Living the Life and Loving It!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Girls In Pretty White Dresses!

We were blessed to get this beautiful white dress for Emily from Mummis last Christmas!! Emily looked so beautiful in it, we were so excited to pull it out for Haley this year! And sure enough another beautiful girl and another beautiful princess dress!! Haley wore this dress to church on Sunday and it was so fun to take some pictures and to reminisce about Emily being that size and wearing it too! Both of our girls look so elegant in white!

Emily in December 2009, just days before turning ONE!

Haley Elizabeth in January 2011 at 10 months old!

She wasn't sure what to think of the Big Rocking Chair!

But once she realized how to handle herself she was "OK"!

And UP she goes!

We have a rule about "only being on our bottom or on our knees" in high places, but I had to snap this shot before I got her down!

She was all "pictured out" and just ready to ride her pony!

And do her flash cards!

Emily in her Princess Dress of the Day!

This Picture CRACKS ME UP!

She is getting so good at posing!

To Grandpa Gray's We Go!

We hadn't down to Shawsville to visit with Grandpa Gray since June, so we thought it was past time to make another trip! And since we didn't have anything planned this past Saturday we thought it would be the perfect time! We called Grandpa, he said he didn't have any other plans and that he would love to see us! So, we loaded up and headed down! It was 2+ hours in the car each way, but we did it and it was so worth it!
We all had fun spending some quality time with Grandpa, we got to have lunch at the infamous Hales restaurant, we even brought home some Shirley Temple DVDs and an Owl Towel Hanger that is now mounted in our downstairs bathroom! But most importantly we got to visit, and catch up on Grandpa's life and share bits of ours with him! We all had fun and hopefully we get to make the trip again, or have him up to Charlottesville for a visit in sooner than 7 months! But for now we are grateful we went and wanted to share some of our memories that we were able to capture with pictures!

Long Car Rides Can Do this to a Girl!

I love how her bib is cock-eyed and everything!

Haley has always enjoyed visiting with Great Grandpa Gray!

Emily was especially excited with her new found treasure!

Group Shot #1

Group Shot #2

Time to Say Good Bye! ( I LOVE this Picture!)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

10 Months Old and Growing Like a Weed!

I know I said this after Emily was born, but time sure does "fly on wings of lightening"! I can't believe Haley turned 10 months old on Sunday! She is just so joyful and fun spirited! She is probably the most chilled, layed back baby girl that I have ever met! She is so excitable and easily entertained and she LOVES to be around people!
Haley has been growing by leaps and bounds this month both physically, mentally and I am sure spiritually as well! She has learned so much. And here is the latest:
~Her first word is " WAT!". She says it all the time and the funniest thing is that it is such an adaptable word. It can mean anything from what to white to wait to that to but....the list goes on!
~She is really ready to WALK. She is not walking unassisted yet, but she is holding on to anything that will allow her to go and she goes!
~She also LOVES her Johnny Jump Up too! She can sit in that thing for quite a while and jump and spin and laugh! It is really cute!
~She has also found a new favorite snack, Baby Mum Mums! Mimi got her some for Christmas and she LOVES them! She can out chew Emily every time!
~She also has been enjoying being able to try more of our foods this month! Some of her favorite tastes are Potato soup, Chicken and Dumplings, and Applesauce with Plain Organic Yogurt!

Overall Haley is the perfect little sister!! She is so sweet and cuddly and fun and funny and we love our little Haley Boo so much and couldn't imagine our family without her in it!

Our Little 10 Month Old with her Bear

She loves to snuggle everything!

Sister Pictures are the Best Pictures!

I snuck and unexpected shot in with both of my girls!

Look how far 10 months has brought us!

Daddy and his Look Alike!

Family Photo Time!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Emily's 2nd Birthday PARTY!!

Emily turned 2 on Wednesday December 29th! And since we moved to our newer, bigger house this year we knew we should host her birthday (and not have it at Mimmi and Dooders' house). I will admit I was a little nervous about how it would go at first with so many people and a good number of those people being little people! But it was a BLAST!! Everyone had so much fun!
My mom volunteered to make Baked Ziti and Cupcakes for the party, all we had to do was get the ingredients to her, and that was a HUGE help!!! And it was super yummy too! Everyone seemed to enjoy mingling and we were able to have a little schedule so that we could make sure everyone left when they needed too (especially since it was a week night!). First we ate, then we had cupcakes and a birthday song! When everyone was finished we headed to the living room where we sang a few of Emily's favorite songs (Popcorn Popping, Snowman, I'm So Glad when Daddy Comes Home) and then Emily got to open her gifts!! She enjoyed the whole party, but I think one of her highlights was getting a new baby doll from our friend Jordan!! Emily has really gotten in to taking care of her baby dolls lately! She loves to sing to them, feed them, rock them, and bathe them! Her nurturing skills are really starting to kick in! She is a natural Mommy, that is for sure:) And our good friend, Anna, came with her camera in hand! And we are so thankful that she did or else we wouldn't have captured any of these memorable moments on "film"!
After everyone left, the girls played a little longer and then we visited with Micah's sister, Rachel, a while and after she left we cleaned up a little and when to bed!
Emily Marie, thank you so much for coming to our family! You have taught me more already than I could have ever dreamed of! You are one special little girl and I am glad that you are mine!!

Our Little Sweet "P"