Georgia Grace Says

This post is devoted to all the things our girl is doing and saying these days. She has developed quite a vocabulary in her 21 months of life. I think she has inherited the talking gene honestly :)

  

Last Friday night we went and ate at our favorite Mexican restaurant and on our way home she asked to "go see Gammy". Gammy wasn't at home so she settled for a phone call. Mind you this phone call lasted about 30 minutes. She would just walk around the yard and talk just like a teenager would. I heard bits of "Olaf", "pee in the potty" and "rice and chips" ha! And then a lot of it I had no clue about but she knew :) I think it made Gammy's night.

  

"Here Shannie needs her boobies"
Yes that's exactly what she said the other night when we went to visit Aunt Shanna after she got home from the hospital. And then she put the bra on.

Her three favorite things to play right now are babies, kitchen and talk on the phone. We usually have to take a baby with us everywhere we go. Most of the time she needs to take two babies. She loves for me to swaddle them and then she will rock them. It's as precious as it sounds trust me.
 

She told Aunt Shanna when she was leaving the other day, "I'll text ya!"
Aunt Shanna had her second surgery yesterday and everything is looking great! Thanks again for all the prayers!

This child loves to talk anytime but especially at naptime when she is supposed to be napping. We knew requiring her take a scheduled nap with the other preschoolers would be a challenge and it has been but I think we are making small improvements each day. Here was the conversation recap I received today via text:

She laid down good. No tears and then did her talking. Her-Daddy?  

Me-Daddy is at work. She said see him soon?  I said yes. 

Her-Mommy?  Me-Mommy is at work 

Her-shannie's eys?  I kiss it?

Me- yes you can when she gets here after nap. 

Then she said "Thomas? Georgia Grace said no. 

Ace?  Georgia Grace said no. 

Ellis?  Georgia Grace said no." 

Guess she was trying to decide on a beau of the day lol!!

Fussing for less than 2 minutes. No fits!! 

She is out now!

Total from lay down to out-14 minutes!

Hope ur day is going good!

She keeps us laughing all day long. I'm going to make an effort to take more videos because we haven't done a good job of that. I want to remember her precious little voice!

It's apparent she's getting closer to being a two year old everyday. Hold me!

Week Deets

The odds have been against me this week on the blogging front. A super busy, eventful week and losing internet at home from a storm depleted my chances of getting a post uploaded. I know a slow down is on the way and I will be more regular again. I'm ready for that day :)

 

 

Last weekend we attended Ace's third birthday party! It was a Spiderman pool party and Spiderman even made an appearance. I don't think Georgia Grace had ever heard of Spiderman so it was a learning experience. She was attached to my hip the whole time he was at the party :)

 

A picture of these two was hard to come by this time so this was the best we got. Ace is going to be a big brother to a little sister in January and we are sooo excited to throw another little girl into the mix!
 

Tuesday night we headed to Nashville, just the two of us. We never go out like that through the week so it was definitely a treat. We ate at our favorite Cock of the Walk. If you've never been-GO. It's off Briley Pkwy so really easy to get to. Love love that place!

 

And then it was on to the reason we came to town. Carrie was performing at the Grand Ole Opry! It had been a while since I had been to the Opry and this was Marcus's first time so we were excited.

 

Ready for a night of country music! Ashley and Paige let me raid their closets for an outfit and I loved what I wore! Thanks girls.

 

Carrie was the headline but it was an allstar lineup- Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan, Terri Clark and more. The Del McCoury band was there and they were a bluegrass band. It was a neat variation from the others.

 

Carrie was the grand finale and brought the house down! She sung some of my favorite songs that she sings and nailed them. It was a beautiful thing! It was a two hour show I didn't want to end.

While we were having fun at the Opry, this girl was definitely not having fun on the farm. Tuesday afternoon she was fencing in cattle with Jake when a piece of barb wire punctured her eye. She went to the doctor who sent her to the ER where she was sent to Vanderbilt Eye Institute for surgery. The surgery went well and they are optimistic she will not lose vision in the eye. She will go back next Tuesday for a second surgery as a cataract developed before the first surgery took place. She has a long road ahead of her but we are all praying it will all be worth it if her vision is fully restored! Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers this week. They meant to much to her and Jake. We love you Aunt Shanna!

TGIF!! Everyone have a fun weekend!

Five on Friday

One

Georgia Grace has had a week of transitions as we adjust to our new schedule and routine. She loves going to her Grandmomma's to play with her friends and seeing the school buses in the morning but she doesn't love naptime, brushing her teeth and bedtime. I'm hoping next week these things will start coming easier. It's been hard on this momma to see her upset by the things we know she needs although she doesn't think she does. I think this selfie face says it all!

 

But she's still a happy girl all the other time! Let her play outside and watch Frozen and you're set :)

 

Two

Yesterday the SEC Network launched! And the first live game for the network will be a UK basketball game today which is super cool considering it's August. I know this will be our main channel this fall. College football season can't get here soon enough!

 

Three

When I found out I was pregnant with Georgia Grace my mom gave me a copy of "Little Mommy". I had a childhood copy but the pages were ripped and it wasn't in good condition so she found me a brand new copy. I read it to her sometimes and tonight she specifically requested it. I was blown away that she remembered the title! I screamed for Marcus and showed him that she was pointing at the book saying "Little Mommy". I feel like I have made it as a girl mom :)

 

Four

Yesterday marked the 15 year anniversary of the motorcycle wreck that nearly took Marcus's parent's lives. They were victims of a hit and run incident with a drunk driver that left them both in serious condition. Today we praise the Lord that He spared both of them on that night! God wasn't finished with them. I'm thankful GGH has a Ma and Pa here today that we all love so very much!

Five

I'll conclude with one of the highlights of my week. My sweetest friend Beth Lau sent me the most encouraging note this week to congratulate me on my new job. Her words are always so life giving to me. It was exactly the pick me up I was needing. I'm thankful God brought us together during our WKU days and continues to allow us to be in each other's lives despite the distance.

 

Happy Friday friends!

Update

Our days are super full right now with my new job and the new school year so instead of blogging I have been  heading straight to bed instead :) Stopping in for a minute to document some of my pictures from the weekend and this week. I absolutely love my new job but with all new things there is a learning curve so I am exhausted at the end of the day. Each day is getting easier and I'm getting a little more efficient. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

 

Friday I made my last official trip home from my previous job and I got behind an Amish buggy (that is a common occurence) so I thought I would take a picture. This has been the "traffic" I have had to deal with for three years. I know I won't miss the commute but I will miss seeing the beautiful countryside.

 

Friday night we went to our friend Thomas's 5th birthday party. It was a shark theme and Georgia Grace wasn't sure about sticking her head in the shark's mouth ha! It rained on and off so we didn't swim but still had a lot of fun!

 

Saturday was pictureless highlighted with sleeping in and being lazy. It was just what we needed.

 

Sunday after church we came home and were playing outside when I heard her crying. She had her first wasp swing ;( She was pretty upset for two minutes or so but then she was fine and never talked about it again. Poor baby girl.

 

Sunday night we went to a fish fry at Chris and Gina's. This child has turned into a little singer. She knows almost all of "Jesus Loves Me" and the Frozen songs of course. She makes up her own songs too. I hope she is always comfortable expressing herself!

 

Monday was a big day for me. It was my first real day of dropping Georgia Grace off at Grandmomma's. Daddy usually has the honors but since I am working just a few blocks away I can do it! And I even get to go eat lunch with her too :) I've got it made as a working mom.

 

My blogging may continue to be sporadic until everything settles down a little bit. Even though I'm busy, I'm thankful for the new opportunity I have and the more time I will have with my family.

School Days

It has been one quick summer and now it's back to the school routine. I don't think I've ever been more excited for a school year to start. This is going to be one of the best years for our family!

Even though the school year has started and we are making the slow transition to fall we're still holding on to summer. I just love this sweet picture my mother-in-law snapped. She may be a peach but she likes watermelon too! :)

Wednesday was a big day as it was opening day for Butler County Schools. My first official day is actually Monday but I was able to attend this kickoff to the school year. Even though I know a lot of my colleagues having gone through the system not too many years ago it was nice to meet new people and catch up with old acquaintances.

Everyone in the district attends opening day so Marcus and Mom were there too. I never dreamed I would be working in the same organization as them! It feels good to be "home".

Since I am in a supervisory role I had to say a few words about my programs. Speaking in front of 400 people is not something I do everyday but I did it without falling or hurling so it was a proud moment ha! Thanks Paige McKinney for the picture!

After lunch when I returned to my office I found this sweet gift on my desk. An inspirational book, planner and chocolate. I felt so appreciated! God has placed me exactly where I am suppose to be.

Wednesday was also a big day at AKK because it was the annual day-before-school pajama party! All 25 preschool and school kids celebrated one last day together. Of course Georgia Grace couldn't miss this event. She even received a new pair of pj's to match her Aunt Shanna :)

And then Thursday was the first day of school and the first day of Marcus's fifth year of teaching. He is now tenured! He is teaching 4th grade this year and will have exactly all the same 3rd graders he had last year. One mom said her son wants to have Mr. Harrison every year until he graduates :) He has a lot of little fans and I think it's a testament to the teacher and role model he is to his students.

Happy daddy and daughter. Matching dimples and everything. She's so proud of him just like I am.

Next week will be the first full week for all of us so this weekend we are just going to relax and do fun things. We don't have any plans except maybe a little lake time and that's exactly what we need. I'm thankful for the newness this time of year brings and the opportunities we have been blessed with.

Walking In Memphis

We are back from a little weekend getaway to celebrate my promotion, Marcus's birthday and the unofficial end to summer with the school year starting this week. We chose Memphis as our destination because we knew we wanted to stay in the South and I had never been. Plus it wasn't too far and there was so much there we wanted to do.

Marcus surprised me with booking a room at The Peabody. What a sweet surprise! I would have booked the Holiday Inn and called it a day but not my husband :)

After 4 1/2 hours in the car this girl was grinning ear to ear to be out of a carseat. She rode so well though. Thank you Jesus for portable DVD players and Frozen :) And have I mentioned we are currently Frozen obsessed? OBSESSED. Olaf even made the trip with us.

Secretary Georgia getting familiar with our room. She was ready to do some exploring!

The Peabody hotel is most known for the Peabody Ducks. Five mallard ducks live in the hotel and from 11-5 everyday they swim in the hotel fountain in the lobby. In order for them to get into the fountain they do a "Duck March" two times a day where they walk the red carpet from the fountain to the elevator up to their penthouse on the roof of the hotel. The ducks were Georgia Grace's favorite attraction of course!

We went up to the rooftop to see the views of the Mississippi Delta and the Duck Palace. I'm pretty sure their palace was bigger than our first home :)

When we arrived on Saturday we headed for the notorious Beale Street. My Mom and Stan made the trip with us, it was nice to have extra hands to help and entertain baby girl!

"Walking in Memphis"

The sun was directly in our eyes so this was the best we got. And there's no telling what caught her eye!

We ate dinner at Blues City Cafe for a little "south in our mouth". We all got ribs and they were perfect. 

We found the Fedex Forum and had to take a picture sitting on the basketball. We are probably some of the few Calipari fans in these parts.

We found Elvis on Beale Street too!

We walked down to the Mississippi River to watch the sun setting. They have a neat park and restaurant, and you can board the Memphis Queen which I really wanted to do but we ran out of time. Love this sweet picture of our baby girl. So natural and in her element.

After walking the town we headed back to the hotel to enjoy "Memphis's Living Room" as The Peabody's lobby is referred. It was super swanky.

Sunday morning we got up and crossed the I-40 bridge into Arkansas to see Memphis from the other side of the river. And because I'm a huge Kelly fan and wanted to see a little bit of her state. Sorry Kelly, I wasn't impressed but I'm sure NWA is a different world :)

Sunday was a day devoted to honoring the Kings of Memphis. First up was MLK. We went to the Civil Rights Museum where the Lorraine Motel still stands as it stood the day he was assassinated.

There is a replica wreath like the one that hung following his burial and two old cars are parked in front of his room that were there on the day of his assassination. It's hard to put into words how amazing it is to see this in real life. 

Next up was the King of Rock n' Roll. I was so excited to tour Graceland.

We're looking all touristy-cute in our backpacks, speakers and headphones :) We loved the self guided tour though so you could go at your own pace and hear everything clearly.

The entrance to Elvis's mansion with the staircase leading to the 2nd floor that is forbidden by the public. Only a handful of people have been on the 2nd floor since August 1977. The curiosity was strong but I restrained myself from jolting up the stairs :)

The pool room was covered in 320 yards of fabric! It felt like a big canopy. 

The studio. There was a Q&A video session playing and it felt like he was right there in the room. Very surreal.

Graceland wasn't this girl's favorite stop but she did love the mini boots on the wall. 

The old racquetball room turned awards display room. It was floor to ceiling filled with gold records.

I actually did not realize Elvis was buried in Graceland until toward the end of the mansion tour. His body rests in the Meditation Garden beside his parents and grandmother. There is also a marker for his stillborn twin brother.

And as we were boarding the bus to leave Graceland we spotted Elvis himself... :)

We did the platinum tour so we could tour the car showroom and the Lisa Marie. The automobile exhibit was fascinating! So many vehicles for one person. This was the pink Cadillac Elvis ended up giving to his Mom that he called "Gladys's car". I loved it with the snow covered Graceland behind it.

Touring the Lisa Marie may have been my favorite part of all. It was such a huge plane that probably seated 200-300 people turned into a private penthouse. Gold plated seatbelts, a phone to call out to anywhere in the world, a full bathroom with a getting ready area--I was in awe. The tour told that once Elvis realized Lisa Marie had never seen snow they hopped on the plane to Colorado, got out and played in the snow for a few minutes and then flew back to Memphis. What a life!

It was a short trip but we made the most of our time in the birthplace of rock and roll. We debated about taking this trip but I'm really glad we did. The busyness of fall is around the corner and my new job will be pretty consuming for a little while so this should cure the travel bug until October.