Ribbons and Bows...and little boy stuff too!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-30T13:50:00.014-05:00

What a fabulous Christmas!

We started the holiday season in Pennsylvania with a couple of fun presents from Mommy and Daddy!

Will absolutely loves his truck and you can often find him just sitting in it to read a book or watch a TV show, and Allie just can’t stop jumping on her new trampoline!

Mommy and Daddy got a few great presents of our own, and yes, we definitely had some help opening them!

A couple of days later, we made our way down to Atlanta where the real celebrations began!

The kids got to open some great presents from Granny, Honey, Chris, Grandma, and PawPaw, and then it was time to get ready for Santa!

We baked cookies for Santa and put out lots of yummy food for the reindeer, and then it was off to bed because we knew it would be an early morning!

Santa did a great job bringing so many fun things for the kids! (I think he brought everything on Allie’s list except for a hoola hoop and a red yo-yo with a yellow star on it!).

After a full day of playing with all the loot for Santa, we packed up and headed to Auburn for another round of Christmas excitement….

Enjoy this video highlighting all of our fun!

We had an amazing holiday season this year….we certainly have two very lucky babies…..

Love to all,

Nikki

I couldn't resist....

2012-01-30T13:43:00.003-05:00

....passing on these adorable pictures.

Will getting ready for his very first pajama day at school! It was quite cold so he had to put on some super cute long johns under his "Cars" PJs....

Allie getting ready for a cold winter! She was practicing putting on her all her winter gear when she had to take an emergency potty break...

Nikki

Baby Ballet...I finally got to watch!

2011-11-16T06:50:00.005-05:00

Each week, the doors to the ballet studio are closed during class....as you can imagine, this is the only way that the instructor can keep five 3-4 year old girls focused for 45 minutes! After a couple of months of ballet, Ms. Christine opened the studio doors this week so that the Mommys could take pictures, videos, and see the progress that our girls have made over the past few months. We finally got a peak behind those big wooden doors....and this is what we saw.

Posing for a few pre-class photos....

Don't forget to stretch!

Beautiful fifth position, Allie!

This is quite a log video (just under 18 minutes), and only the grandparents are required to watch it all! But hey....I think I did pretty good cutting 45 minutes of video down to under 18 minutes! It was all just too cute....

Not sure when we'll get to watch again, but Allie asked me this morning "When do the Daddys get to watch ballet?", so next time the doors are open, we'll have to get David there too....

Love to all,

Nikki

Halloween!

2011-11-09T09:21:00.011-05:00

We had a fantastic 3 1/2 week trip to Atlanta in October....which included Halloween!

We had a great time celebrating the fall during our trip. We went to the Halloween carnival at our neighborhood elementary school....the kids couldn't get enough of the bouncy house!

We also had a fantastic morning at our favorite Pumpkin Patch!

Enjoy this fun video of our time at the pumpkin patch!

And finally, we topped it all off with a great night of trick-or-treating in our lovely neighborhood. Our little dragon and superhero had a fantastic time!

Here's a great video summarizing our trick-or-treating experience...

I even let them enjoy some of their treats! :-)

Nikki

Lots of fun stuff!

2011-10-24T15:07:00.007-04:00

As usual, I feel like I can't seem to keep this blog updated with all that is going on in our busy world. So, in an effort to catch everyone up to speed quickly....here's a summary of all the fun we've been having the last few weeks!

Helping Mommy with laundry is always fun.....

And starting Baby Ballet is fun! Allie LOVES ballet....maybe even more than gymnastics!

Getting a big girl bicycle is especially FUN!

Going to Disney Princesses on Ice with Mommy is also tons of fun....

As you can see, we are busy! But, it's all FUN!

Love,

Nikki

Summer 2011

2011-09-11T11:59:00.003-04:00

Here's just a taste of what's been going on at our house this summer....

We've eaten LOTS of corn on the cob!

We've gotten rid of the last high chair and moved on to the big boy booster seat!

And, we now have dualing froggy potties! Will's already had quite a bit of success on the potty....and when he is successful, he runs around the house for the next 1o minutes yelling "Yea tee tee!"!

So much fun....

Nikki

Our little man is 2!!!!

2011-09-07T17:36:00.014-04:00

Wow....time really does fly, doesn't it???!!!

We had a great time celebrating Will's second birthday! On his actual birthday, Thursday, we met up with some of our Lewisburg friends at an ice cream shop/playground called "The Purple Cow". If any of you have seen Will recently, you know how much he loves ice cream and playgrounds! It was a great afternoon....

After ice cream and playing, we came back to the house where Allie helped Will open a few presents. Allie is great at opening presents!!!

A couple of days after Will's birthday, we headed down to Atlanta with plans to have a big Blues Clues birthday bash with friends and family!

We managed to squeeze in a little face painting for Allie....

And, of course, we found some time for a little swimming with Daddy...

....and a Blues Clues cake!

Happy Birthday to Will!

Boy, that cake was good!

Then, time for presents!!! (Thank goodness Allie had a few of her own to open too!)

And Will even found time to check out a sweet little girl (who I sure will one day be his first love!), Ms. Vivienne! She didn't want ANY of his kisses!

Enjoy this video of our big day!

Happy Birthday to our little man! I can't believe you're already two!

Love to all,

Nikki

Cruisin' in the Jeep!

2011-08-06T11:49:00.002-04:00

After months of waiting patiently, the kids finally got to drive the JEEP that Granny and Honey got them for Christmas! They had a blast!

Looks like we'll be driving the rest of the summer!

Nikki

Summertime fun!

2011-07-25T15:57:00.003-04:00

These babies sure do love the POOL!

And check out this video of our little dare devil!

Hope you are all having a great summer too!

Nikki

Allie's eventful summer!

2011-07-18T17:21:00.008-04:00

A week at the beach with Granny and Honey!

A new big girl toddler bed!

(she did let her little brother get in for a few minutes....)

And, she's just started "big girl" gymnastics...no more help from Mommy during class!

(working on that cartwheel!)

(beautiful dismount from the beam!)

And just to think....it's only mid-July!

Nikki

Our life in pictures....June 2011

2011-07-07T20:22:00.007-04:00

Bed head!

Bubble head!

At the top of the BIG slide at the park! No fear here....

Eating....lots of smiles during this favorite activity!

Yep....he's already found his love for driving a John Deer.

Gettin' clean! Another favorite pastime....

New Spiderman sunglasses!

And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you....those are Allie's pink Tinkerbell sunglasses :-)

Hope you are all having a great summer....

Nikki

Our fancy new playground....

2011-06-07T20:32:00.003-04:00

For those of you that haven't had a chance to see it yet....here it is! The finished product.....a gigantic playset with 4 inches of fancy rubber mulch and rubber borders! It's a beauty, isn't it???!!!

They both love it, of course. And even our little man has mastered climbing the ladder and sliding down all on his own!

Who said they were spoiled????? :-)

Nikki

Allie's 3rd birthday!

2011-06-03T13:51:00.012-04:00

Can you believe our big girl is already 3???!!! Allie had a great birthday this year....and it wasn't just a day, she celebrated for almost a week!

It all started with a great day at school on her actual birthday...and of course, she had a very special princess birthday shirt to wear!

After nap, Allie got to open some presents that she received in the mail from Grandma/PawPaw, Granny/Honey/Chris, and Auntie; and she got to open a few special birthday cards too!

Will even got a present too....and she just had to help him open it!

After opening a few presents, we took Allie to a local, old-fashioned ice cream shop for some ice cream with some of her new Pennsylvania friends. She really liked the strawberry ice cream!

Will liked it too!

Saturday was the day of the big DORA birthday party! We had been having really cold, rainy weather the weeks prior to the birthday party, so we were worried about having a party in the park, but we were lucky enough to end up with an absolutely beautiful day for a celebration with all of Allie's friends!

Make a wish!

And, in case you were wondering, Will enjoyed some cake too!

After a great party, we came home for a long nap, and then got busy opening MORE presents!

It was truly a FANTASTIC 3rd birthday.....

Nikki

First Bath Together!

2011-05-23T16:27:00.003-04:00

Well, we finally decided to try putting the kids in the bath together....it could have been worse, I suppose!

Now, if we could just get Will to stop splashing us, it would be great!

Nikki

Allie's first homework assignment!

2011-05-19T13:49:00.003-04:00

This was several weeks ago, but I couldn't resist showing you all how great Allie did on her very first homework assignment! This was for her preschool gymnastics class....

I think this is a sign of good things to come!

And, by the way, Allie has really enjoyed her gymnastics class over the last few months (I haven't been able to take any pictures because she is currently in a "Mommy-and-Me" class which means that I have to assist her during the class). She's really a great little gymnast, and next month, she'll be moving up to the "big kids" 3-6 year old class...no more "Mommy-and-Me"!

Way to go, Allie!

Easter in Atlanta, 2011

2011-05-19T06:49:00.019-04:00

We were fortunate enough this year to spend Easter in Atlanta. We had a super busy weekend, but we had a great time!

We decorated Easter cookies!

(and, of course, Will didn't want to bother with decorating his....he just wanted to EAT!)

The kids colored eggs with Granny and Honey!

(and no....Will didn't get to play with any of the real eggs....you can see why!)

We went to Easter brunch at Druid Hills with Grandma and PawPaw....

....where we got to see the Easter Bunny!

And then, after naps, we got to open our Easter baskets......

....and hunt eggs!

(Cheers Daddy!)

It was really great to be back home.....

Nikki

Bubbles!

2011-04-04T16:12:00.004-04:00

We finally hit 50 degrees yesterday! We took the opportunity to get the babes outside to blow some bubbles in our newly fenced in yard.....

Come on Spring....we're ready!

Nikki

Just hangin' out....

2011-04-04T16:04:00.004-04:00

Here they are....just hangin' out!

They're growing up!

Nikki

Father-Daughter dance, 2011

2011-03-10T15:42:00.005-05:00

We were fortunate enough this year to be able to plan a weekend in Atlanta that coincided with the annual Father-Daughter dance at Druid Hills Golf Club. You might remember that David took Allie to this dance the first time in February of 2009 when she was just 9 months old.

Last year, David was out of town the weekend of the dance, so we asked my Dad (Allie's "Pops") to drive over to Atlanta and take Allie to the Father-Daughter dance. Of course, he was more than happy to fill David's shoes for the evening. Little did we know that this was the last evening that Dad would be feeling well, and that he would pass away 8 weeks later. We will cherish this night and these photos forever....

This year, Allie and David got to reinstitute what I hope will become an annual event for our family.

Allie got dressed in her BEAUTIFUL princess dress.....and off they went!

In all the chaos of the evening, David even managed to catch a photo of Allie at the dance!

She had a great time, and she even talked her Daddy into getting her a sucker at the dance (the first sucker she has ever had!). Can't wait til next year!

Nikki

Kite flying!

2011-03-10T15:34:00.004-05:00

After 7 weeks with snow on the ground, we finally had two "warm" (ie in the 40's) days a couple of weeks ago, which meant that the snow melted and the kids were able to get outside a little bit. Fortunately, we had a kite on hand for a great windy day and Allie was able to have her first kite flying experience!

She loved it!

Nikki

Allie's first trip to Disney World!

2011-03-08T15:43:00.022-05:00

So yet again, I'm WAY late with this post, but at this point I'm gonna quite apologizing for always being late and just tell you guys that you are gonna have to get used to it....looks like this is the way it's gonna be!

Now, on to the good stuff....

David and I decide last fall that Allie was old enough to make her first trip to Disney World. We decided on February with the hope of some comfortable weather and reduced crowds. So, with lots of planning, we were ready to head to the airport on Saturday, February 12, 2011! Now, of course you would know that Allie was running a fever for 3 days prior to our trip, and the morning of our flight she woke up crying saying "Mommy, my ear hurts!". Fortunately, that was short lived and after she was up and about for a few minutes she was excited to go to "Mickey Mouse's House".

Allie was a champion on the plane of course, and she was really happy to land in Orlando.

By the time we got into the car to head to our hotel (Animal Kingdom Lodge), it had already been quite a long day for this little girl, and as you can see, it took her no time to fall asleep and squeeze in a much needed nap.

When we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted with the pleasant surprise of being upgraded to a king suite. Not sure how/why this happened, but we gladly took it! We had a great room with a king bedroom, a separate large bathroom, and living room and a full kitchen! The view from our room wasn't so bad either! (can you see the giraffe, antelope, etc?!)

We took a quick walk around the hotel property with our little movie star...

....and of course, she insisted on going swimming!

After a quick dip, we ran back to the room to get ready for our dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.

Allie did great sleeping in her blow-up toddler bed right beside the big bed. She slept great, but we had to get up and at 'em early the next morning so that we could go to breakfast with Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy! Allie wasn't so sure about the pics with Daisy and Goofy, but Daddy was happy to get in the picture with that beautiful lady duck!

After a great breakfast (complete with Mickey Mouse waffles!), we began our adventures in the Animal Kingdom Park....

We went on an amazing safari and saw some great animals with views that you can never capture in a zoo!

We ran into Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki along the way....

We rode on a triceratops!

And then made our way back to the hotel for a much needed nap (can you believe this little girl took a nap both days!!!)....

After a little rest, we rode the bus over to Downtown Disney where we managed to take a spin on the carousel...

...and found some time for chocolate ice cream!

The next day, which happened to be Valentine's Day, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom!

Allie definitely had the best Mickey shirt to wear in the park on Valentine's Day!

The look on Allie's face the first time she saw Cinderella's castle was absolutely priceless!

Main Street, USA! And, for those of you that have asked Allie recently, you might remember that she wants to be a firefighter when she grows up!

We found a Tigger and Pooh!

She was mostly very patient while waiting in line....

....and the tea cups proved to be worth the wait!

And, of course, we found another carousel....this time Daddy got to ride too!

Allie was mesmerized by "It's a Small World"....I'm pretty sure it was her favorite ride of the day.

After another nap, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for a few more rides....and a little more waiting in line.

The Magic Carpet ride was great!

....including the spitting camel!

Allie was super excited about the Electrical Parade that night....and she was also excited about her second night of chocolate ice cream!

We topped our Disney trip off with a bubble bath in a giant bathtub! What could be better than that?

Can't wait to go back next year when we can take our Little Man with us!!!

Nikki

These are a few of our favorite things.....

2011-01-26T13:52:00.008-05:00

Hiding in the cabinets in the kitchen! Peek-A-Boo!

Eating grapes! (And no, I didn't really let her eat the WHOLE BOWL!)

Playing games on the iPAD while using the froggy potty...

Helping Mommy cook!

Watching Calliou on the iPAD....while driving!

Sitting in pottery in front of the fireplace!

Wearing Daddy's snow boots....

Practicing sitting on the froggy potty...

And posing for Mommy's camera!

Love to you all,

Nikki

Videos from Christmas 2010

2011-01-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

We really tried hard to capture all of our great Christmas moments with photos as well as videos. Enjoy these videos from our recent Christmas adventures!

Opening the giant present from Granny....

Hopscotch! For Baby Will too!

Look what Santa brought! Christmas Day, 2010

A quick video of Christmas in Auburn....

Nikki

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T10:36:00.017-05:00

What a busy and exciting Christmas we had this year!

With Allie being 2.5 years, she really began to understand Christmas this year…..the Elf on the Shelf (Francis is his name), Santa, Rudolph, the North Pole, etc. We had a great month leading up to the big celebrations with family. And for Will, well, he mostly just enjoyed the paper and bows!

It all began at our “Pennsylvania house”, as Allie calls it. We decorated both our “Atlanta house” and “Pennsylvania house” so that we could enjoy the season in both locations.

We celebrated at our Pennsylvania house a few days early, as we were scheduled to fly to Atlanta on 12/22. The Sunday morning before Christmas we enjoyed a pancake breakfast, and then got busy opening presents! Granny sent up a HUGE present for Allie and Will to share, and boy did they enjoy their new motorized jeep!

David and I also gave Allie and Will a few presents from us, and exchanged some great presents of our own. Allie seemed to really enjoy her new baby doll, complete with playpen, high chair and stroller, while Will got his first bike! We’ve even been out for our first bike ride on it already!

It was soon time to head south to Atlanta to celebrate with our families. We were lucky enough this year to have all of David’s brothers and some of his other relatives together not only to celebrate Christmas, but also to celebrate Grandma and PaPa’s 60^th wedding anniversary!

Uncle Steve even managed to put on a Santa hat and play Santa for Allie and Will….fortunately for us, we were able to catch this quick photo of Will on “Santa’s” lap. Turns out that this is the only photos I have of either child with Santa this year, as my valiant effort a few weeks earlier to get them all dressed up in their cute Christmas clothes that I purchased just for photos with Santa and lugging them to the mall to sit on Santa’s lap was a complete failure! Will screamed from across the room when he saw the big bearded man in the red suit and Allie wouldn’t get closer than three feet from him! Oh well, so much for valiant efforts….guess we’ll just try again next year.

After a Christmas Eve lunch to celebrate the big wedding anniversary, we came back to the house to open presents with Granny, Honey, and Chris, and prepare for Santa’s visit. Allie loved all her presents from Granny, Honey, and Chris, but was especially fond of her pillow pet and hopscotch mat. Will, once again, was just happy to play with the paper and bows, but he did make an attempt at playing hopscotch with his big sister, and he finally got the hang of opening the presents.

We got the babies all decked out in their Christmas PJs and got busy baking cookies for Santa. We put out Santa’s cookies and milk and a banana and pear for the reindeer, and off to bed they went.

Christmas morning after a quick breakfast for Baby Will, we woke Allie up to see what all Santa had delivered.

And of course, the babies were thrilled with all that Santa brought. Allie was really happy about her vacuum cleaner, and she still tells everyone that it’s her favorite toy that Santa brought to her…..seems that it’s Will’s favorite too as he plays with it everyday! And of course she loved her new Minnie Mouse panties that Santa left in her stocking!

After spending all of Christmas Day playing with new toys, we packed up and headed to Auburn for yet another found of presents! Allie and Will had so much fun playing with all of their cousins and visiting with Ommie, Auntie, and the whole crew. And, I finally got to put them in those cute outfits that I bought for them to wear in their Santa pictures! After a long day of hard play, we retired for the night and then headed back to Atlanta the next day. We only had a couple more days at “Atlanta house” before packing up and boarding the plane back to Pennsylvania.

It was truly a fantastic Christmas and it’s so much fun to see Allie’s eyes glow with the beautiful innocence that’s present only in children during this season…..I can’t wait until next year when Will’s eyes light up as well!

Nikki

First Pennsylvania snow!

2010-12-06T16:08:00.005-05:00

Ok...I know, all right, I know. I know that I haven't posted anything on this blog in over a month, but come on, we've been super busy! Finally got moved in to the new house in Pennsylvania (and not without a few hiccups here and there, but I won't bore you with those lovely details), got the kids settled into school, and even made a trip back to Atlanta for Thanksgiving (and no, I don't have any pictures of the kids' first day of school here in Pennsylvania or Thanksgiving because my camera was still in a box somewhere!).

Finally, this past weekend, we unpacked the last box....it only took us a month! The camera made it's first appearance in Pennsylvania just in time to capture an image of our newly erected Christmas tree....which Will seems to adore.

And thankfully, the camera reappeared just in time to capture our first real snowfall of the season! (I may sound excited about this now, but I can assure you that after a couple more weeks of this snow stuff and my excitement will subside substantially). Now, we've had snow falling every day for the past week, but today is the first day with any accumulation on the ground. It's been snowing for about 2 hours now, and I'd say we've got 2 inches on the ground with plenty more rapidly falling. It's like a blizzard out there!

Here are a couple of shots of Allie just after the snow started falling...

(throwing a snowball)...

And here's a shot from our kitchen window about an hour later...

I wish you could see it now! Everything's covered! Winter....here we come!

Nikki

"Happy Halloween Day!!!"

2010-11-06T14:35:00.006-04:00

Yea Halloween! We had a great Halloween this year! Many months ago Allie decided that she would be "Baby Bop". For those of you that are not familiar, Baby Bop is a little green dinosaur character from the kids show "Barney" (you all know Barney, right? That giant, annoying purple dinosaur?).

So, since she was consistent for a couple of months that she wanted to be Baby Bop for Halloween, I found this really cute costume for her. She might just be the cutest Baby Bop ever!

And poor Baby Will, of course, was left being a monkey....which is what Allie was last year. Hand me downs.....

And no, I promise I won't make him be Baby Bop next year....

We started our festivities with the Halloween parade and party at their school. Allie did a great job in the parade marching around the room and then jumping up on stage yelling "Happy Halloween Day!" to everybody.

Will wasn't into the parade so much, but he was super happy to get his costume off and go to his classroom to play with pumpkins and eat cupcakes!

Sunday night we ventured out for our first trick-or-treating adventure. Allie was SOOOO excited all weekend and she practiced her "trick-or-treat" for several days leading up to the big event. We first attended a little neighborhood party when all the kids paraded around in their costumes, and then we turned them loose!

Here's Allie's hesitant approach to her first house.

Daddy went to most houses with her....

....and it didn't take her long to realize that she had a bag full of goodies!

Will spent most of his time in the stroller, but he was a happy camper for more than an hour and then he decided it was time for us to all head home.

Check out Allie in action!

We had a GREAT first trick-or-treating adventure!!!

Nikki

Will and his doors.....

2010-10-30T14:41:00.002-04:00

He would do this all day if you let him......

There's just something about this little man and doors!

Nikki

Allie's first haircut!

2010-10-30T14:22:00.003-04:00

Yes....at 29 months old, Allie got her first haircut today! Because she has such curly hair, there really has been no need to get it cut before now. Actually, her hair is really quite long, but it curls up so much that you'd have no idea how long it truly is. Her hair has been getting a little too wild and crazy lately, so we decided today would be the day for her first cut!

Now, it is unfortunate that we happened to pick a day when Allie is being "2" to get her hair cut. Most of you that are around her often know that she typically acts more like a 3-4 year old, but for the past two days she really has been a "2 year old".....thus the reason that she is sitting in my lap instead of sitting by herself, and the reason that she is whining and crying instead of being "big girl". Oh well, this too shall pass.....

In the end, she ended up doing a great job....

Oh, and the stylist, Ms. Debee, wanted us to be sure and let everyone know that she doesn't typically dress as a cowgirl.....it is Halloween weekend, however. :-)

Nikki

Snapshots from Pennsylvania

2010-10-30T14:10:00.005-04:00

Last weekend, David and I made a quick trip up to Pennsylvania to meet the movers with our stuff. My primary goal for this trip was to get the babies' rooms set up so that they would have a place to sleep upon our official arrival on November 7th. We did manage to get the rooms set up....mostly. The rooms look pretty bare right now, but "decorating" can come later.

Allie's room is a bright lime green....brighter than we anticipated. Fortunately, after getting a just a little bit of furniture in the room, the green doesn't look quite so overwhelming.

Will's room is a great red!

Not only are there great colors in the kids' rooms....there are great colors outside in Pennsylvania in the fall too! Check out these trees on the golf course just down the road from our new house...

And finally, as we were driving back to the airport, about 1/2 hour away from the house, we encountered this great little Amish community. Looks like they were all leaving their church for a Sunday afternoon ride...

More to come from Pennsylvania!

Nikki

Allie's first BAMA game....

2010-10-20T07:37:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was homecoming at Alabama. Allie was fortunate enough to get to go with her Granny and Honey to Chris' house for the weekend to enjoy all the homecoming festivities! She was so excited to go....she kept talking about going to Alabama and seeing the elephant that shoots water from his nose (an elephant out at the pool at Chris' condo).

Her trip went great....well, except for the sleeping part! They drove over to Tuscaloosa on Friday afternoon and spent the evening sitting on the elephant at the pool, shopping, and eating guacamole (this kid loves guacamole!).

Again, all was just great. At bedtime, Allie took a bath and jumped right up into the bed and waited for Granny to join her. Then, it was Granny's time to wait....time to wait for Allie to fall asleep....which she did at 5am!!!

Poor thing was just too excited. She kept talking about going to the parade, seeing the football game, and hearing the music from a party down the hall. So finally, at 5am, she goes to sleep. Granny let her sleep as long as possible the next morning until it was time to get up and make their way to the quad for the day's events.

Fortunately, she woke up exclaiming "it's a beautiful day!" and was excited to get her BAMA gear on and get going. She was dressed perfectly for a day at the quad, and she had a great time!

She was busy running, playing, and turning flips all day, until finally, she had just had as more fun than she could handle and she crashed on her Granny for an hour.

After a nap on the quad, she was up and at it again, playing and playing until it was time to go back to Chris' and get ready for bed. Unfortunately, the game was scheduled at 8pm and it was just too late for Allie to get to go to the actual game, but she had a GREAT time at homecoming!

Her Pops would be SO PROUD that her first "football game" was a BAMA game....

Nikki

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-13T07:49:00.002-04:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Will's walking!

2010-10-12T18:26:00.003-04:00

Here's proof that our baby is becoming a big boy!

Nikki

What a difference a year makes! Pumpkin patch 2010....

2010-10-05T07:29:00.008-04:00

This past Saturday, David and I took the babes out to a Pumpkin Patch about 40 minutes from our house. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we had a great time! We couldn't help but reminisce about taking them to the "Pumpin Patch" (as Allie called it) last October.....

My, what a difference a year makes!!!

We had a wonderful time on the hay ride, petting the farm animals, picking out pumpkins, and watching Allie during her first official horse ride! It was truly a great day.....

Nikki

Helpful little brother....?

2010-09-18T07:20:00.004-04:00

Will loves to push things around the playroom....mostly cars, of course, but he also loves to push Allie's tricycle around the playroom. We often catch him going around in circles in the playroom like this....

Well, this week, Allie capitalized on a great opportunity....she somehow convinced her helpful little brother to push HER around on her tricycle.....HOW CONVENIENT!

Helpful little brother.....or conniving big sister???? Hmmmmm?????

Nikki

We're done with the high chair....well, one of them anyway.

2010-09-03T16:26:00.005-04:00

No more high chair for our big girl, Allie....she is now in her big-girl booster seat! She loves it!

Look where I can go, Mommy!

2010-09-03T16:09:00.004-04:00

So, many of you know that Will is a climber...we're CONSTANTLY pulling him off of the stairs. And, he is FAST! He's really fast!

Yesterday, Allie was sitting at her table eating her grapes and drinking some milk while Will was standing next to the table. I turned away to type and email for maybe, oh, 10 seconds, and when I turned back around, look at what I found!

Will must have decided that he wanted some of Allie's grapes, and apparently the quickest way to get there was just to climb on top of the table.....the shortest route between two places is a straight line, right? Yep....he climbed right up there all by himself in a matter of seconds. He even hung out up there for a while and posed for a few more pictures!

He climbed on the table several more times yesterday afternoon....I have a feeling we have a new challenge in front of us!

Nikki

Randoms....

2010-08-25T09:22:00.004-04:00

Here are a few randoms from the past couple of weeks....

Now this is how to used a potty! Sunglasses, bouncy ball, "Ellie" the pink elephant, flip flops, and watching Elmo....could it get any better than this?

I'm proud to report that Allie is officially potty trained....she has been for a few weeks now. Her pediatrician said that they consider kids potty trained when they use the potty 80% of the time (excluding nighttime). Allie seems to be well beyond 80%....it's pretty rare that she has an accident. It's quite nice to be rid of half the diaper changes around here!

Sticker face! We have no idea why, but this is what Allie does with stickers anytime we give them to her....who knows????

Finally drinking out of his cup on his own! Baby Will never did hold his bottle on his own, and it took him a little while to figure out the cup, but on his birthday he decided to pick up his cup and drink on his own! I know this isn't the best picture, but it's all I could quickly grab as he was drinking.

Riding forward! We did it....we turned Will's carseat around to face forward in hopes that it would cure his carseat fussiness. It's a little early to tell if it really works just yet, but my inclination is that now that he can see the DVDs playing on the TV, he'll be a bit happier. Time will tell....

They are changing and growing every day....more to come!

Nikki

What a great birthday party!

2010-08-17T07:14:00.005-04:00

This picture says it all:

Will had a great time at his first birthday party on Sunday, and I think Allie had a good time too! As you can tell, Will loved his cake, and he got tons of great presents!

Can you believe that this little guy will be one year old tomorrow? My how time flies....

Nikki

The synapses are firing!

2010-08-07T08:01:00.005-04:00

I'm sad to say, I have no photos or videos to share with you in this post....and there's really no good excuse except that well, Will is the second child and we've all heard the stories about how there's never any photos/videos of the second child. It's true....

However, that's not gonna stop me from letting you all know what great things Will has accomplished in the last week or two. One thing is for certain, his synapses are finally firing! Things are finally clicking for him...we've been waiting patiently.....

In the last week or so Will has learned lots of new tricks....he's learned to clap his hands on command, which he appears to love because he does it ALL the time now; he's learned to wave bye bye, which he also practices all the time; he's learned where his toes are and kindly grabs them for me whenever I ask, and we think he's been calling David "Da Da" for the past couple of days! So, as I said, things are finally clicking for him....it was just like one day, things starting making sense and now there's no looking back! These are really fun times....it's amazing to watch those little brains work and to see just how quickly they learn new things.

Oh...and I almost forgot! Will is no longer taking a bottle....he had his last bottle just over a week ago and he had done wonderfully! Never a tear for the long lost bottle....he's such a big boy now!

Nikki

What have we been up to?

2010-07-22T13:49:00.006-04:00

A LOT!

As I'm sure you can all imagine, things are busy at our house! Will is now 11 months, and Allie is 26 months, and they are a joyful handful!

Baby Will (as he is doomed to forever be known) is growing by leaps and bounds. He is almost as big as Allie now. He can easily tackle her while trying to take away her toys....and of course, whatever toy she has is the one that he wants! She tries to be patient with him, but occasionally she can't resist the urge to push him over, or play drums on his head with her drumsticks.....so it goes. I wish I had time to take videos of all this fun play, but it seems that there is never time to grab the video camera, and if I do, Allie stops playing and looks at me with a giant grin and says "CHEESE!"

Will has learned to climb the stairs...and he is FAST! Here's a shot of Will and Allie that one of the babysitters captured during Will's first attempt at climbing ALL the stairs from the basement up to the main floor of our house. As you can see, he has no problem climbing at all!

Will is also cruising! He has mastered pulling up and gracefully falling back down on his booty, but over the last week or so he has really started taking steps while holding on to the table, push toys, etc.

And of course, Will is eating....he's eating us out of house and home! This little guy eats much more than Allie, and in fact, I'm not sure that I've ever seen him stop eating....you just have to stop feeding him at some point! One of his favorites....bananas!

As for the big girl....she is as much fun as ever! She absolutely loves going to school (she goes 3 days/week now). She's still taking Japanese music class at school on Wednesdays just as she has since the beginning of last school year, but this summer, she has been able to add Spanish music class on Tuesdays, and in the fall her school is adding Italian music class on Thursdays. As my mom said today "She's gonna know every language except English!".....but of course, we all know that she has already mastered English! Allie really enjoys Spanish. She came home last week singing this cute little song she learned in Spanish class, and all I could get out of it was "chiquita, chiquita, chiquita", and then at the end she puts her hands on her hips and sways them side to side and says "cha cha cha".

Earlier this week Allie told me she was gonna go run errands. She had on her big girl panties and a t-shirt, so she grabbed her purse and her sunglasses and she put on her flip-flops (on the wronge feet, but who really cares about that anyway?), and she was headed out the door. She let me catch a couple of pictures as she was leaving...and no, she had no intention of putting on pants/shorts over her big girl panties!

This weekend, Allie and Will are with Granny while David and I attend a Southeast Regional Genetics conference in Ponte Vedre Beach, FL. I'll miss them terribly, as always, but I know that they will be spoiled rotten by their Granny and they will love every minute of it while we are gone. I can't wait to hear what stories Granny has to tell me when we get back....

Nikki

Today is a milestone....

2010-07-07T14:06:00.003-04:00

Seems like forever ago when I took this picture of Allie's first artwork.

Allie created this beautiful masterpiece last year at school as a Father's Day present for David. He has it in his office at work....or at least I hope he does!

Today when I picked Allie and Will up from school, Will's teacher, Ms. Angela, gave me this magnificent piece of art.....today, Will created his first piece of art at school.

Isn't it beautiful?! It's definitely one of a kind....

Will has now earned his place on the kitchen bulletin board that was once full of only Allie's masterpieces.

Thanks, Ms. Angela, for helping both Allie and Will create their beautiful first pieces of art.

Nikki

Allie's new ride!

2010-07-06T15:08:00.003-04:00

There's a story behind this one....

Many of you may remember that when I was only 16 weeks pregnant with Allie, David could not resist buying her this tricycle.

Now, this tricycle is BIG. It's for a 3+ year old. To this day, Allie is still unable to sit on it and reach the pedals.

Allie LOVES bicycles. Every time we see a bi/tricycle, she exclaims "Bicycle! I ride it!". So finally, a week or so ago I decided that it was time that she have a "bicycle" that she can actually ride!

So, here it is.....Allie's new ride!

She loves her "bicycle", as she calls it. We now have a "track" around the playroom from her frequent bicycle riding. No doubt we'll have to replace our carpet in here soon!

Nikki

Busy little man....

2010-06-30T14:07:00.003-04:00

Here's what our busy little man has been up to for the past few days....pulling up on EVERYTHING!

Allie says she can't wait for him to start walking so that he can chase her......not sure how excited I am about that!

And, he's learning how to climb stairs too! He's quite good at getting up 1-2 stairs and trying to head out of the playroom. No....I don't have any pictures of that, as I figure that I should stop playing photographer at that point and run grab him before he tumbles down.

He's growing up too fast :-(

Nikki

Makes my heart smile...

2010-06-22T20:17:00.003-04:00

While I was away this weekend helping to clean out Dad's place, Allie recorded this video for me and her babysitter emailed it to me. I guess they just knew that I would need something to make me smile at the end of a very tough day.

I cry every time I watch it....

Thank you, Allie. I will cherish this forever....

Nikki

While Mommy and Daddy are away....

2010-06-13T14:09:00.010-04:00

.....Allie and Will will play!

Last weekend David and I managed to attach a mini-date weekend onto a business trip that he had in Chicago....we love that city! He had a meeting there this past Monday, so we flew up last Saturday morning and spent Saturday and Sunday playing in the city. We had a wonderful time doing touristy stuff like the Architectural River and Lake Boat Tour, The Art Institute of Chicago, a fantastic dinner (and impromptu lunch) at Charlie Trotter's (www.charlietrotters.com), and a surprisingly fun Segway tour of the city.

Enough about us though...while we were away, Allie and Will got to play! Allie spent the weekend with some of her favorite babysitters and Grandma and PawPaw, while Will spent the weekend at Granny's house. Both seemed to have a great time!

Allie got to partake in the Virginia-Highland's Summerfest when Ms. Saundra took her for a walk to the park and happened upon the face painting! Ms. Saundra ended up bringing home a tiger! Allie kept ROARRRRing and wanting to go to the mirror to see her tiger face.

When it was time for Allie's nap, Ms. Saundra decided to just leave the tiger face paint on since it was all washable. There was a babysitter switch during nap time, and Ms. Caitlin got Allie up from her nap to find this post-nap tiger face!

She loved it so much that when I got back home from Chicago, I went out and bought some face paint and we have painted her face every day since. We've recreated the tiger a couple of times, and experimented with 2 or 3 different butterfly faces. She just loves it!

Will got to partake in some experimenting of his own! While at Granny's house, Will spent one evening learning all about his new love of guacamole and refried beans! Seems that he loves guacamole as much as his big sister, and I've now seen him eat a whole side of refried beans all by himself!

The date weekend in Chicago was fantastic, but boy, I'm always SO ready to come home and hug these babies!

(Oh, and let me just say how happy I am that all of our babysitters and Granny have phones that can take all these great pictures for me and text them to me when we are away so I can see how the babies are doing! Keeps my mind at ease.....somewhat.)

Nikki

Fun times at the beach with Granny, Honey, and Chris!

2010-06-02T13:45:00.006-04:00

She had a blast! Can you tell?

Ahhhh...sleeping baby!

Will's first day of school!

2010-06-01T14:46:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it...I just can't believe it! I cannot believe that Will attended his first day of school today at the International Preschool where Allie has been attending for the last year. Will is in the same class that Allie started in last summer, the PDO, or Parents Day Out class. And, he has the same teacher that Allie had last summer, Ms. Angela. Will will attending school 2 days/week this summer and this next school year.

Here he is with his doggie backpack all ready for his first day!

When I picked Allie and Will up from school today, Ms. Angela said that Will had been very good, but he was VERY tired, as he did not nap all morning (they are in school from 9am-1pm). She put him in the crib a couple of times, and he would lay down for a minute and then pop back up to see what was going on. Just so much excitement, I guess. He ate his lunch and drank his bottle while at school and seemed very happy and content when we got home. But he was certainly tired. I put him down for his nap at 1:25pm....it's 3pm and he's still asleep! That's quite a long nap for this little guy!

Allie also had a great day today as she started her second year of school. Allie is in the same class (2KA) that she was in this last school year with the same teacher, Ms. Yvonne. In the past, Allie has attended school 2 days/week. Starting this week, she will be going 3 days/week.

Here's a picture of Allie ready for her first day of school last summer....and one from today. My what a difference a year makes!

Let's hope tomorrow goes just as well as today!

Nikki

Will's first haircut

2010-05-29T11:01:00.005-04:00

David and I took Will out on an adventure for his first haircut this morning. He did such a great job! A couple of little whines here and there, but he actually sat relatively still and gave Ms. Debbie a pretty good canvas to work with. Here are a few before, during, and after shots....

Our shaggy boy before:

A few action shots:

And, our handsome little man after:

He's growing up so fast!

Nikki

While Big Sis is away....

2010-05-28T09:43:00.002-04:00

.....little brother will play with her stuff!

Will lounging on Allie's bean bag while she is living it up at the beach this week!

We miss you, Allie!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Will

First pedicure!

2010-05-28T09:18:00.005-04:00

So, it's official....Allie is no longer a baby. She is officially a little girl. Proof? She had her first pedicure this week! Granted, it was a Mommy pedicure and not a professional pedicure, but she thought it was great nonetheless.

Here are her very cute pink toes!

Allie is off to the beach with her Granny for her first "real" beach trip. Yes, we took her last May just before her first birthday, but she didn't really care much for the heat, the sand, and the cold water. This time, she has been SO excited about going to the beach with Granny. It's all that she has talked about for the past week. Seeing the fish and the dolphins and the whales, and riding on the boat, and swimming in the ocean, and feeding the birds, etc, etc....you get the picture. So, off they went yesterday. Allie did great on the 5-6 hr car ride. When she got to the condo, she apparently needed to spread her goldfish crackers out on the table to count them before eating her snack.

She also did great sleeping in a big girl bed last night for the first time! Allie is just too long for the pack-n-play now, so we had to come up with another sleeping option. We found some bed bumpers to put on the guest bed at the beach condo (here's a picture from the website where we got the bed bumpers).

Granny says that she went to sleep with no problem. She woke up one time and asked for a sip of milk and then went right back to sleep! I'm so proud of her for sleeping so well in a real bed for the first time....she really is growing up! I know that Allie will have a great time at the beach this week with her Granny....but I miss her already....

Another piece of evidence that she is growing up on us....we took Allie for her 2 year check-up yesterday. She weighs 31 pounds and she is 36.25 inches long! Both of those measurements are at the 90-95th percentile for a 2 year old little girl....see, I told you she was growing up!

We have a big day planned for Will tomorrow while his big sis is at the beach....Will is going for his first haircut in the morning! Look for pictures to follow!

Nikki

Some fun things....some not-so-fun things

2010-05-22T07:15:00.003-04:00

This is fun: Will's 9 month doctor check-up went great! He weighed 21 pounds, 2 ounces (75th percentile) and he was 28" long (50th percentile). This is not-so-fun: Will had to go to the doctor the day before his 9 month check-up for a fever of 104. He has a horrible cold. He also has to go back next week for his 9 month shots, which he couldn't get at his 9 month visit because of his annoying fever.

This is also fun: Will's started self-feeding....it only takes him about 10 minutes to get 3 puffs in his mouth :-)

Allie in her big girl panties.....that's fun! She's had 2 accidents so far....but one was the result of a yucky stomach virus (see the "not-so-fun things" section below)

Playing together is fun!

Wearing a party dress is fun! Especially when Mommy buys some cute shoes that just happen to match the party dress perfectly!

Will's first pair of shoes is fun (although he might have a different opinion about them)!

Missing the End of the Year Pageant at school because of a horrible stomach virus that results in a mid-morning nap in the middle of the playroom floor is not-so-fun....poor baby! Allie's class was to sing the ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star....she's been practicing all week and then had to miss the big performance. Broke my heart....

Hopefully we can move on past these not-so-fun things soon and get back to the fun stuff!

Nikki

Elmo and Abby Cadabby birthday party!

2010-05-22T06:45:00.004-04:00

We had a great 2nd birthday party for Allie last weekend. Despite threats of bad weather, we ended up with a great afternoon, made complete by the presence of our wonderful family and friends, including my grandmother, Ommie, who made her first trip to our house in Atlanta....oh, and don't forget Elmo!

Allie loved her Abby Cadabby dress! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of her bloomers which were embroidered with the a "2". Too cute!

Dancing with Elmo!

And what's a birthday party without a dip in the pool?

This was Will's first time in the pool. After a few tentative moments, he loved it! And swimming with his big sis makes it even more fun!

Time for cake and presents

And finally, after a busy afternoon and a bubble bath, Allie gets to sit down to dinner with her Granny, Honey, and Chris.

What a great afternoon! Now, time to start planning Will's first birthday party! Can you believe it's only 3 months away???!!!

Nikki

Busy weekend!

2010-05-14T06:25:00.007-04:00

Last weekend was a rather busy weekend for us! It all started on Saturday with Allie attending her first real, big kids birthday party at the home of Oscar, one of Allie's classmates. Oscar is just a couple of weeks older than Allie, and they have been going to school together since last June....when they were both babies that were still crawling! Now they are big kids....and Oscar had a big kids party!

It was complete with face painting.....

and balloon animals! (Allie requested a red giraffe, which unfortunately was only short lived....it soon popped!).

And Allie had a great time pushing the stroller of Oscar's big sister, Emma. (Yes, that is a soccer ball in the stroller....no baby available in Oscar's backyard).

There was also a very fancy swing set complete with a baby swing and a giant slide that Allie just had to play on. And finally, a gift bag with a great Thomas the Train book and a little plastic boat that Allie MUST have with her in the bath every night! We had a wonderful afternoon....thanks for the invite, Oscar!

As for Will, he not only had a busy weekend, he had a busy week last week too! The little guy began crawling on Thursday, May 6th, and boy, you should see him go now! He's all over the place....and everywhere he shouldn't be (like behind the chair, trying to go up the stairs, etc, etc.). There is video to document his crawling, but I've been pretty lazy about getting all of our videos edited and put online for viewing....oh well, someday.

Will also cut two new teeth in the last week. He sure will look funny with 4 little chompers! He also got his big boy high chair last week! Our dining room looks pretty funny with two dining chairs and two high chairs at the table....but, Will seems to like his new high chair!

On to Sunday, Mother's Day....

Our Sunday began as usual by going to breakfast at our local spot. We then came home with one goal for the day....move Will from the nursery area that just outside our master bedroom downstairs into his own BIG BOY ROOM! So we did! We moved him downstairs to the bedroom next to Allie! It does seem a little quiet and lonely upstairs now, but after 2 years of having a baby upstairs with us, David and I are glad to have OUR space back. Will's big boy room is a little bare now, but in time, I'll get it decorated....and who knows, maybe I'll get to decorating Allie's room someday too!

After getting Will's room moved downstairs, the babes took a nap and then we headed off for a walk to the park with Grandma (PawPaw stayed behind for his afternoon nap on our couch!). There was lots of swinging and sliding and wanting to play in the sand (Mommy doesn't like the sand, so we reserve sand time at the park for when Allie makes the trek with the babysitters). On our way back from the park, we decided to stop by our local bar-b-que joint for a nice, cold drink (and to feed the babies their dinner). Little did we know that there would be a blues duo jamming on the patio! Allie just had to dance.....and when Allie dances, EVERYBODY DANCES! (Well, except for Mommy who's trying to take pictures!)

And, of course, my Mother's Day was complete with beautiful flowers and cards!

Nikki

Swinging!

2010-04-19T08:32:00.002-04:00

We decided that on Will's 8 month birthday, he was finally ready for his first ride in a swing at one of our local playgrounds. As much as Will loved swinging, he loved watching Allie swing even more!

How sweet is he???? :-)

Nikki

First trip to the aquarium

2010-04-13T20:50:00.007-04:00

Shhh....don't tell anyone, but David and I snuck away last Tuesday and took Allie to the aquarium for the first time. She was so excited to see the fish, seahorses, sea turtles, whales, and dolphins (no, we didn't tell her that the Georgia aquarium doesn't have dolphins......but they will soon!).

Sea Turtle!!!

Although she was excited about seeing the alligators, when we got close, Allie freaked out a little bit. Who could blame her? Look at that creepy guy!

Otter feeding time!

Giant Japanese Crab....Allie kept calling it a spider :-)

Ok, so it's a sea dragon and not a sea horse. Please don't tell Allie...

Allie thought the Beluga whales were dolphins. Understandable, I suppose.

The best pic I have of us in quite a while....even though it is the back of her head! Do you think she's gonna have my hair???

Allie had to have a pink pengiun and a new pink aquarium shirt....which she had to put on as soon as we left the store....

Leaving with Daddy ...

She's such a big girl now....growing up way too fast....

Nikki

Easter weekend

2010-04-13T08:33:00.007-04:00

We had a GREAT and BUSY Easter weekend!

It all began with an egg hunt at Druid Hills. I'm not sure that Allie really knew what we were going to do...."hunt eggs?". It didn't take her long to figure it out though. There were eggs all over the grass just waiting to be hunted. Fortunately, the various age groups were separated so that Allie only had to complete for eggs in the 3 and under age group. I think she ended up with 2 eggs in her basket....but that's more than a lot of the kids got! Allie also had a great time at the petting zoo at Druid Hills. She even got to pet a bunny that PawPaw held for her!

Ready to hunt!

Ready to hunt? Ok, so Will was just tagging along.....

What'cha doin' little horsey?

Cock-a-doodle-doo! (and you have to do chicken wings with your arms when you say this.....according to Allie)

Petting the bunny...

Our attempt at a family photo. It didn't go so well because Allie just saw the Easter bunny and was anxious to chase him down for a hug.

On Easter Sunday we loaded up the kids and headed to Granny's house for Easter baskets, lunch, and more egg hunting. Nana and Charles drove over from Alabama to join us. It was a wonderful afternoon spent outside hunting eggs and playing baseball (Allie got a new baseball bat and ball and she LOVED to play ball!).

Elmo Easter baskets for everyone!

Just let us open them already!

Will really enjoyed his basket!

But it looks like he was more interested in the goldfish crackers that Allie got in her basket.

No, really....I want some of those crackers already!

Hunting eggs with Daddy

There's one!

Found another one! See?

Lunch on the deck....

Snuggling with Granny....

...and Nana.

Another attempt at a group photo....

And finally....giving the bunny cake a kiss!

It really was a beautiful, wonderful Easter weekend....can't wait til we have two egg hunters next year!

Nikki

What's Will up to at 7 months?

2010-04-13T08:21:00.003-04:00

Lots of smiles~

Getting ready to crawl!

And being "Daddy's lil Helper" :-)

He's such a sweet baby! Even when teething and sick, he's so good. We rarely here a whimper or cry, so if you do hear one, you know that he really feels awful. He's eating 3 meals a deal and still taking 5 bottles each day. We've introduced a cup to him, but he doesn't quite get the hang of it yet...he just chews on the spout. Crawling is just around the corner! He loves to sit up and play and he can go from a sitting position to a crawling position. He's also just started pushing up from his belly to a crawling position. Oh my, what will we do when we have two of them on the move???? More fun days ahead, I suppose.

Nikki

Dinner with Abby Cadabby and St. Patrick's Day

2010-04-13T07:49:00.009-04:00

Ok, so I thoroughly embarrassed at how far behind I am in posting updates. Nevertheless, I will do my best to get you all caught up with the busy-ness of our lives!

WAAAAAYYYYYY back on March 17th (yes, almost a month ago), David and I took Allie to have dinner with Abby Cadabby. For those of you not familiar with Abby, she is a relatively new Sesame Street character that hangs out with Elmo a lot. You might all remember how much fun Allie had at dinner with Elmo back a few months ago (some would say she had too much fun!). So, we decided to try dinner with Abby to see if she enjoyed this just as much....

Allie had a great time at dinner. She was a bit more reserved with Abby than she was with Elmo, and she was also more polite and allowed other kids to visit with Abby as well. Perhaps it's just that she's a bit older now, or perhaps it was that there was about 1/10 as many kids there to see Abby as there was to see Elmo, but the evening went much smoother this time with no tears at all! That's always a bonus!

Allie seems to love Elmo and Abby so much that we've decided to do an Elmo and Abby theme for her second birthday party. I found these great Elmo/Abby invitations:

And, I found this precious Abby dress that is being made for her to wear (complete with bloomers that will be embroidered with the number "2"):

And last, but certainly not least, I've heard that Elmo has accepted our invitation to Allie's party and will be here to celebrate with us! We can't wait!

Oh, and I shouldn't forget that on the same day as dinner with Abby, Allie had a St. Patrick's day feast at school where each child was to bring a green food to share. Green food? Well, the obvious is grapes, apples, etc. I knew there would be tons of fruit and green cookies, so I decided to go with mini-bagels and GREEN cream cheese. It turned out great!

Nikki

First trip to the zoo!

2010-03-22T16:04:00.005-04:00

Saturday was gorgeous! It was a wonderful day for Allie and Will's first trip to the zoo!

We headed out early to beat the crowd....turns out lots of other folks had the same idea. It didn't matter though....Allie had a fantastic time. Our first stop was the petting zoo where Allie got to pet (or "tickle" as she says) the goats, sheep, and pigs. She kept looking for chickens, but there were none to be found.

When then went on to see all of the big animals like the panda bears, lions, gorillas, monkeys, giraffes, zebras, elephants, etc. And for those of you familiar with the Lion King movie, we got to see the baboons (Rafiki), the wart hog (Pumba), and the meerkats (Timon). Allie thought that it was really fun to see all of her favorite movie characters!

Will cooperated by taking a nap in the stroller while Allie looked at all the animals, and then we took a quick break for Allie to eat a PBJ sandwich before heading over to the playground and merry-go-round.

Will finally decided to wake up and participate in the fun of the day. He was such a good baby the whole time we were there.

To sum up our day with the words of Daddy, "today was a perfect day".

Nikki

How cute are these little teeth?

2010-03-03T10:09:00.000-05:00

Father-Daughter dance 2010

2010-02-28T18:57:00.005-05:00

Well, it turns outs that the snow a couple of weeks ago didn't ruin our plans completely.....although the Father-Daughter dance was previously canceled due to snow, it was rescheduled to last night. Unfortunately, David was out of town last night, so it was Pops to the rescue! Allie's date for this year's Father-Daughter dance was her Pops, and it was truly a great evening.

Pops and Allie got all dolled up in a suit/tie and a fancy red dress and headed to Druid Hills (I tagged along too).

Allie had a blast! She danced and danced and danced (well, it's more like running and hopping, but she calls it dancing). She "danced" so much that she actually threw up! But that didn't stop her! After a quick clean up, she was out there "dancing" again!

She even managed to save some time for a couple of dances with her Pops :-)

And, of course, Allie made a new friend! When Allie found this older girl, she put down the toy that she was holding and held her hands up "asking" the older girl to dance with her. It was so sweet!

Can't wait until next year! (And maybe next year I won't forget to take the video camera!)

Nikki

6 months

2010-02-26T21:06:00.004-05:00

He's 6 months old already......really.....he's 6 months old! Can you believe it? I can't. I just don't know where the time goes....

So, what's new with Will? He now has 2 teeth....the second one just popped through yesterday. He weighs 17 pounds, 10 ounces, and he's 26 inches long. He's also sitting up on his own (which he loves)!

He's still a great sleeper. He goes to bed at 5:30pm and gets up at ~ 6:30am. I still have to get up 2-3 times a night to give him his paci, but he never wakes up crying and certainly doesn't need any bottles at night. He takes 2-3 naps each day for a total of ~ 2 hours. He eats 2 times each day. He's been doing great with his cereals and veggies, and he's just started fruits this week....so far he's only had pears, but he loves them!

And, he's still Mommy's Little Man! A truly happy baby....we couldn't be luckier! Oh, and he ADORES his big sister almost as much as she ADORES him....

Nikki

Allie's first golf clubs....and her first golf lesson!

2010-02-23T16:20:00.004-05:00

Check out these fancy golf clubs that Allie's Daddy got her. She loves them! And, with her Daddy giving her lessons, she'll be a pro in no time!

Nikki

Park City, 2010

2010-02-23T15:41:00.004-05:00

Ahhhhh....we're home. We had a wonderful family ski trip to Park City, Utah this year, but it's always good to be home.

Many of you know that I had great anxiety about taking both kids on a 4 1/2 hour airplane ride....not to mention all the suitcases, strollers, carseats, diaper bags, etc. that we would have to take with us. Fortunately, David's parents were going with us to help bear some of the load, but I knew this would still be a big task for us. Allie and Will have both traveled on a plane several times, and they did great. However, Allie hasn't traveled on a plane since she was ~10 months old, and I was worried that we wouldn't be able to keep her still and occupied for such a long trip. In addition, Will had a pretty yucky cold and I was worried that the altitude changes would be tough for him. Well, it turns out that we got to the airport and through security flawlessly, and the babes did just great on the plane (they always do great, I don't know what I was worried about!). Now, of course, there was plenty more for me to worry about, like the 2 hour time change. I knew that by the time we got to Park City and got settled into the rental house, fed the babes dinner, and got the Pack-n-Plays set up and put them to bed, it would be like 8pm their time. This might not seem like a big deal to most, but Will goes to bed at 5:30pm religiously and Allie follows soon behind him at 6:30pm. Well, of course, they handled it great again....probably better than the rest of us!

David and I got in 4 good days of skiing. The first full day that we were there was warm and sunny, so we took Allie and Will out to play in the snow after we finished skiing for the day. Allie absolutely loved the snow, and she especially liked her fancy pink snow boots (she even wore them around inside the house!)

Despite the fact that I got sick on the trip (which I've now learned is a fun case of strep throat and a sinus infection!), we had a fabulous time. Can't wait to put some skis on Allie next year!

Our first day skiing also happened to be Fat Tuesday, and lots of folks were wearing Mardi Gras beads. Allie managed to charm these beads of a lady that she met briefly.

This was as close as Will got to the snow

Allie and PawPaw built this great little snowman on the hot tub in the back of our rental house. And yes, those are grapes for his eyes and buttons....I think his nose fell off.

Allie being a ham wearing Grandma's hat

Nikki

Valentine's Day Fun...well, only half the fun it was supposed to be

2010-02-12T15:45:00.006-05:00

So, we were gearing up for a big day today, as it was supposed to be a day filled with Valentine's fun. Unfortunately, the STUPID SNOW has interfered with part of our plans. Today was Allie's Valentine's Day party at school, AND tonight was the annual Father-Daughter Dance at Druid Hills Golf Club. Not unexpectedly, because there's a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground, they have canceled the dance for tonight and rescheduled it for a night when, of course, David will be out of town. Although Allie has been looking forward to dancing with her Daddy and wearing her beautiful red dress, I suppose that I'm likely more disappointed than she is. Last year I went with David and Allie to the Father-Daughter dance (as Allie was only 8 months old and David was not quite comfortable taking her alone), but this year was to be their first solo dance. I couldn't wait to take their picture in front of the fireplace at home and then send them on the way for their special date. Oh well, I guess for now I'll have to reminisce with this picture from last year and await their first solo date until next Valentine's.

At least we got to have some fun today at the Valentine's Day party at Allie's school. Yesterday Allie and I baked heart cookies to take in to her teacher, Ms. Yvonne. Allie has also been busy this week coloring Valentine's Day cards which we took in and passed out to all of her classmates today.

Allie's teacher helped all the kids make this special art project.

The kids then decorated cookies with icing and sprinkles. I have absolutely no idea why my child thought that she couldn't use her hands to eat the cookie, but nevertheless, this is how she preferred to eat her heart cookie (despite me trying to persuade her to pick it up and take a bite).

And this, of course, is the result of attempting to eat your cookie without picking it up off of the table.

Despite the STUPID SNOW resulting in a canceled date night with Daddy, we've had a great day. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Nikki

We've been waiting patiently......

2010-01-30T14:41:00.003-05:00

Finally! Now that Will is almost 6 months old, we've finally finalized this collage of belly/newborn pictures. It'll be ready for us to pick up from the photographer (www.paulwendl.com) any day!

(you can click on the photo and see a larger version)

Nikki

Winter Luau!

2010-01-28T08:41:00.003-05:00

Allie's school had a Winter Luau yesterday....what fun! Allie had so much fun and even came home showing us a dance that she learned at school (we assume it was some kind of Hula). She looked just precious in her Hawaiian dress :-)

Nikki

What's happenin'?

2010-01-26T18:54:00.014-05:00

Whew....it's busy with two babies! So, here's the run down on what's been happenin' at our house....

Allie....

got some new boots, which she LOVES!

ADORES her baby brother! (in fact, she loves to share with him....thus the reason I had to pull two Cheerios from his mouth yesterday!)

had her first playdate with her friend from school, Emma (22 months)

has perfected counting to 10 (well, actually I've heard her count to 11), mastered her shapes, and is currently practicing singing her ABCs and learning her colors.

has received her first report card (and I've had my first parent-teacher conference), and it appears as though she is a well-behaved, brilliant child! Yeah!
loves playing with stickers (see the picture of Will below as evidence of this)
loves to color and play "Rosy" (that's Ring-Around-the-Rosy for those of you without small children)
has become a Lion King fanatic (thank goodness for the break from Barney and Elmo!)
is still unzipping and taking her PJs and socks off every night in her crib before she falls asleep, necessitating me going in every night and re-dressing her before we go to bed
is still a Daddy's girl.

Will.....

has learned to roll over from his back to his belly (he's been rolling from belly to back since Christmas day).

(The first time Will ever rolled to his belly)

(The first time he rolled to his belly and got his arm all the way out from under himself)

had his first playdate (with Emma's little brother, Neil, who is 2 1/2 months old....see Allie's entry for info on Emma)

LOVES being adorned with Little Mermaid stickers by his Big Sis (take note of his bib)!...and yes, Allie did this all by herself without any prompting or suggestions from anyone....just like she gave him Cherrios without prompting by anyone!

has his first tooth (bottom left) just starting to peak through the gum (no pictures yet, it's too tiny!)
goes to bed at 5:30pm and takes NO BOTTLES until he gets up at 6-6:30am!
eats oatmeal for breakfast each morning, veggies (squash and peas, so far) for dinner each night
only has eyes for Mommy :-)

There's so much more to tell, but I have a giant playroom that's begging to be cleaned :-) More fun stories to follow....

Nikki

The Playroom is Complete!!!!

2010-01-17T10:33:00.006-05:00

Finally! FINALLY! The playroom is complete!

Most of you know that we have been living through a basement renovation for the past 15 months. I'll spare you the boring details of how difficult it was at times living through a renovation with one, and then two, babies. I am happy to report that the majority of the renovation is complete....complete enough for us to occupy the space and begin enjoying our GIANT YELLOW PLAYROOM!!!!

The kids, particularly Allie, really enjoy the space. Mommy loves it too! Having a specific space for all the toys and gadgets, and having a small TV dedicated to Barney and Elmo has revolutionized our life....take a look!

I'm sure I'll have tons of photos of the babies having fun in this new space to share with you soon....

Nikki

He's eating!

2010-01-06T15:47:00.003-05:00

It's official....the boy is eating! Last week Will seemed to be the hungriest little guy alive. It seemed like he was in need of a bottle every 1 1/2 hours. Our pediatrician warned us that this would happen sometime in the next month or two, and she said when it did we should start giving him cereal once a day. So that's just what we did. Last Friday, on January 1, will had his first bowl of rice cereal....YUMMY!

He's had a bowl of cereal every day since, and he's still trying to get the hang of eating off a spoon and swallowing the cereal. It's pretty messy....at least half of it ends up all down the front of his clothes.

I'm sure it won't be long until he gets the hang of it and is eating us out of house and home....

Nikki

Christmas, 2009

2010-01-04T14:39:00.013-05:00

Yes, I realize I'm a bit late with this post, but we have been really busy for the past two weeks! It's been so much fun having two little ones at Christmas this year. Here's a brief recap of our fun times....

The night before Christmas Eve, after putting Will to bed, Allie and I baked cookies for Santa. Ok, so we didn't make them from scratch, but for me, this counts as baking...

The next day, Christmas Eve, we packed up and headed to Granny's house for lunch and an afternoon of presents. The babies got so many fun things. This was Allie's first experience opening presents since her first birthday back in May. We realized she would get the hang of it this year, and she was able to help Will out too. In fact, she was convinced that all of his presents were hers and she played with each one of his toys as much as she played with her own.

When we got home Christmas Eve evening, Pops was at our house. Allie was so excited to see him. Grandma and PawPaw came over too and we had a great dinner. After putting Baby Will to bed, Allie and I put out our cookies and milk for Santa, and a banana for Rudolph (no carrots or apples in the house, unfortunately).

We tucked Allie into bed and Santa and his helpers got busy delivering toys and presents to our house!

Santa and Rudolph clearly enjoyed their snacks...

Christmas morning was magical. Pops was with us, and Grandma and PawPaw came over before Allie woke. We had a wonderful day playing, playing, playing!

There's a fun video of Allie putting out cookies for Santa and getting up to see her presents on Christmas morning, but for some reason, I can't get the video to load here. So, you have to go to our YouTube page at www.YouTube.com/AllieLed and watch the "Santa! 2009" video there.

We also got a pleasant surprise on Christmas Day from Will. Will is a belly sleeper....he ALWAYS sleeps on his belly. I put him down for a morning nap on Christmas Day, and when I went upstairs to get him after his nap, this is what I found:

Yep...he rolled over! This was the first time that Will rolled, but it wasn't his last! He has rolled from his belly to his back many times since Christmas Day, and he's almost able to roll from his back to his belly too!

After our busy Christmas Day, we loaded up the next day to head down to Auburn for yet another Christmas meal and fun time of opening presents. The kids got so many great toys! We're still opening toys every day and playing with new stuff!

As you can see, we truly had a wonderful Christmas this year! Hope you all had great holidays too...

Nikki

Big changes for Baby Will!

2009-12-17T19:14:00.004-05:00

Will is growing, growing, growing, and each day he discovers new things. In the last couple of weeks, he's found his hands, his feet, and his voice! He smiles and laughs all the time, and during the last week, he's discovered that he can scream really loud and high! He's also pushing up on his forearms very well and he's close to rolling over front-to-back and back-to-front. He's been a really good sleeper. He goes to bed at 5:45pm. I feed him a bottle at ~9pm, and then he sleeps until ~6:30am (I do have to get up a few times at night, mostly after 3:30am, to give him his paci). He usually takes a ~30 minute early morning nap, a ~2 hr. mid-day nap, and another short 30 min. late afternoon nap.

Tomorrow Will will be 4 months old.....I just can't believe my little guy is growing up so fast!

Here's a quick video of Will playing with Daddy...

...and here's a big smile for you!

Nikki

Allie's first Winter Pageant

2009-12-16T18:50:00.006-05:00

Last night, I was a very proud Mommy! Allie experienced her first stage performance at the International Preschool's Winter Pageant, and she did excellent (read between the lines here: she got on stage in front of an audience of ~250 adults and SHE DIDN'T CRY! So yes, she did excellent!)! Before we left for the pageant, Allie was kind enough to let me snap a couple of photos of her at home with her "Kissmas" tree.

Unfortunately, because of poor lighting in the auditorium, the photos that I took during Allie's performance didn't turn out so well, but luckily we have the video. Now, before any of you get too excited about watching this video, let me set the stage for you:
This is a group of about a dozen 18 month-2 year olds (Allie is the youngest in her class, the oldest is 6 months older than she). They have only one teacher (Ms. Ashley), so there are a few other adults helping Ms. Ashley get these kids on stage to "perform". The performance is supposed to be a "sing-along" to Frosty the Snowman, where the kids each get a snowman that they've made in class and play with it during the song. In case you have trouble finding Allie (and you will likely have trouble, as they put her in the back and kept putting kids in front of her until someone picks her up in the middle of the song), she is wearing a light blue dress with a white turtle neck, white leggings, and silver shoes (see pics above!). You'll see her being brought in by a gentleman holding her and another child. Now again, don't get too excited.....she won't win a Tony award for this performance, but she did make me a proud Mommy!

Nikki

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-13T16:15:00.002-05:00

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