Uh Oh...

The monkey is out of the bag!!

Sydney found TWO monkeys in the same place tonight! 

Ok, let me back up.  Sydney's had two monkeys (that she's known about) that look alike since Christmas- one is "Monkey" and the other is "George", because he's an actual Curious George doll, red shirt included.  Well, I washed his shirt one day, and it's never really made it back on.  So, she has two look alike monkey dolls (on top of the other 3 in the closet!). 

The only difference is that the Curious George doll has little beans in his bootie.  I have to actually give his tush a squeeze to figure out which is which.  The little 2 year-old smarty-pants I live with can tell them apart from across the room!  I try to play tricks on her and call one by the wrong name... only to have her quickly correct me.

So, tonight, she picks up two monkeys, who I am assuming are Monkey and George.  She said, "Monkey has a twin!  There are two monkeys!"  Stephen said, "uhhh.... Brooke?"  I went over to her, and sure enough, there were two smiling monkeys in her arms, both with beanless bottoms.  Oops.

So, I told her it was Monkey's cousin visiting from Africa, and that he wanted to say hi, but had to catch a plane back to his home.  I don't think she bought it. 

So now, instead of Monkey and George, she talks about "Monkey, George, and 'nother Monkey."  I think we're officially a zoo now.

And speaking of booties, here Sydney is, shaking hers.  The girl's got some moves!

Get low...

Busy Month!!

Whew, March has been a crazy month!  I can't believe we're already coming to the end of it.  The weeks are so busy with both of us working now, taking care of the girls in the evenings, and doing the typical weekly activities.  Our weekends seem to have been packed lately, maybe because the weather is getting warmer... the days are longer... I don't know exactly what it is, but I like it!

It started off with our anniversary weekend... I ran a race in the cold rain that morning, and later that night we went to Bonefish Grill with the girls.  Sydney left one of her monkeys there (oops!)- thank heavens we have three more.  I didn't get a picture of me and Stephen together on our anniversary, but I got some of the kiddos.

Sydney drinking her "men-a-made" after enjoying some Bang-Bang shrimp.

The next day, our Sunday School group met at a local retirement center to have treats and hang out with the residents.  Our church is doing something called "Project 52", where each week, at least one group of people from the church goes out in the community to help in some way.  This was our group's way of helping the community.  It was a lot of fun, and I think the people really enjoyed us- especially the little ones.

Our fun group.



The next weekend was busy... I went to a baby shower Saturday afternoon, and Sunday, our sweet Taylor was baptized!  We went to the church service and had a little brunch back at our house afterwards.  My family and some nearby friends and neighbors came, ate, and hung out.  Sadly, my camera fell out in the car (and I couldn't find it!), so I don't have any pictures of her getting baptized or of the brunch.  :(  I will post some when I get pictures from my mom/sister. 

That Sunday night was the ER visit with Taylor... She stayed home with Stephen the next day, and was able to go back to daycare just fine on Tuesday!

The next weekend, we went to our good friends' daughter's play at her high school in Covington Friday night.  This girl is a superstar.  They insisted that we bring Taylor and Sydney with us... we weren't sure how it would turn out with them sitting so quietly for so long.  Overall, I'd give them a B+!  Sydney actually did pretty well!  She LOVES our friends, so she had a great time sitting by them and entertaining them.

Sydney applauding at the end of the play.

Sydney and her superstar friend, Aubrie.

The next morning was a busy day- Stephen went to a race, I took the girls to brunch, then a friend's house, and then we were supposed to go to a baby shower, when... BAM!  Sydney got sick.  Then Taylor got sick again.  What a week!  The kids were out of daycare all week, except for Friday... Stephen was out of town all week- Sunday through Thursday... I had meetings every day after school.  Thank goodness for my wonderful mom!!  I stayed out 1-1/2 days, and my mom covered the rest.

On the day I stayed home from school, the girls were both starting to feel better.  We played a lot of princess/ballerina dress up, Taylor included.

Introducing Princess Sydney.

Giving sisterly/princess advice.

Taylor just loves Sydney.

We were supposed to go out of town this weekend, but we're delaying it to a later date.  We actually had a stay-in-and-chill kind of weekend, which was MUCH needed!  And, on a side note, Sydney is a potty-training machine!!!  We have gone two days in a row wearing "big girl panties" outside the house, with no accidents!  She even wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom... 6 times last night!  (note to self... no water before bedtime!)

Anyways, I haven't posted too much this month, so I wanted to give everyone a quick update on our lives.  Spring break is soon... woohoo!  I also want to ask for prayers for my sweet niece, Madeline, who will be undergoing surgery this Thursday.  Please pray for a safe surgery and a quick recovery!

More later!

It's official...

I have met my quota for vomit for the year of 2011!  And no, it's not me.  Though I would take it in a heartbeat. 

It started with poor Taylor last weekend.  My little girl is a definite spitter-upper... she was diagnosed with acid reflux at 7 weeks and has taken Zantac twice daily since.  But, a few days before last weekend, she started spitting up a lot more than normal.  Then, Saturday night, she projectile-vomited.  (if you have never witnessed that, it is a sight!)  Sunday afternoon, she projectile-vomited about 5 more times.  I had called the nurseline to figure out what was going on, and they told me to go to the ER.  (of course, it's Sunday around 5 PM, so no doctor's office/urgent care is open). 

I'm sad that I'm so sick!

They wanted to rule out something that's really bad for young babies.  They ran some tests and did an ultrasound, but thankfully, all of that came back normal.  So, they said she had a bad stomach virus and prescribed some zofran if she needed it.  Stephen stayed home with her the next day, and she has been fine since!

My poor little girl!

So, all week, both girls have been fine.  Saturday morning, we're going to brunch with friends, and Sydney spit up a little bit in the car right before we went in.  Then, we went by to see some good friends for a little bit, and she threw up ALL over their floor. :(  We were supposed to go to a baby shower that afternoon (kids included), but needless to say, we went straight home.  Poor Sydney was so sick all day, all night, and all today.  The vomiting has subsided since this afternoon, but now she has a fever and a little rash. :(  Mom has come down to be of assistance (thanks, Mom!!) and she's going to stay with Sydney tomorrow.

Poor Sydney... :(

So, I've had a lot going on lately that I would love to share... and hopefully will!  Just not tonight. :)  I'll post some pictures/videos of the girls from this week.  Let's hope for a better week than the last two weekends!

Feeling better already!

Look how big I'm getting!

Sisterly gossip.

Taylor's little laughs. :)

6 Years!

Today is my and Stephen's 6th anniversary!  So hard to believe that we've been married for 6 years.  Sometimes it seems like the years have flown by, but on the other hand, it's hard to remember life without being married to Stephen. 

March 5, 2005 was a great day. It was sunny and warm (well, for March). We had our bridesmaid's luncheon around 11 that day, and then headed to the salon to get hair and make up done. The wedding was at 5:00 that evening at Buford First United Methodist Church... a very beautiful, historical church.

We took lots of pictures beforehand.  Stephen and I kept it traditional and didn't see each other ahead of time.

Me and Madeline... she was just over 2 here!



The ceremony was beautiful.  I actually made it through my vows without crying (one of my goals!).  My brother-in-law and I had a bet about me crying.  I said I wouldn't, he said I would.  I definitely started crying the moment I saw Stephen waiting for me at the end of the aisle.  (Wait... why am I bringing this up?  I'm pretty sure I never paid him for that. ;)

We took all the group shots after the ceremony.

My family.  I love how pretty my Grandmom looks. :)  She was 98 here!

All of our best friends and family.



We had all of our friends and family there.  People made the trek from as far away as California, Haiti, and Sweden!  

After the ceremony and pictures, we all headed to Reunion Golf Club to party the night away!

Getting introduced.

First dance. (Hopefully you are listening to our first dance song, Angel Eyes)

The rockin' band.

Dad and I dancing.

Me, Ash, and Erica

Ahhh, cake cutting time.  On the wedding cake, Stephen and I were nice to each other.  On the groom's cake (with a big GT in the middle...), I got him.  Then he got me. 

Being nice...

Got him.  It got much worse than this!

Heading out to the Chateau Elan, and then...

JAMAICA! (the surprise honeymoon trip!)

Can we go back, please?

Dunn's River Falls

Ziplining through the rainforest.

It has been a fun 6 years.  Lots has been done in that time.  So many trips, countless laughs, so many houses (LOL), three degrees, two beautiful daughters, and one happy marriage. :)

Check this out...

Erica, a best friend of mine from high school, is getting married to Brent, who is in this clip from 11Alive News last night.  Warning: tissues will be needed!  It's awesome what they are doing. :)

http://www.11alive.com/video/default.aspx?aid=130196&storyid=180904%3Fbctid%3D814604338001#/Three+Brothers%2C+One+Triathlon/814604338001

Hi-ho, hi-ho...

It's back to work I go!

I made it back to work last week... thankfully, we had Monday off, so it was a short week that I had to make it through.  And, I am awfully proud of myself... I've been doing great!  Besides the fact that it is CRAZILY busy with a million things to do, tons of IEP meetings this month (both for me to lead and to take minutes), the writing test, PTA meetings, work dinners, collecting data on the kids, benchmarks... oh, and somewhere in the middle I'm supposed to be teaching the kids, too. 

Anyways, sarcasm aside, I have had a good first few days back.  The kids have been so excited.  At my morning school on Tuesday, they showered me with gifts, cards, juice boxes, and a cake! 



This group of kids is SO sweet... I'm going to miss them next year.  I received word last week that I will be full-time at one school (not the one with the aforementioned party).  As much as I will miss these kids a ton, I'll be glad that I will be at one school full-time!  This going back-and-forth thing was getting to be difficult. 

Anyways, enough about me... let's talk about Taylor!  She has been doing great at daycare!  The teachers love her, and they say that everyone who comes in marvels over her hair.  The girl really does have a ton of thick hair.  They say she really never cries unless she's hungry.  She's the youngest in the class right now- I think the oldest is about 8 months old, so there's a range of about 5 months.  It's crazy to look at an 8-month old and think that will be Taylor in 5 months! 

So, Taylor is good... mommy is good... I have called in to check on her a few days, and they say she is good.  I've had to work late some days and go back to school later at night a couple of nights, so my sweet hubby has been taking over while I've been gone.  He's been taking them to daycare in the AM so I can get to work on time.  He's bathed them and fed them the past two nights while I've been gone.  I don't know what I'd do without him!

On a side note, one of my students passed away last night.  She was a 10 year-old fourth grader.  Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers!  It was a really rough day at my school for the kids and teachers.  She was such a sweet, precious little girl.  It really makes you think long and hard about priorities and what is important. 

Sydney-isms

Say cheese!  In her new flip flops, bought mainly because she outgrew ALL of her shoes (Dora light-up ones included), so this was a quick fix.  Let's hope it stays warm!

Being silly at Manny, "Egg" (Meg), and "A-brie" (Aubrie's) house.

Riding her "Bike-a-sike".  Monkey in tow, of course.