Sneak Peek

We had a friend do some family pictures for us 2 weeks ago. It was such a pretty day and I love most all of the pictures! (Miss Priss was in a bit of a mood - shocker - but Nate/Greg were able to make her smile at least 3 or 4 times.) 

We are using a few of the pictures on our Christmas card, so I don't want to post many on here yet. But for now, here's a sneak peek!

For any local folks, please consider using my friend Jennifer Waters for your photography needs. She is great! She can be reached at jenniferwatersphotography@gmail.com.

So Much to be Thankful For!

We had big plans to host Thanksgiving for my family at our house this year. But when our dream house unexpectedly fell in our lap, and our closing date was set at November 30th, we decided that was just not going to happen. Some of my family members had to cancel flights (Sorry, Bec!), but my parents still decided to come even though we said there would be no home-cooking. So sad! Instead, they just watched/entertained the kids while Greg & I got a lot of packing done.

Nate & Miss Priss were happy to see Nanny & Poppy arrive on Tuesday morning, and I sent them off to McDonald's for lunch so I could pack in peace! :)

Nate couldn't wait to have a "bubble gum-blowing" contest with Poppy

Wednesday, N&P again took the kids out of our hair and headed to a local park for lots of playtime and a picnic lunch. The afternoon included lots of moving boxes (for Poppy) and bike rides and rocket balloons (for Nanny).

Thursday was not only Thanksgiving but Poppy's birthday, so Nate & Greg headed to Krispy Kreme for a special delivery for breakfast! (Yes we let N go there with his pjs on. Don't judge.)

Before heading out for a late Thanksgiving lunch, we stopped by our new house (the family was at Disney this week!), to take a few pics. To say we are excited to move is a huge understatement!!

We were a few minutes early to our lunch spot, so we took a few pics but Miss Priss was NOT in the mood....

....that is, until Nanny got her hands on her!!

Our Thanksgiving meal spot - The University Club! Beautiful atmosphere and delicious meal. And the kids did pretty good, considering it was during their naptime.

Poor Poppy, everyone was so stuffed from lunch that we decided to skip dinner and just have cheese & crackers (& wine) instead! At least we thought ahead enough to get him a brownie cake!!

Friday was more packing from us and time at the park for N&P and the kids. Greg and I even managed to squeeze in a dinner date night.

And then on Saturday was the Auburn/Alabama game. We tried to tailgate at the business college, but the menu did not sound the greatest, so we headed to the quad to eat instead. Enter: the best hot dogs ever!!! 

After filling up our bellies, Nate & Abby wanted to show off their skills on all the inflatables! It was a chilly day but oh so sunny & perfect!

Before heading home for a late nap, N&P treated the kids to Dippin' Dots. Yes, the kids had to get as close as possible to their cups! :)

We headed out for a delicious Mexican dinner Saturday night (as an early birthday celebration for me), and N&P left this morning. So yes, we've been de-spoiling all day!! :) 

Thank you N&P for such a great visit!!

**As a sidenote, please check out my adorable birthday cards/drawings from the kids this morning!! Love!**

Abby's Thanksgiving Activities

Abby had her Thanksgiving program and "feast" today at school. (I use the word feast lightly because I paid $7.50 for the smallest portion of turkey dressing ever. At least Abby seemed happy...since she ate her weight in cornbread.)

Her class has been practicing these two turkey songs for weeks now. They even sent home the lyrics so we could work on them at home. And oh boy, did we ever. For the past month, Abby has insisted on singing these 2 songs before every nap and bedtime, as well as about 1,000 times in between. Good thing my girl has an adorable singing voice & they are cute songs!

The program started at 11:30, so Nate was in school and Greg couldn't come. I got there 20 minutes early and the Fellowship Hall was already pretty packed! I managed to snag a single seat at a table right up front though. And I knew the kids had been working on some turkey shirts that they painted, but the turkey feather hats were a surprise and oh-so-cute!! Abby saw me as soon as she walked on stage and could.not.stop grinning & waving!

I was really proud of her because she sang loud, knew every word, and did all the "motions" she was supposed to. Too bad her teacher didn't get the memo that she was blocking everyone's view! Click here to watch the first video.

After the first song, the class sat down and the other 2 year old sang a song. Then both classes sang a song together. Click here to watch that video, which is my personal favorite because she has to literally push her way to the front to be seen. Love my little star!!

 We had to hurry through the feast a bit to get to Nate's school on time, but I enjoyed spending the time with my girl!!

More Birthday Festivities

Greg and I visited Abby's class at snacktime on Friday, and brought in some sprinkles cookies to share. She wasn't so sure of everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to her (or of the silly hat her teachers made her wear), but she sure did love her Daddy being there. She would not leave his lap and pushed a few kids out of the way when they tried to steal her spot.

This is the first year I've been able to ask Abby the "birthday questionnaire" for her scrapbook, and I loved all of her answers. Truly spoken like a 3 year old.

1. How old are you? 3

2. What makes you happy? Candy corn

3. What is your favorite animal? “Titty tat” (translation: kitty cat J)

4. What is your favorite thing to eat? Hot dogs

5. What is your least favorite thing to eat? Lettuce

6. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with Mommy

7. What is your favorite TV show? Little Einsteins

8. What are you really good at? Reading books

9. What is your favorite movie? Care Bears

10. What is your favorite color? Purple

11. What is your favorite song? “Creepin” by Eric Church

12. Who is your best friend? Kennedy Rose (classmate)

13. What do you and your Mom do together? Play games

14. What do you and your Dad do together? Wrestle

15. What is your favorite sport? Riding bikes

16. Where is your favorite place to go? School

17. What is your favorite book? Olivia

18. What do you want to be when you grow up? A butterfly

Friday afternoon, Greg went out of town for a conference, so I've been trying extra hard this weekend to show the kids a good time. Saturday morning, the birthday girl woke up and asked for bubbles. As in, she wanted to blow bubbles INSIDE the house. I thought, why not!? It's her birthday after all. And she insisted on changing into her new pjs from Nanny, that came complete with a tutu. Oh how this girl loves a tutu! So she blew bubbles while I got her birthday breakfast ready.

Since I was a single parent this weekend, I had to drag the kids to Walmart & Sam's for our weekly grocery shopping. They were troopers, so I asked Abby where she wanted to eat lunch and her answer was no surprise: "McDonald's!!" (Nate has coached her well.)

 We topped off Abby's birthday day with movie night in Mommy's bed, complete with special cookies Abby had picked out at the store. Love my beautiful kiddos!

 Today, we tried to do a few more special birthday activities. First up, Krispy Kreme where Abby got her usual "cake" donut. She loves to lick the sugar off her fingers rather than actually eat the donut.

 And then we headed to park for lots of running, swinging, and playing. We had the place to ourselves and brought a picnic lunch to enjoy as well.

I still can't believe Abby Reece is 3 years old! Happy birthday, my sweet!

(And hurry home, Daddy!) :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Abby Reece!

I love to recap my kids' birth stories on their birthdays, so if you want to read Abby’s, click here. Because my “baby” girl is THREE years old today!!!! She came into this world in a flash (think: 1 month early, very late at night, barely made it to the hospital, no time for an epidural…..) and this girl has been non-stop ever since. She is such a firecracker and sassy-pants and I wouldn’t change her for a second. She has brought so much joy to our lives and I am so thankful to have such a precious girl to call my daughter. We fight like dogs sometimes, but she loves me more than anyone in this world and I can’t wait to see how our relationship progresses year after year. Happy 3^rd birthday, Abby Reece!!

A stroll down memory lane:

1 week old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

The past few months, she’s changed so much and grown up before our very eyes. I love it and hate it at the same time! These days….

-She loves to do puzzles (her ability amazes me sometimes; she tries to do Nate’s puzzles, which are supposedly for 8 year olds!)

-She is scared of the front door. Yes, somehow I have managed to raise yet another scaredy cat (I am one myself, so they come by it honestly.) Let me explain. A few weeks ago, she was sitting in time-out by the front door. Out of the blue, someone knocked – the UPS man – and I have never heard such blood-curdling screams in my life. Since then, she cries & has to hold someone’s hand every time she passes the front door. Which is oh-so-convenient considering the stairs to go up to her room are at the front door.

-She is learning two Thanksgiving/Turkey songs at school (to perform on Nov. 16^th – oh yes I will have a video camera present) and I have never heard a cuter sound in my life! Love my little girl’s sweet singing voice!

-She is getting so good at writing her name! In fact, whenever we go somewhere (a friends’ house, an errand, etc) she tries to leave her “signature.” Which is really just an A-b-b because she’s not so great at the “y” yet.

-She loves to wrestle after dinner every night with her Daddy.
-She loves loves loves potty humor. I guess I have failed as a mother because her two favorite words are fart and poop. I thought that was just supposed to be a boy thing!?

-She has very specific tastes in music. These days she likes all things by Eric Church & Taylor Swift. (Yes, we live in Alabama and this girl loves some country music!)

-She has the best laugh I’ve ever heard. Like ever. (See Taylor Swift reference above.)

-Every morning, she asks me “Do I go to school today?” And if the answer is no, watch out. She is definitely going 5 mornings a week next year!

-She loves to play “Name That Tune” with her Daddy. After Greg whistles 2-3 notes, she always knows the answer! Music prodigy.
-She has taken after Nate and has discovered her love for drawing/crafts/coloring. Here is something she drew the other night, titled "My Fam-a-wee" :)

Abby Reece, you light up our lives and we feel so blessed to have such a smart, spirited, healthy, hilarious, beautiful daughter!

**I will do another post tomorrow with more of her birthday festivities from this weekend, so stay tuned!**

Abby's Barnyard Party

We had Abby's party at the Barnyard this past weekend, and it was a blast! Abby was in heaven with 3 of her favorite things: animals, sugar, and a swingset!! I planned a "Minnie Mouse" theme, since that's her favorite character these days. As usual, I got a little carried away and my poor family that came into town had to deal with a few of my "diva" moments. Sorry family! I appreciated all the help though :) All in all, it was worth it to see the look on Abby's face. She had so much fun and wouldn't stop smiling the whole party. Can't believe Miss Priss is (almost) THREE!!

The Barnyard staff was great; they had the party scheduled down to each minute (Hello, no wonder I picked this place!) First, we started off with a boat ride out into the lake to feed the ducks. Unfortunately, the ducks were hiding in the shade b/c it was 85 degrees. Not kidding. But the kids enjoyed the boat ride. 

Then we moved onto feeding the animals. First up, the cows.

Then the goats & pigs......

And then perhaps the best part was where all the kids got into the pen with the bunnies & baby chicks. This was clearly everyone's favorite, probably b/c these were the smallest animals and easiest to handle. I was not sure how Nate would react b/c he is little anxious around animals, but he loved the bunnies! (Until his jumped out of his basket, onto the ground, and Nate hopped up onto the bench and said "Will it eat me!?") Oh my sweet boy.

This is the funniest sequence of pictures from the whole party!! 

Abby: "Hey Anthony, watch this!"

This girl loved loved loved the bunnies and was carrying that thing around like she owned the place. Every other kid sat quietly on the bench and kept the bunny in the basket like they were supposed to. Except the birthday girl!!! She loved the baby chicks equally as much.

Please notice how Nate is using just.one.finger to pet the chick. He was a little weary of his "claws!"

Then it was time for the pony rides!! Up first, Miss Hollywood....

Then the party moved into the barnyard, where we had Minnie cupcakes and rice krispies treats and cookies! Yes, it was a sugar coma waiting to happen!

After singing Happy Birthday and chowing down on some snacks, the kids finished out the party on the playground. It was a beautiful day and Abby is lucky to have such sweet friends!

Since the party wasn't until 3 pm, we needed something to hold her off all day while I was making last-minute party preparations. My mom talked us into giving her our gift, early. A tricycle!!! Now she can be a big girl and "go ride bikes" with Greg & Nate. To say she was thrilled was an understatement.

And then after the party and a pizza picnic for dinner, Abby opened presents (while we watched the AL vs. LSU game)! Two of her favorites including her talking Care Bear from Nate:

And her two new Leapster games from her aunts:

Thank you to all the sweet friends who came to the party, and to my family for traveling so far to help me and celebrate with our baby girl!!

(Abby's real birthday is this Saturday, so stay tuned for a long-winded, teary-eyed blogpost! :)