Hodges Hysteria

Mommy Funny

2012-02-07T21:40:00.001-06:00

This card at target made me laugh tonight!

Basketball Girls

2012-02-07T17:22:00.004-06:00

Two Saturday's ago we were fortnuate enough to be able to keep my friend Lauren's almost 2 year old while she and Josh were in the hospital with Piper's 7 week old baby brother Graham. Here are the girls getting a little exercise after dinner.

School pics

2012-01-25T21:06:00.001-06:00

So we haven't taken many pictures around here but I have some fun ones from school to share. They include Chef Mary Clark, Meg entertaining her friends and her first time with scissors, and both girls playing with shaving cream.

This past week...whiney post

2012-01-12T13:24:00.001-06:00

Since last Friday I have twisted my ankle (BAD) and both girls have been sick. Meg is finally better and we have been rather artsy today but Mary Clark is probably having her worst day so far.

Dress up time

2012-01-07T10:40:00.001-06:00

I am sure this is the only time the girls dress-up wardrobe will look like this. Anyone wanting to be a DR, Chef, bumblebee, Fancy Nancy, Minnie Mouse, Mermaid, or a number of princesses is welcome to come look for the appropriate attire anytime.

Holiday Rewind

2012-01-01T16:52:00.001-06:00

I found this really old picture of the girls playing last year right after Christmas. Man how they have changed.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:48:00.003-06:00

New Years Eve we rested up from our long night out at the Music City Bowl and on Boradway after the Dawgs big win. We hung out with my parents a bit, since they had been here to keep the girls the night before. Then we ordered take out from Buca di Beppa, roasted S'mores, and hung out around the fire pit and played a few games. It was so nice that it was unseasonably warm and we coud just hang out, visit, and listen to music. After we rung in the new year we came in side and played some games as well.

Ryan and Jenny's Visit

2012-01-01T15:41:00.004-06:00

Ryan came back to Nashville for a few days and his girlfriend Jenny flew down from Charlotte. This was our first time to meet her and we had a great visit. The girls warmed right up to her and she was great to read books/play or whatever they asked. We went to Opryland and even had a date night out to Virago and Ryan favorite Nashville spot, The Stage. The girls and Cole and Ryan also had some quality time "riding bikes" outside and playing with their new basketball goal from Ryan. Hopefully this spring we can get to Charlotte to see them.

Christmas at Mimi and Pop's

2012-01-01T15:18:00.005-06:00

On the 26th after we got up we headed to Tupelo to Cole's parents house. The drive was fine, the girls watched Meg's new Care Bear movie. We truly are so very blessed to have such good car riders. We stopped once at "Old MacDonald's" to go to the bathroom (Cole and I- Meg did not need to go-lol). When we got there, the girls were definitely ready to open presents. At this point they know the drill. They got lots of good stuff including an art easel and supplies and a basketball goal. We had a great time visiting and hanging out and really didn't do much more than play and eat.

Meg loves to read

Ryan and Meg

Ryan and MC

Cheese...this present is bigger than us

Cash Register

Vroom Vroom

Silly Meg

Mimi excited about her iPAD

silly girls

Mimi using her "upper body strength" to hold both girls

Sweet girls

2011-12-27T19:40:00.001-06:00

The girls have been playing together so well lately. It's so fun to see them interact and start to have conversations. Here they are having a Tea Party in Mimi's kitchen tonight. It was so sweet to watch.

Christmas Eve/Christmas Day

2011-12-25T22:31:00.002-06:00

At nap time on Christmas Eve we headed back to Franklin. We came home, unloaded the car and regrouped. Then we headed out for an early dinner at Outback and Christmas Eve Service at Rolling Hills. It was a really nice evening overall considering the girls napped in the car and all that had gone on that day. Then we came home to get cookies out for Santa, read "The Night Before Christmas" and send the girls off to bed. Mary Clark barely made it through the cookies, but Meg was wired. Luckily she settled down pretty quickly at bedtime.

I should have known something was up when they both slept until 8ish Christmas morning. We have all been battling a cold/sinus infection and it got the best of both girls, especially Meg today. They were excited to see their Santa gifts and enjoyed breakfast. Then we opened presents and snuggled up to watch a movie. Immediately after lunch both girls were ready for a nap (Meg even asked to go before we finished).

Then after nap, both girls were in feeling a little better. We baked baby Jesus's birthday cake and decorated it, then watched "A Christmas Story" and played while finishing up dinner. Then we ate, on my Christmas China, and followed dinner by singing "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus and eating cake. It was a very laid back and simple day but just perfect, especially considering the girls were not feeling well.

Tomorrow am, we head to Tupelo for more fun and festivities with Cole's family. Off to bed!

Over the river and thru the woods...

2011-12-25T21:34:00.003-06:00

back to my parents house we went. KK and I went on Thursday and Cole joined us on Friday. We baked cookies, made/decorated a gingerbread Christmas Tree, went to my Mom's family Christmas and even had a playdate with some friends at a Church gym (no pics, sorry).

We also carried out all of my family Christmas traditions on the
23rd /Christmas Eve morning. We all had a great time and the we all received some wonderful gifts.

Dad's Family Christmas

2011-12-25T20:59:00.004-06:00

The Saturday before Christmas we(us and KK) went home for the day to attend the Powell family Christmas at my Grandmother Jane's house that evening. When we got to mom and dad's, Lele was ready with a Gingerbread House for Meg to decorate. I am pretty sure Meg and Mary Clark both did more eating than decorating. As you can see as well from these photos my girls love for Lele and Pop Chuck to read to them. Especially since there is a whole new set of books there as well. I have no pictures of the girls and their 3rd cousins (all 8) that were at the party. But they range from 17 down to Mary Clark. Most are older other than sidekick/cousin growing up Raye's son Marshall who is in between my two girls in age.

The adorable cupcakes mom got from HaliHanigans for the party.

Cougar Den Christmas

2011-12-13T20:02:00.003-06:00

Tonight was the Cougar Den Christmas Party at school. The kids sang lots of festive songs in their circle time and there was a special appearance by Santa himself. Meg talked about going to a party with her school friends all afternoon. She is such a little social butterfly and loves to be around her friends. She loves the preschoolers, teenagers, and adults all the same. Meg was also not a shy performer. I loved the way they sang the same way they do at school in "circle time" Meg mainly sat alone but Mary Clark sat with some of her teenage friends. Mary Clark is not a big singer yet but she loves listening and dancing. I am so glad the ECEC Class and the Cougar Den staff planned this fun and festive evening. It is so fun to see all the little kids and teenagers interact. We are so very blessed to have this much attention focused on our kids in the Cougar Den.

Rolling Hills Christmas Party

2011-12-10T21:05:00.006-06:00

Tonight we had our Church's Christmas Party. It was a very elaborate affair. There was "snow" and hot chocolate served as we entered that Meg and Mary Clark loved. We could barely drag Meg away, she even "ice skated". They also had a lovely backdrop and a photographer there to take family photos, and they printed a copy for us on the spot for free. The food was delicious, there was a yummy adults buffet and a chicken fingers/macaroni kids buffet. There was wonderful music and all the kids ran and played afterwards.

A "picture" of our family photo

The girls had a wonderful time dancing. Mary Clark was knocked down once on accident by some older girls but she recovered like a champ.

Adventure Science Center

2011-12-10T20:29:00.010-06:00

Today we planned to go to Dickens Family Christmas in downtown Franklin, but it was so bitterly cold that we changed plans at the last minute and made our first visit to the Adventure Science Center. I had been wanting to go for awhile, but did not know if the girls were old enough etc. I worked there in the summer of 2000 and it has changed a lot since then, not that I remember that much about it from 11.5 years ago. The girls had a great time and we even came home with a membership. The teacher rate is $65 for a year which is a great deal. You also get discounts on special events etc that are there. I definitely see us going back on a cold "snow" day or it will be a great alternative when it is SO HOT in the summer. The downstairs has a huge train exhibit and a Nature area as well as a Super Cool interactive Snowman Building game. That is where we spent the majority of our time.

Train Exhibit, there were buttons you could push to make a kite fly, or a certain train move, it was REALLY cool.

Driving a car

Building a house

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

Looking a Butterflies

Make a snowman out of me!

Random Sunday Activites

2011-12-07T20:40:00.004-06:00

This past Sunday Mary Clark made a mess with her applesauce...

We had a little post Church-photo shoot

The Dress (and babies) of Christmas's past

2011-12-04T13:53:00.003-06:00

What a difference a year makes!

So proud when I bought it I took a picture!! It's a size 3 months and long sleeved, but since its a bishop both of my girls have worn it 2 Holiday seasons.

Christmas 2008 I think Meg was wearing it earlier this night, but I can find a picture NO where of her in the dress her first Christmas :( If anyone has one, please send it to me.

2009

2010

2011

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-01T19:30:00.005-06:00

Sunday after church we let the girls put up their Christmas tree. They wore their MSU dresses to church after the big Egg Bowl win, so when we came home after lunch I put them in their new fancy Christmas PJ's courtesy of Lele. Meg's tree was already up (she made us put it up Saturday night) but just needed to be decorated. Mary Clark's need to be opened from the box. The girls had a blast and Meg's tree didn't even last in her room through nap time. It has now returned but it is still very distracting and fun for her.

CHEESE!!

OINK OINK!

Decorating time

Proud Meg in front of her tree

Excited Mary Clark in front of her tree

During nap time Louie, the elf, showed up and even brought the girls Dora Christmas Sticker books. When Meg got up he was sitting on the banister upstairs and Meg yelled excitedly "mama, its an elf". We have had so much fun with him already. One morning he cut the girls sandwiches into candy canes and another day he had the video camera out to report video evidence back to Santa. We are going to have to get better at taking pictures of his tricks.

Holly Jolly Square

2011-12-01T19:12:00.006-06:00

Saturday we went out to the Opryland Hotel to see the Christmas lights and get into the Holiday Spirit. We wandered around the hotel and then we went to the "Holly Jolly Town Square". We got there early and it was not busy at all. But, when we were leaving the place was starting to get nuts. Unfortunately it was a little dark there and our pictures did not turn out all so good.

Posing in Santa's chair

Riding the Tea-Cups

Mailing letters to Santa

beep beep! Vroom Vroom

Eating cookies and hearing a story from Mrs. Claus

Riding the Train

Thankful

2011-12-01T18:38:00.005-06:00

All over November I tried to ask Meg every morning what she was thankful for...here are some of the main answers:

Meg is thankful for: Her "brothers" and "sisters" at school (aka her friends), Mary Clark, and TV

Mary Clark is thankful for Lovey, Papi (her pacifier), KK (she has gorwn very attached lately) and milk (or at least that is what I think she would say if she knew what I was asking)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. The girls and I were off all week and had lots of fun with family. We had Thanksgiving with Cole's parents and brother the Sunday after Meg's party. It was super yummy as always and then they were off to Asheville/Charlotte NC for the week following lunch on Sunday. Both the girls LOVE uncle Ryan and his iPad. He is so good with them too. He has come a long way since Meg was born and learned a lot about little babies and girls. They also enjoy spending time with Mimi and Pop. It's so nice the girls get to spend a lot of time with their grandparents even though they live off.

Then on Tuesday morning KK came over and us 4 girls headed to Jackson. We obviously went straight to the Big Red Star, aka Macy's to see Lele and shop for something (not sure which). Then we ate at "Chicken Lay" in the mall because the girls did not eat much breakfast amidst my packing/loading that am. They were starving. Then we went to see "Hannah" at USJ. We totally surprised her and came in her class and caused a total ruckus. Luckily it was the beginning of the period. We were supposed to meet up with some other special friends but none of that ever worked out. But, Cole and I did get to go Wednesday night and have some adult visiting time with our high school friend Wesley and his wife Molly.

Thanksgiving Day was Meg's actual birthday.

We also attempted some family/group photos that morning.

Then we went top Grandma Jane before Thanksgiving lunch with Mom's family. The girls watched the parade there and played with the blocks and puppy dog.

Then we headed to lunch at Aunt Mary's. This was a little hectic because Mary Clark was up super early, so she was restless and irritable by the time we were ready to eat. I did everything to get her to rest and resorted to driving her around in the car. But, luckily there was still plenty of yummy food there when I returned. Meg had a blast playing with her nativity sticker book with her "great" Aunt Lori. They probably spent almost an hour going through all the activities. Also, luckily Aunt Mary made a big production out of Meg's birthday which was good because the rest of us were about partied out. Then that night we all enjoyed coca cola cake and ice cream from Cracker Barrel for Meg's birthday treat before Cole left to head back home.

Meg's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-11-21T14:35:00.004-06:00

Saturday we had Meg's 3rd Birthday Party. It was definitely wild, but Meg will always remember it and how much fun she had. She was so excited to see so many of her friends all in one place. She was also very well behaved, polite, and patient, which is not always the case here lately. As always, she also got too much stuff: dress up clothes/accessories, movies, vtech tablet, paint table, some Christmas clothes/pjs, Pink sparkly Tom's (she is the first in our immediate family to own any), a shopping cart...the list goes on. We have to re-arrange the playroom ASAP. We entertained the kids with Fruit loop necklaces, decorating paper bags for their candy with stickers and Turkey's and a Pinata.

A special thanks to Haley Bragg Designs for the invitations and Lilli O Designs for Meg's pajamas.

Halloween

2011-11-21T14:15:00.002-06:00

On Halloween we made white chicken chili and had a bunch of friends over to eat and Trick-or-Treat in our neighborhood. It was a crowd of about 15 people including a grandmother, and grandmother in-law and 6 of kids under 3 (and one on the way). We had a lot of fun, and unfortunately I didn't even get a semi group shot of the kids. It is so hard to be in the middle of everything and get any pictures.

Treat...for Ashley

2011-10-30T20:48:00.006-05:00

Saturday morning Mary Clark took an unexpected morning nap, so it was the perfect time for Cole to purchase us a new camera. We have been eyeing the Canon Rebel for awhile, but we just had not taken the plunge. I really wanted to get acclimated to using it before the holidays and Meg's 3rd birthday. Here are a few of my new shots, I still have a LOT to learn. Meg has been increasingly uncooperative with photos (she is impossible to photograph no matter the camera) which is why there are way more of Mary Clark than her.

Trick and then Treat Saturday

2011-10-30T20:32:00.005-05:00

Saturday morning the girls had to get a flu shot (trick) and then after that we went to lunch and PumpkinFest in downtown Franklin(treat). The girls were champs with the shot and neither either made a whimper. Meg just wanted to know how many stickers she could have. They both just said a little "ouch" and moved on.

Then we braved the madness that was Pumpkinfest. Meg loved watching everyone and enjoyed seeing all the costumes. Mary Clark loved all the music, she LOVES to dance. The girls rode a pony (Meg hated it), colored, and drank fun monster drinks. Meg also feed the animals in the petting zoo and painted a pumpkin. The ladybug and bumblebee (and their parents) had a great time and the weather was beautiful.

Micah's 3rd Birthday

2011-10-23T17:18:00.004-05:00

This afternoon was Micah's 3rd birthday party at Storybook Playhouse in Spring Hill. It is an adorable little place and the kids had a great time. It was so nice to pretty much have the place to ourselves because it was Sunday afternoon. The girls had a great time and they were so well behaved for it to have been a little (Mary Clark) to no (Meg) nap day. Mary Clark loved to ride on this Thomas the train and she walked around all day with cars in her hand. She really enjoyed all the "boy" toys that she doesn't see at our house. Meg was definitely into the pretty things, and was obsessed with this fancy phone, the dollhouse, and all things girly.

Mary Clark really enjoyed her cupcake

We're going on a Spider Hunt

2011-10-23T17:09:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning Heather and I took Meg and Micah to The Factory for their Halloween Spider Hunt. Meg and Micah both had lots of questions before hand about the spiders. How big would they be, Would they be pretend or real, Would they be able to crawl...etc??? Meg is not very competitive and had no clue that most boys and girls found a lot more chocolate spiders than she did (8). But, she had fun and was really just concerned about when she could eat them. Also, sweet Micah found 2 large spiders and she shared one of those with Meg. On a side note, apparently in the past this has been so "competitive" they limited each child to one adult. Wow!

Cougar Den

2011-10-17T13:51:00.004-05:00

The Cougar Den is the incredible daycare at my school that both girls attend. I cannot imagine a more wonderful and loving place with such great people. The girls also get to participate in such neat activities since they are at a high school. For example the AP environmental science teacher had his classes write children's books and he and some of them read them to the kids. Also, part of the band came out to the playground and played a mini-concert for the them one morning. The Child Care Development classes bring in extra crafts and activities as well as give all the kids more attention than they would ever get elsewhere. Also, I get a picture/video very often of them doing something fun/cool texted to my phone which always brightens my day. We love you Lala, TT, Megann, Crystal, Christy, Myriam, Lisa, Katie, and Amanda! (I hope I didn't forget anyone) Here's an idea of what I mean below...

Who doesn't love a "Pepper Rally"

"What an awesome snack...Firetruck cookies

Cute little pumpkin

Sliding Fun

Story Time

Wacky Wednesday Activity

Picnic

Red, A, 1

Cozy Coupe

They are becoming friends...

2011-10-17T13:43:00.004-05:00

My two sweet girls are becoming friends...

They love to wrestle

They love to fight over the Cozy Coupe

They love to read books together

They love so share a snack

They love to do the "hot Dog" dance together

Meg's favorite part every morning is running to Mary Clark's room an opening the door to get her/wake her up and Mary Clark just squeals either "Meggie or Sissy"

Gentry's Farm

2011-10-17T13:26:00.006-05:00

Today four mama's and 7 children (plus one on the way) ventured for a morning playdate at Gentry's farm. We had a great time and stayed almost 3 hours. Meg was really the only child that misbehaved, and I am not really sure what is going on with her here lately (but that's for another day). We took a hayride around the property, went through a corn maze, saw a lot of livestock, and lots more. It was such a beautiful day and much warmer than most of us anticipated. It is so hard to get good pictures while juggling 2 kids!

Meg and Jonah

Playing in the log cabin

Want some tea?

Mary Clark and Piper

Meg on the hayride

Meg, Mia and Micah on the hayride

Me and Mary Clark

Unhappy faces

Cha-Ching

Meg and Micah

Meg and Piper playing in the corn

Mary Clark and Jonathan relaxing and eating veggie straws

Meg on the bridge

Meg and Micah

The whole crew (minus Jonathan)

2nd Annual Fall Zoo Trip

2011-10-17T13:10:00.005-05:00

Last Wednesday we spent the morning at the Zoo with Piper and Lauren Herring. We did the same thing last fall aroundt his time while I was on maternity leave. I think we might make it an annual event. Here are Meg and Piper last fall, my how they have grown up.

I cannot wait to add Baker to this picture next fall!

This is the first time that Mary Clark has been since she was been walking and she really got into seeing the animals. Her favorite thing to do is "roaarrr" like a lion, so she roared at lots of the animals there.

Meg loves the petting zoo, and was asking the zookeeper all sorts of questions. She also really enjoys the pink flamingos, feeding the lorakeets, and riding the carousel.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-09-18T20:28:00.003-05:00

We have been super busy, but I do not have much photo evidence of it. We have been to Tupelo to see Mimi and Pop and Keith Urban. We have had lots of fun football watching playdates with friends, and we had a great visit with the Knighton's.

We are also on the hunt for the perfect bumble bee costume for Meg and Lady bug costume for Mary Clark, both are Meg's choosing. These are in no certain order...sorry :(

Mary Clark is changing before my very eyes...

2011-09-18T20:08:00.004-05:00

Playing hard at Mimi and Pop's house

This is her favorite face when she is displeased with someone or something.

Mary Clark is over 13 months old and since her birthday she has changed so much. She is talking so much. She says new words all the time: Book, KK, hot, milk, sissy, and pup are a few of her most frequent words. She also started really walking right at 13 months and now she can definitely run and rarely crawls. She has abandoned the high chair for either the "kids table" or a booster seat and is doing very well. She actually sits and eats better than Meg most times. She loves using utensils and is quite good. She often prefers for us to put the food on her utensil and then she picks it up and puts it in her mouth. She loves all things "Meg" and has to be coloring, sliding, eating the same things.

Thanks Autumn!

2011-08-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

Autumn Crew took some pics of the girls this Saturday. She was trying to raise money for the mission trip she leaves on this week. Luckily she squeezed us in at the last minute.

We love the Zoo

2011-08-21T14:45:00.004-05:00

We love the Zoo, but this summer the pool kept winning out due to the heat. So last weekend when it was a little bit milder weather we decided to play hooky from church and take a trip to the Zoo. It was such a nice morning and we even got to eat at our favorite Mexican Restaurant "La Hacienda" afterwards.

Petting the goats

Hiding Lorikeets

Looking at the Flamingoes

Carousel

Chillin in the stroller

Meg's favorite place to ride

Snack time later that afternoon, after naps

First Day of School

2011-08-21T14:21:00.004-05:00

Thursday August 11, my first "official" day of school. We all had good days back.

Mary Clark has really quickly adapted to all of her older friends. She is even able to sit in a little chair at a a table and eat at school. I am really quite impressed. She is also napping like a champ on her cot. But, despite that she has not totally adjusted to all the exhaustion that comes along with school. In the afternoons I wonder where the "Happy Baby" I have been raising for the past year has gone. It probably also does not help that she is still constantly cutting teeth. Two currently, one of her bottom molars and then the last of her "bottom 4". She also has become a very big fan of the Uh-oh (more like uh-oooo).

Meg loves everything about school, her teachers, friends, and the learning. She is still amazing me daily with the stuff she knows and asks. She is currently obssessed with globes and wants want here. If anyone sees a reasonable one somewhere, let me know. She is also still doing great pottying. I was not sure how it would go at school, but she is great and always asks her teacher to go.

Mary Clark's Birthday Brunch

2011-08-06T19:46:00.002-05:00

Today we had Mary Clark's birthday brunch. We were very fortunate to have so many family and friends in attendance. We had some yummy food, and of course cake. We are so grateful our girls have so many special people in their lives. On another note, Mary Clark has been taking a few steps here and there the last few days. I have nothing documented yet, but it won't be long before she is really going places.

Happy 1st Birthday Mary Clark

2011-08-01T20:22:00.001-05:00

Mary Clark's first birthday is today. She had her checkup today. She is 28.75 inches tall (50th percentile) and 20.3 pounds (25th percentile). She is so much smaller than Meg. She is still wearing all Meg's clothes from her first summer, when she was (6-9 months, verses 9-12) We are having her birthday party this Saturday, her invite was designed by www.haleybragg.com

beach round 2

2011-07-20T13:19:00.005-05:00

Last Monday my friend Heather and I packed up 4 girls 7,2,2, and almost 1 and headed to the beach. Her grandparents live there and graciously welcomed us and all our wildness into their homes. Just a stop at a gas station would take us 30 minutes between all the seatbelts, carseats, diaper changes, pottying, etc. The trip was a lot of fun and very exhausting. When its 2 on 1 its really hard to take a lot of pictures. We ate well(thanks to Nana and Papa), played hard, completed quite a few crafts (thanks to Nana, shopped, and watched a lot of movies. Hopefully I will get a few of Heather's later to post as well.

4th of July

2011-07-07T20:45:00.003-05:00

Early on the morning of the 4th, Cole(30), Kara, (33ish) and I (34ish) ran the Firecracker 5K. We are all very proud of ourselves and impressed with our times. I also pushed the girls in a double running stroller I borrowed so that was an extra feat on my part. Then we went to cracker barrel for breakfast. After that we spent a lot of time lounging. Once the girls went down for naps it was time to get to grilling. Cole and I had invited the Williams' over for ribs. Cole has only cooked ribs with his dad, but we were excited for him to give it a try alone. The turned out great and we had delicious squash casserole, watermelon salad, and beans to accompany them. All the girls had a great time playing as well.

Mia's Birthday

2011-07-07T20:24:00.005-05:00

Sunday night we went to Mia's birthday party. One of my favorite parts of a Hayes birthday party is seeing the cake. Heathers mother does the BEST job with them. This year it was a barbie cake, I wish I had a better picture. It was adorable. There were kids running around everywhere and Meg surprisingly was a little overwhelemed. Also, we were still recovering from vacation and preparing to run the Firecracker 5K in the am, so we turned in early before the fireworks.

ahhh! Can she get any bigger?

2011-07-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

Of course after this trip Meg wanted a "big girl bed" of her own. Well, when we bought this crib for Mary Clark the people we bought it from had the toddler conversion piece. I had always intended on putting her in my bed from growing up. She cannot easily go there right now because Kara is living with us and its her bed. So tonight Cole converted her bed to the toddler bed and she hopped right up there and went to bed tonight.

11 Months

2011-07-02T20:50:00.003-05:00

Mary Clark turned 11 months on our trip. She was such a sweet girl the whole time. She could be covered in sand, splashed in the face with salt water, drug here and there and she just went with it. She has started a new thing of saying "tickle, tickle" and trying to tickle people. Meg is always tickling her and I think thats where she picked it up. It is SO incredibly cute when I can get her to do it.

Seagrove Beach

2011-07-02T20:22:00.006-05:00

Last week we enjoyed a trip to Seagrove Beach with Cole's family. We had an awesome 3story house named "Tupelo Honey" with its own private pool. The pool was actually a lot bigger than I imagined. We were a couple of blocks from the beach, but really not bad. It did take us a few days to figure out the best way to get everything down there and to realize what things could be left behind. We went to the beach 6 out of 7 mornings for at least 2 hours and the girls did great. They had so much fun in the water, playing in the sand, and of course having a snack or 2. We coined Meg's Teddy Grahams "Sandy Grahams" by the end of the week. The one day we didn't go to the beach, Cole and Ryan left out early to play golf. We had yucky weather at the house but, they did not. Then we met them for breakfast and spent the rest of the day at the pool. Meg had a couple of firsts on this trip, she slept in a big girls bed by herself and she swam/treaded water with her floaties on. She is so proud about both of these accomplishments. We also enjoyed a couple of dinners out as well as some yummy dinners in. Cole's parents and Ryan also kept the girls so we could go out to a nice dinner one night. We were so grateful for this treat. We really just played in the sun, relaxed, and made MANY trips to the local Publix. (Mainly poor Ron)

Meg all snuggled in the big girl bed the first night

Mary Clark in her tent (this ended up not being a necessity)

Cole's 3 favorite girls

The Set up

Meg and Mimi

Gotta love those squinty beach eyes

Meg being corrupted on youtube

Making sandcastle

Crushing a sandcastle

Meg, Mary Clark, Mimi and Pop

The Girls and Ryan

Meg buried in the sand...sisterly love

Snack Time

New tshirt

Bathing beauties

The whole groups at dinner Friday night

Our best attempt at a family pic

The girls with Mimi and Pop

Meg eating ice cream with Uncle Ryan (as always)

Happy Fathers Day

2011-07-02T20:16:00.003-05:00

Fathers Day weekend was a little scattered. The girls and I left on Friday for Jackson. I left them there with my parents and went to see my friends from college. This was Meg's first car ride since potty training and she did great. She wanted to wear panties so I put a pull-up over them to avoid a mess and she did great the whole way. She actually did great the whole weekend. Then on Saturday Cole was able to play golf and then he and Kara drove to Brownsville and I drove back from Memphis and we all met my parents and all of my mom's side of the family at my Uncle Max's house. We had a great time, visiting and eating with family and friends. Meg made it all weekend (actually until the following Tuesday) without an accident. She had been wanting a new princess crown, so I had bought her a new set of princess jewels to celebrate her recent successes. These are both phone pics, so they are not very good quality.

Potty Time and Pulling up

2011-06-16T21:08:00.004-05:00

We have recently had quite a a big development for both girls.

We have started potty training with Meg. We started on Sunday after church and I really do feel it is going well. She has had definitely had a few accidents, but she most of the time will finish in the potty. She gets 2 gummies for every successful venture. She is very proud of herself when she goes.

In other exciting news, Mary Clark is pulling up on everything in sight and it even moving her feet around a little. I love seeing her 4 teeth smile standing and sating at me when I go to get her out of her bed.

Outside fun!

2011-06-16T13:36:00.002-05:00

Lately, we have played outside a lot, mainly in the pool with friends. That would be why there are no updates, because I cannot take pictures while in the pool with 2 kids, and who wants a post without pictures? But, we have also played on our swingset and "Hannah" came to town for 2 nights and bought Meg some play dough and gave Meg her first math lesson.

10 months

2011-06-01T10:25:00.003-05:00

Mary Clark is 10 months old today. She is crawling everywhere, she started barely moving about two weeks ago and now there is not stopping her. She is pulling up on low things and any day now will be pulling up on whatever. She takes a short(sometimes non-existent) morning nap, and a long afternoon nap, at the same time as Meg. She talks up a storm, Mama, Dada, Baba, Hey. She will repeat sounds, sometimes as well. She shakes her head no, at some food now and she really just wants to eat whatever Meg and I are eating. She loves interacting with Meg and Hurley and laughs hysterically at them. She also, is having a bit of separation anxiety at times. Some days are worse than others. She takes 3 bottles a day and eats 3 meals and an afternoon snack. She is always content in the stroller, which is great since I am trying to stroll with them as soon as they get up every morning. She gives great hugs and kisses.

Lately

2011-06-01T09:19:00.008-05:00

We have been super busy here lately and I have not been the best at taking pictures. We have been to the zoo, conducted in home science experiments, taken Cole to the airport (Meg loved seeing the airplanes), I have wrapped up school, attended a ton of graduation parties (a few with the girls in tow), played at Harvey park, been swimming, and officially started summer (finally).

Grassmere Zoo

Volcano... We have a book form Chick fil a about the earth and it talks about volcanoes and then says, you can make one at home. So obviously Meg wanted to do that. She loved it and still talks about it often. Obviosuly she was sad when it was over and we had no more baking soda or vinegar in the house. I have since purchased reserved for all the volcanoes we will make in the future.

They really are sweet sisters, and Meg tries so hard(too hard sometimes)

1st time to an outdoor pool this summer

Friends, Meg and Micah walking into school one of the last days

Playing outside: We love swinging and blowing bubbles around here

I wish I had some pictures of Meg from the graduation parties. She went to two with me. She loves interacting with the teenagers and is not one bit intimidated by them. She had a great time going to all the parties. She keeps asking me when there is another party.

Mary Clark was 9 months old, a half a month ago

2011-05-16T19:26:00.003-05:00

At her 9 month appointment Mary Clark was 28.25 inches (75 percentile) and 18 pounds 11 oz (50th percentile). She is definitely a good bit smaller than Meg, but clearly thriving. It also works out nicely because Meg's clothes always fit her. At 9 months she was still sitting and trying to crawl/scoot a bit. Now she is definitely moving/scooting/rolling/to whatever she wants. She can get to sitting from laying and will sometimes pull up on low things. Its only a matter of days now before she is all over the house. She will still eat babyfood but prefers real food. We feed her a lot of real food, especially on the weekend and at night. I send chopped fruit to school and sometimes veggies/noodles. But, I am often lazy and opt for baby food. She is also down to 3 bottles a day. For her afternoon snack she eats yogurt and drinks water.

3,2,1,0 (9 months)

2011-05-16T19:22:00.003-05:00

We also got to have a short visit with the Pace family. Corinne had been at a dance recital and they stopped by on their way home. Our girls will all 4 be a year a part in school. Which will hopefully give MSU a run for its money one day! haha The two older girls have played together before and clearly remember each other. I cannot wait for our next visit because by then the two younger ones should be playing together as well. They ate cookies and played tea party on the blanket.

Cousins

2011-05-16T19:13:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went to Tupelo. Ryan flew in on Friday morning and we left mid-afternoon for Tupelo. First Cole and I (yes BOTH of us) atttended the Road Dawgs luncheon with Dan Mullen. It was super fun and I have 3 CHS kids that are going to MSU in the fall and I even had two of them that "skipped" school as well to attend with me. Then we raced home packed the car and then picked the girls up on our way out of town. We had a yummy visit including fried chicken and ribs. We also had a visit from Cole's uncle Bill and his wife Llewellyn, they live in Tallahasse, but had been in Memphis visiting their daughter Nicole, her husband Lance and son Ian. Ian is two months older than Meg and so they all came down to visit for the day. Meg and Ian had the best time playing. Clearly trying to get a picture of 2, two year olds is tricky.

Mothers Day Weekend

2011-05-16T19:00:00.003-05:00

Mothers Day weekend we went to Jackson. We had a great time with my family. We had a fish fry out at my Uncle Max's house on Saturday night and Meg has the best time playing with some older friends. It was so fun to see her play with my childhood friend Jordan's 3 girls. They are about 5-11. they were so sweet to Meg. Mary Clark was great and was just passed around all night. We also got to have a great visit with Grandma Jane. Also, for probably the first time ever we surprised my mom with a new TV for Mothers Day. She is so hard to0 buy for (sorry mom) and I think she really likes it. We took NO pictures that weekend other than a few on Sunday Morning. As you can see Meg was not being super cooperative.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-25T17:10:00.005-05:00

The girls had a blast investigating their Easter baskets. Mary Clark had just as much fun playing with her basket and all the grass as she did the toys. Meg loved her new Fancy Nancy doll and books. We have already read the books a million times. Mary Clark wore the same pj's Meg did her first Easter. It's pretty hard to believe she can at almost 9 months when Meg was not even 5 months yet her first Easter. Then we had a yummy breakfast and hustled things along to get ready for church.

After church we came home and a baked the corn casserole to take to the Watson's for Easter lunch. My friend Connie from school had graciously invited us to join her clan for lunch and yet another Egg hunt. It was great fun. Meg had a blast with all the other kids and Mary Clark ate up all kinds of food. She ate ham, green beans, corn casserole, and a few other yummies. She was a perfect angel and just sat and ate, waved at people, and enjoyed sitting in the grass playing with Meg's eggs and watching all the bubbles. The Easter Prize from Connie was a bubble wand for all the kids. So as you can imagine they were a big hit!

Pool, Glitter, and Playtime

2011-04-25T16:59:00.003-05:00

Saturday afternoon/evening after 2 girls took long naps we played outside and Meg enjoyed the little pool we filled up with water. Mary Clark preferred to supervise from the side. We also played on the swing set, as you can see Meg has a new way to torture Mary Clark while she is swinging. Meg also decorated Easter Eggs, but we did not go for the classic dyeing them. She loved markers, glitter, and stickers, so we just stuck with that. We also grilled out hamburgers and had a wonderful dinner out on the deck. It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Eggstravaganza

2011-04-25T16:50:00.003-05:00

This year we stayed here for Easter and had a great time just the 4 of us. Saturday morning we went to our church's "eggstravaganva" which included Egg hunts, face painting, Egg decorating, a family Easter devotional, and much more. Meg found the grand prize in the 2 and under hunt. It was a Godiva Chocolate Easter bunny and a $20 gift card to Target. Mary Clark was an absolute delight and just strolled around taking it all in. I cannot wait to see her out there in the middle of it next year.

Zoo with Pop Chuck

2011-04-22T14:10:00.003-05:00

This past Monday I had taken off work to see a friend that was supposed to be in town. There were some flight mishaps and she never made it. Lucky for us Pop Chuck, was able to drive up for the day and join us at the zoo. We had a great time.

Easter Bunny

2011-04-22T14:06:00.003-05:00

This morning the girls finally got to go see the Easter Bunny. Meg and Mary Clark did great.

Hippity Hop

2011-04-17T13:26:00.002-05:00

Today Meg was Hopping around the House in her Bunny ears she got as a prize yesterday. It was too funny. She also wanted Cole and I to hop with her, luckily no photo evidence of that!

Easter Egg Hunt at the Factory

2011-04-17T13:17:00.004-05:00

Saturday is was still rainy and cold but we went to the factory for the Little Cottage Easter Egg Hunt anyways. It was under a tent right outside the factory. I had been at The Factory helping decorate for prom since 7 and Cole and they girls stayed home ate breakfast, and got ready and I met them up there about 9:15. Lauren and Piper met us as well. Meg had a great time and Mary Clark also enjoyed banging the eggs together.

Pre-Hunt pictures

On the Hunt

Full Basket

Checking out the goodies!

Pinkerton Park Photos

2011-04-15T19:01:00.004-05:00

last Saturday Nathan Westerfield took pictures of Mary Clark at Pinkerton Park. They turned out great, he is super patient and so good with the girls. He did our fall pictures as well. The ones that were on the Christmas card. I am already excited for this fall so he can take pictures again of both girls. This will clearly be a lot more challenging as they will both be mobile! ha

Fancy Nancy!

2011-04-12T20:56:00.003-05:00

Meg is OBSESSED with Fancy Nancy, so when I read she would be at the local toy store this afternoon I was super excited to take her. It was a "Pajama Party" themed event. There was a pallet, pillows, storytime, and fingernail painting. Meg had talked about it all day but was surprisingly apprehensive when we first got there. But, by the end she warmed up and I think she had a great time.

AHHH! They are SO cute, but SO hard to photograph

2011-04-12T20:47:00.003-05:00

Sunday morning we were miraculously ready for church about 15 minutes early. So I ATTEMPTED to get a cute photo of the girls...

These are actually pretty comical now looking back at them.

Busy Saturday morning

2011-04-12T20:33:00.004-05:00

Saturday morning we got up and Cole made some yummy chocolate chip pancakes and then were off to Pinkerton Park to get Mary Clark's pictures made. The preview has not been posted yet, but I will update my blog when it is. Mary Clark could not have been happier and we were able to get photos in about 5 different locations. I really hope Nathan got some great shots. Meg and Cole had a great time playing there during the "photo shoot". Then we went home for about an hour and Cole mowed (it was supposed to t-storm that afternoon) and MC ate breakfast (we had oddly had to wake her up at 8:15 that am) and even squeezed in a short nap.

Then we headed to Spring Hill to Lillian's 3rd birthday at Harvey Park. The theme was "green", you will probably notice from the pictures. There was pizza, fruit, and yummy ice cream cone cupcakes. Also, there were Veggie Straws and Mary Clark ate them up. They were her lunch that day. We had a great time but by noon when we were playing at the playground it was HOT. Mary Clark only made it about 45 minutes out of the shade. We also came home with a sapling of a tree to plant. I cannot wait to pick a spot and plant it soon. It will be so fun for the girls to take care of it and watch it grow.

Mary Clark relaxing with her Veggie Straws

My best attempt at Meg and Lillian

Cute Cupcakes

Yummy Pizza

And a cupcake/Ice cream cone combo!

I can wave!

Mimi and Pop come to visit

2011-04-03T19:24:00.004-05:00

Cole's parents came this weekend and I did not get too many good pictures but we had a great time and all involved played hard and ate well as always. We are so glad they came and cannot wait to go to MS in mid-May to visit them.

Meg is a Diva in the making

2011-04-03T19:17:00.004-05:00

Friday at school the Cosmetology classes had Spa Day. The Cougar Den went up to enjoy some pampering. Meg had them jumping at her every move. They brushed her hair, painted her fingernails, and then she said "what about my toes, next". She came home with pink fingernails and orange toenails with green polka dots. It is quite a sight! Hopefully soon i can get some pictures from her teachers to share. But, this is all I have for now.

8 months

2011-04-03T19:03:00.005-05:00

Mary Clark was 8 months old on April Fools day! She has cut two teeth this past month as well as learned to wave hey/bye bye. She does not show too much sign of trying to crawl. But, that honestly does not make me sad at all. She has tried some table food including kiwi, grapes, and cheerios. But, she really is not always super interested in eating like Meg was. Meg always ate/drank everything she was given, Mary Clark does not quite often frequently. She loves swinging and being outside. We saw her very first couple of fussy spells when she was cutting those first two bottom teeth. Also, the last couple of days she has not been herself so I am not so sure what she has in store for us this week.

New look!

2011-03-30T09:10:00.004-05:00

Thanks to my dear friend Allison, my blog has had a much needed makeover! Thanks so much. Maybe this will make me want to blog more consistently.

Children's Museum

2011-03-23T10:49:00.006-05:00

Tuesday morning after breakfast we packed up all our stuff and headed to the Children's Museum. There was a whole special exhibit about the Wizard of Oz and I wish I had known so Meg could have watched it before hand. But, she still had a great time. She loved the art area, the ATM (she kept asking all day, where did my money go?), the earthquake simulator, and the grocery store the most. Mary Clark enjoyed playing with the toys in the toddler area and just getting out of the stroller and sitting on her blanket and watching everything. She is so easy going which is always helpful.

After the Children's museum we arrived at Corky's about 1:30 and ate lunch and then headed back home. We stopped in Jackson to feed Mary Clark and to pick up Hurley and then hit the road again. We had a great but,exhausting trip.

Monday evening

2011-03-23T10:42:00.004-05:00

Monday evening we went to the Peabody to see the ducks. We were running a little behind and there were 2 tour buses there when we arrived so the place was packed. Meg sat on Cole's shoulders and had a good view of all the action. But,I think she was actually not very impressed because it all happened so fast.

Then we ate dinner on the patio of Magestic Grille, it was delicious and MUCH better than the gross Zoo food we had at lunch. Cole and I definitely went all out. Then on the way home we stopped for yogurt. Meg sampled a few, they were having a big push for this blue yogurt, she got it everywhere. But, then she decided on strawberry with sprinkles (brown and rainbow), some fizzy things, and a "Christmas treat" better known as a rice krispy treat. Things were going great until Cole decided to cut up the krispy treat without Meg's approval and then the full day caught up with Meg fast, and she had a total melt down.

Memphis Zoo

2011-03-23T10:28:00.004-05:00

Monday morning after breakfast at the Embassy Suites we packed up and headed to the zoo. Meg was enthralled with the ducks and fish swimming through out the lobby, we probably lucky we got out of there when we did. I was aiming to be there at 9 when they opened but we were a little behind, so it was 9:15. But, when we first arrived it was not busy at all. It was such a beautiful day. We had the best time. Meg loved seeing all the animals, especially the pandas and giraffes riding the carousel, and the train. We left the zoo around 1 to head back to the hotel to rest...unfortunately that was unsuccessful. So after about an hour Cole and Meg ended up at the hotel pool and Mary Clark and I rested/cleaned up for the evening.

Playing at the Boren's house

2011-03-23T10:19:00.003-05:00

After checking into the hotel in Memphis we went to Hernando to see the Boren's and their new house. Laura is about to have baby Emma so soon and she looks great. But, we are so sad that she was not already here. Meg and Grace had a blast playing and Mary Clark slept a lot of the time we were there because she was so exhausted from all the visits earlier that day. Grace was so sweet to Mary Clark and wanted to hold and feed her, I hope she is that excited when Emma comes to home to her house.

Visits in West TN

2011-03-23T10:04:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we went to West TN and saw my family and visited with some friends.

We went to see the Richardson's and baby Liam, Meg and Sidney had fun playing together. Unfortunately no pictures of baby Liam :( Meg did enjoy wearing the butterfly wings.

We also visited with both of my Grandparents in Brownsville, Meg really enjoys the time with them and Mary Clark is so easy going that she has such a fun time wherever she is.

Cookout with the Hayes

2011-03-13T20:19:00.003-05:00

Saturday night we had a last minute cookout with the Hayes family. Poor Heather had been in Franklin ALL afternoon grading research papers and so Lance brought the girls up and we all played outside, grilled chicken, and ate s'mores. We finally were able to use the fire pit I got Cole for Christmas. The girls had a great time and all played well together. Meg had taken a long nap from our busy morning and so when they first got here she was a little irritable but once she woke up she was great. Meg was only interested in eating the chocolate and marshmallows separately. She did not need any "grandma" crackers, that is what she calls graham crackers.

Pretty Day at the Park

2011-03-13T20:12:00.004-05:00

This Saturday morning we got up and went to Noshville for breakfast (no Kenny Chesney sighting this time, unfortunately) and then headed to the park. It was not busy at all when we got there about 9:30, but we stayed until 12. Meg camped out in two places the swings and the sandbox. Mary Clark slept a lot of the time and then I really did not want to get her all sandy, so she did not have too much excitement so there are really no pictures of her. She did get to join in the fun of an outdoor picnic for lunch when we got home and a stroll.

Just keep swimming!

2011-03-13T19:57:00.002-05:00

Last weekend Cole and I had a Gala at the Embassy Suites. Cole was co-chair for the casino portion of the evening so he had to be there early to monitor set up and stay late during take down. So we decided to get ready and spend the night there to ease the back and forth and the fact that he had to be there super early and I had no need to be wandering around all dressed up at 3pm. Also, my parents were coming to keep the girls anyways so it was nice to have a morning to sleep in. So that afternoon we took the girls to the pool at the Embassy. I would say Mary Clark's first pool experience was a success. She loved it and was kicking all around in her float. Meg had a great time as well. We are going to try this again over my Spring break in about a week in Memphis, hopefully that pool venture is as successful as this one.

Cinderella

2011-02-28T20:25:00.003-06:00

Sunday I took Meg to see the play Cinderella at CHS. I was so nervous about how she would behave. She really was wonderful. She even sat in her own chair and was not very restless at all, considering her age. I definitely think we are ready for a movie. She is growing up so fast.

At the end they tried to get all the little girls pictures with Cinderella but Meg was a bit overwhelmed by all the older girls so this was all I got. Sorry for the other little girl who is scratching her booty, but its my only shot.

If you look closely here you can see Meg hugging Cinderella

Meg and Lillian (her friend who joined us with her mom at the play)

Mary Clark...oops is 7 months tomorrow

2011-02-28T20:14:00.005-06:00

At 6 months old Mary Clark was 27", 90th percentile, and 16 lbs 1 oz, 50th percentile. She also had an ear infection, the same one she had back in mid-January. I am pretty sure this is something we will struggle with and eventually have to get tubes. This is foreign to us, because Mary Clark has already had more ear infections than Meg. Mary Clark is playing so well with all of her and Meg's toys and sits up very solidly. She lights up whenever anyone is interacting with her and always babbles back. I cannot imagine that she will talk as much as Meg, but who knows. She is a more sporadic eater than Meg and often does not finish her bottle/food. But, she has liked everything we have given her. She has also been playing with the sippy cup, and is really catching on well. She has just recently become very needy in the afternoons. It is VERY hard for me to cook dinner. She is so content if you are just sitting beside her as she plays, but as soon as you get up to do something else she starts screaming her pretty little head off. The highchair right beside me in the kitchen works well for a bit. But, today I did find her chewing on a marker (luckily it was closed) that Meg thought she "needed". Yes, since it was entertaining her I even let her keep it. She is well on her way to the break through of her first tooth.

The things we do on "normal" days

2011-02-28T20:00:00.003-06:00

Chef Boy R Meg

Climbing

Swinging sisters

Mary Clark's first time in the swing

Dr. Mc Meggie

Meg Van Gough

More Tupelo Activities

2011-02-20T20:05:00.002-06:00

Saturday night the Knighton's came to see us and we had a great time playing outside, cooking out, and then ending the night inside. meg and Cohen both love books. This time Christy was the nice mama who was reading to them.

On Sunday morning we were supposed to go to Lily Pace's Christening brunch/birthday party. We did not make it there because after we got all dressed up and headed that way, we found out they had been sick the night before, and decided we did not need any more sickness here. So we luckily found Mimi and Pop at Cracker Barrel. Here are some pictures we took before we left. As you can see Meg was not really cooperating.

Build-A-Bear

2011-02-20T19:24:00.005-06:00

This weekend we went to Tupelo. Ashley left us at my parents' house on Friday night and headed to Starkville to the MSU Alumni Conference. We spent Friday night helping Mimi cook and riding our tricycle on Mimi and Pop's porch. On Saturday morning, my parents took us to the mall to play on the playground, ride the carousel, and they also had a special treat for Meg. My mother took Meg to Build-A-Bear and let her build her very first bear. I have a feeling that this is only the first trip to Build-A-Bear over the next couple of years. Meg originally picked out a pink bear, but before we stuffed it and gave it life, she changed her mind and got a brown one. While we were waiting to stuff the bear, Meg picked out a little bear for Mary Clark so that little sister would not be left out. Meg was a little afraid of the stuffing machine and needed a little help stepping on the peddle. I really think that her favorite part of the whole experience was picking out the heart and putting all of her love into the bear. Once the bear was built, Mimi told Meg to pick out one outfit for her new friend. Meg only wanted to pick out panties. We ended up getting a bedtime outfit for our bear. Before we left we made our birth certificate and named our bear 'Teddy'. When Ashley was asking Meg what her bear's name was later in the day, she told her it was 'Julie'. She just told me that her bear's name was 'Jule'. Clearly the girl needs more bears to go with all of her names.

Splish Splash, now we have 2 big girls taking a bath!

2011-02-12T20:11:00.002-06:00

Meg and Mary Clark started taking baths together right after she turned 6 months old. Meg tries to be a big helper and bathe and play with Mary Clark but her sweetness almost always ends in disaster. Luckily Mary Clark is quite a trooper. I am sure soon they will stay in there forever together.

The Zoo in January

2011-01-27T19:53:00.002-06:00

Who knew that after all the snow days we had in January it would be warm enough to go to the zoo the last Saturday. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful morning. Lots of the animals were very active with such pretty weather and the place was so empty we were never bombarded by anyone. On our way home we stopped and ate lunch at La Hacienda our favorite Mexican restaurant near our old house. It made for the perfect ending to the morning.

First time for Meg to be in with the birds

Snack time

Sweet Strolling girl

An Ostrich Egg

high in the sky

Snow Day Occupations

2011-01-26T17:33:00.005-06:00

Piano Girl

The Piano was (still is) one of Meg's favorite toys, this is one of the earlies shots I can find of her playing with it. I think she was a little over 5 months old. Probably 2 weeks or so younger than Mary Clark

hmmm... what should I dress up as?

Not so sure about this...

My sweet Mermaid

Dr. Mary Clark

Zoo keeper Mary Clark

Dancing Mermaid

Mommy Mermaid

Arts and Crafts on a snow day

2011-01-26T17:30:00.002-06:00

This morning Meg and I did some Valentines Day crafts while Mary Clark was napping. Meg loves that sort of thing and I rarely have the patience for it, but today was the day. She loved the markers, stickers, and glitter glue!!

Pajama Day

2011-01-26T17:29:00.002-06:00

Here we are before for Pajama Day at school...I really wish everyday was PJ day!

Sweet sisters

2011-01-26T17:20:00.003-06:00

Meg and Mary Clark interact more all the time. Recently Meg has invited Mary Clark to sit inside her tent with her and read books. She also will just sit down beside her and put her arm around her and love on her or to show her the "little people house" or how to play games on my phone. Anytime Mary Clark is upset if Meg goes to talk to her she instantly smiles! Too bad Meg often gets distracted and can not entertain her long enough for me to finish whatever I am doing and get to Mary Clark.

Mary Clark's new food developments

2011-01-26T17:15:00.002-06:00

Mary Clark has introduced a few vegetables to her diet at lunch. She really enjoys the carrots and sweet potatoes. She is a really good eater just like Meg is and I really hope it continues. Here she is eating carrots for the first time and also sitting in the highchair for the first time to eat (as opposed to the bumbo). She eats 4 bottles a day 6am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm and eats solids at all meals.

Chicken Lay

2011-01-26T17:11:00.002-06:00

We are huge fans of Chick fil a, or Chicken Lay as Meg calls it. There is one SO close to our house and it is busy but never as busy as all the others I have been to.
So last Tuesday night we went for kids night. Meg loved seeing the cow and talking about him but was not too sure about getting close so there are no pictures. But, she did love the music and even went up and made some requests as she danced. She also had her first ice cream cone and did a very good job with it considering. We will definitely go back for a little mid-week entertainment soon.

Merry Go Round

2011-01-26T16:43:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we went to the mall on Saturday to get out of the house for a little while and Meg had a good time riding the carousel (3x) and playing in the play area. As you can see Lovey enjoyed a ride as well. She was a little apprehensive at first but definitely enjoyed it. Mary Clark enjoyed a nice stroller ride around the mall.

Sweet girls playing

2011-01-12T20:53:00.002-06:00

It is so exciting to see them already starting to play together, I know it is only going to get more fun for the two of them over the next few years and I cannot wait to see them interact.

Messy girls

2011-01-12T20:50:00.002-06:00

This was after lunch one day...I literally had to take Meeg directly to the downstairs bathtub and strip her down inside it she was so disgusting. This was on the first snowday after she had eaten snowcream, chili, brownie mix and icing, and a cooked brownie all by noon! Oh yeah she did also ask for a banana, but there was no sign of that anywhere.

playing in the snow

2011-01-12T20:38:00.004-06:00

here goes nothing...

down the steps...

Mary Clark all bundled up

Snow Hurley

Swingset

Swinging in the snow

Meg's first snowman

Cole pulling Meg on the sled

Washing Dishes

2011-01-12T20:33:00.005-06:00

Meg had Christmas plates that were sent to her by Cole's Aunt Anna. Meg loved them and always was excited to eat off of them. So when I was in Target right at the new year I bought her some Valentines Plates. She insisted on washing them that night...the plates, herself, and the entire kitchen was soacked by the time she was finished.

Mary Clark turns 5 months (on 1-1-11)

2011-01-12T20:20:00.003-06:00

Mary Clark at 5months is in a great routine, takes two great naps a day and then needs a third rest/nap in the evening sometimes this happens in the bed, or the swing, and other times it does not happen so she must go to bed really early. She also has started wearing size 2 diapers and eating cereal well. It took her awhile to get the hang of it and now when she is hungry she really gets excited. In the past week and a half she has also been rolling over tummy to back and she is trying real hard to sit up. She can do it for a few seconds or sometimes even longer but definitely needs lots of support. She is also really getting into playing with her toys ever since Christmas. It is so much fun to see her laughing and smiling all the time. She really LOVES for Meg to come and talk to her and play with her. She just smiles/laughs uncontrollably at her.

Hodges Christmas

2010-12-27T22:09:00.004-06:00

Cole's parents and brother came in on Christmas night and stayed until Tuesday morning. We had a great time hanging out, going to Opryland, and doing a little shopping. I will add more details later.

Christmas Day at our house

2010-12-27T22:09:00.001-06:00

Will add captions and more later

SANTA TIME

2010-12-27T21:42:00.003-06:00

Once we got the girls in bed it was time to wrap last minute presents, get out "Santa's" gifts, assemble a doll house (COLE), and clean OUT the playroom (ME). I cleaned lots of stuff out and packed some stuff up for when Mary Clark gets bigger and but other things in a donate box to take to Goodwill this week.

The front of the dollhouse

The inside of the doll house

Mary Clark's jumparoo, books, an outfit, toy, and bow holder to share

Meg's dollhouse, bath crayons, outfit, movie, tea set, and book

Christmas Eve...back at home

2010-12-27T21:36:00.002-06:00

Following spending the afternoon with my mom's family we headed back to Franklin. I HATE that we had to miss the Candlelight service at BBC, but we had to get back and get Meg to bed so she was well rested for Christmas Day. Before bed though we did read "The Night Before Christmas", wrote Santa a note and set out his cookies and I attempted to get a picture of the girls.

Williams Christmas

2010-12-27T21:30:00.003-06:00

Christmas Eve we were with my Mom's family. Meg has a great time especially since even though we do not see them as often as we would like she remembers them the past few times and so she is mroe relaxed and will run around and play. I did not get too many pictures but the first one says it all.

Meg first opened the envelope and said "A christmas card", followed by "who's that?", and we answered Ben Franklin, but then she got it and said "Meg's Money"

The other pictures are my Grandparents, their 5 grandkids, and their 2 great-grandkids.