Monday, April 29, 2013

Happy 4th Birthday, Katie!!

How in the world is it possible that my little baby Katie is turning FOUR today!!?? Wow...it seems just like yesterday that they placed her in my arms for the very first time...
 God chose ME to be a momma to this teeny, precious baby.  What an absolute blessing.
 It has been so much fun watching her change and learn and grow.  She makes us laugh on a daily basis for sure!  And it is almost scary how smart she is.  Whew - she is going to continue to keep us on our toes!
 She is so loving and thoughtful and caring.  And she loves her family and friends!  She loves school.  And she loves pizza, mac and cheese, chicken and french fries, and fruit.  
 It has been amazing to watch her take on the role of big sister.  She is so sweet and helpful - and she loves Jack so much!
She loves to have fun - she is definitely an on the go kinda gal!
She loves princesses and Strawberry Shortcake and Peppa Pig and Doc McStuffins and Sophia.
 She had been asking for a Peppa Pig party at Monkey Joe's for at least 6 months - at least she is consistent and knows what she wants!  She had an absolute blast at her party yesterday!  I'll do a separate post on that - but she said her favorite part was playing with all of her friends at Monkey Joe's!
 And here she is this morning...she came in my room and asked, "Am I 4 today??" .... Yes, baby girl...you are 4!  And I cannot believe it.
Now we are off to go to dance class and have a special Katie-Mommy afternoon full of getting our nails done, getting ice cream, and maybe going to see the doggies and kitties at the animal shelter.  Then we will meet daddy at Chuck E Cheese for Katie's first time there!  I can't wait to see her face :)

Happy birthday, Sugar Bear.  I am so lucky to be your momma.  And I love you SO BIG!!!


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Saturday, April 27, 2013

An Auburn Tradition...

This past week was the end of an era in Auburn, and last weekend was the final celebration featuring the beloved and historical Toomers Oaks.  In Auburn, whenever there is a win, people would always go to Toomers Corner and roll the trees, and this has been a tradition for many, many years!  A few years ago, a crazy Alabama fan poisoned the trees, and it was finally decided that the trees were dying.  Last Saturday was the A Day Game and they had a big block party with a "final rolling."  I so wish we could have been there!  But it probably would have been a little much for our crazy kids - it appeared to be a great time though!  And while the tree is no longer there, I do think the Auburn spirit is stronger...and I am sure people will find something to throw some toilet paper on :)

Brad and I went to roll Toomers Corner when I was still in school down there!
Even though we couldn't be at the final rolling in person, the kids sported their Auburn colors and I put the AU flag out!
 Love this picture :) 
 He was so happy!  I think it is because he loves navy and orange together :)
And these are some pictures I found of the block party...look at all those people!!!
I love seeing all that toilet paper :)
 And a scene the evening after...I read somewhere that in some spots, the toilet paper was 2-3 feet deep and actually clogged the street cleaner!
And then early this past week, they cut the tree down.  Gosh - I know I had heard that tree had been there since the 1800's...I wonder what the exact age of the tree is!
WAR EAGLE!!!!



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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Good grief - it seems like forever since I have done a WILW! Well, I am back! I know, I know...you couldn't be more excited, right?? Well, just humor me! :) And feel free to leave me some comments...you know I love that!  Here's what I'm loving today!
I'm LOVING these e-cards...finding new funny ones makes me oh so happy.  And all of these couldn't hit closer to home!



I'm LOVING this picture idea!  Now, if I can just convince my grandmother and my mom to let me take their picture...we had a 4 generation picture taken about a year and a half ago, but I would absolutely LOVE to do this!  One can wish, right?? :)  Maybe I could convince them to go to Jack's 12 month pictures and figure out a way to do it! 
I'm LOVING Instagram!  While I still enjoy Facebook, I am getting tired of it (*gasp*...I know!)...but Instagram is fun!  I love all the neat filters and being able to blur part of the picture!  Do you love it as much as I do?  Follow me on there - acoulter11!  This might just give you a head start for a giveaway coming up VERY soon! 
I'm LOVING my fun, amazing family.  We were at the beach last week and had the best time!  I'm still going through pictures - but don't worry, a post or two is coming up on that!
What are YOU loving today?? Link up {here}!



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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Jack: 10 Months

Sleep
Jack is still a great sleeper (knock on wood)! He goes to bed at around 7:45 and will sleep a good 12 hours!  He is also not one that wakes up screaming - he will usually play around in his crib for a good 30 minutes or more.  Usually we have to get going for the day so he doesn't get to do that, but when he does, he loves it!  He goes down for two naps still - at 10:15 and 3:15 give or take.  And the morning nap is usually at least 2 hours and the afternoon nap tends to be a little shorter,
Eating
He's definitely a good eater!  He has 4 bottles a day and 3 meals a day.  He wakes up to an 8 ounce bottle, has 2 scoops of cereal and a thing of baby food (or 2 ice cube shaped baby foods that I've made) for breakfast, another bottle of 6-7 ounces before his first nap, a container of baby yogurt for lunch when he wakes up, another bottle of 6-7 ounces before his second nap, and then dinner (same as breakfast, just a different food) and a 7-8 ounce bottle at bedtime!  Whew!  And he seems to be doing better about it, but good grief he likes his hands all in the baby food, which also means it gets rubbed in his hair.  
Weight
Nothing official here - but good grief!  Some days it feels like a ton of bricks by the end of the day!
Length
Nothing official here!
Size Clothes
Jack is wearing size 12 month clothes very easily now!  And actually, some of the items that the sizing runs 6-12 months are starting to get a little snug!  The main problem?  His thunder thighs!  I tried a bathing suit that was also swim diaper on him that was size 12 months - I couldn't even get it over his thighs!  The size 18 month worked though (thank goodness)!
Size Diapers
Size 3 is working perfectly right now, though I wouldn't be surprised if we buy 4's next time we need some more!
Hair color
He is loving pulling at his hair now that he has some (maybe that means he won't pull mine as much)!  It seems to be light brown...and almost enough of it to need a little brush!
Eye color
I think those baby blues are going to get him into some trouble down the line...
Looking Like
He definitely still favors Brad a lot, and also looks like big sis quite a bit, but I really think he has developed his own look lately.  A few weeks ago, I looked at him and he just looked different.  Maybe he's losing that teeny baby look altogether now that he is a mature 10 month old :)
Nicknames
I can't think of any new ones this month!
Favorite toy
He is a wild man now - he wants at whatever he can get his little hands on...whether he is supposed to have it or not!  He loves the little piano toy he got for Christmas.  And he is loving playing with this musical drum toy too!  Of course he is also loving crumbs and anything he finds on the floor when he is exploring.  I have to remind Katie on a daily basis not to leave any of her little toys out in areas where Jack is ever on the floor!  Jack still loves anything that makes a dog squeaky toy noise, including Sophie the Giraffe!
Firsts
Jack got to celebrate his first Easter!  We still haven't put him in the nursery at church (trying to avoid germs when possible), but he did pretty good....he made it through about 2/3 of the service and then I had to take him out and let him play on the floor.
Milestones
We have a crawler! The week before Easter he really put it all together, and now he is very quick!  He crawls a ton, but I have noticed him getting him and walking with his booty in the air - almost like a gorilla or bear or something!  I wonder if that means he will be walking soon...he has yet to stand up independently, so he has a little time (or at least that is what I'm telling myself)!  He also pulls up on things now.  We had to move the crib down so he wouldn't try to climb out.  He hadn't figured it out yet, but I didn't want that to even be a thought that crossed his mind!  Anytime you say "yayyyy", Jack claps!  And he is definitely proud of himself every time he claps - he gets the biggest smile on his face!
Talking/Words/Sounds
It seems like he is trying to say more and more!  He still says "dada" and "mama"...now he waves and says "byebye"!  He also makes the "nana" noise, but it doesn't equate to anything yet.  Jack will make the "uh oh" sounds too...and he will also imitate a monkey noise if we make one. You can definitely tell that he is putting things together and figuring things out!
Anything else?
I know one thing we need to work on is the sippy cup...he only has 2 more months of bottles and formula (you're welcome, bank account), so we better get cracking on getting him more used to sippy cups!  We do give them to him at meals with water in them, but all he really does is chew on them.  Looks like it is time to get the softer (messier) ones out so he can really see that if he sucks, water comes out!  On a different note, the dude is a BIG flirt!  He tends to prefer blondes, but he has gotten the attention of some brunettes as well.  And they all oooh and aaah over him and his sweet grin and baby blues.  Whew!  I think this is just the beginning!  And now that we are about a week into being 10 months old, I can say he is definitely more of a wild man!  It's almost like he woke up as a 10 month old last week and decided he wanted to get into everything!  And, in true baby fashion, it is typically not his own toys that he is after!  And at restaurants he has become quite vocal and active - he likes to pull things off the table (menus, napkins, etc)!  Watch out world once this little man starts walking!



















And this is how most of the "10 month photo shoot" went:





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Monday, April 22, 2013

Cute Kids + Opryland Hotel

In the mornings when we are getting Katie ready for school, she always asks, "Are you going to take my picture this morning?"  Why, YES!  :) I always take advantage of her being willing to take a few pictures!
And here she is showing my her curtsy - she learned this on Sophia :)
And while she was at school, I decided to take a few pictures of Mr. Man...he is looking less baby-like and more toddler-like these days....unacceptable!
And almost two weeks ago, after we picked Katie up, we went on an adventure!  My mom and brother went to Opryland Hotel for fun, so we joined them to walk around and explore!  Katie loved sitting on the balcony and looking at all the waterfalls and plants!
She also loved throwing a coin in the water to make a wish :)
She was a little disappointed that we didn't get to ride on the boat in there, so she definitely wants to go back and ride the boat!  See that white pole in the background with a little blue mark on it?  It is very faint in the picture.  Well, that was the water mark from the floods in May, 2010.  Unbelievable.
And I took a picture of my brother before we left...he was having a "cute day" (it runs in the family, what can I say) wearing the shirt I got for him!  Love this picture!
Both kids were great and had a blast!

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