When the Relatives Came

My sister Becca, her husband Derek, and their darling daughter Hannah came for a visit. Visits are rare treats around these parts and we soaked up the time we spent getting to know Hannah. Our time was really mostly spent playing and hanging out.

We played and played and played. Hannah was in love with all the new toys our house offered and Abigail was in love with her cousin Hannah. Abigail kept saying things like, "I love my cousin Hannah" and became her little buddy the whole time. She was also quite protective of Hannah as Lucy, unfortunately, was in a biting stage.

Check out those cheeks. Check out those eyes. Adorable.

We kept oohing and ahhing over how small Hannah was. Compared to Lucy, she is so tiny and light, even though they are only 3 months apart.

Playing here, playing there.

A walk on the Big Creek Greenway.

Seriously--isn't she cute?

Hiking Sawnee Mountain all bundled up.

We fell in love with this little girl and

Abigail took right to Aunt Becca and got tons and tons of snuggles while she was here. (Abigail just came in while I was working on this post and said, "Can they come again on a airplane to see us?).

It was a great visit, even though much to our complete sadness, Lucy came down with an awful stomach virus and it then passed along to Abigail and Rachael. Thankfully, somehow, Derek, Becca and Hannnah all escaped coming down with it as well and were nice enough to help take care of the girls when I (Rachael) was too weak to do much of anything.

Between sickness though, we were able to do lots of talking, playing, walks, cooking (including Derek teaching me how to make homemade chicken stock), eating, and enjoying watching the girls play together.

Lucy's First 1st Birthday Celebration

Little Lucy, although she isn't so little, turned ONE November 12, 2011.

Unfortunately, a few days before the 12th, she was hit hard with the most awful stomach virus...and so we had to cancel/delay her scheduled birthday party with friends. Lucky for Lucy though, cousin Hannah and Uncle Derek and Aunt Becca had come for a visit, so it was still such a special day. Abigail and Hannah helped Lucy unwrap her musical presents. There was much singing and playing and noise making. For a while, all thoughts of sickness were forgotten.

It is amazing the difference a year makes. Lucy started out so small, yet, a year later, is still off the charts for height and is mere pounds away in weight from her older sister. Her once dark hair has lightened up to a beautiful blond and her eyes shine the bluest of blue skies. She is active and happy. She started walking right around her 1st birthday, took a break for a few weeks to recover from the stomach bug (it's effects stayed around for 2 weeks), and then came on strong moving her legs everywhere. She delights in playing with Abigail and keeping up with her. She is fiercely independent. She can already throw a tantrum like no others I've seen. She gives the worlds best cuddles day and night. Oh-we love her cuddles. She loves to play peek-a-boo. She babbles on, she makes noise, she keeps herself busy with all sorts of things. She is following simple directions. She loves to open cupboards and empty them out and she especially delights in turning the tv off while we are watching it (and then she turns and smiles at us). She claps and claps when we say "Hooray for Lucy".

She is our little Luce-Goose. We do love love love her.

Dressing Up is Fun

In no particular order, here are pictures of a very Happy Halloween.

A little princess, a little chick, and two happy parents.

Lucy tried and tried to suck out the good stuff from inside those wrappers....and she eventually did.

We set up shop in the nursery room at our rained out Trunk or Treat. Everyone was in heaven, as you can see.

Getting ready. I'm not sure what Abigail was more excited about--being a princess or being able to wear makeup.

Adding curls.

Fairy friend Chloe, Giraffe friend Gavin, and Princess Abigail take a little break from all that walking.

Dancing around at home afterwards.

That is one cute chick in our opinion.

A happy night was had by all.

Bubbles, Balloons, and Butterflies

Abigail turned 3 in August. She was really excited about her birthday this year and talked for months about her "Happy Birthday".

Butterflies were a main theme for the birthday--here is an up close look at my masterpieces of the cupcakes I made for the big day.

A butterfly banner welcomed everyone as they came in.

All the kids played with bubbles outside (unfortunately though, I didn't get any pictures of all the craziness of bubbles everywhere--so I took pictures after the fact of Abigail playing with the bubbles).

Next came the balloon part of the party. All the kids picked two or three balloon items to have made for them.

The balloon creator extraordinaire.

Swords were the hit of the day. We squeezed in a few flowers and butterflies, but swords definitely were the popular request.

Some of the lunch spread.

The Goodie bags--filled with crayons, water colors, treats, and then I made personalized coloring notebooks with each child's initial.

Butterly cupcakes.

We had butterflies up for weeks after the party

The birthday girl wearing a butterfly skirt I made for her just for her special day.

The birthday crew. Abigail is still talking about all of her friends that came and knows each gift they gave her. It has been really cute to hear her talk about it. When we asked her what her favorite part was she said, "I didn't have no favorite parts. Just all my friends coming over. And the balloons. And the cupcakes. And my presents. And my friends coming over." Really--I think her favorite part was her friends coming over.

Off the Charts

If you read this blog you most probably know either Tyler or me (is that the correct grammar even?) or both of us....and you then definitely know that we are not tall people. So imagine our continued shock and amusement when check-up after check-up we continue to learn that Lucy Mae continues to be "off the charts" in height for her age group. What a girl!

Before and After

When we first bought our house I had dreams of making a few changes.... and last August we did. Yes, this post is a year old. Most of the work was done in August of 2010, but we had one small invisible finishing touch (trim to the tile) that was just completed a few weeks ago...and so now I can officially post our before and afters.

Before:

After:

Check out that travertine tile---cut and completed by Tyler himself. Tyler borrowed a tile cutter and for days worked meticulously on planning, laying out, cutting, getting the tiles perfect around the small black tiles, and then putting up the tile.

He is basically super awesome.

We consulted a lot and sent pictures and samples to a gal that helped my parents re-model and decorate their house, Julie. She was so so so fabulous in her recommendations and suggestions. One of our favorite suggestions was the black hardware on our white cabinets--such a pop. We also loved the suggestions of having a black faucet (which are amazingly hard to find actually).

I love this sink. And I LOVE the soap dispenser... I had no idea how much I would love not having to have anything on the counters (and of course.... there is hardly ever anything on these counters....Tyler wishes.) It is just nice to have that option.

Needless to say, we love it.

And yes, granite does make a difference to my happiness level in the kitchen.

I Know It Isn't July Anymore...

...but here are a few 4th of July pictures.

Abigail and Chloe are the dearest and sweetest of friends. Buffy (Chloe's mom) and I are also the dearest of friends.... so the 4th of July was just another reason to get together and work late into the night making these matching dresses.