Still Around!

It's been a LONG time since I have posted anything! But we're still here. So much has happened since that last post in February. Most notably, we are getting ready to have another baby! As in, she is due any time now!

The beginning was definitely the hardest of any of my pregnancies, so I kind of went into survival mode for a while. The last part of this pregnancy has actually been pretty good, thankfully! I am starting to get to point of really just wanting her to get here already. This body is tired!

I would really love to get back to posting more, but I won't try to make any promises considering we are adding a newborn within the next week. :) For now I will leave you with an updated pic of each of the kids.

Happy Birthday, Nana!!!

Macy Turns 2!!!

Today is my sweet baby girl's second birthday. It hard to believe that that is even possible. What a joy she is to our family! In her two years she has taught me so much as a mother and I am sure that she will continue to challenge me for years to come. :) She is spunky, loving, stubborn and amazingly smart.

For her big day, I took her to get her first haircut. It was long overdue. I loved being able to put her hair in pigtails, but when it was down it looked too stringy and messy.

So I picked a fun hair salon for kids and we headed out to Sharkey's. They have a first haircut package that was great and included a haircut while sitting in a pink Barbie Jeep with suckers and her own tv to watch.

She did great, no fussing. Even though she refused to smile for the camera, she really did have a great time. And I think her hair turned out super cute!

When her hair was done it was time for her mini mani! She even got to pick out her own polish color...pink sparkles!

 

After dinner, we invited our neighbor friends over for some cake and ice cream. We are lucky that our kids have such good friends right across the cul de sac.

Overall I think she had a pretty terrific second birthday. My heart practically bursts with love for that girl!

Happy Birthday, Macy Jean!

Happy Birthday, Mamaw!!!

A special birthday message for my wonderful mom, aka Mamaw:

Happy Birthday!
We love you and hope you are having a wonderful day!

Mamaw!

Encore!

Yesterday was my birthday and, lucky me, it was also observation day at Chloe's ballet class. That was a little gift that I was so excited for! Here are two short videos of the class. The first is of the girls tap dancing to "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid. The second video is of the ballet portion. Unfortunately I wasn't ready when they started that part so it is pretty short. She loves it and it cracks me up how serious she is through the whole thing. I hope you enjoy!

 

Chloe loves her class so much she asks everyday if it is a ballet day. In fact, this morning she has already asked how many days until she gets to go back. I don't know how long she will enjoy these classes, but I am going to enjoy them while I can. She makes me such a proud momma!

Ballet!

Tiny Dancer

Tuesday little Chloe began ballet class. Actually, it is a ballet/tap combo class with a little tumbling thrown in for good measure. She was so excited to go! Of course she had to wear all the appropriate clothing and accessories. :)  When she looked in the mirror and saw her hair she exclaimed, "I have a hair in my bun!" She absolutely loved the class and is already asking when she gets to "ballet again". 

My sweet girl is growing up so fast, like they all are. She is such a joy to be around, very kind and caring and VERY independent. I am so proud of my tiny dancer.

(And yes, I listened to that song while I wrote this post.)  ;)

Another First...This Time for Chloe!

 

Today way Chloe's first day of preschool! My sweet girl has been begging to go to school like Colby since she was old enough to get the words out. Well, today was finally her day. She was so excited, and even picked out her outfit, shoes and hairstyle. Although she can sometimes be shy, she is very independent and was totally ready for this next step. I am so proud of her!

 

Chloe with her assistant teacher and teacher

Chloe with her very own cubby

And just a few pics of my sweet pea from her big day:

Mommy loves you, Miss Chloe!!!

KINDERGARTEN!!!

Today is Colby's first day of Kindergarten! I can not believe that he is now a school kid. Where have the last five years gone?!

 Seriously, though, I absolutely could not be more proud of this boy. It was hard to fight back the tears as I dropped him off, but was able to because of the heart-busting love and pride. He was so excited that I was barely able to give him a goodbye hug. He is so smart and kind and such a blessing!

It also helps that we LOVE his new school. There is an amazing sense of community and school pride at a level that I have never experienced. The staff is fabulous, but so are the other parents. We feel like Colby is in the perfect place for him right now. I just know in my heart that he is going to flourish!

The bear marking the Kindergarten hallway

The wall at the entrance to his classroom

Colby with his super sweet teachers

Go get 'em, my amazing boy!


colby

Still Alive

Wow! It has been FOREVER since I have blogged! Well, at least I have had a good reason. For the readers that might not know, we are moving! We found out shortly after Macy's birthday that Curt would be getting a promotion. Yay! However, that also meant moving from Illinois to South Carolina. The last few months have been a whirlwind of finishing house projects, selling our old house, house hunting in SC and moving out.

Right now we are in a three-week transition period. Our old house has been sold and we are waiting until the end of the month to close on the new house. It's not ideal, but we are very grateful for family that is willing to take us in. :)

If I have internet access, I would really love to start blogging regularly again, starting while we are on the road. I think it will be required of my me by our families since we will be living so far apart.

If you have stuck around during my absence, Thanks! I'll see you again soon!

My new baby...

No, I'm not pregnant. :) I have a new business! I'm sure most of you know, but a few may not. I have been working for a long time now on getting my photography business up and running. It is still in the baby stages, but it is now out there for the world. Yikes! I am so excited to start this part of my life (after a 7 year break).  So if you're interested, and you aren't completely tired of hearing about it, go check it out!

You can also find my business page on Facebook:

I have been working on this project to the neglect of this blog. I really miss the days of having regular posts here. I hope to get back to being a regular here soon!

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday to my sweet Macy! 

We love you so much and are so thankful you are part of our family. Your big grins, funny faces and silly ways make us all smile everyday.

(Sorry your day was spent trapped in the house due to a blizzard.
We'll do it up right this weekend!)

Happy Holidays!

 lkjlkj

Have a wonderful holiday! We'll see you next year!

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Macy's First T-Day

Well, Macy really enjoyed her first turkey day. We spent the holiday with Curt's side of the family with a big dinner at his grandpa's house. It was fun for me to see Macy wear the outfit and turkey hair bow that Chloe wore on her first Thanksgiving.

 

Even though it is so much better, Macy still has a touch of stranger anxiety. It came as a shock to all of us when she decided to befriend Curt's uncle, Bobby. Too cute!

After a great meal with great family, Macy finally decided it was the right time to learn how to crawl!

It was a great way to end the day. Of course several days of leftovers were in store for the rest of the weekend. Thanks to Curt's mom and dad for yet another wonderful holiday!