Sunday, August 22, 2010

10 Things..

We've done this summer:

1. Cara has given up Sprout (RIP). She requires more stimulation and has moved on to the Preschool era. I suppose my sadness from this is only the beginning of many transitions of growing up.

2. Sammy still takes a morning nap! I reviewed my old blogs from when Cara was around 10 months and I talked about her giving up the morning nap. Here's to crossed fingers, toes, legs, arms, etc. that Sam doesn't give this up. Maybe forever even.

3. Read a lot of books about manners. Is it working? Dialog from a conversation yesterday;
Me: Cara, please put that back.
Cara: Mom, whatever.

4. Found a new play place! It's called Play. Easy enough to remember. It has a huge foam pit that seems too fun to have just for kids.

5. Started to plan birthday season. October is the beginning of the Fiscal year and Kenny year. Cara will be having a costume themed birthday party and Sammy will be having a sea turtle beach luncheon. Yeah, I know, their just kids. What else am I supposed to plan.

6. Found a new favorite fruit. Cara LOVES grapes. Her belly, doesn't.

7. Taken on new hairstyles. Cara - the mullet. Mom - blond. Sam - the boy cut (slowly but surely growing).

8. Nursed hydrangeas. They're always sick :(. Not a green thumbed family.

9. Had our first family movie night. Well 3/4 of the family did. We watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Cara sat through the entire thing. I was the only 1/4 to find the movie completely ridiculous!

10. Made lemonade with sour gummy worms. Yummy!

Now for some new photos. Cara and Daddy cleaned the truck today and Samantha and I decided to do a photo shoot. Got some cute videos too! Enjoy















Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Life as an Oven



Chris returned safely! We tried to do the whole dramatic sign welcome home by the escalator entrance, but Chris was taken to baggage claim by bus, so we got to do the whole dramatic scramble to find daddy amongst 10k people thing. It was dramatic and great. Cara held the sign from the picture above and we were asked by a lot of people "is your daddy overseas?" Technically, yes. But I knew what they were implying and it made me realize how lucky we were to have Chris returning to us after only 35 days, compared to what some families face. We were blessed he was back on American soil.

My title was posted appropriately for Chris' return. I've been doing A LOT of cooking for the old hubs. We're talking breakfast, lunch AND dinner. And I must say, cooking after a 35 day reprieve, is much more relaxing. I just appreciate having someone to cook for :)

I snapped this photo:


I had found this adorable ballerina outfit for Sammy, and when I dressed her in it, Cara insisted I dress her up too. I always loved dress up! And dressing up my children, even better!!

Gearing up for a fun weekend. Val's bridal shower is finally coming to head on Saturday and can't wait for it to all come together. I will also post pictures soon of Chris' trip in Diego. The place was gorgeous!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Where in the world is Diego Garcia?

Heat index today is 107. Um..no thanks! We are in August though, and although the heat is high, I am glad the month of July has passed. Our 35 day long absence from Chris will come to an end Saturday and I couldn't be more thrilled!! I shouldn't say the whole month was a bust though, we kept verrry busy. Unfortunately, I left my camera card in Chris' computer so I have barely any photos of our recent events, but I do have some stories!

Fourth of July was celebrated in Roswell at the Home Depot. The fireworks were not as good as years past, but the girls seemed to enjoy it all the same. Sam did very well with her first fireworks experience. I attribute it to being raised with Call of Duty. Not sure if that's good or bad, lol. We were joined with the Chessey's and had a fun long weekend.

Amy and Kaitlyn came in the following week and that was a nice surprise. We visited the aquarium and did a lot of shopping. Cara and Sammy seemed so content hanging with the fish. And Mommy was excited to finally see the penguin exhibit, so it was a successful trip! We missed Daddy though!

I took a weekend trip with some girlfriends to Tybee in mid July and the girls stayed with Val and got to meet some "guiney piggies". Val took some great video of the girls meeting em..I'll have to figure out how to upload. Cara was very hesitant at first, which makes me happy because I would hate for her to feel overly comfortable with small rodents.

Samantha turned 9 months July 15th. She's my little string bean, coming in at 19 % for her weight. She's doing really we'll though, aside from a little low iron. I'm so blessed!! She's sitting up, pulling up, and blossoming into a little girl. Everyone assumes Sam will be my quiet one..but as she gets bigger, she becomes more and more assertive. Her new trick is throwing her hands up when you play the up/down game. She is learning so much, so fast. I'm convinced she mumbles "mamamamama" when she's cranky. It's her attempt to melt me heart, I'm sure of it!

We visited Williamsburg, VA towards the end of July. The girls took their first plane ride! Did pretty well, considering our flight out was bed time. Probably only annoyed the surrounding passengers, which is better then the whole plane! On the flight home Cara said we were "crashing" during take off and landing. I was silently praying my daughter wasn't in touch with a psychic medium. Thankfully we landed on the ground in one piece! The trip was great though! Got to see a lot of family and friends from the Gale side. It was nice to catch up with everyone. Also did a lot of eating. My Grandma is such a great cook!! My Grandpa turned 80, so we had a big party for him and he was just thrilled to have everyone there. Cara really took a liking to him and their fish. They would feed the fish together and it was too sweet to watch. I'm so glad the girls get to be around family so much. It will make for so many great memories!

Ryan came back home last week and we're glad to have him back. Now Uncle Pooh is living close to us, so we'll get to see him more!

Cara and Sammy had a spend the night with Gigi and Perry last weekend. They went to eat pizza and surely got spoiled to pieces! They are going to probably prefer their Grandparents as they get older, lol! They also got to go to the Georgia Mountain Fair in Hiwassee, GA with myself and Mimi. Rode rides, pet some animals and got a few goodies from the local vendors. Cara became the entertainment by dancing in front of the band. Granted, I think there were ten people in the crowd, but she entertained em! The weekend wore us out!

Now we're just waiting for Chris' return. Not sure how long he will be home but planning on heading to the reunion in Cinci for Labor day and a family vacation in October. I've always loved Fall!! Can't wait for this weather to relax a bit so we can get back outside.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

More House Updates

Here is the playroom even more updated. Got a little bored today!

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And here are pictures of Cara's room and Sammy's room, not fully completed, but where I'm at for now. Enjoy!

Cara's Room:

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The inspiration for the room:
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Our new member of the family, Crab the Fish:
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Sammy's Room:

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The girls' bathroom:

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Play Room

Here are a few pictures of the play room just about completed. I need a TV stand and would like a big pink body pillow for the bed, but wanted to share the progress I've made!

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

June Bugs and Popsicles

Hello Summer! Did it hit us or what? HOTlanta is living up to it's name!

I am loving the addition of a neighborhood pool to our lives. It certainly helps to break up the hot days and entertain a 2 year old. I am looking forward to next year when Sammy is more interested in playing, and less interested in chewing on everything! I can only imagine how many licks of sunscreen that girl has had!

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June 12, Cara, Chris and I joined friends and family in Clearwater Beach, FL for Chris and Amber's wedding. We had a wonderful time! I really enjoy that area, especially with having children. Chris and I are looking to plan a beach vacation for late August and I'm tempted to go back there. I like that you can walk everywhere. I did however hear a wonderful story about a young girl from Marietta, GA who got bit by a shark just a few weeks back. That combined with Chris telling me with the oil spill, fish will move closer to shore, which will force sharks to follow the fish. And to top it off, Shark Week is coming up. All the shark talk, makes me want to plan a different kind of trip, lol.







Chris returned home safely from a ten day trip to Afghanistan. We were able to Skype and video chat with each other well over 8,000 miles away! That was pretty awesome. He was able to see Sammy become a better army crawler.

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Samantha is 8 months old now. She's not as physically advanced as her sister was, but she has finally conquered sitting up.

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Cara gave herself her first haircut! I like to call it the stair step cut.

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Chris built Cara a sandbox for the backyard. Now my argument for not living at the beach is null and void!

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We have a busy July ahead of us. A girls trip to Tybee for me and a family vacation to Williamsburg, VA for Grandpa Jack's 80th birthday. All the while, Chris will be gone :( Not looking forward to our longest separation yet! Thank goodness for video chatting, great family and friends, and crazy kids that keep me super busy! Oh, and the mall ;)

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