So Sorry for the Delay

I really do have a great excuse...I have been expanding my mind by reading! Now that I have gotten back into reading I feel like I can't stop! I have finally finished the Harry Potter Series for the second time and they were even better this time!!! Any free time I had while Emory was napping or after she went to bed, was spent reading. Even though I had read them once before I was still sucked into the book until it was finished. Still, I apologize for the delay in more posts. There are two new posts below and more coming over the next few days. I promise to be better! :)

My Girly Girl

Notice in this picture she also has on her bracelet!

So as much as she likes to be outside she also loves being a girl! This has come about more recently...she loves to wear bows, she use to pull them out the second i put it in now she will actually point to them and insist I put one in her hair, the other morning she was still in PJs and wanted a bow in her hair! She also has taken to carrying everything like a purse and I know this is going to sound "un-feminist" but she has taken to cleaning everything. The ladies at the daycare say she's like a mother hen. She follows the other little babies around and wipes off their hands and mouths and then pats them on the back to send them on their way. Anytime I am done cleaning off her hands and face after meal time, she insists that she have her own paper towel to finish everything off...she wipes her mouth, her hands, and then her tray on her high chair and then says "all done." I'm trying to teach her "all clean" but it's too cute nonetheless.

Our Outdoors Girl

Picnic in the front yard while daddy worked on the front flower bed (another post in itself)

Wishing she was back outside, but it had started raining...we had no choice!

I assure you that Emory got her love for the outdoors from her daddy. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy being outside, but in small doses. Emory on the other hand would be outside every second of every day if I let her. It's the first thing she wants to do in the morning and begs to go outside before bed even when it's pitch black and raining!

Since we are working on using our words right now this is how she lets you know she wants to go outside...She will walk up to you and either grunt (which is getting very old) or say "bup" (not sure where the "b" comes from but it works for her), we pick her up and then she proceeds to put her arms around your neck, at first one might think she is simply giving you a hug, however she will then start pulling on you and grunting once more until you stand up. Once you are in a standing position she points to the nearest door and says "out" or of course grunts. It makes us laugh every time...at least she's consistent!

15 Months

Today was Emory's 15 month check-up. She turned 15 months on Monday but I waited until today to post because I wanted to include her stats. So over the last month...

-22 lbs, 9ozs (50th percentile)
-30 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
-She's finally walking. Not her preferred method of transportation but at least I know she can do it.
-She is saying a few more things now. She's getting pretty good at repeating what you say. Chase is convinced I'm hearing things though. She has added "all done" (while signing it too), "gone, gone," and "thank you" (sort of, this is tough one but it does come out at two syllables), to her vocabulary.
-She still loves to read her books and can entertain herself for 30 minute stretches, which is SO nice for me if I need to cook dinner.
-She has discovered how to climb.
-She knows how to go down the stairs now as well as up. This morning though, she wanted to try doing it the way mommy and daddy do it...standing up and holding the rail...she got down three steps and decided she'd had enough and wanted to go back up.
-She has become even more independent and a little stubborn :) When you give her food now she wants the whole thing, not cut up in bites, she wants to do it herself. This is a good thing and a bad thing. It does take less time to prepare her food, but it also makes for a bigger mess. Especially since she also insists on using a utensil now too!

Happy 15 months Em! We love you!

Life Group

Leslie and Rachel with baby Vance.

Kim and Liz

Chase and Trey playing corn hole. (and no we have not become Tennessee fans since moving here. We borrowed the boards from a friend)

Chase and Jace.

I was a little worried that our toys would be to young, but they seemed to adapt just fine!

Brian had to try on Emory's sun glasses!

Leslie and Courtney talking on the phone.

Brian with Madison and Emory.

After living in Nashville for over two years and visiting countless churches, we finally found one. We have been attending The Bridge Fellowship since February and LOVE it. We first started going to the service and then decided to try out a life group. Our church doesn't have Sunday school, instead we have small groups that meet once a week during the "school year." Chase and I immediately fell in love with the life group we chose to attend. We agreed that they seemed "real" it wasn't just a face they put on. Anyway. Everyone was in agreement at the end of "term" to continue to meet over the summer. We wanted to be able to meet and hang out on a regular basis this summer. We have had a girls night and a guys night and met at another couple's house for dinner another time. Well, this week was our turn to host. We had BBQ for dinner that I cooked and everyone else brought sides. Chase borrowed corn hole from a friend of ours to give the guys something to do outside, and the girls pretty much stayed indoors, where it wasn't so hot, and talked. I'm exhausted from the preparing but it was worth every second. We had a great time and are looking forward to the next get together!

(new posts below)

Showering Baby Kolton

Baby Kolton is coming! Cheryl and Travis are expecting a baby boy around August 9th and we can't wait to welcome him! This past Sunday we helped host a couples baby shower for the them to finish up stocking the nursery. We all had a great time. There were other children there so Emory had company and while the girls sat around and talked, the boys played corn hole. I think Kolton has everything he needs now...we just need him to arrive! Congrats Cheryl and Travis! We can't wait to meet your sweet baby boy!

(new post below)

Bennett Turns 3!

Before the party on the back deck with her daddy!

Trying to learn how to blow bubbles. She gets the concept but hasn't quite got the technique.

Singing "Happy Birthday" to B

He also LOVES Ironman...all boy!!

Last weekend we packed up the car once more and headed to Jacksonville, AL. Our nephew Bennett was having his 3rd birthday party. I can't believe that he is 3 years old already! We had a great time and Bennett got a lot of cool toys. He has become obsessed with Transformers. Jamie and Forrest said they have watched the first Transformers movie about 10 times already! The thing is he knows how to take them apart but can't get them back to the car/truck/plane or whatever they are in disguise. Saturday night after the party we went over to their house to hang out. Long story short, after asking Chase to put Megatron back together, and Chase and someone else spending 30 to 45 minutes putting it back together, it took Bennett about 5 secs to destroy it again! Ugh! He loves it though and that's what counts! Happy Birthday B! We love you!

Look at Her Go!

There's no turning back now!! I showed her twice tonight how to stand back up when she fell, now she acts like she's been doing it forever! This is of course just one of many videos we were able to get tonight! She makes us laugh!


Unfortunately, she has my coordination and gracefulness!! She's just so much fun and so stinkin' cute!

It's About Darn Time!!!!

Every Monday night we meet at Cheryl and Travis' house to watch Weeds. And every Monday night we sit in the floor and try to get Emory to walk. She had no interest at the beginning of the night but right as we were about to leave, Tara had her in the floor playing with her and she decided to stand all by herself so we decided to try the walking thing again. It was slow going at first and she's still not too steady (she was blessed with my coordination) but at least I know she can do it now! So after 14.5 months...she walks!!! Finally! Of course she does it on a night that I didn't have my camera with me. Luckily, Aunt Cheryl had hers and we were able to get a few videos. There is a longer one but it was taking forever to download and I got tired of waiting.

Where Oh Where Have I Been?

I apologize for the blogging hiatus! Between working and traveling back and forth to Birmingham, I haven't had anytime to blog. Plus, as I have mentioned before, I have rediscovered the reading world, so I read now with any free time that I have. I am trying to read the Harry Potter series again before the movie comes out in a week and a half. I am on book 5 (which is 850+ pages) and I still have to read book 6 (also 750+ pages). I can do it...I think! Anyway. I have posted several new posts below. Enjoy!

Happy 4th of July

This was after she tried to sit in the baby pool. She was not happy about trying to breathe under water!

Garrett was a wild man in the pool. He was NOT happy when we left!

Emory was content sitting on the edge most of the time.

Trying to share cars that weren't even theirs!

Watching the fireworks. She would point to them and say "boom, boom." It was so cute. I'm just glad she wasn't scared of them.

I had to work on the fourth, so we actually celebrated on the 3rd with the Lees. Garrett is Emory's little boyfriend and they really had a great time together. They got better about sharing as the day wore on. We started out our day at the pool for lunch and play time for the babies. Then we headed back to Kate and Baxter's for nap time for the kids. It's amazing how much noise two one year old's can make! For dinner the boys grilled out hamburgers. Yumm! We had a great time and our looking forward to many more times together!

Saturday I had to work so Emory spent the day with her daddy and then met me after work to watch fireworks. We ended up watching them from the car while sitting in traffic on Broadway. It worked out really well since about 10 minutes into them, the bottom fell out of the sky!! Emory really enjoyed watching them and actually watched a good bit of the show!

Thank you to all the men and women who have served in the military! We can not thank you enough for the sacrifice you make!

No Denying

Even if I wanted to, I could never deny that she was mine! That is me in the picture at around one year old. It's scary how much she looks like me as a baby!

Our Time in the Ham

Emory reading all of Nita's medical papers.

Feeding Papa a handful of Goldfish. She is learning to share.

"No momma you can not have any Cheerios"

Very determined to get the eggs on the fork. She has become obsessed with utensils.

Drinking her smoothie after her first trip to the Galleria!

Too cute not to post.

Wednesday morning Emory and I headed to Libby's house for a playdate with James. They seemed to have a great time though they had a tough time sharing. This was the only picture we were able to get of them together. I wanted a picture of James standing next to Emory because he is a WHOLE head taller than her!

Thursday morning we were able to meet Payton and Mandy at Overton Park. Missy and Claire were driving by and saw us there and stopped to join us.

Last week, Emory and I were able to drive to Birmingham for a few days. My main objective was to see Jennie and meet baby Scarlett (which we were able to do on Thursday). We had a great trip but missed Chase and were ready to be home by Thursday. Emory kept going into various rooms of the house saying "dada?" She is still a mommy's girl but she definitely LOVES her dada!