birthdays.

We've celebrated lots of birthdays in the past month. P's favorite thing about going to a birthday party? CAKE! Funny story. We went out to dinner for aunt Jenny's birthday a couple of weeks ago and P asked at least a hundred times, "Where is her cake mama? Is that man (the poor waiter) bringing aunt Jenny's cake? Where her cake is?" The restaurant did in fact catch word that it was aunt Jenny's birthday and brought her a small slice of chocolate cake, and I think P ate half of it. A birthday is not a birthday unless there is a cake involved, right?

Cousin Tommy turned one in May, so we headed up to Cumming for some fun in the sun. I actually brought my camera to this birthday party. Amy had so much cute stuff for the kiddos to play with, including a sand table and splash pool. The party guests were all family, so it was great to just hang out and catch up while letting the kiddos play.

P is always fascinated by the bubbles. Check out that expression of interest. How can something as simple as soapy water be such a hit with kids?


Nicholas kept spraying Allie while she was playing in the splash pool. She just rolls with it. Always such a trooper. P would have had a fit.


The birthday boy loved his cake.


A little blurry, but this smile was just too cute. He was so excited about his new ball pit.


P's version of ring toss.


Awwww. Tommy and his Grammy. (If you're confused, that's my mom's twin sister, Mary. Can you tell they're identical!?!)


Just a swingin'....


Tommy was pooped after his party. Check out that thumb, or lack thereof.


Happy first birthday, Tommy! We had a great time celebrating with you.

busy mom.

This mom is busy. So much going on these days. I feel like I'm drowning. I like being busy. But my blog may not like it. We've been enjoying our summer to the max. Playing outside, going swimming, working in the garden. Just wish the temperature was not in the high 90's every.single.day. This pregnant mama can't take this heat all summer long. Speaking of pregnancy, I only have four more months until this baby girl is expected to arrive. We still have a lot to do to get ready for our new little bundle. The room is primed, but not painted. The bedding and the crib have been ordered. But that's about it. I kind of had a panic attack last night when I realized how much we have left to do. I'm calmer today. It will get done. And if it doesn't, it will be okay. (Gosh, I'm so different than I was with P.) A lot has happened since the last time I posted. My cousin, Rachel, was given only two to three months to live. This has not been easy for me, since she is practically my sister. I've been doing a lot of praying and thinking and I have tried to visit her as often as possible. She is kind of beyond wanting visitors, so I may not be making many more trips to see her. I just wish she wasn't suffering. But God has a plan. He's in control. Also, our lake house is flooded. Ruined. It's a disaster. Long, long story, which I will post on here with some pictures real soon since I really should document these things. Maybe one day it will be funny. But at the current moment, the whole situation just stresses me out. Let's see, what else? P is talking up a storm. Bossing us around, telling us what to do. This is the best age. He is HILARIOUS! I just love him to pieces. Taylor and I celebrated our five year anniversary in May with a trip to the Ritz at Lake Oconee with some friends and dinner at Bistro Niko in Atlanta. Oh, and I'm turning thirty in less than a week. Oh, crap. I don't know about this. Everyone keeps asking me what I want for my birthday. Another year in my twenties has been my response. I know it's just a number. But like a girl told me at work the other day, it's a big number.

So, let me post a few of the hundreds of pictures that I have piling up on my hard drive. These were all taken on Mother's Day. We celebrated with Taylor's mom at an Irish restaurant in Morrow and then with my mom at the lake with a picnic. And then my celebration was a trip to the ice cream shop. I don't even like ice cream, but I knew P would thoroughly enjoy it.

P and aunt Jenny. He loves her so much. Talks about her all.the.time.


And daddy is his very best friend.



Gosh, he looks so grown up here. I was looking at my blog header picture and I hardly recognize that baby boy. He's such a little man now.


We got ice cream at Marble slab. I really wish I liked ice cream. It's one of those things that I try to make myself enjoy. Every American should like ice cream. P and his daddy sure do.


I'm that mama that always takes pictures of their kids eating. It's the only time P sits still for more than two seconds.


He makes the funniest faces when he eats. I think he really enjoyed his bananas foster ice cream. Who knows what all they mixed in that concoction. But P and his daddy ate every last bite.


That's all for now. I've missed this blog. I'll try to visit more often.

the start of something good.

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden. ~Robert Brault

the zoo.

My mom and I took P to the zoo yesterday. And the zoo was literally a zoo, with field trip kids running everywhere and knocking P down. But we still had a great time, despite the heat and the crazy kids. Most of the animals were in hiding due to the 90 degree heat, but I managed to get a picture of this pretty giraffe. A worker from the zoo told me that this lovely giraffe is expecting a baby any day now. I told her I would send her some of my pregnant vibes to urge that baby to come on out. The zoo lady just laughed. Poor mama giraffe. I know how it feels. And I hope I look this good at nine months pregnant.


All P wanted to do was see the elephants, and of course, they were hiding, too. He also wanted to take pictures of the elephants. With his camera. Not mama's.


Granny and P chased an elephant in and out of the elephant building at least twenty times. That elephant was a little restless. And did not want his picture taken. But P managed to get a good shot. Better than any shot his mama got. If I can find the cable for his camera, I'll upload it here later.

Most of the pictures I took were of P just sitting there. He was not really diggin' my camera, so of course I took these when he was distracted and unaware.



P loved the train.


But he wasn't so sure about the carousel. Not sure why. He's kind of fickle these days.


We had a great time at the zoo and P loved taking lots of pictures of the elephants, giraffes, and the pavement. We may have a photographer on our hands. He takes his new hobby rather seriously.

vince.

For part of my husband's birthday present, I took him to meet Vince Dooley at a local book signing he was holding in McDonough. (If you don't know who he is, let me explain. Basically, he is God of Dawg country. Georgia Bulldogs, that is.) My husband was so excited to meet him, and Vince didn't let us down. He was a sincere, super friendly guy. He spoke to each person at the book signing and gave us big, tight hugs when we left.


He signed a football book to my hubby, a gardening book that was just released to me, and he even has a children's book about Georgia football that we couldn't pass up for P. We had a great time and left with some great treasures for everyone in the family.

tax time is strawberry time.

I will never forget the roadside sign on Highway 20 that made its appearance this time every year. "Tax time is strawberry time." Kind of a dumb sign, but I will always remember to go pick strawberries at the local farm come mid-April. This year we headed over to Southern Belle Farms in McDonough with my mom and my Granny to get our fresh berries, and boy, were they the freshest. We went on opening day, so we got first dibs on the brightest, juiciest berries on the vine. Yummmmo!


P really got into it this year compared to last. There were so many perfect starwberries on the vine, we could have picked all day. Here's P trying to select the perfect one.



Look at my boy toting that heavy bucket of berries around like he's Mr. Macho. (And please ignore the long hair hanging out of his hat. This boy needs a haircut like every week. I can't keep up. Oh, and we had a slight encounter with the mud. He and I were both covered.)



Great granny is so good with P. And he adores her.



Counting the berries. This boy loves to count. He can count to ten with his eyes closed while hanging upside down.




We also checked out the farm animals. They have cows and sheep and goats and bunnies. P kept his distance.


But, he has talked about the animals every day since.


We had a great time at the farm. And an even better time enjoying our fresh strawberries served over home made pound cake.

you voted....

....and 100% of you were right. It's a GIRL!!!! We went for a 3D ultrasound yesterday in Atlanta a day shy of sixteen weeks to determine our new baby's gender, and it's a GIRL!!!! We could not be more excited! And by the way, my friends would make great gamblers. Every single person that ventured a guess on baby #2's gender was RIGHT! Every single person. Like fifty or more people. So, all I'm saying is that I would love to go to Vegas with each and every one of you, because y'all make some really good guesses.

And here is our baby girl. Look at her long, skinny legs. She definitely has Wicker legs.


After six ultrasounds, she's definitely not camera shy.


And here are her girl parts. Do you see the three white lines up and left of the word "girl"? Yep, we can definitely paint the nursery pink after we got this shot in between her legs.


Apparently gender is determined best in 2D black and white, but the ultrasound tech let us have a sneak peek of our sweet girl in 3D. She's so pretty. She kept putting her hands up by her face and crossing her legs in true girl fashion. I cried like a baby watching my sweet girl make herself comfortable in her cozy, temporary home. We cannot wait to meet her! And Phoenix is floating on Cloud 9. We asked him what he wanted to name his new baby sister, and without missing a beat, he replied, "Shoes". My response, "Shoes is a nice name." His response, "Yeah, mama. Let's call her baby Shoes." Who knows where he came up with that, but it might be her name for a little while until Taylor and I can agree on the perfect name for our sweet girl.

step right up.

P's 2nd birthday party this year was a carnival-themed party, complete with carnival games, prizes, hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy. All of the kids had a blast, especially the birthday boy.


The games.








The prizes.


Some details....










And the best part, the people....















A HUGE "thank you" to all of our family and friends that came to help celebrate P turning two. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such awesome people. The weather turned out to be perfect and the party was a ton of fun for all. P asks everyday for another birthday party.