This is when I got a new AWESOME camera

So there are about a billion more pictures than ever before!  I love it, love it, love it, and can't thank mom and dad for the most amazing Christmas present ever!

Can you tell I couldn't wait to even get to Grandmomma's to start taking pictures!  

Grandmomma reading the Christmas story from the Bible!  A favorite tradition, including Jesus Birthday Cake! 

We love Uncle Christian and Auntie Kristin! 

And I couldn't wait to hug that sweet Bella after five long months!

Claire playing Grandmomma's ukelele from her childhood.  So sad I didn't get any shots of Bella, because she has been taking ukelele lessons in Hawaii.

These are pics from one of our BEST family vacations EVER... Wildnerness at the Smokies... It's an indoor waterpark, perfect for Christmas time and for a momma with a new camera!

 

Sisters reading books in their matching pjs!

 

Tea party with Grandmomma on the trampoline.

 

Oh how I love family game night!

 This officially puts me in 2012!  Sorry for the lack of actual blogging in this post, but there were so many cute pictures!

Until next time...

Turning into a toddler

This is the part of the recap that makes me smile and cry in that same breath.  It's because this is when my  little baby went into full-blown toddler mode.  Her sweet cries turned into hell-ish screams.  Her cute personality turned into an attitude.  She became very aware that she was adorable and used that to her advantage.

How did my little baby turn 2?

Mimi really liked the cupcakes I made :)

 Jumping on the trampoline is always fun!

But not as fun as opening presents!

Or eating cake!

We went to the pumpkin patch with our friends Shannon and Baileigh

  

And she still knows how to say "cheese"!!!

It's hard to ham it up for the camera with the sun in your eyes

 

And she was Minnie Mouse for Halloween!

And I was same same bumble bee from last year (and pretty much every year since I picked up this costume in the kid's section of Wal-Mart when I was a freshman in college and had to dress up for Sorority row trick or treat)  My how things have changed!

Next post should wrap up 2011 and bring us into 2012!  I'm getting caught up, slowly but surely, so just bear with me!

My last post was about Spring Break 2011

And it is now Spring Break 2012.  Wow.  I'm consistently drawn back to the blog, the desire to document life and share it with others.  And then I get busy living life.  I feel silly even posting a picture montage of the past year because our girls have grown so much, but just to reflect...

Father's Day 2011... Bella is just the spitting image of her father, is she not?

Taylor Swift's Speak Now Concert (I had more fun then Bella did :)

July 4th in the Smokies, as usual.

Lots of "beach" trips (aka: the sand and lake at the state park near our house)

Bella got baptized!!!  (She gave her heart to the Lord the summer before when Grammie died)

Tackling the Birmingham Zoo in 104 degree heat.

 

 We welcomed a new niece/ cousin, Lily Marie Wyatt

Claire's first day of school after Jessica left us as our nanny to stay home with baby Lily

And that pretty much sums last Summer.  Next I'll move into Fall, hopefully before next Fall...

I used to spend my Spring Breaks on the beach with wine coolers and a crop top...

I now prefer the stay-cation with my girls!  Yes, it's September and I'm just now posting about Spring Break, but bear with us.  I will get there. 


We had a great Spring Break Visit with Bella!  She was able to meet her new cousin Asher (although I can't seem to find any pictures of that?) and spend a lot of time outside since it hadn't yet reached the inferno that is Summer in the South.

But we did have to take this picture in front of our neighbor's house because we didn't have any pretty flowers.  Oh well, we do the best we can!

 

We'll keep trucking along until we get back up to the present day.  Right now we are gutting the guest bathroom and trying to get it finished before Claire's second birthday party (which is in less than a month! AHHH!).  One day, I'll be sane again.  Hopefully.