Bye Bye Nursery

Well, the time has come to convert LeLe's nursery into one that Little Man can use. So, we contacted Javier the painter to come and give us a quote on the nursery and LeLe's Big Girl room. The deal was too good to pass up so he is coming tomorrow to paint the nursery.

I quickly ran to Home Depot to get paint while Matt watched LeLe. However, I didn't tell Matt that I wanted to take pictures of LeLe's nursery prior to my trip. So, when I got home, the nursery was taken apart. I about had a meltdown and my sweet little husband proceeded to hang back up all of the shelving and the pictures for us to snap a few shots....and then we quickly broke everything back down again.

I noticed after taking all of the pictures that we actually had the pictures on the wall in the wrong place and we didn't put the bed skirt back on...but hey, 30 years from now, at least LeLe will have a picture of her nursery kind of looked like.

I am sure that I have taken others throughout the year but I cannot put my hands on them. So for now...presenting the last of LeLe's nursery....

Roll Tide!

The Welborn family came over after the Alabama Auburn game to visit. We had a wonderful time as always with them. We were all such a nervous wreck from the game when everyone got here. The children had a wonderful time playing. Brenda was so thoughtful and as always brought a ton of books for LeLe.

We grabbed a shot of the children...I believe that it is bbq smokies that LeLe has all over her face. I am not sure how in the world we didn't notice it until after the pictures were taken.

Notice that I have already brought out LeLe's Christmas outfits. Christmas starts the day after Thanksgiving you know!

Oh! For a little funny...I decided that at midnight (Thanksgiving evening) that I would weather the crowd to save some money on a bounce house for LeLe's birthday gift. So, I laid around all night for the clock to finally get to 11:45. I snuck out of the house (trying not to wake anyone) and loaded up into Matt's car (so I wouldn't have to open the garage). Anyway, I finally got the car heated up about the time that I pulled off of the interstate onto 31 to go to Toys R Us. Let's just say....I should add to my Thanksgiving list....I am thankful that I DO NOT have to shop on Black Friday. The parking lot was completely full. Folks were walking over from the Galleria. The line started at Toys R Us, wrapped around in front of where Goodys used to be, around the side of the building and then back around the back of the store. To say the least, after 5 additional cop cars arrived and a fight almost broke out in front of the store...I decided to take my tail back home.....as quickly as possible. So for now, no bounce house for little bit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is already here. I cannot count the things that I am thankful for...God has blessed us in SO many ways....but for a few...

1. I am thankful for a wonderful, loving husband; healthy and happy daughter; loving friends and family
2. I am thankful that my daddy is doing well and didn't spend this year in the hospital.
3. I am thankful to have a roof over my head and a place to call home.
4. I am thankful that God is going to bless us another time with a precious child.
5. I am thankful to be able to talk, walk and laugh.

We ended up going to my Aunt Lisa's house for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving lunch has been served every year of my entire life. Once my grandmother no longer could do it at her house, we have been going to Lisa's. We have the traditional family luncheon with a nap shortly following. This year, however, I skipped on the nap and started putting up Christmas decorations.

The meal was fantastic and the entertainment (by Anne Reaves, Saxon and LeLe) was top notch.

Thanks Lisa for letting us join in Thanksgiving with you again this year!

Dollywood AGAIN!!

The weather decided to turn wet and chilly...or shall I say...chillier...

We decided to sleep in for the morning...or at least that was the plan. LeLe was so tired from the night before that she fell asleep on one of the "big" beds in one of the spare rooms. In an effort to test the waters, I left her in the bed instead of moving her to the pack-n-play. Let's just say that Matt and I had a visitor beginning around 7:30 the next morning. So, up and Adam!

We chose to go eat breakfast at the Apple Barn. Several folks had told me about the place. We ended up having to wait about 45 minutes before we got served and barely made it on the breakfast menu. We were able to enjoy some apple fritters and homemade apple butter. The food was the best that we have had yet! LeLe also enjoyed some of their fresh juice.

After leaving there, we decided to run to the Bass Pro Shop. What we thought was going to be a quick trip turned into a very long trip.... Evidently, a lot of people were headed back home and therefore, we got stuck in traffic. Finally, we made it there to be somewhat disappointed. I bet that there were 1000+ people waiting to get into the place. I was amazed at all of the folks and their patience to wait in line for a Santa. I mean I love Santa...but a 3 hour wait....may just be too much for me!!

After our 2 hour trip to the Bass Pro Shop, we headed back home where LeLe was suppose to take a nap. I am not sure why we thought that today would be different than the other days that she hadn't taken a nap....but it wasn't. Matt did let me run to a couple of stores while she tried to go to sleep. Let's just say that she got into some deep discussion with BabyBop and Barney about Dollywood. As soon as I walked back into the door, she was UP and ready to participate in some more Dollywood. She also enjoyed looking at the largest pickle and tomato ever grown. We had to get a picture....for Pappy!

So, off we went, this time around 4:30 to make one last mark on Dollywood. Again, she declared what rides she wanted to test out and again, we followed suit. It just made our day seeing her little happy face and her making the appropriate noises on each of the rides. While on the ducks, she would shout "QUACK QUACK" every time that her little duck came around....same for the pigs and bumble bees. We again rode several different animals on the merry go round.

Around dark, we decided to call it a day (as it was getting really chilly). So, we went to grab a bite to eat at the Old Mill Restaurant. It was good but we are ready to get home.


Oh! I added some pictures of our cabin too!

Dollywood!!

So, Matt and I decided to go back to Dollywood for a full action packed day. Luckily, we learned a few things from the night before and were more prepared for the day. We got there when the rides opened at 11 Eastern. LeLe was able to ride most of the rides at least once before anyone else joined her on them. We even snuck in a picture with Santa. Matt had to tell Santa what he wanted too. Let's just hope he provides. :)

LeLe was in HEAVEN!! She would bark orders to her daddy on which rides she wanted to test out next. I believe she rode each one of them at least 5 or 6 times. She also rode on the beautiful carousel. The carousel was a little different than the one at the zoo and the Galleria as it had dragons, pigs, reindeer and many many more to choose from. So, guess what, we tried all most every one of them out.

Luckily, we also found a playground that LeLe was able to enjoy. Matt was able to sneak in a few roller coasters throughout the day. We had a WONDERFUL time and are very thankful for Dollywood!

During the afternoon, we learned that the floors were not going to be ready until the Monday. So, we ended up trading in our day passes to be annual passes so that we could enjoy Dollywood one more day.


We went back to our cabin for LeLe to take a nap but...she NEVER went to sleep. So, we loaded her back up, with several layers of clothing and decided to try to catch the train through the mountains. Unfortunately, we were just a few minutes too late and had to ride some additional rides until the 8:00 train came back. LeLe very much enjoyed the train ride...especially when it blew the loud horn. We rushed to find somewhere to eat but to our dismay, all of the places close at 9:00. So, we ended up getting a nutritious meal at Burger King.

Gatlinburg

Matt, LeLe and I woke up fairly early (around 8:30) our time and headed to downtown Gatlinburg. We decided to go ahead and go to Gatlinburg today and check it all out. We were able to quickly get into the city and park. Luckily, there weren't a lot of people.

We visited several stores and then the Ripley's Aquarium. LeLe enjoyed seeing all of the fish and we enjoyed warming up too. Following the aquarium, we grabbed some lunch at Calhoun's. They claim to have the best BBQ but I disagree.





After grabbing some lunch, we jumped on the Ober Gatlinburg Lift and headed up the mountain. Matt and I have several memories from us growing up of this place. While we weren't brave enough to do any ice skating, Matt and LeLe did head down the mountain on alpine slide. LeLe enjoyed the quarter rides on the horses as well.

On the road again...

Well, 2 weeks have FLOWN by and it is now time for us to get our new hardwood floors stained. So, we are off to Gatlinburg. Neither Matt nor I have been to Gatlinburg in years and have very fond memories of it as a child. We headed out about mid-morning.

We got to Gatlinburg around 3:00 (Central time) and headed to our cabin, Bear Essentials. Let's just say that I should have known by the name that this place wasn't going to fit the bill. Matt and I headed up the huge mountain to get the keys to the place and then drove about 15 more minutes to find that Bear Essentials...was simply that...bare essentials. The cabin (which was beautifully shown on the website) was one HUGE room with 2 hot tubs. While I would LOVE to sit in a hot tub, the idea of the 3 of us trying to eat, sleep and watch tv in the same room for 4 days was not appealing. If you know me, you know that I am DEAD set on LeLe sleeping in her own room and therefore, I didn't want to rock the boat now. Oh! Did I mention that the cabin overlooked....15 other cabins and a parking lot? and....that they were building a cabin right below us so you can imagine the echo back up the mountain.

So, we loaded back up and headed back to the rental place with much more descriptive expectations....one of which was a view...and the other, is a cabin with more than one room. We were even willing to give up a hot tub or 2!

I believe I also failed to mention that my child does NOT nap in the car....so as you can probably imagine it was getting interesting. Matt graciously volunteered to go into the rental place and leave me in the car with the "not so pleasant" child. When he returned, we were the proud renters of a 3 bedroom 3 bath cabin on the edge of a mountain. Luckily, this time, we were able to at least get a view of some trees and not our neighbors (in their hot tubs).

By the point that we were settled in the cabin, it was time to go grab some dinner. We decided that we would take some advice from a friend and eat at a restaurant that had a carousel. As you can probably tell from all of the pictures that I have posted, LeLe loves it! While I am sure that the place was great for some, I should have known from the empty parking lot and restaurant that we were in for a treat. Let's just say that the food left something to be desired and they left us with a $60tab (and Matt and I split a meal). The carousel was a hit and due to the fact that LeLe had not had a nap, it served as a meal.

We then headed to the Christmas Inn (that was located next door) long enough to realize, we had ceased all energy with LeLe and it was time for us to call it an evening.

Cinderella Hair?

Just a funny picture of LeLe's crazy hair....

Bobo calls LeLe's hair "Cinderella" hair because it is blonde. Matt calls it "princess" hair and well....she loves Cinderella and princesses. Regardless, I don't think Cinderella has ever had a hair day like this!

Trip to the Zoo

Matt was on the mend and was determined to get out of the house. So, we headed to the zoo. Let me say...we are still cloroxing and spraying lysol ALL over the house. Luckily, I have yet to get "the bug".

LeLe had a great time running around with her daddy. She discovered that she also LOVES riding on his neck. What a beautiful and wonderful day in Birmingham!

Happy Birthday Allie!!

Matt was up all night sick with a stomach bug. Okay, let me just say, we were both up all night with Matt having a stomach bug. So, in an effort to stay well, LeLe and I headed out early on Saturday while he slept.

We met Bobo at 9:30 to head to Tannehill for the trade day. However, once we got all of the way out there, we found out that it wasn't until next weekend. So, I took Bobo back home and headed to the grocery store to pick up some sick essentials. LeLe enjoyed the beautiful weather. She spent an hour or so outside playing with the dogs and on her swing set. The weather was so beautiful, we were able to leave the doors open while she played outside. I quickly got her down for a nap so that she would be replenished for Allie's big day!

We headed to Veteran's Park to Allie's party. LeLe had a great time playing with the other children and really enjoyed the swingset. She didn't eat very much of her cupcake but rather decided to wear the icing.

We are so happy that Allie is two!! Happy Birthday Baby Allie!!

Appliques...finally

I have finally gotten my embroidery machine fixed. It has been a long drawn out process but it finally fixed. So, I have been trying to catch up on some outfits that have been hanging out in the sewing room.

LeLe still hasn't felt well. However, a ring pop always makes her feel better. Tonight, her daddy found this bunny face sucker that we have had since Easter. So, of course, she got it. Let's just say...I guess candy has more than a 6 month shelf life!