Happy 5th birthday Catie!

We traveled to Knoxville to celebrate Catie Beth's 5th birthday in April. Everyone enjoyed playing at her house. It was a perfect day to play outside and Catie was SO excited to see Adeline and Evie!

little more April...

So I forgot to post about our fabulous weekend with friends. The first of April, we had 7 adults and 4 extra children visit our house for the weekend. It was a crazy, fun filled weekend with lots of laughter! We just wish we could see them all more. Here are a few fun pics from the weekend at the Thomas house...

Easter bonnet dance

Adeline's dance class made Easter bonnets and put on a little Easter dance show for the parents this week. I have to say, it was pretty darn cute! Adeline is by far the smallest 3 year old in her class, but as you can see, she did pretty well. Her teacher told her to stay on her circle...so she did just that!! She was so excited that her daddy was able to come watch too. Special times!

CINCINNATI

We took a family trip to Cincinnati last weekend to go to a Reds baseball game, visit the Cincinnati Zoo and see some family. We all had a great time! Here's a clip of Evie who was very excited about the homerun!

February in the Grove...and Richmond...and Cancun

February started off very cold here in the Grove. Grammy and Granddaddy came to visit the first weekend in February (which happened to be Grammy's birthday!!). The girls and I made her a chocolate peanut butter cake. It was delicious!
We had a nice Valentine's day celebrated with great friends. Torrey, Dan and Savannah came to visit us over Valentine's weekend. It was great to finally meet little Savannah and of course Adeline and Evie loved her...maybe a little too much! With so man cookie lover in the house, we couldn't resist making chocolate chunk cookies with Torrey! Always a fun time with the Linders!
The next week, Mike and I went to Cancun work a sales reward trip for 5 days. We flew from Nashville to Norfolk so the girls could spend time with Meme and Pawpaw, then we flew from Norfolk to Cancun for our trip. It was such a nice change to go from 30 degree weather to 85 in Cancun. From what I hear, the girls had a great time with Meme and Pawpaw too. They also were able to see grandma, David and Cheryl while they were in Richmond. We are SO lucky to have such an awesome Meme. You would have never guessed she didn't have children of her own : ) She is truly a blessing to us and our family. It was very hard for the girls to leave her. I think everyone was sad. We will just have to schedule another visit soon!
Back to school and work for a week and a half before we head out on our next trip...

January=snow month for Nashville

We had MANY snow storms this month. We spent some time playing in it...College Grove style that is...in the laundry basket (as a sled of course!) and Evie enjoyed tasting it! We made more cookies this month and some snow cream. Daddy didn't travel much this month which was VERY nice. I stopped working full time as well this month. I'm definitely enjoying my days off with my sweet girlies!
We also went to the Circus this month. I was worried the girls would think it was too loud since that's what Adeline said last year, but they both LOVED it! Adeline actually cried when we had to leave. She was sch a great big sis "narrating" everything she saw. Evie said a lot of "oh" and enjoyed the elephants. Adeline wanted to know when we could go back...I guess the zoo will have do til next year!
Adeline started taking dance (ballet and tap) this month and Evie started taking a parent/child gymnastics class. It has been such a joy to watch them interact with their peers. I have really enjoyed spending some alone time with Evie in her gymnastics class too. She is such the little dare devil!
I tackled some winter projects. I painted our master bedroom and bathroom and made some more pants for the girls. The snow has been fun, but we are looking forward to some warmer weather soon.

Three months to catch up on...

Once again it has been a while since my last post. I left off in December 2010...we did many things in December including making LOTS of cookies, went to the Opryland, Saw Santa, had visitors and traveled. We also got our first round of snow in December. Here's a clip from our visit with Santa this year. As you can see, it went well! Well, I can't seem to be able to upload it right now, will keep trying, but there was A LOT of screaming!!
Grammy and Granddaddy came in for a very short visit. They cut their trip short due to a snowy forecast, but we still enjoyed them and opened a few Christmas presents. Here's Adeline's favorite present thus far... (video below)
We traveled to Richmond for a few days at Christmas. Adeline and Evie took a few minutes out of their day to work out with daddy at Meme and Pawpaw's house...too cute!


Christmas pictures to come as well as January and February updates...

Savannah is here!!

My good friend Torrey had her beautiful baby girl Friday Dec 3, 2010. She was 6 pounds, 15 ounces and 20 inches long and had a head full of dark hair! Mom, dad and baby are all doing well and are home now. We can't wait to take a trip to Atlanta soon to meet her.

2010 Opryland Christmas

Tis the season...Since Mike and I have lived in Nashville, we have made it our little tradition to visit Opryland hotel at Christmas. It is a beautiful place all year, but especially gorgeous this time of year. This years visit was even more special. The Nashville flood this past April put Opryland hotel 8-12 feet under water. It was closed from April until mid November. It has reopened with more beauty and class than ever. The girls enjoyed looking at the lights, decorations, hot air balloons and riding in the man elevators! We saw Santa while we were there which was interesting! Mommy sat next to Santa as Adeline bear hugged me and Evie pulled as far away from Santa as she could. Needless to say, there were no smiles (other than mommy's) in our picture! Adeline and Evie thoroughly enjoyed riding the train and having milk and cookies with Mrs. Claus and reading stories.
Our beautiful home is decorated, shopping is done, Eddie the Elf has arrived, Christmas countdown chain has begun, emails from Santa received, gingerbread house has been decorated...just waiting for Santa...

Disney Live!!

The four of us went to see Disney Live: Mickey's Rockin Road Show in Nashville. We knew Adeline would enjoy it, but we had no idea how much Evie would like it. Adeline laughed and talked to Mickey and all the Disney friends and Evie was in awe...pointing and ohing throughout the show. Adeline was especially excited when Cinderella, Woody and Tigger made an appearance in the show.

Thanksgiving in Chattanooga

We traveled to Chattanooga for Thanksgiving this year. We stayed at Lanie's house for a few days, had dinner at Adam's sister's house and even found some time to run an 8k. The girls had lots of fun playing with Jenna, Miles, Meme and Pawpaw, then we were off to Knoxville for the TN/KY game. The fun continued for the girls in Knoxville as they stayed at Grammy and Granddaddy's house and played with Catie and Ashley. Never a dull moment for these expert travelers!

Tailgating at Vandy

We took the girls to Vanderbilt right before thanksgiving to tailgate for the Tennessee/Vandy game. To say they loved it would be an understatement. They ate, danced, played corn hole and cheered as you can see! They even learned how to stick their tongues out when asked what to say for Vanderbilt. A fun time for all!!

October...full of pumpkin patching

We went to the pumpkin patch not once but twice this year. The girls couldn't get enough of it! We went the second time with grammy and granddaddy when they came to visit. The first time we went, Evie tantrumed when we were leaving, but once she realized a pumpkin was going home with her, she was ok. Chris, Christy, Catie and Ashley also came to visit in October. We had fun dressing up and going to the Pumpkin Fest in Franklin. Adeline was a ladybug again...she insisted and Evie was a flower (and did NOT want to take her hat off!) she was the cutest little flower ever!! They were just precious going trick or treating in our neighborhood too. Adeline was cute when we got home. She was impressed that she got 10 pieces of candy and wanted to know the names of everything...poor deprived child didn't know what a Reese's was! We also flew to Richmond this month to go to my high school reunion. It was fun to visit with Meme and Pawpaw for a while as well. Evie continues to follow Adeline everywhere and says new words everyday! Love those girls!!

It's football time in Tennessee...and fall fun!

September definitely marks a busy time for us for traveling to Knoxville for football games and all our other fall activities. Adeline actually started taking big girl gymnastic classes in August right before her birthday. She was very hesitant at first, but she gets a little more 'gutsy' each week. She is for sure the smallest and youngest in the class.
Mike and I met some friends to tailgate for the UT/FL game in early September. We continued some house projects later in the month as well. Adeline and Evie got an awesome new outside toy as well. I will post a picture of it. It is PERFECT for our big yard!!
We had many birthday parties to attend as well which the girls loved. They also enjoyed helping mommy plant bulbs...it was SO cute!
September also marked going back to work full time for mommy. It was a little bit of an adjustment for us all, but is going well.

July & August fun...Adeline is three!!

After our trip to Atlanta in July, we came home to relax...well you know how that goes with the Thomas family-a little relaxing and a lot of working and staying busy. We decided to take Evie's pacie away when we returned from GA. She was only attached to it at night, but I was determined to get rid of it before she could ask for it by name. The initial 2 weeks of falling asleep were rough for her, but she was soon over it and such a big girl!
Adeline turned 3 on August 23rd. She was SO excited about her birthday this year and couldn't wait to go to the park to play with firends and eat her Mickey Mouse cake mommy made. It was a perfect Saturday morning in August for a party, not too hot. Everyone had a blast and Adeline talked about it for weeks!

Atlanta trip

After we returned from the beach, we unpacked and repacked for a trip to see friends in Atlanta. It was a fun filled (and not so fun filled) weekend! We went to see the Braves play, visited the Atlanta Aquarium, helped Torrey register at Babies R Us and enjoyed some nice meals with great friends.
Adeline LOVED the baseball game. Torrey told her all about the players and got her doing the 'chop' in no time! I think Evie's favorite was the aquarium. She said a lot of "ohhhh" while pointing to all the fish.
Unfortunately, the 'not so fun' part was that Adeline got sick on our way back from the aquarium. Luckily it was Sunday and we were leaving, but then mommy got it. After feeling nauseous and stopping to clean up vomit on our way back to Nashville, we decided to stop and get a hotel. Mommy just didn't have the strength to continue! we were all better within a few days, thankfully!

Beach bound!

Every year we go to my dad's(Pawpaw's) beach house on the Chesapeake Bay for fourth of July week. We had a great time this year with the girls. Evie had a great time in the sand and Adeline and her cousin Jenna played and played! It was a nice relaxing trip for us all and as always Meme and Pawpaw were fabulous hosts! The girls also enjoyed going to the Virgina Zoo. Evie gave a lot of "ohhh"s while pointing to the animals. Here's a video of Evie enjoying the sand. She gets very excited at the end of the clip.
...and Mike entertains the girls...

Adeline goes to camp...

Mid June marks UT Majorette Camp time. Every year, I teach the girls at camp in Knoxville. This year as I was making up routines in our driveway in April, Adeline "twirled" beside me as Evie laughed at us. She then asked repeatedly if she could go "twirl with the big girls". I responded repeatedly "not this year, maybe when you are bigger" and to that she said "but I AM big, I'm a big sister and go pee pee on the potty". So I couldn't argue with that now could I? Adeline and her cousin Catie went to camp together. They had a blast! Catie was quite the little twirler and Adeline followed along VERY well for a 2 year old! Adeline won the best dressed in orange twirler and really enjoyed the streamers. high kicks...

Evie is walking!!!

Evie started walking on her own on the first of June. She had taken a few steps alone before then, but this was the first time she actually took off...and I of course caught it on camera :) This shows how fearless she is. Her first cruise alone was outside in the grass! Watch how good she does with the hose in her way...SO BIG!!

Little Snuggle Bear turns 1!

Evie was one on May 7th, 2010. We had her 'bear' party on Sat May 9th at our house in College Grove. We had lots of family in as well as friends. The new play set was a HUGE success at the party! Evie was VERY close to walking at her party. She was really funny with her cake too...she decided to just lean right into it, face first. Evie is such a little sweetie! She is curious about everything and ADORES her big sis! We still haven't found a food she will not eat : ) Here's a video of her getting in her cake and one of her walking at her party...

OVERWHELMED!!

I haven't entered a post since April, now it is September...wow, I'm overwelmed, where to start? So much has happened since then...Nashville flood, 2 birthday parties, summer fun... Ok, here we go: Evie began to get a little of her sister's (and daddy's) "clown" personality around 11 months. Below is a clip from her putting peas in her hair. She thinks she is hilarious!


Nashville unfortunately had a flood at the end of April. It was devasting to most of downtown, Opry Mills, parts of Franklin and other areas. We thankfully, didn't experience any problems at our house other than a little water in our unfinished basement. Nashville is slowly recovering, but many families are still without homes.

Thomas happenings

I have posted a few videos below. These are the most recent ones of little Evie. One is of her walking with the help of mommy...notice how happy it makes her : ) and the other is of some of her "tricks". She is a signing champ. She has about 20 signs now and LOVES that she knows how to communicate with us!
In the past few months we have been very busy (of course, as usual!). We have enjoyed the snow, gone to the zoo and recently enjoyed playing outside in the nice weather.
We traveled to Chattanooga in March for the birth of cousin Miles. Adeline enjoyed playing with Jenna, as always! We were in Knoxville for Easter and for Catie's 4th birthday party. It was nice to see all of the Thomas family as well.
I still think Evie may be walking by her birthday, which is May 7th. She is very strong and has absolutely NO FEAR...I think Adeline got all of that!
Adeline has been taking swimming lessons, which she surprisingly LOVES! Daddy has just finished the girl's outside playset and it was a HUGE hit last night once the swings and slide were attached.
Mike is still traveling quite a bit and I have switched jobs. All is well there.
This past weekend, we enjoyed having some friends come in town to visit for some much needed r and r.

So many signs

Practicing walking

It's been a while....

Sorry it has been so long since the last post. Here are 2 videos of Evie....one of her happy little self jumping in her jumperoo and the other of her dandcing in her highchair and waving. She was 7 and 8 months in these pictures. What a joy! More videos and updates to come hopefully tomorrow!

BIG GIRL PANTIES

As soon as I wrote the last post, Adeline started wearing big girl panties ONLY! She has been without diapers/pull-ups for a week now and continues to do fantastic! She doesn't even want to wear them at bedtime. It amazes me how long she can go in between potty visits (much longer than her mommy!). She is very proud of herself! Our only issue now is how in the world do we keep pants on a 23 pound almost 2 1/2 year old and where can I buy infant big girl panties : )...oh, and what do we do now with all our extra money we were spending on diapers!

We went to the circus last weekend. Adeline LOVED the elephants and zebras and Evie slept. We are off to Knoxville this weekend for Evie's baptism. It will be a special day for sure. We can't wait to hear one of Mike's original songs played during the service.

So many new things happening....

Once we got back home from the holidays and in our routine of work/school again this month, the fun continued...
Adeline finally decided she didn't want to wear her diapers. She has been in pull-ups for 2 weeks now and has done fantastic! The past few days now she has had her 'big girl panties' on with NO ACCIDENTS!! We are SO proud and she LOVES being "My a big girl!".

The very same day Adeline decided we were going to sit on the potty, Evie decided it was time to move...she is crawling everywhere now!! As of this week, she has one tooth coming in too! Our girls are growing up fast. Our sweet buggy and peanut bear are a joy each day!

Enjoy this video of Evie a day before she took off!!

Christmas fun!

As usual, our Christmas involved lots of traveling, family and fun! Our trip to Richmond was 'detoured' as the snow storm hit before we were able to arrive. We made it there eventually, but unfortunately had a short trip : ( We then traveled to Knoxville to have Christmas with the Thomas family and finally home to Nashville for our first Christmas in our new house!

Adeline enjoyed making cookies MANY times in December (which is probably why mommy gained 5 pounds!). Our friends Torrey and Dan came in to visit and to attend our Tacky Sweater party, Evie loved it all, and Adeline went to Knoxville for a 'big girl' trip to grammy's house. Meanwhile, mommy turned 32 and mommy and daddy enjoyed the new year partying with their neighbors.

The videos below are of Evie unwrapping her first present in Richmond (with help from big sis), Adeline dancing with Jenna at the annual bowl-off, Adeline making some of her famous Christmas cookies and Evie having fun with the tissue paper.

SO VERY HAPPY!

Here are two clips that pretty much sum up our little "Eves" as Adeline calls her. Lovin life~

Sesame Street Live!

Here are some clips of Adeline from Sesame Street Live. She LOVED it and I'm pretty sure she has told everyone about it since then!! It was such a joy for us to watch her enjoy the show.

Babbling

Evie's favorite things to do these days...babble and laugh at her big sis!

Adeline's new hair cut

I gave Adeline a big girl hair cut a few weeks ago. It took us a few times to get it even! She LOVES it. I think it makes her look much older. Here are 2 good pictures of the new do...

Halloween

Well, as usual, we had a busy October and Halloween. We traveled to Gatlinburg and spent a few days with my friends, then went to the game, trick-or-treated in Knoxville, then home to Nashville. Adeline and Evie went to Knoxville and tailgated with us for a while Saturday. I wasn't sure how they were going to react to all the activity, but they both LOVED it! Adeline danced and of course ate all day and loved all the people! Evie was as happy as could be and tried to drink some beer...not a good sign since she is only 6 months old!! Adeline didn't do much trick-or-treating because it was raining, but she did get to spend some time with her Grammy and Granddaddy and the Thomas family. They were both pumpkins this year because Adeline had to dress "like my baby sister Evie Evelyn" as she said!
Evie is still growing like a weed. She will be 6 months this Friday. She loves laughing at her silly big sis and makes lots of sounds.

Love the laughs!

Evie has turned into quite the laughing machine these days. She gets tickled easily while she is playing, watching her big sis and during raspberries on the belly!

Fall fun!

I can't believe it's already mid October. Fall is here, the weather is beautiful and lots of fun at the Thomas house. We have traveled to Knoxville for some UT football games, gone to the pumpkin patch, the Nashville Zoo, the outdoor mall, the park, birthday parties and had a few play dates. Adeline LOVES to "GO". She doesn't care where, she just wants to be out with people. Evie is still as sweet as pie! Our little bear has found her feet. She holds on to them and rocks from side to side when we put her on her back. We go to the doctor next month for her 6 month check-up. I'm not sure how much she weighs, but she looks bigger and longer everyday! She is catching up FAST to her tiny big sis!