Junior Auxiliary Picnic

This past Saturday, we had a family picnic for Junior Auxiliary. It was the perfect day for a picnic; we couldn't have asked for better weather. The committee worked hard and the end result showed...from the fall decorations to the delicious food, it was a great event. It always seems like meetings are so busy and hectic, so it was nice being able to catch up with members. Kathryn had a blast too. She loved playing with all the girls. She spent some time in the bounce house, but her favorite was playing on the trampoline. The girls played Ring Around the Rosie and Duck, Duck, Goose. They were all so sweet playing.   And, a big THANKS to Fran for helping me with picture posting and the "compose" tab!!!!! 

Gumpy Pants!

Yesterday after church, as usual, we headed out to lunch. We have a variety of places we frequent for Sunday lunch. This Sunday, we went with Rafferty's. Sometime between Sunday School and Rafferty's, Kathryn went from being her usual happy self to being grumpy. As we sat down at the table, her grumpiness continued to escalate. Kyle made the comment, "Kathryn, you wore your grumpy pants today." Kathryn (who's wearing a dress) looks down at her legs and says, "No, I am not wearing pants today." I about lost it. That girl cracks me up!

My little girl is getting so big

Kathryn is getting so big and talking like such a big girl. She totally cracks me up. Last night I was in the kitchen fixing dinner and Kathryn called down to me from the bonus room, "Mommy, you better hurry up, Kai Lan is coming on and you don't want to miss it." Everyday when we get home from school she gets a snack. Lately she has wanted Oreos. So we will come in and she will say, "I just need two cookies, okay?" The way she says "okay" sounds so much like me. If she spills something (or if Kyle or I spill something), Kathryn will say, "That's okay Mommy, accidents happen." She is just so grown up these days!

Kathryn has always been pretty good about playing by herself, but now she can totally entertain herself for a good length of time. She loves playing with her art supplies especially her stickers. We have a great system. When we get home in the afternoons she will play by herself until I get things squared away, then we will play together. It is very nice having a few minutes to get organized.

Kathryn also enjoys helping out around the house. Her favorite chore is feeding Bailey. She pretty much enjoys any chore that is about him...feeding Bailey, walking Bailey, giving him a bath, etc.

Kyle and I are so blessed to have such a sweet little girl. We love her so much!

Total Game Day Experience

This past weekend, Kyle, Jay, Bagby, Tiffany, and I headed to Tallahassee for the Florida State versus Oklahoma game. We had a FUN weekend! On the way down Friday night, we stopped and ate dinner at Guthries. Guthries is delicious, if you have never eaten at one, you need to! Saturday morning we were up and at 'em early to make it to campus for Game Day. This was such a neat experience. There were thousands of fans there to participate. I am glad we were able to experience Game Day in person. Afterwards, we did the traditional walking around and shopping and then headed to our usual spot "The Palace." The Palace is a local bar and perfect for pregame festivities since they have lots of TVs and beverages. We went on into Doak about an hour before game time to take in all of the pregame activities. The game was awesome. Doak Campbell was at an all time loudness. The fans were 110% behind the team. Even though we didn't pull out a "W," we still had a great time. And, I will have to say that Oklahoma fans are the absolute nicest fans I have ever encountered. They were so respectful and kind. All in all, another amazing weekend. The only thing that would have made it better is if FSU would have won. I am looking forward to the rest of our season and seeing how our offense evolves. GO NOLES!!!!!

ChiTown

The weekend of August 12th we headed to Chicago for a long weekend trip. We had an absolute blast! I LOVE Chicago!!!!! I really had no expectations of what it would be like, but I was definitely surprised by how much I loved it. The weather was perfect. Highs in the upper 70's/lower 80's with a great breeze. The city was clean and "green"...literally, every business had huge planters with beautiful flowers. And, surprisingly, pretty much everyone we encountered was nice. I guess I thought people there wouldn't be cordial, but they were. We flew in early Friday morning and took the "L" straight to the city. The CTA system was super easy (and cheap), and I felt like it was the Chicago way to travel. After unloading our luggage, we headed to Eggsperience for breakfast. I had a delicious omelet and orange juice that was freshly squeezed...YUMMY! That day, the boys went to a brewery and the girls hit up the amazing shops. I had to exercise complete control while shopping. After several hours of shopping and lunching, we headed to a corner bar and enjoyed a few drinks outside. Then we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. That night, we went to Ron of Japan. Another great meal, and we celebrated Proc's birthday :). After dinner, we walked around downtown and went out for some dancing and drinks. Saturday, we went to Ditka's for lunch where I experienced the BEST NACHOS EVER!!!!! They were made with pot roast, and they were awesome! After lunch, we made our way over to Wrigley Field. Before going into the game, we hit up the bars outside of the stadium. The crowds were unbelievable. It was one huge tailgate. The game was tons of fun, and the Cubs won! That night for dinner, we had some real Chicago style pizza at Lou Malnati's. It was SOOOOOO good. It was by far my favorite meal of the trip, and just sitting here thinking about it is making me want some NOW. The pizza was delicious and for dessert we got the deep dish cookie...needless to say, there was not a cookie crumb left. After dinner, we walked around for a bit...I needed to burn some calories after that cookie, and then we headed back to our hotel. Sunday morning, we had a few hours before check out so we took full advantage of the time left. We went to Willis Tower and got to see an amazing view of the city. After that, we went breakfast at Wishbone. We ended our weekend with a long walk back to our hotel (on the way stopping by Harpo Studio). It was a beautiful morning, and I enjoyed taking in the city a final time. We decided to make Chicago a yearly trip, I am already looking forward to going back!

Kathryn's Favorites Things...as of now

Kathryn is growing up so quickly, and with that, she has new things she loves, and old favorites she has outgrown.

Favorites as of September 12, 2011
1. Stickers and stamps (and really all things "art")
2. Her big girl room
3. Music (all kinds)
4. Dancing
5. Bubble Guppies, Peppa Pig, and Dora
6. "Special Icy"...frozen Minute Maid pops
7. Jewelry
8. The color orange
9. Cats
10. Purses
11. Running errands with Mommy, and especially loves Sam's
12. Oreos
13. Bitty Baby (named Evie) and changing her clothes
14. Princesses
15. And of course, Ducky

A few things she has outgrown
1. Wonder Pets
2. Her "simple" books...she loves longer stories now
3. Naps (at home on the weekends...she still naps at school)
4. Using a booster seat at the dining table

I am still so very thankful that Kathryn has no opinion on her clothes. She occasionally will ask to wear a specific shirt, but overall, she just goes with the flow. I know this will be short lived, so I am taking advantage of it while I can! We just love our little girl so much, and we are thank God everyday for her!

Kathryn's Big Girl Bedroom

Right before Kathryn's third birthday, we made the big switch from the nursery to her big girl room. Up until this point, Kathryn had slept in her crib (full crib, not converted out), and she loved sleeping in there. She never tried climbing out, and she never complained about being in there. However, I was determined that she needed to be out of her crib before turning three.

We decided to make our guest bedroom her new room. Kathryn's Mimi and Papa gave us some maple furniture that belonged to Mimi's grandparents. It is a maple set and very pretty. The furniture was taken to Camden to be refinished and painted a flat white. I liked the furniture before having it refinished. Once it came back, it is definitely my favorite furniture in the house. I LOVE the white paint on it as well as the new hardware (glass handles and pulls). I wish I would have taken before pics, it looks drastically different now. Mimi and Papa also bought a new light fixture for the room. We had the room painted a pale pink, and replaced the window shades with new blinds. Momma Pam bought a curtain rod and hung the rod and new curtains. Over the summer, I bought the Haley Pottery Barn bedding...I just couldn't resist! I wanted this room to be very girly since her nursery was not. We did not find out the gender when we were pregnant, so everything in her nursery is gender neutral. Therefore I was ready for lots of pink and girly touches. I still have a few things left to do...mostly wall art. I need to have a mirror professionally hung above the long dresser because the mirror is very heavy. And, I need to come up with some sort of art to put on the wall above the bed. Other than that, the room is complete and I am pleased with the outcome!

An overall view of the bedding

The new light fixture

Kiki gifted this right after Kathryn was born...it hangs on her closet door

Nightlight gifted from Haven

Close up pic of the long dresser...the picture really does not do the furniture justice

New curtains and blinds

Close up of the furniture's hardware

Lamp gifted by Momma Pam

Kathryn is THREE!

I just can't believe my baby girl is 3. To celebrate this milestone, we held a birthday party at the church for all her friends. Kathryn was so excited about having a party. When she would talk about the party, she would say, "I am going to have a birthday party. There are going to be mommies, daddies, and friends there!" She would state this with such excitement. It was just too cute. I didn't tell her specific names of friends coming in case something happened last minute...I didn't want her to be expecting someone and then them not be able to make it. At her party, we did a balloon theme and had Scott the Balloon Guy come in from Nashville to do a magic show and balloon art. Scott was quite entertaining and his balloon art is unbelievable. All the kids had a great time, and I think the adults did too. Scott began his magic show by popping a balloon, and this scared Kathryn (she does not like loud noises), so for the first 15-20 minutes of the party, Kathryn hung out in the hallway. Finally, thanks to Stephanie Lanham and her M&Ms, we were able to get Kathryn to go back into the room and watch the rest of the show with her friends. Once Scott was finished with the magic portion of the show, he created a variety of balloon sculptures and animals. He took requests, and Kathryn's request was an orange kitty, so that's what she got. After the show, we all enjoyed cupcakes made by Momma Pam and then opened presents. Kathryn received LOTS of goodies, and she loves them all. One of her favorite gifts was her kitty and basket (gifted by Momma Hope). We were blessed to have so many family and friends there to celebrate with us. It was a great 3rd birthday!!!!!

Collage of Decorations and Balloon Art

Family and Friends Celebrating