Had to Share!

So, I've already posted about the wonderful weekend we had with my parents and how amazing it was to spend time with them and about all the fun things we did while they were here but I still have a few more pics to share! See, my dad does photography as a hobby and is pretty much incredible! He always gets great shots of our activities which is super fun and whenever we have time he will do some "shoots" for us to get some more professional looking pictures! I frequently take Lottie to the Picture People to get photos taken and they are nice but nothing compares to outdoor pictures! So, while dad was here, he took Lottie out for a fall/9 month outdoor photo shoot! Luckily she was in a great mood and easy to make smile so we got some great pictures! Thanks Dad!

Hillridge Farms

Our first Fall here in NC, Micah and I went to Hillridge Farms and had a blast with our friends Lindsey and JR. Hillridge Farms is a neat farm not far from our house that is super kid friendly and full of fall activities! There is a train, a giant slide, a corn house, a petting zoo, etc surrounded by fun colors and music. In the fall, you get a pumpkin and a hayride with every ticket into the farm. So, every person that enters, leaves with a pumpkin!

Anyway, when we first went to Hillridge, Micah and I talked about how much fun we would one day have when we had children to bring with us...well, here we are two years later with Lottie! You better believe that as soon as October rolled around I was already planning our trip to the farm!! Luckily, we were able to work it out for us to go this past weekend with my parents! What a fun time we had! Lottie of course had fun but really didn't know what all was going on, but Micah and I had fun just being there with our baby girl (isn't that what the first year is all about anyway?)! Here are some pictures to capture the highlights of the day!

We went early Saturday to beat the crowd. It was cold outside and Lottie looked so cute her in sweater!! As we walked in, Lottie had a huge grin-it was almost like she knew that something fun was going to happen!

And fun she had!! She went down the "giant slide" with Uncle Will! We were all waiting at the bottom ready to capture what we envisioned would be a giant grin...

Instead we got this!
She quickly recovered and "walked" around the park with a smile on her face!

We took a nice hayride through the farm to pick out our pumpkins.

And of course got some really good pictures in the sea of pumpkins!



Lottie's favorite activity was the swing! There was nothing special about the swing, it was just a simple infant swing on a simple swing set-much like you would find in your neighbors backyard. But, to Lottie, it was as fun as the best ride at Disney World! It was her first time on a swing and we actually waited in line for her spot..and I'm so glad we did! She LOVED it! She smiled and laughed the entire time!!

We ended our trip in the Country Store where Lottie had her first taste of kettle corn (notice the remnants on her chin) and tried on her first coon skin hat!

Thanks Granna and Pops for a fun day!!! And thanks Pops for being the photographer so we could have these great pictures to document our outing!

Family Weekend!

So, this weekend was WONDERFUL! My parents came up from Alabama and we had just a perfect weekend! We are so thankful that my brother Will and his wife Bekah live here in NC with us so that we can truly have our family together whenever mom and and dad come up! We did miss my baby brother, Evan, as he was at a cross country retreat-but I won't complain! I have always enjoyed family time and visits from my parents but now that we have Lottie and we live so far away, the visits are even more special! Mom hadn't seen Lottie since Labor Day and Dad hadn't seen her since July! So, they were SO EXCITED to spend time with Lottie, see all her new tricks, and do "grandparent" things! Friday night I was able to leave work early (thanks Laura for covering for me) and make it home in time for the reunion! I love watching my parents see Lottie for the first time in awhile! I like seeing their excitement and their smiles and I love hearing them giggle at her and talk about how big she has gotten! I also was thankful to be with Lottie when she saw them-she is a bit uneasy around "strangers" these days and since she doesn't see my parents often I was worried of her response!


It was a fun reunion and after only a few moments of uneasiness, Lottie warmed up and was ready to smile and play!

We met Will and Bekah for a yummy and fun dinner in Wake Forest and then spent some quality time at Will and Bek's apartment hanging out! I love family time!!

Dinner at Olive Garden

Saturday morning we got got up early (you don't waste any time when you only have a weekend!) and headed to Hillridge Farms to pick out our pumpkins! This was deemed a "grandparent activity"- we went on a hayride....


acted silly...

and picked out pumpkins!


We had a fun lunch at the pizza buffet and Granna and Pops took Lottie to Target and let her get not one but TWO new toys! We ended the weekend with BBQ (brought from Tate's in Scottboro because we HATE NC bbq) and Auburn football!


Dad was able to get some great pics of Lottie from the pumpkin patch and around the house that I'll post later! The best part of the weekend was just hanging out! My parents enjoyed watching Lottie just be Lottie and play in the floor and go about her normal day!

They got to watch her brush her teeth

And laugh at her jack-in-the-box

It was so nice to have our family here! It is hard being so far away but it makes our time together even better!

THE Bookcase!

Well, THE bookcase is finally finished and in Lottie's room! See, I fell in love with this dollhouse bookcase when I was planning Lottie's nursery! I think it is just adorable and makes the perfect addition to a little girls room!
The only problem is, THIS bookcase is $400! We in no way could afford that for a bookcase for a baby's room-so, Micah built one for me!! After seeing the picture he decided that he could do it! He started planning it while I was pregnant but we got busy (that is an understatment) and it never got completed. So, a year later-we have a dollhouse bookcase!

Isn't it amazing?! I'm so proud of Micah and I'm so thankful that I have a husband who enjoys working in the shop and is good at what he does! The best part is that by building it, we were able to get the dollhouse we (I) dreamed of for less than $100!! My sweet husband worked so hard and spent many many hours on building the perfect dollhouse for his baby girl!

And, I think she likes it!!! It looks wonderful in Lottie's room! Now, I am able to display some of her "special" toys and I finally have a place to put her growing book collection! The bookcase is super sturdy, so I don't worry about Lottie pulling it down on herself and she finds much enjoyment in pulling everything off the bottom shelves! It is perfect and she will have fun playing with it one day as a real dollhouse! And, of course, it is special! What a sweet gift for Micah to give his daughter! She will keep it forever and maybe one day, her own daughter will play with it!

So, thank you daddy/Micah for all of your hard work! We LOVE the bookcase and we are so proud of you!!

NC State Fair

One of our favorite things about fall in NC is the NC State Fair that comes each October! When fair week arrives that is all the locals talk about-all of my co-workers and all of my patient's start discussing their favorite foods at the fair, the exhibits, the shows and which night is the best to go! The fair has always been a fun date night for Micah and I and we were so excited to take Lottie! She isn't quite old enough to have the full experience (no, I will not let my 9 month old sample a fried twinkie or a krispy cream cheeseburger) but we were still excited for her to experience the sights!

We headed to the fair on Sunday afternoon! It was quite crowded but that didn't stop us! Micah carried Lottie in a backpack carrier that we found at a yardsale last year and she could see it all! Sweet girl was hardly amused by the prize winning cow, the amazingly designed cakes or the gospel singers on stage but she LOVED the petting zoo! At first she was unsure, then she was scared, and then she fell in love with the goats and other animals! She walked beside me, holding onto the fence squealing and bouncing as the animals walked closer to her! We had so much fun watching her and she ended up being quite a hit with the crowds! Several people would just stop and watch her as she squealed at the animals! She was so cute standing there in her overalls!!

One of the best and most fun parts of the fair is all of the food! We always plan out what we will eat so that we don't spend too much money or completely eat too much! Sadly, Lottie really wasn't old enough to eat the food at the fair, but we wanted her to have some kind of treat...so... we got her a pickle!! You see, Mt Olive pickles are from right here in NC so of course there was an exhibit! We got our baby girl a Kosher Dill pickle and she loved it...well, sort of!! She would take a bite.....

Make a sour face....

And take another bite!!

Don't worry-we didn't let her eat more than a few bites but it was fun to watch!

Lastly, we rode the Carousel! I was determined that even though the tickets are extremely overpriced and Lottie had no real understanding of what was happening, we were going to ride the carousel. It just seemed terrible to take my child to the fair and not let her ride anything. So, we climbed up on a pony and rode away! Thanks Daddy for taking one for the team and staying off to take pictures!

So, fun times at the NC State Fair! This year was fun but I bet next year will be even better!!!

Fall Fun!

we love fall!

Like most of you, our family is loving this wonderful fall weather! It is crisp and cool in the mornings and typically warms up into at least the mid 70s during the day! We have been blessed the last two weekends with bountiful sunshine which makes even hermits want to get outside! So, in my new effort to focus more on my family than my house and "to do" list, we have been getting out and enjoying fall!

Last Sunday, we went to the Farmer's Market in Raleigh! It was wonderful weather and we were able to just stroll around and enjoy the season-it is amazing to me how beautiful produce can be!! It must be apple season because there were apples everywhere! Each little stand had samples they were giving out and Lottie-in true 70th percentile fashion-thoroughly enjoyed this part of the market! I bit the peel off of the samples (in order to avoid choking-yes I am a paranoid mother) and put them on the tray of Lottie's stroller. She loved the apples!! Micah and I had nice time as well, we purchased sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and collard greens-all of which we cooked for dinner last week and all were yummy!!

Apple sampling!

9 Month Pictures

We took Lottie for her 9 month pictures at Picture People! Despite the fact that we didn't love the photographer and Lottie fell last week and scratched her face, we still ended up with some fun pictures! Here is the link to the proofs! Luckily, they were able to photoshop the scratches before printing!!

http://www.picturepeople.com/sso/publishconfirm.sso?data=U1KBvDzYWEwNJOkCdg2VauGDMBpNMFpGejHsgOZnnRERZjWjhlGKZMjzL1kILBrzlauR%2bTAQDLUMuDrd3U%2bBWA%3d%3d

9 months old!

Hi! My name is Lottie and I am 9 months old today! My mommy can't even believe that I am such a big girl and is a little bit sad that I am growing up so fast! Here are some details about my life:

• I am a big girl now and no one could ever tell by looking at me that I started out at only 5 lbs! I went to the doctor today and weighed 19lbs and was 26 inches long! Those measurements put me in the 70th percentile for weight and the 20th percentile for length. Mommy and daddy love it that I am "squishy" and have lots of rolls!
  
• I am right on target with my clothes and I wear size 9 months (just like me)
• I wear size 3 diapers. Mommy and Daddy just started buying me the Target brand diapers and we like them a lot! They are cute and have polka dots on them and daddy say they save him lots of money!
  
• I am quite an active little girl these days! I army crawl all over the house and get into everything! My favorite thing right now is pulling everything out of my mommy's make up bag-I'm such a girly girl!
• I learned how to say "daddy" this week and completely forgot how to say "mommy"-this makes daddy happy and mommy sad!

• I go to school every day. Daddy usually takes me and picks me up! I hold his hand in the car and when he leaves me I wave "bye bye." I don't cry when he leaves but I sure do get excited, squeal, and smile when he comes back!
• I like school! I like to watch and try to play with the big kids! I'm still the only girl in my class so I get a little extra attention!
• Now that I am a big girl I get to eat off the big kids lunch menu at school! Last week I had tater tots for the first time!!
  
• I now prefer standing to sitting! I can pull up on just about anything. Daddy had to lower my mattress last week and mommy has found me standing up in my crib several mornings lately. The world looks better when you are standing up!
  
• I can walk now-well, if I'm pushing my toy or holding onto furniture! Mommy calls the "cruising" but it is walking to me! I like being able to walk and I push my toy all over my downstairs!
• Mommy still nurses me 3 times a day but the rest of the day I drink milk, apple juice, and water from a sippy cup! Bye bye bottles-I'm a big girl now!
• Mommy is trying to wean me, but I won't let her-I can throw quite a fit when she gets home to get what I want!
  
• I feed myself now and eat almost anything! Mommy says I am a messy eater and get food everywhere (my doggy sure does like my messes though). I eat vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cheese, bagels-well I really eat anything!! Last week my daddy gave me a Nilla Wafer and man was that good! Now when I see the yellow box I smile really big! Puffs are still my favorite and are always welcome in front of me!

• I sleep pretty good these days-I go to sleep at 9pm and usually sleep until 7am. Sometimes I get mommy up in the middle of the night because I talk in my sleep. I can't help it-she puts my paci in my mouth and I usually go right back to sleep. Sometimes I just want to be snuggled so I cry a little longer and then she lets me sleep with her and daddy for a little while! I sure do like that but daddy says we can't make a habit of it!
• My new favorite toy is my jack in the box! I have sort of learned how to turn the handle to make it go and I can help mommy put the rabbit back in so we can start over! I smile and squeal every time the rabbit pops out!
• I like books now and I have learned how to turn the pages!
  
• I had my first ear infection last week. I never cried and never ran a fever but mommy and daddy felt so sad for me! I actually liked having the ear infection because the doctor gave me some yummy medicine that I got to take two times everyday! I didn't have a problem taking it at all-I actually sucked it out of the syringe!
  
• Lately I get hurt a lot- I fall down and hit my head or accidentally hit myself with toys. I never hurt bad but sometimes I exaggerate and pretend cry so mommy will snuggle me a little longer!
• Last week, daddy let me stand in the shopping cart at Target! It was so fun! I held on tight and got to look at all the toys!
• By brother Ted the dog is still unsure of me and my brother Shadow the cat tolerates me so I can pet him, then I pull his hair and he runs from me! My animals make me laugh!

• I give kisses sometimes now! Big, wet, slobbery, open mouth kisses! Mommy says these are the best kisses in the world!
  
• I have the best attitude about life and I'm pretty much happy all the time! I smile a lot and laugh a lot!
  
• Mommy and Daddy sure are in love with me! I hear them say all the time that they never could have imagined how much they could love me and how special I would be! I am such a fun and happy girl and they are so proud of me!