her other set of grandparents, and to Wally World to pick up ingredients for the food I was making for the party. AK napped while Chris and I threw together soup, salad and dip. Then we were off to celebrate Chris' parents' and his grandmother's birthdays, that are all in February.
This afternoon, Chris and I took Anna Kate to the Creative Discovery museum. We recently joined the museum with some friends, and Chris had not had the chance to visit yet, so we took a quick trip. I love this place! Today was only AK's second time there, but she got excited when we got there. I am sure that we will defiantly enjoy our membership! After a nap, we went back to my parent's house for a wonderful steak dinner. Thanks Granna and Granddaddy!
Our Valentine's weekend was fun, but crazy. Anna Kate probably thought it was Christmas all over again. She got a bear and new clothes from Grandma-ma and Grandpa-pa, Elmo and Backyardigans dvds from great Grandma and Granddaddy, a new dress and new bows from Granddaddy and Granna, play food and another Elmo dvd from Granddad and Ya Ya, books from her great aunt Pam, a bubble gun and books in a surprise package from Isabelle, and a new cd, baby, and an Elmo balloon from Mommy and Daddy. It was actually ridiculous, but she got excited about every gift!

with her new baby and balloon!

we surprised daddy with her shirt on V-day

in her outfit from grandma-ma with her bear

at the museum playing in the water table

SPLASH!

one of her favorite things at the CDM... a Bella!

showing daddy the bees!

happy birthday little friend!

2009-02-10T09:59:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, Anna Kate attended the party of her very good buddy, Ada. Ada's mommy and daddy did such a wonderful job planning decorating for the party. Everything was so cute from the adorable (mommy made) cake, to the very beautiful and perfectly dressed birthday girl!

How cute is this cake?

After Ada dug in. :)

My sweet girl was under the weather with a sinus infection. We were so glad that her fever broke in time for her to go to the party, even though she stayed clung to mommy or daddy the whole time.

Reed was there!

Jackson, too!

Ada, the birthday girl!

Flashback... This was the day after Ada was born, and the first time the girls met. We've shared so many fun times since then and made so many memories!

Today is Ada's actual birthday, so happy #1 little friend! We are so thankful to have shared in your life since your mommy and daddy could not wait any longer to announce that you were coming, to your FIRST birthday! We love you little friend!

happy birthday granna

2009-02-05T11:40:00.003-05:00

We celebrated my mom's birthday with her on Sunday. The festivities started with brunch a Bluewater (a family favorite) where we enjoyed good food and great music. Anna Kate loved dancing to the jazz band! I was a beautiful warm day, so we walked to the park to play and let food settle. Mom's dessert request was Coldstone ice cream! Mmmmm.

Hope you had a happy day mom! You are a true blessing to our family and the role of "Granna" suits you so well!

random pics

2009-02-03T09:42:00.007-05:00

Here are some random pictures from the last month. These are some that I like, but did not make other posts!

my beautiful solemn girlshe loves splashing in the bathtub!

her first finger painting experience

more on her than the paper, but that is half the fun!

hanging out at Greenlife with Reed. they were eating snacks and watching Elmo on you tube!

watching the inaguration. i think she like it because of all the cheering

a picture she can use in a history project when she is in school, :o)

still obsessed with babies... this day she took three in the car. this was mild actually.

seesawing with buddies Ada and Reed at the creative discovery museum playgym

on granddad's lap with cousin Liam. he is 10 months younger, but almost as big as she is!

fun on the street (part two)

2009-01-19T12:49:00.010-05:00

Now, for part two of our "street" themed weekend.

About 12:30 Sunday afternoon a commercial for Sesame Street Live came on the tv and my baby girl started dancing, squealing and clapping. I knew that the show was coming to town, but had pretty much written it off for this year. Although Anna Kate loves the show and its characters, she is only 16 months old. We did not want to pay for the show not knowing if she would be antsy or crying ten minutes into it. Her reaction to the commercial, kinda made me second guess our decision. I got on my computer to find that the last show here in town was in about an hour and a half! I broached the subject of taking her with Chris, and he was reluctant. We came to the conclusion to go see if there happened to be any ticket scalpers that we could talk into a good price. No such luck. We were on the verge of giving up, when we passed the huge truck for all the show's equipment. On the side there were larger than life pictures of the whole Sesame Street gang... Anna Kate's face lit up when she saw them! After we past the truck, she got sad and proclaimed, "MaMa, Daddy, MORE!" Her sweet request and a pouty lip from me is all it took to convince Daddy. Five minutes later we were in line at the box office buying three tickets.
I am happy to report that it was well worth our money. Sweet little Anna Kate was mesmerized. She enjoyed it as much as any kid ever could. When the Elmo, Big Bird, and the rest of the gang came out dancing and singing the theme song, she first- squealed and clapped, second- looked at us like "Guys, are you seeing this?", then thirdly- danced like crazy. She was precious. I am so glad that we made the last minute decision to go!

starting to clap, as big bird came over the speakers to make the announcement that the show would begin in three minuteshere's the whole gang!seeing her "real, live" friends sing and dance for the first time

watching intently with "Mo" (Elmo)

A,B,C song! Loves it! What more can you ask for?

la, la, lala, la, la, lala, Elmo's World... her FAVORITE!

"Big"- another one of her favorites

still glowing after the show!

thanks mommy and daddy for such a fun day!