Helen 2010- Day 1

**** Lots of unnecessary details ahead that you probably will not care about! ha!*****
This past week, we went on a family trip to Helen, Ga. If you've never been, it's a cute little "Alpine Village" where everthing looks like you're in the Swiss Alps. It's very cute but also very touristy. I prefer beautiful mountain scenery/quiet of nature to tourist traps and cliche shops.

We went for this year's Georgia Council of the Blind convention. It was my first time going to the convention. We stayed at the Unicoi State Park which I learned has the most amenities of any state park (but still no swimming pool!) and it was pretty nice. A little on the 70's style, but still nice. We shared a room with Alicia and Audra since they had "lofts" in the rooms so we could save money. Adam and I slept in the loft which is just two mattesses on the floor!! ha!
We left home around 11:30 on Thursday and arrived in Helen about 4 hours later. It was a long ride but Alabama slept a good bit of the way there.

We had a "Welcome Cookout" when we got there so we had hamburgers/hotdogs and fries but the hayride was cancelled because a storm was coming. This was defnintely a mountain type of storm. Huge lightning/thunder and rain. It was an awesome display of God's power! The lights went out for about 45 minutes in the lodge. I thought that was pretty funny that the lights were out for a blind convention. ha! I guess it didn't really bother them at all! While the lights were out, Adam, Alicia, Alabama and I (just realized that everybody's an "A" except me and Mama. ha!) went to town and to the Betty's Country store (which is now an IGA) and to the toy store. We had to buy some milk and a couple other things and we bought a little sock monkey at the toy store because I felt really bad for the lady who was showing us EVERYTHING in the store and I wanted to purchase something from her. After that we went back to the lodge and got Alabama a bath and to sleep and then we waited on Audra to arrive (she came in our car after work and had all our luggage with her). She finally got there and we laughed forever while we told her about the people we encountered at the cookout. haha! I would tell you, but you really had to be there and know these people! ha! I'll do another post about the next day.

17 Months

Alabama you are 17 months old today! You are such a big girl now! I see you as a little girl and not so much a baby now. You do such grown things and are so tall!

You wear 18 months clothes mostly (especially for the length).

Your hair is soo long! It is also very curly (love!). I can put it in a pony tail or two pig tails and it is the cutest thing ever! I think you look soo old (like a four year old or something) when your hair is up.

You eat all kinds of foods. You are a very good eater! Your favorites are blueberries, hot dogs, fries, bread, bologna, cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, strawberries, ice cream, green beans, gold fish, yogurt, and anything that is on our plate! You try to feed yourself with a spoon/fork and sometimes get it in your mouth! ha! You still have one bottle at night because you will. not. drink your milk in a cup.

You say several more words now. These are the ones you say consistently. Mama, Da-da, Mimi, Poppa, Nana, K-K(Katie), Ju-ju (Judy), ball, cheese (to take a picture), no, yeah, uh-oh. You are the best communicator ever even without saying it in words. I pretty much always know what you are saying to me. The sweetest thing is to hear you call me when you wake up. It's the best sound ever!

You know everything we say and follow instructions so well. We are just amazed!

You love to play with your ball. You also still play with your babies a lot. You read books all day long. You usually want me to read them to you, but sometimes will read them alone. You play by yourself very good, but only if I'm in the room. You like to dress up in different clothes/accessories and wear my shoes around the house. You love to swim - at home, at the pool, or at the lake. You even jump off the side of the pool to me. Over. and. over!

You think it's so funny to blow raspberries on my chest! We just laugh and laugh and have the best time!

You're so loving and friendly but definitely shy when you first meet someone. It takes a little bit to warm up to them.

You're such a sweet baby and I love you more and more every day!

My Nana

My Nana is the greatest Nana in the entire world!!! And, today is her birthday! I can't say how old, because she'd kill me, (she got mad because I told my Granny how old she was one time when I was little!), but let's just say she is smokin' hot for her age! ha! I love her so much and she is one of my favorite people in the world. I think she loves me more than probably anyone else does, too. So that you all could know how great she is, I thought I would tell you a little about her!

-She knows everything. I always thought she knew everything but after I had Alabama, I really know that she does! She gives me great advice.
-She's the best cook ever. She makes the best food....red velvet cake, pound cake, caramel cake, chocolate cake, biscuits, corn, peas, cubed steak casserole, dressing, gravy...and the list goes on!
-She loves Jesus! She taught me so much about the Lord my whole life and I'm so thankful for it! I know she prays for me and I know those prayers are answered everyday!
-I think I got my love for crafts from her. I remember painting ceramics with her, she made us all quilts when we were born (we all still have them), she has painted lots of pictures, we took a watercolor class together when I was in high school, she made us fun shirts with puffy paint and fabric ironed on (you know you had one, too!!ha!), she taught me how to crochet on a trip to Dallas one year when I was about 10 (all I learned was the chain stitch, but I still have the baby doll blanket we made!ha!).
-She loves to laugh! My uncle Bo can get her started and then we just keep laughing at her because she can't stop! ha!
-When I was little, my favorite thing in the world to do was go to Nana's house. I stayed just about every Friday night or any other time I could get the chance. I still remember everything about that house on Lincolnton Pkwy. Such wonderful memories there. There were so many pretty things to see, it was so comfortable, they had cable tv, the ice cream truck came by sometimes, I played with the calculator and made a house under the dining room table. I had a sandbox and a play house in the back yard and she also had strawberries in the little flower bed close to the house, and we always listened to Psalty tapes(love him!) or someother things she recorded while we went to sleep...and if we woke up in the middle of the night coughing, she would bring us this big huge peppermint stick to lick on. ha!
-I tried to get her to teach Adam how to "talk to me like Nana does" but I don't think he got it. When I'd wake up, I would come into the kitchen and sit on her lap and she'd talk to me and love on me and cook me breakfast.
-She doesn't like to be called Grandma. I guess it sounds old to her. One time I introduced her to a friend as my grandma and she said, "No, I'm Nana." But a lot of the time I just called her Mama.
-When I was probably 11-12 or so after church we would go eat at Piccadilly and then go shop at Montgomery Ward. She bought us matching outfits and I was so happy to have an outfit like her. (It probably wasn't cool to have this outfit or to match your Nana, but I didn't care!)
-She taught me how to fish and how to clean them, too.
-She loves Alabama so much! I love to watch them together!

I took her and Ralph to the ice cream shop today and we had a fun time! Alabama loved eating Nana's ice cream.

I love you Nana! Happy Birthday and many, many more!

Uncle Chris

Adam's brother, Chris, came to visit for a few weeks this month. He is back from Korea and is now in El Paso, Tx. We haven't heard if he'll stay there or be deployed somewhere else yet. We had some good family time together and he came over last Monday night and ate with us and hung out for a while. He's only seen Alabama one other time so they had a good time getting to know each other! (Note to readers: dessert is the key to her heart! ha!)

This was them together last year around this time. What a difference a year makes!

My what dirty feet you have my dear!

We did some final work cleaning out the "Store building" on Saturday and Alabama had fun playing in a new place with plenty of dirty stuff to get into.

When we fininished, she was f.i.l.t.h.y.!!!!! I've really never seen her soo dirty! ha! She did not care one little bit! Her feet were covered in dirt, her face was smeared, her hair was sweaty....she just plain needed a good bath! ha!

And just for fun, I think she was showing us her "muscles" in this picture! ha! She's such a mess!

Independence Day!

We've been celebrating since Friday when we went to the pool with my nieces, Anna and Morgan, and nephew, Ethan! We had a fun time eating a picnic, playing on the swing set, and swimming. Alabama LOVED the slide and probably went down it at least 12 times! ha! She would climb up, fly down, and I would have to catch her before she shot off the slide!!! It was soo funny! I've got a video if I can figure out how to upload it!

Then Friday night, we took the boat to the lake and ate supper with Tammy and Freddy. They were camping out and grilled chicken then we all loaded up and went to watch the fireworks! they were beautiful and Alabama did great! She loved watching them. She was asleep by the time we got back to the dock. I guess there's nothing like a peaceful nightime boat ride to put you to sleep!

Saturday, we went to the lake and met Patrick and Anita where they were camping at Modoc. It was so good to hang out with them a while. Haven't seen them much lately and it was a lot of fun! I guess Patrick was trying to get rid of us, because he almost threw us out of the boat several times! ha! Lauren has grown so much! She and Alabama had a fun time playing together! ( They were born 5 days apart!) (Mainly AL had a fun time riding in Lauren's car! ha!) We went to a beach and let them swim and play, then the boys rode the tube for a while. We went back to the campsite and ate hotdogs before we headed back home.

Adam said we've already been to the lake more this year than the entire summer last year. I think Alabama's going to be a lake lover if the past few days is an indication! She could not get to the boat fast enough! It was so cute!

Then yesterday, we had a wonderful service at church! Pastor Bill preached a wonderful message (You can hear it at gbce.net) and we had wonderful patriotic and worship music. After church, we went to Wife Saver and picked up some food to take to my Granny's to eat. She loves to see Alabama! (Side note: Alabama is so crazy when we go see her because she's scared of her lift chair! it's so silly how she won't go near it!ha!)

Sunday night, Nana, Bo, Kathie, Jenna, and Mama, Daddy and Alicia came over and Adam grilled chicken that was soo good! We had a fun time talking and hanging out because we haven't seen them for a while either! Oh, and Bo brought me some succulents that I'm going to transplant today that I'll get some pics of!

I love those things... can't wait!

Funny story: While I was getting things ready last night, Nana and Alicia were in the den playing with Alabama and she comes in eating something. Nana asks her and me what she's got.....the girl has gone in the kitchen and taken a cookie from a dish I had on the counter! I don't even know how she knew there were cookies up there! haha!

16 Months

Alabama, you are now 16 months old! You are such a big girl now! To me, you look like a little girl now instead of a baby. It is amazing how much you know and do. You are saying more and more words. You can say mama, daddy, poppa, nana, granny, lee lee, kay kay, book, baby, and you will try to say more things when we ask you to. Although, they usually come out sounding like nana! ha!You talk constantly! I know you'll be completing full sentences before very long! I love to hear you talk! It's so cute!

You can also point to your nose, mouth, teeth, eyes, belly, feet, toes, hair, face, and hands. Such a smart girl!

You love to climb up stairs. This was at Aunt Georgia's house. Today, I ran inside to get our bags while you were playing outside and when I came back, you had already climbed up the steps on the porch. I can't leave you for even a second!

You usually sleep about 10-12 hours a night. You still won't go to sleep by yourself, but I'm fine with it for now. Lately, your naps have been hit or miss. Somedays you take a long two-three hour nap, and somedays, I can barely get you to cat nap! You usually wake up happy around 9 and are ready for a nap about two hours later.

You love to sing songs. You know all the motions to "Climb, climb up Sunshine Mountain" and we must sing it at least seven times a day! ha!

You're such a sweet girl! You give such good kisses and hugs....the best in the world!

We went out on the boat last Saturday and you loved it this time! I was so happy! You liked to ride and swim and get in your float.

You definitely know what you want these days....and are sure to tell us! We're going to have to work on these little outbursts you are having when you don't get your way! Drama. Queen.

Some of your favorite books are still all the animal books, "Put me in the Zoo", "Where's Baby's Belly Button", and a book we borrowed from Ryan that has different numbers of objects on each page. You like the pages with the babies and the bottles the best. I'm so glad you love to read.

You are such a fun girl! I love you so much! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter! BTW, ......slow down! I'm not ready for you to be so grown already!