Our Foster Home

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

Okay-so I know that the last time I blogged was way back at the beginning of the summer- Memorial Day weekend to be exact, so here I am-finally. We have been very busy with-well, life and blogging has taken a back seat. I am hoping to do better about blogging, especially since I haven't recorded much of Brady's 1st year!

The real purpose of this post is to tell you about a fantastic offer from Shutterfly. Shutterfly is a great website where you can order anything photo. Cards, calendars, invitations, and so much more! We have ordered several things from Shutterfly in the past and have always been happy with their products! This year, we are going to order Christmas Cards from Shutterfly because they are offering 50 free Christmas Cards to bloggers! I'm here to show you some of their beautiful cards that we are going to choose from-they are all awesome and it's going to be a difficult decision!

I especially love the cards where you can put multiple pictures! This card is beautiful! I love the monogrammed letter in the middle with the photos around it!
Another photo card that I love is this square one! I love that it's not your typical rectangle, but it's a square with multiple photos all around! Plently of places for pictures of Marlee and Brady!

I also like the card that just has a spot for one picture! It's almost impossible to get a perfectly posed family picture with two little ones, but in case we do, I know which card we'll choose!

So many choices, now which to choose? You'll have to be on the look out in your mailbox to see which card won our vote!

Oh, and if you need any ideas for Christmas presents, we love giving calendars! You can personalize them with birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions! Not to mention all the fun pictures you can add to it too!

Hope you all have a fantastic Christmas season!

Memorial Day weekend in Huntsville

2010-06-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

The last few years we've gone to Huntsville to visit my parents over Memorial Day weekend! It's fun to go with James, Audrey, and Courtney, and now Brady too!! Next year there will be 4 grandkids running around! Speaking of running, there's a 10k race that we've run in the past, and are planning on running next year! We always have a good time and this time was no different! The girls got to ride the carousel and play in the fountain at their outdoor mall! Fun times! Can't wait for next year!

Summer Fun!

2010-06-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Just a few random pictures from the last few weeks!! We've had a fun summer so far getting together with friends to play or swim!!! Can't wait for the rest of the summer!!

One Month Old!

2010-06-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

One month old-already! Wow!! I can't even tell you where this last month has gone. We are getting adjusted to life with two kids-it's busier, but we wouldn't trade it for anything! Brady is getting sweeter by the day! He is more alert and awake during the day and is a little more predictable as far as his schudule goes. He eats every 2 hrs during the day and about every 3-4 during the night (up 2x at night). Not too bad! Marlee loves her her little brother. Every morning she asks to "See Brady". When I take her in to see Brady, she says "Awww, sooo sweet" or "so nice", and pets his head! It really is sweet!! She also loves to give him sweet kisses!

Brady has given us a few smiles (we have yet to catch one on camera) and is also cooing and starting to "talk" to us!! Looking forward to seeing more baby milestones in the upcoming days/weeks!!

Brady Edward is here!

2010-05-08T06:40:00.001-07:00

Our sweet baby Brady Edward is here! He joined our family April 29 at 6pm! We went in that afternoon around 2ish to be induced and by 3, my doctor came in to break my water, by 4 I was getting an epidural, and by 6 Brady was born!! It was a little scary for a few minutes during the delivery as his heartbeat dropped and he almost got stuck, but thankfully Dr. Robbins was able to get him out by delievering his shoulder/arm first then getting the rest of him out! When he came out we were all shocked at how big he was!! A whopping 9 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches long! WOW!! I was thinking in the 8 lb range, not a 9 lb baby! The next few days in the hospital were great, we got great sleep and had lots of visitors! As we were getting ready to leave on Saturday, we were told that we had to stay an extra night because Brady had a slight case of jaundis and had to be under lights till the next morning! That was hard, but we wanted to make sure he was healthy so we stayed an extra night! We were finally able to leave Sunday evening about 5:30pm and were so glad to get home!

our first week at home has been great! Marlee loves her little brother and is so sweet with him! My parents have been a HUGE help this week! I don't think I could've survived without them!!!

We are so blessed to have 2 health kids at home and can't wait to see what the future holds for them!

Last picture pregnant! About to get the induction underway! 38+ weeks preggo!

Brady is here!!!

Does that scale really say 9.6 lbs?!??!?!

Daddy and his boy!

Dr.Robbins and Brady

Big Feet!

Already finding those fingers!

Auntie Audrey meeting Brady soon after birth!

Grandmama and Brady

Grandmommmy and Granddaddy with Brady

Mommy snuggling with her sweet boy!

Great Myra and Brady

Great Jobo and Brady

Uncle James-looks like Brady is hungry!Aunt Leigh meeting Brady

Tracy-the baby whisperer

Jenn and Lala

Alissa

Under lights!

Going home-finally!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful Easter Sunday we had today to celebrate our Risen Lord!!

Egg hunting!

2010-04-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day for an Easter egg hunt! We went to Allatoona High School where Jenn and Mike's church (Ceadercrest Church) hosted a fantastic Easter Egg Hunt! There were also jumpies, a petting zoo, and facepainting! What fun! Marlee had a blast!!

Marlee didn't want to go down the slide, but wanted to play in the ball pit at the bottom instead!!

She loved the petting zoo! She got to see and pet rabbits, goats, and baby chicks!

And riding on daddy's shoulders is always fun!

Hanging with Grandmommy before the egg hunt!

And of course hanging with Parker is so much fun too!!

getting ready to get those eggs (or balls)!

A basket full of eggs already!

She's off to hunt more eggs!!

"I am so strong! I can carry my basket full of eggs over my head!"

Marlee had to open the eggs to see what was inside! She found a "pop"!

What a fun egg hunt!!

"Baby Chick, hi baby chick", Marlee kept saying!

Marlee called this Easter Bunny the "Big Bunny". She actually did great with it, unlike last year where she screamed!!! She was quick to say "Bye" to the "Big Bunny"

Easter eggs

2010-04-04T18:33:00.001-07:00

Marlee's first experience dying Easter eggs this year was so much fun! She loved putting the eggs in the different colors then getting to decorate them with stickers!!! Can't wait till next year!

Pretty eggs!

Green hands after sticking them into the green dye! She looks like she could turn into the Incredible Hulk!

Grandmommy is showing Marlee how to put the eggs in the different colors!

Brady's baby shower

2010-04-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

Brady totally got spoiled at a shower Jenn, Lorelei, Audrey, and Shawna threw me a few weeks ago! It was so fun to get little boy clothes and some really cute monogrammed blankets and bibs/burp cloths! Thanks to all the ladies who came to the shower-I feel truly blessed!!!

Audrey, me, Marlee, and my mom!
Yummy petifores with Brady's initials!

Cute blanket!!

Another cute blanket!

Another blanket-knit by my mom!

Cute outfit!

The girls! Jenn (and Kaden), Audrey, me, Marlee, Lorelei, and Shawna!

Me, Marlee, my mom, Grandma Judy, and Audrey!

Marlee saw me holding Kaden and wanted to hold Kaden too! She's going to be a great big sister soon!!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Teaser

2010-02-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a "teaser". After so much cold (unusually cold) weather we've had this winter, Saturday and Sunday's temps made it into the 60s!! Of course, we totally took advantage of the beautiful weather and got Marlee to the park both days! She had a BLAST!! Saturday we met Courtney, Audrey, and James and then on Sunday, we went just the 3 of us! The weekend's weather has me so excited for this spring and summer-not only Brady's arrival, but seeing Marlee really get to enjoy playing outside!! Hopefully spring is right around the corner, because I'm more than ready for it to be here!

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Snow day '10

2010-02-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

Wow! So far in 2010 we've had 2 snow days! Yesterday's snow was by far the most snow we've had in many years! It was absolutely beautiful as it snowed Friday afternoon! By the time Marlee was up from her nap, there was 1-2 inches on the ground! She loved going out to see and play in the "no"!! She also loved watching the dogs run around in it too!!! I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked to-my camera battery died on me! Oh well!! Enjoy these pictures!!

January in review

2010-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

January has already come and gone and this is my first post for January! We had a major computer catastrophe right at the end of December and have just gotten our computer back to working conditions! Thank goodness!!

Not much new here in the Foster house. Marlee continues to impress us by the things she says! It's always something new everyday! She's also become very opinionated-letting us know EXACTLY what she wants and doesn't want. Oh, and if she doesn't want/like something, she will throw a mini temper tantrum on the floor, which we simply ignore!! Oh I can see the terrible twos coming already!!

We are also getting a little closer to Baby Brady's arrival! Right now I am 28 weeks and feeling really good! I will say that being pregnant now has been much more exhausting. There's nothing like chasing around a 21 month old that will cause you to count down the minutes till nap time!

To get ready for Brady's arrival, we have just had our basement "finished" off! We'll be able to put the office and a bunch of other items down there that are in the playroom; which is going to become Marlee's new room! Once we get everything relocated, Marlee will move rooms, and we'll be able to get Brady's room ready! Poor kid, his room will probably be ready the week before he arrives! Oh well!!

Here are some pictures from the last month!

Marlee loves to fingerpaint!! The first few times she fingerpainted, there wasn't much to clean up, but now, she makes sure paint gets everywhere!!!

Big smile for the camera!!

Playing "paydough"!

Gotta love Parker!!

Marlee getting to hold "Baby taden" (Kaden) for the first time! She loved holding him, but was a little more interested in watching Elmo too!

Time to fingerpaint with Courtney

Christmas 09 recap

2010-01-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

It was another terrific Christmas in the Foster household! The week leading up to Christmas was busy, of course, but all the presents made it under the tree, wrapped!

Christmas Eve was a busy day for us-just like last year! It started with lunch at the "Greats" house (Kendall's grandparents)-yummy spaghetti! Then it was home for what we hoped was an afternoon nap for Marlee (it ended up being a nap in the car on the way home), then it was off to church for Christmas Eve service! Afterwards, we headed to the Riese's house for yummy pizza and goodies! It was fun to see Parker and Marlee get into opening presents this year. Last year, they were more into crawling all over the boxes! We also got to hang out with their neighbors Rick, Lorelei,and Terry! To end the night, we stopped off at James and Audrey's house to see my parents who had just driven in from Huntsville! Needless to say, Marlee finally fell asleep that night at around 10ish!

Once we got home, Kendall and I had some gift wrapping to finish up-not to mention open up an envelope and put together the baby's gender gift for all of our families! I think we both went to bed at 1!

Christmas morning was so much fun this year! We both went in to get Marlee (who had convientely woken up at 7am) so she could open her gifts! She loved ripping the paper and checking out all of her gifts! After she opened all of her gifts, she tried to open other people's gifts, so we had to stop her!!!

Not long after we opened up gifts at our house, we headed to Kendall's parents house to open gifts with his family! We had a blast and I think Marlee did too, but by then I think she was getting a little overwhelmed by all of the presents! Once we finished there, we headed over to James and Audrey's to open gifts with them and my parents! Again, more fun!

We finally made it home with a trunk-full of gifts around lunch time and by then we were all exhausted! I think we all napped that afternoon before James, Audrey, Courtney, my parents, and Kendall's parents came over for dinner and some hang out time!!

It was a great day we had together as a family and with all of our extended family! I'm already looking forward to next year as a family of 4!!

Coloring with Charter and Leigh!

Christmas Eve with Parker! Playing with a new tea set!

Bathtime!

Preggo friends! Me-20 weeks, Jenn-36 weeks!

Lorelei, me, and Jenn

Christmas morning!

Good Morning, Marlee!

Loves her new baby doll!

Taking her baby for a stroll!

More gifts!

It's a BOY!!!!

2010-01-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

Kendall and I opened up the best Christmas present on Christmas Eve! It was the envelope saying that Baby Foster is a BOY!!! We are so excited that Marlee is going to have a little brother in a few months! He already has a name: Brady Edward. We are praying that each day he is growning strong and developing and that he will be a healthy baby when he arrives in a few months!

"No, No Santa!"

2009-12-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

Well, as you can see, this year's visit to Santa was almost a carbon copy of last year's!

This year, instead of going to the mall, we went to The Avenue @ West Cobb! It was fantastic! The line was only about 5 min, it was inside (we thought Santa may have been outside that's why we dressed Marlee in non-Christmas clothes-we opted for warmth rather than style) and best of all, it was FREE!!!! Marlee was fine up until it was her turn and as soon as Kendall started walking her towards Santa she started crying. Now there were several kids infront of us who did great, and after her, we didn't hear any other kids crying!! Oh well, maybe next year!! After Santa, we met Jenn, Mike, and Parker and watched Parker feel the same way towards Santa-displeasure! Then we went outside to take a little carriage ride! It was great! While we were waiting in the cold, Marlee and Parker were so cute playing together and they even decided to have a seat, right there on the concrete!! Too cute!!!

Burr! It was a cold night waiting for the carraige ride!!

They just decided to have a seat right there on the concrete!!

And then right in front of my favorite sign-a sale sign!Marlee thinks Parker is too funny!

On the carraige ride!

Catching Up...

2009-12-12T18:46:00.000-08:00

Well it's been over a month since the last post. I didn't realize that being pregnant and chasing after a 19 month old would take up so much time-actually that's just my excuse for being really lazy the last month!! Anyways, with that said, Thanksgiving came and went. We had a great Thanksgiving week-starting off with a weekend visit to my parents' house and then spending Thanksgiving day with Kendall's family. Now that Christmas is coming up we're staying busy shopping, keeping warm, and enjoying the season! Not only are we excited to celebrate our second Christmas as a family of 3, but we're also excited to find out what baby #2 is! Our appointment is Dec. 23rd and that is when we will find out the gender-well, we won't actually find out! Kendall and I agreed that we're going to have the ultrasound tech put the baby's gender in an envelope and we are going to wait until Christmas morning to open it! What a great Christmas present! All of our family will get to find out on Christmas morning too!!!

Here are some pictures taken over the month of November. Hopefull this next month I'll be better about posting!! Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

Baby #2 estimated arrival date: May 10, 2010

Trick or Treat 09 (2 weeks late)

2009-11-10T18:11:00.000-08:00

So Halloween has come and gone and I am just now getting pictures loaded-I left my camera at a friends house, thus the delay!!

Marlee had a fantastic Halloween! It was fun to see her really enjoy it this year! I think the part she enjoyed the most was trying to gnaw into all the candy that she received-she's got teeth like a rabbit that can get through just about anything! She did get a few tastes of chocolate and enjoyed chewing through a few boxes of Nerds (promptly dumping them all over the car)! Maybe next year she'll be able to enjoy the candy a little bit more! This year Marlee and her buddy Parker were dressed up as Raggedy Ann and Andy! My mom did a fantastic job of making their costumes! They were too cute! Our first trick or treat stop was Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house (Kendall's parents)! Afterward, we met up with Jenn, Mike, and Parker and visited Rick and Lorelei (they give out awesome candy by the way) then went to see cousin Courtney (ne-ne)! At Courtney's house, we all decided to take the kids to visit a few houses in their culd-a-sac! It was great! We also stopped by Nate & Alissa's house then ended up at the Plunkert's for chili! What a fun afternoon/evening we had! Looking forward to next year!!!

Pretty Toes

2009-10-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

Marlee had her first pedicure play date!! Two weeks ago, Marlee, Sailer, and Charlotte met at Pigtails and Crewcuts (a kids haircut salon) to get pedicures! I knew Marlee would love it because when she finds my nailpolish, she tries to paint her own toenails!!
It was so cute to see all the girls get their toes done!! I'm sure this won't be the last pedicure playdate!!

showing off her "pretty" toes!

Charlotte and Marlee sure did enjoy checking out all the goodies!

3 pretty girls with pretty toes!!

Pumpkin Patch 09

2009-10-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

Look at how much the girls have grown since last year!

What a beautiful day it was today-perfect to visit the pumpkin patch! We met Courtney, "Aud-ree", and James at the Due West Methodist pumpkin patch! The girls had a great time running around, picking up pumpkins, sitting on them, and trying to pick them up! What a huge difference than last year!

Marlee's first trip to the fair!

2009-10-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last week, while I was out at a soccer game, Marlee got to go to the North Georgia State Fair for the first time with Kendall and his parents (Granddaddy and Grandmommy)! I was sad that I missed out on her first trip, but was excited to hear all about what she saw there! You can see in the pictures that Marlee had a great time!!
What a beautiful day!!

Gotta play games at the fair! Marlee loves ducks!

She picked the right duck and won a little stuffed duck! She carried it around the whole afternoon, but for some reason, it never made it home!

Check out that elephant!

and camel

and those goats!

Looking at all of those animals is exhausting! Gotta take a juice break!

sweet bunnies!

Riding on the carousel horse!

A month ago? really?

2009-10-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Proud dads and their girls!

Marlee's makeshift "seat" made out of packaging inside a box!

Aren't they so cute? It wouldn't be a blog entry without new pictures of Marlee and Courtney! They love to play together and to go on storytime outings to Barnes and Noble (below)!

I really can't believe that my last post was a month ago! Actually, I can believe it, because we have been so busy with nothing in particular that it does feel like the month has flown by! I can't believe it's already October and that we're right on the footsteps of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!!!!

Marlee is now 17 months old! And I can't believe that in a few weeks she'll be 18 months and halfway to her 2nd birthday! She is such a joy! Everyday is something new, a new skill or a new word! Her personality is so much fun to watch, whether she's asking for a "nack" or wanting to give the doggies a "teet" (treat), or dragging a piece of cardboard box into the living room to make a seat, she never ceases to amaze us with what she's doing or wants! We are so proud of her!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Parker!

2009-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we celebrated Parker's 2nd birthday!! Jenn did a great job of planning a great Elmo/Sports party! The kids and adults had a great time!

Party time!!

Ready to eat some pizza!

Marlee's first encounter with a slice of pizza-normally she just gets it in little bites!

Not too bad, until she swiped like every slice of pizza she could see!! (i didn't get pics of that)

Yummy Elmo cupcakes!!

All of the kids ready to sing "Happy Birthday"!

Parker and his daddy, Mike, blowing out his candle!

Marlee doesn't waste anytime digging in!

No hands!

Luke isn't wasting anytime either digging into his cupcake!

A kiss for the birthday boy!!

Luke-finished with his cupcake!

Courtney sat for the longest time watching all the kids make a mess with the cupcakes. I know she was thinking about how she was going to eat her cupcake and not make a mess!

Taking little tiny bites from the bottom!

Still no frosting anywhere!

Careful now...

After eating cupcakes and getting messy, time to get wet!

Playing in Parker's water table!

Courtney loves pouring water over Marlee's head!

And then poured some over hers!

Soaking wet, but having so much fun!

Plane!!

August randomness!

2009-09-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

August sure was a long month, but that just means more time for fun! Courtney and Marlee continue to grow and learn new things everyday, which is so much fun to watch! They are both talking up a storm-Marlee is the more talkative one though, and into everything! They are also both down to taking just 1 long nap in the afternoon, which makes for a long morning for me, so I'm thinking of things to do with them, and places to go! Last week we went to storytime at Barnes and Noble! For the most part, they liked it, they sat still and quiet for about 10-15 min which is pretty good especially since the were eating goldfish! Today, I went to my first MOPS group meeting! I'm really excited about meeting some new moms, and it's great that I can take the girls and they can get some playtime with other kids and I can get some adult time too! I love watching the girls interact with each other! There are times in the mornings where I may be in another room and I just hear them laughing at each other, and it makes me laugh!! They are too cute and I love that they are getting to grow up together!

Hanging out in the big bar stool chairs, don't they look so big?

Drawing

Serious faces

Silly faces (and hair)

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-08-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

15 (1/2) Month checkup!

2009-08-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Today we had Marlee's 15 month checkup! I know I say it everytime, but I can't believe she's 15 months old already! I was curious to see how much she's grown since her 12 month check up, and boy has she grown!! She now weighs a whopping 21.4 pounds and is 30 inches tall! The part that surprised me the most was that for her height, she's in the 75 percentile! YEAH!! In the past she's been in the 20th percentile, so I'm super excited that she broke the 5oth percentile mark! Now I know it may not last long, but at least we can say that she's been in the 75th percentile at some point! Kendall and I were noticing that the last few weeks, all of Marlee's dresses that were once pretty long on her, are now WAY too short for her~now it makes sense!! Guess we'll have to go shopping for some new dresses!

Other than that, Marlee got a HUGE high five from the doctor for not being on a bottle (haven't been on one since 9 months) and for not being on a paci (never)!! As the doctor says after every visit "she's perfect!!"

Marlee's vocabulary continues to grow every day, too! She's starting to repeat small phrases and learns at least 1-2 new words everyday! She now says: apple, doggie, daddy, mama, stinky, cheese, duck, hippo, button (belly), baby, bye-bye, hi, hey, shoe, eye, mouth, mail, milk.. and there are so many more that I can't think of right now! She nodds her head "No" and "yes" and understands questions that she's asked! It's so amazing!! We continue to look forward to all of the new things that she learns and does each and every day!

Hi, Shadow!

2009-08-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hi, Shadow!!
Can you do what I do?

High Five!

Kiss!!

Cookie anyone?

2009-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Marlee is so quick! Whenever she sees that I've left the childproof latch undone on the cabinet doors, she's right there to open them! She loves to take out whatever snacks are in there! Today she discovered the package of cookies, and as soon as she got them open, she helped herself

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-22T19:52:00.001-07:00

Marlee's 1st beach trip

2009-07-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Heading to the beach!

Who knew playing on a luggage cart was so much fun?

First time at the beach, and Marlee doesn't know what to think!

Playing in the sand and back from a dip in the ocean with daddy!

Don't you love her butterfly bootie?

drying off after playing in the ocean

Happy girl!!

Getting ready for some pictures on the beach! Doesn't she look cute?

Rocking in the chairs at Cracker Barrel!

To sum up our first beach trip: awesome!!! We left Wednesday night and drove about 4 hrs to Dothan, AL to spend the night so that the trip would be broken up and so that we would get to the beach a little earlier in the day! It worked out well except for Marlee waking up when we got to the hotel at midnight then not wanting to go to bed until like 2am and sleeping in the bed with me and Kendall! Talk about not sleeping much! About the only good thing about Marlee not getting much sleep that night was that she slept the entire 2hrs from Dothan to the beach-what a quiet ride it was!

We arrived at our cottage in Port St. Joe mid afternoon on Thursday, unpacked and Kendall and Marlee hit the pool while I went and found the nearest Piggly Wiggly! Jenn, Mike, and Parker came a few hours later since Mike was working in Dothan that day! It worked out great that we were able to plan a little weekend getaway with them!

Friday turned out to be our lone day at the beach! It was quite an experience I might say! Mike stayed back at the cottage to work since it was technically a work day, so me, Kendall, and Jenn took Marlee and Parker to Wind Mark Beach which was half a mile from our cottage. Marlee and Parker weren't really into the beach at first. They didn't know quite what to think about the sand on their feet and especially the loud ocean waves. After a while they kind of warmed up to the whole beach thing~they played in the sand and we even took them into the ocean for a little bit! Marlee's first beach experience lasted maybe an hour and a half because by then, they were both done and ready for lunch! Later that night we drove into Panama City to eat at Pineapple Willy's! It's a really fun atmosphere and the kids were really good while we were there! Thank goodness it's a family place and there are lots of people there!

Saturday was a gray day. We woke up Saturday to thunderstorms and pouring rain-and that's how it continued off and on for most of the day! Thank goodness for the pool that felt like bath water! By the late evening, the clouds cleared up and we were able to go to the beach to take some pictures and play (only for a little bit). Hey-at least we got to the beach for a little bit!

The drive home Sunday was great! Kendall and I weren't too sure how Marlee would do being in the car for such a long time, but she did great! She slept for most of the drive to Dothan (2hrs), then after lunch and Cracker Barrell, she played and hung out for another 2 hrs, then took a nap for an hour, then played and talked for the last hour of the trip! I know she was excited to get home!!

So, our first trip to the beach while short, was a success! We are already looking forward to next year!!

Eat Mor Chikin!

2009-07-10T18:38:00.001-07:00

Gotta love Cow Appreciation Day!! Who wouldn't dress up like a cow to get a free meal? We sure enjoyed our free meal from Chick-fil-a!

Fabulous 4th!

2009-07-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with Luke before going up to the square!

Gotta love a wagon ride!

Aren't they cute? Sailer, Marlee, and Charlotte wearing coordinating Sugar Britches' Kids dresses!

Mommy and her favorite girl!

Waiting for the fireworks!

After a long day and a long walk home....

Luke is wide awake, and Marlee is fast asleep!

It's almost a week later, but we hope that you guys had a fabulous 4th of July! We sure did! Not only did we celebrate Kendall's birthday, but it was also Marlee's first fireworks! The day started off early for me and Kendall-getting up at 5am so we could meet up with our friends Rick and Lorelei to go down to the Peachtree Road Race. Good thing Marlee was spending the night with the grandparents, because that was just a little too early for her!

After the race, it was lunch time with Kendall's family to celebrate his birthday! There's nothing like a delicious Rafferty's lunch after having run 6.2 miles! We headed home to take an afternoon nap, then we were off to Audrey's pool for a quick swim before heading up to the square. Of course the 4th wouldn't be complete without a fried chicken dinner-yum!!! Then we were off to the square where we met up with a bunch of people from our lifegroup who were all hanging out at the funeral home where Kendall's parents work! Lots of pictures later and a stroll around the square came time for the fireworks show! Marlee enjoyed them very much! We had a great view of the show! Leaving the square was quite fun! Lots of traffic made us decide to make the 1 mile walk home to Kendall's parents house instead of sitting in traffic! It was a great idea because we made it back to their house faster than the traffic was moving! Our day concluded at around 11:30 when we finally were on our way home! What a fun 4th of July we had! Looking forward to next year!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-01T19:46:00.001-07:00

Big helper

2009-06-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how much Marlee likes to imitate now! A few months ago, she was afraid of the vaccum cleaner, and whenever I took it out while she was around, she would cry and cling to me and I would end up holding her while vaccuming~talk about a good workout! Then one day, Kendall was vaccuming and she was interested in what he was doing and wanted to go and help him! Since then she has also discovered the small little vaccum that I use to get crumbs off the floor in the kitchen, and whenever I have it out, she always comes over and wants to hold it and she "vaccums" the floor like mommy! What a big helper! Hmmm~I wonder if I could get her to do the dishes??!

Water Baby!

2009-06-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Summer time (its really summer here in HOTlanta) means pool time! I love going to the pool in the summer, and not having a pool in our neighborhood is kind of a bummer, but we are thankful for friends who invite us over~plus we love hanging out with friends! This summer I knew would be different from last summer. This time last summer, Marlee was still very little (about 3 months) and too small to get in the pool. By the end of the summer, we had 2 or 3 pool visits and she wasn't too interested. Well, it has been completely opposite so far! She loves the pool! Her favorite part about going "swimming" is "jumping" in~which really is more of like falling in. Of course I'm right there to catch her! I'm really glad that she loves being in the water so much and isn't afraid of it. We are looking forward to many more pool trips with friends this summer!

Braves Baseball

2009-06-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

Great view from our seats!!

Hanging out with mommy and daddy!

Checking out the game... "GO BRAVES!!"

Clapping for a great play!

Marlee found her souviner!

"I LOVE my Braves bear!!"

Just got done running the bases with daddy...

time to play in the dirt...

who needs baseball when there's dirt to play with?

Time for a water break

Today we took Marlee to her 2nd Braves game! Her first one was last summer-she was only a little over 2 months old! Today's game was an afternoon one, and if you've ever been to an afternoon game-you'll know what I'm talking about when I say it was HOT! Ever since my experience of working at the Braves Stadium a few summers ago, I try to avoid day games as much as possible because of the extreme heat and excessive sweating (I mean glowing)! Kendall's dad got tickets from work, so I agreed to go since I knew that the seats were really good (18 rows from homeplate)! When we got there, it was already in the 4th innning (I love 1 hit games)! We enjoyed our seats for the next few innings~Marlee loved it! She sat on Kendall's lap just taking everything in! Whenever people would clap or cheer, she would clap right along with them! By the time the next 2 or 3 innings had finished, we were ready to find some air conditioning, so off to the Braves souviner store we went! Marlee got a cute Braves cap and a really soft teddy bear that she was carrying around the store! Daddy couldn't resist getting that for her! After that, we took her up to Sky Field where they have a basepath that kids can run on. Kendall and Marlee "ran" down it together. Too Cute! Marlee also enjoyed just sitting and playing in the dirt! We finished watching the game in the 755 club-where the seats were just outside the airconditioning and in the shade. Once the bottom of the 9th rolled around, we decided to go ahead and leave-and it was a good thing that we did, because by the time we got to our car, it poured rain! A great way to end such a HOT day! I'm sure there will be a few more Braves games for us this season-hopefully night games!!

Updates

2009-06-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've actually "updated" the blog! We have been enjoying our summer so far! Marlee continues to grow each day-"wowing" us with something new! She talks up a storm-her favorite words are: "Hi", "Bu-Bye", "Abbey" (our friend's dog), "dog", "kitty", "duck", "bubble bath", and "bubble" are just some of the words that she's saying! She is always trying to repeat words to us which is really cool!! Of course we think she's so advanced with all of the words she says and everything else she does, but I guess we're a little partial! :-)

On another note-Kendall has a new job for next school year! He is going to be the Assistant Administrator at Dowell Elementary! Basically-he's like "Dwight" from The Office (Assistant to the Regional Manager). 3rd in command! We are so excited for him and the opportunity that this position hold for him!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day fun in Huntsville

2009-05-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great time visiting my parents this weekend in Huntsville! Audrey, James, and Courtney came over for a visit too!! Despite the threatening rain all weekend, we were able to sneak in some outdoor time-a Hot Air Balloon Festival, walking around the outdoor mall, visiting the city park, running a race, and just hanging out!! On Monday morning, James, Kendall, and myself ran in the Cotton Row Run. James and Kendall ran the 10k (6.2 miles) and I ran the 5k (3.1 miles)! The run felt good, but it showed me how out of shape I really am and how much I need to train in order to run the Peachtree (1ok) in July!! The weekend was a lot of fun-having some good hang out time with the family! Hope you enjoy the pictures from the weekend!

Marlee is not quite sure if Daddy's hat will keep her dry from the rain!

We went into Old Navy and Marlee soon discovered her favorite animal-a dog! She loved sitting on the doggie and then later playing and looking out the window!

Just hanging out with Daddy and Courtney!

Biker Babes! Actually, the girls are sitting on my dad's scooter!

Stretching it Out!

James and Kendall running down the final stretch of the Cotton Row Run!

Marlee and Daddy just hanging out and waiting for mommy to run by!

Our family after a morning of running!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-05-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

photos courtesy of Lindsey Langhans

Family Time

2009-05-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Kendall and I decided that Friday nights are going to be family nights! If we don't have anything else going on (i.e. softball), then we're going to make it our family night to go up to the Marietta Square! Especially in the summertime, it's going to be so much fun for Marlee to walk around, play on the playground, and to enjoy the beautiful weather! We went up this past Friday and had a great time! Kendall's mom (grandmommy) even met us up there!

Splashing in the fountain

Mommy's Day~#2!!

2009-05-11T13:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and for me, it was my second Mother's Day! Kendall and I were remembering last year's Mother's Day-Marlee was only 3 weeks old and was so tiny! That Sunday was also Baby Dedication Sunday at our church, and we had Marlee dedicated! What a special day it was! This year was no different! We went to church where they had baby dedication again. Afterwards, we went home and rested for a little bit before heading to my soccer game. I wish we would've won, but we lost. Then we headed over to Longhorn's for dinner with Kendall's mom, Charter, and Leigh. It was a great Mother's Day~and Marlee even surprised me with a giftcard to Natural Body &Spa! What fun!

Shades

2009-05-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Marlee loves to try to put on mommy's sunglasses, so I thought I'd let her wear her own pair that's more of her size!!! Too cool!!!

Splish Splash!

2009-05-05T12:14:00.001-07:00

One of the gifts Marlee recieved for her birthday was a water table!! I've been waiting for the weather to warm up so I could set it up outside for the girls to play in! Finally today, the weather cleared so the girls had a chance to play in the water! When I first filled up the table with water from the hose, it was a little chilly, so I ran upstairs and filled up a bucket of warm water from the shower and poured that water into the water table! Much better! The girls had a lot of fun splashing (and drinking) the water! They both looked so cute in their swim suits and water shoes! We are really looking forward to the warmer weather and playing in the water table some more!

All Better!

2009-04-28T18:19:00.001-07:00

Yummy ice cream (actually sherbet) makes getting 1yr old shots all better!!

Leigh & Charter's wedding

2009-04-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, we celebrated Leigh and Charter's wedding! It was a fun evening that everyone enjoyed, especially Marlee!! She's kinda a pro at weddings-she's already attended 3 weddings in her 1st year! This wedding was different because she was walking everywhere and totally mezmorized by everything going on-especially Uncle Charter's dance moves! Haha!!

Despite only napping for a little over an hour the entire day, Marlee was great! As the evening went on, you could tell that she was getting very sleepy and was close to falling asleep several times, but she hung in there the whole time! As soon as she was put into her carseat at 10pm, she was out like a light! All that excitement wore her out!

Marietta Square

2009-04-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on this posting, but on Marlee's first birthday, we celebrated with Kendall's family by going out to dinner~Willy Rae's on the Marietta Square! Afterwards, Kendall and I along with his mom took Marlee across the street to walk around the square. It was a gorgeous evening, and Marlee had the time of her little life walking around and checking out all of the kids that were there! She had a case of the "sillies"! Everything made her laugh!! It was a great day to celebrate her 1st birthday!

Toothy Grin

2009-04-28T15:53:00.001-07:00

You can finally see Marlee's two top teeth! I thought that she'd never get teeth, but finally at almost 11 months, her bottom right tooth came followed by her top two!

Marlee's 1st Easter

2009-04-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a busy weekend for us. It was Easter weekend and Marlee's party weekend! We of course had to take Marlee to an Easter egg hunt, even though we figured that she probably wouldn't be that into it! We were right! First of all, it was freezing cold! The night before had been stormy and rainy, so Saturday wasn't any better! The ground was wet, the wind was blowing, and the temperature was just plain cold!!! Oh well!! At egg hunt time, Marlee was interested in the first egg or two, then lost interest. She was interested in trying to eat the eggs instead! It was pretty funny and memorable! We had a good time with Courtney who was much more into grabbing the eggs and putting them into her basket! She even shared a few of her eggs with Marlee!

On Easter Sunday afternoon, we went over to James, Audrey, and Courtney's house for lunch with them and my parents! James set up another egg hunt in the backyard for the girls! It was really cute and both girls were interested in "finding" the eggs!!

It was a wonderful and busy weekend filled with lots of memories!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

1st Birthday Party!

2009-04-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we celebrated Marlee's 1st birthday! It was a busy day for us because we also had an Easter Egg hunt earlier in the morning! Marlee's birthday party was a lot of fun! There were a lot of family and friends that came and celebrated her special day!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

11 1/2 months old!

2009-03-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken so long to update-we've been really busy in the Foster house over the last few weeks! Marlee and I went to visit my parents in Huntsville for a few days with James, Audrey, and Courtney! Kendall had to stay home and work. We had a great time, andI know my parents enjoyed seeing both of the girls especially now that both are walking and "into" so much more! After our visit to Huntsville, my mom ended up coming back here to visit for a few days since my dad was on a business trip to California. Again, we had a great time having her hang out with us for a few days!

Besides that, Marlee has kept us busy! She's walking EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING! She loves to open up cabinets and discover what's inside. She is also "talking" a lot and even understands some things that we say to her! Amazing! Marlee is also going through the "clingy" stage-just wants to be with mommy all the time! Gotta love that!

Yesterday (27th) Marlee went to Sailer Pendley's 1st birthday party and had so much fun! Marlee loved seeing all of the little kids and especially loved all of the balloons! It made me really excited about her upcoming birthday in a few weeks!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks! Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Swing Time!

2009-03-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

We have had a few really beautiful warm days! Spring time must just be right around the corner! Since Courtney will be over 3 days this week, I thought it would be a great time to take the girls to the park to get some fresh air, change of scenery, and some swing time!!

The girls and I met my good friend Shawna and her little boy Luke at Swift-Cantrell Park after lunch! After walking a few laps around the park, Shawna and I decided to take the babies to the playground! Surprisingly, the swings were available, so I put the girls in for a little bit! Marlee and Courtney also enjoyed playing on some of the other playground equipment! It was a fun afternoon and I hope to take them back often!

Walking Around!

2009-03-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true...Marlee is officially a walker! Although she has been taking steps for a little over a month now, her walking has really taken off in the last 2 1/2 weeks! She is now walking all over the house! I just love watching her little legs move! While she still crawls some, I know she is happy to be walking so she can chase Courtney around the house! Marlee is a really good walker as she is able to hold things and walk at the same time-she loves to carry around her blankie, juice cups, and whatever else she's interested in at the moment!

By the way...it is really hard to take pictures of Marlee walking! She's so fast!

Yes-this is a picture of Marlee holding Kendall's boxers-thank goodness they were clean!!

Let's Take Turns!

2009-02-23T11:55:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Marlee had fun pushing Courtney on the Pooh plane. Today, they took turns pushing each other! It was so cute!

Courtney's turn for a ride!

Now it's Marlee's turn for a ride!

Drinking (juice) Buddies!

2009-02-23T11:53:00.001-08:00

The girls sure do love drinking their juice!!

10 Months Old!!

2009-02-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

Today, Marlee turned 10 months! Wow! I can't believe that in two short months, we will be celebrating her 1 year birthday! We actually went to the doctor today because Marlee has not been feeling well. So on her 10 month birthday, she has an ear infection! It is her second ear infection (first one was in Sept). While at the doctor's office, Marlee got weighed and is 18 pounds 12 ounces. Since her 9 month appointment, Marlee has been eating more table foods. She loves string cheese, banannas, peaches, , apples, chicken sticks (like Vienna sausages), carrots, and turkey lunch meat. While that may not seem like a huge food variety, I'm trying to get her used to eating the different textures while also giving her some baby foods to fill in the gaps! Marlee has also begun taking steps!! She's actually been taking steps for several weeks now (to me or Kendall if we stand her up), but now she is at the point where she is walking to an object that is near where she is at. She's taking 4-5 steps at a time! In no time we are going to be chasing her around the house, so I'm treasuring these last few days/weeks of her crawling!

Below is a short video clip of Marlee taking some steps to Kendall! She's getting so big!!!

Grocery Girls

2009-02-09T16:45:00.001-08:00

Courtney and Marlee enjoyed their trip to Publix today! They got to ride in a "race car" shopping cart!

Want a ride?

2009-02-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

Marlee loves her Pooh airplane that she got from Courtney for Christmas! Not only does she love to be pushed in it, but she also loves to push it around the house! Today she pushed Courtney around the house! I was happy because pushing around that airplane sure causes a backache!

Love that Kozmo!

2009-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

The phrase "Man's Best Friend" is really true in our household! It actually is "Baby's Best Friend"! We have 2 dogs-Kozmo and Samson. Now we love both of our dogs, but Marlee has really taken a liking to Kozmo. He's a mutt and defiently the sweetest! When we first brought Marlee home from the hospital, he was a little crazy and hard to control around her-he was very curious, but as time has gone by, he has mellowed out a lot! Now that Marlee is crawling everywhere and is recognizing things, she loves to crawl over and on top of Kozmo! The great thing about it, is that he lets her! He'll just lick her and take her pulling on his ear or fur! I always said that Kozmo and Marlee will be best buddies once Marlee got older, but it's already happening!

New Stuff to Play With!

2009-01-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

This is fun stuff to play with!!

Today was just another typical Tuesday with Marlee and Courtney. After lunch they were playing in the kitchen and I was cleaning up lunch and talking on the phone to my friend Jenn. The next thing I know is that Marlee has opened up the cabinet where all of the snacks and canned foods are! She started pulling out all of the crackers and fruit snacks. Courtney came over to see what she was doing and joined in on the fun too! After all of the snacks were taken out, Marlee decided to climb into the cabinet and pull down the canned foods that were on the back on a shelf! Since she's still a little short, she was able to stand up inside the cabinet to do so! The girls had some fun playing with wrapped crackers, bags of chips, fruit snacks, and canned foods! Looks like I'm going to have to make sure the latch stays on the cabinet, or else this may become a daily activity!

9 month check up!

2009-01-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Checking out the bandaids!

Today Marlee had her 9 month check up (even though she turned 9 months last week). No shots this time, just a finger prick to check her iron. Poor baby, the nurse had to check it twice because the first time the count came back really low. If you look closely in the picture, you can see that Marlee has a bandaid on each of her middle fingers! She tried to chew them, but by the time we left the office, the bandaids had fallen off! The doctor was proud of her growth. She's 18.5 pounds and 28 inches long. She's in the 50% for her weight and 20% for her height. Translated: she will probably grow to be about 5'3" (probably my height and weight). The doctor said she was free to eat just about anything except eggs, honey, and peanut butter!! One thing the doctor asked me before we left was if I remembered when she was 2 weeks old! Of course I do, but it seems so far away! Marlee is really growing! Now she is cruising on EVERYTHING! She cruises on the walls, tables, chairs, and anything she gets her hands on! Marlee is trying to take a few steps too! Boy am I in for it when she starts walking!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Courtney!

2009-01-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

We can't believe that Courtney is already 1 year old! January 8th was Courtney's 1st birthday! Her big party was on Saturday, January 10th! It was so much fun! A lot of people came to celebrate this big milestone in Courtney's life! Lots of food, fun, and of course-presents!!

Enjoy some pictures of the celebration!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Reflecting back on 2008

2008-12-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

The phrase "Time Flies By" is a phrase I have been saying all year long. I've thought years past have gone by pretty fast, but I really think that this year has literally flown by. There have been so many exciting events that have taken place this year not only for our family, but for our friends too! I thought that I'd go month by month and just jot down a few things that come to mind that have been significant in our lives!
January-8th: Courtney Linn Majors was born!
February-still waiting for Marlee's arrival
March-I turned 28
April-16th:Marlee Grace was born at 4:30am joining our family! (11 days early)
May-Kendall graduated from Kennesaw State with his Masters in Educational Leadership
June-I officially finished teaching at North Cobb Christian School
July-Kendall and James turned 30, a trip up to Michigan for our good friends Nate and Alissa's wedding
August-Kendall gets a new job as an Area Lead Teacher (ALT) in Cobb County, good friend Parker Riese turns 1 (on the 20th)
September-Marlee's first ear infection
October-Marlee visited the Due West Pumpkin Patch a couple times and also celebrated her first
Halloween by dressing up as a Hunny Pot
November-Marlee's first Thanksgiving-spent with my parents in Huntsville the weekend before and with Kendall's family on Thanksgiving day, Marlee really starts crawling right after Thanksgiving
December-Marlee's first Christmas!

As I look over some of the things that have gone on this year, one word comes to mind: Blessed. I feel blessed beyond measure. Blessed to be Marlee's mommy and Kendall's wife, blessed to be an aunt to Courtney, blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom, blessed to have a husband who supports me in this new role, and blessed that God has placed Marlee in our care and that she is a healthy, beautiful, smart, and loving child. I could go on and on, but I really do feel blessed!
In 2009, my resolution is more that I hope to enjoy each and every moment with Marlee. So many people tell us to enjoy our time with her because before we know it she will be graduating highschool and going off to college! Even though I have spent every day with Marlee, I can't believe she's already 8 months old. I hope that I never take her for granted or the time we have with her for granted.
I pray that 2008 was a good year for you, but that 2009 brings much joy, happiness, and peace!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Marlee's first Christmas

2008-12-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone already, but the memories of that special morning will not be forgotten! It was so exciting for Kendall and me to celebrate Marlee's first Christmas with her and our families! We had some fun days leading up to Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve, we went over to Kendall's grandparents house for a yummy spaghetti lunch! While there, Marlee got to open her first 3 presents! From her Great-Grandparents she got a caterpiller toy, a Leap Frog Alphabet Ball, and from her Grandparents she got a Learning Doggie! What fun! Of course the wrapping paper and the ribbon was also so much fun to play with and eat! After that we went home for a quick nap then onto church for a Christmas Eve service! Marlee stayed in the service with us and did great! After the service we went over to the Riese's house for another spaghetti meal! By the way-both meals were very good-even though both were spaghetti they were very different! Bath time with Parker followed dinner and after that came time to open presents with Parker! Marlee gave Parker a froggie towel that will match his froggie bathroom and also more Clippo pieces! Parker gave Marlee a Clippo Creativity Table! By that time it was really late and time to head home!
At home, Marlee was fast asleep and Santa (myself and Kendall) proceeded to set up the big toys! It was a lot of fun and it gave us a sneak peak as to what Christmas Eve nights would look like for us in the upcoming years-putting together toys!
Christmas morning came early-7am and Marlee was up and ready to go! We got her up and walked her into the livingroom to see all of her gifts! She was a little fussy because she was still a little sleepy, but that didn't stop her from playing with her toys! Mommy helped Marlee open the gifts that were wrapped! Marlee got a Crawl n Cruise Musical Jungle, a walker/wagon, Fridge farm, learning drum, and a rabbit towel!
After opening presents, it was time to head to the Grandparents house for more! Breakfast first then opening more presents! Marlee got another fun toy from Charter and Leigh, a Busy Ball Popper, Tigger and Eeyore stuffed animals, and music c.d.s from Granddaddy and Grandmommy Foster, and a stuffed bear from Uncle Jim! By the end of all of that excitement, Marlee was so tired she fell asleep on Grandmommy's shoulder for a power nap!
Later that evening, my parents and James, Audrey, and Courtney came over for dinner and more presents! From James, Audrey, and Courtney, Marlee recieved a Pooh plane, and some other fun things like tights, shoes, and a dress! From Grandpapa and Grandmama Fonnegra, Marlee got a handmade knitted blanket and some new clothes!
It was a fun evening! We played some new Wii games that we got and enjoyed good food and fellowship!
Kendall and I will never forget this first Christmas with Marlee. We are so thankful to have her in our lives and couldn't imagine her not being here! We are truly blessed to be her parents and thank God each day that we get with her! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas season as we celebrated Jesus' birthday!
I hope you enjoy the pictures from Marlee's first Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Santa Who?!!!?!?1?

2008-12-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

Well, Marlee's first trip to visit Santa was a memorable one, that's for sure! Leading up to the trip, she was a little fussy, possibly a little sleepy. I should've known that meeting Santa wasn't going to go so great, but I was hopeful! We got to Town Center Mall with Jenn and Parker and surprisingly the wait wasn't too bad. We got there at a great time-right before all of the parents with school aged kids! 30 mintues later it was our turn! By that time, Marlee was happy and smiling and then.....as soon as she sat on Santa's lap, she took one look at him and his long white beard and did not like him very much! She cried and screamed and I heard an "AWWWWW" from the crowd! Poor Marlee or should I say poor Santa? Actually, Santa was great-he just sat there and smiled while Jenn and I tried to get her to crack a smile so the photographer could take some pictures, but no such luck!! I rescued her and then it was Parker's turn! He didn't think very much of Santa either! Then to top it off, Jenn and I thought it would be funny to get both Parker and Marlee's picture with Santa!! The both cried and cried! Oh well!! Maybe next year they will be more pleasant to Santa! Let's just hope that Marlee won't recieve any coal in her stocking! (I doubt she will! ) :-)

Marlee's First Christmas Season

2008-12-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

It has been so much fun so far to see Marlee light up when she sees all of the Christmas decorations that are up around the house! She loves crawling over to the tree to find an ornament that she can get ahold of that is at her level. She also loves staring at the singing Christmas tree that is on the fireplace! As we approach Christmas day, Kendall and I are thinking of different things that we can start doing to begin Christmas family traditions! One of them may not necessarily be a tradition, but something that we have enjoy doing the last few years.

The last 2 Christmases, Kendall and I have made and sent out a photo Christmas card. We didn't send one out the very first Christmas (we had just gotten married), but Christmas '06 the card was of the two of us and the dogs. Last year, the card was just of the two of us and we waited to send out the card until we found out what we were having. This year, of course we were so excited to send out a card with Marlee in it! My good friend Jenn Riese and I arranged a "photo shoot" at a semi local park-we would take their pictures and they would take ours. Saturday rolled around, so we got dressed in our coordinating outfits and off we went! We thought that the day would be a little warmer (upper 50's), but it turned out to be in the lower 50's! Poor Marlee and Parker! Their little noses and cheeks were bright red and their noses started to run!! Never the less, the pictures turned out great! The pictures that made the Christmas card cut aren't posted-you'll have to wait to see which ones made the cut!

Unrelated to Christmas-Marlee has been pulling herself up to standing for a few weeks now. She finally figured out how to pull herself up in her crib. Yesterday I had laid her down for a nap and when she didn't fall asleep, I decided to check on her. I peeked in her room and caught her standing in the cornor of her crib having a grand ol' time laughing!! Kendall and I cracked up at her and while we didn't get a picture of her that time, we had her do it again and caught it on camera!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Fall & Turkey Day!

2008-12-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've last posted. Thanksgiving has come and gone (already) and Christmas is fast approaching! This holiday season is going to be so much fun to see it, experience it with Marlee, and see it through her eyes (even though she won't really know what's going on). She is growing so fast and each day she is trying or doing something new! Currently she is pulling up to whatever she can get her hands on! She would much rather stand than sit! I know she is trying to keep up with her cousin Courtney who is walking all over the place! Marlee is also crawling too, though she's not very fast! I'm sure she'll be walking in no time, so I'm just going to enjoy (really enjoy) her while she's not running away from me! The slide show is of some random pictures from the last few weeks and Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Anniversary!

2008-11-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

November 19, 2008: I can hardly believe that Kendall and I have been married for 3 years! It seems like yesterday that we were scrambling to plan a wedding (we only had a 5 month engagement)! Our wedding day was perfect! Our family, friends, and a lot of students came to celebrate our special day with us!

Here are some pictures from our wedding 3 years ago! Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Free Parlee Pocket!

2008-11-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

We are giving away a red and black Parlee Pocket! To enter, you need to go to http://www.parleepocket.blogspot.com/ . The contest ends this Friday!!

A "Pooh and Friends" Halloween!

2008-11-04T11:32:00.001-08:00

We had so much fun on Halloween! It was Marlee's first time to get dressed up in her costume. Even though we didn't take her trick-or-treating, we did go up to our church for Pumpkin Fest, then we went over to our good friend's house (Mike and Jenn Riese) for some yummy chili, and of course more pictures! A month or two ago, Jenn and I were at a consignment sale and while looking through costumes, came up with the funny idea of dressing up Parker, Marlee, Courtney, and Luke in costumes that go together. We thought of the Winnie the Pooh theme and went from there! Parker was Winnie the Pooh, Marlee was his Hunny Pot, Courtney was Piglet, Luke was Tigger, and Abbey (the dog) was Eeyore! All of the babies were so cute and even wore their costumes well! We are already thinking about next year's theme! Any ideas?
I hope you enjoy all of the pictures!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pumpkin Patch-Part 2

2008-10-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

Marlee had so much fun at the pumpkin patch that she insisted that we take her again! This time we met cousin Courtney and Aunt Audrey and Uncle James!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Parlee Pockets

2008-10-25T14:35:00.001-07:00

Parlee Pockets is officially in business!! Jenn Riese and I are ready to take orders and create the perfect Parlee Pocket for you!! Check out http://www.parleepockets.blogspot.com/ to see the most recent designs. Of course we will create a Parlee Pocket specifically with your nursery colors-just let us know! To place an order for a Parlee Pocket, go to http://parleepockets.etsy.com/ Parlee pockets cost $30 plus $10 if it needs to be shipped!

A Crafty Idea

2008-10-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I'm always trying to figure out ways to save money and earn money. My good friend Jennifer Riese and I have come up with an idea to earn some money. We're calling them "Parlee Pockets"-a shoe organizer that has decorative pockets that can be used to store various items. The Parlee Pockets will be made in different themes and would make a great baby shower or birthday gift for someone! For more information on pricing or if you are interested, send an email to: parleepockets@yahoo.com . Below is the first Parlee Pocket we made!

The Cutest Cousins

2008-10-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Two to three days a week, Marlee's cousin Courtney gets to come over and play! I have the awesome privilege of watching Courtney during the week for James and Audrey while they work! It has been so fun for me to watch the two girls begin to recognize and interact with each other. When Courtney first started coming over in June, the girls did not interact with each other at all! Over the last few weeks, they smile at each other, giggle, and play! Well, actually, their version of playing consists of taking away whatever toy the other one is playing with! I am so excited that Marlee and Courtney are getting to grow up together. My hope and prayer is that they will not only be close cousins, but also close friends!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Fun times at the pumpkin patch

2008-10-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today Marlee and I met Aunt Jenn, Parker, Aunt Shawna, and Luke at the Due West Methodist pumpkin patch! While it wasn't a true pumpkin patch, there were still lots of pumpkins to see and take pictures around (our real reason for going)! The babies did great and we had a fun time. Of course towards the end of the visit, Marlee and Luke started to get a little fussy, so that was our sign to pack up and head to lunch-yummy Steak and Shake!
I am so lucky to have good friends that are also stay at home moms. We get together weekly and have a fun time with our babies, sharing stories and encouraging each other!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Go Dawgs!

2008-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Marlee loves to show her team spirit by wearing her Georgia Bulldogs cheerleader outfit! Go Dawgs!

Eatin' more veggies than daddy!

2008-09-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Marlee has started to eat green beans recently and loves them! Marlee is already a better veggie eater than daddy!

Yummy Toes!

2008-09-18T18:56:00.002-07:00

Marlee has become so flexible in recent days! Today, she discovered that she can put her foot in her mouth! Good thing she had just taken a bath and had clean feet!

A New Napping Place

2008-09-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

Marlee loves jumping in her jumperoo! She loves it so much that she has fallen asleep a few times in it while jumping!

Back in the game

2008-09-14T18:20:00.001-07:00

Kendall and Marlee

The best cheerleaders-Courtney and Marlee

Mommy and Marlee

Cheering for mommy is exhausting!

Cousin Courtney's balancing act!

Today was mine and Audrey's first soccer game since the babies were born. It has been over a year since we've played! It was really fun to get back out on the field and play. The weather was hot and I was very thankful for the waterbreaks the refs gave us and for our 5 subs (a recocrd number for our team!). The best part about the game (besides winning 4-0) was having our favorite cheerleaders out to watch us-Marlee and Courtney! The girls showed their support for the team by wearing FFC onesies! James and Kendall did great entertaining the babies so their mommies could play. They even were assigned a job at the end of the game-to pick up the cornor flags and make sure all of the soccer balls were accounted for! I'm looking forward to a fun soccer season and getting back into shape! Go FFC!

Marlee's Goofy Giggles

2008-09-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent video of Marlee giggling at a balloon!
We had never seen her giggle like this before and had to capture it on video!
Enjoy~

Vacations, Friends, and More....

2008-09-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah! Charter graduated from Kennesaw State last spring ('07), so it was fun to celebrate with him and our good friends Todd and Shawna Plunkert and Nate and Alissa Benzin!

July 2007: Last summer, Kendall and I went to Hilton Head, South Carolina with our good friends Nate and Alissa!

June-2006: One of the wedding gifts we recieved was two tickets to a Boston Red Sox game in Boston! What a great excuse to visit! This was our first adventure, and we had a great time! Unfortunatley, we never did see the Red Sox game. It got rained out and rescheduled for the next day, and we were scheduled to fly out that morning! Oh well! I guess we'll have to visit Boston again sometime!

A peek into our past

2008-09-11T18:52:00.001-07:00

Our wedding day was perfect! Kendall and I got married on November 19, 2005. We were surrounded by friends, family, and a whole bunch of our students! The day was fun and went by so fast! We can't believe that we have been married for almost 3 years!

A New Adventure

2008-09-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally decided to enter the world of blogging. Since I have enjoyed reading so many other people's blogs, I decided to start one up too! My goal is to update it at least once a week, so we'll see how that goes! I hope that you enjoy reading and seeing into our lives!