New Year's Eve Playdate

On New Year's Eve day I invited 2 of my friends over and their daughters for a playdate. The girls range in age from 12 months to 21 months. It was so cute to watch them play together. The girls played for almost 2 hours and then when they left, Chandler was so tired she went right to sleep and napped for 3 hours!

Haiely being silly:

Who's there?

Ella grace likes the house too:

This evening we let Chandler stay up until almost 9:00pm and then Jeremy and i watched the ball drop in NY and then stayed up until almost 1:00am watching a movie: "Burn After Reading". The movie has both Matt Damon and George Clooney in it. They both play funny characters. It is a good renter. Happy 2009 everyone!

A Visit from Texas

When we lived in TX we lived about 8 houses down from a couple named Bob and Judy and their dog Bentley. Over the course of daily walks with Jake we became friends with them as Bob was always out walking Bentley. I guess you could say they were Chandler's adoptive grandparents. We always went on long walks with them and even swam in their pool a few times. When we told them we were moving back to Franklin, TN they told us their daughter Page lived there and gave us her contact # in case we needed anything. Well long story short, it turns out we moved into the same neighborhood Page lives in and even on the same street!!! So now instead of being 8 house down from Bob and Judy. We are about 8 houses down from their daughter! Talk about a small world!! Bob and Judy came to visit Page and her family for the holidays. So while they were in town we went on a few walks with them and they even brought Chandler some gifts from Santa. Jake was very excited to see his old friend Bentley too.

Bob and Jake (AKA: Marley)

Bob and Chandler

Merry Christmas to all!

We had a wonderful Christmas day. This morning my dad joined us and we opened gifts and munched on Krsipy Kreme donuts. What is better than that?! Jeremy and I and his parents decided not to do gifts to each other this yr. We just focused on Chandler. The girl racked up. Afterwards Jeremy made us a brunch and then we lounged around. This evening Jeremy's Aunt and Uncle and 2 boys came over for a casual dinner and family time. It was a nice relaxing day. And it was all the better b/c it was spent with family.

Pushing her Popper from Grandad:

Chandler and Grandad:

Working one of her many new puzzles:


Checking out her new house with Sparky:

Christmas Eve

This evening we went to the Christmas church service that Jeremy's Aunt was singing a solo in. It was a beautiful service. Chandler was in the nursery during the service and we were told she did wonderful. Afterwards we (me, Chandler, Jeremy, his dad and mom) headed to Uncle Brett and Aunt Mel's for a casual dinner. Along with all of us, my dad and Melanie's mom and sister were there too. After we ate, Aunt Melanie and i sat down with Chandler and cousin Hannah to have the girls exchange gifts. Melanie and i talked a bit about what we wanted for daughters but not that much. Well it turns out that we each bought 5 little gifts for the girls. But the funny thing was what both girls got. They each got a tea set, play food (the exact same one), an Elmo potty traning book (the exact same one) and some spring clothes. We had a good laugh that great minds think alike! After opening gifts, the girls played for a bit and then it was time to head home and wait for Santa to visit.

Jeremy and I before heading to bed:

Aunt Melanie, Cousin Hannah, Me and Chandler after the gift exchange:

The girls checking out their Elmo potty book:


Family photo afer church:

Chandler at 17 months

Chandler turned 17 months on the 11th of Dec. Sometimes i can not believe that my baby is a year and a half! She is growing so quickly. She has really begin to communicate with us now. She knows the signs for milk, more, all done, food. Her new words are baby, tree and no. She loves to say no and shake her head. I guess she learned that from me! She "talks" a lot. Her favorite food is cheese. And her favorite toy is a phone, preferably a real one if she can sneak one. She also has recently taken a liking to puzzles. She loves to put the pieces in and then claps and does the motion for all done and says all done. She loves to take baths and loves to play with Jake. If he is laying on the floor she will grab his face with both hands and kiss him on the mouth. She also likes to sit right next to him and on top of him, if he will let her. Her favorite song is "The wheels on the Bus". And we make up all crazy verses to it, such as: the piggies on the bus say oink, oink, oink. We usually go through all the animals. She LOVES to read. She has a photo book with all the animals in it. And when she sees the gorilla she points to him and does her gorilla sound and pounds on her chest. She can recognize the dogs and says woof woof. And she can do the sound for a bird, tweet tweet. She loves to come up behind me and pat my back and say Momma Momma and then give me a hug and run off. She is so much fun to be around and i am cherishing every moment with her!

Sevin Things on Sunday

Here is my "Grateful 7 list"

1. Playdates with Aunt Melanie and Cousin Hannah---we have been having a few of these lately and we enjoy them so much. I love to watch Chandler play with her cousin. I hope they grow up sharing secrets and a friendship.
2. Living in TN-- I am so thankful to back here in TN. I am so happy to have family close by and having Chandler grow up around them.
3. Best Friends--My friend Jennifer is the best friend a girl could ask for. I have known her for 10yrs. And even though we have not always seen eye to eye, we have always been there for each other. For the last 7 yrs of our friendship we have not lived in the same state. But we have managed to stay close and i think our friendship has gotten closer, despite the distance and miles between us. I am so grateful and lucky to have her in my life AND as my best friend!
4. Sonic--love those vanilla cokes. I think sonic has made the list everytime!!
5. Christmas lights--there is something about lights at Christmas time that just make me feel happy and in the holiday spirit.
6. 92.9 FM--this radio station has been playing Christmas music non-stop since the begining of December. The music makes me feel the same way that the lights do. As if everything is right in the world and people are good and kind.
7. Honeybaked Ham store--so that we can order a ham for Christmas dinner and not have to deal with cooking.

Monkeying Around

Chandler got lots of cool toys when she turned one. Her cousin Webb in TX, got her a huge stuffed monkey that she normally sleeps with. But the other day i put the monkey in a little rocking chair by the front door. Chandler got ahold of him and started monekying around

With her monkey:

Kissing monkey's belly:

Kissing moneky's head:


More kisses:

Trying to share him with me:

Christmas Carols and Lunch

This morning Chandler and i met up with a few of my MOPS moms at NHC (the retirement home) to hang out with the residents. There were only 4 of us moms and 5 kiddos. But we made the best of it. We passed out homemade sugar cookies courtesy of myself and Jo. Then we sang some Christmas carols and read a few Christmas stories. The toddlers had a great time running around checking out the Christmas tree and all the decorations.
After we left there, Chandler and i met my sweet friend Jenny for lunch. Jenny is pregnant with her first baby due in June 2009. She already has the pregnancy glow. I have been friends with Jenny almost 10 yrs now. She is one of those friends that i don't see very often but when we do get together we are able to just pick back up from where we left off.

Kroger Cars

Whenever i go to Kroger i have always seen the grocery carts that have the car attached to the front for the little kids to ride in. But i never used one for Chandler as she is always content to ride in the top seat and just hang out. But we went to Kroger yesterday and she saw one and started pointing to get in. I did not have my camera with me. But we had to pop in to Kroger again today and again she wanted to ride in it. Luckily i had my camera with me this time. She had so much fun. I think grocery shopping will be much eaiser and fun from now on. Good thinking Kroger!

So happy to be driving:

Looking like a big girl:

Hi Momma!:


Everything is more fun with a cookie:

Photos of the Week

Here are some photos of Chandler from the past week or so.

Being silly before bed:

Err, look at my muscles!:

Wearing Christmas outfit w/Halloween bib. Is this a fuax paus?:

Not happy about me taking the photo. But she is demonstrating a bit of her Momma's OCD:

Loves to read:


With Daddy at our Christmas Party on Saturday:

Loving on her cousin Daniel at the party:

Dickens of a Christmas

Every Christmas season in Franklin (the town we live in) puts on a weekend festival called"Dickens of a Christmas". People in the community dress up in costumes as St. Nick, Scrooge, The ghost of Christmas past ect. This morning Jeremy, Chandler and i headed to the festival to meet up with my dad and Aunt Mel and Cousin Hannah. We strolled the streets and listened to old time choirs, checked out people's costumes and tasted homemade goodies. Except for the cold weather and wind, it was a fun morning.

Chandler and Hannah with Ole St. Nick:

Ghost of Christmas Past:

Sevin Things on Friday

I know i forgot my gratitude post last week. But here is the one for this week.

7 Things i am thankful for:
1. Old Friends--There is something to be said about "old friends". People that you can just be yourself with. When you are with these friends you feel as though you are with family. They know your sad, mad, crazy moments and love you all the same. So i am thankful for these "oldies: Jennifer, Ed, Anne Marie, Patty, Jenny, Paula, Julianne, Shannon and Kellye.
2. New Friends--I feel as i get older it gets harder and harder to make friends. But even though i got my oldies i still need my "newbies" : Karyn and Joanne.
3. My TX moms--these girls were my saving grace in TX. I don't know what i would have EVER done without you girls!! We had so many good times and i loved watching our babies grow together. I miss you all! : Lauren, Ana, Melody, Leslie, Amy, Liza, Becky, Chris and Cheryl.
4. Chandler for begining to take 2 1/2 hr naps. Momma needs her "me" time.
5. MOPS--I am so thankful that Julianne told me about this program. Even though we only meet 2 or 3 times month, i really enjoy it. It means a lot to me to have this time with other Christian moms. I learn something new at each meeting. And Chandler learns how to be in a daycare setting for the 3 hrs we are there.
6. Sonic--gotta love that happy hour!
7. My sister in laws--Morgan and Melanie. I am very glad that we are growing closer. I love our conversations and spending time together. I love that we can laugh at ourselves and each other. I am very blessed to have these wonderful sisters in my family!

Chandler's 1st Snow!!

You read that right. Tonight was Chandler's first time seeing snow. It has been raining all day for 2 days straight now. This afternoon we were out running errands and the rain was kind of turning to sleet. About an hour later, it was full blown snow fall. When Jeremy got home from work it had only been snowing about 30 minutes. We got Chandler all bundled up, minus her gloves, that we couldn't find :) and headed outside. She was not too sure about this cold stuff falling from the sky. But once she saw her crazy Jake racing all around in the snow she started to laugh. She thought it was the funniest thing to watch him. And he had a ball as well. We only stayed out for a few minutes and then i took her in and put her in a warm bath. Daddy stayed outside and made her a snowman. Thank you Daddy!

Snow falling in front of our house:

Snowman Daddy made:

Winter walk with Daddy:

My Momma being crazy:

Our new friend:

MOPS' Favorite Things!!

This morning we had a Christmas Extravaganza at MOPS. We had an ornamnet exchange, cookie exchange and then got a ton of Christmas goodies from the steering team at MOPS. We got tons of homemade goodies: earrings, bubble bath, lip balm, foot soak, hot choc, linen spray, popcorn and lots more. It was a smaller version of Oprah's Favorite Things. It was so much fun!! I have inlcuded a few photos of our fun morning.

Smiling before we head to her classroom. The outfit was a huge hit! Thanks Sparky!!

So much fun at MOPS she couldn't stay awake:

My fellow MOPS moms:

Sicky Icky

This morning i woke up with an awful stomach bug. No need for details. Jeremy called into work so he could watch Chandler for me. I took a 2 hour nap in the morning and then a 4 hour nap in the afternoon. This evening Jeremy sent me to bed around 8:00pm and he stayed up and put Chandler to bed. He decided to sleep in the guest bedroom just in case i was contagious. He was also sweet and took the monitor with him, so he could tend to Chandler if she woke up in the middle of the night. I got 11 hours of interrupted sleep. And even though i was sick it was bliss!! I can't remember the last time i slept 11 hrs straight with no interruptions. Maybe i need to get sick more often!! :)

Pictures of the week

Showing off her pearly whites!! She has gotten 5 teeth since we moved to TN!

Reading to herself before bedtime in her new pj's.

She loves to sit in front of Jake. Kind of uses him as her personal sofa! I think this photo is so priceless! I love how she is holding his paws!!


Doing some shopping with Momma.



Just being silly.

Slumber party at Cousin Hannah's

Last night Chandler and i spent the night at cousin Hannah's house. Jeremy's agent traning graduation was today and i was invited to attend the day with him. Chandler's Aunt Melanie and Uncle Brett invited us to stay the night with them and then Aunt Melanie helped watch Chandler this morning and then dropped her off at daycare with cousin Hannah. I was little worried that Chandler would be upset when she woke up as neither Jeremy or i would be there. But Aunt Melanie told us that Chandler was fine and had lots of fun playing with her cousin Hannah this morning. Hannah is 10 months older than Chandler, so they are perfect playmates. The girls took a bath together last night and had lots of fun. Aunt Melanie and i are looking forward to many more slumber parties with the girls.

Being silly in the tub:

In the bath with Hannah and her shiner!:

A Little Too Dark!

Ok so i have been highlighting my hair for years. And it is such a pain. I last did highlights before Chandler's birthday in July. So i was way overdue. But i decided to color closer to my natural color. Well i only left the color on for half the time it told me to and you can see how it turned out! It is way too dark. But i was smart and did not do the permanent one. It will wash out in a month or so. After Jeremy saw it he asked if i could go wash my hair about 20 times. I guess you could say he is not a fan! :)

Sevin Things on Sunday

With all the craziness in the world today i thought it would be a good idea to list sevin things that i am thankful for.

1. Modern medicine--so my baby can get better from the Croup.
2. Heat! It is cold out there. We might even get snow flurries tonight or tomorrow.
3. Jeremy's job- so that i can stay at home with Chandler.
4. Happy Hour at Sonic--love my vanilla cokes.
5. Jake--how sweet he is towards Chandler.
6. Low gas prices--i've got a SUV to fill up.
7. My mom being able to come up and visit for 5 days. We had so much fun!

I am going to start a gratitude post once a week. I am hoping it will help me realize just how lucky i am.

Chandler and The Croup

Yesterday when Chandler got up from her nap we noticed that she was wheezing and her voice was very hoarse. This morning it was so much worse. We took her to a walk in clinic where we were passed from nurse to nurse. They put a breathing mask on her and made her breathe some medicine in for about 10 minutes. Well she started crying and hyperventalating. She sounded so much worse. They referred us on to Vanderbilt's Children Hospital so we could go get chest x-rays. Jeremy was not satisfied that they could not tell us what was wrong and that we never got to see a dr. So we called Chandler's peditrician who was open today and told us to come on in. Chandler's regular dr was not working today, but i loved the dr we did see. So much in fact that i am switching Chandler to him! Chandler was diagnosed with the Croup. He put her on some prednisone and we were given a list of instructions. He said that in a few days she should be back to good. Jeremy and i were so pleased that it was nothing serious and that we did not end up having to go to the children's ER. Especially for the wrong diagnosis. The above photo is Chandler watching her Bunnytown--which always seems to make her feel better!

Thanksgiving

Jeremy and i hosted Thanksgiving this year. My mom came up from Miami on Tuesday for the long weekend. We had such a nice visit. Instead of hitting the stores on Friday we decided to take advantage of some pre sales on Wed evening. We ended up going to Kohl's at 10 pm and shopped there until after midnight. There were only a few other shoppers there so it was like having the whole store to ourselves! On Thanksgiving my dad, brother, sister in law, their daughter and another friend came over to eat turkey. After dinner, Chandler and her cousin Hannah played very nicely together. It was too cute. I didn't take too many photos. But included those that i did take.

Checking out Santa with Maya (my mom)

Reading with Grandaddy

Looking for Jake with cousin Hannah