Discovery Place, Charlotte North Carolina

We took a quick trip to visit some friends in Charlotte last week while Blair was gone. The drive (5 hours) wasn't quite as bad as I anticipated. Driving alone with a 2 1/2 year old and 9 month old doesn't leave warm, fuzzy thoughts....... :). We made it just fine there and back and enjoyed our visit. Here are some pics of our day at the Children's Museum called Discovery Place.


A LIVE snake. YIKES! Bailey looked at it and then the lady asked her if she wanted to "pet" it. She said "no". I was so thankful....yuck!
Taylor spent the day in style..
Connor, Amelia and Bales enjoying a rest on the fun rocking chairs
My snuggle bunny looking so sleepy
Looking up at the big kids
Water, water, water!
Taylor loving the "baby section"
Can you find me in the mirror?
Taylor playing with the big kid toys
Making music with pipes
Connor and Bailey playing with blocks
Connor building himself a tower

Drumming away! This was the most ANNOYING toy ever....so loud in the room the whole time.
A few quiet moments playing with blocks and animals...
Thanks Amelia for driving in us in your awesome Honda Odyssey:). We had a blast!

Crockpot Ideas

Check out this website for a crockpot carnival going on. You all know by now that I am in LOVE with my crockpot and use it weekly. I found several recipes listed that I would like to try :)

I have a barrette!

Taylor has enough hair now to put a barrette in. She kept pulling her hair bows out, and she hasn't quite noticed the bows are there yet ;).

Here she is pulling up on the fireplace. She is a master crawler now...she pulls up on everything (just to her knees or one foot). She loves the piano we have for Bailey and will sit there for a long time just playing it. She is such a sweet girl.

Happy Valentine's Day

Bailey made her own valentine's cards this year. Sea Creatures was the theme as this is her true love :) They said: "Fishy Kisses to You" Love Bailey. I thought she did a great job.

Blair sent me these gorgeous flowers! I love them and have been enjoying them all weekend. Thank You sweetie- we miss you!

Mommy's Helper

Bailey and I made some cookies the other day to take to a friend in need of dinner. I am in love with no-bake cookies. Fast, easy and combines oatmeal (makes me feel healthier) with chocolate, peanut butter, butter and sugar. Yummy :)


Is that good Bailey?I may or may not have eaten a few of these once they were nice and cool in the fridge :).
Tales: HI YA!

SNOW DAY!

Bailey, longing to go out to play in the 7-8 INCHES of snow that fell overnight. It was so perfect- the snow didn't start until after nightfall and by 8am, it was all done. Perfect day to play and enjoy the snow!

Just loved this pic.

Here is the 7-8 INCHES!
Pete and Bailey putting together snowballs
Snowball! The snow was perfect for snowballs/ snowman. Heavy and sticky.
Gloves...off....gloves on....gloves off.....ugggghhhhhh.

Our little cul-de-sac completely covered
our house :)

Pete's first snowman. Pete obviously had never seen snow before and was so, so, so excited to see it. He played outside with us for awhile and then just walked around the neighborhood soaking it in. He says he wants to move to Alaska, but we have to remind him that it gets even colder there then NC (and he thinks this is really cold :)).
Bailey and I also made snow angels and a princess snow castle before Taylor woke up from her nap. I wished Taylor could have enjoyed it, but I thought that crawling would be difficult in 7 inches of snow and that snow + pneumonia weren't the best mix. We had tons of fun!

First Year Picks by me- Part 2

6. Vera Bradley Diaper Bag
My handsome husband bought me this diaper bag before Bailey was born and I have pretty much used it every day for 2 1/2 years! While I look forward to maybe one day carrying a purse again, this bag has been great. It is a good size and I love that I can wash it :). By on base during a sale or buy a closeout style to get a good deal- they are a little ridiculously priced.

7. Baby Gator DVD
Start em young, raise em right....I'm just saying. Go GATORS! While Blair was deployed the first time, this dvd allowed me to make a quick dinner.


8. GlamourMom Nursing Tanks
These are so good I wish they made them in non-nursing styles :). Very supportive with a lot of spandex so it fits Day 1 post partum to Day 300 when the baby weight is all gone. Thanks Gaye for helping me stock up on a couple!
9. Hands Free Pump Bra
I know this is a little personal, but if you are a working Mom or pump everyday, this is a MUST! I used this every day while pumping and brushed my teeth, put on my make-up etc. It was a huge time saver and helped me relax. Let's face it- who has time to sit and pump for 10-20 minutes with a newborn?

10. Nuk Pacifiers
Both my girls uses these (yes, Bailey still has a paci during her naps/bedtime- I know, I know....). They helped with the reflux issues with both and have been great (other then having to get up in the middle of the night and get it). Best couple bucks I ever spent!

This concludes my top 10, although I know of a few more things that I wouldn't live the first year without: Nubby sippy cups, Gerber prune baby food, bibs-lots of bibs, paci clip, Vaseline- better then any prescription lotion/cream, little travel high chair....

Let it Snow...

We are predicted to get 2-4" of snow tonight. WOW! I know this is nothing like those in DC, but still...that is a lot for living 15 minutes from the beach :). My parent's look like they are getting snow in Crestview, my bro/sis in law in Pensacola and my bro/sis in law in Troy, AL are getting snow for sure. Craziness. Pete has never seen snow and I am so excited for him to experience it. I know Bailey and him will have a ball playing around :). We are going to hunker down and just try and stay warm until the storm passes and the roads are cleared. As long as we have Dora and cereal we are good :).

I'm so much better!

Thank you so much for praying for my sweet Taylor. She is feeling so, so, so much better! She slept from 9-7:30 last night and woke up just waving to me:). She has been crawling, putting herself in a sitting position and trying to pull up on things (the fireplace being one of them)! I think she was wanting to do all these physical things for awhile now, but just didn't have the energy with all the trouble breathing. Poor girl! I've even had to start disciplining her (gently of course) b/c she has started getting herself in trouble! Yesterday she wrapped herself in the cable tv cord..... Thank you all again for praying. I've had so many people say that they are praying for Taylor and it means the world to me.

Snapshots

This week has been a little crazy with all that we've gone through with Taylor...here are some of the calmer parts :). Taylor and Bailey watching Little Mermaid for the fourth time....
Taylor really happy about her prunes. Yea for her eating again!
Bailey putting her shells on her fingers. Yummy!


We are really starting to miss Daddy, but am thankful we get to talk with him every day.