My Memaw and Papaw

This is my Memaw, quite possibly the softest, sweetest soul I know...She hasn't changed a bit over the years, and still remains one of the best cooks I have ever come across. Her chocolate cake and homemade fried chicken are delicious!

And this is Papaw...whom Tim was finally able to meet five years later. I am so glad he got to meet my two favorite people this past weekend. Addie loved showing off for Papaw as he sat and watched her play on the living room floor.

I can remember bringing baby dolls with dangling heads and missing buttons to my Memaw because she could fix anything...lounging in my Papaw's bed watching TV, eating grilled cheese and mayonaise...parading around in one of the curly wigs I found under the counter in the magical basement of their old house...pedaling a red and black big wheel down their steep driveway and sticking my toungue out at Papaw for the first time because he told me to get away from the street (I got in a lot of trouble for that one!)...I made some great memories in that old house with my Dad's parents, and although we don't get to see each other as much as we used to, I always enjoy spending time with them...once again wishing we lived closer to one another!

Finally, home and settled in for the summer...

The Hewitt family packed up the car and headed out for a road trip to Georgia this past weekend to visit my Dad and his side of the family. 10 1/2 hours on the road with a two-year old makes for a VERY LONG drive, but overall, Addie was really well behaved and was even pleasant to travel with believe it or not. It was wonderful to see family I rarely get to spend time with, and I only wish we had more time together like that.
On Saturday we got together at my Aunt Linda's house for dinner and some games. Tim had fun playing cornhole with my Memaw, Nick and Steve. Addie tried to participate too, but ended up getting shooed away!

These are my two cousins on the Jessee side of the family, Stephanie and Erin.....I always like to remind everyone that I am "the baby", especially as we get older! I'm the big bellied one on the end over there. It was unbelieveably hot that day!

Another cool thing about this visit was that the cousins (me, Stephanie, and Erin) finally got the chance to introduce our "babies". Stephanie has two children, Kendall (whom Addie is hugging above) and a little boy, Connor. Erin also has two kids, Avery (whom Addie is hugging below, and her little boy, Damon. Isn't it ironic how all three grandbabies...me, Stephanie, and Erin will have two children, 1 boy and 1 girl each?

Here's the girls together after we had dinner. It took skill to get them all to sit still long enough to snap this picture!

We drove straight through on Sunday and arrived at home around midnight to a broken upstairs air-conditioner! Can you say HOT? I made us a bed on the floor downstairs and we all camped out together where it was cool. Addie was a real trooper and simply layed down between us and slept the whole night through. Things have finally settled down now and I am currently finishing up my last loads of laundry from the trip and the week before.

I have decided to stay at home from here on out until the baby arrives, which means I will be missing some pretty important events coming up, including my cousin's wedding showers and her actual wedding in Jamaica in August. Although I am pretty bummed out about this, I do know it is the best thing for the baby and myself and will try and find alternate ways to let her know she is on my mind during this very important time in her life!

I have more pictures to share from our trip, but am having a hard time getting them to download. Once I figure that out, I'll share some more!

I wish...

that time would just slow down a little bit! Is that possible?

This is a picture taken of Addie exactly one year ago today. She was just one month shy of turning one, and to me, she still looked like a "baby". She has changed so much since this picture was taken and not just physically either, but her whole personality has evolved. She could barely say "Da Da" a year ago, and now she is putting three and four words together more often than I can count. She will repeat anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that comes out of your mouth, and she is the most stubborn little thing I have ever seen! She is also very sensitive and caring and has yet to stumble across the "hitting" or "biting" phase that many children her age go through. Although I am sure that is in our near future too! My close friend Kristy had her second baby girl on Saturday, born healthy and beautiful thank God! I guess since then I have been a little anxious to get things ready around our house for our new addition, and that has got me to thinking how my "baby" is not going to be "the baby" anymore. She is growing and changing so fast, and although I am so thankful that I am here to watch every moment, I am saddened at how fast it all goes by. The best part of my life is happening so fast......Can someone please slow it down?

My morning coffee.....

But first, some Zoo pictures of my growing little girl......

She loves the elephants, and she LOVES to smile for the camera! Say "Cheese" Addie!

So I have cut back on almost all sodas and sugary drinks, except for my morning coffee. I can't even find it in myself to switch to decaffinated. It just doesn't taste the same. For the first three months of my pregnancy, I managed to give it up, but as soon as I turned that corner, I was hooked again. Can I tell you that that small cup of coffee is one of my favorite parts of the morning routine, besides creeping into Addie's room and seeing her sleepy, smiling face of course! It is absolutely delicious.....her smile and my caramel, vanilla cup of joe!

Today Addie and I are headed to a play group at a friend's house and then preparing for a busy weekend. We have a graduation party for his younger cousin to attend tonight that is about an hour away. Then, we (Tim and I minus Addie-girl) are headed to the Lake to spend Saturday night with some friends. I'm looking forward to the adult time, but always miss her when we are away. She of course, doesn't miss a beat at my mom's house and comes back rotten as ever! Summer time is really here, and my mom is almost out of school! YEAH!!!!!! Can we say HELP ME please? No, really, its always nice to have some company during the day, especially someone that is so good with our energetic little two-year-old!!! (Yes, in exactly 1 month, we will have a 2-year old!!!) Have a great weekend everyone! I'm off to finish my coffee....

Busy...busy....busy....Summertime!

Yes, she loves funnel cakes just like her mommy!

June always seems like the busiest month of the year for us, and this year is no different. The first weekend in June kicked off with a Retirement Dinner Cruise for my dear friend Bill, early-morning yardsaling with a friend on Saturday, birthday party for my friend's two little boys, and a road trip to Avon, NC to celebrate two sorority sisters' thirtieth birthdays. Oh, I forgot to include Sunday morning's activities, which included my step-dad getting baptized and lunch out to celebrate with him and my mom. Can you say crazy? I was wiped out by Sunday night, and I am not too embarassed to admit, a little grumpy and hard to be around! This morning I feel much better after a nice night's rest in my own bed and a good cup of coffee this morning. Addie and I made it to the grocery store without any incidents, and now we are playing in the play room waiting to have lunch together!

We have out-of-town trips planned the next two weekends, including a long road trip to visit with my Dad and his side of the family. Hopefully, Addie will be a trooper and we will have lots of fun stories and pictures to share when we return......Did I mention that I am getting HUGE!.... atleast my belly is getting HUGE! Am I suppose to be this big already? Perhaps he is going to be a big boy too, just like his sister?

My graduate cohort....

We did it together.....It wasn't always easy, and we weren't ALL fond of each other, but we trudged through with the help of one another, and I am very proud of all of us!

I'm finished...finally!

When I dropped Addie off at Tim's parents' house for the last Friday evening graduate class two nights ago, they surprised me with a "photo shoot" and some fun graduation gifts for finally finishing up my program. It is hard to believe that I am finished, and that when I began the program, Addie was only 6 months old! She is almost two now, and the time has just flown by! I couldn't have done it without loads of support and help from Tim, the Hewitts, and my mom and Dave. With a little one to take care of too, their help was definitely appreciated on Friday nights when my class and Tim's work schedule overlapped, Saturday's when Tim needed some help for one reason or another, and then again when I needed some "alone"time to write a paper or finish a project.....not to mention the laptop computer my mother had just gotten that she loaned to me for the program and just got back 15 months later! So...thanks family! I am very happy to be done and have my weekends back again, and hopefully, I will be a better teacher because of it!

Take me out to the ball game!

Last weekend, we managed to get organized enough to head out to the local ball field for a game along with some good friends...Kristy and Brian. Our friends Ben and Abby couldn't make it with their little one this time, but we'll catch them on the next go round! Here's Kristy and I with the very excited girls before we entered the park:

Addie and Lily actually surprised us by staying close by and sitting in their seats for most of the game. We just knew that we were going to be chasing them up and down the stadium, but luckily, there was plenty to look at where we were sitting. Addie loved sitting next to her Daddy and clapping with him when the team made good plays!

This was also the first night that Addie learned to drink from a water bottle all by herself. Water was everwhere, but she felt so proud! Can you believe how much they have both changed? Lily gets more precious each time I see her, and she LOVES me, which I happen to love!

Like mother, like daughter....Addie enjoyed her first funnel cake, and she even attempted to share a little bit with Lily. I was pretty sure there were eggs in that funnel cake, but since she was really only interested in the sweet powdery stuff on the top, I let her go for it! As long as there are no peanuts....we weren't too worried! Lily liked it too!

We all agreed that although the girls were well-behaved and seemed to really enjoy the outing, baseball games are a lot more fun when your a) not pregnant b) not chasing toddlers c) allowed to eat and drink whatever you want. Next time, we'll see if we can beg someone to keep the little ones. Tim and I really did enjoy ourselves so much. We have been going to Tides games for years now and just love it when we can get a group of friends together and head to the park!