Saturday

On Saturday we decided to try to go to the zoo in spite of the heat . . . we haven't gone all summer because it's BEEN SO HOT! I'm so ready for fall weather. Anyway, we were sweating . . . but the zoo was so nice because of the light crowds. The last 2 times we've gone it's been too crowded for my taste so this was a nice visit.

They have a baby giraffe that was born last month but she was with her mother in the barn so we didn't get to see her. But because of the new baby they have the zebras separated from the giraffes . . . so we got to see the zebras close up in a different section of the zoo:

They also have a new bear and tiger exhibit. I caught a picture of the tiger . . . but we only caught a small glimpse of the new bear and I couldn't get a good picture of him.
We hung out in the reptile area for a long while and ate snacks because it was air conditioned : )

They also had a gecko exhibit that was inside a children's play area. It was also air conditioned so we hung out there a good bit too while Emily played with the puppet show and blocks.
And like always we ended our trip by riding the train:
When we got home I fed the kids and gave baths while Joe picked up a couple of things we needed at the store. So when he got home we put the kids to bed and had an impromptu date night. Joe grilled some steaks, we dug around the pantry and found a bottle of wine we bought over a year ago and had never opened, and voila . . . a nice . . . .quiet . . . enjoyable dinner:
We didn't eat dinner until 8:30 but it was so nice to just have the two of us at the table with no noise and we could eat as slowly as we want and linger at the dinner table and talk.

Stars

We tried something new with Emily last week. We were shopping and she saw a princess doll at the check out line. I reminded her when we go to the store that you don't get to buy everything you see. Anyway, she had a small meltdown on the way out when I told her we weren't buying the princess. The princess cost $5 so I told her that she could earn a star each day if she was sweet and obeyed her parents, etc etc. When she earned 5 stars we would go back and buy Miss Princess.

It took her 7 days to get her 5 stars and here she is with her 5 stars that she colored and her prize princess:
I don't know that this star thing is going to work out in the long run though. The other day at the pool she didn't want to share her toys with Lilly. I told her she was going to lose her star for the day if she didn't learn how to share. She said, "I don't want to be nice today. I'll just get a star tomorrow instead." Great . . . I told her unfortunately she was going to share whether she earned the star or not . . . it just depended on how quickly she decided to do the right thing and share her toys.

She also found the lolly pop stash that Joe has in the house. He secretly gets one out and puts it in his pocket and when he gets home from work Emily gets all excited thinking he brought her a lolly pop from work. Well last night she got out of her bed after bed time and I told her if she got out of her bed again that Dad wasn't going to bring her home a lolly pop. She said, "that's o.k. he has a whole bag in the drawer I can have." AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'm not creative enough to think of ways to keep this girl in line : )

Weekend Fun

Friday night Emily had fun putting stickers on her dad's face:
On Saturday morning Emily went into Abigail's room, when she got up from her nap, and pulled her chair into the room to read Abigail a story:
We also pulled a smaller kitchen from the attic for Abigail to play with. Emily was showing her how to play with the toys:
On Monday we went swimming with Julia and her sister and mom:
And that afternoon we got a special package in the mail from Dee Dee. She loves her new nightgown . . . thanks!!!!

10 Months Old!

Abigail is 10 Months Old Today!!!!!

Photo Session

Since I finished Abigail's dress I took the girls to get Abigail's 9 month pictures taken. I went ahead and got a picture of them together while we were there in matching outfits I made earlier this summer. These are the "non-touchup" versions of the pics that they let you keep on CD:
I didn't order this one but really love her face in this picture:
And because I never posted Abigail's 6 month photos on the blog . . . here they are. My mom made this dress for Abigail:
You can tell from these pics vs the 9th month pics that she has slimmed down in the face now that she is mobile.

I also got the Mommy and Me photos since I did the same thing when Emily was 6 months old. My mom made this gown and robe for me when I got married so I wore it with both Emily and Abigail's 6 month pictures:
We had fun yesterday. The photo place is over 30 minutes away from my house so we were gone most of the day. We had the photo shoot and then while we waited for the pictures to print we ate lunch nearby. Emily and Abigail did well in the restaurant. Then after we picked up the pictures I took Emily to the toy store next door since she had done such a great job helping me that morning. Then we headed home and went to her swimming lesson. She is in the next level now and learned some new things yesterday. She cried a little but not bad. She did all that was asked of her including holding on to a board and kicking her legs and putting her head in and out of the water while she swam!

On the Move

I'm behind on my updates for Abigail's accomplishments. A couple of weeks ago, Abigail started sitting up on her own and now she has started pulling herself up to her knees. She has discovered the bottom stair but hasn't quite figured out how to get all the way up it . . . so the bottom gate will need to be installed soon:
She is also starting to use a sippy cup and actually drinking from it. She took several sips yesterday and some tonight. Tonight she actually "asked" for her sippy cup. Joe was feeding her supper and I was walking past and she started fussing and looking at me. I stopped to see what she wanted and she looked towards the sippy cup and started leaning towards it and trying to reach it. It was so cool! She also loves to point now and babble at whatever she is pointing at. Tonight when I picked her up from Dawn's house she put her hand up in the air and we are pretty sure she said "Bye" to Dawn.

The other day I had to take a phone call for work while Emily and Abigail were at home. I really try to not do that but sometimes I have to. Abigail was just starting to wake up from her nap so I figured I had a good 10-15 minutes to take this call before she lost it. I told Emily to play and I cracked the door to the office to work. Well Emily heard Abigail and decided to be a help to me so she opened her door and dragged Abigail's basket of toys to her room and started handing them to her in her bed. She stayed in there and talked to her until I got off the phone. I thanked her for being such a big help:
My dad got Emily some bubbles and she has loved playing with them. Thanks PawPaw!!!
Yesterday morning it wasn't 1000 degrees outside yet so we invited our friends Rachel, Julia, and Lilly over to swim. We stayed at the pool for almost 3 hours and the girls had so much fun! Julia wanted to know when she could come back . . . we will make it a date soon Julia!
Last night Joe had to work late so Emily, Abigail and I had a picnic in the back yard. It was overcast just enough to be bearable.

Do you see all the scattered little toys in the yard? Those are all the "dog toys" for the 5 dogs Emily says we now have. She kept tossing her toys around the yard for them.
Her favorite thing as of late is to add things to her "collection". The collection can be in a box, or zip lock bag, or purse. But she moves those items from container to container. She is too funny sometimes!

Emily and I have tangled up a few times in the last week because the girl would argue horns off a bull . . . so I've been struggling with my patience. I also feel like I'm speaking to a brick wall sometimes. I say things 50 times before she hears me . . . help me! Pray that I can be a good mama to her. She's only 3 and I'm struggling.

I FINALLY finished this dress for Abigail. I want to get her 9 month pictures taken in this dress. I had to hurry and finish before she isn't 9 months old anymore . . . and I want to get her pictures before she cuts her top teeth:

Blaylock Reunion

Last weekend we drove to Mississippi for the Blaylock Reunion (my mom's family). It was hotter than all get out . . . I have never sweated that much in my LIFE! Luckily we had a kiddie pool and slide for the kids. Some of the "big kids" enjoyed the slip n slide as well.

There were 49 of us in attendance! Everyone made it but Joe (he was working) this year. Here are all the beautiful people : )
My Granddaddy and Granny B would be so proud to know we all spent time together.

Here are my mom and her two brothers:

10 grandchildren:

21 great grandchildren:

We spent the day eating lunch and the kids playing in the water:
Here is my crazy brother going down the slip n slide:
My uncles solving the world's problems:
On Sunday we went to church in Oxford at the church my mom went to growing up:

Emily and Sarah wore their matching dresses that my mom made them:
I have fond memories of walking to church with my grandparents from their house right down the street. My mom was born and raised in this house:
Here is the town square. You could also walk here from my grandparents house:
My granddaddy owned a drug store on the square. It's now a bookstore:
Here is sweet Abigail in her car seat. Emily rode in the van with my sister and Abigail and I rode with my brother and Mandy. This sweet girl spent most of the weekend just like this:
We had a good time in spite of the heat and long hours in the car. It was great to see everyone! Thanks for putting up with your sometimes cranky passengers Robert : )