Holiday Snapshot

Life has been C.R.A.Z.Y, with a capital C, but I want to document the past month so I do not get behind…The month of December in pictures:

We listed our house with an agent right after Thanksgiving and decided it was too hard to live away from daddy and keep the house spotless for house showings with 2 young babes…sooooo….We packed up the girls and headed south on Dec. 2 and have been living with my in-laws (bless them) ever since. They have been saints!

We visited Santa…you see how that went!

We said good bye to the BEST teachers ever and shed LOTS of tears!

and even more with our BEST BUDDY, Jackson!

and the best neighbors and play group ever!

Cant forget our fab babysitter!

 We got to Bham and looked ahead in full force! 

We took Mae on a date by herself with us to see Frozen and to Mexican. She had the time of her life! 

We have had lots of walks and exploring during the heat wave in December!

Treated ourselves to our sweet friends local ice cream pop-up shop!

Had lots of snuggles and smiles!

Have spent HOURS with play dough and arts and crafts!

Spent TWO visits to the Doctor and finally realized our little bug has a milk allergy! Almond milk is our new best friend! 

I threw my bestie a surprise baby shower and birthday dinner at Ashley Macs! Somehow did get the group shot on my phone!

Mae has been spoiled...

We had our favorite Barlow girls come visit, bring gifts, sing for us and play. 

Daddy even got spoiled. 

and Bup!

Chokeholds are a common thing around here these days: 

More walks!

Her favorite pastime: 

I rarely see her without a baby in her hand. She is a little mama. 

Mae loves riding in Bups front seat to see the Christmas lights and ride home from the neighborhood park!

Santa brought Mae a new bike!

and Maggie some musical instruments!

Our Christmas card this year!

Mommy and daddy got to sneak away for an adult night away in Montgomery. We stayed at the Renaissance and enjoyed a nap, yummy drinks, dinner, and fun with friends. 

We had to capture a kiss on Dec. 26th…it was the exact day of our first kiss…THIRTEEN years ago! Oh my, we are ancient. 

This girl owns me. 

We had a fun trip to the zoo with our friends Webber and Anne Doughton

Enjoyed our new tent Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mark got us!

Had picnics on the kitchen floor with Nonna. 

Visited our new house and bought lots of furniture!

Have had some really fun times with our cousins!

Concentrating hard on our drawings: 

Fun at the Ross Bridge Christmas party!

Christmas church service: 

Bike riding with BB:

Gingerbread house making with mommy:

We visited the carousel lots: 

Watermelon is our fruit of choose around here, no clothes needed: 

So then we bathe, lots!

Mae had her first manicure with BB:

We got to experience the sweetest moment ever. Ryan's cousin adopted a sweet baby from China and we got to welcome Hallie Grace home at the airport! 

We helped Bup clean out his pool…LOTS: 

Rode to the park illegally: 

These pictures are only SOME of all we have done…we have been jam packed between my parents house and the Harbucks, meeting up with old friends for lunch dates, drinks, walks and more! So excited about living here and making a new life for ourselves in a place we have already called home before! 

The best news of the month was accepting a Full Price offer on our house and we are officially under contract as of Dec. 31! To God be the Glory!

11 months

Out sweet angel baby is 11 months old! One more month and we hit the one year mark. Fast. Year. Of. My. Life. Hands down. Crazy. Here is what has been going on this past month, with our girl:

She has finally said MAMA! Music to my ears! She has also added 'woof, woof' and Nonna to her vocabulary.

She is loving standing and prefers to be standing at all times if on the floor. She lets go a few times for a few seconds but not for long periods of time. She pulls up on any and everything, all the time. She can go from sitting to standing up, and back down. She is starting to take steps with assistance, but I think we have at least another month or longer before we have an official walker.

She had her 2nd ear infection this month, which led to another dr. visit, which we have realized she has some sort of allergy. We are 75% sure its a milk allergy, and have eliminated all dairy, but have plans to see an allergist after the first of the year.

I have been working diligently to get her to drink out of a straw, for life out and about to be easier, and this past month she finally mastered it! Way to go, Maggie!''

When we ask her how big she is, she throws her hands up as high as she can reach and we all say, "SO BIG!" Melts my heart. She is so proud.

She earned her top two teeth this month...fun does not go with that new establishment.
We had a wonderful first Christmas with our girl and are in awe of all that God has given us from and through this little nugget!

More updates on life and our move coming soon!

double digits

Maggie is 10 months old! 

She is standing very well and has even been brave enough to let go for a second or two. She pulls up to her knees but has not pulled all the way up to a standing position yet. 

She weighs 20 lbs. and is still a roly-poly. We love it! She eats pretty much anything but does not love her bottle much anymore. So we are using a sippy cup a lot more during the day. 

She waves bye-bye and hello like a pro. She is the happiest baby on the planet, but is completely stubborn and strong willed. She lets her know it is her way or the highway! 

She loves loves her sister and belly laughs at her daily. They can play together and not need more for small chunks of time and it is so fun to watch them interact. 

She had her first ear infection this month and loved her pink meds! 

She is wearing size 4 diapers, chunky monkey. We can finally get a bow in her hair and it looks ridiculous. 

She hates her carseat. Loves books. Fascinated by Eli. 

We love you little bit! 

Life update!

The past few months have been completely insane for us. Good, but crazy! Here are our updates:

Family: We are moving! House is for sale, and instead of moving to Charleston like we had planned for the past 6 months, we are moving to Birmingham, back home! We have a contract on our house and move as soon as we sell our current home in Charlotte.

Ryan: I could not be more proud of him. He is the best husband and daddy to all of us girls! He is always positive, always making us laugh, and supports us more ways than I can count! He just resigned from his current job as a project manager and has accepted a new job with the fabulous D'Angelis Diamond Construction Company in Birmingham working on an HCA account as well as continuing to manage work! We are both excited about this new opportunity! He starts Monday!

Me: My brain is mush. But full of good mush. With the current move, house showings, play dates, keeping the house spotless, taking care of 2 precious girls, a dog, and a hubby...I am emotionally spent! Excited for life to slow down hopefully soon! I am super sad to leave my great friends in Charlotte, and our neighborhood. From moms night out, couples date nights, neighborhood wine int the culdesac, last minutes dinners with friends, playdates, and my mom buddies...I tear up just thinking about leaving it all. Yet, super excited at the same time for what God has in store for us in Birmingham. We have never lived there married or with kids, so it will be a huge adjustment. I am finally back to my pre-baby weight...took long enough and am enjoying my new accessory, the fitbit which keeps me pretty active on top of chasing around two littles.

Mae: She is LOVING school and her teachers say she is pretty bright! She is the only one completely potty trained in her class and loves helping take care of the kids in her class. I already have her enrolled in one of the best schools in Birmingham for January and know she will adjust well.  Her very best friend is Jackson and she loves all of her girlfriends the same here! Jackson is the only boy out of her 10 neighborhood friends! She still sucks her two fingers which I will stop when she turns 3 in February. She is the sweetest, kindest soul and obeys us very well. She says please and thank you without asking. She says yes maam and yes sir to us and the northerners around us think we are nuts. She sports a cute bob hair cut and has skinny legs like the rest of us. She is a fantastic eater and will try anything.  She loves art, playdough, and making her sister laugh. I love that she made me a mommy.

Maggie: Is the happiest, spunkiest baby on the planet. She is crawling every where, sleeps well, and will eat anything you put in front of her. She is very opinionated in her own non-speaking baby ways. She cracks us all up. She snuggles her head in our chest with a smile when she gets happy and meets new people. She is standing pretty well with assistance. She hates her car seat, or atleast the buckle part, and puts anything in her mouth that fits. Still only has 2 teeth. She completed our family and we love her more than we ever could have imagined.

So much going on but all good, fun positive things. Praying our house sells quick so we can get to Birmingham with daddy! He makes our world go 'round!