Happy Half-Birthday, Emily Kate!!!!

I can hardly believe it, but Miss Em is six months old! Where does the time go? This little monkey is the apple of our eyes and we love her to absolute pieces. On a mom note, I am proud to say that we've hit the six-month nursing milestone and we are still going strong. Now on to one year!!! Here's a picture of my sweet girl. Happy Half-Birthday, Emmy Kay!

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy?
Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?
Never in his life will he be so busy again."
~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762

Sister, Sister

One of the best things about being the mother of two girls is watching them develop that most special of all bonds - the bond of sisterhood! I know, I know, (being someone's big sister myself) that they will not always be this happy whilst in each other's company... after all, your sister is your best friend and, at the very same time, your greatest adversary! What I can say is that, no matter what, when you have a sister you have a best friend for life. Nobody will ever understand, appreciate you, and accept you quite like your sister will. Caroline and Emily are very much attuned to each other. Their personalities and spirits are very different, yet they share a very special affinity for each other. I love to take little snapshots of their antics (and, believe me, with Caroline around, there are plenty of antics!).

"I'm smiling because you're my sister.
I'm laughing because there's nothing you can do about it."
~ Author Unknown

Bubbly Toes

Emily is getting bigger every day - she is learning new things and doing new things - her little personality is really developing and we are having so much fun getting to know our "baby." She will be six months old next week, and she is growing so much lately that we decided to let her try a bath in the "big girl" tub with Caroline. We employed our trusty Bumbo in this endeavor (no, we never left either of them unattended in the water OR the Bumbo!) and, at Caroline's request, added some Mr. Bubble. Emily was fascinated. She has always loved getting a bath and this added a whole new dimension to her experiences! So cute. Here are a few pictures I snapped while they splashed around.

"Bathtime is successful when your kids get wetter than you do."
~ Dee Ann Stewart

Beware, Kristin Chenoweth!!!

Caroline has now crossed over from fledgling starlet to accomplished, veteran performer. We had the pleasure of being in the audience as she sang in the chorus of Live Love!, a preschool musical at Henry Baptist Church. Coan invited Caroline to sing with him and they have been practicing throughout the summer. The songs in the musical encourage love, understanding, and thoughtfulness. The kids did a great job and watching Caroline's face light up as she scanned the audience and then finally found us just brought tears of joy to my eyes. She is such a special little girl to us and everyone who knows her. We are so proud of the strong, smart, kind, and empathic person she is growing up to be. I can't believe that my "baby girl" is old enough to sing in a musical

"Sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong,
sing of good things, not bad, sing of happy, not sad;
Sing, sing a song, make it simple, to last your whole life long;
Don't worry that it's not good enough, for anyone else to hear.
Sing, sing a song."
~ Joe Raposo

A-Town

Caroline, Mom, and I took a girl's trip to Athens last week and had the best time. I wish I had taken my camera as we walked around downtown and campus, but I left it in the car... grrr... I missed so many great pictures. Oh well, I can "paint a picture with words" as I used to implore my high schoolers to do when they wrote.

We started off downtown with lunch at The Grill. It has been so long since I had eaten there, but it is still exactly the same! We all enjoyed our lunches and then took off to go explore some more of downtown and reminisce through campus. Caroline especially loved the Who Let the Dawgs Out public art installation. We crossed the street to The Arch, and, in true Caroline fashion, she decided that she might as well already have her UGA degree and walked right underneath - instead of around - The Arch. As we strolled across North Campus, we passed the UGA Chapel where Travis and I got married eight years ago. Caroline was enthralled by seeing the church where we "kissed." On the way home that evening, she detailed her own wedding to Coan (she is planning to invite Judy Garland herself to sing "Over the Rainbow" at her ceremony!). We even snuck around back to the Chapel bell and let Caroline ring it a little bit! Here's hoping for some home victories this year?? As we continued our stroll, we explained to Caroline that this is where Mama and Daddy went to school and we showed her Sanford Hall and Brooks Hall where Trav studied Marketing, Business, and Finance. Then we walked down the hill and took her inside Park Hall where I spent maaaannnnnnyyyyy days with my nose in a book and my attention focused on some of the brightest, most well-read, and articulate professors. While we were there, we decided, on a lark, to see if my favorite professor, Dr. Charles Doyle, happened to be in his office that day. I've kept in touch with Charlie through the years since I graduated, and so we were thrilled that he was in! We had a great time visiting and catching up. Charlie even gave Caroline a very nice, hardbound book of Maurice Sendak's art (of Where the Wild Things Are fame). It was so nice to stroll Park Hall - everything was the same - even the smell of old walls, old books, and chalk. It was wonderful.

After we left campus, we took Caroline to Sandy Creek Park where we changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed the beach at the lake there. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day!!!

"And thy daughters proudly join thee,

Take their rightful place,

Side by side into the future,

Equal dreams embrace."

~ Excerpted from the University of Georgia Alma Mater

Emily Kate - Five Month Milestones

It's hard to believe that Emily Kate is now five months old. It still seems like yesterday that she was a newborn. I finally understand why people say that children grow up too fast - it's because they do. Time passes so quickly and moments are so fleeting... I try to remember this when times are hectic or I feel the pull of things that are not at all important (but feel important? chores? responsibilities? Playing with my babies is so much more fun.) In Emily's five short months she has visited the beach three separate times, traveled to Savannah twice, learned to eat solid foods, and, just this week, mastered the art of rolling from her back to her tummy. She's been rolling from her tummy to her back for a while now, but the opposite direction was a bit trickier! On a less cheerful note, my darling 12-hours-a-night baby has decided that waking in the middle of the night is a better idea - for the last week she has been waking anywhere from 3:00 to 5:30. No!!! We are hoping it's a passing phase. I keep telling myself it's normal... but I had gotten so used to her sleeping so well. Come on, Miss Em! Go back to hibernation mode!!
Here's a five-month "bunny picture." Enjoy!

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one."
-- Leo J. Burke

The Top of the World

We are vacationing on Tybee this week (I know - I am one spoiled beach bum - but one of the perks of my chosen profession is summer break - and I need it to get psyched up to teach another year!), and the girls (Madison and Caroline) have been begging us all week to take them up to the top of the Tybee Light. We decided to do it this morning while the weather was still cool (cool is a relative term on Tybee in June!). There are 178 steps to the top. I did it while I was pregnant last summer, so this climb was cake! The girls did great and didn't ask us to carry them one time. The views from the top are breathtaking. Here are some shots of our excursion.

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things,
and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson