Merry Christmas!!

Family Picture....not sure why the color is so weird :)

Check out the huge wrestling ring I spent an hour putting together!

Isabelle with her Aunt Jill

Skyping with Mamaw in New York

Check out my cool quad Uncle Tanner and Aunt Nikki got me!!

Even though Isabelle still doesn't understand how Christmas works and what it's all about, it was still a lot of fun at Christmas this year! Our day started off with going over to my sister's house to watch my niece and nephew open up some gifts. By 9am we were back home to meet Jeremy's brother and his wife over at our house to exchange some gifts. By 10:30, Jeremy was on the road to Wilmington, NC to pick up his mom from the airport. Isabelle and I stayed behind and Skyped my mom so she could watch Isabelle and I open some gifts from her and my dad. From an already busy morning, Isabelle was definitely ready for a nap! By the time she woke up, Jeremy was home with his mom and we did a few more gifts before heading back to my sister's for a meal and time with the family. That evening we finally finished up opening the rest of the gifts. Isabelle was absolutely exhausted from all the activities and fun of the day and crashed not long after. We had a really great day, but definitely missed our family that wasn't there :( We all got so many amazing gifts and feel so blessed. We tried to not get so wrapped up in the festivities, but remember what this time of year is all about and rejoicing in the birth of Jesus. What a wonderful day!

Mommy's Little Helper...Not Really!

Helping put the dishes away...climbs in the cabinet....thinks she's stuck and starts crying!

Hmmm, what's in here??

Silly Girl!

She got so messy during dinner I had to just take her shirt off and her hair is all over the place from me wiping food out of it!! She speeds right over to the dishwasher when we open it...I don't know what she finds so fascinating about it!

Mommy puts the clothes in the dryer, and Isabelle throws them out at the same time!

Birthday Party!

Had to call in cousin Robert for some help!


Having pizza with Grandma, so glad she came!


Tearing into all her gifts


Jeremy and his "mini-me"


I know Isabelle has been 1 for almost 3 weeks now....but I'm just now getting a chance to blog about her birthday party!! Anyway, her party was a lot of fun. We just had a small get-together at the house with family and a few friends. She got some really great gifts for her birthday. We're so thankful to everyone who brought gifts, sent gifts in the mail, as well as several cards and Happy Birthday messages. Thank you everyone who thought of our baby girl on her special day. She got a lot of help from her cousins Robert and Karli with opening her gifts and even tearing into her cake! She was a little timid with the cake at first. I let Robert show her how it was done, then she really got into it!! Isabelle was also fortunate to have BOTH of her grandmas in town for her party. My mom was already in town and had made arrangements to leave the day after her birthday. Jeremy's mom surprised us all and showed here the day before Isabelle's birthday!! She rode in a bus for a full day and a half to be here for her only granddaughter's first birthday, it was really special. We're so thankful to the Lord for our precious, healthy, thriving baby girl. We had an awesome first year with her and look forward to what's to come.

Oh how she's grown....

Pretty Girl


This is how she loves to sleep these days



How tiny she looked in her crib at just 1 month old


Almost outgrown her infant carrier


The day we brought her home from the hospital, so little
in her big carseat



Last weekend we celebrated Isabelle's 1st birthday (post and pics from her party later!). Her 1st birthday was very bitter sweet for me. The day before and the day of her birthday I kept reminiscing about those last moments leading up to her birth. I would look at the clock and say "at this time, one year ago, I was...." and fill in the blank with what was happening right at that moment. I remember everything so clearly still, and I hope that I always will. It's amazing how much can happen in one year. How you can can become a parent, and suddenly be somebody's mommy. This year has been a roller coaster of emotions. I've experienced some of the highest highs imaginable when my baby entered into this world, and literally feeling my heart fill to the brim with joy when I look into her face everyday. When we met eyes and she smiled at me for the first time, I was on cloud nine. There's been some lows as well, especially those early months when the nights were never ending and I never thought I'd get a full night of sleep again. And when the tears would flow, and nothing I did would stop them, or when I couldn't console a teething baby. However, the rewards and joy of having her makes even the hardest times pale in comparison. It also amazes me how much change a baby experiences in the first year. They go from sleeping all the time and not being able to get around...to talking, some walking, and eating solid foods! In any case, I feel so overwhelmingly blessed and thankful to the Lord for giving us our precious Isabelle. She has filled our lives and hearts with tremendous joy.

Halloween!

Our little nurse!

We called the one on the right our Izzy pumpkin because it

has just two bottom teeth like Isabelle!

This Halloween was not all that eventful since Jeremy and I both had to work. However, we did dress Isabelle up and my mom took her out trick-or-treating a little bit with my sister and her kids. She's not walking yet and still too young for the whole halloween thing, but it was fun to dress her up and she collected some candy for mom and dad! I decided to dress Isabelle up as a little baby nurse, maybe a glimpse into her future?? :) She looked so cute and I think she had fun. I'm looking forward to next year, I think she'll enjoy herself more.

Girls Weekend - Myrtle Beach '09

Beautiful afternoon at the beach


At the spa!


A few weeks ago three of my girlfriends from college came down to Myrtle Beach and we had a girls weekend!! Since I'm not really centrally located for everyone, this is the first time we had girls weekend on my turf : ) The girls arrived Friday night and we just hung out and got all caught up with each other. Saturday morning we had appointments at the spa and that was wonderful! That afternoon it was really hot so we headed to the beach for a while. It was so beautiful and incredibly relaxing. Afterwards, we went out for dinner, did some shopping, and called it a night with a movie and a batch of brownies! It was a short visit, but very enjoyable. It was nice to get away from our kids, husbands and jobs to spend some good girl time together. We definitely had a lot of laughs, and I'm so thankful for my Liberty girls!!

Trip to New York

Thomas, Elise and baby Leah. We were actually in town during their anniversary and watched all 3 kids while they went to dinner...boy, that was an adventure! :)


All sweaty after hiking a trail in a park. He's my sweet little man




Isabelle always lays on a pillow while drinking her juice, so Thomas decided to join her! It was definitely a photo op!

Precious Leah, such a sweetheart


Picking apples


A couple weeks ago, Isabelle, Jeremy, and I went to New York to visit family. We wanted to meet our new little niece (and Isabelle's new cousin), baby Leah Madison. Also, to spend time with my other little nephew, Thomas, as well as my brother and his wife. Isabelle was such a trooper and did great traveling. She got a little restless on the plane, but we just had to keep giving her snacks and different toys. However, the flight home was a different story. That flight was in the evening, so by the time we traveled to the airport, Isabelle didn't get a good nap in and she was beat. Needless to say, we were flying right at her bedtime and she had enough!! She screamed for the first 3o minutes of the flight!! Poor thing had been so good all week and put up with all the traveling, but she was at her wits end by this time. In any case, we made it home safely.

We had a really great visit in New York. Leah is so precious and I really enjoyed meeting her and cuddling with her, she is such a sweetheart. Thomas is a ball of energy! He's such a little lover though, too. We had a blast playing with him, he kept us laughing that's for sure! This trip was definitely the highlight of our summer. We went to a farm and went apple picking one day, and to a park another day. Mostly, we just spent time together at the house, playing with the kids, and making food. Sure it got hectic sometimes with all the kids and their different nap schedules, and wasn't always the easiest traveling with a baby, but we wouldn't have traded this trip for anything. We both agreed that this trip was better than any tropical trip we could have taken...it was a trip where memories were made. We definitely want to keep the tradition up and getting all together as often as possible. It is so important that our kids know each other well and we know our nieces and nephews like our own. We love you Thomas, Elise, Thomas and Leah!!

11 months old!

She loves taking walks in her stroller and bringing her new purse






Of course she's rocking a Steelers cheerleading outfit!!




Look at my 2 new teeth!!


October 1st, Isabelle turned 11 months old. Oh how time flies!! This has been a pretty big month for Isabelle. After many many months of drooling, chewing on everything in sight, and lots of gum pain...Isabelle cut two teeth this month!! She has definitely mastered crawling and is a little speed demon! She pulls up on everything, but is not terribly interested in walking right now. I try to hold her hands and get her to take steps, but she would much rather get down and crawl knowing that she will get there faster that way...little smarty pants : ) She has us laughing all the time now. She scrunches her face up and blows really hard out of her nose. She says "dada" all the time and throws in a "mama" here and there. She babbles all the time and she loves to wave, especially with both arms at the same time! This month, Isabelle also had her first airplane ride. We went to New York and had a great time (post and pics to come!). We are so thankful for our wonderful baby girl and how she has grown and developed so much over this year.

Casey and Danielle's visit to Myrtle Beach

A couple weeks ago, two of my very close childhood friends, Casey and Danielle, came for a visit! Danielle already had planned a trip to Myrtle Beach. Her parents have a house here now, so I get to see her a lot more now than I used to. Casey lives in Charlotte, and at the last minute was able to come down for a couple days while Danielle was in town so she could visit with us both at one time. We went to the beach, did some shopping, and went out to eat. Casey met Isabelle for the first time, so that was nice. I really enjoyed spending time with them...the visit was short, but very sweet!

Kenny Chesney Concert

Of course we had to wear our cowboy hats!



As many of you know, Jeremy and I are big country music fans. Our anniversary celebration this year was a Kenny Chesney concert in Charleston, SC. It was a great concert and we really enjoyed ourselves. We arrived in Charleston in the afternoon and spent some time doing some shopping and had some dinner before the concert. It was also nice that our hotel was in walking distance to the coliseum, so we didn't have to worry about parking and traffic. It was a great time! We hated to leave our Isabelle for the night, but she had a great time hanging out with her Aunt and Uncle.

Our last two years of marriage have been very busy, but wonderful as well. I'm so thankful for my husband and our family. We look forward to many more great years together and pray the Lord's continued blessing over our marriage.

Pulling Up

Lately Isabelle has been pulling up to a standing position on EVERYTHING!!! It's her most favorite thing to do. She's starting to "cruise" along the furniture a little bit, so we're thinking that walking will be in her near future. However, she will occasionally let go without realizing and she immediately falls to her butt or tips over! Needless to say, she has already gotten her share of bangs and bumps already as she has been exploring the house more. My prayer is that the Lord will keep her safe now that she is becoming more and more mobile!