The Lindley Family

Birmingham Zoo with Aunt Meg and Uncle Jason!

2011-07-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

Aunt Meg and Uncle Jason invited us to come along with the children's ministry at their church to the Birmingham Zoo earlier this summer and the girls had so much fun! We were a little concerned with how hot we were probably going to be, but a big storm cloud formed and provided cool weather and the rain held off until right about the time we were planning to leave!

Father's Day Weekend at Yogi on the Lake

2011-07-06T20:58:00.009-05:00

Earlier this year, I bought a Groupon for a 2-night stay at Yogi on the Lake for a great deal (LOVE Groupon!). When we called to make reservations, the only weekend available was Father's Day through the end of June so we took it! Da'be, Nana, Meg & Jason joined us for the weekend and what a great weekend it turned out to be...other than a tiny mishap around midnight the last night when Maggie got a little sick due to possible dehydration then downing a little too much fluids at once!

This was taken from our back patio while we were settling in and waiting on our guests to arrive!

Cooking s'mores!!! Everyone loves this yummy dessert!

Chillin' outdoors - making memories!

Dominoes, hula hoop, lots of fun activities

We finally got to meet YOGI

and BOO-BOO The splash park was perfect for the ages of my girls - they could run around and play by themselves while we watched from afar or we could join in the fun! They had a blast!

Cindy Bear

Making a lawnmower cupcake for Dad at the activity center Yogi Cabin #8

Fish Fry! We all split up the meals and ate WAY too good considering we were "camping"

Uncle Jason took Addie fishing on the pier and to say that she was excited about her catch is an understatement! Saying the Pledge of Allegience with Yogi and Boo-Boo before heading home

We had a great time and we can't wait to go back!

Soccer 2011

2011-05-03T22:10:00.002-05:00

Addison played in her first soccer season this winter/spring and it was a lot of fun! I have never been involved in soccer what-so-ever so this was definitely a learning experience for us all. It wasn't really that hard to catch onto (especially at the 6 and under level!) and she really enjoyed it. She scored 5 (or 6) goals during the season and we stayed busy on most Saturdays!!!

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-26T21:01:00.007-05:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter. Da'be came down Thursday night and kept the girls for me on Friday since the daycare was closed and Lee and I had to work :( but (thanks to the first movie being sold out!) I got to take off a little early and meet them for HOP! It was sooo cute. Saturday, Nana came down to spend the night and we cooked out in the beautiful weather, hunted eggs, and dyed some Easter eggs! Before bedtime, the girls and I made some Easter Story cookies and they thought that was really neat. Sunday morning...the Easter Bunny (and the grandmothers!) left a few goodies and the girls were so excited. Addison said that she got just what she wanted - Yogi Bear!!! We went to the 9:30 service and came home to cook a good Easter lunch. After the grandmoms headed back home, we settled on the couch to watch a little Yogi Bear, but Maggie and I didn't even get past the previews - first nap I have had in I can't even remember when and it was sooo nice!!!

These are some of the pictures from the many different egg hunts of the season - a great egg hunt with Eric, Jaclyn, and Parker's family, at the Renaissance with some friends, plus the many many egg hunts in our backyard!

Addison wore the dress that Sloan wore in our wedding - it was very special and she looked absolutely beautiful! Decked out in their gifts from the grandmothers - ready for the beach and pool with their swimsuits, towels, and bags!

On another note...Justin proposed to Katie over the weekend and we couldn't be happier for them!!! So excited about future wedding planning and adding a sister-in-law!

Hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter!

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

"Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die" (John 11:25, 26).

Kid's Field Day at Lake Caroline

2011-04-22T22:36:00.003-05:00

Lake Caroline had a kid's field day in early April and it was a grand affair!!! They had bouce houses, inflatable slides, trains, trampolines, rock climbing walls, an Easter egg hunt, and even the Easter Bunny! But...it didn't take Addison long to conclude that it wasn't the REAL Easter bunny because he had real people hands!!! Can't get much past her! It was a fun outing with family and friends.

A little of this and that...

2011-04-11T20:55:00.005-05:00

The first of the year is always a little blah for us because it's not much going on after the busy holidays and it is soooo cold outside so I wanted to do a quick recap and post a few pictures of my two cuties just being their silly selves!

Cooking a little...

Painting the bathtub wall...

putting together puzzles more times than I think I can possibly count...

Maggie got a "big girl" room makeover...

celebrated Daddy's birthday...

went to see Mamma Mia...

took care of our babies...

even the princess got in on a little toothbrush-scrubbing of the cabinets...

chilling and watching a movie...

stylin... and of course...lots of dress-up!!!

Not a great update, but one nonetheless!!! Pictures are what everyone really wants to see anyway!

Happy Birthday Da'be

2011-04-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

We were so excited for Da'be to come visit this weekend so that we could celebrate her birthday all weekend long!!! Da'be's favorite desserts are ice cream and cookies so what better combination to celebrate her big day than "homemade" ice cream sandwiches rolled in sprinkles! Hope to blog soon on all the many fun things we did this weekend :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DA'BE!!!

St. Paddy's Day Parade 2011

2011-04-03T20:54:00.003-05:00

The girls had a BLAST at this year's St. Paddy's Day Parade!!! Addison was a great age and thoroughly enjoyed herself. Uncle G and M showed up to help her out in collecting as many beads as she possibly could and I enjoyed having their help keeping up with my 2 in all that crowd. They also stood in a LOOOONG line holding both of the girls to get balloon animals/hats for the girls from Uncle Gary's friend the clown! We were thrilled that Mason & Emily and Lilli Kathryn & Jessica joined us this year. The 3 amigos had fun seeing all the crazy people dressed up and caught a few beads themselves. This is a fun tradition for me to share with my girls (we missed Da'be this year) since my grandmother always brought me and Carrie and we always went with my aunt and cousins every year. Good Times!

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-20T21:18:00.004-05:00

This year...Lee and I got a "spring break" from the parenting world (special thanks goes out to Da'be!) We treated ourselves to dinner out on the town a couple of times and most nights I had a hard time falling asleep which was odd since most nights I am asleep before my head hits the pillow - funny how exhausting being a mom can be and we usually don't even realize it!! The girls loved absolutely every single minute of their spring break in Macon...so much so that we practically had to beg to get them to talk to us at night and every time I asked if they were ready to come home I got a resounding NOOOO! Addison came home Friday before spring break saying that all her friends were going to their grandparents so she was so excited to learn that I was taking her to hers. I drove the girls to Macon last weekend and came home alone on Sunday (forgot what it was like to ride in my car by myself listening to whatever I wanted to that was not a DVD playing on the TV that I can't see!). I will try to recount the activities of their week as that has been all they have talked about since I met Da'be to get them back on Thursday night.

Addison and Maggie sporting a wig handmade by Da'be - so funny seeing Maggie with hair :) The first time she tried it on and every time afterwards she would say I want to look like Addie (too funny...I guess because Addison has hair!)
Monday they visited Maw-Maw at the nursing home to give her a haircut. Later that night, Meg and Nana took them out to eat a little Mexican.

Tuesday, they ventured to Columbus to pick Grannie up so they could take her to the doctor on Wednesday morning. Tuesday night, Aunt Pat gave Da'be a break and the girls went to go play at her house!

Wednesday - They took Grannie to the doctor and back to her home. Afterwards, Da'be treated Addison to a movie - Gnomeo and Juliet! She was planning to take Maggie too, but Lee and I talked her into calling Lauren Colby! LC was soooo excited and I know Maggie had a blast with her!

Thursday - Da'be and girls packed a picnic and headed to Central Academy to spend the beautiful day playing on the playground!!! It is special to Lee and I that they were able to play on the same grounds that we grew up playing on and Addison thought it was really neat too!

The girls absolutely adore their Da'be and I am pretty sure she is just as fond of them! Hopefully she won't kill me for putting this no-makeup picture of her on here, but I thought it was the best representation of how here week probably went! The girls want her undivided attention ALL THE TIME. So....I know she was completely worn out by Thursday, but I know she wouldn't trade one minute of her time spent with them and besides...she would have been bored out of her mind home alone all week!!!

They also went shopping one day and this is the outfit that Addison come home with - I was told that she walked up to one of the mannequins and said..."I want all of that that she has on!" She is a major accessorizer - maybe she can teach me a thing or two! Maggie got two cute little outfits as well, but I wouldn't let her wear it to school because the shirts were white! Addison had to wear her outfit her first day back to school!

Thanks DA'BE - we love you!!!

So sorry we have been MIA....

2011-03-03T21:06:00.004-06:00

but we have been BUSY! We thought and prayed a lot during the holidays and decided after the first of the year that we would put our house up for sale!!! We are planning to stay in Madison, but would just like to try to find something with a little more room and a place where we hopefully plan to "stay". Addison starts school in the fall (soooo hard for me to believe) so we are hoping that this will be a "speedy" process and we can get "re-settled" before the end of the summer. Since I went to school with the same friends my entire life and knew pretty much everything about them and we won't be able to give her this same setting, we would at least like for her to be able to stay in the same building!! We don't currently have it listed with an agent, but are definitely willing to work with someone if they know a buyer. Please pray for us as we chart this new territory; I am not very good at the waiting game and am trying real hard not to worry about this!

I have been MIA from the blogging world because we have been working hard to get this house "ready to sale". Lee and I have spent lots and lots of nights (after the girls are in bed) scrubbing cabinets/baseboards, touching up paint, well you get the picture! And, without my mom coming to help a few weekends by pitching in on scrubbing, de-cluttering, and keeping the girls out of the way, we probably would still be working! We are extremely grateful for the beautiful weather we had last weekend because it allowed us to powerwash the outside and garage and finish up the last few projects. Now, the biggest job is to keep it clean every single day in case someone calls!! Should be interesting with two little ones :)

Please pass the word along to anyone that you know and have them contact me or Lee if they are interested! We have loved living in Lake Caroline and might stay if we can find the right house - it is a great place to live!

Santa's Visit to the Lindley Girls!

2011-02-07T21:34:00.002-06:00

The girls were soooo much fun to watch this year on Christmas morning - they were beyond excited Christmas Eve (even though we still had to wake them up so that we could get to all the places that we needed to Christmas day!). Santa found us in Macon this year since all the rest of the family was going to be there it was hard for us to resist going as well. The girls each got a bicycle/tricycle and they loved them even though it was a couple of days before the sun came out and we could ride outside. Maggie's was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse tricycle that made all kinds of noise and she couldn't get all the buttons pushed fast enough! Addison got a VTech Mobigo from Da'be and she is so smart in figuring out all the games. We had a blast and all are extremely blessed to be able to share the holidays with our loved ones!

Christmas at Pap & Suzy's

2011-02-07T21:30:00.002-06:00

2010 Christmas' at Dabe's and Nana's

2011-01-31T21:29:00.004-06:00

I am going to have to let the pictures speak for themselves on all our family Christmas celebrations because otherwise, I might be March before I finish posting Christmas!!! I hope to have Santa's visit and Christmas at Pap & Suzy's posted as soon as possible!

Christmas Decorations 2010

2011-01-19T21:37:00.003-06:00

Here is a peek into what our house looked like at Christmas (and some of the fun we had!) for those of you that didn't get to see it!

Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes

2011-01-13T21:27:00.003-06:00

We all waited excitedly (is that a word?) for Disney on Ice for a loooong time and it was everything we thought it would be and more! Da'be treated us to tickets and we were very grateful. To say the girls loved it would be an understatement - Maggie was in awe from the moment that it started and when it came time for intermission Addison was almost in tears wanting to know why all the other princesses didn't come out...she was not ready for it to be over!!! Our tickets came with a disposable camera and Addison was also distraught when she realized that she had used all her film before intermission (she also had to get used to the fact that she couldn't see the picture she had just taken - haha!) I went to Disney on Ice as a child and remember how much fun I had so I was so glad to get to share this experience with my little girls. Of course we had to wear our princess attire to go watch the princesses! We will definitely be returning the next time the show is in town!

This is Maggie's reaction the moment the first performer (who happened to be Mickey & Minnie) stepped on the ice! Priceless!!!

Aunt Pat gave these to Addison at the family Christmas the weekend before Disney on Ice and she was so excited about wearing them (they were much harder for her to manage than I think she expected - ha!)

Thanks Da'be...we had a blast!

Breakfast with Santa!

2011-01-12T21:36:00.002-06:00

Our neighborhood hosted Breakfast with Santa for the second year in a row. The girls LOVED Santa (and Mrs. Clause) this year. It was so much fun to see how excited they were to sit in Santa's lap. Maggie was ecstatic! My last year's picture has Maggie screaming and reaching for her mama so this was a great improvement.

Christmas Programs!

2011-01-12T21:15:00.003-06:00

As I have mentioned before, we were REAL busy during December and as I am reminded looking back through pictures it might take me a full week (or two) just to blog through this particular week of fun, fun, fun! Starting with Wednesday night, December 8th, Addison's daycare presented their cute program showcasing the Christmas Story with an emphasis on the animal's prespective!!! She was the "Star of Bethleham" and we were shocked when she lifted a 8-10 foot pole with a star on it above her head (and all the other kids in the program!); she was so excited about being the star and we were so proud!! I am always grateful for the Christian influence that my children are exposed to each day while I am working away. It is humbling beyond description each time I hear that large group of children belting out traditional hymns and contemporary praise songs. That night, in particular, Suzy made a special trip down to show her support for Addison then...when we walked in the sanctuary we were all surprised to see Da'be! It meant so much to Addison to have grandparents in the audience like so many of her classmates! Thanks for always being so supportive!

Then...on Sunday, she was part of the AWANA's Christmas program - The Christmas County Spelling Bee. She was an extra on the set and came in periodically to buzz as the "bee", cheer on the contestants, then light the way as the final songs were sung. The older kids in this program were great - it was a really funny production.

Lindley Family Christmas!

2011-01-11T20:52:00.006-06:00

The day after Nana's birthday dinner, we gathered at Aunt Linda's for the "big" Lindley family Christmas!!! It is so great to see everyone and celebrate being blessed with such a large, loving family! Thanks to Aunt Linda and Aunt Pat for all the effort they put forth each year to make sure that we are all together at some point during the holiday season. I know how difficult it must be to try to fit into everyone's busy schedules during December.

Little funny story that I have to share that came from my totally innocent 4-year-old. I went to a baby shower and she stayed at Nana's with the rest of the gang so this was relayed to me from Meg & Kate. They were all discussing the Lindley Family Christmas and the fact that we were all going the next day when Addison looked up at both Meg & Kate very seriously and said "why are y'all going to the Lindley Family Christmas - you're not Lindley's!" then she looked at Kate and said..."You're a Norris!" Of course, this proceeded to a long conversation trying to explain that their last name used to be Lindley's, etc. It is so funny to see things come to light for children; they have so much to learn and they definitely start absorbing at a very young age and do so at a very fast pace!!!

Happy 60th Birthday to Nana!

2011-01-11T20:42:00.003-06:00

The first weekend of December all of Nana's children, spouses, and grandchildren traveled home to help her celebrate her birthday!!! We hung out on Saturday and decorated her house for Christmas (well really Meg & Kate did all the work!) then that night we went out for a special dinner at Broussard's in Columbus and it was so much fun and the food was excellent, of course! We only took the older grandchildren to dinner so I thoroughly got to enjoy my night out without having to feed someone else or make sure they weren't interrupting someone else's dinner! I am pretty sure that Nana couldn't have asked for a better gift than to have all of us together. Here's to many many more!!!

Merry Christmas from the Lindley's

2010-12-22T21:58:00.003-06:00

Since I am obviously waaaay behind on my posts and just now making it to Thanksgiving, I am giving up hope to get through sharing all the fun that we have had in December before Christmas! I will hopefully give a proper update in the coming weeks, but for now...

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the LINDLEY'S!!!

These two girls are beside themselves with excitement this holiday season and their parents are just as excited to see them so happy - truely the spirit of the Christmas Season!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-22T21:22:00.004-06:00

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving holidays!!!

We spent the weekend before Thanksgiving at Pap & Suzy's camphouse with the entire family - it was so nice to all be under one roof! There are 4 beds (which were completely full both nights) in the loft and it was sooo much fun listening to the girls say their prayers and call out "I love you - goodnight!" All of us girls enjoyed cooking together Saturday and the kids loved being able to ride the 4-wheelers and shoot the BB guns. On Sunday, we had a "photo shoot" and I sooo wish we could have taken a picture of our set up of the camera and tripod (it was on top of the roof of Jason's truck!!!). But...if I must say so myself, we got some pretty great shots!

On Thanksgiving Day, we hosted at our house and I made dressing for the very first time and it was actually pretty good! Da'be, CC, Grannie, Nana, and Jill all joined us. After lunch, we enjoyed a nice afternoon sitting on deck and playing outside. It was a very relaxing holiday and truely a time to reflect.

Maggie's First Haircut (or Trim)!

2010-12-15T18:41:00.004-06:00

As anybody can tell, Maggie has very little hair! I laugh and say that I just thought Addison didn't have any hair because Maggie really doesn't! Maggie's hair stands straight up off the top of her head which has garnered her another nickname - "baby chickenhead" because if she wore the glasses she would look just like Chicken Little! Any way...while we were in Macon, Da'be gave her her first little trim in hopes of getting that baby hair off the bottom and maybe some new hair will start to come in. For anybody that was following my blog when Addison was a baby...it might have taken her 2.5 years to start growing hair, but as you can tell, once it started to come in - it grew in a hurry (which is why I have a hard time cutting it now - it took soooo long get it!). We are hoping the same for Maggie so people will quit calling her a little boy!

MSU vs. Alabama Game

2010-12-15T17:32:00.004-06:00

Carrie invited us to come to Tuscaloosa for the MSU vs. Alabama game a while back and we looked forward to it for a very long time! We had a great time hanging out with she and Wilson (even though the game wasn't very good for State!). The seats were awesome and the stadium was huge - thanks you two! We thoroughly enjoyed our kid-free weekend and they enjoyed their weekend with Da'be!

We got to visit a little with the Norris'

and our good friends, David and Hope

We had a little family photo session while we were all dressed up!

Sweet Sugars!

This is what happens when Maggie gets to be around the people who will let her eat anything (which is pretty much anybody other than me and Lee!)

Pap & Suzy's 25th Anniversary

2010-12-15T17:11:00.004-06:00

On November 2nd, Pap and Suzy celebrated 25 years of wedded bliss! Lauren Colby worked hard to plan a special celebration. We met out at the new camphouse (which looks amazing!) with the family and a couple of their friends to toast to this amazing accomplishment!

On Sunday afternoon, we all enjoyed being outside...riding the 4-wheeler, tractor, target and skeet shooting, and all the other fun stuff you get to do out in the "country"

I love the picture below...the girls were playing in the loft and of course, their favorite activity was jumping! Maggie had worn herself out!!!

Trick-or-Treat!

2010-11-03T21:30:00.008-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!

The girls had a blast this year running around trick-or-treating and collecting candy and we certainly enjoyed being able to stay a safe distance behind and watching them "do-it-themselves" and of course, encouraging some thank you's!

Since Toy Story is all the rage this year, Addison knew exactly what she wanted to be for Halloween and we even talked (which wasn't hard!) Da'be into making her outfit. Didn't she do a fabulous job?! Maggie got her outfit somewhat by default, but I LOVED it! While we were in Tuscaloosa visiting CC one weekend a few months ago we did a little consignment shop browsing and we ran across this costume for only $8! I didn't get it at first then couldn't resist so we went back and bought it and I am soooo glad. She was absolutely adorable and loved wearing the outfit (she always was making sure that her hood/ears were up!). We got some many compliments on how classic her costume was!

Trunk or Treat at Ridgeland Freedom Ridge Park - the girls had a grand time and got buckets of candy! Da'be sent the girls a Halloween package and below they are enjoying their marshmellow suckers! The dentist will probably be racking in the money!!!

Jessie the Cowgirl!

Dumbo!

We went over to Eric & Jaclyn Durham's house for a little trick-or-treating on Saturday night and afterwards watched some football and enjoyed visiting with friends. Toy Story was well represented - hate we couldn't get all the kids together for a group picture!

Parker and Addison held hands almost the entire night while going door to door!

The girls with their candy stash and their choice of "one" piece - Addison is my chocolate girl and Maggie will always choose a sucker over anything else!!!

Fun at the Fair!

2010-10-26T20:54:00.004-05:00

We didn't make it to the State Fair downtown this year because we usually go on Sunday afternoon and this year instead we had Maggie's birthday party! We weren't really sure that we wanted to try to go anyway because we were a little afraid that Maggie wouldn't be able to ride everything and she would really NOT be ok with being left out after she LOVED to ride at Disney World this summer. I had heard a little bit about the Yazoo Co. Fair and it ran the week after the State Fair so the Friday night after Lee got back from his hunting trip we took the girls on a surprise trip to the fair and they were so excited! It was great - you paid $9 to get in and it covered all the rides you dared to ride (as many times as you wanted and we didn't have to deal with tickets!), there were no lines, and it was a lot more patroled. The girls smiled the whole time they were there and there was only one thing that Maggie got turned away from. We had a funnel cake to top off the night and we will definitely be returning!

Addison's 1st Field Trip...

2010-10-25T20:57:00.011-05:00

(click to enlarge and I think if you double click it will zoom in!)

AND we went to the Pumpkin Patch!!! I took the morning off and joined her (you know because she won't always want me to tag along!). We had a great time and it is always fun to see her interact with kids that she plays with on a daily basis (those girls are definitely little prima donnas - they were too funny!) and it is so amazing how much they pick up on that we are sometimes oblivious to! We went to the Nichols-Boyd Pumpkin Patch on Hwy 43 in Brandon. There we all enjoyed a hay ride, ran around the hay maze, dug in the "corn"box, swung on potato swings, petted a few farm animals (Addison was rubbing all over the cow!), drank some pumpkin juice, and of course, picked out our pumpkins!!! It was a beautiful day outside and I had a great time with Addison, her friends, and all their moms, dads, and grandparents.

Thankful...

2010-10-23T21:52:00.020-05:00

Now that Lee is back and I am no longer home alone...I feel comfortable posting that I spent 5 nights (well really only 3 since Mom came for the weekend!) at home by myself with the girls!!! And if you know me at all, you know that this is a huge accomplishment - I am a big scaredy cat and hear every creak and crack! But...I prayed a lot about this fear and the need to conquer it and God really sent a peacefulness over me and I wasn't really worried at all. Lee, Les, and Justin went to New Mexico last week on a guy's hunting trip. It definitely sounds like they had a blast (even though they didn't kill anything) and I know that it was special for them to be able to spend some father/son/brother time together without all us women around!

They drove out to their good friend Jerry's house in New Mexico and then they all set up tents, camped out in the mountains, and hiked out each day to hunt.

Lee said this is where they set up camp - beautiful fall setting. I wish he would have taken a pic of the actual camp!

Life was definitely a "little" busier for me as a "single" parent during that almost week, but we did pretty well and had some really good girl-time as well! My birthday was the second day of Lee's abscence and our family and my co-workers made sure that I got plenty of attention! I got lots of texts and phone calls and had breakfast and goodies all day at work. Mom came in for the weekend and we did lots of fun stuff! Saturday, the weather was beautiful so we headed up to Lake Caroline's clubhouse for the annual craft show and I got started on a little Christmas shopping. Next, we drove into Ridgeland for the Annual Fall Festival that is always a lot of fun (Kellis Moore is in charge so I usually get to see lots of CA alumni and their kiddos and that is always fun!). It is a free event for the community - chili cookoff, hay rides, bounce houses, petting zoo, pony rides, characiture paintings, face paintings, rock climbing walls, and cookie decorating!

After an eventful morning, we went back home for some afternoon rest and relaxtion on the back porch since the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Once we were rejuvenated, we took off to the Renaissance to do some shopping and eat out for my birthday.

Now on to Sunday...in case you haven't guess, we love living where there are sooo many fun things to do close by and sometimes even "free". We bought an annual family pass to the zoo earlier this year for 2 adults and children for $40, and since it was so pretty outside...mom and I decided to get some more use out of it! We didn't tell the girls where we were going. We had a picnic by the railroad tracks at the zoo and headed in to play and spend time with the animals. They had a great time!!! Maggie really enjoyed it this time - she seemed a LOT more into all the animals now that she is two.

As you can tell, Maggie was completely worn out! So...I am so thankful to have my husband back home and very thankful to my mom for coming to spend the weekend with us so that we weren't lonely (and I didn't go crazy!!!)

Maggie's 2nd Birthday Party!

2010-10-13T21:10:00.004-05:00

For Maggie's 2nd birthday party, we hosted a "play date" in our backyard and other than it being a little hotter than any October birthday should be, we all had a blast! The kiddos jumped on the trampoline, swang, slid on the playset, and played ball. Shelby at Sug' Cakes made the amazing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake and it tasted even better than it looks (strawberry cake and cream cheese icing). Maggie received so many wonderful gifts and she has wasted no time breaking them ALL in! Thanks so much for your extreme generosity!!!

About a month ago, Maggie's "mick mouse" that she sleeps with every night "disappeared" while we were in Starkville. Me, Pap, and Lee searched everywhere for about 30 minutes before giving up. Pap began his search to find a replacement not long after we left. Last week, Suzy found "mick mouse" upstairs behind a door and Maggie was so excited to be reunited. In the meantime, Pap collected quite a few and wrapped them up for her party. She was so excited every time she opened one!!!
We hope everyone had just as much fun as we did and we appreciate you spending your afternoon helping us celebrate 2 wonderful years of a very vibrant little girl! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Happy Birthday to Maggie....

2010-10-11T21:04:00.008-05:00

Friday morning, October 8th, our baby girl entered the "terrific two's" She had a wonderful day celebrating!!! Thursday night, we made Mickey Mouse sugar cookies (Lee cut them out and I iced them!) for she and Addison to eat with their breakfast while we sang!

Taking one of her many phone calls of birthday wishes...this smile, in particular, was her giggling and smiling to the sweet sound of KK, Sloan & Molly singing "Happy Birthday"
Maggie is TWO!
Birthday Girl!!!

Friday afternoon...Lee and I showed up at the daycare after naptime with cupcakes for Maggie and all of her friends! They were so excited to see us...please notice that Maggie's class is ALL girls (and they have hair! I just thought Addison didn't have any hair...poor Maggie).The poor little boy that will move up next won't know what hit him!!!

So hard to believe that our "baby" is growing up so fast and working on getting out of diapers! Hopefully I will get birthday party pics up before the end of the week!

Pap's 60th Birthday!

2010-09-21T21:37:00.005-05:00

Well...as usual, I am late on this post! Pap turned 60 on August 8th and we ALL spent all day with him on his birthday (more meaningful than any gift he got!). Not only did he enjoy it, but it was awesome to all be together in one place.

Suzy pulled off a HUGE 60th birthday bash on Saturday night! I have to say how impressed I was with all the food, decorations, etc. that they all put together - I was absolutely no help at all (I hate that we don't live closer together and Lee has to work ALL day on Saturday). I don't have any pictures from that night because we were late getting there, but I have some great ones from our Sunday by the pool on his actual birthday...

Having a little fun in the pool!

One BIG HAPPY family!
Pap and all of his kiddos!
And his favorite little people!!!
Happy Birthday Pap - here's to many many more!

Orlando 2010

2010-09-13T20:53:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Day 4 - Character Greetings Galore!!!

2010-09-07T21:30:00.005-05:00

So...I have been a little behind on updating the blog, but I have good reason!!! Shutterfly sent out an email offer for a FREE photobook so you guessed it...I have been working non-stop in my "spare" time to get it finished before the deadline.

We were at Magic Kingdom bright and early for opening ceremonies and headed straight to Fantasyland. We rode all of our favorite rides (Dumbo, Tea Cups, Small World, Peter Pan, etc.) with minimal to no wait times! At the rope drop for Toontown, the girls were excited about seeing all of their favorite princesses and fairies. Based on past experience with the long lines for the princesses in the afternoon, we knew to be standing there when they opened the door. We walked right in for the princesses which both girls loved and were in such awe! Next, we lined up for Tinkerbell and her Fairy Friends which are the new big hit at Disney (the line was already 30 min. long)! It was very neat...they had all of the decorations larger than life size so that the Fairies appeared small! Princesses/Fairies are my girls' favorites because they interact so well with the little ones - listening so intently and acting interested in everything they say! We even visited FairyTale Garden where Addison listened to Belle read a story.

For lunch, we dined with Pooh & Friends at the Crystal Palace and it was delicious. Maggie was so excited she nearly jumped out of her chair and even knocked Da'be's drink off of the table! Addison, on the other hand, wouldn't get near anyone other than Piglet (because he is just a little guy)! We headed over to Epcot for the afternoon where we saw all of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters (except Daisy). Both girls were beside themselves! A storm tried to blow in that afternoon and with it came 75-80 degree temps, but no rain! It was wonderful!!! We enjoyed lots of rides and shows with no waits before closing out the night watching Illuminations which was a beautiful fireworks and light show illuminating all of the worlds.

In our opinion, Epcot is the best place to go catch all of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters - they have them all lined up in one building one right after the other!!! The girls were in hog heaven!!!

Day 3 - Disney's Hollywood Studios!

2010-08-24T21:51:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday, we moved to the Disney All-Star Music Resort and started hitting all the parks at Disney World! Staying on Disney property was the best decision we ever made - it was so convenient with the little ones and very affordable! First up was Hollywood Studios...the girls loved Playhouse Disney Live where all their favorite Disney characters put on a pretty good puppet show. Maggie was in awe of all the bubbles that descended from the ceiling! We spent a lot of time in the Animation Academy where Maggie had her first encounter with Mickey Mouse and Addison enjoyed an art class in which she learned how to draw Pluto! Maggie was sooo excited when she spotted Mickey Mouse...she couldn't decide whether to touch him or not and just kept giggling and pointing! Addison, on the other hand, relished in the teacher/student setting. Later that afternoon, we took part in the Block Party Bash parade. Both girls jumped and danced to all the fun music then the kids were invited out into the streets to join the parade. Addison went running out all excited and spun around to find "Jessie the Cowgirl" right in front of her...needless to say she came screaming back to her daddy in no time (almost before I could catch in on film)! That night, we saw the highly anticipated "Fantasmic!"show. People started lining up outside the gate over 2 hours before showtime. We joined the line about 90 minutes before showtime and it was well worth the wait! Laser lights, fire, dancing water, Disney music & animation, and not to mention tons of Disney characters were all very stunning! It was a long hot action-packed day, but we loved every minute of it! I must admit that I am convinced that Hollywood Studios is the hottest park!

Sea World - Days 1 & 2 of Vacation!

2010-08-19T21:19:00.007-05:00

Well...it might take me a few weeks to get all these posts up, but I am still going to try! I am trying to make a Shutterfly photobook of our vacation so I will probably wait until I make those collage pages before I post (these days I have to kill 2 birds with 1 stone, you understand right?!).

We DROVE to Orlando (11 to 12 hours) with both girls and it wasn't too bad at all!!! We left out of Jackson on Saturday around 1:45. We had the car loaded down with clothes, strollers, snacks, activities, books, LOTS of DVD's, etc. For many of you that know my sweet Addison, you will not be surprised by this at all. Addison was so excited about the trip in general and ALL the things that we had packed in a basket to "do" on the way that before we even got an hour out of town, I think that she had picked up every single one of them and read or doodled in it somewhere! She had me turning around "playing and reading" and I was already thinking that this was going to be a LONG trip. On the other hand, Maggie didn't even make it to I-55 before she was asleep for her afternoon nap (perfect timing!). Addie eventually calmed down and settled in with a few DVD's, but she only slept maybe 1.5 hours of the whole trip (she is definitely my child - it is so hard to sleep when you are soooo excited!). Lee drove to Crestview, FL, we had dinner then I finished out the rest of the drive (more than half of the trip I might add!). Maggie only struggled for about an hour after supper so we have to definitely count ourselves lucky. We pulled in to Orlando a little after 2 AM (lost an hour to time zone change) and only made 3 stops total! Not bad considering that we set out on this journey not knowing whether we would drive the whole way in one day or stop and spend the night halfway. My mom was already down there for a conference so we awakened her to let us in her room and we had 2 giggly girls for about 30 minutes, but we eventually settled in and everyone slept till almost 9:30 the next morning (except Da'be, of course, because she had classes)!!!

We got dressed and headed out to Sea World (which was so close that we could walk across the street!). We spent Sunday afternoon and night and Monday morning and afternoon at Sea World (they have a 2 days for the price of 1 deal going on right now). The girls LOVED the animal shows, exhibits, and especially the rides! Our favorite family show was "Blue Horizon" which is a dolphin and bird show with platform divers and acrobats, but I would bet the Elmo and Friends show would run a close race as far as the girls are concerned! Maggie and Addison loved seeing all of their Seasame Street friends...from afar of course. They jumped, danced, clapped, sang la-la-la, but the opportunity to get close came and no-takers! Maggie enjoyed giggling and pointing at Elmo (I think Addison being scared to get anywhere near made her a little leary as well)! We saw sharks, polar bears, manatees, penguins, dolphins, sea lions, whales and even touched stingrays! I have to brag on my Addie because she rode the Journey to Atlantis with me (which is the big boat that makes the large splash drop at the very end). It makes a winding journey through several rooms telling the story of Atlantis and she was ok with that...but, when it started to crank up she decided that we needed to get off now! But, she was smiling when it was over! We made it around to Shamu's Happy Harbour where all the kiddie rides are and needless to say, everyone was happy! We rode and rode and rode and everytime we passed a ride, Maggie would point and say..."I want to 'wide'!" We were a little disappointed that Clydesdales are no longer at Sea World because this was Addison's favorite 2 years ago and we were looking forward to showing them to Maggie :(

We left late afternoon the second day and headed over to Joe's Crab Shack for a wonderful meal! Even though we didn't use it often, we LOVED having our car to be able to come and go as we wanted without having to rely on someone else to get us here and there...Enjoy the pictures (I hope I can get them to load so that they can be clicked on to enlarge - looks like it worked!)

Disney/Sea World Sneak Peek!

2010-08-09T21:22:00.006-05:00

Here are a few of my favorites that I decided to share since so many of you have told me you are anticipating seeing some of our vacation pics. I hope to do day-to-day posts soon

My newest favorite picture of my our two girls - can you tell they were having a good time?!!

We are pretty sure that Maggie's first complete sentence was - I want to "wide"! This little girl rode everything that she was allowed on in Sea World and Disney World!

First Sighting of Mickey Mouse - Maggie's favorite!

All dressed and ready for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table - it was very special and worth every penny! Special thanks to my co-worker, Miss Lea Ann and her two little girls for letting us borrow the princess outfits and to Da'be for being our very own Fairy Godmother and keeping us out of Bibbity Boppity Boutique - Addison's hair looked just like all the other little girls!

More to come later!

10 Year Reunion!

2010-08-09T20:53:00.003-05:00

It has been a very, very busy July to say the least!!! A special shout out to those who have let me know that they have missed my posts - it is nice to know that someone enjoys my hard work and misses us when we go a long time without an update! I promise that I will be working on my Disney trip soon - it is just very overwhelming right now because...as you can imagine I took just a "few" pictures! But...we had an absolutely amazing trip and it was really special to see the sparkle in my two little girls' eyes!

Earlier in July, I enjoyed an awesome weekend with some of my best friends and those that I share lots of wonderful memories with...the Class of 2000!!! We had a great time hanging out and meeting all of our families and children. I didn't have my camera during the children's gathering at the lake on Saturday afternoon - it somehow got left in Lee's car and he didn't come until that night - I was so upset at first, but it worked out for the best because I wouldn't have been able to use it because chasing two kids around at the lake took all the hands and feet that I have plus a few of my classmates as well! The kids had a great time and the adults did too! Below are pics from the "party" that night - I have to mention that it was really nice to have a night out without kids to visit. We missed those that couldn't join us and hope we don't have to wait 10 years to see you guys!

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-23T21:50:00.002-05:00

Two very special men in our lives who we are very thankful for each and every day!

Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone really special to be a Daddy!

We have a very special angel in heaven who is looking down on us and grinning from ear to ear - we love and miss you and wish you a Happy Father's Day too!

Summer Daze!

2010-06-23T21:15:00.007-05:00

We have been thoroughly enjoying these summer daze!!! The girls have been on the slip-n-slide, swimming in the big pool at Pap and Suzy's, wading around in their little pool on the deck, and both of them swim once a week with their friends at daycare - so needless to say they are sporting some good tans! We have been traveling a lot lately visiting lots of friends and family and loving every moment of it!

Maggie decided that it was more fun to play in her clothes (she is not real fond of the tight-fitting swimsuits!)

And...you know it didn't take too long for big sister to join her!

Two tired little girls early one morning before school!

This was while Maggie was recovering from the horrible croup - she loves to sit on the coffee table

You have to look real close, but Maggie put on Addison's panties over her diaper one day while Lee was home with her and of course she has on a pair of shoes!

Addison and baby Carson

Maggie has started putting the I-Touch up to her ear and saying "Hello" - how quickly they learn!

This past weekend, Marianne's sister Sue and her daughter Mary Beth made a quick trip to Mississippi. They used to live in California and have recently moved to Texas. The last time that we saw them I was 8 months pregnant with Addison! It was really great to visit and introduce the girls to them even if it was only for a short time.

Addison's 4th Birthday Party!

2010-06-03T20:39:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that I have a 4 year old!!! She is growing up soooo fast, but she is so sweet and so much fun! For the first time, Addison told us exactly what kind of birthday party theme she wanted as well as where she wanted to have her party & what the birthday girl wants...well this year she got it!!! And I must admit...it was definitely worth it to be able to show up and enjoy a birthday party without having to stress over all the preparations and set up. I truly got to enjoy the party (and play too!). I must say that I believe EVERYONE of all ages had a BIG time!!! Addison had a grand time with all of her friends and fell into a "drooling" sleep on the way home. By the way, the cake was made by a 17-year-old girl from Pearl and besides the fact that it was absolutely adorable it was also delicious (Addison even specified she wanted strawberry cake)!Thanks again to all who helped us celebrate!

Catch Up with the Lindley Girls!

2010-06-03T20:09:00.001-05:00

Well...I know that it has been a REALLY long time since I have done a proper post on the blog soooo I am posting pictures from the last couple of months to give you a glimpse into what the Lindley clan has been up to!

Back in April, we had the privilege of keeping the Kosko boys while their parents went to a wedding. Bailey and Addison are 8 months apart and Garrett and Maggie only 5 days! They used to live right across the street and we miss them sooo much. It was a blast to watch the 4 of them play together again!

We became "Friends of the Zoo" so there will be many trips to the zoo in our future!

We met 2 of the 3 Cade families one Sunday afternoon and all of the kiddos had a big time - can't wait for baby Jack to join us next year!

Mason and Maggie "cruisin" in the Barbie Jeep - really they were just "jammin" since neither one of them can reach the peddles yet!

Lots and lots of goofing off in the past couple of months...

A little waterhose fight...

Oreos and Milk...who could resist?!!

Addison and I made bracelets for both her and Maggie!

Maggie's shoe fetish is still going strong!

Meg and Jason took Addison to the rodeo and she has dressed up as a cowgirl almost every Saturday since - needless to say she had a grand time!

Everybody loves to get some "Moo-Bear" kisses...this was before she got REAL stingy with her kisses in the last week!

Addison and some her friends from "school" at her end-of-year program

They did a wonderful job - it brings joy to my heart every time she sings her christian nursery rhymes and quotes her bible verse that her class was responsible for presenting. Below is a picture of the entire 3 & 4 year old classes presenting some of their songs from Chapel Time. I can't begin to explain how moving it was to hear these little ones sing and do the motions to "Our God is an Awesome God" & "Here I Am to Worship". It was also a lot of fun to see their excitement as they say "Pharoah Pharoah"

Well...that about sums up our busy last couple of months!

Addison's Dance Recital!

2010-05-09T17:07:00.004-05:00

During the school year at the daycare, Addison has been taking jazz and ballet from Debbie Cashion of Kids for Christ Performing Arts. On Saturday, she had her recital and it was such a treat!!! Her jazz routine was to the Lion King's "I Just Want to be King" and the ballet was titled "Friends Forever". I must admit that I was very impressed at her improvement since the Parent Day because my child is much more into "singing" every word of the song that she is supposed to be dancing to...but she did awesome! From talking to her after each performance...I think she really enjoyed being on the stage in front of an audience full of people. Even Maggie was good throughout and picked up a few moves of her own; she started raising her arms just like a ballerina! There were 24 performances from lots of cute little girls and they were all entertaining!!!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-14T17:18:00.006-05:00

HE IS RISEN!!! What a wonderful GOD we serve!

We spent the entire day enjoying our family - our moms have joined together for lunch for the last few years and we really appreciate it! They prepared a wonderful feast! We sure did miss CC and the Norris'!!! After lunch, we spent the afternoon in Starkville sitting around the pool with the Lindley's!

Neal and Maggie were born a day apart!

Some of the crew that grew up in FUMC - Macon and their little ones!

Happy Easter!!!

Easter Weekend!

2010-04-14T16:33:00.007-05:00

Saturday afternoon, we met up with a few of the girls from the Class of 2000 and their kiddos - we are so thankful for Nichole (and Mrs. Vicky) having us all out to catch up! Morgan and Mary Milton were there as well, but they snuck out before we got a group picture.

Don't let these innocent looks fool you! These two were all over the place!!!

Mrs. Lessia made this adorable outfit for Lilli Kathryn - isn't she a little doll!

These two are always riding on something!

Addison made some beautiful glitter eggs - the pictures really don't do them justice! She was so proud!!!

Matching sundresses for the summer...can't wait to use them!

Egg Hunting!

2010-04-11T22:18:00.004-05:00

Easter Egg Hunting this year was sooo much fun!!! We went to the Ridgeland Community Egg Hunt and Addison ran into her daycare "boyfriend" Daniel and they had so much fun running eggs down together! Easter weekend we went to Macon and had a big time hunting eggs with all the cousins at Aunt Pat's house! She and Jay made frosted Easter cookies and lemonade! Addison begged to go see the Easter Bunny and once she got there she wouldn't even go outside of the gate! Maggie loved playing with him and laughing at him but...the moment we put her in his lap this is what we got!!!

Shoe Fetish at 18 months?!!!

2010-04-11T21:13:00.006-05:00

It is absolutely amazing to watch Maggie as she develops her very own personality! It is too funny to me how our two little girls can be so very different. Addison hardly touched shoes,but Maggie definitely has a shoe fetish! She pulls out EVERY SINGLE pair of shoes of EVERY person in the house almost EVERY day and wears them or at least piles them up in the living room!!! These are just a few of the snapshots I have managed to get in some of our shoes...notice none of which are hers! Well if you count her crocs inside the tennis shoes I guess she has a pair of hers on!!!

I love this little girl to pieces...did I mention "Cheese" was one of her first few words! I have to be quick though because she only looks and smiles once and then she is off to something bigger and better!

Trying so hard to be just like her big sister!

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green...St. Paddy's Day Parade!

2010-03-22T21:54:00.004-05:00

My sister and I grew up going to the St. Paddy's Day parade with my grandmother, her sister, and our cousins who lived in Clinton. It was an annual tradition that we looked forward to every year! My mom attended her first St. Paddy's Day parade a few years ago and we have made this an annual event with my two girls! We loaded up this past weekend and headed downtown with a picnic in tow. We found a front-row spot on Capitol Street and parked the strollers then pulled out our picnic while waiting on the sun to break through the clouds. The wait was well worth it - the girls were able to see (without having to be held!) and really got into "catching" beads. As I watched little kids run out into the streets in between floats to grab beads off the street, I laughed and told my mom..."I remember doing that!" and she laughed and said I can just see Grannie sending y'all out there!!! Addison just LOVED all the people dressed up silly and hanging beads around her neck and Maggie had that hand-waving downpat before the parade came to an end! We can't wait to make many more memories in the future as well as add to our crowd - maybe next year my cousin, Tria, and her new baby Claire along with Aunt Donnie Faye can join us!!!

After we got home, Addison (all on her own) came walking from her room in this get-up saying she was a "Parade Fairy" and we have been throwing/catching beads all weekend taking turns playing parade! And...I have to add that all the many many many beads that we brought home are driving Lee crazy!!! But she is one happy girl!

Afternoon at the Zoo!

2010-03-21T21:51:00.004-05:00

My mom has been on Spring Break all week and...since Friday was such a beautiful day I decided to take the afternoon off rather than stay couped up inside the offiice! We met her friend, Linda and her grandsons, at the Jackson Zoo and it was great!!! We enjoyed being outside in the beautiful sunshine and seeing the smiles on all the kiddos faces! There was a baby giraffe and baby monkey. We saw the animals, rode the carousel, rode the train and played on the playground! My two were not ready to leave!!!

Two wonderful grandmothers!

Welcome Carson Wyatt Jones

2010-03-21T21:03:00.003-05:00

My good friend, Erin, had this precious baby boy almost 2 weeks ago and I can't wait to hold him!

Date Night with George and Reba!!!

2010-03-09T21:47:00.005-06:00

Lee and I had a weekend getaway to New Orleans to see Lee Ann Womack, Reba McIntyre and George Strait!!!! Could it really get any better for country music than having George AND Reba in one night!!! We have had these tickets for a few months now and have been anticipating this trip for a while...and they did not disappoint. The concert started at 7:00 and we did not walk out of the arena until 11:50 (and Lea Ann only played 35 minutes)! We had a blast and both George and Reba have so many wonderful songs that you just couldn't predict what they might play next! We had great seats - front row of the third section - even though we were up high we didn't have to stand up and I could prop my feet up!!!

This girl can put on a show!

Reba and Lee Ann duet to "Does He Love You"

It's Melissa Peterman from the Singing Bee! (and the Reba show which I have never seen, but Addison and I love to watch the Singing Bee on Friday nights!)

Reba coming back in style for the Encore...

Did you really think she would sing Fancy in anything but a RED dress and high heels! The MAN of the night...GEORGE STRAIT (how could you not love that smile!)

George just stands there and sings, but....does he really have to do anything else?!!!

He closed out to "The Cowboy Rides Away"...how appropriate!

This is the view from our corner room at the Marriott on Canal Street

We had a GREAT time and really appreciate our family taking care of the girls - I am sure they weren't spoiled at all!!!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

2010-02-22T21:50:00.004-06:00

As usual I am always late posting different events lately! But...the last weekend of January, we all headed to Orange Beach to celebrate Meg & Kate's 3oth and Lee's 33rd Birthdays!!! We had a blast and ate waaaay too much! The food was delicious and the company was outstanding - we need to make this an annual trip. Suzy got the birthday cake and it was too cute! We also got to watch Sloan play basketball (and Nathan coach!) - she was awesome! The others got to watch Molly (and Kate coach!) Friday night but we couldn't get there in time - I hear that she was totally awesome too! We will have to head down for a softball game once it gets rolling - can't wait until my girls are old enough!!!!

Thanks again to Kate & Nate and Pap & Suzy for hosting all of us and to Nate for planning the weekend and making sure that everyone was happy!!!

The birthday gang (Kate this is just for you so that you can steal for your computer!)

New Blog of Note!!!

2010-02-22T21:28:00.003-06:00

After much prodding by her friends and family, my best friend/sister-in-law Morgan has started a blog!!! She is a beautiful writer so I know that you will enjoy taking "A Visit on her Screened in Porch" plus your day will certainly be brightened by the beautiful smile of baby Mary Milton.

The Roberts' Family

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-02-17T21:24:00.002-06:00

Lee's birthday was January 27th so we had a special meal that night - all of his picks! The girls and I made strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing and they were good!!! We had so much fun in the kitchen and I have to tell a sweet story on Addison. On the way home from daycare, Addison was so excited about making cupcakes for her daddy's birthday and she started talking about how "everyone" was going to get a cupcake. I broke it to her that it was only going to be us and she was so upset and told me: "Mama...Daddy has to have some friends for his birthday" so I called Lee and told him his sweet girl was concerned because he wasn't having friends over for his birthday. We didn't have enough food but for only one more person so Lee asked his good friend at work, Raymond, to come over and Addison was satisfied!!!

Couldn't resist the cream cheese icing! I had to give a little lesson in sanitation and how you can't lick the knife and put it back in the icing!

Catching Up!

2010-02-17T21:01:00.005-06:00

Sooo...I have been a little absent from the blogging world. I am working on a big Shutterfly photobook so I have been a little preoccupied with that project. Plus - last week our house was plagued with several different types of sicknesses and we didn't do much of anything except try to survive!!! Below are a few of my favorite random pictures since Christmas - the girls are so funny and love playing with each other! Maggie is starting to speak a few recognizable words and sounds and Addison's imagination is still running wild - she is such a little caretaker!

This is Addison's driving her "bus" to school!

I love how Maggie is laid back in the corner!

Maggie loves to "go" and anytime you mention going somewhere she grabs her coat and starts putting it on - this time she put on hers and Addie's!

Cleaning up after supper - such good little helpers!

We finally got to meet baby Claire - my cousin Tria's little girl - she was born on my daddy's birthday!

We have enjoyed several visits from the grandparents!!!

Finishing out my Christmas Posts!

2010-01-26T20:44:00.008-06:00

So...I have been really busy with year-end close at my job and haven't felt like working on the computer when I get home! But, I am going to finally finish posting all of my Christmas pictures before February sneaks up on me!!!

We enjoyed spending Christmas night at Nana's house and Addison and Maggie were definitely getting the hang of opening presents!!!

Is this not the cutest baby ever - look at that smile!!!
Mary Milton gettin in a little "Ro" time!

Thanks Aunt KK - wish you were here!

I am pretty sure that Maggie helped Mary Milton open a few of her gifts - he he!

Surrounded by girls ALL the time!

4 Generation picture!

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We spent the weekend after Christmas with Pap and Suzy and my two little ones were spoiled once again!!

Somebody was not happy that Justin couldn't get her rocky horse out quick enough!!!

Justin and "Mini"

The whole Christmas crew - we sure missed the Norris'

The Lindley guys - what a handsome bunch!!!

Very thankful for such a wonderful Christmas!

Santa Visits the Lindley Household!

2010-01-10T17:18:00.004-06:00

WOW...the joys of Christmas morning this year! So much fun to watch the excitement through your children's eyes! We did have to wake up our girls at 7:45 because CC had to leave for work no later than 11 and we just didn't want to wait any longer...I know that these years are limited and soon we will be joining those of you that are awakened only hours after you laid your head down!!! I was so surprised at how excited Maggie was - she just went back and forth picking up everything and wanting to open/play with it immediately and Addison loved unwrapping gifts (she helped us all!). They both got an enchanted treehouse tent and we have held numerous "classes" with all of Addie's students and changed several diapers/clothes for all our gazillion babies in this new secret hideaway! They are so much fun to observe "playing" - it really proves to me that we all have watch what we do and say because they pick up on EVERYTHING! Addison has been driving the bus on our couch and she puts the stoller in the trunk, straps the babies in their seatbelts, stops to get gas, and has a little "road rage" every now and then! She is too funny and Maggie is proving to be just as smart...as soon as Lee got home from work yesterday she followed him to his bedroom and carried his pajama pants and t-shirt for him to change into!!! Santa brought Maggie a rocking chair and she LOVES it - this child will just rock and rock and rock. I even caught her rocking her baby the other day! As I mentioned above, Addison has a huge imagination right now and pretends about everything so she got lots of "teacher" things from Nana...clipboard, Post-It notes, notepads, paper, pencils, pencil box, etc. and she is using them all. We even had to move all of the coloring supplies to their own cabinet. Addison also got some "animal bracelets" in her stocking and her mouth dropped and she said, "This is what I wanted!" - amazing how they know the newest trends even at 3! Da'be went with one big gift this year for both girls - a trampoline!!!! They were super excited and Addison just jumped and jumped and Maggie giggled as she bounced! Couldn't stay long because it was cold (and we have only had a chance to jump again once since then!) - it does have sides but we haven't put those together yet!

Lee and I were both really good this year (or at least we thought so!) since we seemed to reward each other! Lee got the gun that he wanted so badly and I must say it was worth it to see the smile that lit up his face the minute that he raelized what it was! He gave me (and Addison) a pair of cowboy boots and we couldn't wait to wear them and the 3 of them gave me a set of pearls (thanks to Katie for helping pick them out!). CC helped expand my wardrobe with lots of new fashionable clothes from both my mom and her!

Anway, I have blabbed enough and we had a great first Christmas at our own house and look forward to many many more!

Christmas Eve!

2010-01-06T21:33:00.004-06:00

We decided that it was time for Santa to find us at our house this year so...we also hosted some of our family for Christmas Eve dinner! Da'be and CC came earlier in the week and helped out with the girls, cooking, cleaning, etc. It was great - Lee and I even snuck off to the MSU basketball game that Tuesday night and it was great to be able to actually "watch" the game!!! Nana joined us on Christmas Eve and we enjoyed having all of them here Christmas morning to watch the girls in all of their Christmas awe and excitement! Christmas Eve, Uncle Gary, Marilyn, and Grannie drove over from Meridian and we had a wonderful meal of several of our favorite dishes and exchanged a few gifts! It is always fun when we all get together, but I am not real sure that my house was big enough!!! Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that it was FLOODING that day and we all had to tread through shin-deep water on the sidewalk because we had "stuff" in the garage for the next day!
Uncle Gary and Marilyn gave me a remote control for my camera so we had to try it out and get a full group shot!
CC and Maggie

Addison was soooo worn out from trying to keep up with all of us the whole week that she passed out before dinner plus she had a bad cough and runny nose so poor baby wasn't feeling the best!

4 Generation Pic!

Nana, Addie, and M

Uncle GB, Maggie, Da'be and Lee

Poor Baby...she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and it was so subtle-full speed one minute and gone the next! Addison sporting her new kitchen duds

Reading a few of their Fancy Nancy books with their new Fancy Nancy doll!

Toby (our elf) left Addison & Maggie new PJ's to sleep in on Christmas Eve for being so good during his stay at our house!

Addison putting out the reindeer food and leaving Santa some milk and cookies (and marshmellows for the reindeer!)

Da'be and Addison baked cookies for Santa!

2010-01-03T22:02:00.002-06:00

A few snapshots from December!

2010-01-03T21:50:00.003-06:00

Maggie started putting her shirt like this earlier this month and Addison just had to copy-cat! As you can see, my climber has mastered the coffee table! Now, she is sporting the one arm out of the neckhole look!
Two beautiful little girls!

Maggie loved to touch the ornaments so we immediately started saying "No No" and before long she would stand in front of the tree and say "No No" - too funny!

That's my happy girl!!!

Addison was so much fun this year with her imagination!

Pajama Day at daycare

Christmas with Aunt Linda and Aunt Pat!

2009-12-31T22:17:00.005-06:00

After the wedding, we spent Sunday afternoon with the family for Aunt Linda & Aunt Pat's Christmas!!! It was so much fun watching all the kiddos run around and get excited about being able to open a few presents. Lots of fun was had by all the cousins and their significant others in our annual "Dirty Santa" gift exchange. Love being a part of this large wonderful family!!!

While everyone else waited patiently for everybody to have a present to open, Maggie decided that she didn't want to wait any longer!!!

Maggie didn't want to sit still even for just one picture!
Trying to play with the boys - tractors and G.I. Joe's
Aunt Pat & Aunt Linda created a family tree specific to each child/niece/nephew - such a neat and special gift

Brad & Cal - Lee & Maggie

These two little girls had a blast giggling, squealing, and playing together - Addison loves her Hailey and can't wait to see her again soon!

Congrats to Clint & Holly!

2009-12-30T21:43:00.004-06:00

Ok....soooo I am really far behind on my blogging and I will attempt to do a decent job to catch up! On December 12th, we celebrated the marriage of Clint & Holly Campbell. It has been a long time coming and we wish you both all the best!!!

Maggie & Wyatt (Karen & Dubby Morris' little boy) swayed with each other and then tried to kiss - they were sooo cute!
A great picture of a few of my wonderful in-laws!

Addison breaking it down! She danced and danced - eventually came out of her shoes and her stockings!!!

Addison and Haley slinging each other around!
Addison was sooo glad when "Mini" and Justin showed up

Molly, Addie, and Katie doing the line dances - Addison didn't keep up too well! A good time was had by all - great celebration!

Breakfast with Santa!

2009-12-20T22:19:00.007-06:00

This year, Lake Caroline hosted a breakfast with Santa. It was great because we got to eat some breakfast while we waited our turn and Addison really enjoyed getting to tell Santa what she and Maggie wanted and we didn't have to battle the mall! They both did great - Addison shyed away at first but when Maggie hopped up there she decided she needed to be a big girl!

Waiting patiently to see Santa...Maggie entertained herself and everyone else! Who could resist that big grin?!!! She kissed (open mouth of course!) and loved on this penguin the whole time!

We were so glad that our good friends joined us for breakfast with Santa...Emily and Mason, Jessica and Lilli Kathryn

Addie

Maggie

Lilli Kathryn

Mason

And, of course, I couldn't have kept my two wrangled in a crowded clubhouse without the help of Da'be!

In deep conversation telling Santa what they wanted so they definitely couldn't shoot Mama a smile!

And it snows again...

2009-12-20T22:06:00.004-06:00

Addison is going to start thinking that snow once a year is NORMAL...since it has snowed at least once every year of her life! Crazy but still not really enough that she can know what it is like to play in it!

I did love getting a picture of the snow falling with the Christmas lights in the background!

Making snowballs and eating snow!
Maggie got to come out in the morning and she wasn't very impressed!

Cruisin' the Gulf of Mexico with the Girls!

2009-12-06T21:12:00.010-06:00

During Thanksgiving, I got to go on a girls' trip on a Caribbean Cruise to Cozumel and Progresso, Mexico with my mom, sister, and second mom, Deb. We had a blast!!! The weather was beautiful once we got out of Mobile Bay, and it was definitely what the doctor ordered for this mom-of-two! Even though I missed my girls terribly, I sure did enjoy laying out on the deck in the warm sun alternating throughout the day between reading a book and taking naps! We indulged in numerous delicious meals and lots of ice cream and yogurt! We met some great people, saw some awesome shows, and did a little Christmas shopping. I want to send out a HUGE thank-you to all my wonderful family members that helped out with my two girls and made this trip possible for me! I can't say thank you enough - I really enjoyed the break and I do hope that they were good!!! Thanks to my wonderful husband for not only allowing me to go, but encouraging me that I needed to!

So glad to get my hands on these two precious little girls!

Addison's Thanksgiving Program!

2009-12-06T21:00:00.002-06:00

Addison's daycare put on a Thanksgiving luncheon and program the Friday before Thanksgiving and it was great! Even though she had been practicing her songs and poems for weeks, nothing could have prepared me for how cute they looked in their darling little outfits singing their precious songs! Addison's little class were the "pudgey little pumpkins" and all of their songs/poems were about pumpkins! I was very impressed because they were pretty long! We also enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast!

This was the first time she saw us!

The whole group of 3 & 4 year-olds - there were a total of 200 people there!

Cutest little pumpkin ever!

Update on what the girls are into!

2009-12-06T20:30:00.005-06:00

Thank goodness that we have Addison to help us watch after Maggie! Don't know if we could keep her out of the ER if it wasn't for her big sister!! Maggie is a huge CLIMBER! She has been climbing up on the coffee table for about a month now and just this weekend has finally figured out how to get back down on her own although now...she likes to get up there and dance which is extremely dangerous if we happen to be in the other room! She is a big fan of the hot-dog dance and Mickey Mouse! She pulls the oven drawer out and stands on it to pull up to the stove, climbs on Addison's stool that is used to get to the sick, climbs up in the window sill, and last week while Mom was doctoring on Addison in the bathroom...when they came into the kitchen she had climbed up on the barstool and was sitting at the counter! Even more recently...I was getting "packages" off the front porch while they were taking a bath and I hear Addie say, "Mama...Maggie climbed out of the bathtub! And, her comes a soaking wet naked little girl walking through the living room! Like I said...she is keeping us ALL on our toes, but she is sooo much fun!!!

Even the busiest of bodies tires out!!!

Addison has turned into such the little caretaker! Three and a half is treating us well...just last week she was taking everyone's plates to the sick, putting the napkins in the trash, scooting the chairs up to the table...I was so impressed with her! She is sooo in love with her little sister - she just hugs and kisses on her and gets so excited about every little new thing that she does or says - it so sweet! Addison has also gotten a HUGE imagination! At any time during any given day, you will find a row of activity papers each one with their own pencil/crayon with a sticker on it sitting somewhere in our house for her "students"! Just the other day she was upset with me because I was sitting on her students while I was trying to put on her shoes! She is ALL about her baby dolls...they have to eat in their highchair at the table with us, go to bed with her at night, etc. Below is her babydoll "Anna" and she pretends to be Mama "Becky" - these are our cousins in Alaska! Anna was born with a head FULL of dark hair!

Trick-or-Treating!

2009-11-11T21:25:00.006-06:00

Happy Halloween! These were taken outside our house the morning before Halloween - the girls were dressed for their school parties!

Maggie's teachers had Halloween week and they dressed up all week (Spider Day-wear black, Pumpkin Day - orange, Scarecrow Day - overalls, etc) and on the last day they wore these matching painted t-shirts! Her teachers are so artistic and creative and I should have taken a picture of the back - it was her handprints in the shape of a spider hanging from a spider web!

Maggie's class

Saturday, we got to enjoy the company of all of my wonderful friends and their little ones! It is so great to have such a great group of friends that have grown up together and stayed in touch - we love you girls and boys!!!
We were in Macon/Starkville for Halloween this year and we had a blast sharing it with our family - we just hate that Lee didn't get to join us. Thanks especially to Pap and Suzy for getting a hayride together to take the girls around the neighborhood - they had soooo much fun!

Scary Princess - she loves her pink teeth!

Such a cutie and a monkey to the tee - she climbs up and on top of everything!

Maggie says, "Where is the candy everyone promised me - this is getting old!"

Pap and Maggie - every gorilla needs a monkey! But, it won't be Addie because she wouldn't even be in the same room much less get close enough to touch him even with out the head on!

Loving the hayride!

LC helped Maggie with her loot - she was all for trading her candy at every house!

Thanks Pap!

Working on getting our nerves up to trick-or-treat Pap as a surprise....maybe not!

Addison had so much fun with Marley!

And now, the monkey thinks she will have her a banana!

Pretty Princesses!

Watching the Bulldogs and Vikings!

2009-11-04T20:48:00.005-06:00

Two weekends ago, we made a visit to Macon and Starkville to watch the Vikings and Bulldogs play! We went to Central Academy's Homecoming game and it was so great to see so many of our friends and take Addison to the school where we both grew up and played sports! Too bad this weekend had to be the weekend that it decided to be freezing (but at least the rain stopped!) so we left Maggie with Da'be and Grannie Frances!

At the Central game - isn't Addie cute as a Viking cheerleader (this used to be Lauren Colby's)!

On Saturday morning, we stopped by the Bakery (yum!) and headed straight to Starkville - we took Maggie straight to Pap and Suzy. It was too cold to have her out all day so we decided to let them bring her to campus later that afternoon for a couple of hours!

Love this picture of the girls and their daddy even if they are in all that State garb!!! Lee said that we will try to make it up to Oxford next year so the girls get to see where their Mama went to school!

Lee, Addison, and I headed to the Hump for a little basketball scrimmage - we love basketball!!!

We celebrated Uncle Tommy's birthday while we were tailgating!
Scared of this big Bully at first (imagine that!) but she warmed up to it!

While on campus, we met up with William, Becky, and Anna while they were visiting from Alaska! We are so proud of William for completing his tour of duty overseas and even more thankful to have him home safely!!! Maggie is one month and one day older than Anna - sure wish she could give Maggie even 1/4 of her hair!!!

Becky, Anna, William, Marilyn, Addison, Maggie, me and Lee

Lee and I had a blast watching the MSU-FL game (sure wish they could have pulled it out!) and were very thankful that Pap and Suzy kept the girls for us during the game!

Pumpkin Patch and Township Festival

2009-10-28T21:32:00.005-05:00

We went with the church family to the Pumpkin Patch one Sunday afternoon and had a blast! We especially enjoyed spending time with the Campbell family!

Waiting patiently for the hayride...

Addison and Ella Katherine were great; they held hands and had a big time picking out their pumpkins and seeing all the farm animals!
Lee and Jimbo and all their kids! I think the exact words out of their mouths were..."this is so not where I saw myself 15 years ago!" They were definitely good sports!

Addison found hers and claimed it!

Maggie wasn't too sure what to think!

My little pumpkin on her first trip the pumpkin patch...and a past picture of my big pumpkin on her first visit to the pumpkin patch!

We battled the wind a couple of weeks ago to check out the Township Festival in Ridgeland - it was well worth it and we will definitely be going back! Kellis Moore is the marketing director and it was great to see her and Julie and their boys. All of the kids activities were free - we jumped in bouncy houses and slides, rode ponies, had face-painting...and my favorite part - I got the girls' caricature drawn! It is too cute and I can't wait to get it framed and up on my black and white wall!

Maggie loved Sparki the dog and Addison wouldn't get within 50 feet of him! How different they are!!

Mischevious Maggie

2009-10-27T21:56:00.003-05:00

Well...our little Maggie knows how to get into some mischief! She got a little too quiet for a little too long and when we went looking for her...she had shut herself in the bathroom and made this "little" mess out of a whole roll of toilet paper!

Just last night, I caught her sitting behind Lee's recliner pulling all the kleenex's out of the box one at a time!

Little video that I couldn't wait any longer to post (can't see her real well but you can hear her!) - She loves her big sister and we can't get enough of this laugh! This was in the car on the way to Macon and they were "dancing" to the music!

Mississippi State Fair!

2009-10-26T21:10:00.008-05:00

We have been super busy having a lot of fun! Earlier this month, we made a trip to the State Fair. It was a quick visit since it was cold and rainy for most of the fair's duration. But, it was a good Sunday afternoon activity!

Addison loved riding the rides and was finally big enough this year to ride a few by herself (much better on the pocketbook!) Once she realized that she was a BIG girl, she really didn't want us to ride with her!1st ride - she was zooming by us on her motorcycle and making her daddy proud!
These would have made my daddy proud! He would have loved going to the fair - a big kid!
She rode this roller coaster with another little girl and was all smiles the whole time -so proud of herself!
I rode this one with her because I wasn't sure how she would react and at least if she didn't like it I would be there to hold her hand, but as you can see...she loved it and kept her hands in the air most of the time (2nd from left!)

Maggie wasn't big enough to ride any rides yet, but she sure did enjoy the petting zoo!

Making that single stroller a double!

Maggie's Special Baptism

2009-10-11T21:04:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday, we had Maggie baptized in mine and Lee's home church. This was very special for us - all of our family was in attendance and this is the church where we were married and Addison was baptized! Rev. Whiteside did a beautiful ceremony and Maggie was perfect! I was really nervous since she is a very active and vocal 1-year-old. She couldn't have been any cuter! I must say that God definitely knows when put an assuring hand on your heart. As the preacher started to walk Maggie around the congregation, the choir starting softly singing the beautiful hymn "Surely the Presence". It was a tap on the shoulder letting me know my Daddy was making sure that we knew that he was right there with us in this special ceremony even if it did make almost everyone in the church shed quite a few tears! Thanks to everyone who made a special trip or had a special part in this wonderful time in our lives.

Got lots of great family pics as well!

My Family

Lee's Families

Happy Birthday Maggie!!!

2009-10-08T22:13:00.012-05:00

Today our little Maggie turned ONE!!! Hard to believe she is growing up sooo fast, but right along with that she is becoming soooo much fun and has quite the emerging personality. She ran a low-grade fever yesterday so she had to stay home from school today which meant she got one-on-one attention from her Mama and Daddy (we took turns taking off from work)! We still had a small celebration tonight after supper and indulged in another piece of cake and listened to the sweetest big sister sing "Happy Birthday" numerous times! Above is the progession of her growth starting with the top left picture at 1 week and going clockwise with each subsequent month and the big birthday pic in the middle!

Our family this day a year ago and exactly one year later - wow how much has changed in only a short year!

Happy Birthday Maggie - WE LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH!

Maggie's 1st Birthday Party!!!

2009-10-06T21:51:00.008-05:00

Can't believe our little "Wiggle-Wiggle" is turning one! We celebrated this past weekend in Macon with lots of family and friends. She is the most precious little girl and we thank God every day for His many blessings to our family. Both of our daughters bring smiles to our faces countless times a day. We thank everyone that was a part of Maggie's big celebration for making it so special. She had a blast and wasn't even aware that it was "flooding" outside. A special thanks goes out to Nana for hosting the party at her house especially since we had planned on the festivities taking place on her beautiful patio and yard and instead we had to stay inside!

(should be able to click and enlarge each of the collages)

Addison was so funny when it came time for Maggie to dig into her cake - she was standing in front giggling saying: "Eat it Maggie - come on!" and finally she stuck Maggie's finger in the icing and put it in her mouth and she never slowed up! I started serving cake and the next thing I knew she had eaten half of her cake! Thankfully, she didn't get sick! Maggie didn't care a thing about opening presents, but she was fond of the Mickey Mouse bag! I had two good helpers in Addison and Hailey and now Maggie is loving playing with all of her new toys!!! Thanks again for being a part of her big day - she is definitely one special little girl!

Happy 1st Birthday to Garrett!

2009-10-05T21:49:00.003-05:00

Our very special friends, the Kosko's, used to live across the street from us and they have two precious little boys that are close in age to our little girls! We throughly enjoyed experiencing the early years of parenthood with them and miss them every day. Garrett was born 5 days before Maggie and we went to his 1st birthday party this past Saturday - the kids had a blast and it was great to catch up!
Birthday Boy!
These two picked right up where they left off and didn't miss a beat!

Maggie's Surgery :(

2009-09-13T22:05:00.002-05:00

Maggie had tubes put in both ears after 5 long months of struggling with double ear infections! We are so glad to have this behind us and it was so easy now that it is over! Very quick surgery and we had the best pediatric ENT (Dr. Mark Reed) - could not say enough good things about this man - he was absolutely amazing through everything! We reported to Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital Friday morning at 6:00 AM. They got us registered and did all the preliminary work and she went back for surgery around 7. It is always difficult and nerve-racking knowing that your child is being put to sleep, but from the time they took her out of our arms until she was back awake it was probably a total of 10 minutes! She did much better than we expected considering that she couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight! We were out of recovery and on our way home by 8:30 and by 9:30 she was awake and chasing Addison around the house! Her droppy eyes from the infection cleared up almost immediately and she is already feeling a lot better. Dr. Reed said that her fluid was bulging and worse than he thought - once the incision was made it oozed out (yuck!) - bless her little heart - I know she has been in terrible pain. He said that we should have immediate relief and notice an improvement in her hearing (although she has shown no signs of trouble hearing so now we might just be blasting her out of the room!).

A very special thanks to Suzy for all of the help that she provided to both of our girls during this very busy week of sickness and trying to work some!

Our little funny girl - Addison!

2009-09-13T21:55:00.004-05:00

Being Silly!

Addison is full of funny stories and smart as a whip! She doesn't forget anything either! Makes my day just being around her. She is a little mother hen - we have baby dolls everywhere we go and they do anything we do.

The other day in the car she was repeating in the backseat to her baby dolls: "You get what you get and don't throw a fit!" When I asked her who said that, she said one of her teachers in daycare - pretty good I thought!

This is getting "Ladangerous" plate ready for supper! Not sure where she got the name, but we talked her into calling her "Flo"

11 Months!

2009-09-13T21:16:00.006-05:00

Addison wanted to join Maggie on the 11 month shot!

The past month has been so much fun - Maggie started walking full speed ahead at 10 months so as Lee says she is really "cadillacing" now! She is everywhere and into everything - you can't leave her alone for anytime without her getting into something that she doesn't need to or worse than that climbing to dangerous heights!! More than anything, she is now giving "big squeezing" hugs and open mouth "kisses" and it is the best feeling in the whole world! LOVE her to death! She has also started "dancing" or really bouncing to music anytime she hears it (especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song!) and Addison loves that Maggie can dance!

Loves to get into the open fridge - and this is the first thing that she goes to and starts licking the top - definitely my girl! Chocolate and ice cream are my weaknesses!

Doesn't like to play in this thing, but definitely enjoys climbing in and out of the bottom!

She loves to EAT! Right now, she is probably eating more than her big sister, and it just passes right through her!

Loaded up and ready to go! She is at the door as soon as she hears it open!

Maggie's first boo-boo! Pretty bad one too! Lee and the girls were outside and I was stirring something on the stove - I look up just in time to see Maggie take the last step off the deck down the stairs and I screamed Lee's name but needless to say she was at the bottom before he got there! Scared me to death, but other than the scratch under the eye that turned a little blue she was fine. I told y'all she is super quick - I think she was headed to the Barbie Jeep because she and Addison had been riding it earlier.
Maggie and Miller (Justin & Katie's dog) - Addison is scared to death of dogs and Maggie absolutely adores them!
Maggie loves to push Addie around on the Dora car and Addison loves for her to do it!

Twinkies!

Family Reunion Weekend at the Lake!

2009-08-27T21:40:00.001-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we had the Abrams (my mom's mom) family reunion at Land O' Lakes in Brooksville and we had so much fun spending a lot of time with my family! We got there on Friday afternoon and stayed at the lake at Uncle G and M's "Tin Can Condo" all weekend. We were so fortunate to have my cousin, Jacob, and Uncle Buck and Aunt Eilene with us. We haven't seen any of them in over a year so they were all excited to meet Maggie and couldn't believe how much Addison had grown. We also enjoyed visiting with all of our many other cousins, aunts, uncles, etc...my grandmother was 1 of 10 so there are quite a few of them! Grannie and Maggie at the Reunion

Jacob, Addie, Me, and Maggie
Uncle Buck and Aunt Eilene - it was way past Maggie's naptime and Addison just didn't take a nap this whole weekend so that can explain some of the tears in this picture. Uncle Buck is my grandfather's brother and they are some fun people!

The Bells - William will be home from Iraq in a few weeks and M can't wait!
Maggie and Uncle G chartered the "Sunset Cruise"

My little "Country Girl" showing Aunt Eilene and Uncle Buck the cows!

Da'be's backyard is always beautiful for taking a few snapshots - hate the sun was making the girls squint!

Addison starts Pre-School!

2009-08-27T21:24:00.003-05:00

Addison started Pre-school at her daycare when she moved up to the Older Three's room in August! She is learning Bible verses and this month they are focusing on manners, hygiene, themselves, family and home. She is learning so much and is such a little chatterbox with a memory that could rival an adult - don't tell her something unless you are really going to go through with it because she will NOT forget!!!

1st day - we took the backpack that Nana gave her for Christmas and it was so cute, but her teacher told me that it wasn't big enough to hold all of her stuff (naptime stuff, papers, etc.)

So, that afternoon since Lee was off anyway, he picked her up early and they went shopping for a NEW bigger backpack!
She is becoming such a big girl! So sad to her Mommy :(

Geyser Falls!

2009-08-12T22:00:00.005-05:00

This past Saturday, Uncle Gary and "M" invited us to "Big A" Day (Anderson Hospital sponsered employee/family event) at Geyser Falls. We have been looking forward to this for a while and it was a great day for Addison and I to have some one-on-one time together - Maggie will have to wait until next year when she is a little bigger. We had a blast and the weather was perfect!M, Mac, Addie, and Uncle Gary - Marilyn's sister, Judy, and her two boys Mac and Mitchell were there as well and we all had fun playing together!

Addison loved this area - Creaky Leaky Water Factory - it had lots of fun spiral slides but you got lots of bucketfuls of water dumped on you before you got to the top! She is "striking a pose!"

OK...this is the only "big" slide that Addison was "almost" tall enough to ride - I think she lacked about a inch to inch-and-half, but we took to the top because Mac was going to go down it! Halfway there I realize that she is going to have to go down it BY HERSELF, HEAD FIRST, ON A MAT! I would have turned around (ok knowing me I probably wouldn't have), but she really wanted to go!

That is me and Addison in the middle - she is on the left, me on the right - she giggled and grinned the whole way down! Needless to say, we did it quite a few more times throughout the day - I might have me a little daredevil!
Check out that big grin!

Thanks Mom for helping chase Addie around all day! She was asleep before we left the parking lot!

Thanks Uncle G and M - we had a great time!

10 Months...and walking!!!

2009-08-12T21:12:00.009-05:00

From this to walking in only 10 short months...glad we didn't blink!

I can't believe that my baby is walking!!! Although, Addie walked at 10.5 months so I don't know why I am that surprised. Maggie had been taking a couple of steps every now and then for a couple of weeks, but only really when we were playing with her and getting her balanced first...not anymore! Now, you will catch her pulling up on anything in sight and just taking off from there! She is so cute and it is too funny because she is still sooo little to me! She still crawls from time to time because Addie gets so excited when she sees that she is walking and starts screaming and clapping "Yea Big Girl!" and it startles her and down she goes and then there are the other times when we aren't watching very closely that Addison might just "help" her to the ground! They do love each other! Maggie is also cutting her 4th tooth, eating a lot of table food, and only drinking from sippy cups at daycare during the day!!!

Below you will find a few of my favorite 9 to 10 month pictures

One of her absolute favorite things to play with...refrigerator magnets!

One tired baby

Summertime at the pool

This little girl loves her bathtime! Easiest way to please her...she loves to splash and make "Ho Ho" faces with bubbles - wonder who taught her that one! Gotta love the "outtie" in the picture above!

Lee and his mini-me!
Did I mention she is like a little monkey - will climb on anything - we caught her standing on the oven drawer handle and pulled up on the oven door handle - dangerous I know!

Two precious girls...can't leave my Addie out!!!

Welcome Mary Milton Roberts!

2009-08-06T21:37:00.002-05:00

After much anticipation and excitement, we joyfully announce the arrival of MISS MARY MILTON ROBERTS!!!! Congrats to some very proud parents, Morgan and Haydn – we love y’all!

She made her debut at 3:01 in the morning on Monday, August 3, 2009, and I was so happy to be one of the very excited people waiting as Haydn made the grand entrance through the infamous double doors at Woman’s Hospital. She is absolutely beautiful and so tiny and perfect in every way – thank God for the many blessings in life that He sends our way. We look forward to traveling along the path that He has planned for her – no doubt she will be a very vibrant girl just like her parents! Morgan did splendid and looked like a million bucks right after the baby was born – I think I even remember her asking for lipstick before we took pictures at 4:30 AM!

Morgan has filmed the debut of both of my girls (as well as several birthdays) and I wouldn’t trade those videotapes for anything in this world. It brings tears to my eyes just remembering the tears of joy on my husband and all of our families faces as they met both girls for the first time and had she not been there filming I would have never seen this since I was still in the operating room. I haven’t seen the video yet, but I hope that it provides memories for a lifetime. I was so thankful to be a part of this wondrous occasion. It was so much fun visiting with Mamie, Mister, Doug, Mitzi, Callie, and Marion Hall as we all waited anxiously to meet Mary Milton. They were all so excited and I don’t think any of us realized that the sun was about to rise until we headed out to our cars. It was worth every minute!

Smiles even through the pain! Last pre-baby shot before the dreaded hospital gown!

We were so glad when Mamie and Mister made it - still smiling through the pain and looking great!
Callie and Marion Hall made it shortly after and by now, thankfully, Morg was feeling NO pain!!!
Doug and Mitzi completed the party; now all we need is Mary Milton
We had gotten the word that she was here and we couldn't wait to see her!!!

Precious baby girl

7 lbs. 11 ozs. 19.5 in.Addison was so excited about her new little cousin and just giggled the entire time (FYI - Hadyn gave her MM to hold all by herself - I was a nervous wreck! Thankfully she was ready to give her back not long after) After this, Addison sheepishly walked up to me and said, "Mama, I want another baby!!!" All I could say was, "I'm sorry!" Kids say the darndest things! Especially 3 year-olds! We can't wait for Mary Milton to spend the night with us! Two proud parents and one special girl for a very special family!

Mason turned ONE!

2009-08-06T21:30:00.005-05:00

Thomas and Emily's little boy, Mason, turned the big ONE on Tuesday! It is so hard to believe that he is one; we all waited so long to welcome a precious little baby to their special family. He is absolutely adorable! We were so thankful to be a part of his birthday party celebration on Saturday - it was big fun!!! Congrats To-To and Auntie Em - you have one special little boy!

The best picture that I have of all the kids - kind of sad, huh, but funny!

We look forward to sharing in many many more birthdays!

5 Years of Wedded Bliss!

2009-07-31T08:00:00.002-05:00

(click to enlarge)

Today is our 5th wedding anniversary - wow - 5 YEARS!!! It has been great - we have made lots of memories and had a lot of fun! Lee will be working the Wildlife Extravaganza all weekend (something that will probably interfere with our actual anniversary forever!) so we celebrated last weekend with a trip to New Orleans! Lee planned it all and just told me about it a couple of weeks ago - surprise! We headed out Friday afternoon and got down just in time for dinner at the ACME Oyster House then a late night on Bourbon Street. You can tell that I am a mother of two girls (or just older for that matter) because I was appalled at how little so many "really young" girls were wearing! My sister was there with some of her work friends for a bachelorette weekend so we caught up with her for a little while before settling in at The Blues Cafe - this was Lee's pick, but it was really good. We slept in really late Saturday morning (which was great!) then headed out for the brunch buffett at Court of Two Sisters - awesome - we both almost made ourselves sick, but it was worth it! We spent the rest of the day walking around the French Quarter, along the RiverWalk, and browsing the Market. Saturday night, we had reservations at Brennan's and it was delicious and a beautiful restaurant - we even enjoyed a little Banana's Foster before they presented us with a celebratory potato head to commemorate our anniversary! Afterwards, we went on a Haunted History Ghost Tour. It was really interesting and definitely a brush up on Louisiana history. Next, we took off to settle in at Pat O'Brien's Piano Bar where we were definitely entertained and Lee had both of his requests played! What trip to New Orleans would be complete without a trip to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets so that is where we landed Sunday morning before heading home. We stayed at the beautiful Bienville House on Decatur Street - a gorgeous hotel - they even left us a complimentary bottle of champagne and a couple of pralines. A special thanks goes out to my mom for keeping the two little munchkins while we were gone - I think they definitely got her ready for her week at the beach!

While we were on the Haunted History Tour, a traditional New Orleans wedding party and all of their guests marched (to a band and marshall) through the streets - it was really cool!

The only thing that could have made this trip any better was if we had set sail on the cruise ship below on Sunday morning! Believe it or not, it was the same ship that we went on for our honeymoon - now isn't that just a little too incoincedental!

Thanks, dear, for a wonderful anniversary trip and I look forward to many more memories and years of happiness!

Photo Session!

2009-07-19T21:37:00.006-05:00

Mom and I took the girls on Friday afternoon to Portrait Innovations for Maggie's 9 month and Addison's 3 year pictures. We had so much fun or should I say I felt like I got a workout trying to get both of them to look AT THE SAME TIME and keep Maggie in one spot long enough for me to get out of the camera lens! It was fun and I was very pleased. I am posting some funny shots from the many attempts to get a few good shots! As you can see, it never failed that they both did very well at DIFFERENT times. Addison did great in the first attempt at the two of them together and Maggie looked confused! By the time Maggie had things figured out and was clowning, Addison started getting pouty for a little attention! Oh well, what can you say that is girls for you!

Maggie - would not sit still whether it was standing up or crawling off, keep her hands out of her face, and the props still- she is a ball of fire!!!

Addie - she was so sweet and did a great job - funny watching her try to look the right direction, not give a fake grin, and hold her shoulders up! Growing into such a little lady!

Our precious baby girls!

Below are my favorites!!

Serious about her Spaghetti!

2009-07-15T21:52:00.001-05:00

9 Months = Fun, Fun, Fun!

2009-07-15T20:49:00.009-05:00

Maggie is soooo much fun! We are definitely having a blast. She is into, on top of, and underneath EVERYTHING! She has mastered crawling and can get from one room to the next in 2 seconds flat! She has now started putting one foot up to help her get there quicker. She has been pulling up on everything in sight for a few weeks now and in the past week has started walking around the coffee table and transfering between furniture, bath tub and toilet, etc. Wants to walk soooo bad, but she won't get off her tip toes -she has held her balance for a second or two a few times! Her absolute favorite place to be at the moment is pulled up and attached to Mama's leg!!! She is definitely a little chatterbox and there is nothing quiet about her. It seems that she knows just when we are trying to communicate with each other yet not talking to her because she lets out the highest pitch squeal I have ever heard and thus we can't hear each other! She and Addie are getting closer and closer every day and Addison is loving that she can "play" with her. They are so sweet together. We (ALL 4 of us and a few unfortunate family members) battled the stomach virus over a 2 week period and now Maggie is still trying to get rid of her double ear infections! Got a shot and a second round of antibiotics at her 9 month checkup!

9 Month Stats:

Length - 28 inches

Weight - 19 lbs. 7 oz.

Can't remember head circumference!

All in the 70th percentile - what can we say...she is a well-rounded girl!!!

The "chair" picture was a little difficult to get this month...someone doesn't want to sit still!

Just a "few" of my favorite pictures from the last month! One of her favorite "toys" along with plastic storage containers, pots/pans, and a wooden spoon! Who needs all those fancy new toys!

This was at Aunt Morgan and Mary Milton's baby shower. L to R: Lilli Kathryn Cade, Addison and Maggie, Marnie Shell. Maggie and Marnie were born on Oct. 8th and Lilli Kathryn the 9th - Maggie is definitely bigger than the other two, but I think her being a little in front makes it look a little worse than it actually is!

She definitely enjoys her pan-a-cakes!

Sisterly Love!

This is one of my absolute favorites!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-06T21:50:00.004-05:00

We had a great 4th of July celebrating at Lake Caroline with Aunt Morgan and Uncle Haydn! After suffering through the stomach virus, we were so excited to finally be out of our house!

All dressed in our patriotic red!

Somebody left out their cookies...and the cookie monster didn't take long to snatch them up!

Can't wait to celebrate with Mary Milton next year!

Enjoying the fireworks!

Happy Independence Day America! Thanks to all the men and women that fought and still continue to fight for our freedom!

Double Take!

2009-07-06T21:34:00.002-05:00

TURNER FIELD & SIX FLAGS!!!

2009-06-29T21:13:00.007-05:00

This past weekend we went to Atlanta! We took Lauren Colby and her boyfriend, Austin, for her graduation. I LOVE amusement parks so this was a great reason for me to plan a weekend trip and get Lee over his phobia of roller coasters. I knew that if his little sister was there and she was jumping on everything he couldn't be a chicken! We succeeded (YAY!) and he is already talking about how he wants to go back. Both Lee and Austin on the first few roller coasters were talking about how unsafe they felt, but before long, they weren't hesitating at all! Thanks guys, we had a blast!!! We got to Atlanta Friday afternoon and headed out to Turner Field for a great game between the Braves and the Red Sox! It was awesome!!! Both of the boys were totally in their element and loving every minute of the game. We must give a shout-out to Pap, Suzy, Katie, Justin, Sloan & Molly for keeping Addison and Maggie so that we could enjoy a kids-free weekend. I missed those little girlies so much, but knew they were much better off in Starkville than standing out in the heat all day. They had a blast as well and I am not even sure that they missed us!!! Thanks soooo much; we had an awesome time! Congrats LC - we love you!

Turner Field

LC and Lee

Austin and Lee in front of the Hank Aaron statue

David Ortiz "Big Poppy" - of course, he slammed one during my bathroom break!

These were taken from our seats (we were in the shade - thank goodness!)

Papelbon finally made an appearance in the 9th! Way to represent MSU!

It was Friday night fireworks and we enjoyed a great show after the game!
Me, LC, and Austin in front of Batman (we rode in the front row!) and the Mindbender (the Joker)

The Georgia Cyclone - the roughest roller coaster in Six Flags!

About to go 200 feet up on Acrophobia - only to free fall straight to the ground at 65 mph! Thanks LC for riding - Lee decided he would stay down and take our picture!

Lauren Colby getting ready for some bumper cars

The Goliath - newest coaster that goes up 17-stories before plunging back down - it was great!

Swimming Lessons!

2009-06-16T22:08:00.004-05:00

Lee and I gave Addison swimming lessons for her birthday! She had lessons Mon - Thurs. for two weeks at 6:30 - it nearly killed me getting home so late and still having to feed, bathe, wash bottles, and put two kids to sleep - but it was so worth it! She had a blast, met some new friends, and learned a lot! She learned how to "humpty dumpty" off the wall and swim back, monkey crawl down the wall until she reached steps or a ladder, KICK - both a lot and controlled, blow a "fat face" before going under water, go under the water and swim 3-5 ft. to another person and start to retrieve objects under water. She did not like at all swimming on her back with the teacher holding her neck - don't know why! We were able to watch behind the glass and she went in by herself and had to mind and wait her turn - I was real impressed. Lee took her to the pool Monday afternoon and was pleased with her progress - don't get me wrong she still has a lot to learn but we are definitely off to a good start! Funny story that I must tell on my smart little girl - they were able to go down the slide on both Thursday nights - well, on the first Thursday, Addison went down the slide and when she got to the bottom right before she went off in the water - she spread her legs to stop her momentum and kept herself from falling in the water! When I asked her why, she said that she couldn't do it by herself yet!!! They aren't allowed to wear any floatation devices, but there was someone there to catch her! She wasn't trusting no one - at least I have a child that is cautious and knows her limits!!!

While you were out!

2009-06-16T21:43:00.003-05:00

About a month ago, Addison spent the week at Pap and Suzy's - well, while she was out...I decided to convert my "dining room" area into a "play" area. I talked about doing this right after Christmas, but never did. I meant to take a before picture before I took down the dining room table but forgot so this is the best I've got!

It has definitely served us well! Addison and Maggie both love to get over there and play! Although, I know it is just a matter of time before Addison starts saying, "Mama - she is messing with all of my stuff!!!" But, for now, we are enjoying the new play area and it is a really good place for Maggie to crawl around without doing much damage to the knees! Our neighbor, Kelly, brought over the talking Dora dollhouse with a gazillion accessories and Addison absolutely loves it!

Months 7 & 8!

2009-06-14T21:05:00.007-05:00

So, I have been extremely busy lately and a little absent from the blogging world, but from the looks of it I am not the only one!!! Maggie is now good and on the move - crawling and pulling up on everything in sight - so hence the shortage of my computer time! I can't turn my back for a second or my two will be in to something they shouldn't be! Wow, where does time go? I must say the 6 to 8 month timeframe is great - she has learned so much and become so self-sufficient- where to start! We have tried most all baby foods, lots of fruits through a "food sock", and now we are experimenting with table foods! Maggie is so much better at chewing than I remember Addison being and she is doing really well with table foods even though she only has two teeth - loves bananas, cheese puffs, Nutragrain bars, carrots, mac & cheese and she is all about trying to get any fork in sight and put anything within reach into her mouth! Learning how to sit up at around 6 - 6 1/2 months was a huge milestone because little "Miss Nosy" could then see what was going on around her and play with all of her many toys! Maggie looks like a little inchworm when she crawls, but recently has started being a little more efficient with her moves. In the last week, she has really started pulling up a lot then getting real proud of herself and falling - so we have quite a few bruises on the cheek, elbow, etc. - but hey, everyone has to learn the hard way sometime! "Wiggle Wiggle" is definitely living up to her nickname because you can't put her on the changing table or the floor and expect her to be there past 2 seconds! Fun times! Oh, and she really doesn't like to sleep during the day - she makes a sonar sound before finally giving up the fight! (As I say that I realize that several of my pictures below are of her sleeping - ha ha!) She is babbling up a storm and you ought to hear the interpretations of what Addison says that she is saying - but she has the 2 most important words down pat - ma-ma and da-da! She has been a busy little girl the last couple of months - we have been to Lynn Creek Memorial, 2 graduations, Land O'Lakes (for Memorial Day weekend) and even the Zoo - more updates and pictures to follow (hopefully!) Well, I am certain that I have missed lots of neat things that she has done, but this gives somewhat of a detailed update.

Finally gave it up in the middle of playing!

Daddy is always willing to be the nap partner!

Bananas in my "food sock" - yummy! Grape sucker! She loved this, but it was a huge sticky mess!

My favorite bath partner - Addison insisted on getting in Maggie's tub! Now the girls can take a bath in the big tub together and it is sooo nice!
My favorite sleeping picture - when I tried to move her she got upset and went right back to this position!

Check out my two teeth!