Family Update...

My friend, Erin, did a family update post this week on her blog and it was motivation to get my act together. So much has happened these last few months and it's time I got back in to my blogging groove. Here's a little of what we have been up to:

Andy

Has signed on to run a service bureau for a former client of his and will now be telecommuting from home when he doesn't have to travel. This should make for a highly interesting summer since we'll have both kids at home. At least during the school year when he worked from home AG was in school during the day. I'm hoping we find a balance over the course of the next few weeks. Regardless, we are grateful for this opportunity and some other things that seem to be coming together. Soccer finished up and Andy had a great time coaching AG in his first soccer season.  Andy has also taken up Crossfit and is loving it. 

Katie

I'm in desperate need of getting my act together when it comes to my blog...I've never been this sporadic with it. In other news I'm doing some stuff on the side with These Southern Roots and am hoping to dedicate some much needed time to it this summer. In addition, I'm also trying to revamp some of our household organization systems for the upcoming school year. My goal is to work on this stuff this summer so that I can get the kinks worked out before AG starts back to school in August. I'm still very involved with hospitality/events at our church and that keeps me busy. Running...I took most of the spring off to let me left leg heal from a stress fracture. I've run a handful of times since February and it looks like I'm healed. (Hooray!) When I have run it is pain free in my leg...granted my endurance isn't what it was but I can handle that if it's pain free. My goal for June is to slowly ease back in to running on a consistent basis. No crazy mileage or fast pacing just easy, consistent runs. Andy and I are looking at a big race goal for the winter season to complete together. (It deserves it's own post.) Training for that will start in July so easing back in to a running schedule is key for this month. Around the house...it's a mess! I've got several projects going on and need to take a few days to get caught up and on top of things. It's currently driving me crazy but I'm slowly tackling it and getting a bunch of stuff reorganized/purged/cleaned out. 

AG

 Getting to be such a big kid. Can't believe he completed his first year of preschool and that we are one year away from having a kindergartner. He had a blast on vacation and enjoyed learning/asking questions about everything. Continues to be a diehard Braves fan and enjoys telling anyone who will talk baseball with him about his team. I'm hoping to work on some special activities with him this summer while he is home. My goal is to get organized so that we can do projects together several times a week while Avi-Kate naps. He's really looking forward to going to the beach with my family in July and Andy's family over Labor Day weekend. Andy and I are tossing around several ideas for his fifth birthday this winter. Ideally, we'd like to do something special at certain milestone birthdays...we are still trying to figure out what this looks like but I like the possibilities.

Avi-Kate

 I really can't believe that in less than 48 hours she'll be two years old. She has changed so much in these last few months. I am so grateful that we had surgery when we did. Her speech and vocabulary is really starting to take off. (And for that I praise the lord.) She is a sweet, independent ball of energy that is always in motion doing something. Girlfriend loves her art supplies and is quite content to color masterpiece after masterpiece. She loves to cook in their play kitchen and take care of her babies. And she absolutely adores her big brother. (The feeling is mutual.) She loves to do whatever he is doing and spends most of the day trying to keep up with him.

Lastly, I love these two photos that I took of AG and our niece, Ronnie, this past week on vacation and had to share them. They've changed so much since the last time we were in Williamsburg. (It had been 2.5+ years since the last time we were there.)

I'll be honest...

...I'm in somewhat of a funk when it comes to blogging. I love blogging. I love being able to look back at what I've written over the years. However, this year has been quite the roller coaster ride so far and it doesn't look that will be changing any time soon. Due to the things that have happened I've become quite reflective over the last three months and spending way more of my time processing things internally than processing them on the blog like I've done in years past. Neither way is right or wrong...but for this season this seems to fit where I'm at. There are lots of things I want to say but I can't seem to express things the way I want. There are several posts that have been started and not finished just because I get frustrated. So, I leave it and tell myself that I'll come back to it and never do. (Sigh)Anyways, that is where I am at. I'm okay. I really am. I'm amazed daily by God's faithfulness and the way he continues to hold my hand whatever the circumstance. Hopefully, one day I'll be able to put everything to paper the way it is in my head.

In other news, Avi-Kate's appointment went really well week before last. Her hearing is improved and she is doing much better. They are pleased with her progress in a month and we'll go back in the fall to follow-up. AG is fully healed and back to his normal self. His voice is higher than it use to be...but he doesn't snore like an old man anymore. (Hallelujah!) Today I went to pick him up from school and both of his teachers were out with strep and it dawned on me that we won't have to worry about that anymore with AG! Kind of a surreal feeling. We go back in a few weeks for his follow up appointment but we don't expect any problems. He did phenomenal and only took one dose of pain meds the whole time. (It was a week after the surgery and that night was the one and only time he asked for it. Initially, we asked him constantly if he wanted some and after a few days of asking we gave up because he was quite adamant that he didn't want any.)

Avi-Kate's birthday is starting to creep up on us and I can't believe that she will be 2 in June. She is quite obsessed these days with Ariel from The Little Mermaid aka 'Ya-Ya'. We are thinking about having an Ariel themed pool party...I need to start working on details because it will be here before we know it.

Finally, last week our world was turned upside down. Andy was laid off due to budget cuts along with pretty much everyone in his department in the Rome office. Lots to process on that front. Lots of decisions to be made. Lots of prayers being made. Lots of opportunities for communication. And yet, we take great comfort in knowing that God is in the midst of this latest chapter in our lives. He hasn't left us and he is faithful. One day at a time.

Like I said, there is a lot I want to write and can't seem to put to paper at the moment. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures uploaded here this week. Off to work on some re-organizing/spring cleaning. Happy Monday.

Happy Halloween and a quick update...

Peter Pan and Tink are ready to Trick or Treat!

I'm glad we got to do some trick or treating while at Disney because the weather was perfect. Tonight the weather will not be perfect and the kids will be bundled up. (Our low is projected to be 30 this evening the last time I checked.) The latest plan is to do a few houses on our street and then make our way to GrandMary's house like we do every Halloween to see her and Jack.

And I'm sorry for my lack of updating since last week. It's been nutty this last week...here's a quick recap:

~Thursday night Girls Night with my college girls...dessert and tv time.
~Friday AG had a Trike-Athon at school. (Post and pictures coming up), AG had his last soccer practice of the fall, and we hosted our annual pumpkin carving Family Dinner with all of our college students. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed a low key evening with lots of faces around the dinning room.
~Saturday was dedicated to regrouping from Family Dinner and work around the house. We also spent the afternoon watching the Dawgs knock off the Gators. It was an intense game and Andy was pacing all over the house.
~Sunday was church and I had to do hospitality set up. We also both did long runs that afternoon for half marathon training.
~Monday and Tuesday were filled with school, errands, and normal weekly chores. In addition, last night we had family movie night and watched 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!' together before the kids went to bed.

I have lots to do today around the house. Originally, I was planning to meet a friend downtown to do Trick or Treat on Broad Street but AG has a cough that kept him up most of the night so we are laying low today. I kept him home from school today so that he can rest in hopes he can trick or treat this evening for a bit. I'm hoping to blog some today and tomorrow but we'll see if it happens. We are headed to the farm for the weekend to see Andy's mom and extended family. Saturday will be spent in Athens cheering on the Dawgs against Ole Miss. (If they win this weekend and next weekend at Auburn they'll be headed to the SEC championship in ATL in a month!) Lots going on these next few days but I promise to get things up to speed and soon. I have lots to post. I made a fabulous fall wreath and have pictures to share with a How-To. Plus, tomorrow we start our annual thankful tree activity with the kids and I need to share the holiday plans we have already lined up. (And a sneak peek of my holiday planner if I can get it finished ...at the moment it's a jumble of paper, magazines, post-its, and bits all thrown in a binder.) I feel like I say it every month but I can't believe this month has come and gone. We are heading in to my favorite time of the year. Happy Wednesday and I hope everyone has a good Halloween. I'll be back soon. I hope. :)

Quick updates...

Goodness gracious where has the time gone?!

Are we really in August? So, here's a sound off of things that are going around here...

-School. AG requested a baseball bookbag for his school year and thankfully, Pottery Barn had one that was 'AG approved'. Now, I'm hoping it arrives for the first day of school which is MONDAY! Yes, school starts for AG on Monday. Crazy. I can't believe it. Tonight we have Open House to check out his classroom and meet new friends. Again, it really boggles my mind. BUT we are excited. :)

-Avi-Kate is walking every where and she is quite the monkey.

See life is really hectic at the moment...I started this post on Thursday and didn't get a chance to even finish it. So, let's try this again...

-AG loved, loved, loved visiting his school for Open House! He kept telling us that everything was "just my size!" In our haste to be on time we put Avi-Kate in the car sans shoes and didn't realize this till after we had arrived. Oh, well. Live and learn...and laugh.

-We are watching Olympics non-stop. AG pretty much imitates whatever sport we are watching at the moment. Our favorite to watch him preform is diving. He lines up the bean bags in the den and drags his little red chairs over next to them and then proceeds to 'dive' in to them. It's hysterical...the best are when he does 'backflips'.

-The new couch arrived last week and I'm going to post pictures...but it's FABULOUS. (sigh) I really think I would just like to live on it full time. After relaxing on it for a week I can undertand why Pottery Barn uses the word 'comfort' in it's name. It really is very comfortable and every evening once the kids are in bed I relish sinking down in to it to watch the Olympics. :)

-Today has been spent rotating the kids toys out of the attic and organizing the play area. I guess it's the teacher in me that wants it revamped for the school year.

-I need to do a full post on the latest with the backyard but a quick update is that we had our lot surveyed and found out some great news...our backyard actually extends 21 feet beyond the back of our fence!

-Andy and my Dad some yard work yesterday. Cutting down some small trees and clearing out some growth. Plus, hauling some stuff to the dump. I'm looking forward to it cooling off in a few weeks (I hope!) so we can get out and do some heavy yard work.

-Avi-Kate went to the GI doctor on last Monday to let him check her out after we had three random vomiting episodes over the span of a week. Basically I wanted her to be seen so that if it happens again we can go from there. He said it's highly possible that what happened that week was a CVS episode given that it was identical to AG's episodes. He was glad that we brought her in so he could look her over and document things. The plan is to just wait and see what happens...we'll go from there. I feel better about all of it now that she's been seen.

-I'm in the process of researching jogging/running strollers. My hope is to get one soon so that I can start using it during the week while AG is in school. My plan is to drop him off and then strap Avi-Kate in so I can run on campus at Berry. I just need to narrow it down and then order it from Amazon. Oh, how I love Amazon Prime.

-Avi-Kate is a full fledge Braves fan...she starts doing 'The Chop' anytime she hears the music. And speaking of the Braves we took her to her first Braves game at Turner Field this past Friday. She did great but she's not in to it the way AG is. I think his status as a diehard fan has been cemented. I had to beg him to eat part of a hotdog...he was too engrossed in the game. He loves every single thing about the game.

-Our season tickets for UGA arrived this past week! Glory, glory. We are really looking forward to Saturdays in Athens this fall. I'm glad that our first game is now less than a month away.

I'm sure there are several things that I'm leaving out but at the moment this is all I've got. I'll be back with Disney updates soon.

Random updates on life...

Here's a random update on life:
Kids
~Last Monday, I took AG to visit his preschool. In a few weeks I'm not going to know what to do with myself when he's in school 5 days a week. I think we are going to sign Avi-Kate up for her first Kindermusik class while AG is in school. That'll be something fun to do with her one on one. This winter she'll be 18 months old and I plan to put her in a 'gymnastics' aka tumbling class. She has turned in to quite the monkey and has ridiculous balance on objects for being 13 months old. I think the plan is for AG to do Kindermusik at preschool and then do soccer this fall for the first time.
~AG is fully potty trained! As in, I haven't bought pull-ups since May. He's had one accident at night so far. I haven't wanted to post this due to jinx-ing it but it seems to be permanent now. HOORAY! I'm quite proud. He also outgrew all of his undies and enjoyed shopping for new ones a few weeks ago. I had to buy them from the actual boys section and not the infant/toddler section. That was really weird! First time for everything, right?
~Avi-Kate is walking full time now! She decided last Monday to start walking every where. Before that she was walking when she wanted but it was just a few steps here/there. And never on command. She's getting really good at it and is able to walk from the kitchen to the den without stopping. (Quite an impressive feat since our kitchen is incredibly long!) HOORAY for Avi-Kate!
~I pre-registered the other day for the kids to meet Santa at Phipps again. Crazy to be thinking about the holidays but they'll be here before we know it.

House
~I'm working on getting things organized for the school year and set up the way I want them so that when AG starts school in a few weeks we can really establish a new routine. I'm getting a bunch of homekeeping stuff together (post on that coming, soon! I'm documenting with pictures as I go.) and organizing some random stuff. I've also been purging stuff to donate.
~The ottoman arrived for the den the other day via UPS and the sofa should be here soon. I'm excited to see it in the den...I really need to figure out the fabric to put on the chair so I can get that recovered soon.
~I'm looking forward to putting out fall decorations, candles, etc. in a few short weeks. I've a got few projects pinned on Pinterest that I wanted to get ready for the fall...one of which I started last year and never finished due to having an infant  and two year old at the time. It's a little easier to do things now and once AG is in school I can craft during Avi-Kate's nap time. At least I'm hoping to do that once a week...ask me if that's realistic in a few weeks. :)


Andy and I
~Both registered for our first half marathon in January. We are renting Disney Vacation Club points for the first time and staying at Saratoga Springs. Which we are excited about trying that out. It'll be a super short trip because it falls right before the start of tax season.
~I'm also registered to run the Princess Half in February at Disney with my sister, Caroline, and my sister-in-law, Caroline. :) Along with several of my Berry Education friends...Evan, Jenn, Jessi, and Amanda. Should be a really fun weekend. I'm really looking forward to it. I currently have a room reserved at Port Orleans Riverside for Caroline, Caroline, and myself with the running discount. I went ahead and snagged it. I may change it if the Annual Pass discount for February is cheaper but we won't know that for a few more months. We'll see.
~Andy also got a road bike last week and is looking forward to biking on his days off from running.


College Family
~They are slowly trickling back in to Rome. In the next few weeks several more will return with the remainder here by the end of August. Classes resume that last Monday of August this year. We are ready to have them back and in the house. Summers are quiet with them gone. Although, we are enjoying having the ones that are Romans for the summer over. Last Tuesday night several of the girls came over for a porch night after the kids were in bed. Andy was out of town and it was wonderful to catch up with them.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday. I'm off to be productive...

Blogging hiatus...

This last month has flown by and I took a break from the blog. Not intentionally at first but much needed. Avi-Kate has been battling an intense cold, sinus infection, ear infections, etc. for the last month leaving mommy very sleep deprived and having very little energy for anything else. In addition I came down with a sinus infection, thanks to Old Man Winter failing to show up this year and pollen season starting early, and AG had a cold. Needless to say it's been a wild ride here this last month. In addition to all this we were gearing up from our big family trip to Disney World with Andy's family. We just got back to Rome today...the trip was great but AG having a CVS flare up was not so great. Yes, lots and lots of vomit this past week means I get to touch base with AG's GI doctor tomorrow.

My goals this week are to get the house back in order and get the blog back up to speed. Lots to post about. Hopefully the weather will be great this week and I can do some outside nine month pictures of Avi-Kate...her eight month pictures turned out great and I still need to post those! Ha. See, it never ends. I will forever be playing catch up. :)

Hmmmm...

...so, this last week was eventful. After, we finally got things figured out with the GI doctor for AG I decided to cancel our Disney trip, sad, but okay. We'll be there for a whole week in March! It would have been too much to drive with kids and mom not up to par. We did Disney sick last December and while we still had fun I didn't want to add a four month old to that equation this go around. Plus, after sorting things out with the GI doctor I'm even more glad we didn't go. When we do Disney we are up and out the door early in the morning, take a mid-day break, and then stay as late as possible at night. Well, that wouldn't have worked with AG and his new medicine this go around.

On Tuesday, the doctor decided to put AG on medicine for the foreseeable future to help with his vomiting episodes. Now, it takes awhile to build up in his system which means he could still have an episode before it really becomes effective. Also, it can make the taker quite sleepy and groggy in the morning. Well, I gave him his first dose Tuesday night and he slept till 10:45 the next morning! Needless to say we skipped his nap on Wednesday in favor of an earlier bedtime. Thursday he woke up at 8:45 and was able to nap that afternoon. So, the rest of the week we have been playing with napping/not napping and trying to figure out what works best. All that to say I'm glad we are home and not away while we let his body adjust to this new medicine.

In other news...

-After changing out the planters on the front steps and filling them with fresh plants I commented to Andy that when I'm pregnant my gardening goes to pot. Literally. The front steps didn't get any loving this spring or summer...I was doing good to have stuff in them last fall during the first trimester with Avi-Kate. I'm happy to have plants and pots to freshen up the front of the house once again. Also, Andy is almost done with his projects on the front of the house...pictures to come, soon!

-I picked up some odds and ends at HePo aka Home Depot today for crafting. I can't talk about all my projects since my extended family reads the blog and I'm working on some projects for Christmas but I will share one...so, last week I mentioned the large volume of house plants now residing at 320 E. 11th Street. Well, some of them are going to be sent to loving homes aka family members. The rest I'm going to do something with. I have some old containers in various sizes, shapes, and types laying around. Andy and I are going to prime them and spray them with chalkboard spray paint. Hopefully, this little face lift will turn out well  enough that I'll have containers to use till spring rolls around and I can redesign things for life on the porch for the summer/fall.

-My sweet husband surprised me with a massage at a local spa and dinner out without the kids for my birthday. It was a wonderful treat...thank you Andy! :) Big thanks to our sweet college girls for taking the kids for the night.

-AG is ready for Christmas. Last week, he asked if we could go cut down our Christmas tree with Emma! I told him in a few weeks. Guess that answer wasn't good enough...today at HePo he found tiny potted trees in the garden section, picked it up, carted it over to Andy, declared it 'AG's Christmas Tree', and plopped it down on the flatbed cart. Add that to my list of things to pot this week. Oh, well it'll be cute with some lights on it in his room. :)

-We have family dinner next Sunday night with the college students. Chili night and pumpkin carving. Should be a fun night all together and we already have our last two family dinners planned for the semester. Thanksgiving and Christmas Dessert/Movie Night.

-I need to do a post about some of AG's favorite phrases these days. He keeps us laughing that is for sure.

Update...

...this last week was a whirlwind.

Here's the bullet points update on life:

Last weeks events

-Andy made it home from Miami on an earlier flight Wednesday.

-My dear friends Ginn and Julie both blessed me by helping me clothe my children for the visitation, 2 funerals, and the burial. Do to the whirlwind of events I was doing good to find something for me to wear. I was grateful to not have to try and shop for multiple outfits for both children. I really don't know how I could have done it. 

-I was in charge of putting together items that reflected who my grandmother was to be displayed at both the visitation and the funeral home in the mtns. 

-We spent the weekend with family and celebrating my grandmother's life. The kids were great despite the crazy schedule and enjoyed lots of attention. We also spent lots of time discussing both of our kids' fabulously red hair. :) Having a red head is like having a celebrity. I thought we couldn't go anywhere without being asked about it before when it was just AG. Ha. Well, regardless my grandmother would have been elated to have two redheaded great-grandchildren.

Around the House:

-I'm attempting to regain the chaos that is the house these days. Throw in last week's events and a mountain of laundry plus a bunch of freezer cooking and that's where I'm at.

-Freezer cooking. I've been trying to take one day a week to put away a few extra meals in the freezer. Sometimes that is me doubling or tripling what I'm cooking for dinner. Other times it's me making a ton of chicken to be prepped for other meals. Or making breakfast food to be put up. The last few weeks I've been stockpiling baby food for Avi-Kate because solids are just around the corner. Last Tuesday, I made a bunch of chicken and chicken stock. My plan was to put up all the chicken over the next few days, however, that plan flew out the window. So, I've been doing chicken meals now trying to get it all put up. In addition to that, we also came home with a ton of food so I've been getting creative on ways to make things do double duty. For example what do you do with 2 gallon Ziploc bags worth of Chick-fil-A chicken? Throw together several chicken parmigianas with ingredients you have on hand (hooray, for stockpiling/couponing!) and put them in the freezer.

-I need to figure out what I'm doing with all the house plants I came home with from the funeral...I have lots of houseplants already and thankfully they spend from May to October out on the screened porch. It really might be jungle this winter and in 6 weeks we'll add a Christmas tree which requires even more shuffling. So, again I'm not really sure what I'll do. Meg, Caro, and Mis you may be receiving some new house guests...don't say I didn't warn you. I think I'm most excited about the crotons that were in the baskets. I've wanted some for years (yes, I love to garden and I get excited about plants!)

-I have a few odds and ends projects that I'm mulling and need to work on...in my free time. Ha. Whatever that is...

Andy

-Busy, busy, busy with work.

-Wishing he had more free time to complete some of his projects he's started.

Kate

-Trying to get over this sinus crud that I've had for over a week.

-Worn out. Ready to go on vacation and have a few days away as a family.

AG

-A mess. Never still. Quite funny. Has the temper that comes with being redheaded. Learning lots about boundaries and limitations these days. 

-Tech savvy. I'll be honest I'm not sure if I should be proud or worried about how tech savvy he is...he can navigate an iPhone without batting an eye. He has now figured out how to navigate the family desktop. For example he makes the dock appear, locates Safari, pulls up YouTube, and opens a playlist of favorite videos he's starred. This is all from his own exploration. Andy and I haven't taught him anything. For awhile we would minimize Safari but he's since figured out how to pull it back up. So, it's not uncommon to find our mouse hiding in the kitchen cabinets when Mom doesn't want AG to mess with the computer. 

Avi-Kate

-Four months old! Crazy!

-She has her check up on Monday. Due to everything that happened last week I haven't taken her four month pictures, yet. Soon enough. 

-She's getting big. Her body control is fabulous. I sat her in the high chair for the first time tonight while we ate dinner. She loves being included and hates being left out.

-She LOVES her big brother. She finds him comical and loves to smile/laugh at him. 

-Once I have pics and her trip to the doctor I'll do a four month post on her.
-Oh, and her hair is coming in and it's the same exact shade as AG's. She has this one piece on the top that is curling up and refuses to lay flat. We might have a curly headed child...I'd love it. As a baby my hair was a mass of curls all over my head.

Samson
-Adjusted to life with two kids. Takes it all in stride...when he doesn't want to be bothered he disappears to our room.
-Has started playing games with AG. Tug of war with a rope. Fetching. (Which should be noted as a big deal b/c Samson has never been a big fan of playing fetch due to his breed make-up. So, the fact that he plays with AG is quite endearing.)

Vacation:
-We leave in a little over a week for Disney. We are getting away for a few days to celebrate my birthday. To say I'm excited would be a huge, huge understatement. After the last few months I'm ready for some quality family time at the happiest place on earth.

CVS:
-Thankfully, AG hasn't had an episode. I was fearful that everything going on last week would trigger an episode. Praise the Lord it didn't. Although, we had a moment of panic driving to my parents on Friday. AG was crashed in his carseat dead asleep and suddenly woke up in a fit of coughing and then passed back out. Usually, he starts coughing in his sleep right before he vomits. Ever so grateful that it didn't happen. I know that eventually we'll have an episode till then we wait. I'm also looking forward to chatting with the pediatrician on Monday at Avi-Kate's appointment about this since I haven't seen her since we got the diagnoses.

I'm sure there are lots of other things I should mention but at the moment I can't think what they are. :) For now, I'm grateful for all that I'm learning these days...

Monday, Monday...

Well, what a weekend we had.

Friday we awoke to grey skies that promised inclement weather...and inclement weather they did provide. In the last two weeks we've had pretty horrific storms. Two weeks ago today we spent a night without power. Last Monday while bad we thankfully had power all night long. Friday we were not so lucky. 

Friday I took AG to Kindermusik, we had lunch at the Dwarf House per AG's request, and dropped off my dress to be altered for Meg's wedding. We got home and I put AG down for a nap...I had high hopes with the rain coming that I could get a nice nap in myself. Well, no such luck. At 4:35 the winds kicked up, the sky went to an eerie shade of grey to the point where there was no visibility,  it began to hail, and there was a piercing howl. I dropped my phone call with my dad and ran to grab AG from his bed. And then the power went out. We tried calling Andy who was trying to get home to us but was stuck in the down pour. 

Moments later I ventured to the front of the house to see that a tree had fallen across the street but our old oak was still standing. I began reading reports via my iPhone that parts of Rome were completely shut down. When it was all said and done there were over 15, 000 outages in Rome. One of our main roads, Turner McCall, was shut down till Saturday due to multiple snapped power line poles. Andy made it home safely and we ventured out to grab dinner at Waffle House since we had no other options and everything around us was without power due Turner McCall being shut down. We originally thought that it was tornado that came thru but they later determined that we had straight line winds at 80 mph. Either way the cleanup is still on going and chainsaws could be heard all weekend long. 

I spent the rest of the weekend having contractions, nausea, and cramps. I was suppose to head to Albany for Meg's Lingerie Shower Saturday, however, after consulting with my midwife she decided that I was in no condition to travel. So, I spent the bulk of the weekend on the couch and in the bed. 

This morning, we had AG's preschool tour at the Child Development Center and then my OB check-up. It was hard getting up this morning since we were up most of last night with AG. His sleep has been off the last two nights and I am starting wonder if his last set of molars are gearing up to make their appearance. Our tour at the CDC was great and AG was Mr. Analytical like always...taking it all in and studying everything that was going on. We were then off to my appointment and AG enjoyed helping Shannon, my midwife, with my check up. He helped measure my belly and use the doppler to find the heartbeat. Everything looks good...my belly is measuring a little small but Shannon is not concerned in the least. She commented after picking up AG that a little on the small side for #2 might not be a bad thing. I laughed and agreed with her. She gave me the go ahead to try using something to help me sleep at night. Up until two weeks ago I had been sleeping great...much better than I ever did while pregnant with AG. Anyways, I'm now averaging 2-4 hours of sleep a night and while I know that sleep is hard to come by at the end 2 hours is not sufficient with a toddler. So, we'll see if I can get some better sleep this week. Here's hoping.

This afternoon I had high hopes of cleaning the house since Andy was home all afternoon since today is the end of tax season. Alas, I've spent the afternoon in bed with really bad nausea and throwing up. Thank heavens I'm 32 weeks and the end is in sight...I'm so ready for summer.  The only thing not ready is the house BUT thanks to my hard working husband things are coming along. Wait till you see what he built for AG's room this weekend. Pics and posts on our latest house projects to come this week. I'm off to curl up on the couch for the rest of the night and this post is long enough.

Clicking along...

Life as we know it is flying down the tracks like a train on long journey. The picture above was snapped last weekend when we were in Macon. We went to Macon at the end of last week to meet AG's newest cousin, Delia. This is Ronnie showing AG how to get around the hospital. I was hoping to snap some sweet newborn shots with my portrait lens but Miss Delia needed to be under the lamps to help stabilize her billirubin levels. Which is fine because we'll see her again in a few weeks when Avi-Kate arrives.

We got home from Macon and I've been struggling with my allergies. Last pregnancy I missed the spring pollen season and so I didn't have to worry about it. This go around has been brutal. I can't take my migraine meds and so I have to tough it out. Needless to say that over the last few days there have been lots of headaches along with nausea and throwing up. In addition throw in daily contractions, increasing sciatic pain, and the ability to not be comfortable when sleeping (that comes during the third trimester) and that's pretty much where I'm at.

I'll be 32 weeks this weekend and go back to see my midwife on Monday. We are getting closer to the finish line. I mailed off my pre-registration packet to the hospital last week...so check that off my huge to do list. Next week I don't have to teach so I'm hoping to tackle several organizing projects around the house. We are quickly running out of time to get things situated. I need to finalize how I want the kids rooms laid out and then get to putting them in order.

G-Daddy came up on Tuesday to speak at some classes at Shorter. He had a great time with Rick's classes and then came over to do dinner with us. We enjoyed having a meal together and catching up. He and Andy also spent some time in the backyard brainstorming some projects ideas.

Last night we had our college family over for dinner and it was fabulous. We had to pull in a third table and extra chairs...which is not a bad problem to have. We had a big Italian meal all together and it was delish if I do say so myself. I think we fed 19 people including AG and the to go meal I sent home for Harrison who couldn't make it. Thankfully the red sauce that I made triples beautifully and I still have leftovers for lunch and enough to freeze for another meal.

Speaking of freezing...chicken is on sale this week at Kroger. I bought a ton and am planning another huge cooking day. I know I never posted all that I created last time and the recipes...I will do it this time. I actually still have a few things I made last time still in the freezer but my stash is dwindling. I wanted to restock closer to June so this will be perfect. We'll have lots of dishes to pull out as we get closer to my due date and once Avi-Kate arrives. I also plan to do some beef dishes and Italian sauces that freeze well. I'm just waiting on beef to go on sale.

Hard to believe that April is halfway over already. Our sweet girl will be here before we know it. To say we are excited and ready to meet her is an understatement. :) Speaking of her arrival reminds me I have projects to tackle today...off to be productive.

Random Friday Fun...

In my last post I stated that I was trying to get the house back under control...since I posted that I've spent the last two nights in bed due to extreme nausea. (sigh) I actually feel really good in the mornings/early afternoon, however, it's even more challenging cleaning and organizing with the red-headed tornado following behind you. :o) 

So, we are taking small steps and doing what we can. I'm actually impressed the laundry is actually some what under control and I'm making headway cleaning our bedroom. Hopefully, I can get some stuff done during nap time and squeeze in a short nap for myself. 

I need to post a very yummy recipe for Shepherd's Pie that I made last week and tonight we are trying a new chili recipe. Hopefully, this weekend I can catch the blog up on everything. This weekend I'm also hoping we can finish getting our room in order, finish putting away Christmas stuff, and get some new bins to organize AG's toys. Students return this coming week and Berry starts classes on Wednesday, the 12th. Next weekend we are celebrating AG's second birthday and getting ready for a visit from some sweet friends. Our friends, Logan and April, are coming to stay with us for several days...we are excited since it has been a couple of years since we saw them last! (They are missionaries in Turkey and are returning to the states for a few months.) We are also excited to meet their new addition, baby Esther also known as Essie, born in November.

We are keeping a close watch on the potential snow for our area late this weekend and in to Monday. I'm hoping we get a couple of inches since we missed most of our Christmas snow due to holiday traveling. I love how peaceful everything is with a blanket of snow wrapped around it.  

Happy Friday! 

Big Bro and Tiny E 2.0

AG wearing his new shirt from Aunt Mis at the Animal Kingdom at Disney.

So, it's official. We are expecting our 2nd child in June...Tiny E 2.0 should be here by the middle of June. Which means the following:

-I'll be a full 6 months pregnant when Caroline gets married March 19th.
-Tiny E's cousin should arrive mid-April...Ronnie is going to be a big sister! These two will be 2 months apart while Ronnie and AG are 5 months apart.
-I'll be pushing 8 months pregnant when Meghan gets married on April 30th. (Which is also Andy and I's 5 year anniversary.)
-AG will be exactly two and a half years older than his brother/sister.

We are thrilled and excited about the new addition! We were a little surprised but grateful. When Andy switched jobs in August we thought maybe we should wait and try around the holidays to let him get situated in his new job...God had other plans. :o)

Here's what happened:
When we came home from Virginia in October I was a week and a half late and so I decided to take a test. I'm never late. The only reason I didn't take one in VA was that I really didn't think I was pregnant. With AG I knew before I even took a test. However, after being 10 days late we made a stop at the dollar store. I bought a test and sure enough within 30 seconds it was positive. I was in shock because again I didn't think I was pregnant. Ha. How little did I know...this pregnancy has been the complete polar opposite of my pregnancy with AG. With this pregnancy I've been sick all day long for about 6 weeks straight. The last 2-3 weeks it just comes in random waves but has lessened considerably. (Almost no nausea with AG.) There has been very little that I've wanted/could eat due to being sick. (With AG there were only a few things I had to avoid but for the most part food was great even in the first trimester.) I've thrown up with this pregnancy and didn't throw up once with AG.

I've put on only a few pounds this trimester due to being sick. The perk is that I'm still wearing almost all of my clothes still while with AG at this point I was in all maternity clothes. I've been told with the second you show sooner and I was completely expecting it but it hasn't happened because of me being sick. I'm almost 14 weeks and it's starting to look like there might be something there. Again, this pregnancy is completely opposite of my pregnancy with AG. At this point we are thinking it's a girl. We'll find out for sure in a few weeks!

So, this would explain my lack of blogging in October/November. I've been exhausted and doing my best to keep my head above water. Andy has been a saint helping with AG and doing housework that I normally do. I'm very grateful for him! As I start the 2nd trimester I'm feeling a lot better (still trying to get over this sinus infection but in terms of pregnancy I'm feeling much better!) and hoping to tackle several projects around the house, get the house back in order, and get back on my blogging bandwagon.

Life is good. God continues to provide and we are blessed and grateful for this new addition. AG's going to be a wonderful big brother. Lots more to post stay tuned...

Mid-Summer Catch-up...

So here is the mid-summer catch-up on the Edwards crew...

AG

-Talking and babbling up a storm.

-He loves to copy whatever Andy and I are doing around the house.

-Two weeks ago I was standing at the sink in the kitchen and heard the water on the fridge flowing. So I turned around to see that AG had figured out how to use one of his golf clubs to press the lever. Water was freely flowing everywhere. Thankfully, our fridge has a lock button on it's control panel! We are now putting it to good use. Ha.

-Speaking of golf clubs AG loves to carry his clubs around the house and hit balls. For the most part he does a good job of only hitting balls and not the furniture, Samson, us, etc. AG also loves to throw and kick balls. We have a wide assortment and he even will borrow a ball out of Samson's toy bin.

-AG is a drummer already. (Just like Daddy) He does it everywhere we go much to the delight of his father.

-At the moment he's cutting 4 new teeth on the bottom and one on the top. He's lots of fun right now. Ha. :-) We'll see what the ped says in a week and a half when we go for his 18month check up. Which by the way I can't believe he's already that old.

Andy

-Is busy at work and playing on a company softball team. We've enjoyed heading to the fields this summer to watch him play.

-Has done some more work in the yard and cut down two small trees in the front. I'm hoping we'll do a bunch of work this fall once this heat wave passes. We've got some big ideas we just need to get them going.

Katie

-Working around the house by purging and throwing stuff away. Organizing whatever makes the cut. It amazes how quickly things can spiral out of control if you don't stay on top of them. Especially, in this last year and a half with AG's stuff. Between clothes, equipment, and toys I feel like I'm constantly re-organizing as he hits new milestones. Plus, every so often you just need to do mass purge of stuff.

-Speaking of re-organizing. I re-arranged our den last weekend with the help of my Aunt Joy. (Thanks Joy!) We don't have a playroom in this house (it'll be a priority in the next house!) and AG has out grown the original play spot we designated as "his". Since we are not moving in the very near future I told Andy we had to figure out a way to restructure the living space because I couldn't handle the chaos! Ha. Toys everywhere, shoes and bags by the back door piled up since that is the main door we enter/exit from, dog toys/bones, AG's table and chair set, and his personal arm chair that he drags around. By flipping things around AG has now gained an entire corner of the den to call his own. I have reclaimed my green bench that we were using as AG's play space to use for an entry way piece once again. So shoes go below it, blankets go under the lid, and my purse/diaper bag sit on the bench. We finally got my mirrored wall piece that I refinished from the antique mall hung above the bench. (I think it looks fabulous but I might be a tad biased?!) It has several sets of hooks on it...perfect for keys, Samson's leash, hats, and I'm sure it'll get lots of use once cold weather returns with coats and scarves. Once I get it all organized to  my liking I'll post more pictures. the house:
-I love changing out displays and one of my favorite display pieces is the long window that is in the den. It has a pretty wide shelf. In the fall it usually has pinecones and leaves, Christmas brings fresh greens and stockings, etc. I change it with the seasons and my moods. Currently, I am loving my newest display! I've got some of my Starbucks city/state mugs in a wooden segmented piece that Andy's granddad used to organize some of his tools in the barn at the farm. I need to photograph it, too, and post pictures. When we travel we pick up a mug for that location if they have one. His sister, Caroline, is responsible for this collection because she use to work at Starbucks. We both have a pretty decent collection between these and our ornaments that she started for us. :-)

-I've cleaned and scrubbed the doors that I'm making in to a headboard for the guest bedroom. I haven't painted them, yet. Last week I went to visit Andy's Caroline at their new house in Macon. So my project hit the back burner...which I was fine with since it meant that I got to spend some quality time with the Perkins clan! I am hoping we get to work on it this coming weekend. We've got the supplies all  ready to go it's just a matter of carving out the time for it. Which because I've decided I want to crackle it will take several days as opposed to just painting it and distressing it. Stay tuned...it'll be an adventure because we've never done a piece in this way before. I'm excited to see the finished project.

-Projects, projects. As if we don't have enough of them already I'm already dreaming up a new one for when we finish the headboard. I saved all the old kitchen cabinet doors last summer when they demo-ed the kitchen for the remodel. I've got an idea to use some of them in the kitchen on one of the walls that needs a piece of art...we'll see if it works out the way I'm picturing it in my mind.

Looking to the fall:
-I'm so ready for football to be back! Andy got his new NCAA '11 Football today and is already putting it to good use while I type this post.

-Our students officially return in a little over a month... hallelujah! I'm so ready for them to all be back. We miss them greatly during the summer! We've got several new students that will be rising freshman that we've been put in contact with this summer and I'm hoping they will come join the mix this fall. Speaking of the fall one of our students, Thelms, and I sat down this weekend and planned all the themed "family dinners" that we'll host once a month for them this year. We are kicking off the school year with a pirate theme! Should be highly entertaining. (For those who don't know we have a group of students that we've developed relationships with. Once a month we host them for "family dinner". We cook a big home cooked meal for them and we drag all the tables in the house together so that we all eat together as a "family". The evening usually wraps up with a family photo. The photo at the top of the blog was taken at the last family dinner of this past school year.) Family dinners are hands down one of my favorite things each month. This started out with us entertaining 3 or 4 students for dinner...at the end of this last year we were hosting between 12-15 students a month. They invite their friends and our "family" grows. I've enjoyed watching them bond and grow over this last year together. I'm really excited to see the new dynamics this school year will bring.

-I'm already starting to map out the rest of the year on the calendar. The fall is always super busy for us and then it seg-ways in to the holiday season. Hard to believe but it will all be here before we know it! July is almost halfway gone and back-to-school supplies are starting to appear in stores. Wow.

-Like said earlier I've got big plans for the fall when it comes to the yard! We just need to get the ball moving once the weather cools off a bit.


As always I'm sure there I forgot something...but there's plenty here to catch y'all up. Till next time...

The whirlwind that is life these days...

So to catch the blog back up to speed and jump back on the blog bandwagon I've opted for bullet points...here we go:

AG

-Growing like crazy and soaking up life like a sponge.

-Vocabulary is expanding. When talking with the ped at his 15 month check-up she asked about his vocabulary and I laughed. We've discovered that AG can talk but it has to be on his terms. He will not repeat after someone like most toddlers. Rather you'll be going about your day and hear him say a phrase correctly like, " I did it" when he opens his bedroom door from his crib. Or "throw it again" to some college guys playing ball with him outside. So our sweet red head has the independent stubborn streak that most red heads are known for. This weeks new favorite word is "Ga-gie"= Doggie.

-He's quite the thinker and analyzes everything everywhere we go.

-Loves to climb on to stuff and is putting his new playhouse to good use.

-He safely puts things away for me sometimes leaving mommy to wonder where that safe spot is.

-He has a sense of humor and laughs in appropriate spots when we read.

-He loves to read and will pull books out of his book baskets and spread them all over the floor of his room and the den...and then "read" them.

-His new favorite fruit for this year is strawberries.

-His hair is finally growing! And now that it is coming in people ask if it has always been this red. To which I respond with yes it's just the number of hairs is actually multiplying! Also, while we are talking about his hair we can't go anywhere without being asked about it. We get lots of compliments and lots of questions about, "where did he get that gorgeous red hair?!"

-At his 15 month appointment he was 27+ lbs placing him in the 85% percentile. Since he is doing so well weight wise we don't have to stay on whole milk for much longer. She wants us to knock down to 2% at 18 months and be on skim by his 2nd birthday.

Andy:

-Gearing up for the new sales season at work and prepping for the office's big move in July to Kennesaw.

-Trying to get to the club every chance he gets to practice his golf game...he's looking forward to playing lots of golf at the beach next month.

Katie:

-Finished up mentoring for the semester at Model High School. Looking forward to being able to mentor again in the fall. Should be interesting because the students I had for student teaching at Model Elementary will be our students to mentor this coming school year.

Around the House:

-I'm in a mass spring cleaning mode and getting rid of stuff left and right. Along with this I'm also organizing things. The last few years things have been chaotic with remodeling and so I haven't had the chance to put things in order the way I would like for them to be because we were constantly moving stuff from room to room while doing projects. Now that we are in the home stretch I've got the itch to get things the way I want them.

-Speaking of spring cleaning we have to clean the screen porch each spring after the bulk of the tree pollen falls. We pulled all the porch furniture off and scrubbed it this weekend. It's drying out and we are going to rub it down with teak oil. I've washed all the cushion covers and febreezed 'em. We need to scrub down the porch and then put it all back together. I'm looking forward to it so that we can start using it again and so I can stick my plants back outside. (They've been in all winter and it's finally warm enough to move them back out to the porch till October.)

-We've been cleaning out the side yard between us and our neighbor Keely. There's lots of scrub trees, vines, over growth, etc. and we've been working hard to clear it out.

-I've moved some plants around and am looking to get some annuals in to the front bank hopefully in the next few days. We've got some new shrubs to get in the ground as well. Oh, how I love to work in my yard. Once we get everything situated I'll post some pictures. (That and if I can find where AG hid the camera cable so that I can upload them!)

-Lowes had a huge sale on top soil a week ago and Andy bought a ton to put in the back yard so that we can start landscaping it. That's on the agenda for the summer...

-We've also got several piece of furniture to finish refinishing on the to do list.

-I'm looking forward to my hydrangeas blooming in the coming weeks and and having fresh cut flowers in the house all summer long. Last summer I had fresh cut hydrangeas in every room I think and it was glorious. This year my hydrangeas are looking like they will produce 2 or 3 times what they did last year.

Misc:

-Our students came by the week of finals for one last family dinner. It was fabulous to be together one last time before leaving for the summer. We also did Chick-fil-A night and one last girls night. I have pictures but again I need my camera cable to be able to upload...

-We are leaving for the beach in a month with my family and looking forward to all being together for a week.

-Our fall family vacation with the Edwards is officially on the books. We'll be headed to Williamsburg for a week in October and I'm looking forward to taking AG for the first time. William and Mary will be playing at home while we are there so I think we might even take AG to his first Tribe football game. Howl-O-Scream will be going on at Busch Gardens and I think we are planning to take a day there. Last August, when Andy and I were there, we talked about how much fun AG would have in the Sesame Street Forest of Fun area...should be twice as much fun since cousin Ronnie J will be with us.

-Speaking of sweet Ronnie J...we are excited that the Perkins are moving to GA next month! Andy and I are ecstatic to have his sister Caroline, brother-in-law Tommy, and cousin Ronnie J in Macon.

I'm sure there is more I should post but at the moment my brain is fried. I've been sick all week and on antibiotics that are not working. I've called for a change of prescription and am waiting on that. Anyways, this entry is postdated because I started it a week ago and then never got to finish it. So life these days is constantly on the go. We are busy, busy. I'm looking forward to the pool opening at the club in a few weeks...AG and I will be there on a daily basis I'm sure.

Life these last few weeks...

The last few weeks have been a blur and I've slacked in my blogging. We wrapped up the holidays and then geared up for AG's first birthday. So I feel like I'm finally catching my breath and bracing for the next few weeks...here's what we've been up to:

--AG has mastered walking and is quite pleased with himself...he's now a pro at creating mischief and mayhem. :) Samson has adjusted to this latest milestone well. When he's had enough he retreats to the guest bedroom and hops up to nap on the middle of the bed...perfectly out of AG's reach.

--AG is quite taken with Andy's guitar hero drum set. I need to upload the video we've captured of AG playing it and watching himself on the tv. Quite amusing. Also, he seems to be walking in his Daddy's footsteps when it comes to soccer. He's started kicking the ball around the den. We have video of that too. (See how far behind I am?!) Needless to say Andy is pleased on both accounts. They practice soccer at night when Andy gets home from work. Won't be long before he's on the sidelines while Andy coaches.

--Samson had conjunctivitis in both eyes and had a trip to the vet. He seems to be on the mend but is not a fan of the ointment we have to smear into his eyes...can't say that I blame him.

--The weekend following AG's birthday I went away with a group of my college friends. We were all in the same freshman class in WinShape and we've decided to take an annual trip together. This was the first year and it was wonderful to hang out and fellowship. April couldn't join us this year (she's over seas doing missions) BUT we were able to video chat with her and that was fabulous! I'm sure the locals at the coffeehouse were amused at 5 ladies gathered around Laura's laptop speaking loudly for everyone to hear. But we didn't care. Andy gets major points for handling AG all weekend while he cut his 8th tooth.

--Yes, we are now up to 8 teeth...I feel like we are in the calm before the storm and I'm preparing to batten down the hatches as we gear up for molars and incisors. His incisors we can already see moving down and see where the gums are swollen.

--We've transitioned to whole milk and cups only now. Last week was hard (another reason why I'm behind) because AG was learning a new sleep routine. Up till then he'd been taking a bottle before naps and bedtime...we've replaced that with a story in his rocking chair and then putting on his lullaby cd. AG has adjusted and seems to now enjoy our new routine now that he's familiar with it.

--Thursday nights continue to be one of the highlights of my week every week...due to the cold, nasty weather we've been having Jess has declared our weekly tv time a pajama party. So we do dinner and then later everyone shows up in the sweats/pjs to watch Grey's and Private Practice. Jess wins the award for most original with her glow in the dark footie zip up pjs.

--Things at church are great...our church has teamed up with several other local churches to launch Project 127 Rome to address the foster care needs of our community. I find this refreshing. It's about time that churches took a stand to shoulder the responsibilities that they are called to do. On average there are 10,000 kids in the GA foster care system on any given day. 200 of those live in Floyd county. We have a 140 churches in our county...that is the highest per capita in the country. I'm looking forward to seeing God work in our community as we band together to do his will.

--Andy is not coaching this spring. This is a nice change of pace for us since he's been coaching since we got married. He's planning to get his next coaching license later in the spring. Due to this next license being on the national level it requires more time to obtain it...this is hard to juggle when you are in the middle of a season. So Andy is looking forward to moving on to the national level and we are enjoying having him home during the week and weekends.

--I'm planning and dreaming out the laundry room...our next and final major project on the inside of our house. In reality it's not major in comparison to the master bathroom and the kitchen overhauls that we did. But it will be the last big thing we do inside the house. I'm looking forward to it. I have an idea of what I want but I haven't picked anything out, yet. I'm waiting till we get back from our travels...

--At the end of the month we are leaving on a jet plane and bound for the west coast. Wahoo! I'm excited. We are doing a week long vacation with Andy's family in San Diego. We are looking forward to taking AG to the zoo, Sea World, and Disneyland just to name a few. Andy's looking forward to taking a Ducks game in...too bad the Thrashers won't be in town but Andy did see them last week when they played in ATL. We are also thrilled to be able to drive up to LA to see Michael. (Our dear friend who is in the Masters program for Directing out at USC.) We can't wait to see him and let him show us around. He keeps telling us that he's going to get AG a tshirt that says "My big brother goes to USC" I guess we will investigate that while we are out there. I told him as long as it had nothing to do with football. :)

--Last week after much pressure from multiple people I decided that I'd pick up the Twilight saga. I started the first book Monday evening after AG went to bed. I finished the fourth book Thursday night. Needless to say I couldn't put it down and I read fast. I consumed something like 2500 pages in four days. I haven't gotten a chance to read like that in a long time...I throughly enjoyed myself. And I'm not going to lie I could hardly keep myself from busting out laughing as Bella went cliff jumping in New Moon...I know it's a serious moment BUT one of our students happened to get rescued off the same cliff this summer by the coast guard and they reported it as a crazed Twilight fan trying to reenact the books! Which is completely bogus because he'd never even heard about Twilight till he was on the cliff and the coast guard was asking him if he liked vampires! Ha. If you need a good laugh and haven't heard this story remind me next time I see you and I'll tell it in person...it never ceases to make me laugh...

--I need to post about AG's birthday but I'm waiting for the pictures from the photographer...I promise I'll post it ASAP.

--This weekend we are headed to ATL to spend the weekend celebrating Andy's birthday. My parents are coming up to take care of AG and visit with Caro. We are looking forward to seeing the Hawks on Friday and the Thrashers on Saturday night. Should be a great weekend.

I'm sure there are plenty of things that I left out but this is a start. Hope everyone is having a great week...

The last few weeks at the Edwards House...

Hmmmm...where to begin this update on life. Things have been hectic the last few weeks and I've slacked in my blogging. Guess that is life, right?

Well, AG had his 9month check up and did great. I was not able to take him because I suspected I had strep throat. So Andy took the day off from work and took AG while I went to the doctor. I did indeed have strep and lost my voice. AG had his first round for the flu vaccine and goes back in a few weeks for the next dose. He was 23lbs and 5oz. He continues to be our big boy. Two days later was my birthday and I was well enough for the boys to take me out to dinner at the Hungry Bull aka Longhorn. It was a nice, quiet day which was perfect since I was still trying to get well. On Sunday, the 25th, AG figured out how to stand unassisted. Needless to say he was quite proud of himself. He spent the whole day standing up and not holding on to anything. On that Monday I was at the end of my rope with teething and Andy called about an order of Dr. Starr's Teething Lotion from the local pharmacy. Praise the Lord for Dr. Starr because if his front teeth are this bad heaven help us when his molars come in. Wednesday, the 28th, we headed to Gwinnett to spend the night at my parents before AG's surgery. We got up at the crack of dawn and headed to Scottish Rite for another laser treatment and for him to have both tear-ducts probed. Little man was 24lbs and 2 oz the day of surgery. The surgery went off without a hitch and he did great. This time coming out of the anesthesia was a little harder...we suspect it was due to him being older than the previous two but he couldn't talk to tell us what hurt, etc. It's hard being disoriented when you can't communicate. That Thursday night the girls brought dinner to us since we couldn't go to Moe's for college night. We were grateful. Halloween was wet and cool, however, that didn't stop AG and Emma. Emma came over to trick-or-treat and have dinner. We enjoyed dinner with Josh and Ginny and the kiddos enjoyed playing with Emma's bucket of treats. AG looked great as Charlie Brown plus his costume was super easy. We bought him the shirt online and I found him some sweats at Wal-Mart for a couple bucks. Not bad and he can wear both items again. I'm all for getting the most bang for my buck. Well, AG's top two teeth finally emerged on November 2nd and 3rd. The flip side was that he had developed a cold and tonsillitis. We spent the remainder of the week at home after a visit with the doctor on Tuesday the 3rd. After being cooped up all week I was going stir crazy so we headed to Columbus for the day on Saturday. We all needed to get out. We had a great to visiting my family.

In Columbus, AG was given his first golf club. My cousin Will broke one of his clubs recently so my Uncle Neill had it cut down to AG's size. Ha. It's probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen. AG was trying to figure out what to do with it all evening in between strolls around the family room with his push toy. He discovered that he can walk behind his lion and was elated at his new found skill. We are now taking bets on when he starts walking. Just kidding. But we do think it will be soon. Time will tell.

As far as the food department is concerned we've started transitioning to small foods that AG can feed to himself. He really likes being able to pick and choose items from his tray while in his highchair. I've really cut back on the amount of purees that I'm making and we've started giving AG small bites of what we are having for dinner. I find it humorous that things he didn't like in puree form he enjoys whole. Like peas and green beans. The little man was not a fan of jarred meat, can't say that I blame him, and so at his doctor's appointment they said to just by pass it and go for the real ma-coy. So we did and he loves meat! Ha. So far he is a fan of ground beef, steak, and chicken nuggets. (From Chick-fil-A of course!) The child truly is a Gettis because he inhaled 4 nuggets the first time he had them. For those who don't know my dad worked for CFA for 28 years and I consumed a lot of nuggets growing up.

So that is a condensed version of life these days. In addition to all that we've started thinking about planning for the holidays and AG's first birthday! Speaking of AG's birthday I think I've figured out a theme...needless to say the teacher in me loves it! I'm going to work on the logistics of it this next week or so...once I make some decisions I'll post details. I had decided awhile back to do something with cupcakes but was torn on how I wanted to decorate them. I'm actually a pretty decent baker and am contemplating making AG's cake/cupcakes myself. I guess partially out of a desire to use my creative juices and use cake as a canvas. So I'm going to start experimenting in the next few weeks and see what I come up with. Should be an adventure since I'm a perfectionist when it comes to creating something...ha.

As for the holidays, we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with family and then heading back to Rome to start decorating that weekend. We have only a few days to get everything up before finals, students leave, and Caroline graduates! Hard to believe my baby sister is in the final weeks of her college career at Berry! Caroline, we are so proud of all that you have accomplished these last 3 and a half years. We are looking forward to you putting down a few roots here in Rome with us...and we are looking forward to having you right around the corner in your new apartment.

I promise to post new photos and video footage in the coming days...things seem to be getting back to "normal" and I should be able to post like I usually do. If you can't wait check out AG's albums on facebook.

Cows and Home Improvements

Well, here is another super long post and slideshow! Since my last update we celebrated AG's first 4th of July. We went to the farm to visit and show AG off to all of Andy's family. We had an amazing long weekend with family and friends. AG enjoyed being passed around and loved on. He was a trooper on the ride down and back. I'm so glad we had switched him to his big boy car seat a few weeks before...I believe it made the difference. This was the first time Samson and AG were on a long trip together and they enjoyed each others company. While on the farm Samson enjoys roaming and running around on the grounds. One afternoon he decided to check out some cows and determine if life is greener on the other side of the fence. He managed to slip under the electric fence without getting shocked after getting in and realizing he had no business hanging out with some cows he decided to leave. However, he was not as smooth in his exit and hit the electric fence! He shot out of there like you wouldn't believe. We busted out laughing and then checked on him. He was fine. Life with Samson is never dull!

We came home last week and celebrated Caroline's birthday with friends. Dinner at Las Palmas and birthday cake at our house. AG did not like the candles on Caro's cake. We turned the lights off to sing to her and he melted down! As soon as Caro extinguished the flames he was fine. So we might be bypassing a candle on his first birthday cake if he keeps this up. It took us by surprise because he is so laid back and nothing phases him. 'Cept for 21 birthday candles! :)

Last week we also celebrated Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A! We put AG in his cow outfit and headed to the Dwarf House for a free lunch with Andy. All of the staff loved him and he put on a show for them. He's quite the charmer. One of girls in the drive-thru came out and took his picture with her personal camera! Ha. I look forward to putting him in a complete outfit next year! Next year he can even eat his own nuggets. Our boy is growing up!

We are moving right along in the solid food department! AG loves to eat. We are eating solids three times a day. I am really enjoying making my own baby food. It is super easy and we already have a nice stockpile. Thanks again to Ginny for the inspiration and helping me get started! Another skill we are currently working on is learning to drink water from a cup during meals. He's getting the hang of it. Ginny and Emma were over last night for dinner and it was so much fun to watch Emma. She's 6 months ahead of AG and we enjoyed watching her play and motor around the house. Before we know it that will be AG! This Saturday our little man will be 6 months old! I can't believe it. I'll post his 6 month pictures at Berry next week. This weekend we are looking forward to the Fullers coming to visit along with AG's G-Daddy, GiGi, and GrandNan. We'll have a full house. The guys are looking forward to playing golf at the country club and I'm sure we'll end up at the pool with AG. The Rome Braves will also be in town and so we are planning to go to the game Saturday night. Should be a great weekend with our family!

Next week we have AG's 6 month check-up and the remodeling of the kitchen should get underway. The next few weeks should be interesting without the use of my kitchen but I'm excited to see the end result! I know it will be worth it. This week we've been busy prepping for it by taking down the wallpaper. We also decided to take down the wallpaper in the guest bathroom while we are at it. Andy's already started patching and fixing the walls in the bathroom. I'm in the hunt for a vanity and fixtures. Lots going on and never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to our college students returning in about a month. We've missed them! Tonight we are having a date night...dinner and a movie thanks to Aunt Caroline. We can't wait to see Harry Potter! Hope everyone is having a great week. New pictures of the kitchen and AG's rocking chair next week!