Anna is (almost) one!

I can't believe my baby will be one on Thursday. I've been quite the slacker on all of the one year milestones I'm supposed to be helping her achieve. I think they call this denial. But since it's happening whether I like it or not, I figured a celebration was in order.

So celebrate we did. With grandparents...



And presents...

Good friends and neighbors...



And lots of treats...



I looked around at the community God has surrounded us with in this season of life. You have all been a blessing to us, and we're so thankful that we have you to celebrate with.

Happy Birthday sweet Anna!

Trick-or-Treating fun

(Thanks to Joni for the photos. The camera picked the perfect time to die...which was when Holly threw it down the stairs...)

Conversation with a 3 year old

Holly (rocking her arms like a baby): Do you remember my baby...Bali? (she had to pause to come up with a name)

Me: No. Who's that?

Holly: My baby. She's lost. She's by herself.

Me: Oh no! Where is she?

Holly: At the top of a mountain. A volcano is coming. It's coming to get her.


And that was that. If anyone finds a baby at the top of a mountain, be sure to let Holly know.

Holly's 3 year/3 day birthday

It's been too long since my last post, but I haven't had the time (or motivation/inspiration) to update. But there's nothing like a 3 year old's birthday to motivate me to sit in front of my computer.

It started on Friday with chocolate chip pancakes.

These are not my actual pancakes, but a nice image I found on Google.

Next we went to Zoo Atlanta with Grammy and Anna. Fun times! Holly saw flamingos...

... and frightened the whole zoo when she posed as a lion.

But the highlight was definitely the petting zoo. Holly was chasing goats and sheep with no fear, and for a girl who likes her personal space (and frequently proclaims "I'm not giving hugs"), she sure liked hugging these woolly friends.


And then there were the gifts. So many gifts that we had to spread them out over a few days (and she was STILL overwhelmed).

Fun igloo tents and tunnels...


And a trunk packed with dress up clothes (where was this when I was a kid?).

She even got a housekeeping cart complete with mop, broom, toilet scrubber, and cleaning spray. And she was excited. She'll learn soon enough, but until then I'm fine to deceive her a little bit ("Holly! I don't know anything more fun than mopping the floors! What a lucky girl you are!").

Today we celebrated Holly with an ice cream social. Way too much sugar for 2 year olds - I mean 3 year olds! - but great fellowship with friends who love Holly well.



I'm a little worn out from this birthday that never ends, but I've found so much joy in thinking of things that will delight Holly and make her feel special. Thank you to all the friends and family who have made this birthday a great one.

East Tennessee Awesomeness

Matt and I decided to take advantage of the 3 day weekend and spend a couple of days in the Smoky Mountains. What could be better than a weekend of hiking, football, and all the Pigeon Forge tackiness your heart could desire?

Here is our cute cabin...


Game day munchies...



The 8 mile hike in the rain that kicked. my. butt...



Nice to have little reminders of our babies (who were living it up with Nana and Papa)...


OK, here is the actual sign...


And I can't leave out the beautiful sights of Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. Matt called it Myrtle Beach in the mountains...



My favorite part? You can get your picture made Wild West style AND GET MARRIED IN THE SAME PLACE! Brilliant!


Sorry for the blurry photos. Matt wasn't real excited about actually stopping at these establishments, so these were taken from a moving vehicle. IF you call going 5 mph all the way down the Pigeon Forge strip "moving."

The letter "H"

There are plenty of milestones in kids' lives that you learn about from books, doctors, and good old experience. Crawling, walking, talking, toilet training. But I've been observing some of the minor but more unique milestones in Holly that mark a definite transition from one stage of her life to the next.

Which brings me to... the letter "H". My little girl can write letters! She's been able to identify some letters for about a year, but has shown no interest in putting that to paper. It was just a few weeks ago that she drew her first intentional drawing - a smiley face. Then a few days ago she brings us her chalkboard and proudly displays her first written letter. No help, no coaching.

In the picture, her first "H" is on the right. When she realized how much praise and excitement that created, she went on to write another one on the left side and then a big "O" in the middle.

On a similar note, I was talking with her the other day about the letter "B" which she's learning in pre-school. I was giving some examples of words that start with a "B" and she said, "and bouncy balls!"

Little milestone perhaps, but big deal. Our days of spelling words (should we go to the p-o-o-l today?) are numbered.

My girls

These pictures were taken by our good friend, Alison Church. Thank you, Alison, for capturing these moments of my girls. And for bringing chocolate chip walnut cookies.