SCSlagels

Busy 2012 Thus Far!

2012-01-24T14:58:00.001-08:00

2012 is wearing me out and we've only just begun! I've been nesting like crazy trying to get ready for Bodie's arrival, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15th at 12:30. Woohoo! Obviously I am having a C-section. Although I'm not thrilled about the recovery, I cannot wait to meet my little man and TO NOT BE PREGNANT!!! I've definitely reached the miserably uncomfortable stage. I really shouldn't complain as my pregnancy has been easy breezy compared to most, but everything is a struggle right now, especially sleep. Oh well...three weeks to go. Our big projects so far this year have been to potty train Emery (successful, for the most part) and to completely renovate our master bathroom. I am in love with my new bathroom! I don't have any "before" pictures, but imagine a very early 1990's bathroom and you get the idea. Lots of brass fixtures coupled with peach and teal tile. Ugh. We kept the footprint basically the same, but expanded the shower, flipped the new tub and raised the height of the vanities. A fresh coat of soothing gray paint to compliment the new floor, fixtures and counters and we're done. I worked with a company called Dreammaker to do all of the work and I am completely satisfied. The month without a bathroom was well worth it.

Ben's vanity

The shower! I love the rain shower as well as the adjustable wall mounted nozzle. Our water bill is going to be massive. I just stand in there for hours. Ahhhh....

My vanity, which is no longer at midget height. Why were vanities so low before????

New pedastal tub, shelves and chandelier. I know the black radio looks hideous--a white Bose radio will be purchased at some point in the near future.

Of course I've managed to squeeze in a little fun! My dear friends, Casey and Diana, threw a sprinkle for Bodie and me at Brick Street Cafe here in Greenville. What a fabulous afternoon--great friends (my friend, Dana, flew in from Memphis!), delicious food, and lots of cute baby boy items.

Casey, me and Diana. Casey and Diana are also pregnant, due this spring. Our two year olds are the best of friends and I know our new babies will be as well.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Ben and I are not really into huge New Years' celebrations, so we decided to have a low-key evening at home with dear friends and our children. What a great way to ring in 2012! Tara, Nando and McKenna Calvo as well as Stuart, Christy, Caleb and Sloan Everett all came up from Atlanta. We were also joined by Casey, Reggie and Davis Bell from right here in Greenville. The kids all got along really well and we had so much fun hanging out, catching up and watching football.

Caleb and Emery getting wild in the laundry room

The daddies smoked cigars while the kiddos played on the porch. Everyone STUNK!

Getting ready to toast at midnight--Stuart, Tara, Christy and Reggie.

Poor Ben. His birthday is January 2nd and he rarely gets much fanfare as everyone is too wiped out from the holidays. Casey and Reggie surprised him with this delicious Bailey's Liquer cake from Strossner's bakery as an early celebration. Best cake I've ever had. Thanks, Bells!

One of my most favorite pictures ever. I am so in love with my new camera. This picture cracks me up for several reasons. First, Emery is shirtless. She started shedding clothes around 10:30. I really don't know why she prefers to be in the buff, but she can only handle clothes for so long before she feels the urge to strip. Secondly, Emery and Ben are both having so much fun at this exact moment. Look at those smiles! Third, Emery has an enormous head. I just had to return her new bike helmet (Santa assumed a size 3+ would fit her, but not even close) and I have to stretch out all of the necks on her shirts before I can get them over her huge melon. I've been wondering where this enormous head came from and then I noticed that Ben had a huge red mark on his forehead after wearing the yellow hat last night. Nobody else who wore the hats ended up with this mark. Mystery solved. But here's the new mystery....what the heck is in that big ol' head of his????

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T17:07:00.001-08:00

What a whirlwind of a Christmas! Ben, Emery and I flew from from Steamboat to Atlanta on Christmas Eve, just in time for our tradition of dinner and games at my Uncle Greg's and Aunt Donna's with all the Greer/Reuter/Heinz gang. We got the best of both worlds this year--Christmas in Steamboat with the Slagels and then Christmas in Atlanta with my family.
Emery spreading reindeer food. Atlanta felt quite balmy compared to Colorado.

Cousins! Emery is so lucky to have such fun cousins on both sides of the family.

Emery got lots of great toys from Santa, including her most requested items: a Caillou doll, a bike, a digital camera and a Cinderella doll. Her reaction to the Cinderella doll was priceless. Her amazement that Santa knew exactly what she wanted brought tears to my eyes. Magical.

Alison and Brian gave each of the kids a guitar. They're starting a band.

The aforementioned Cinderella doll.

Hayes received these way cool light sabres. Uncle Ben thought they were pretty fun, too.

Emery and Cinderella on the new green Jeep bike. Nanny purchased the bikes and decided, wisely, to get them matching bikes.

Cupcakes for breakfast as a special Christmas treat (thanks, Granny!)

Early Christmas in Steamboat

2011-12-26T09:34:00.001-08:00

Ben, Emery and I spent the week before Christmas in Steamboat Springs, CO, with all of the Slagels (minus Scott--boo!) for an early Christmas and ski vacation. If I posted a picture of every single thing we crammed into the week, this post would be ten pages long. Instead, I'll just post a few highlights from our incredible trip.
Austin is a whiz at Wii. He dominated his Uncle Ben at swordfighting.

Ski bunny Emery. Seriously--how cute is this Spyder ensemble?

Hot tubbing! Nothing better than drinks and a soak in the hot tub after a day on the slopes. Too bad I couldn't participate in any of these activities being preggo.

Ben, Emery, Austin and Jerry

We celebrated Christmas Monday evening. My sister-in-law, Korey, had matching pj's for the kiddos. How adorable are they? I can't wait for Bodie to meet all of his cousins and his sister and participate in our Steamboat trip next year. (Emery, Austin and Alexa)

Silly Emery

Honestly, Emery had more fun playing with the snow than actually skiing on it.

Snow Angel

Whee!

Emery made a new friend!

Austin and Emery dancing on Wii

I gave each of the kids a personalized apron and some spatulas. They got a lot of use out in Steamboat--we made pizzas and cookies

Cookie time!

Linda and Jerry, thank you for our wonderful week at One Steamboat Place. Heaven on earth! Thank you also for being such generous Santas. Emery loves her pram and I am obsessed with my Kindle.

Tea Party

2011-12-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Emery and I hosted a tea party for a dozen of her little friends Tuesday afternoon. Such fun! Emery is really into tea parties lately and apparently so are most two year old little girls. Emery was so excited for days leading up to her party and the big day did not disappoint. An unexpected surprise was that most of our guests brought little hostess gifts for Emery. She was so excited to have presents to open! Now she's confused and thinks she just had another birthday. The party had a snowman theme (Emery's favorite) and the girls all got along really well. And, I used my good Christmas china for the adults and even gave the kids hot chocolate in ceramic Santa Claus mugs and NOTHING got broken! I was fully expecting to be on replacements.com Tuesday evening, but not necessary.

Sweet Zoe brought Emery pink daisies. I think this was the first time Emery has ever been given flowers (shame on you, Daddy!) and she was thrilled.

My Elmo veggie/cheese platter. Thanks, Kriya, for showing me this on Pinterest.

Pink "no-man" cupcakes

The kiddie table

Some of the guests. I couldn't get all twelve of the little ones to sit for a picture at any given moment.

Emery couldn't wait to strip down and open her hostess gifts. So typical.

Santa at Phipps and the Pink Pig

2011-12-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

We're three for three! For the third year in a row, Emery and I trekked down to Atlanta for our scheduled appointment with Santa at Phipps. Emery did really well with Santa this year and had so much fun, as always, sharing this experience with Hayes--and now Kelsey! As an added bonus, our good friends, the Boyds, are visiting from FL and were also able to join us. We knew this months in advance and made sure Hayes, Emery, Kelsey and and Phinley were show stopping adorable in their coordinating Rags Land ensembles.

Telling the big guy what she wants for Christmas: a camera, a bike, a Cinderella doll....

Hayes, Phinley and Emery running in circles outside Tiffany & Co. Good choice!

My mom gave each of the kids a plastic, candy pooping reindeer after their visits with Santa. We're classy like that.

After Santa and the pooping reindeer, we headed over to Lenox for some lunch, the Pink Pig, and impromptu ring-around-the-rosies!

Completely unprompted, this is how the trio walked through Lenox.

The fun mat at the Pink Pig ticket window.

On the train!

Such a beautiful day in Atlanta!

Granny and Opa with their grandchildren. Next year they'll have another one to juggle.

Tree Lighting at Thornblade Country Club

2011-11-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Thornblade Country Club held their annual tree lighting ceremony the Sunday after Thanksgiving. What a great, child-friendly party! Egg nog, beer, wine, cider, appetizers and desserts were all included as well as crafts for the kids and plenty of singing. Admission was a toy for Toys for Tots, to which I am always happy to contribute. This was our first year attending and Emery loved it. Any opportunity for her to be the center of attention....

Here she is busting a move on the dance floor. This is what we call her crazy dance, hence the crazy eyes.

Next, Emery volunteered to sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" for the entire crowd. This did not go so well as Emery knows all of five words to the song. However, she looked pretty stinkin' cute up there and the audience helped her out.

Whew! Glad to be done with her solo!

So I was thinking of using this on our Christmas card.....until I realized that my black shirt became see-through with the camera flash. What do you think? Do you want to see my sexy seven months pregnant belly on our card? I didn't think so. My stripper moment combined with the fact that Emery would not look at the camera or be still did not make for good card material.

Emery visiting the ornament decorating table with her pigs in a blanket.

What a great kickoff to the holiday season!

Lady Godiva vs. Emery

2011-11-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

We've had a real problem lately with Emery refusing to wear clothes. She absolutely loves being nude. I don't what she's going to do when the weather turns colder. Ben caught her this afternoon doing her best Lady Godiva impersonation on my parents' dog, Sandy. Poor Sandy!

Thanksgiving and The Polar Express

2011-11-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ben and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. A slightly smaller crowd than usual, but still crazy and fun. My parents, Nanny, Brian, Alison, Hayes, Kelsey and my cousin Nathan's family (wife Michelle, children Wyatt and Lauren) all made the trip. Oh, and all the dogs. My first time preparing a turkey went pretty well--not nearly as scary as I envisioned. We had a great time watching football and spending time together. Thanks for making the trip! I was so busy during the day that I did not take any pictures other than this one of Kelsey chilling in the pram during dinner. However, the day after Thanksgiving was spent in Bryson City, NC, riding The Polar Express! I took plenty of pictures of that.

Team Stephens! Alison and I insisted on all members of our families (Nanny got a hall pass) wearing Christmas jammies on the train. Ben and Brian put up a fuss, but in the end they went along with it.

Here comes Emery leading the chefs and children down the aisle of car #8. The train excursion was done really well: hot chocolate that was the perfect temperature for kiddos, Christmas carols, Santa, keepsake silver bells, cookies, and lots of interaction with the "chefs," "conductor," and "hobo." The trip was very similar to the book--we rode to "the North Pole" to pick up Santa while having the story narrated to us. Emery and Hayes loved it!

Some other passengers in their jammies

Emery loved the hot chocolate and her new thermos.

The conductor punching Emery's ticket just like in the movie!

Hayes and Emery watching for Santa as we near the North Pole.

Singing Christmas carols.....did you know Emery can read??? ;-)

Santa gifted each child with a silver bell!

Hayes and Emery dancing in the aisle to "Deck the Halls."

Nanny was a good sport and joined us. Emery, Hayes and Kelsey LOVE Nanny.

Proof I was on the train and also in matching jammies. With Bodie, of course. Speaking of Bodie, I am officially in my third trimester and feeling great! Huge, but great.

Mickey Mouse at Chick Fil A

2011-11-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

Emery is really into Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto these days. We watch "Mickey's Clubhouse" every morning (multiple times) and she gets really excited whenever she sees something Mickey. Case in point: we left Publix this afternoon with an enormous Mickey mylar balloon. Anyways, Chick fil A hosted dinner with Mickey tonight, so of course Emery, Harper and Davis had to go....along with about a thousand other little kids. What a scene! But the look of pure joy when Emmy finally got her chance to sit with Mickey made the chaos totally worth it.

Emery and Davis. Harper decided at the last second that she would rather just watch than actually have to touch the giant mouse.

Ecstatic Emery

Emery played in the play area for an hour and a half after her chat with Mickey. She's tireless.

Thankfully, Emery finally figured out how that she can climb the tower to the slide all by herself by shoving her feet in the netting. Whew! No more squeezing my pregnant belly in there with her! Way to go, Emery!

Emery Kerrigan!

2011-11-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Ben and I took Emery took an open skate session at the Bi Lo Center this afternoon. What a wonderful discovery! Open Skate is held Sundays from 1-4 during hockey season as long as the Greenville Road Warriors do not have a home game that day. I guess not many know about it, because the enormous rink was not busy at all. Such a treat for Emery to be able to experience skating for the first time without hundreds of people zooming by. Not surprisingly, Emery LOVED skating. I thought Ben was going WAY too fast with her, but she was smiling and laughing and begging for more whenever they stopped. I didn't skate (preggo--kind of risky), so Emery used this PVC walker device to get around. Unfortunately, Ben had to skate hunched over behind Emery in order to push her and his back was killing him after about ten minutes. Wow, we are getting old. After Bodie is born we'll have to try again with Ben and I each holding one of Emery's hands instead of her relying on the walker thing. Other than the sore back, today was a complete success. We had to drag Emery off the ice.

Whee! Here they come!

I remembered my camera, but not the memory card. I'm so sick of my stupid pregnant brain! These pictures were taken with my Blackberry. Not too bad, but should have a lot more. Bummer.

Trip to Pittsford, NY

2011-11-07T06:21:00.001-08:00

Ben, Emery and I took a quick trip up to the charming village of Pittsford, NY, to visit my dear college friend, Katie, and her family. We had the best time ever! We crammed a lot into 44 hours, but Emery and Katie's children, Ella and RJ, were as good as gold and became fast friends. Katie and Rob have a fun, beautiful house and were the best hosts EVER--we showed up minus luggage, thanks to the lovely airline industry--but didn't miss a beat. Katie had extra EVERYTHING for Ben, Emery and me. Thankfully, our bags arrived Saturday morning.

Emery and Ella are less than a year apart and had met briefly once before, but both were too young to remember. They instantly hit it off and within minutes of walking in the door the girls were playing with dollhouses and dress up clothes as if they'd known each other all their lives. What could be better than your daughter and your best friend's daughter also becoming friends??

Ben and I were in awe of Katie's fridges. She has two fridges built in to look like on enormous fridge. The whole house is gorgeous, but I think this fridge and the huge six burner stove with griddle were Ben's favorite features.

Watching "Caillou." Thankfully, Ella and Emery are the same size and Emery was able to wear Ella's jammies our first night in town.

Rob made huge pile of leaves for the kiddos to destroy. They thoroughly enjoyed this activity.

Little RJ joined the fun

Craft time! Katie really planned an amazing weekend for the girls.

Saturday evening was spent at a kids' salon, Sweet and Sassy. Katie's sister and niece, Stacey and Sadie, met up with us. All three girls loved this experience and us mommies had a ball watching them get their hair, nails and makeup done.

Emery deciding on a color while Sadie and Ella enjoy their pedicures.

Look at that prom hair!

Sadie with Stacey, Ella with Katie and Emery with me. SO MUCH FUN.

The daddies surprised us by showing up at Sweet and Sassy to see the girls. I think they were a little overwhelmed by the extreme girly factor and quickly left, but the girls were so excited to see their daddies/Uncle Rob.

Sunday was warm and sunny so we headed down to the Erie Canal to feed the ducks and watch the crew regatta.

Rob and RJ, Katie and Ella, Ben and Emery, me and Baby Boy Bodie James.

Emery slept the entire flight home. She was seriously worn out. Katie, thanks for having us! Please come visit SC soon!!!!! You too, Stacey!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a HUGE success this year! Emery totally "got it." We practiced and watched various television shows (Spookley the Square Pumpkin, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Little Einsteins) which featured special Halloween episodes and read lots of books about pumpkins and trick or treating. Since two year olds are unpredictable, I still wasn't sure how Emery would react on Halloween night, despite her excitement at going trick or treating. Well, she exceeded my expectations! Even better: Hayes and Kelsey were in town, along with Uncle Brian and Auntie Alison, and they were also trick or treating pros! We had a fabulous night and the kids loved every second of the trick or treating experience. I can't wait for next year!

Me and my belly trying to get the kiddos dressed.

Druncle Brian

Thomas and a candy corn!

Another precious candy corn!

You've got to be kidding me....could these two be any cuter???

Yay! We're getting candy!

Our neighbors' inflatables have been a big hit for the past several weeks. Emery requested that we drive by this particular house at least three times per day. Here she is, up close and personal, with the cat popping out of the pumpkin.

Ben and Brian stayed home and handed out candy while Alison and I took the kiddos around the neighborhood. They came up with the idea of handing out tricks instead of treats and were greeting trick or treaters at the door with a bowl full of green tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden as well as a bunch of rocks. The reactions of the kids, especially the teenagers, were pretty funny. And they didn't let anyone leave without actually handing out the good stuff. As humorous as this was to the trick or treaters, no one found it more hilarious than Brian and Ben.

More Fun with Cuz and a Fabulous Wedding!

2011-10-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

Ben and I headed down to Atlanta this past weekend to attend (and be the best man!) the wedding of our dear friends, Bret and Sarah. As a bonus, Emery got to spend two entire days with Hayes, Kelsey, Auntie Alison, Uncle Brian, Granny, Opa and Nanny.

We kicked things off with an open play session at Champion Kids. Emery loves the trampolines and foam pit at this place.

We ended up with even more play time at Chick fil A for lunch. Yum!

The next day included Soccer Tots. This was Emery's first attempt at soccer. Although she didn't have the skills like Hayes, she seemed to enjoy it and has continued to talk about since returning back to Greenville. I guess we'll enroll her in soccer next year. Kelsey tagged along to every destination and was just as happy as a pig in slop. Such an easy baby!

Alison and Brian participated in class with Emery and Hayes while I watched Kelsey. I'd say I had the easier job.

Next stop, the batting cages! Hayes is quite a sporty little guy. He hit six balls in a row! Again, Emery was a rookie and not nearly as good at the plate as Cuz, but she had fun. Thanks, Uncle Brian, for getting in the cage with her and showing her the ropes.

We ate lunch at Mellow Mushroom after working up an appetite at soccer and baseball. Again, Kelsey was a perfect angel.....Hayes was pretty good, too. Emery was wild, of course.

And the main event which brought us to Atlanta....Bret and Sarah's wedding! This was my first wedding at The Fox (been there for shows and prom, but never a wedding reception) and it was spectacular. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Hightower! Thank you so much for including Ben and me in your special day. We're honored.

24 Hours with Hayes and Kelsey

2011-10-19T14:52:00.001-07:00

I've been giving my sister tons of grief lately for seldom coming to Greenville to visit. I always have to make the trek to Atlanta to see my niece and nephew. She finally caved and came up Tuesday afternoon (along with Nanny and Jake, the dog) for 24 hours of cousin fun. Hayes and Emery are so cute together and Emery is in love with Baby Kelsey. We put Hayes and Emery in the same bed last night fully expecting them to last a few hours before we had to separate them. We were wrong! I guess they were exhausted because they each passed out quickly and we didn't hear a peep out of them for 9.5 hours. Kelsey slept even longer in the pram! What a piece of cake! This morning Hayes joined Emery at gymnastics and then we headed home for more playing and lunch before they had to hit the road. Thanks so much for coming! We loved having you here!

Tired little toddlers

Kelsey stayed up super late, but made up for that by sleeping in.

Lunch after gymnastcs. Hayes is teaching Emery to look tough by wearing eye black.

Saying goodbye. Heartbreaking. Emery just received this new robe and insisted on wearing it.

Pumpkin Decorating with Cinderella

2011-10-15T12:50:00.001-07:00

Emery has recently reached the age of fascination with all things girly. Don't get me wrong, she still loves to wallow in mud and play with trains. However, she is all about princesses, jewelry and makeup lately. She's also really into Halloween this year. So, what could be finer than combining all of these things into one fabulous morning with her BFF, Harper? Nothing! Thanks to Club Tabby, Emery and Harper were able to decorate pumpkins with Cinderella, have glitter sprayed in their hair, get a manicure, and eat a delicious pumpkin cake pop. HEAVEN! For those of you wondering what on earth Club Tabby is, here you go: http://myclubtabby.com/

Emery and Harper with their naked pumpkins

Cinderella visited with each girl to help her decorate

Emery's pumpkin ended up with purple hair, a pink crown and jewels on its face.

Emery was in awe of Cinderella

Chatting up a storm

After the decorating, Cinderella led the girls on a parade through the lower level of the mall to show off their bedazzled gourds.

Emery chose "lellow" for her nail polish color

Admiring her nails in the mirror

The super cute (and apparently yummy--Emery and Harper wolfed them down) pumpkin cake pops. Capri Suns were also served. Club Tabby really did a fabulous job with this little party.

Digging in...

What a fun morning! I would have been obsessed with a store like Club Tabby when I was a little girl. I have a feeling we'll be spending lots of time there in the future.

All the Grandparents at Denver Downs Farm

2011-10-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Emery sure is one spoiled little girl! This past weekend she was able to spend time with ALL of her grandparents (Ben's parents--Grandma and Grandpa, my parents--Granny and Opa, and even Nanny!) while at Denver Downs Farm and pumpkin patch in Anderson, SC. We went to Denver Downs last fall and fell in love with it. This year was even better as Emery is a little older and more independent. What a fun day! We picked pumpkins, played with goats, cows and pigs, went on a hayride, jumped in a hayloft, dug in a corn pit, swung on a tire swing, and raced rubber duckies all while Emery was surrounded by her parents and all of her grandparents. Lucky girl!

Riding the cow train

The corn pit--probably Emery's favorite attraction

Corn in every possible orifice, crack and crevice....but more on that in a minute!

Granny, Nanny, Grandma and Emmy on the hayride

Redneck woman

Emery quickly selected this pumpkin for herself

Opa, Daddy and Grandpa stayed near the trailer while the women picked pumpkins

Channeling her inner Dolly Parton while choosing pumpkins for Hayes and Emery

Uh oh.....I think we have a corn situation

Emery's version of cornhole

Racing rubber duckies with Daddy

Granny pushing Emmy on the horsey tire swing

I love this time of year!

Budding Artists

2011-09-30T06:23:00.001-07:00

My friend, Ashley, and her little girl, Sterling, came over yesterday for an afternoon of painting. Emery and Sterling are only a few weeks apart and play really well together. Ashley brought Sterling's easel so each budding artist could have her own work space. I went to Michael's and purchased each girl a canvas, fancy brushes and smocks. They loved painting and created masterpieces. Emery's is now hanging in her room. I think it's gorgeous!
Emery, Sterling and Ashley hard at work

Emery quickly ditched her brushes in favor of her hands

I ironed these little applique birds onto each smock. I thought they were super cute.

Please notice that Sterling is pristine and Emery looks like Swamp Thing

The finished works of art and the artists. Poor Emery received her easel for her birthday back in June and had been eager to try the paints that came with it. I limited her to the chalk and dry erase board because I knew the paints would be super messy and I wanted to do it outdoors. Since the weather is finally cooling down, I figured we would go for it. What a fun afternoon!

Things to do on a Rainy Day

2011-09-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

We've had a rainy week here in Greenville. We need the rain, so I'm not complaining, but it's hard coming up with fun ideas for Emery when we're cooped up all day. Thankfully, Casey bravely invited us over to her house to make and decorate cookies with her and Davis. Casey had gone to Hobby Lobby and loaded up on all sorts of fall themed decorating items: pumpkin, acorn and leaf stencils, orange, yellow and green sprinkles, etc. We just used a simple box mix for sugar cookies, but they tasted great. Emery and I had so much fun. Thanks, Casey! I hope your kitchen is okay. I will host a Christmas cookie decorating session.

Davis and Casey in their cute aprons

Melt my heart!

They did a pretty good job of mixing without sampling

Hard at work with their decorating

Enjoying the finished product with some "choc moo!"

Hollywild

2011-09-19T13:33:00.001-07:00

Sunday afternoon Ben, Emery and I headed 40 minutes up the road to Hollywild, which is an animal sanctuary for retired/non-working Hollywood animals as well as any wild animals in need of a home. We had beautiful weather and really enjoyed seeing these animals up close and personal. My favorites were the big cats: lions, tigers, cougars and panthers. They remind me so much of Atticus, only larger. Emery loved the baby goats, which I have to admit were pretty cute. For more information about this non-profit park, go to www.hollywild.com.

Emery with her bag of food in search of hungry animals

A sweet pony named Spirit. Emery loved petting the pony but she did not want to go for a ride. I was surprised. I figured she'd be all about that, but she got pretty nervous when we put her in the saddle and said "off!"

The adorable goats were more than happy to eat as long as Emery was willing to feed them.

Boarding the safari bus

A super rare white buffalo. This big guy was in high demand, but turned out to be completely untrainable. Hence, he was turned over to Hollywild.

Rhett the cow was born with broken back legs and left for dead. Hollywild found out about him, got him in some casts and taught him how to walk. He is so cute!

Tank is the only working rhino in the country. But maybe not for long. If you want to know why Land Rovers are so expensive, it's because Tank destroyed SEVEN of them filming a 30 second commercial. Oops.

Emery thought it was so funny that this giant tortoise was eating lettuce.

Apple Picking at Sky Top Orchard

2011-09-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

What a great introduction to fall! This morning Emery and I joined our friends Casey, Davis, Marge and Parker at Sky Top Orchard in North Carolina for a day of apple picking, playground fun, hayrides, pumpkins, picnics and animals. We had a wonderful visit and the chilly mountain air of the Hendersonville area really got us into the autumn spirit.

Emery sampling a Golden Delicious. Sky Top has 22 varieties of apples as well as peaches, pears, pumpkins and grapes.

Emery could only handle her bucket with a few apples. Beyond that it was "too hebbie" and Mommy carried it. But doesn't she look cute at the onset of our journey?

Sky Top has a great play area with playhouses, swings, slides, forts, bars, ladders, etc. Emery was in heaven.

Whee!

Emery asked some random girl who was with her first grade class on a field trip to push her on the swings.

Ready for her career at Stanco! Emery drives the forklift.

Davis, Parker and Emery on the hayride. They were fascinated by the tractor pulling us.

Emery using her new pumpkin as a soccer ball.

Sleepy girl leaving the orchard. Can't wait to bake some pies with all of our apples!

Thornblade Member-Member Golf Tournament

2011-09-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ben and our good friend, Reggie, participated in our club's annual member-member golf tournament this past weekend. The festivities kicked off Thursday evening and lasted all day and night Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Although a huge time commitment, the tournament is a lot of fun, even for the wives. Our reward for being stuck at home with the kids all weekend is a great party every evening. Bonus: Ben and Reggie won their flight and made the playoffs, which means they each earned a little money. Woohoo! Oh, and a really nice silver platter.

Casey and I foolishly decided to follow Reggie and Ben on Sunday with Emery and Davis in tow. Bad idea, but we wanted the kids to see their daddies playing so well. Above: Ben listening as the official explains the rules of the playoff. Below: Casey attempting the keep the kids quiet as the guys tee off.

Although messy, this was a quiet activity, so we let them have at it. Emery and Davis killed time at each hole by filling our golf cart with leaves and sand.

Reggie and Ben with their awards at the final dinner.

Nice!

Their scores

Casey and I really deserve the platters for basically being single mothers for four days.

Glad you had fun, Ben, because I don't see another golf tournament in your future for a very long time!

Sesame Street Live! Elmo Makes Music

2011-09-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at the Barney show at the Bi-Lo Center back in May that I decided to take Emery to see her other favorite character, Elmo, make music with his friends. Naturally Harper and her mom joined us. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Moe's beforehand and then made our way downtown for the 7 PM Friday show.
Harper and Emery in matching polka dots making their way into the Bi-Lo Center.

Cutie pies

Although Emery loves Elmo, she was just as excited to see Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Abby, Zoe, Grover, Bert and Ernie.

Emery always looks like she's up to something. It's a trait she's inherited from her daddy. Unfortunately, it's not just a look.....she actually usually is up to something.

My parents joined us. After seeing how much Emery enjoyed Barney, Mom and Dad decided they didn't want to miss seeing firsthand Emery's reaction to Elmo. Dad took the picture. From left to right: Mom, me (with baby boy in my belly), Emery, Harper and Diana.

The Sesame Street characters. We had great floor seats. The characters wandered around right through our row! Emery and Harper were beside themselves.

Rosita is a great dancer.

The girls were enthralled during the entire show.

Emery and Harper started a dance party during intermission. Check out Emery's moves.

It's a Boy!

2011-09-08T08:56:00.001-07:00

September 6th was the big day! Ben, Emery and I learned that a baby boy will be joining our family in February. Emery handled the news quite well, considering she really wanted a sister. Ben is elated to have a son and I am thrilled that the baby looked perfectly healthy. We THINK we have a first name selected, but the jury is still out on a middle name. I'll post as soon as we're 100% certain what we'll call this little guy.

Emery wanted to see the "Baby Kelsey" in her belly and the technician was very sweet to indulge her.

The moment we saw the wee wee! Ben is ecstatic. Emery, not so much.

Baby!

Showing off his goods....

My little thinker. Getting ready for Notre Dame!

New pet, big girl room, hot date

2011-09-03T20:49:00.001-07:00

Meet Dory! Emery and I kicked off the holiday weekend with a visit to the pet store to look at Nemos (Clownfish) and Dorys (Regal Blue Tangs). Emery is still obsessed with "Finding Nemo" and Dory is her favorite character. I have to admit that Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is pretty funny. After begging for a Regal Blue Tang, I finally caved and let Emery choose a Betta fish instead. No way am I about to tackle the challenging world of salt water aquariums. Of course Emery chose a blue Betta and named it Dory. She selected a purple tank and purple gravel for Dory's new habitat. I've never had a Betta, but so far so good. Atticus hasn't noticed Dory's aquarium on the kitchen counter yet. Emery is smitten with her new pet.

Pretty Betta

My heart melts when Emery says "Good night, Dory! I love you. See you in the morning." Please don't go belly up, Dory!

Friday's other major event was Emery slept in her big girl bed for the first time overnight. I've been putting her in the bed for naps for several weeks, but I just couldn't bring myself to put her in there at night...she seems so far down the hallway! I was worried I wouldn't hear her if she cried out or that she would wake up in the middle of the night and be scared or confused. Nothing to fear! Emery slept all night and woke up in a great mood. She was grinning from ear to ear and said "Mommy! I sleep in big bed!" when I walked into her room this morning. What a relief! As I blog she is sound asleep in her bed again. Now I just need to bring myself to move her clothes out of the nursery and into her big girl room closet. I know I need to make room for baby #2, but I just can't stand the thought of Emery being totally out of the nursery.

Along with awful football, Saturday brought a fun evening with the Bell family. Emery was so excited to have her boyfriend, Davis, and his parents over for dinner.

BLACKMAIL PICTURE!

Day to Day Stuff

2011-08-29T14:44:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in a while, but it's not because we haven't been doing anything! We're always on the go....I've just been a slacker with my camera. I finally threw my camera in Emery's diaper bag this morning to capture her playdate with her dear friend, Harper, who had been at the beach for a week. Emery missed her terribly! We met up at Gary Pittman Park, which is an adorable little playground surrounded by soccer and football fields. We've been frequenting this park at least twice per week for the past three weeks. In addition to lots of time at the park, we're still swimming at the pool bunches, taking gymnastics, etc. Ben has been out of town quite a bit for a golf tournament and a bachelor party (rough life) and I've had a few Junior League events. Emery and I went to visit my family in Atlanta while Ben was at the bachelor party and then we headed down to Atlanta again last weekend to co-host a shower for our friends, Bret and Sarah. Whew!

Emery chasing Harper

"Reunited and it feels so good!"

Best buds

Emery makes me laugh so much! She likes to walk around the perimeter of the park with one foot on the curb and one foot in the mulch. She really concentrates as she does this. For some reason, it's really funny to me.

BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland, GA

2011-08-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Emery and I had such a fun day yesterday celebrating Harper's second birthday at BabyLand General Hospital. I'm sure most of you from Atlanta went to Cleveland, GA, as little ones and watched the birth of a Cabbage Patch Kid. BabyLand is still in Cleveland, but moved to this gorgeous new plantation home about eighteen months ago. Harper's mommy, Diana, and I were so excited to introduce our little girls to Cabbage Patch Kids! Of course we got more out of the trip than they did....the girls had fun running around and playing, but Diana and I really got a kick out of our walk down memory lane.

Beautiful BabyLand General!

Happy birthday, Harper! Thanks for including us in your special day.

Andy Warhol prints of Cabbage Patch Kids are all over the museum and nurseries. Very cool.

Emery checking out the very expensive, hand stitched newborns. Diana and I were a little panicky at this point because we thought the only dolls for sale for the handmade in BabyLand dolls! Thankfully, we found another section with dolls that are made somewhere else but available for purchase only at BabyLand. We knew we didn't want to get them something that they could get at Wal-Mart, but we weren't really excited at the thought of spending over $200 on a babydoll!

All these dolls were decked out in SEC gear. SO EXCITED FOR FOOTBALL!!!

What a bizarre concept

A birth! This was hilarious for the adults in attendance....the mother cabbage was dialated to a full ten "leaves," but it was a "branch" delivery. Thankfully, a C-section ("cabbage section") was not necessary, just an "easyotomy." Obviously the kids didn't get any of these references, but Diana and I thought it was super cute.

NASCAR Kids!

Emery and Harper each chose newborn baby girls. Emery named her doll Kelsey and Harper named her new baby Ella.

Leaving the adoption room

Meltdown because I wouldn't buy her the stroller, which is exactly like the one she has a home. The joys of having a two year old.

Lunch at Arby's afterwards. The girls ate ketchup only. They were too busy playing with Ella and Kelsey and running wild. The drive was not too bad. About an hour and forty-five minutes from Greenville. Emery and Harper watched "Finding Nemo" and colored for much of the drive.

So cute when they're asleep.

Grand Haven

2011-08-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ben, Emery and I made our annual pilgrimage to Grand Haven, MI, (Ben's hometown) for the yearly Coast Guard Festival and a nice break from the heat. In addition to all of the CG Festival activities, Emery was baptized! We actually did a family baptism during which Emery and several of her Slagel and Stansberry cousins were dedicated to Christ together. Austin, Alexa and Savannah...thank you for including your cousin Emery!
This trip marked the first time Emery had flown since turning two, which means we had to buy her a seat. Although spending all that extra money kind of hurt, not having a toddler climbing all over me for two flights was heaven! Emery was a perfect angel on the way to MI. The trip home was disastrous (wild child, bad weather, missed connection, driving home from Atlanta, lost luggage....pretty craptacular travel day), but I didn't have the energy to document any of that. You'll just have to take my word for it.

We made it to Grand Haven on Saturday, July 31st, in time for a quick boat ride to the country club for dinner. However, along the way Emery and Austin decided to go for an impromptu swim. Our luggage was still in the car at the marina so Emery had to swim naked. Ben borrowed a swimsuit from his brother, thank goodness.

I bet Emery was shocked by how much colder this water is than Lake Hartwell! I didn't stick a toe in the MI waters. I like my water warm.

Water baby

This picture was taken right after the baptism. Emery just couldn't resist running into the lake when I finally turned her loose.

My parents flew up for the weekend, which made the day extra special for Emery. She's such a fortunate little girl to have four doting grandparents! Above: Austin, Jerry, Ben, Mom, Dad, Linda, me and Emery.

Alexa and Emery wore matching dresses I found on Etsy. Precious!

Pool party at Grandma and Grandpa's afterwards!

Naked swimming again...with a ring pop. Emery was a happy little girl!

Austin and Emery waved to all the CG boats during the parade of ships. They were so cute that their picture made it into The Grand Rapids Press and The Muskegon Chronicle.

Alexa was there, too, but she was more interested in people watching than boat watching.

Another evening on Ben's parents' boat, My Three Sons. Emery is just like her father....she wants to be either in the water or on the water 24/7.

Emery likes to "drive" the boat while it's docked

Parade day! The weather wasn't very cooperative, but we made the most of it. This is our attempt at a family picture before walking down the street to watch the floats. Pretty much impossible to get a decent picture with three little ones involved.

Soggy day

This was Emery's first parade and she loved every second of it. No fear of any of the clowns, horns, giant animals/characters, etc. She enjoyed waving, dancing and trying to catch candy.

Very determined to open that piece of candy!

Emery confiscated a water gun from the O'Neal children and was an alarmingly good shot.

For some reason, Scott (Ben's younger brother) brought a huge box full of costumes down to the boat for the fireworks show. Ben, Scott and a bunch of Scott's buddies donned Sumo wrestler, fat ballerina, and Spider-Man outifts. Ben is Spidey.

Emery and her new friend, Ella, waiting patiently for the fireworks to begin. I was a little worried that Emery would be scared of the fireworks (we are REALLY close to them when we are on the boat), but she was a real trooper and thought they were great! She's still talking about them.

We brought headphones, but they were unnecessary. Emery ditched them after a few minutes.

Wearing a pair of Scotty's glasses to shield her eyes from the ashes falling from the sky. Abby O'Neal was such a big help with Emery while we were in Grand Haven. I love this picture. Emery has asked about Abby every day since we've been home. I should frame it and put it in her room.

Thank you for such a wonderful week, Linda and Jerry! I tried to get pictures of all the fun stuff we did, but I am clearly lacking some: the carnival, Imagination Station, swinging at the beach, Pronto Pups, BLT run, etc. In addition to spoiling Emery rotten, thanks for babysitting and enabling Ben and me to have some adult time with his friends! We miss you already!

Thomas the Tank Engine

2011-07-24T14:16:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning my mom and I loaded up the car with Emery and headed north to Bryson City, NC, to see Thomas the Tank Engine up close and personal. We even got to take Emery on her very first train ride! Although we had fun watching Emery take in as much Thomas as she could handle, the weather was miserable. 100 degrees and 99% humidity. Wow. Emery didn't seem too bothered by the heat, but my mom and I were dying. I'm hot just looking back at the pictures.
Emery sees Thomas for the first time. She was in shock!

Lots of Thomas items available for purchase. This store was air conditioned, so we spent quite a bit time in there while waiting for our train departure. This resulted in spending more money than I had planned, but it was worth it to get out of the heat!

A tented area with bubbles, sand tables, tattoo stands and Lego play sets was still scorching hot, but at least we were in the shade.

Lego Thomas

Emery got a Rosie tattoo. Emery loves Rosie because she's pink.

Waiting to board our train

All aboard! The train cars were open air....no AC. Boo!

Emery got excited when she heard the theme song from Thomas and Friends

Clapping along

Emery is a Junior Engineer!

Emery's First Haircut

2011-07-13T06:34:00.001-07:00

After months of trying to push through this stringy hair phase, I finally came to the conclusion that Emery's hair was never going to even out without the help of some scissors. So, last week I made an appointment for her very first haircut at Jelly Beans. Emery was great throughout the entire process! And her hair looks really cute. I am so relieved that the stylist did not cut much and even introduced me to the world's smallest hair rubber bands. I never knew these existed. Now, Emery can sport a little pig tail on the top of her head. I think it's adorable, but Ben thinks she looks like she has a periscope attached to her melon. Oh well. What do guys know?
Walking into the salon. I kept telling Emery she was going to get a haircut, but I don't think she really knew what that meant.

The only time Emery seemed a little apprehensive was during the shampoo. She wasn't too sure about this, although she did like that the stylist used "princess bubbles" to wash her hair.

Removing the redneck child mullet....

Sassy girl!

Yay! Her hair is no longer in her eyes 24/7. Emery will not keep a clip in her hair for more than five minutes, so my attempts to keep her bangs out of her peepers was pointless. But thanks to the trim and these little rubber bands, she can see!

Blow dryer

A sweet little bob with a periscope.....precious!

Emery got to choose a hair clip (neon green cat) and a bracelet for being such a good girl.

Baby's first haircuts at Jelly Beans are only a penny. This kids' salon is super cute. Emery paid all by herself (she "fed" the piggy). AND, she got a balloon to match her dress. Emery did not want to leave Jelly Beans.

The certificate and lock of hair to commemorate this milestone. So sweet.

Princess Camp

2011-07-06T11:51:00.000-07:00

Emery and I experienced a major milestone yesterday: she attended her first ever music class (Princess Camp!) that is not a mommy-and-me class. The Princess Camp is for little girls ages 2-4 and it's 90 minutes every Tuesday in July. It's a Kindermusik program, so I knew Emery would love the class. We've been attending Kindermusik for a year now and it's a great way to bond with your child and see how much babies love music! Anyways, my worries were unfounded. Emery didn't cry or ask for "mommy" once. What a relief! She had a blast and can't wait to go back next week.

Hanging up her backpack like a big girl....this is when I started to tear up.

Coloring the Enchanted Forest as part of the icebreaker. This is when I snuck out...

And this is what I returned to! Emery and her new friends prancing around in princess hats and skirts!

Ending the class with a stamp, which is Emery's most favorite part of Kindermusik.

God Bless America!

2011-07-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day! We certainly did, although it was very low-key. Ben, Emery and I spent the afternoon at the pool enjoying the Thornblade cookout, followed by naps (Emery and Ben) at home and then sparklers in the driveway after bath time. Emery wore her festive Fourth pajamas...an enormous Maltese tee shirt with red, white and blue fireworks. Emmy saw these shirts at Wal-Mart and loved them because of the Maddux resemblance. Adorable, but the smallest size available is a women's extra small. No kiddie sizes. Oh well, I guess she can wear it every Fourth for the next fifteen years! The sparklers were a big hit. I actually thought Emery may be a little fearful of them (silly me), but of course she was not the least bit timid around them. She insisted on double fisting and cried when the last sparkler was extinguished. Hopefully I can find more soon.

Emery's Elmo Extravaganza (Brithday Celebration, Part 2)

2011-06-19T12:50:00.001-07:00

Emery's birthday party was held at Herdklotz Park (Emery's favorite playground) Saturday evening. We had pizza, fruit salad and chocolate chip Elmo cake. Emery and her friends had a great time playing on all the spectacular playground equipment in between eating....and then Elmo himself showed up! Emery hugged and danced with her idol.....so precious. Happy birthday, baby girl!

Emery and her boyfriend, Davis, along with Bobbie Ann and Reggie

Some of the guests enjoying the food

Elmo sighting!

Emery and Harper dancing with their favorite Muppet

Family picture attempts

We really struggle with family pictures

Cake time! Emery is STILL making us light a candle and sing to her about ten times per day.

Yum!

Emery's Birthday Celebration, Part 1

2011-06-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate my baby girl turning two than by treating her girlfriends to their first pedicures!?!?! Emery turned two Thursday, June 16th. I made appointments several weeks ago with the nice man who owns Lovely Nails on The Parkway for these precious little girls to all come in together and get their toenails painted on Emery's birthday. Honestly, I was a little nervous as to how this would unfold, but the girls were perfect little angels! Emery was so well behaved that she ended up getting a manicure as well. I am thrilled. I hope to make this a regular event with my baby girl. After nails, we headed to Chick fil A for lunch and play time. Emery ended the day by playing in the downtown fountain with Harper and Phinley while dancing to the band playing at Rhythm on the River. Emery, I hope you enjoyed your birthday as much as I did! What a wonderful day.

Phinley, Harper, Emery and Sterling....how cute are these princesses in their tutus?

Phinley and Harper being the perfect little customers

Phinley, Harper, Sterling and Emery. The other ladies in the salon were VERY sweet and did not mind their relaxing manicures/pedicures being interrupted by our little girls.

Emery chose a hot pink polish for her nails and toes and then her nail technician embellished them with white polka dots. Adorable!

Harper chose a pretty light pink color and Phinley opted for frog green. Hilarious.

Emery's toe separators made me laugh

Sassy!

The end result

Still behaving at the drying station....

Checking out the goody bags my mother-in-law helped me make for each of the girls. Inside each bag is a tube of lotion, a lip gloss, glittery nail clippers and nail polish. Thanks Phinley, Harper and Sterling for joining us and helping Emery celebrate! Phinley and her mommy, Debbie, came all the way from Florida to spend this special occasion with us. We're so honored!

Our new niece!

2011-06-12T09:52:00.001-07:00

My sister delivered her baby girl on Tuesday, June 7th at 1:09 pm. Emery and I drove down to Atlanta that morning so that we could be at Northside Hospital with the rest of our family when Kelsey Claire Stephens made her debut. What a wonderful day! Kelsey weighed in at 6 lbs, 4 oz and 20.25" long. She looks almost exactly like Hayes as a newborn. Alison and Kelsey are both at home and doing fabulously! Hayes is adjusting well to having a sister and daddy Brian is smitten with his little princess. Hayes and Emery practiced with Emery's baby dolls while in the waiting room

There she is!

Brian, Hayes, Dad, Nanny and Mom (in all their pink splendor) see baby Kelsey for the first time

Emery is fascinated with Kelsey. I've never seen her so still as when she was allowed to "hold" Kelsey. Five days later she is still asking "where baby Kelsey?" I guess she's hoping for a brother or sister soon!

Hayes was much more nonchalant about Kelsey. However, now that Kelsey is home, Hayes is a big help! He enjoys pushing Kelsey in her swing. Yikes!

Ten Year Reunion--Getting Old!

2011-06-06T21:24:00.001-07:00

I attended my ten year college reunion this past weekend at Notre Dame. Man, time flies! My college roommates (minus Alison who couldn't be there because she is delivering her baby June 7th) and I decided to make this reunion as authentic as possible and stayed in a dorm. What were we thinking!?!?!? Actually, it was pretty fun, but I don't know how I ever lived like that. Katie came from NY, Liz from Chicago and me from SC. We left our husbands and kids at home and had a wonderful girls' weekend reconnecting with our classmates and just being on campus. I wish I could see these girls more often!

A BIG thank you to my in-laws for coming all the way down to Greenville from MI to help Ben out with Emery so that I could enjoy my trip and know that Emery was being spoiled rotten!
Regis Philbin, an ND alum, hosted a round table with Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz and Jerry Faust. These guys were a hoot! Some of the most captivating speakers I've ever witnessed, not to mention stand up comedians.

Katie, me and Liz in our room from senior year in Pangborn Hall.

Outside Pangborn

My dad is an alum from the class of 1971, so he was on hand with his former roommates as well for their 40th reunion. Didn't that work out well? I had fun meeting up with my parents and their friends for a few drinks. My dad's college buddies are a fantastic bunch of guys. The above picture is Gary (Phrogg), Dan (Mini), Jeff (I don't think he had a nickname) and my dad, Alan (Big) in the lobby of the Hammes bookstore.

The beer tent was set up with Touchdown Jesus (Hesburgh Library) as the backdrop. Nice!

No reunion would be complete without a trip to the hottest (literally, not figuratively) bar in the country, the Linebacker. I bet it was at least 96 degrees in that place....and it was always like that! Even during a blizzard, the Backer would be tropical. Liz and Katie enjoyed their oversized adult beverages.

3:30 am....stumbling back to campus. ;-) Not too shabby for a bunch of old farts. We spent the next day shopping and eating in Chicago, but I was super lame and did not take a single picture. Chicago is such a wonderful city in the summer. Thanks for an unforgettable weekend, girls! I can't wait for our next reunion, but I think we'll be crashing at the Marriott instead of Dillon Hall.

Another Gymnastics Graduation

2011-06-02T10:30:00.001-07:00

Emery graduated from her spring session of gymnastics at The Little Gym this week. She continues to love gymnastics so I've signed her up for a summer session as well as the fall session. She's going to be quite the little gymnast by this time next year! The graduation at The Little Gym had a circus theme and Daddy, Bobbie Ann and Davis all came to watch Emery receive her medal.

Daddy and Davis--how sweet of Davis to come support his woman.

Bobbie Ann with her babies

Miss Lindy was the ringmaster

Harper and Emery. Of course Harper is in the same summer and fall sessions as Emery. These two are joined at the hip!

My little clown bouncing on the air track while my big clown looks on....hee hee!

Way to go, Emery!

In line with Zoe to receive her stamp--Emery's favorite part of class. She has David Beckham arms by the time we finally get out of there.

Memorial Day at the pool

2011-05-31T10:05:00.001-07:00

Our little family spent Memorial Day at the Thornblade pool with some friends. We had perfect pool weather: hot and sunny. Emery enjoyed the pool last year, but this year she seems to be obsessed with it. I have a feeling we're going to be swimming six days a week this summer. Fine with me!
Gearing up for her first dip

Mommy and Emery

Daddy and Emery....Daddy got so fried on the boat Sunday that he had to wear a shirt in the water Monday. He's never going to learn!

Emery kept saying she wanted to jump off the diving board and dragged us over there several times. Each time she would walk to the end and then change her mind. I have a feeling she'll be taking the plunge soon, though!

Watermelon, hamburgers and potato salad for lunch....perfect Memorial Day food!

Splashing Daddy

I am so thankful to live in The United States and loved spending the day honoring those who sacrifice(d) for our freedom. Thank you! God bless America!

The Children's Museum

2011-05-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Emery and I spent a rainy Friday at The Children's Museum with Harper and Davis. So much fun! This was our first time visiting The Children's Museum and we will definitely be back. We stayed for over three hours and I had to drag Emery out of there. We only left because she was soaking wet from the water table exhibit. Next time I'll know to bring a change of clothes.
Emery and Harper at the ball maze

Emery and Davis waiting for the contraption to suck their balls into the tube and zoom through the maze.

Emery and Davis in the wind tunnel

Safety first! This picture makes me laugh....Emery looks just Ben! Daddy wears safety glasses when he's on the floor at work.

Emery and Harper on the racecar

Future pit crew member? Let's hope she gets to work for Carl Edwards so I can meet him! ;-)

The mini grocery store is adorable

Emery the cashier

Look at that focus....employee of the month!

Harper and Emery on the rock wall window

Davis, Emery and Harper in the country kitchen

A giant Lite Brite! Remember those?

A piano like "Big!"

Emery driving the recycling truck. Emery (and Maddux) enjoy watching our trash and recycling bins get picked up every Thursday, so getting to see how it's done up close and personal was a treat.

Brush your teeth!

Last stop...the water table. Those smocks did nothing to keep Emery dry!

SOAKED!

On our way out....Davis and Harper are totally dry. Emery was so wet that I had to take her clothes off.

Wet and exhausted!

We only hit up the exhibits for children under age 5. The Children's Museum has many other activities for older kids as well. Plus, the cafe is operated by my favorite deli here in Greenville, Saffron's! What a great day!

Walking in Memphis...

2011-05-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

What a fun 48 hours! Ben and I spent the weekend in Memphis to celebrate the wedding of our friends, Rachel and Dan Plevak. No need to worry about any flooding...Memphis was bustling! What perfect timing to be in The River City: the Grizzlies won another playoff game and "Memphis in May" was happening. We had a great time reconnecting with old friends, eating lots of delicious bbq, and toasting to a wonderful couple. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Plevak!
The famed ducks at the Peabody. We watched their march to the elevator and, unbeknownst to us, were in the midst of a tween frenzy. Actress Miranda Cosgrove of The Disney Channel's "iCarly" was an honorary master of ceremonies on this particular evening. Miranda was in Memphis for a St. Jude fundraiser. Of course none of us had any idea who she was but the shrieking nine year olds in the lobby filled us in. I didn't really get any good pictures of her, but she's a cute girl and I'm a fan of anyone who lends their time to St. Jude's!

Ben and the groom, Dan, at the reaheasal dinner. Dinner was held at the legendary Rendezvous. Afterwards we hit up Silky O'Sullivan's where Dan dominated at dueling pianos.

Our good friends from Greenville, Joe and Dana Brown, recently moved to Memphis. We spent Saturday afternoon with them and ate lunch at The Commissary in Germantown. Words cannot describe. DELICIOUS. Hopefully we make it back to Memphis soon (hint hint, Joe and Dana!) because we weren't able to squeeze in a visit to Graceland.

The wedding ceremony and reception took place in the backyard of the bride's parents' home. Gorgeous!

The wedding party

Ben was a maniac on the dance floor. Here he is doing his notorious "shoe phone" move. The wedding band was The Memphis Soul Revue and they were the best! Google them. Seriously talented musicians and singers.

As much fun as we had, I could not wait to get home and see my precious Emmy. My parents spoiled her rotten while we were gone and I don't think she cared one bit that Ben and I left her. But I missed her like crazy! Thanks, Mom and Dad! Knowing that Emery was having a blast made the trip even better.

Strawberry Picking

2011-05-15T20:13:00.001-07:00

Casey, Diana and I took Davis, Harper and Emery on a strawberry picking expedition to Sandy Flat's Strawberry Patch last week. We had a great time and found lots of delicious strawberries. It's a miracle any of the strawberries actually made it home seeing as how Emery was eating them faster than I could put them in our bucket.

"Yummy!" Notice how clean her shirt is at the beginning of our excursion.

Our first strawberry lasted about five seconds before Emery ate it.

I love this shirt! It's still in the dirty laundry pile but has been soaked in Oxyclean. Cross your fingers!

Davis leads the way down a row

Emery loves her friends!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Ben and Brian kept their Mother's Day plans a secret. I thought this was because they hadn't made any, but I was wrong! They surprised Mom, Nanny, Alison and me with brunch at the Marietta Conference Center Hilton. We were able to eat outside and let Emery and Hayes run wild while we enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Thanks, guys! Let's make this a tradition....it was the perfect spot.
The scheming daddies

Happy mommies....I can't believe Alison is almost a mommy-to-two!

Rocking cousins

Emery thoroughly enjoyed her meal

Hayes ate a few bites, which is a big deal!

Emery running to join a group of kids play tag

Nanny and Hayes

My dad surprised Emery and Hayes each with an enormous teddy bear Sunday morning. Emery loves "Teddy." Here she is having a conversation with him....

Kissing him....

"Mommy, this is where I want to go night-night." Uh, I don't think so.

A Sprinkle for Alison and Baby Girl Kelsey Claire

2011-05-09T21:05:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to spend last weekend in Atlanta to host a family "sprinkle" for my sister, Alison. Alison is expecting a baby girl on June 7th. Her name is Kelsey Claire Stephens and she will be joining her adorable big brother, Hayes. Since Alison's first born is a boy, the ladies in our family decided she needed some girly items. Kelsey's nursery is lavendar and green.....but of course she needs lots of PINK stuff as well! The luncheon was held at the Swan Coach House (part of the Atlanta History Center), which is the same place I had my bridesmaids' luncheon. So fun to go back! We had splendid weather and were given a table outside so that we could be as loud and rowdy as we liked without disturbing any of the other ladies. You never know what's going to be said in this family....
Typical Swan Coach House fare: chicken salad in heart shaped pastries, cheese straws and frozen fruit salad. Pretty and delicious!

Kriya, Michelle, Angie, Aunt Donna, Alison, Mom, Nanny and me. This picture makes me laugh because I look like a giant. At just a hair under 5'4" I am seldom the tallest in any group. Our family is tiny! However, I am wearing heels and standing next to Nanny so I'm guessing it's just an optical illusion....darn! I was hoping I had grown some!

Such a fun afternoon! Thanks for coming! Alicia, we missed you. You owe me a trip to Greenville, okay?

Barney at the Bi-Lo Center

2011-05-06T20:12:00.001-07:00

Tonight was the big night....Emery got to see Barney and his friends (Baby Bop, BJ, and Riff) LIVE at the Bi-Lo Center. The icing on the cake was that she was joined by her friend, Harper. Harper and her parents, James and Diana, met up with Ben, Emery and me at a delicious little Greek restaurant near our neighborhood called Acropolis. I adore this restaurant. The staff is super friendly and the food is incredible. Harper and Emery were very well behaved during dinner. After dinner we headed downtown to the Bi-Lo Center. On the way there I kept telling Emery that she was going to see Barney. She was holding her stuffed Barney and giving me a perplexed look. She had no idea what was in store!
Hugs at the restaurant
We were given an enormous corner booth, which worked out brilliantly. Emery and Harper could jump around and look out the window, but they couldn't escape.
Diana and James
Ben and me. I had to laugh at the fact that Diana and I both busted out the pearls for Barney. Ha! So this is what our Friday nights have come to?
Making the long climb up to the doors of the Bi-Lo Center
"Barney is inside the building!?!?!?"
Such a big firl. Emery handed her ticket to the scanner all by herself.

"Where is he!?!?!"

I snapped this picture as soon as Barney's theme song began to play. Emery immediately recognized it and was beside herself.

Clapping, dancing, jumping and bouncing for 90 minutes

So sad it's over, but what a fun night! Elmo will be at the Bi-Lo Center in September.....we're so there! If there's one thing Emery loves more than Barney, it's Elmo.

St. Francis Mud Run 2011

2011-05-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

I completed the St. Francis Hospital Marine Corps Mud Run yesterday with teammates Berchetta Wagner, Sandra Kadien, and Amy Newton. Words cannot describe how much fun we had! We were lucky that our gym (owned by Sandra and her husband) offered to sponsor us, but we felt pressure to make the gym look good. I hope we succeeded! The Mud Run consists of 4 miles of running through creeks and woods with 34 obstacles thrown in the mix. Our time was right at an hour. Next year, with a better understanding of the obstacles, I am sure we can shave a few minutes off that time. Sandra, Berchetta and Amy are my friends and running buddies from our previous neighborhood. Thanks for still including me!

Berchetta, Sandra, Amy and me nice and clean at the beginning of the race

This is the only obstacle I could get a picture of from the starting chute. You run/swim/crawl through a mud pit, climb over a mound of mud and then hoist yourself up this wall. Gulp....I started to get nervous watching this.

Dirty, happy and all in one piece at the finish! SO sore today, but feeling no pain when this picture was taken.

Sandra and Amy, how are you less muddy than Berchetta and me?

Amy relaxing with her beer post-race. Sandra's husband was so nice and met us at the finish line with a tent, chairs, food and Coronas! YUM!!!!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Our Easter was spectacular! I love any occasion when our families get together. Ben and I are very fortunate in that our parents and siblings all really enjoy each other and we're able to have blended holidays from time to time. Two years ago my sister hosted all of the Slagels for Thanksgiving in addition to all of our Atlanta relatives. Such fun! This year Ben and I were hoping for the same kind of event, but not everyone was able to make the trek to Greenville for such a quick trip. We'll take what we can get! My parents, Nanny, Brian, Alison, Hayes, Ben's parents and three big dogs joined Ben, Emery, Maddux, Atticus and me for Easter weekend. We had people in every bedroom, including an air mattress in the basement. I love a full house. I'm hoping to host Christmas one year, but I don't see either of the grandmothers really budging on that one, including my Aunt Donna. ;-)
Emery must have been a very good girl this year because the Easter bunny left her lots of fun stuff in her basket.

And he hid a bunch of eggs in the backyard!

Panama Hayes

Clothing-optional egg coloring. I must admit that I didn't really think Hayes and Emery would really get into the egg dye process this year, but they loved it. If I can find leftover Paas kits at the store, I'm going to stock up and whip 'em out next time I'm wondering what to do with Emery.

Sissy stole a purple egg!

An enormous beach ball on a pretty day is always a source of amusement....for the adults.

We never put clothes back on Emery and Hayes after coloring eggs. They were having such fun playing in all the water features we set up when the temperature crept up into the high 80's.

Emery at the water table

Running through the sprinkler...we still have a month until our pool opens. What am I going to do until then!?!?!?

Cuz and Emmy are so happy when they can spend time together

We ate Easter supper on the porch....very comfortable with the ceiling fan creating a breeze for us.

Double trouble

Jake, Alison and Brian's dog, helped clean up the kiddie table. Thanks, Jake!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Thornblade Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T07:10:00.001-07:00

Ben's parents came to town for Easter again this year. For the second year in a row we took them to the country club for breakfast with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt the day before Easter. Emery was barely walking last year and had no idea what an egg hunt was all about. This year she was running all over the place and finding eggs like a pro!
As soon as we arrived in the ballroom Emery started asking, "Where Bunny?"

Waiting patiently for Bunny to come say "hi."

Emery checking out the competition during the egg hunt...."What did you get?"

Emery with her doting grandparents

I guess I went a little overboard when selecting her Easter basket. I wanted to make sure she had lots of room for eggs and goodies!

Emery got a little sidetracked and wanted to play hide-n-seek in the middle of egg hunting

A hug from Bunny

Yet another failed attempt at a family picture

Emery has eaten nothing but candy for the past 48 hours.....ugh

Never met a puddle she didn't like!

Downtown Greenville Fountain

2011-04-19T20:06:00.001-07:00

Greenville is such a family friendly city. Dowtown, right along the banks of the Reedy River, exists this adorable water fountain with a railroad theme, complete with locomotive! Since the weather was very warm and sunny but our pool is not yet open, Emery and I headed to the fountain. This was her first time playing in the fountain and she LOVED it. I felt like the meanest mother on the planet when I made her leave after an hour and fifteen minutes. Her lips were blue and she was shivering! For some reason, the water is FREEZING. I guess because it's coming from underground. Next time I will let Emery stay longer, but it was dinner time and I was starting to worry about hypothermia.

Tired and cold but begging to stay!

I could not get her to leave!

Cuz is 2!

2011-04-19T20:00:00.001-07:00

My nephew, Hayes, turns 2 April 20th. In honor of this milestone, Brian and Alison threw a party at Champion Kids in Marietta. Ben, Emery and I came down for the party (in a tornado, no less) and had a blast celebrating with Hayes. Afterwards, we went back to Brian and Alison's house to switch out the nursery with Hayes's big boy bed! He's all set for his baby sister, Kelsey Claire, to arrive in June. Happy birthday, Hayes!
Hayes in the birthday throne

Hayes and Emery swinging

Emery was first to test out the new bed and linens....she approves!

Granola Emery

2011-04-11T09:29:00.001-07:00

We are tackling a vegetable and herb garden again this year. Sunday's hot temperatures and oodles of sunshine made for a great day of playing in the dirt. Nature-loving Emery couldn't wait to help out. Arranging her cucumbers

Watering the jalapenos and bell peppers

"Look, Mommy! A 'pillar' is on my slide!"

First she let it crawl on her foot.....

and then worked up the courage to put it on her hand.

Chick fil A breakfast with the Easter Bunny

2011-04-10T16:48:00.001-07:00

Emery and I joined her boyfriend, Davis, and his mother, Casey, for breakfast with the Easter Bunny at Chick fil A on Saturday. I didn't really know what to expect given Emery's extremely frightful reaction to Santa Claus this past year. I was given the complete opposite. Emery was obsessed with the poor bunny. She followed him all over the restaurant, made him dance, and sat on his lap numerous times. She also pulled his tail and poked him in the eyes and nose. Trip #3 t0 sit on bunny's lap

Laughing while playing peek a boo (Emery is not wearing shoes because she saw bunny from inside the play area and bolted towards him)

Dancing with bunny

Hogging bunny's attention

Brief interest in the yummy breakfast of hashbrowns, mini chicken biscuits and fruit salad. Coloring and bunny took precedence over food.

The Master's

2011-04-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Although I am not a golfer, I thoroughly enjoy watching The Master's. It's such a classy and storied sports event and I love the fact that it's a Georgia tradition. Ben went to the Tuesday practice round and returned with some super cute attire for Emery, including this pink hat. I made her wear the hat all day Thursday in honor of the first round of the tournament. Today (Friday), she has been wearing the pink and green polo Daddy brought her. I'll post a picture of her in the shirt later this weekend. It's adorable. The little golf cart seersucker outfit is from a precious boutique at Amelia Island Plantation. This picture was taken in our backyard. Our azaleas look okay, but nothing like Augusta National!

Greenville Zoo and chalking

2011-04-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

After a solid week of chilly rain, we are finally back to beautiful warm, sunny days. To celebrate, Emery and I joined Davis and Harper at the zoo and have also spent many hours drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. Both activities are tons of fun! Ta-da! Emery is proud of her design

Hard at work with her "lellow" chalk

Harper and Emery take a rest in front of the owl exhibit at Greenville Zoo

Sitting on the bear statue

Hot! Emery pounded an entire juice and a full "moo" during our excursion

Sweet little faces at the giraffe habitat

So sweet. Emery and Harper are such good friends. Emery asks for Harper all the time and as soon as I pull into the parking lot at gymnastics every Tuesday morning, Emery starts yelling, "Harper! Harper!"

When she's not asking to play with Harper, Emery is pining for her boyfriend, Davis.

Maddux is 10!

2011-03-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe my first born is ten! Double digits! Time flies. Ten is my favorite number, thanks to Chipper Jones and Brady Quinn. Here's hoping 10 is a fabulous year for Muppet-Man.
Cupcakes in honor of his big day. Strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. The ears are coconut, the eyes and nose are mini chocolate chips and the tongue is a squirt of pink gel icing. I had so much fun decorating these!

Blowing out his candle

My parents came to Greenville for the day to celebrate with Maddux. Sandy and Spark-e joined them, of course. I love when they visit!

Busy, busy, busy!

2011-03-21T07:44:00.001-07:00

These past few weeks have been a fun whirlwind of activity! The weather has been gorgeous and Emery is happiest when she is outside (or naked inside). I have been so busy chasing Emery around that I haven't taken a single picture on my camera in weeks. Thankfully, I usually have my Blackberry handy and have gotten a few action shots with that. Not the best quality, but you get the idea.

Atticus is such a funny cat. He loves to be under this quilt, even though it was 84 degrees. I just think he's the most handsome cat with stunning green eyes.

Emery has rediscovered her pram, although it's function has changed. Rather than being a gentle way to rock her to sleep as an infant, it now serves as an indoor jungle gym. She gets in and out of it every night after her bath.

Taking baby doll for a walk. Emery loves to push her baby in this stroller and seeing her do it while talking to her baby makes me want to cry. So incredibly precious. Disclaimer: we were walking on a quiet cul-de-sac in our neighborhood. The cul-de-sacs do not have sidewalks. I am not a negligent mother! I sent this picture to Ben at work the other day and he freaked out because Emery wasn't on the sidewalk. Apparently he thinks I let her wander down the main drag of our neighborhood in the middle of the road. Trust me, I don't.

Practicing for her career as a criminal? Not sure where she got the idea to siphon gas......Ben???

Cutest story ever: We have a red bellied woodpecker who has decided to make his home in our backyard. He is almost always out there, pecking away on a dead tree near Emery's swingset. I've pointed this out to her plenty of times as we're outside playing and hear him knocking on the tree. The other evening we were outside and I was busy calling the dog and not paying any attention to the birds when Emery suddenly yells, "Mommy! Wisten! The woody pepper!" Sure enough, he was pounding on the tree. I was so proud! And I think "woody pepper" is adorable!

We had a pretty cool St. Patrick's Day. As luck would have it, The Notre Dame Glee Club was in Greenville on March 17th performing at Prince of Peace Catholic Church. The Notre Dame Club of the Western Carolinas asked if any Domers in the area were willing to host several Glee Club members for the night. I thought this would be a fun opportunity to revisit my college days. The concert was amazing and afterwards I brought Wes, Scott and Trigg home with us for the night. The guys were great! Ben and I felt like college kids staying up late, drinking and watching the basketball tournament with our guests. The next morning I dropped them off at the Marriott to catch their bus back to South Bend. I felt like crap, but they were all bright eyed and bushy tailed. Geez.....I am getting old! Anyways, Emery didn't make it through much of the concert before becoming a HUGE distraction. I spent a good portion of the show with her at the school's gym.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I helped host "Girl's Night" the night after the ND guys stayed with us. What was I thinking!?!?!? Way too many late nights and alcohol last week. But I had fun!

GA Aquarium with Hayes, Auntie Alison, Granny and Opa

2011-03-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Ben has been in Whistler for yet another ski trip the past few days, so Emery and I loaded up and headed down to Atlanta for some fun with Cuz. Our main goal was to get the kids to the GA Aquarium. Success! I love the aquarium and thankfully, Emery does, too! My parents, Alison and Hayes joined us and we had ourselves a ball. We stayed for three hours, had the world's most expensive lunch (I'm not kidding.....$64.00 for pizza, french fries and hot dogs), visited with lots of cool animals and bought some fun souvenirs. I can't wait to take Emery back.

Granny and Opa with their granbabies in front of the Lion fish tank. Crazy looking local fish.

Emery loved petting the stingrays. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: Emery is fearless.

The moving sidewalk was the highlight of Emery's day. She rode on it repeatedly until I dragged her out of there.

Hayes and Emery checking out the tropical tank.....well, Hayes seems more interested in his shoe. Those are pretty cute saddle oxfords!

MELT MY HEART. Hayes and Emery are so stinkin' cute together!

Chick fil A Teddy Bear Party

2011-03-02T10:58:00.001-08:00

I don't know if all Chick fil A's plan as many activities as the one near my house, but we have been to several and they are adorable. Last night was a teddy bear party. Harper and her mommy joined Emery and me for dinner and playtime, plus the bear themed activites (cookies and coloring with your favorite stuffed animal).

Enjoying their kids' meals before hitting up the teddy bear party tables.

Emery brought her monkey and Harper brought a bright pink doggie. Every other child in the restaurant brought an actual teddy bear, but these two are rule breakers!

Artwork display....seriously could not be any cuter. Chick fil A is the BEST fast food restaurant.

Playtime afterwards. Emery wore herself out! She slept from 10:45 last night until 8:15 this morning. I realize most of you don't think this is a big deal, but anytime Emery falls asleep before 11:00 PM is cause for celebration.

Harper and Emery in the tubular staircase.

Phun with Phinley!

2011-02-28T09:30:00.001-08:00

My good friend, Debbie, and her little girl, Phinley, came to visit Emery and me last weekend. Debbie and Phinley live in Melbourne Beach, FL, and they brought the weather with them! We had so much fun exploring Greenville and just playing in our backyard. Phinley is just a few months older than Emery and they play so well together. Phinley is just as wild and crazy as Emery. They are fearless and got into all sorts of mischief. My sister dubbed them the "gruesome twosome." I couldn't agree more.

Emery on one of the bridges at Falls Park. She and Phinley enjoyed watching the ducks, geese and doggies. And running away from Debbie and me.

On Greenville's landmark, the Liberty Bridge.

Go Irish!

Debbie and Phinley enjoying the sunshine and people watching.

Emmy and Mommy

While Debbie and I were preparing lunch, the girls decided to join the fish in the Koi pond.

Naked lunchPlotting to go through the doggie door and back into the Koi pond once I locked them in the porch.

Thanks for coming to visit! Please come back soon.....Emery has been asking for "Phinney" all morning.

Father/Daughter Dinner Disaster

2011-02-14T13:46:00.001-08:00

Man, did I have high hopes for this event! Our country club, Thornblade, hosts an annual father/daughter dinner every year the weekend before Valentine's Day. I remember reading about this particular event two years ago when we first joined the club and, being pregnant with a baby girl, teared up at the thought of Ben and Emmy attending together. Obviously she was too young last year, but I thought she could handle it at 20 months of age. Apparently I was wrong. I got Emery all dressed up and made Ben wear a pink shirt (not an easy task!) and booked them for the 5:30 seating. I was super amped to have an evening to myself with a glass (or two) of wine, my new Southern Living magazine, and a bunch of DVR'd "Modern Family" episodes. What was I thinking!?!?! I hadn't even opened the bottle of vino before Ben called (twice) to say that Emery was acting like a maniac and refusing to sit in her chair. She also managed to splatter ketchup all over the place and was being very loud. They were coming home. Darn! But they sure did look cute.

Ben and his mini-me

Thanks, Nanny, for the super cute Valentine dress!

A brief, rare, fleeting moment of Emery behaving

"Yay! Ketchup!"

Less than an hour later, back at home. I fixed ravioli for all of us and never even opened my magazine. But I did manage to open the wine. ;-)

Back to Steamboat

2011-02-09T10:51:00.001-08:00

Ben and I were fortunate enough to go back to Steamboat, but this time we brought Emery and met up with Ben's entire family. That's a lot of Slagels on one mountain. We were gone for eight days and had so much fun, even if the weather was too cold for skiing several days. Emery was very brave on her skis and loved zooming down the hill. She also enjoyed riding the chair lift. I just cannot get over her incredible attitude. Baby girl is loving life! She makes the most of every situation, whether it's getting stuck on an airplane for hours on end, riding on an escalator, elevator, airport train, shuttle bus, gondola, or "magic carpet," Emery makes everything fun. She waves to everyone she sees and asks "what you doing?" about seventy times per day. She's also becoming fiercely independent and will not let me help her do anything! This is kind of comical, but also very frustrating when she insists on feeding herself or pouring her juice and spills stuff everywhere.....or when she refuses to hold my hand while walking across the street and then has a meltdown when I won't let go. I think we've hit the "terrible twos" a might early. But back to our trip....we were joined by Ben's parents, both brothers, sister-in-law, niece and nephew. Emery adores her cousins, aunt, uncles and grandparents. She was spoiled rotten for over a week but is readjusting to normal life quickly. Thank you, Linda and Jerry, for a wonderful family vacation!
When Emery wasn't skiing, she was either coloring or swimming in the hot tub. In the picture above she is getting ready to go hot tubbing while coloring. A box of crayons and an enormous coloring book that Uncle Scott purchased were a big hit with his nephew and nieces.

Beautiful view from our condo

Ben's fraternity brother, John Heinle, showed up from Denver to ski with Ben the last two days in Steamboat. John is a riot. I'm so glad he made the trip and had the chance to meet Emery. The last time I saw John I was about 39 weeks pregnant. Time flies!

Emery loved my helmet

Practicing walking in her ski boots

Grabbing a beer before a ski session

Tiny skis! So adorable

Emery loved my helmet and goggles so much that I bought her some of her own. Can't wait to get her back out there again next year.

First day on the hill

"Whee!"

Emery had mastered the "magic carpet" by our last day in Steamboat and seemed to be getting frustrated by the short runs. We decided to take her on a chair lift run and she loved it. How sad....Emery will be a better skier than me by the time she is four years old.

Look at that balance!

Skiing left Emery tuckered out

Finally, warm weather!

2011-01-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

After weeks of snow, ice, wind and bitter temperatures, Mother Nature gave the southeast a reprieve this weekend. As luck would have it, Hayes, Alison and Nanny were here to enjoy it with us.

Maddux had so much fun running around the backyard with us. Lately, his outdoor time has been limited to quick potty breaks.

Gymnastics Medal Ceremony

2011-01-18T09:16:00.000-08:00

Emery has moved up a level at The Little Gym. She is no longer a Bird. Emery is now a Beast. I love the names of the classes. Her gymnastics school celebrated the graduation with breakfast and a medal ceremony. The medal ceremony is possibly the cutest thing I have ever witnessed.

Emery receiving her medal from Miss Lindy

Lining up to get on the podium

Running with a ball

I really do think Emery is going to be a vaulter. She loves the springboard apparatus.

Monkey child on the rings

Mommy and Miss Lindy helping Emmy "land surf"

Warming up on the floor beam. Emery can also do the raised beam, but I couldn't get any pictures since I had both hands at the ready should she fall. Girl is fearless!

Snow Day #2

2011-01-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

Emery finally has her very own "no-man!" I've mentioned before that Emery has been REALLY into snowmen this year. It's adorable how excited she gets whenever she sees a "no-man" on television, in books, on a popcorn tin, on wrapping paper, etc. You get the idea. Now she has one in her backyard, thanks to Daddy. She asks to go outside every day so that she can kiss and hug her snowman. She also waves at him numerous times per hour through the windows. PRECIOUS. But now I'm having major anxiety over what to do when he starts to melt....yikes! But since that doesn't seem likely for the next several days, I'm just going to enjoy what time we have left with Frosty.

Snow Day #1 (more to come)

2011-01-10T19:28:00.001-08:00

I was reluctant to believe that we were really going to get a bunch of snow overnight. I was certain that I would wake up this morning to a perfectly dry lawn. I was wrong. Very wrong. The meteorologists hit the nail on the head and Greenville got about 9" of snow! This happens about every 20 years or so. Needless to say, the entire city has been shut down. Ben didn't have to go to work today and Emery's well-check at the pediatrician's was rescheduled. We played in the snow and gave Emery's new snow suit a trial run for Steamboat. It passed with flying colors. Ben and I were cold and wet and ready to come inside and Emery was still begging to play on her swingset.

Kindermusik

2011-01-09T11:36:00.001-08:00

Emery has been attending a Kindermusik class one a week since September. She adores this class and I find it very fun, too. The other moms are really sweet and their kids are pretty cute. I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive about this class because I am a horrible singer and didn't want to a) subject Emery to my voice and, b) embarrass myself. Turns out Emery doesn't seem to mind the fact that I can't carry a tune in a bucket and the other moms seem very non-judgemental. Or maybe they just wait until I leave to make fun of me. ;-) This week was Emery's last class with this particular group as she is moving up a level next semester. I am sad to say goodbye to her classmates and their mommies, but I am thankful that Miss Cindy will still be Emery's teacher. Miss Cindy is brilliant and great with the kids. Plus, she has a really pretty voice that helps drown me out. Ben's mom came to class with us on our last day and took some pictures.

For anyone looking for an activity to do with your child (I think Kindermusik goes from 4 months to 7 years of age), I strongly suggest this class. Emery has so much fun and has learned a lot. Girl's got rhythm!

Steamboat minus the kiddos

2011-01-09T11:01:00.001-08:00

Ben and I enjoyed a quick trip to Steamboat with three other couples to kick off the new year. We had a great time....so much, in fact, that I didn't really stop to take many pictures. Thanks to Ben's parents for letting us use their incredible One Steamboat Place membership and to Casey and Reggie Bell, Tara and Fernando Calvo, and Ashley and Will Ragsdale for such a wonderful vacation. Oh yeah, and Ben turned 31 while we were out there. Happy birthday, Benji!

Ben and I making margaritas to take to the hot tub. Nothing better than that after a day on the slopes. Ben was so fond of this robe that he earned the nickname "Hef." And don't I look cute with my fabulous ski helmet hair?

Apres ski

Tara and Nando

Casey and Reggie

Going up the gondola. We had incredible snow, but chilly temperatures. Ben and I are heading back to Steamboat with his entire family in a few weeks. Can't wait to go back!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

My sister and I really wanted Hayes and Emery to experience Santa together, so Ben, Emery and I stayed with Alison, Brian and Hayes on Christmas Eve. Alison and I can't help but treat Hayes and Emery like twins....they're only seven weeks apart and besides, it's what we know! Late at night after two very tired munchkins finally went to sleep, the mommies and daddies stayed up and arranged/assembled their Santa gifts. Such fun! These motorized trucks were the big gift....so funny to see them zoom around chasing each other or pulling each other in the cargo space.

Alison is actually 17 weeks pregnant and is expecting a girl in June! We are so excited for another precious baby to join the family. Although Ben and I had thought we would wait a bit longer before trying for another baby, the pressure is on to give Alison's new baby a "cuz" close in age. YIKES!
The trucks and tricycles

Ben having a late night cocktail while admiring his handiwork

Emery usually sleeps in until at least 8 most mornings, but she was up at 7 on Christmas! How did she know? I tried to stall her and keep her upstairs until Hayes awoke, but she glanced downstairs and saw a new Elmo ball amongst her pile of gifts and it was game over. I had to wake Hayes and my sister. Actually, Emery screaming "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!" woke them.

Emmy's loot

Cuz and Bobbles on their Mack trucks

Mom, Spark-e and Hayes helped Maddux go through his stocking

I think she's going to be a tomboy

Then again, she does love her new baby doll, stroller and dollhouse....

I think my family's obsession with the Griswolds has reached unhealthy levels. Alison special ordered Clark moose mugs so that we could have "mimoosas" with breakfast.

My brother in law is a huge Vikings fan

See above post. Last year Alison surprised Brian with this huge inflatable Vike. What's that white stuff on the ground!?!?! Atlanta had its first white Christmas in 128 years. I am so glad that this was our year to be in Atlanta so that we could experience this historic southern snow. It really did feel more festive.

Greenville got snow, too! This is what we saw as we pulled in our driveway on the 26th. I never thought I'd get to see my house with snow AND Christmas decorations. That just doesn't happen down here. Usually, if we're going to get any snow it's in February and it's icy, not this pretty and white. But now the snow can go away and warm up. Emery has lots of new outdoor toys she wants to try out!

Merry Christmas! This holiday season has been magical. I know next year will be even better as Emery can begin to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-27T20:28:00.001-08:00

This year we celebrated Christmas with my family in Atlanta, which means that Christmas Eve was spent at my Uncle Greg and Aunt Donna's house with all the cousins, second cousins, grandparents and friends. Such a fun evening....Greg and Donna always prepare a spectacular feast and plan something fun for the kids (and the adults!). This year the big surprise was that Santa made a stop at their house and had presents for everyone. We enticed Santa to the house by spreading reindeer food on the lawn after dinner. It worked! Santa's first stop in all of metro Atlanta was on Bollingbrook Road in Marietta. Incredible! The fun for the adults was a gingerbread house contest. I must admit that this contest actually caused much stress for the adults in the week leading up to Christmas Eve, but the end results were pretty spectacular.

Emery received a Mrs. Potato Head from Santa

Donna telling Santa that she has been a good girl this year

Sprinkling the reindeer food outside (birdseed)

Shawn's gingerbread entry is Uga's house.....notice all the mortally wounded SEC mascots bleeding all over the field. Go Dawgs!

The Slagel entry! I attempted to recreate the Griswold house....8805 Skyline Drive, Chicago

Greg and Donna made an exact replica of their own house. Very impressive!

The other entries...check out Alicia's Polar Express train that she made without a kit. I think all but two of the entries were made entirely from scratch. I couldn't believe it. I was kind of banking on the fact that mine was enormous and made without a kit giving me bonus points with the judge, but one of the kit entries actually won. Redo!

Speaking of the Griswolds, my crazy uncle cut down a tree from his own front yard to use as a Christmas tree this year. No squirrels, but he did break the front porch lights when hauling it inside. "Little full, lot of sap."

Kids' Christmas Party

2010-12-23T06:02:00.001-08:00

Emery and I recently headed down to Atlanta to attend Sarah and Ragan's Kids' Christmas party. What a splendid afternoon! Ragan and Sarah went all out....delicious lunch, cute sippy cups (snowmen, polar bears, penguins), cookie decorating and lots and lots of toys! Ragan's house is stunning....I hope the party didn't wreak too much havoc. Thanks for having us! My high school friends sure do have some cute kids.
Emmy decorating her cookies (basically she just ate the frosting)

Group shot....the kids were surprisingly obedient during this

Emmy got to see Cuz!

Lunch: Chick-fil-A, PB&J sandwiches cut into Christmas shapes, fruit salad and potato chips. Yum!

December Fun

2010-12-19T15:19:00.001-08:00

Emery loves those Office Max "Elf Yourself" videos. I think these might be her favorite part of the holiday season thus far (besides snowmen....more on that in a minute). My sister made a Jib-Jab video using Hayes and Emery as the elves. Emery got such a kick out of it (and so did I) that I made another one using her Slagel cousins, Uncle Jerry and Daddy as the elf faces. It's pretty funny. I would post it on here but it's $4.99 to download and, frankly, I'm just too cheap to shell out five bucks when I can just fire up my email and see the video there.

Emery watching herself and Hayes as elves.....for about the fifteenth time.

As I mentioned above, Emery is obsessed with snowmen this year. She adores them. We have to walk Maddux by our neighbor's house every day so that Emery can wave and point to the enormous inflatable snowman in their yard. I believe Sam's Club sells those huge snowmen and I was tempted to get one, but then I found this smaller version at Publix and decided that this is more my style. The snowman is meant to go outdoors, but Emmy enjoys having it inside.

Going to give the snowman a high five

Emery has become somewhat of a picky eater these past few months. She still eats weird items for a baby (wasabi peas are her favorite and she's also fond of beef jerky), but no longer eats vegetables except when they are in beef stew. Since I'm not about to prepare beef stew every night, I researched how to get your child to eat vegetables. The Sneaky Chef to the rescue! I bought this book at Barnes & Noble and the basic idea is to make vegetable purees and sneak them into your child's meals. It works! I've even been doing it with my food as well because I know for certain that I do not eat as well as I should. We've stocked our freezer with green puree (spinach, peas and broccoli), orange puree (sweet potatoes and carrots), and white puree (zucchini and cauliflower). So far we've added the purees to Spaghettio's, jambalaya, quesadillas, beef stew and berry smoothies. Success! If any of you have picky eaters on your hands, or just want to find ways to sneak more vegetables into your own diet, check out The Sneaky Chef. Above is a picture of Emmy enjoying her smoothie completely oblivious to the fact that it's laced with spinach, peas and broccoli.

Emery attended the first birthday party of Aven and Hudson Kennemore (twins!) last weekend and had her first "Build A Bear" experience. What a great party! Kim arranged for the bear making company (Duck Duck Goose in Greer) to come to their house and outdid herself with the bear-themed party. Emery chose to make a monkey. I don't know what is so special about this monkey, but she takes it everywhere with her! Publix, the playground, Chick-fil-A, gymnastics, etc. Here she is at the birthday party giving her new BFF a hug.

If At First You Don't Succeed......

2010-12-06T13:39:00.001-08:00

Before we knew what a disaster Santa at Phipps was going to be, Ben and I made reservations to take Emery to Brunch with Santa at the country club. Thankfully, Emery did a bit better this time. I wasn't able to get any pictures of Emmy on Santa's lap with my own camera, but I'm hopeful that the professional photographer's pictures are worth purchasing. Besides visiting with Santa, we ate a delicious brunch with friends and Emery was able to run around the dining room and lobby with her playmates: Davis, Aven, Hudson and Avery.
Daddy digesting while Emery goes wild

Emery and her future hubby, Davis

Failed attempt at a family Christmas card picture

Festive Maddux

Atticus: "OMG--you look so ridiculous, I can't even look at you."

Maddux: "I know...shut up!"

Santa at Phipps and The Pink Pig

2010-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to scare the poop out of your children! Alison and I took Hayes and Emery to their Santa at Phipps appointment yesterday, which resulted in panic attacks for the kiddos. Last year they both sat on the jolly guy's lap and smiled. This year, not so much. I kind of figured this would happen, but not to this extent! Emery is usually pretty daring and friendly. I thought she might be a little apprehensive, but I did not anticipate her screaming and flailing. Thankfully, they recovered quickly and the rest of the afternoon was splendid. We ate lunch, threw pennies in the fountain and rode the Pink Pig! The Pink Pig is probably confusing to those of you not from Atlanta.....I guess it's actually a little strange even being from Atlanta. I'm not exactly sure how a big pink pig train coincides with Christmas, but it's been around since 1959. Alison and I used to ride the Pink Pig every year when we were little. Back then it was at Rich's downtown and the train was on top of the building, suspended by a rail and it circled the enormous Rich's Christmas tree. Well, now Rich's is Macy's and the pig has moved to a tent at Lenox Mall's Macy's. I guess the pig decided she would rather be in Buckhead. Not exactly the same, but still an Atlanta rite of passage. Emery and Hayes really enjoyed it.

Heartbreaking! Thankfully, Santa took it all in stride. The Santa at Phipps is incredible.

Nanny smoothing things over with candy canes and potato chips

Fear makes Emery hungry. EVERYTHING makes Emery hungry.

My parents and Nanny joined us on our adventure. Good thing! Even outnumbered 2.5:1, Hayes and Emery ran circles around us. They had so much fun playing on the stairs at the movie theater inside the mall. Thankfully, Dad watched them do this while the ladies ate. However, every now again one of them would get loose and sprint over to the food court.

Lenox has this digital mat out on display with all these fun scenes....popcorn, coffee beans, water, soccer balls, stars, etc. The kids thought this was way cool.

The Pink Pig!

Out in the west Texas town of El Paso....

2010-11-29T05:10:00.001-08:00

Ben, Emery and I spent Thanksgiving with Ben's family in El Paso. Ben's older brother Jerry, sister-in-law Korey, nephew Austin and niece Alexa live there in a fun-filled house with gorgeous views. Emery had a blast playing with her cousins and Ben and I were able to relax thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Slagel and their fabulous babysitting!
We watched "Toy Story 3" about five times during the trip. GREAT movie, although I cried at the end. Austin has this fun Buzz Lightyear scooter that Emery fell in love with.....guess we might have to tell Santa about that item.

Skinny dipping! Well, only Emery. The rest of us wore suits.

Sweet Mazie

Crazy Rosco. Jerry and Korey have the cutest, most entertaining Boxers. I hadn't seen them in two years, but I think they remembered me. I love these dogs! They are so good with the kiddos.

Grandma with Austin, Jerry with Alexa and Ben with Emery (I had a friend make these turkey shirts.....aren't they adorable?)

The next generation of Slagel women

Sunset at the country club

Emmy's first golf lesson with Daddy

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving....and a fun weekend in Atlanta

2010-11-22T09:10:00.000-08:00

Emery and I headed down to Atlanta this past weekend for the baptism of precious Bree Benich and were able to squeeze in lots of fun in 48 hours.

A trip to Starbucks with Cuz

Aren't they cute in their matching ensembles?

Random picture.....I had Emery's Easter shoes bronzed. I could just cry! She's getting so big.

Yay!!! I got to see most of my girls for dinner at Thai Diner (my absolute fave) and then a showing of "Morning Glory." Delicious dinner, chick flick and lots of catching up. Thanks, Alison, Lindsay, Meri, Paige and Tara! I had not been to a movie in YEARS (not exaggerating), so this was truly a special treat.

Emery modeling her cute Thanksgiving shirt (thanks to Jaime Butcher White!) while sitting on a Christmas tree box.

Hedklotz Park--Emmy's Favorite Place

2010-11-14T18:39:00.001-08:00

Greenville is home to one of the best playgrounds/facilities I have ever seen. Herdklotz Park boasts two playgrounds (one for little kids, one for bigger kids), a jogging path, amazing soccer fields and two pavilions with grills/restrooms/tables. It is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon....which Emery and I have done three times this week! I know the weather is about to get cool so I'm trying to cram in as many outdoor activities as possible. Emery is the type of kid who needs to be worn out.....I wake up every morning thinking "what can I do today to tire her out?" Thankfully, Herdklotz is something we can both agree on!

Making her way up to the big playground

Taking a break to watch some soccer

Showcasing her gymnastics skills

Having fun on the little playground

Deciding on a slide

Started the day off with some gummy bears

Sharing with Maddux

Emery's First Date

2010-11-11T19:51:00.001-08:00

Emery and her boyfriend, Davis, enjoyed their first date at the country club Wednesday evening. It was a last minute plan, but thankfully they were both free. Mommy and Daddy chaperoned, along with Davis's mommy and daddy--our friends Casey and Reggie. Emery is about a month older than Davis (he likes older women) and they play so well together. Davis was a perfect gentleman. Here's hoping he calls....he's still in his three day window. Fingers crossed!
Started off with warm rolls....

Took a break to run around the lobby....

Admired the pumpkin carving contest winners....

Returned for their entrees....

Emmy wanted to call Davis but Mommy gave her a lesson on how to play the game! Hee hee. She's starting young!

MORE Halloween Celebrations

2010-11-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

We finished the month with a bang. This Halloween season has been loads of fun. Every weekend included some sort of party, festival, parade, exhibit or beach trip. Emery has had so much fun...and the fun continues! Next up is a trip to El Paso for Thanksgiving with the Slagels and then comes all the Christmas events. Whew!

We went back to our old neighborhood, Richland Creek, for their annual Halloween parade. It was so fun to visit with our friends and Emery had the opportunity to explore on a fire truck.

Emery is such a tomboy! Here she is trying to wrestle with the Manning and Grimes boys.

Holy Batman!

Mommy and Emery at the start of the parade. Emery worked up quite a thirst walking up the hill.

Emery calls ghosts "boos!"

Practicing trick-or-treating in our driveway

Friday night of Halloween weekend was spent at Thornblade Country Club with the Yeltons and Kennemores at the kids' Halloween party. Hamp carved an excellent pumpkin for our table. The staff had the pumpkins hollowed out and carving kits were available for each family. Great job!

Emery checking out the other entries

Aven the Pig, Avery the Puppy, Emmy the Panda and Hudson the Monkey. Adorable!

I cannot believe Emery's panda costume from last year still fits.