First comes love...

So, last weekend was Taylor's first chance to meet her future husband, Mr. Landon.  Landon and his parents, Ashley and Mike, live allllll the way out in San Jose, CA.  It's just unacceptable.  I'm hoping that the future union of Taylor and Landon will bring them back to GA.

Landon is almost 3 months older than Taylor, so he's doing some exciting stuff... trying to scoot, sitting up on his own, rolling over, holding his head up, etc.  Taylor is more the sedentary type. ;) 

So... how did it go?  Well, I will let the pictures tell you Taylor's thoughts:

First day they met: (Thursday)

"Mom, why are you sitting me close to this boy??"

"Eh, he's not so bad... pretty cute, actually..."



Second day they met: (Friday)

"I'm going to act non-interested... maybe he will like me more!"

"Still not paying attention..."

"Is it working?"

"I think so!!!!"

"Man, I have got the coolest future mom-in-law ever!"

It was so fun to get the two little ones together (and all the grown-ups, too!).  Man, I miss my Ashley!!!!  Luckily, we will get to see Ashley, Mike, and Landon again in North Carolina in about 3 months. :)

The circus!

The four of us went to the circus last Saturday, mainly for Sydney to have a great experience... but let's face it, Stephen and I wanted to go, too.  Who doesn't like the circus? ;)

It was definitely upgraded and updated from when I was a child!  Think Ringling Brothers, 21st Century.  They have kept up with the times!  Not so much were animals involved... well, they were, but I seem to remember there being animals out almost the whole time when I was young.  Now, there are all kinds of lighting effects and motorcycle tricks (including on a tight rope!) mixed in with the big elephants, horses, llamas and tigers (oh, my!).

Sydney was a little intimidated at first, and wanted to sit on our laps.  Taylor was trying so hard to go to sleep, but there would be some loud BANG! and she would wake up.  Sydney slowly warmed up and Taylor eventually fell asleep.  A good time was had by all!

Here are some pics from our day.

The tiger show.

How the heck?

Sydney's first hot dog!  I think she liked it. :)

Sydney kept talking about this all weekend- "elephant had doggie in basket."

Cheese!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

This was both my and Stephen's favorite part... check out this video! (There are 7 motorcycles in there!)

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

I just LOVE this video!  It inspires me, because I would love to be able to travel the world and bring people together like this guy did.  And I love the music, too. :)  I just love seeing all the people in so many different places and cultures having fun together... kind of makes you realize there is so much more to the world than just politics.  Gives me chill bumps every time!

Taylor's 3 month photos

I took Taylor today to get her 3 month photos done (even though she's only 11 weeks... close enough, right?).  I did this with Sydney- 3, 6, 9, and 12 month photos.  We have all her 10x13 photos framed in our room, and I wanted to do the same with Taylor!

So, we got them done today.  I wasn't SO totally crazy about any of them... I thought they were all really cute, but there wasn't one that totally stood out over the rest.  So, I chose two poses to get prints of, and here they are!  (My scanner quality isn't great, but you'll get the idea!)

I got one sheet of 5x7s of this shot.  Something about the look on her face and her hair (it's even better on the originals!) is awesome.

This is what I got the 10x13 in for our room.  I wasn't crazy about the angle, but I love her little smile and her eyes in this one!

Feeling the love!

Hope everybody had a Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I have to admit, I've never been a huge believer in this holiday.  I mean, don't get me wrong... it's fun to have another holiday to celebrate, but shouldn't you show the people you love that you love them every day?

But, like I said, it is fun to have an excuse to celebrate.  And especially with having kids, it's fun to have an excuse to dress them in Valentine gear and buy them sweet little presents.  For the past few years, Stephen and I have decided not to get anything for each other for Valentine's Day... our anniversary is about 3 weeks after Valentine's Day, so we decided to always just give a gift for that instead.  (Although he cheated this year and got me a sweet personalized notepad from Snapfish with pictures of our two girls on it!  So cute!). 

Anyways, our Valentine's celebration began on Friday, when a group of stay-at-home moms in my neighborhood had a little party.  It's awesome, because there are 6 girls who are either 2 or 3 and one 4 year-old girl, so it makes it a really fun time to see them all play together. 

We all brought goodies for the girls' goodie bags, they made hearts with their handprints, they decorated heart-shaped cookies, and got to make some personalized cards.  They even ate heart-shaped PB&J sandwiches.  We were all feelin' the love. ;) 

The girls' goodie bags.

Sydney's handprints. 

The gang.

Cookie-decorating.

Cookie-eating.

Sydney making her card.

She wanted to make it for her sister... how sweet!

On Sunday, Sydney wanted to wear her Valentine's dress to church...



On Monday, we woke up and took Sydney to daycare... but had to take some pictures first...

Happy 1st Valentine's Day to Taylor!



It was an UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous day, so Taylor and I went for a long jog/walk around the neighborhood. 

You've probably already seen or will see a pattern with Taylor on this blog...

Taylor + carseat = sweet dreams.

That afternoon, Sydney's class had a party that Taylor and I went to. It was fun! The teachers had gotten all kinds of snacks, including cheese puffs (Sydney had never had these before and LOVED them) and heart-shaped jello. (I apparently need to invest in a heart-shaped cookie cutter!)   The kids all brought in Valentine's and little goodies, and each child got their own Valentine's container filled with their gifts.

This takes saying "cheese" to a whole new level.

Artwork done by the kids.

Again, Taylor enjoying herself!

Then, it was time for the class to go outside and play, so Taylor and I got to hang out for a while with the kids on the playground.  (She actually woke up, believe it or not!)

Sydney and one of her favorite teachers.  I love how much they love her!

Weeeeeee!

Sydney and her best friend.  That morning she told me, "Mommy, Reagan is my best friend!"  It was adorable.

When Stephen got home from work, we went out to an early dinner with the girls.  There, Sydney got her presents (I got mine, too!).  Taylor was asleep (shocker!) so she got to see hers today. :)

Sydney and her new "Blue's Clues" doll.

Sydney's new Dora watch!

Sydney also got a Dora puzzle and coloring book + crayons from her Grandmom and D-Dad.  She was in heaven!

Whew, what a great few days!  As Sydney would say, "Happy Badentime's Day!"

"Hello Sydney!"

Just a fun little video I came across from a few weeks ago!

Listen to brookekh99s Playlist

Just a couple of lovely tunes for you to listen to while you read. :)

The evolution of paint

Ahhhh, painting.  I get motivated to paint a room, which normally lasts for about 3 hours.  If I'm not done in that time, then the room just doesn't get done.  Ok, not really, but my attention span really isn't that long. :) 

Anyways, let me explain my painting history.  For each of the two houses we have lived in, Stephen and I have been the first owners.  Therefore, the walls in both houses were that lovely off-white/ivory/cream- you pick the term- color.  In our first house, I was terrified of painting.  I couldn't translate the paint color on the little swatch to the wall to save my life.  Or, maybe I was afraid to.  So, our first house was left completely as-is... boring.

When we moved into our current house in 2006, Stephen and I were determined to bring some color to our walls... and that we did!  We started off by painting three rooms- the half-bath downstairs, the breakfast nook, and the dining room.  We did the half-bath a really sunny yellow.  We painted the dining room a pretty dark tan.  I had seen a picture in a magazine with a kitchen painted this apple-green color, and I was all about it.  But, we started slow and only painted half the wall (under the chair rail) that apple-green.  I didn't want to be TOO daring!

This was the breakfast nook about a week after we moved in (we hosted a surprise party for my cousin!).  Lovely, beautiful, bright, engaging walls.  Not.

I'm having to stretch to find old pictures, but in the background, you can see the color we chose and how we only painted it on the bottom half.

So, in 2008, I got a little braver and painted the whole wall (and got some beautiful curtains a la Target).  I think the curtains actually inspired me to paint the whole wall. 

Bright and bold.

I loved it.  Yes, the green is bright, but it looked so good with our black countertops and appliances.  Plus, we tried to coordinate accessories (kitchen rugs, handtowels, decorations) to include the green.  Now, not everyone loved it.  My dad, in particular.  I won't even tell you what he said it looked like. :) 

So, the other day I started getting an itch to change it.  I was getting a little tired of the bright green.  We had lived 4-1/2 years with it, and I was wanting a change.  Stephen's cousin had painted his kitchen this gorgeous shade of blue- kind of a turquoisey blue, but subtle.  I have a beautiful... how do I describe it... piece of clay artwork that my mom got me that was this shade of blue and I was inspired.  We got the name of their paint (Wythe Blue by Benjamin Moore) and I tried to translate it into a Sherwin Williams color online.

This morning, we went by SW after church, and they could actually match the exact color of Stephen's cousin's paint!  woohoo!  So, we got a gallon and I went home and started painting.

And I finished (in 3 hours, no less!)!  I love it... it's a nice, refreshing change, and it's still bright and cheery without being that lime green color.

What do you think?

It's funny to see how far we've come, from not having any walls painted to having all but a few rooms painted in this house.  I'll have to show my Dad the picture and see if he's a fan... if not, maybe the third time will be the charm... in 4-1/2 more years!.

What's Happening?

I feel like I haven't posted in forever (well, before tonight!).  Or maybe there's just been a lot going on lately.  Either way, I thought I'd give a brief update on our lives!

The countdown is on until I go back to work... 12 more days!  (sigh!)  I think once I'm back in the swing of things, I will be okay... but I'm really sad about being away from Taylor all day.  She will be in a really good daycare, though, and maybe I can check in on the webcam while I'm at work.

So, I've been really busy trying to ORGANIZE the house!  I'm talking, organizing really random things.  Labeling things, making donation piles, organizing drawers, closets, all my beads (when I told my mom about the beads, she said, "I really think it's time for you to go back to work now."  Maybe she's right?)

But aren't they pretty?  And I did 3 more boxes like this.  Sad, I know.

I've been finishing up photo albums, baby books, writing out Sydney's valentines for her class, and, of course, the typical household chores (including the endless loads of laundry!).  I can understand how being a stay-at-home mom is truly a full-time job in itself.

We celebrated my niece Madeline's birthday last weekend!  I can't believe she is 8 years old!  Where does the time go?  I remember she was born during my senior year at UGA.  My professor let me leave class early so I could go to the hospital (luckily, she was born in Athens!).  We hung out at their house in Gainesville for a bit before going to a Japanese steakhouse. 

Happy birthday, Madeline!

So, a couple days ago, Sydney complained about her ears hurting her. I asked her if they hurt bad enough to have to go to the doctor, and she said yes. I began quizzing her on other body parts to see if they hurt, too (just to see if she was really serious). Apparently, her knees, head, elbows, and belly hurt as well. But when she told me her eyebrows hurt, I questioned if it was worth taking her in or not. Good thing I did- the poor girl has strep throat!  (It's so nice that she can tell me when things hurt!)

Oh, and on a side note, they went ahead and did Taylor's weight check (remember she had only gained 2 ounces in 2 weeks?).  Though she had just had a 3-oz. bottle, she gained 8 ounces in a week!  So, thank goodness for that.

After the doctor, me, Sydney, and Taylor ventured to the grocery store for the first time with just the three of us, and waited out the 20 minutes for her antibiotics. Sydney had one meltdown, but we survived. So, Sydney stayed home from daycare two days in a row.

And when does all this happen? When else? When Stephen is out of town. :)  I'm becoming a champ at this now!

So, the girls and I had a fun couple of nights to ourselves:

Peanut butter and jelly picnic dinner.

Just before heading to the doctor!

Doing some crafts.

Playing with the new toys from Aunt Kendall.  This is the Dora puppet set.  She also got a Boots doll, a Dora blanket, and some books.  Sydney is in heaven.  She could play with this thing for hours!

She must be thinking, "Word."  Taylor chillin'. 

So, then today we wake up to a beautiful snowfall... only for it to be completely gone by 2:00!  Is it just me, or is anyone else ready for it to be spring time?  I'm over this snow and cold weather!

But it sure is pretty... 

We have a busy next few weekends... I'm so excited because I'll get to see my three best friends all in the same place next week!! (one lives in Atlanta, one lives in North Carolina, and one lives in California!)  From Valentine's Day parties to Bunco to a bachelorette party to a wedding shower and 2 baby showers to an engagement party... I'm exhausted thinking about it...

So is Taylor!

But, it will all be wonderful and I'm hoping these next 12 days go by really slowly. 

 

More later!