Go Big Blue!

Monday already? Wow how fast the weekends go. We had a fun one enjoying our favorite things of the season.

 

Friday night we went to watch our alma mater play in their second home game of the season. We played our district rival Catholic and came out on the wrong side but this girl had fun! She loved socializing with the crowd and watching the band. It was a perfect night for football-not too hot, not too cold. And don't these two look like twins in this picture?!? Like Daddy like daughter.

 

Saturday Marcus treated our cousin Keagen to an early birthday present and they went to the UK Vandy game in Lexington. As soon as they got there they ran into Keith Bogans in the Hyatt! He gave Keagen his autograph and talked to him a while which was so nice. Then Marcus made their picture. He asked Keag why his leg was kicked out like a kickstand and he said, "I couldn't get it to stop shaking!" Ha!

 

The boys had great seats to watch the Cats win their first SEC game since 2011! It's so much more fun to cheer for a team that's competitive again :) They play South Carolina at home next week so we are hoping for a big upset!

 

The girls didn't make the trip this time and instead stayed home and played. Neither one of us got out of our pajamas all day long and it was heavenly. When Marcus got home I know he thought it looked like a cyclone had come through. I'll just say we did a lot of "living" :)

 

Football was on all day Saturday but I had to pepper in a little Hocus Pocus here and there. I think it was the first time it was on this season and it made me all kinds of happy. Georgia Grace even gave it her attention which is saying something.

 

Sunday we got up and got ready for church. She wore her blue smocked cheerleader dress to celebrate the Cats win and her Gammy's boots. She is such a big girl these days staying in the nursery with Miss JoAnn during Sunday School and then with the volunteers during church. She never cries or has accidents. She makes me proud everyday.

 

It was another fun fall weekend for us. Five days and then it's Fall Break! I'm looking forward to reaping the benefits of being on a school calendar ;)

Strike A Pose

That midweek post I mentioned? Here it is on Friday :) We've had a busy week with lots of activities and appointments. Marcus has been out of town and working on projects so most nights we haven't all been home together until 9-10. That should be over for a while, I'm so ready for a routine!

 

This girl has had a wonderful week! I feel like she's grown up this week from her actions and words. A little boy at preschool was asking all of them how old they were and when he got to Georgia Grace she said, "I one".  I go eat lunch with her some days and one day I went she told the other kids while squeezing my neck, "This is my mommy". My heart was melted.

 

She also modeled for her cousin's personlization business this week! Payton made her this adorable mini monogram crewneck sweatshirt so we wore it this week to kick off the start of fall. She wore it to preschool proudly! You can find her business here: Personalization by Payton. Thanks Payt!!

 

Our weather has been wonderful this week. Cool in the morning and evenings making layers a good choice. We play outside until supper to try to savor these days.

 

Everyday at AKK they have show and tell so we decided to collect acorns for all her friends. She told them all the next day they were "acorns" and she found them on "Poppa's road" :) She shared them and did such a good job they said describing her show and tell.

 

Yesterday she sported a new accessory-boots! These were my mom's boots that my Mamaw bought in 1965 in Lubbock, Texas. They are still in great shape! She wore them proudly and my Mom and Mamaw just loved it.

 

Happy weekend friends!

Lately

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

It's unbelievable to me we are almost at the end of September. The next 3-4 months are going to be full and filled with wonderful things so I hope time will slow down a little bit and allow us to enjoy every moment.

 

The past week or so I have been doing a lot of prepping for some of those upcoming events to prevent me from being overwhelmed at the time. Here's what our life has looked like for the past week or so- 

 

Travel

Since I started my new job in August, I have had to travel a lot. It's not been real big trips but quite a few short overnight trips. This past week I was in Louisville for a conference that let out early so I indulged in a decaf PSL and some Target. One hundred dollars later I was on my way home with a happy heart :) My travels have slowed down now which I am thankful for but Marcus will be out of town this week for work. Hopefully we will be on the same schedule soon!  

 

Celebrating Ashley

This weekend was Ashley's Bachelorette Party and personal shower. Saturday we went to Nashville to celebrate at Cabanas and The Big Bang.

 

Ash was one of my very first friends and has been by my side ever since. She's Aunt Ashley to my Georgia Grace and her mom is Aunt Rhonda :) They are like sisters to my mom and me. I wasn't going to miss this trip for anything even if I was a low energy, frumpy, pregnant party pooper ;) 

 

This girl celebrated for me and her both though ;) More pictures to come, these were just a few I snapped with my phone. What a fun weekend!!

 

Second Birthday

Georgia Grace's birthday party is just five weeks away and I have finally began planning for it. So much different from last year. I hesitated to plan until we had a location and now we do-more on that soon :) I think this year we are going with a fall festival theme. We will be at the beach for Halloween so I thought this would be a way she can celebrate the holiday a little early with her friends. Late October is a tricky time because you may have a perfect day or it may turn off to 30 below. Either way with our location we will be fine but I'm hoping for 65 and sunshine!

 

Reminiscing

I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones or that we are a month away from having a two year old but I can't stop looking at her baby pictures. And then I will compare them to now and think when did this happen?!? We thought she had a lot of hair in her candy corn jammie picture ha! She has always rocked a mean mane ;) Oh and a funny about candy corn. We were over at James and Ashley's a few weeks ago and Ashley gave GGH some candy corn (which we thought she was eating her weight in but they found a few days later she was stuffing them between the couch cushions ha!) and this week we bought a bag and she asked for some "Ashwee candy" :) She has a crazy awesome memory!

  

Hope everyone has a great first week of fall! I hope to be back with a midweek update since my schedule is more normal. And I'm really hoping for renewed energy this week as I enter my second trimester! Go baby #2 go.

Weekend

This tired pregnant lady is living for her weekends. I can't wait for the second trimester burst of energy, I so need it. But I know my body is growing a baby so I'll endure whatever I need to with a grateful heart.

 

 

When you're pregnant and you want to bake a cake at 9:30pm on a Friday night you just do it and nobody asked any questions :) I have had some intense cravings this time around. I don't remember any real cravings with Georgia Grace. Hmm...

 

We had a lazy Saturday morning at home snuggling, playing and watching football. It was cold that morning but warmed up by the afternoon so we went outside and played. I thought the fresh air would be good for GGH coming off of her virus and I think it did the trick!

 

Saturday night I attended the wedding of one of my dear friends Jodi. We go all the way back to middle school and she's one of the sweetest people I know. She got married on her family farm in Provo and the wedding was perfectly her! Congratulations Jodi & Blake!

 

Saturday was also our buddy Abbott's 2nd birthday so Marcus took Georgia Grace to the party while I attended the wedding. I don't have any pictures of her with the birthday boy but I did get this one from Aunt Rachel of Roger, Ro-Ro, GGH and Uncle Nate. She hung with Uncle Nate for a long time.

Abbott recently got a new playset area and Georgia Grace really liked one of his toy tractors. I can't believe all of these babies are turning two. I am in denial and refusing to start planning our 2nd birthday bash.

Sunday morning it felt like Fall so I broke out my favorite season of clothes for the occasion! Gammy got her this dress and I think it's just darling. I love her in orange! Well all colors for that matter :) She was a happy girl to be headed to church to play in the nursery with her baby friends and Mrs. Joann.

 

I bought her a pair of leopard Mary Janes for this Fall that I am using as a neutral. She likes them because they are velcro and she can put them on and off herself. Such the big girl these days!

We didn't escape Sunday without a few tears though. She was running outside and stepped on the foot of a rocking chair and it came back and popped her in the eye. It's just a small cut with a small black eye. It had us nervous though!

And I can't write a weekend post without documenting our medicine shenanigans. She has to take a low dose antibiotic for her strep and if you recall from past illnesses she hates taking medicine. It's usually the most dramatic experience ever. And this time started out no different. No vomiting or gagging but plenty of tears to make up for that. We started motivating her by saying we would video her taking it like a big girl and send it to family/friends/whoever. When she took her medicine at AKK she would do it in front of her friends and they would all clap and cheer for her! Now she takes medicine no problem as long as there is plenty of praise and recognition :) Little miss center of attention always.

 

 I hope your weekend was great too! It would have been better if UK would have pulled out the win over Fl in three overtimes (!!) but oh well. I'm still happy with their progress and it's going to be an exciting year.

Baby On Board

First, thanks so much for all the words of love about our most exciting news! All the calls, texts, messages, comments and conversations about the new baby has made us even more excited to welcome a new member to our family. Y'all are the best!

I am on week 11 so I am already almost out of my first trimester-yay! I can't complain though because I've had it easy. Besides being very tired and a few small bouts of nausea I have felt good. However I can already feel and see my body changing and preparing the way to grow a baby. And if you're wondering if you show sooner the second time around the answer is YES. I felt like I had a bump the moment of conception. 

 

Hello sweet baby :)

 

Big sister loves the baby but doesn't really want to talk about it yet. They let her announce her big news at preschool the other day and she was not real excited about sharing the news ha! I'm hoping as my belly grows she will be more excited. Right now she's just got her finger up her nose about it :)

 

In other baby news, it's been a tough week for our Georgia Grace. Monday night she started running a fever and acting lethargic after our church revival. I took her to the doctor Tuesday morning and she has strep :( I was shocked! She hasn't been sick since January and wasn't acting sick at all so I was super sad for the diagnosis. I stayed home with her the rest of the week while Daddy went on to revivial. She did much better at the doctor's office this time. One of my best friends Ashley was able to see her and I think that helped seeing someone she knew. Plus she got a sucker and valued it this time :) 

 

Speaking of Ashley, last weekend we went with her and James to our good friend Landon's wedding. He got married at Lost River Cave and it was just beautiful! This was my first time in the cave and I want to go back this fall and take Georgia Grace. Congratulations Landon and Andrea!!

We are so glad it's Friday. We are going to our high school football homecoming game tonight and this weekend we are going to try to squeeze in three birthday parties and a wedding. Wish us luck!

And then there were four!

We have the very best news to share:

We are ecstatic about our new baby that is on the way! It's not been easy keeping such a big secret but we wanted to wait until after our first doctor's appointment to share. 

I am 10 weeks pregnant with one healthy baby (we wondered about two since I want to eat all the live long day!) and feeling relatively great! 

Big sister is not sure how she feels about the new development but I'm sure she will be all about the new baby by April :)

In related unrelated news, the announcement of Princess Kate expecting her second baby came out today too! We named our firstborn similar names and share part of our names so we're kind of soul sisters now ;) Carrie Underwood also announced she was expecting her first child last week so this baby is destined for greatness surrounded by all the celeb babes!

We are so thankful for God's grace and provision. He continues to bless us with more than we deserve. Becoming a family of four next spring will be a dream come true!

#summerbucketlist

Summer is officially behind us so I thought I would do a recap of this super fun season. I created a summer bucket list back in May and it was helpful in making sure our days were full of fun and sun! We didn't get to everything but I was happy with the memories we did make. Here is what our summer looked like-

1. Summer beach trip

We took a trip to the Gulf Coast the first week of June just like we did last year. The school year ran late this year due to our brutal winter so we were nervous it would interfere with our trip but it didn't. We always have the best weeks when we are at the beach with our Georgia peach. The beach is our happy place.

2. Attend an outdoor concert

It wasn't outdoor but it was at the Grand Ole Opry which was even better. We saw Terri Clark, Sam Hunt, Craig Morgan, Trace Adkins and CARRIE! What a blast.

 

3. Teach Georgia Grace how to catch fireflies

Check- this was fun too. Before it got super hot in August we stayed outside until dusk a lot of nights.

 

4. Go on a date night to the drive-in

This one didn't happen and I was excited for it :( I called two different times for their showings and neither time did the movies sound appealing so we never went. We will try again next year!

 

However, we did go to an outdoor showing of Frozen! It was so much fun and an activity we could all enjoy. We will definitely do this again next year.

 

5. Spend a few weekends at the lake

We halfway did this one. We went to the lake once for Father's Day Weekend and had a great time. The rest of our summer weekends got away from us so only one trip this year. We will try for more next year!

 

6. Make and eat popsicles

Yes and yes! We ate homemade, store bought-we weren't picky.

 

7. Take Georgia to the splash park

Did this but didn't have the best time. I think next year when she's older she will enjoy it.

 

8. Go to a farmer's market

Marcus and his family took Georgia Grace to Jackson's Orchard at the beginning of the summer for a fun day trip. They have a petting zoo and slides so it was fun for everyone!

 

9. Attend our county fair

Our county fair falls during the 4th of July holiday every year so we went a few nights for some square-dancing, socializing and funnel cakes!

 

10. Learn how to can from my Mamaw

Postponing this one for next year. The days got away from us and by the time Mamaw was ready to can I had just started my new job.

 

11. Take a day trip to a place we have never traveled

We spent the last weekend of the summer in Memphis which is a city neither of us have traveled to. It was a short trip but jam packed with fun. Staying at The Peabody, exploring Beale Street and going to Graceland were some of the highlights!

 

12. Try a new recipe

I will be honest and say I didn't try a lot of new recipes this year. It was a Summer of transition as we sold our house and moved in with my Dad. I did try a spicy crockpot queso dip the other day and it was delicious! I will have my own kitchen soon so I will make up for lost time then :)

 

13. Have a TV sitcom/movie marathon night

We had a busy Summer so I don't think we ever spent a full night watching TV ( we will make up for that this Fall I'm sure) but our favorite show to watch this Summer was Modern Family. I know it has been on for several seasons now but we just got into it and laugh ourselves silly.

 

 

14. Read four books

I was only able to read one book this Summer. Between the move and my new job my spare time couldn't be spent reading and that's ok. I know there will be a season for that.

 

I did read Surprised By Motherhood by Lisa Jo Baker and loved it. I'm glad I found time for this one.

 

15. Make homemade ice-cream

We did this a lot! This is one of our favorite summer traditions.

 

16. Walk to the sno-cone stand one night after supper

Before we moved we made it a point to do this because we will no longer have the luxury of walking to the sno shack stand.

 

17. Go to the pool- a lot!

We knocked this one out of the park :) Mom's pool was our Saturday hangout most weekends. Georgia Grace became more and more comfortable with the water each time we swam. We will miss swimming!

18. Watch fireworks

We watched fireworks on three different occasions. GGH didn't mind them one bit.

 

19. Go on a family picnic

One of my Thursdays I was home we took a little family picnic. Our Summer was mild so it was enjoyable to be outside in the middle of the day in July!

 

20. Go to a baseball game

Didn't get to this one. We aren't big baseball people so it wasn't high on our priority list but I do want to expose her to America's pasttime. Next year! I doubt she (or myself) would have sit through a whole game anyway.

 

21. Take Georgia to our church VBS

She went one day with my Mamaw and I hope next year she can go a few days. She will be in a regular class before we know it!

 

22. Chase Georgia with a water hose in the yard

This was how we beat the August heat! She had a ball.

 

23. Stay in our pj's all day

This didn't happen much either but I do recall one rainy Saturday I don't think we ever went anywhere or put on "real clothes"

 

24. Eat fruit right from the vine and make a pie with the rest

Georgia Grace did this a lot with her Pa picking grapes from their vine. She was sad when they were gone. No baking but I don't think grapes would be good baked :)

 

25. Break ground on our new house!

This hasn't happened but I'll give an update soon :)

We had a great summer checking things off our summer bucket list!

Labor Day Weekend

Goodbye summer and hello fall! Despite the 80 and 90 degree days forecasted for this week I am in full Fall mode. I bought a pumpkin candle and Georgia Grace a quilted skirt yesterday so the seasons have officially changed for me :)

 

This weekend was the unofficial end to summer and I'm always ready for a new season by the end of each one. However, this summer was a great one with milder temperatures and lots of fun activities and trips. Full #summerbucketlist recap soon!

But for now here is what the end of last week and Labor Day weekend looked like for us. I'll give you a hint: a lot of rain and football, and very little labor.

 

Last week I had a two-day conference in Frankfort so Daddy did the single parent thing. She always sleeps through the night, I can count on one hand how many times she has gotten up through the night since we moved. But Wednesday night she did so her and Daddy slept together and I think it did them both good to be by each other. And don't you love my childhood purple sheets?!? At least my Dad didn't turn my room into the hot tub room.

 

I was back home Friday in time to dress our girl up for WKU's season opener. I think she brought them good luck because they won easily! I made the onesie for her last year and since it's stretchy we were able to get another years wear out of it-yahoo!

 

Saturday we did absolutely nothing but watch college football at Gammy's house and it was perfect. Marcus and I both love it so much so this is like a holiday. Georgia Grace was nice enough to give Frozen a rest for a while :) We had her dressed up for the UK game as well but I forgot to snap a picture and I'm kicking myself. Next weekend! They also won big and gave us hopes they will be competitive in the SEC this year! We are already planning our trip to Commonwealth Stadium.

 

Every Labor Day weekend we have the McCoy (my mamaw's family) family reunion. This year the three girl cousins were there including the newest addition Amelia so we had to get a picture of them with their grandmas/great-grandmas. GGH was cheesin' like nobody's business. Sweet, precious babies!

Georgia Grace and her cousin Clay. It poured the rain the whole time nearly but these babies had fun watching and socializing.

Labor Day was another rainy, nasty day. It seems like that is the forecast every year. So we decided to make lemonade out of lemons and go shopping! I think I have a little shopper on my hands because she was the very best thing all day long. She was obedient, happy, and just did whatever we did with no fussing, just smiles ;)

 

We did a little furniture shopping and they gave her a balloon and her day was made.

Well, she thought her day was made. And then she rode the carousel in the mall with Mamaw Carolyn and it was made all over again! It's not every day you get to ride a carousel with your great-grandmother so this was special for me to watch. I think they both had the best time.

And then she got to ride it again with Gammy while Mommy finished shopping :) I see rides on the carousel with every trip to the mall in the near future.

 

Labor Day weekend may have been a rainy mess but we made the most of it. I also started changing Georgia Grace's closet over this weekend and that made me all kinds of happy getting out her fall clothes from storage.

 

Happy September!