Blast from the Past

I just found this pic on my computer and I don't think I ever posted it here! What a fun memory. Micah and I drove up to visit his sister and her husband. We went to an Arkansas football game and camped out! It was on this trip that my morning sickness started with Grace (I was about 8 weeks preggo). I remember stopping at the drug store to get some Vitamin B6 to help with the nausea...ha! Good times, Rachel!

Booyah

What can you get for about $100 at Just Between Friends you ask....

2 complete summer wardrobes for my sweet baby girls!

Thats:

8 pairs of shorts

a bathing suit

4 sets of jammies

13 shirts

11 dresses

3 pairs of pants

I was absolutely giddy today to get to shop at my favorite resale event. I look forward to it every fall/spring. It literally saves our family hundreds of dollars!

9 Months!

Yay, I'm 9 months old!!

Sweet Baby Grace is 9 months old!! This has been a big month for her...she started crawling and pulling up! She also started eating better for me as far as table food/pureed food is concerned. She loves to clap her hands and wrinkle her nose at you. She is still doing great at school (2 days a week while I teach), but now she gets sad if she sees me in the hall and I don't pick her up. They push 6 babies at a time in the "Bye Bye Buggy" and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen! I try to stick my head out to get a glimpse, but now it makes her sad. :( She has 5 teeth and 3 more that are about to cut through...we are over achievers in the teeth area. She thinks it's funny when she bites my shoulder and I tell her No No...she laughs at me. Yep.

In case anyone is wondering..no, she doesn't have a perpetual wound on her forehead...it's her birthmark. Technically it's called a hemangioma, basically a cluster of blood vessels just under the skin. It wasn't there when she was born, but formed at about 3 weeks of age. It has a very high possibility of shrinking and disappearing in the next year or so, but if it doesn't we can have it removed after she's a year old...or not, it makes her special! (She also has one on her tummy). Just wanted to clarify because I get stopped at least 3 times a week by strangers asking me if she has hurt herself!

Yo Gabbba

Ummm...is it bad that my 9 month old has a favorite show? We don't watch a ton of t.v. around here, but this show is absolutely mesmerizing to Grace when it comes on.



If you haven't seen it before, you ought to watch a few minutes of it...pretty trippy.

Will and Grace

We had a great playdate with Karson and her kids today...
Can these two be any cuter?? Grace and her baby boyfriend Will.



Our best attempt at getting all 4 kiddos to look at the camera...3 out of 4 isn't bad!



My, how our hang out time's have changed, Karson! For the better, of course! :)

Almost There

Here's some video of Grace trying to crawl...she's almost there! Of course, Annalee had to get in on the footage too!

Snowed In

I know you've all heard about our record breaking snow by now. It was so gorgeous! We woke up Thursday morning to see our yard covered with it. I watched the news for 45 minutes waiting on school to be cancelled (we follow a local districts cancellation schedule)...it never happened, so I loaded up the girls and headed to Mother's Day Out. By the end of the day it had snowed 6-8 inches and local districts were having early releases. I am terrified to drive in bad weather, even more so with my 2 babies, so I had Terry and Jodie pick us up from school (a 5 minute drive from their house) and that's where we stayed until I got brave enough to venture home. It snowed non-stop all day for a grand total of 12 inches! Amazing.



We had to improvise for Annalee...those are Target bags on her feet!



Trying to eat the snow.




More snow eating!

The Run-Down

How about a run-down of what the girls have been up to lately?

Those pesky top two teeth FINALLY made their way through! It seriously took a month, wow! Grace has discovered them and now grinds them on her bottom teeth...makes my skin crawl.




This is the face of a happy baby just moments before the stomach bug took over our entire family for 48 hours. As I say every year, why us and why does it always start with the youngest?? See ya next year nasty virus!




Grace is loving her life in the big tub now and Annalee loves that she can hop in and join the bath party.



Asher and Grace have been trying to get to know each other a little better...he's 4 months younger. Notice the beginning of a terrified look on his face. He's not so sure about her grabbing and squawking!




Annalee had a very successful 1st dentist trip. I mean, who can't when it's set up like a carnival? She came home with more treats and goodies than when she goes to the grandparents house! Certificate, toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, fancy ring, balloon fish...it was greatness for her. They were playing Snow White and had toys everywhere. She was such a big girl. She let the doctor examine her teeth, count them and then brush and floss them. Next time we'll have an actual cleaning and x-rays.

Master Bath Before and After

Master bath time...before, again...wowzer!



And after...sorry it's dark, my flash wouldn't work with the sunlight coming through the window.
This shot was taken from the same vantage point as the 'before' picture. We removed the corner vanity and replaced it with a single one on the right side. We cut a doorway that leads into the master closet. This was one of the major changes that we made to the house. Before, there were only 2 small closets in the master bedroom and one very large closet in Annalee's room...well, we decided to change some walls around in order to connect the larger closet to the master bathroom and leave Annalee's room with a regular sized closet.



The new vanity...



The view of the tub.



We also replaced the toilet, painted, re-tiled the shower and raised the height of it, and re-tiled the floor.

Sneak Peek Round 2

Alrighty, here's our kitchen....before. Yuck!

And after...ahh, much better!

This is the view from my sink looking out into our family room to the right and our dining room and the living room to the left.




This room needed a ton of TLC. We laid hardwood floor, painted, replaced the countertops and backsplash, upgraded appliances, painted the cabinets, replaced the weird table thing for a peninsula with cabinets and removed the awesome saloon doors that closed it off from the dining room...pretty much a complete overhaul! I love the square coziness of it and the fact that it overlooks our family room.