Pretty Girl from Atlanta

Film is not Dead...

2012-02-02T09:49:00.006-05:00

If I looked hard enough, somewhere in this house is the first picture I ever took. When I was about 8 years old a family friend gave me a CHEAP plastic camera that didn't have numbers on the lens but pictures of clouds, a sun, and a bulb. I had no idea what I was doing but I saw a beautiful pine tree with snow on it and I knew I NEEDED to capture it. I needed some way to put that tree in my back pocket, so I took the picture. That started my obsession with cameras, pictures, and film.

My fascination with film was tabled a few years ago when I purchased my first digital camera and while I love it, it doesn't hold the magic that film does for me.
So I decided to get back to my roots. Thanks to some advice from my friend, Jackie H., I purchased an eBook from the insanely talented Jonathan Canlas, dug out my old film SLRs, bought me some film and went to town.

The following pictures are straight from the camera. They have not been post-edited. Period!

Sick, right!

I love film! Always have and now, I always will!

My Christmas to do list:

2011-12-16T21:56:00.008-05:00

With just a few days left until Christmas I am making my to do list and checking it twice!

*Drive all over creation to find a Christmas tree farm, discover it is only open on certain days. End up finding a tree at a garden center and stare in wonder at their slim pickings. (Done)

* Decorate the tree (Done)* Take Caroline to her first performance of "The Nutcracker" at the Carolina Theater. Get a little teary-eyed as I watch her face light up at the magic of it all. (Done)

* Do my Christmas baking. (Almost done, I have all the ingredients. I am waiting for my cute sous chef to finish school.)
*Find our family stockings. These will be the ones we have forever so we have to be picky.
*Watch "It's a Wonderful Life". (Almost done. This movie is being shown at the Carolina Theater and I WILL be there.)
*Print, address, and mail Christmas cards. (Done. I finally gave in this year and got them printed at Sam's. Great price and they turned out great.)
*Listen to Christmas music. (Listening to the new Michael Buble CD and it is like butter!!!)
*Enjoy all the new Christmas crafts Caroline is bring home from school.
*Shop for Christmas presents (Almost done. I hope to be done by the 22nd so we can play, play, play.)

I love this time of year. I love the music. I love the hustle and bustle. I love that everything has a Christmas-y feel to it. I love having my family close and can't wait to see what Santa brings us ;)

Message received...

2011-12-08T16:09:00.010-05:00

Two days before Brynn was born we ate dinner at a Japanese steakhouse with Kevin's family. After dinner, fortune cookies were passed around to everyone and mine said, "You will have a beautiful family." I still have that slip of paper in my wallet.

Today I received hard evidence that this is true. We got our family portrait CD in the mail from the lovely Courtney Beck.

(Pace yourselves. You know I don't understand the meaning of the word moderation when it comes to pictures.)

I researched to find the right photographer for months. I saved for this photo shoot for months.
We drove 1.5 hours to Charlotte for our session. I have been waiting for my CD for 2 weeks.
And the truth is, IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!!

Courtney Beck, you are a rock star. Go and check out her website here. You know you want to.

And so it begins...

2011-11-09T22:45:00.003-05:00

It was only a matter of time.

Multiple Choice...

2011-11-05T23:35:00.003-04:00

Time for a quiz. Take a look at the picture.

Today, will I ...

A. Walk in Brynn's room and quickly walk back out.

B. Walk in Brynn's room, shut the door and scream.

C. Walk in Brynn's room, walk back out, march into my own room, crawl in bed, and pretend THAT doesn't exist.

D. Walk in Brynn's room, shut the door, and get to work.

Want to know what all that is? It is box after box of clothes. Some are clothes she has outgrown that need to be boxed up and put in the garage. Some are the next size in clothes she needs. Some are the clothes she is wearing right now. I am so grateful that I have 2-girls worth of hand-me-downs but there are some times when I want to just strike a match...

That's what she said...

2011-10-07T22:48:00.003-04:00

When Caroline was younger and we would make her laugh she would say, "Mommy, you knock me down" instead of "you crack me up". We loved it so much it has become a staple in our family.

Here are some of the things she said lately that have "knocked us down."

*Caroline had been having a rough time going to school in the morning. She would cry when we dropped her off. We tried everything to help her not be nervous. One day on the way to school she piped up from the back seat, "Mom, I wish I was a mom like you. Then I wouldn't have to go to school."

*I told Caroline that on the first day of school I was going to take her picture on our front porch and at school and with her new teacher. She rolls her eyes and tells me, "Mom, you can't take too many pictures. It will give me a picture ache."
Only my children have to worry about that :)

Stink Face

I LOVE this picture.

Her majesty!

"And summer's lease hath all too short a date..."

2011-09-28T10:43:00.009-04:00

Closer...

Gotcha!

The infamous Too-Too

I love this view

It has been in the 80s this week and on Saturday the high will be 64! So we enjoyed the last seconds of summer by going outside...

in our backyard.

I love saying that.

Mother Knows Best

2011-09-06T22:31:00.008-04:00

Have you seen Tangled?

I have, like, a million times. That is what happens when you have a girly girl.

And since I have seen it a million times I have had time to ponder the underlying meanings and overwhelming symbolism and the thematic nature of it all. And I have to say...

Mother Gothel gets a bad wrap.

I mean, sure, I guess it is bad form to steal a baby just because the baby's magic hair will keep you young forever,

but, you have to give her credit. She keeps Rapunzel locked up in the tower for 18 years to keep her out of harms way. She is right. The world is a dangerous place. People will take advantage of you and there is that pesky Plague. What about the poison ivy? The quick sand? It IS better to keep them locked away.

She had a point, right? Right?!?

I have had time to ponder all this because, you see, my dear sweet Caroline made a very big step into the world today.

She started Kindergarten.

Oh how I wish I could just lock her in a tower and teach her all the things she needs to know and protect her from every bad thing that COULD happen to her. How I wish I could guarantee that she would never be hurt, or sad, or disappointed.

But I can't.

What I can do is create a safe haven for her. A place that she can return to over and over for reassurance, guidance and love when the world is too much for her. A place that will always be warm and inviting and constant when the world is not. I can create that place right here in my home. A home base where she can recharge, get back out there and thrive.

And if that home is way up high and really hard for any boys to find, let alone reach it, that would be ok too.

12 for 12

2011-09-01T22:17:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is our 12 year anniversary! In honor of 12 years I thought I would share 12 facts about me and Kevin. Brace yourselves.

12. Kevin and I were married on a Thursday. We were married in Washington DC. If we would have waited 4 more months we could have been married in Raleigh which is closer to home but we didn't want to wait.

11. We got married during a hurricane. Hurricane Dennis hit near Wilmington 2 days before we got married, went out to sea long enough for us to drive to DC and get married, and then hit again the night of our first reception. We had so many left overs from the reception because only half the people we planned for came.

10. The morning we got married I was a nervous wreck. I could barely eat, could barely sleep and what was Kevin doing? He was watching Sports Center. This will become a common theme throughout our marriage

9. Kevin and I didn't like each other the first time we met. He came over to a FHE that I helped plan and made fun of the activities. I told him he could leave and he did. A few weeks later we were friends and hanging out. Kevin, our friend Shannon and I were all best friends for about a year before Kevin and I started dating.

8. Our first date was dinner and a play at Thalian Hall in Downtown Wilmington. We saw "Of Mice and Men" and I sat with my arms folded the ENTIRE time. I was so nervous I barley spoke to him or even looked at him during the play. Our second date was another play, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". He knew that was one of my favorite movies and it was great. I was more relaxed that time.

7. Kevin proposed to me at the Fragrance Garden. He came over to my apartment and asked if I wanted to go for a walk and I just knew.

6. Our song is..."Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns and Roses.

5. I made Kevin drive to my mom's house to ask for her permission to marry me. We were both scared for the hour and a half drive. And for good reason: my mom pulled a knife on him when he talked to her. She was trying to be funny but I am not sure...

4. We almost moved to Philadelphia. Kevin was accepted to a PA school there and was even offered a scholarship but we really wanted to go to Emory. The only problem was we had to answer the Philly school before we heard from Emory. We prayed about it and felt Philly was not for us. Two weeks later we found out Kevin was wait listed for Emory. One month later Kevin was accepted to Emory.

3. Kevin missed the first 2 weeks of Caroline's life. She was born on Friday, Kevin moved to Atlanta on Monday and then came back to get us 2 weeks later. I was staying with his parents.

2. The night I went into labor with Brynn, Kevin had just walked in the door from working the night shift at work. When she was born at 8:52 am he had been awake for 25 hours. Later that afternoon when I caught him nodding off I sent him home while my mom stayed with me at the hospital.

1. I married my best friend. When we were dating we would talk for hours and we haven't really stopped. I am myself when I am around him. I am in awe of his kindness. I love what a great father he is. I am so lucky he picked me.

I love you, babe!

You missed me...

2011-07-17T23:17:00.006-04:00

Some days Brynn looks like this...

And some days she looks like this (Droll and all)

And some days she looks like this.

But most days she looks like this.I can't believe my baby girl is 6 months old. We love you tons, Brynn Bug!

Baby Mama Day...

2011-05-09T18:06:00.004-04:00

So what did you do for Mother's Day?

We did a little bit of this...

Hunted for frogs...

And got a flower from this cute girl every 5 minutes. Most were dandelions but all were presented to me with a Mother's Day kiss...

It was a good day...

Yep...I did...

2011-04-30T16:03:00.013-04:00

Yes.

I am going to devote a post on the Royal Wedding.

Yes.

I did wake up at 5:00am to watch it. (Ok, Brynn woke up ready to eat and so I turned on the TV just as things were gettin' good.)

Yes.

I know you are sick of Matt Lauer spending an hour describing the car she rode to the church in and I know just the site of Giuliana Rancic from E! makes you want to toss your crumpets but I thought I would give you my two cents worth.

Here we go...

1. The Photos:
Of course you know that I am going to comment on this. The official engagement photos the couple released are YUMMY!! Look at this...

I am so inspired by these. They look so beautiful and relaxed and...themselves. Love these. The official wedding photo is spot on. Love it.

2. Hats!
I want to go to an English wedding now, just so I can wear a hat. No, I am serious. They look like so much fun. There were some that were so classy and elegant. Exhibit A:

And then there were these:

Sweet Lady Gaga! What were they thinking? The sad part about those last two hats is when they went to the store and tried them on they actually thought to themselves, "I look awesome! I am going to pay this person some money to take this home. I am so excited!" Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.

3. Victoria Beckham:
I cannot believe that I am going to dedicate a number just to her but here it goes...

SMILE Woman!You make more money than the queen. You are preggers with your 4th child.
You are married to David Beckham! Let me repeat that...You are married to David Beckham!

You got a ticket to the hottest show on earth.
SMILE!!!!

4. The emotion:
I understand that fairy tales are not real. I understand that Prince William probably has morning breath just like us. I am sure that at one point in her life Kate Middleton has had a pimple. (At least I tell myself she has so I can feel a little bit better.) I understand that this wedding was the British doing a bang up job of showing off. But when you get right down to it this wedding was about a boy who loves a girl and he wanted to marry her. This was about a father who drove his daughter to the church to watch her become someone's wife. And when I saw William bite his lip just like his mom did I realized that deep in the back of his mind, as happy as he was, he was probably missing her. I thought the ceremony was sweet and just right.

5. The Dress...
I saw somewhere that Disney was having a special princess party for little girls to dress up in their finest princess dress, prettiest tiara and shiniest shoes to watch the wedding. I can imagine how big their eyes got or how much they squealed when they saw Kate's dress. I can imagine it because I did too. I GASPED then I saw it. It was stunning. It was elegant. It will live in infamy.

I really did have fun watching the Royal Wedding. I know it is a little silly of me but it was so nice to see two people so in love. I am also glad it is over. It is nice to loose yourself in a real life Cinderella story for a little while. Good luck to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

PS. Below is a post about Caroline, future photographer.

Stiff Competiton...

2011-04-26T23:09:00.002-04:00

I showed Caroline how take a picture with my camera.

I might as well just let her have it.

Look at the pictures she took with them.

She is available for weddings, family portraits, and head shots. She has a reasonable fee.

Lie to me...

2011-03-30T16:45:00.005-04:00

It gets easier right?

This whole business about going from one kid to two...
It does get easier right?

It has to because I have seen lots of my friends handle the transition easily. Easily as in they still have all of their hair instead of pulling it out and they can still talk in coherent sentences.

For now I will continue telling myself that it will get better, that I will become a pro at paying attention to my four year old while keeping my three month old happy and content and NOT screaming. I will think nothing of dragging two cute demanding girls to Target and come home with not only what was on my list but my sanity and a little bit of my dignity. It will become second nature to get my preschooler to actually SIT DOWN and eat her dinner, soothe said screaming baby and eat my dinner, while it is still hot. And I will be able to do all of this while looking well groomed and even a tiny hint of make-up.

Right?!!

For now, in the immortal words of Sue Dudley, I am just trying to make it to lunch tomorrow.

You know I can't leave you without this:

The witching hour...

2011-03-07T21:33:00.004-05:00

I have noticed that the time between 3pm -5pm is the hardest part of the day. It is too late for Caroline to take a nap but she is tired. It is not quite dinner time. Forget trying to watch Oprah with a tired 4 year old and a 2 month old. Oh, and by the way I am exhausted from being up all night. It is not pretty.

So what am I to do? Grab my camera, put Brynn and Caroline near the window and have some fun!

LOVE!!!

My girls...

Bubbles...

Wonder what I will do tomorrow.

PS. Brynn had her 2 month appointment last week. She is doing well and is 11 lbs. 15 oz!!

Did you know...

2011-03-01T22:31:00.005-05:00

that we dine with royalty!

PS.

{Sigh}

I am in love!

Thank you...

2011-02-11T22:59:00.007-05:00

I have been writing thank you notes lately to people who have really helped me these past few months. We have had meals delivered to our home when I couldn't stand up to cook. I had phone calls just to check on me. I am so grateful to everyone for helping our family.
There are a few thank you notes I need to send but I am not sure how to address them so I thought I would post them here:

Dear employees of Chic-fil-A,
Thank you for taking pity on me when you saw me order my lunch with a four year old tugging on my shirt and a newborn in the heaviest car seat known to man hanging off my arm. Since I couldn't even put my wallet back in my diaper bag you offered to carry my tray to my table and help me get the baby seat set up. Thank you for also refilling my lemonade while I nursed my crying baby as discreetly as possible in the corner. I will return often to get my fill of the #1 combo, no pickle.

Dear sweet little old lady at the Target dressing room,
Thanks for giving me a sweet knowing smile when I needed to use the dressing room to nurse my newborn. I REALLY needed to get my shopping done and Brynn decided she was hungry. Having that privacy was great.

Dear HGTV,
Thank you for showing House Hunters at all hours of the night. Since I never know when Brynn will decide to eat I thought I would be at the mercy of Lifetime or the Home Shopping Network. While she is eating I can watch with a jealous heart a young family choose between 3 beautiful homes in upstate New York. Will they choose the house with a bonus room, the house with the big back yard, or the one with the big master suite? It doesn't matter. What matters is that I don't have to watch an awful movie with LeAnn Rhimes.

Dear Aunt Amy,
While I have to admit, I HATE the Barbie movie you sent to Caroline she loves it. And because she loves it she wants to watch it everyday. Because she watches it everyday I can close my eyes for a quick second. And I do mean a quick second. Thanks hon.

And thanks again to everyone who has helped us.

One month update...

2011-02-01T19:58:00.005-05:00

Brynn had her one month appointment yesterday. Just to jog your memory here are her stats at 4 days old:

6 lbs. 9 oz.
19 1/2 inches

Four weeks later:

9 lbs. 10 oz.
21 inches

GO US! GO US! Those three am feedings are paying off. My girl is growing so big. Now if I can just get her into 3 month old clothes we will be set.

Of course I can't just leave you hanging without pictures so here you go.

This beautiful quilt is a gift from Connie Moorefield. I LOVE IT!

That is so close to a smile!

Caroline has been begging me for days now to feed Brynn. After I nursed Brynn, I pumped what was left and let Caroline sit in the rocker and feed her sister. Caroline was a pro. She is such a good big sister.

Side Effects...

2011-01-13T21:17:00.006-05:00

**Warning: The following pictures are too cute for words. Look at them at your own risk. Side effects of this amount of cuteness could include: sudden baby fever, constant "oooo-ing and aaaahhhing", giddy-ness, a sudden urge to come to Greensboro to visit us, etc. Whatever you do, refrain from kissing your computer screen. (That is just gross)**

PS. Now comes the hard part. I have to choose one for her birth announcements. Yikes!!

Christmas

2011-01-08T15:49:00.006-05:00

I know you really want some more pictures of my sweet Brynn. They are coming soon but in the mean time I thought I would tell you about our Christmas (aka the calm before the storm).
I thought I would describe Christmas the same way Kevin and I have been talking about it for about 4 months now...by spelling it out for you. We have been speaking in code about Santa, travel, gifts, etc. around Caroline. I have a feeling our time is running out on that luxury. So, here we go...

1. D-o-l-l-h-o-u-s-e
Caroline hit the jackpot with Santa this year. She got a sweet dollhouse with a family, 2 rooms and a mini-van. It has been so much fun watching her interact with the mommy, daddy, and babies. At one point Dad was upstairs watching TV while Mom was cooking dinner. Hmmmmm.....

2. W-i-l-m-i-n-g-t-o-n
On Christmas Day Caroline and I traveled to Wilmington with my mom. Kevin had to work and then he joined us. We got to hang out with family and eat until we were delirious. Caroline and Ava Grey got matching PJs. Too cute!
3. F-o-o-d
We ate like kings this holiday. I had a good excuse being 8 1/2 months pregnant. What is it about Christmas that makes it ok to eat crazy foods and crazy hours of the day? It's 8am...a chocolate chip cookie sounds great. We had Christmas dinner at my mom's and also at the Walker's. Everything was delicious.

4. A-u-n-t-E-m and U-n-c-l-e-C-h-r-i-s
Emily and Chris were able to come to Wilmington for Christmas this year. We were so excited. We haven't seen them in about a year. I was worried that my midwife was going to tell me I couldn't travel and I wouldn't be able to see them. We all went to the movies (True Grit, amazing!), hung out and enjoyed each other. We can't wait for our reunion this summer!

What you really came for...

2011-01-04T14:52:00.004-05:00

Brynn Rebecca Walker
December 30, 2010
7 lbs. 1 oz.
21 inches

More to come...

O Tannenbaum!

2010-12-19T13:17:00.003-05:00

We decided to get a real tree this year. Not only a real tree but from a Christmas tree farm. We live in a great area of North Carolina that has tons of tree farms and we wanted to support our local farmers. Caroline was way excited to help us pick out a tree. It was freezing and even though you can't see it from the pictures there was still a little bit of snow on the ground.

It was a cut your own tree farm. It was literally in a guy's backyard. It was cool to see all the baby trees that will be decked out one day with lights and ornaments.

I love how Caroline sticks out her tongue while working so hard to hang the lights.
We taught her the art of squinting to find out where we are missing lights.

After such a long day Tu-tu was tired and found a great spot to rest.

PS. For those of you who don't know the story, Tu-tu is what we have to call Caroline when she is pretending to be a puppy. When she is Tu-tu she will bark to talk to you, run on all fours and give you puppy hugs (rub up against you) and puppy kisses (lick your face).

34 weeks...

2010-12-16T22:18:00.004-05:00

Well, Here are my 34 week belly pics. I had my midwife appointment today and I am still at a 2 so things are going well. Here's to hoping she stays in and cooks a little longer!

I just realized that this is my 100th post! Yahooooo!

Bed Rest Update...

2010-12-14T16:35:00.002-05:00

Ok,
So here is the story. When I was 29 weeks along, I had an appointment with my midwife. I explained to her that this baby was really low and I was feeling a little bit of pressure. We decided to do a Fetal fibronectin test which can sort of predict preterm labor. You want a negative test because that means I will not go into labor in the next two weeks. Of course, mine was positive which means there is no guarantee that I won't go into labor in the next two weeks. I went to the hospital and was monitored for a few hours to see if I was having any contractions (I wasn't). I was also given a steroid shot to help develop the babies lungs in case she came early. At that point I was put on a level 2 bed rest which meant I could not lift anything, I could not stand for more than 10 minutes at a time and no travel, all for two weeks. At the following appointment they would do the test again and every appointment after that.
At my 32 week appointment I had the test again and it was negative. That did not mean I was off the hook. I still can't do housework or cook or lift Caroline but I can stand for a little while and go to church and go to Target (but someone has to go with me.) Also, at my appointment I discovered that I am 2 cm and 50% effaced. My midwife told me that is kind of normal for a second baby but it really scares me.
So I am sitting in my Lazy-Boy recliner as I write this and I am feeling this sweet baby move around and stretch. I am nervous about what will happen but I feel so blessed to be healthy enough to be pregnant. Kevin gave me the most beautiful blessing when all of this first happened that was poignant and faith-promoting. I can't wait to meet this sweet girl (who still doesn't have a name) but then again, I can wait a little bit longer.

It's the Great Pumpkin...

2010-11-24T10:44:00.004-05:00

In October we decided to try and find the most perfect pumpkin. Kevin and I wanted to go to the local farmer's market to pick one but Caroline wanted to try a church pumpkin patch we pass everyday to go home. The had an OK selection and Caroline was in heaven.

She loved the baby pumpkins. They were the perfect "Caroline size".

She would have taken everyone of them home if we let her.

At last we found the perfect pumpkin. What a ham she is.

I don't have pictures of the jack-o-lantern because it started to rot only a few days after we got it. It didn't even last to Halloween. Bummer!

Home Alone...

2010-11-13T21:00:00.003-05:00

So...what do you do when you are on bed rest + your husband and daughter go to grandma's house for a few days + your bored + you have a good camera + a good tripod =

You take your own 29 week baby bump pictures.

This was way fun!

All the time in the world...

2010-11-09T09:37:00.007-05:00

Since my midwife has put me on bed rest for at least 2 weeks (more on that in the next post) I can't rely on my old "I don't have time" excuse for not updating my blog. I am going to catch up with some of our crazy adventures!

Pilot Mountain

I have lived in NC long enough that it is a cryin' shame I haven't been to this famous landmark. We decided it would make a great day trip for one of Kevin's days off. He has been working so hard lately and we didn't want to waste any time in doors.

Seriously...!

The weather was crisp and cool and perfect for the fall day. We went on some walking trails around the pinnacle. I think Caroline picked up every rock out there.

After Pilot Mountain we stopped by Mount Airy which is a whole town's homage to "The Andy Griffith Show." They had a soda fountain, Opie's candy store, and lots more Mayberry memorabilia. We stopped for some hot chocolate at a book store and rested ourselves before heading back home. Ever since Caroline has been asking when we can go back to the mountain.

** Now you've got the "Andy Griffith Show" theme song stuck in your head, don't you? You're welcome!

Leaves and bubbles

2010-10-21T22:57:00.004-04:00

We just got back from the state fair and I am tired but I have to post these cute pics of the girl.

The weather in NC can't make up its mind. It is in the 80s one day and low 60s the next. So when it is a nice day we pounce on it.

4:06 pm

2010-09-25T12:30:00.008-04:00

One day

many years from now

when all my babies have left home

and I am sitting in my quiet house,

I will not look back and remember the pile of dirty dishes in the sink

or the piles of laundry waiting to be attended to

or the layer of dust on my bookshelves

I will look back and remember this:

and this:

and I will know that life is really good.

Caroline's Birthday

2010-09-06T22:17:00.004-04:00

Our squirrel turned 4! Wow!

This child got some loot.

Kevin and I made her close her eyes for our big reveal.

We got her a princess bike she had been drooling over for awhile.

By the way, Caroline now lives in her princess tent that the Brunjes and the Garcias got her. Thanks guys.

New Pictures...

2010-08-28T16:42:00.004-04:00

Well, look what we have here...

Baby Walker is doing fine. It's a GIRL!!! She will join us in January and Caroline is beside herself with excitement, as are her mom and dad.

An Anniversary...

2010-08-17T22:22:00.006-04:00

So 4 years ago tonight I was sitting at the movie theater watching Talladega Nights with Kevin, Laura and Donny. I thought it was strange how bad my back hurt. I kept getting up and walking around. I never really got to see the movie even though it was pretty funny. The next morning at 5am I was laying in bed and my water broke. As I got up and got my things together Kevin goes into the kitchen and eats a bowl of cereal! I am having contractions more and more and he is downing cereal. I am sure that the pain of what was happening to me made me a little frustrated with him but I doubt it. The dude was eating while I felt like I was being ripped in two. Anyway, we get to the hospital and at 1:39pm ...

I became a Mama.

If I live to be 100 I will never forget the feelings and emotions that ran through me that day. I was elated, happy, tired, excited, thrilled, scared, EVERYTHING. Even when she was just seconds old, I felt as if she had been with us forever.

So you see, it isn't just Caroline's birthday.

It is the anniversary of the day my life changed.

Happy Birthday to my squirrel!

Enough...

2010-07-27T14:12:00.007-04:00

Caroline has made a few discoveries in her short 3 2/3 years...

Like Barbies...
This is her posse. The funny thing is some of these are mine. When I found them in my sister's attic they were still wearing the outfit I left them in 25 years ago. The Bride Barbie has a Miss Havisham vibe about her.

She has also amassed a collection of horses. I don't think she needs anymore.

But I could be wrong...

You know it's a good video...

2010-07-17T11:45:00.005-04:00

because I am posting it and I am not a BYU fan. (PS. My brother in law worked on this!)

When you're in Atlanta...

2010-06-30T14:58:00.009-04:00

You go to Zoo Atlanta!

This was a walk in birdhouse. You could get a stick with birdseed on it to feed them. Caroline loved it.

You go to the Children's museum while Daddy is at his conference.

You go to a Braves game!

Look at that view!

You go to the Georgia Aquarium

You stand in line twice to see the 4 whale sharks because they are your daughter's favorite!
You laugh at the garden eels. They are too cute.
You find fun ways to cool off. Our favorite...The Olympic Rings at Centennial Park Downtown
When you are in Atlanta, you find any excuse to go back...as soon as humanly possible.

**Side note:
Other favorite stops on our trip:
Flying Biscuit Cafe!!!
Emory
Piedmont Park
Noodle
Little 5 points
Criminal Records

Stay tuned...

2010-06-13T22:10:00.002-04:00

Please give me a few days and I will explain

this...

Not all who wander...

2010-04-24T23:17:00.018-04:00

When we lived in Atlanta, Caroline took a 2 hour nap everyday after lunch. For a frazzled mama, it was heaven on earth. If I was a good mama and got all of my chores done I treated myself to a few episodes of "Lost" online. If you don't know what "Lost" is you should just probably find another blog to read. I will see you again next week with more cute pics of the girl...

Ok...are they gone?...Good...How could I possibly explain the majesty that is "Lost" to someone who has never seen an episode? How do I describe "The Others" or the Smoke Monster or the Hatch or just what that four toed statue is? Well, I can't. I don't want to. For those that have never seen "Lost" or missed a few episodes in the beginning and got lost (like I did), they should log on to abc.com while it is still there and begin at the beginning. For those of us who are so engrossed in "Lost" that we don't mind having to read other blogs and articles just to figure out what is going on (Doc Jensen at ew.com is my fav.) I have created my own "Lost" playlist. My original playlist on itunes is actually 108 minutes. So if you are ever stuck in the Hatch pressing the buttons this is something to pass the time :)! For the purpose of my blog I picked some of my favorite characters and dedicated songs to them. If you are interested in hearing the actual song scroll down to my play list on the right hand side and enjoy! (Yes, I do realize I am a nerd and have no life!)

Let's start with:
MIB:
Wow! How long has that guy been on the island stewing? What does he do to pass the time? Chess...Backgammon? I hope he at least picked up a book or two and read.
My song for him is: Hours Pass Like Centuries by Taken by Trees
The title speaks for itself but pay attention to the lyrics:

Hours pass like centuries
(Centuries, centuries)
When you set up for a change
(For a change, for a change)

Don't take you far away
(Far away, far away)
From where you are today
(Today, today)

Which brings us to :

Ben

He shows up claiming to be someone else. He sacrifices his daughter in the name of the island. He claimed to have direct ties to Jacob. In the end, he turns out to just be some guy, a pawn.

I dedicate Simple X by Andrew Bird. Again, pay attention to the lyrics:

so here at the end
the war is over
there’s nothing left to defend
no cliffs of Dover
so let us put down our pens
and this concludes our test
our minds are scattered about
from hell to breakfast

hold your fire
take your place around an open fire
don’t open fire

At the end, his "power" is taken from him and he is simply Ben and that is his great downfall.

Up next:

Kate -

After half a season we learn Kate was on flight 815 in handcuffs. She was wanted for murder. She had a chance to start over on the island. When the Oceanic 6 are rescued she tries to have a clean slate life with Jack and Aaron, but old demons have a way of showing up and she and Jack just can't make it work. This really sucks considering they have to go back to the island, together.

So for Kate, I dedicate:

We Might as Well Be Strangers by Keane. Here come the lyrics:

I don't know your face no more
Or feel your touch that I adore
I don't know your face no more
It's just a place I'm looking for
We might as well be strangers in another town
We might as well be living in a different world...

I don't know your thoughts these days
We're strangers in an empty space
I don't understand your heart
It's easier to be apart

Everybody loves Hurley:

The lovable Hugo, the trustworthy Hurley. At the beginning of "Lost", Hurley provided some much needed comic relief. By the end, he was just as valuable to the mission as the rest of them. Oh, and he can see dead people! He had a way of making that seem really cool.

For Hurley, I dedicate We Will Become Silhouettes by Postal Service.

I've got a cupboard with cans of food,
filtered water, and pictures of you
and I'm not coming out until this is all over.
And I'm looking through the glass
Where the light bends at the cracks
And I'm screaming at the top of my lungs
Pretending the echoes belong to someone
Someone I used to know

Daniel Farady -

Who knew nerdy could be so cute? Daniel lands on the island and informs the castaways he was there to rescue them. If only it were that easy! He was in a group of misfit "researchers" which included Charlotte, tall, red-headed and beautiful and Daniel was in love with her. Too bad about the time jumping. Charlotte became a victim and Daniel was left with a notebook full of physics that didn't seem so important anymore.

To the simple scientist I dedicate: The Scientist by Coldplay (This happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time so I am glad it works!)

Running in circles
Coming up tails
Heads on the science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard

Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing
At numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart

Questions of science
Science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart

Oh tell me you love me
Come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start

OK, I am still reeling at the whole Jin/Sun story and the drastic turn it took.

They began "Lost" in what seemed like a shell of a marriage. When he told her to button her sweater in the airport I was ready to hate the guy, but the more we found out about these two the more we rooted for them. I cried right along with Sun as the Widmore boat exploded; I also was giddy when they found each other again after so long only to be captured by Widmore's people.

To these two I dedicate If It's the Beaches by The Avett Brothers:

Don't say it's over
Cause that's the worst news I could hear I swear that I will
Do my best to be here just the way you like it
Even though its hard to hide
Push my feelings all aside
I will rearrange my plans and change for you

If I could go back
That's the first thing I would do I swear that I would
Do my best to follow through
Come up with a master plan
A homerun hit, a winning stand
A gaurantee and not a promise
That I'll never let your love slip from my hands

If it's the beaches
If it's the beaches' sands you want
Then you will have them
If it's the mountains' bending rivers
Then you will have them
If it's the wish to run away
Then I will grant it
Take whatever what you think of
While I go gas up the truck
Pack the old love letters up
We will read them when we forget why we left here

Sawyer, Sawyer, Sawyer...

So many nicknames...So little time. Sawyer is a very complicated character. At first we loved to hate him. He would sit in his little tent with his stash of goodies and act like the king of the hill. As the seasons wore on we find out that deep down Sawyer is that hurt little boy who watched from under the bed as his dad kills his mom and then kills himself. All the con work, all the running, all the searching for the real Sawyer always lead him back to the real him, James Ford. To Sawyer, I dedicate Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band (Seriously, this song is Southern Rock at it's finest!)

Well, I've got to run to keep from hidin',
And I'm bound to keep on ridin'.
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no,
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing,
And the road goes on forever,
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

And I've gone by the point of caring,
Some old bed I'll soon be sharing

LOCKE!

Where to begin...

1) Was paralyzed but when he crashed landed on the island he could walk...2) Believed the island had a purpose for bringing him there...3) Found the hatch with Boone...4)Thought backgammon is way better than checkers...5)I could go on. Locke is definitely a complicated character. Let's just leave it at that.

To him I dedicate: Lost! by Coldplay:

Just because I’m losing
Doesn’t mean I’m lost!
Doesn’t mean I’ll stop
Doesn’t mean I'm across

Just because I’m hurting
Doesn’t mean I’m hurt
Doesn’t mean I don’t get what I deserved
No better and no worse

I just got lost
Every river that I tried to cross
Every door I ever tried was locked
Oh and I’m just waiting ‘til the shine wears off

Dr. Jack Shepard

The man of Science...If it can't be explained logically then it doesn't exist. In the first few episodes of "Lost" Jack uttered the running theme for the show, "Live together or Die alone." He became the unofficial Official Leader of the Castaways, a job he was not always comfortable with but suited him. Toward the end of the series we are beginning to see why.

To him I dedicate "Hold Hands and Fight" by The Rosebuds

I have told myself I know
A thousand ways to leave this place
We must tie our shoes on tight
For the march ahead through sleepy beds
And we'll get by
And we tell ourselves one more time
We get by
And we brace ourselves and hold our hands and fight

Desmond and Penny

I know they are two people but I am a sucker for a good love story. I have to tell you "The Constant" is by far the greatest episode ever broadcast. Desmond tried so hard to impress Penny (or really her father) by entering that sailing contest. That just proves "Time is nothing." To these two I dedicate "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure

Spinning on that dizzy edge
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow
"Why are you so far away?" she said
"Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you
That I'm in love with you"

You
Soft and only
You
Lost and lonely
You
Strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You're just like a dream

Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone alone
Alone above a raging sea
That stole the only girl I loved
And drowned her deep inside of me

Well, I honestly don't know what I am going to do with myself on Tuesday nights starting in June. "Lost" has been those rare shows that actually makes you think and guess and ponder. Who knows maybe I will just start back at Season One...

Speaks for themselves...

2010-04-24T21:07:00.004-04:00

Beach

There isn't much of a story here...

We wanted to feel the sand between our toes...

It was a little chilly...
We got to spend time together...

It was the perfect Sunday afternoon...

The End

Peter Cottontail need not apply...

2010-04-10T16:26:00.003-04:00

She is trying to write her name. She can do "C", "A", and "L"

Stay tuned for beach pictures...

This means you...

2010-03-30T22:31:00.003-04:00

Caroline was fed up...

She was tired of finding Moe asleep on her bed so she wrote him a note:

"Moe
Stay out
Don't come in
This means you"

Moe apparently doesn't speak English

I can tell...

2010-03-24T22:46:00.003-04:00

that Caroline and Ava Grey will be best of friends.

PS - is there anything cuter than cloud PJs?

PPS - I took this picture with a new app on my phone. It is called ShakeitPhoto. It makes your pictures look like Poloroids. You can even shake it to make it develop faster. (Cue Outcast song..)

To all Lost fans...

2010-03-06T22:08:00.003-05:00

YOU.MUST.WATCH.THIS....

I LOVE HURLEY!

Photo Essay

2010-02-22T22:28:00.004-05:00

Caroline's class. I don't think she has any discipline problems.

My favorite Valentine's present.

Our Sunday afternoon

My To Do List

Friday am

2010-02-14T22:19:00.003-05:00

Making breakfast

Going to the office

Love/Hate

2010-02-01T23:07:00.006-05:00

It snowed here in the Triad, a good 6-7 inches. It made this really cool white blanket that made everything look pretty and clean. Love that!

The bad news: It snowed a good 6-8 inches here in the Triad. That means we Southerners go into survival mode. (Read: Freak out and buy all the milk and bread in the store that isn't nailed down.) On Friday afternoon about, oh, 5:15 I had the bright idea that I needed not milk (had that), not bread (got that), but a fridge pack of Pepsi. If I am going to survive this blizzard I was was going to do it in style. The CVS by my house didn't have the caffeine free kind (I am trying to be good.) so I decided I would just run to Lowe's Food. There wasn't a parking space to be found. While driving around to find a space I told Caroline the game plan: We would run in, grab the one item, and run out. (Mwahahahahah!)
I walked in and the lines were backed up in the aisles. I knew it would be like this so I grabbed the box, walked out to the madness, and breathed...
I found a line for cash only, thanked my stars that I had some (I usually NEVER have cash.), paid and left. As we walked outside and got in the car, the snow started falling. By the time I got home (about 5 minutes away) it was coming down pretty hard.
That was Friday afternoon about 5:45 and I didn't leave my apartment complex until Monday afternoon. Count people...TWO and a Half days!!!!! Church was canceled on Sunday and the roads kept refreezing at night so I couldn't go anywhere. Oh, and Kevin worked all weekend 10 am-8pm (which translates to 9am-9pm.) On Sunday night I was ready to go postal. So this morning the three of us got out of the house and stayed out almost all day. It was sweet freedom.

The good news: We got to play, play, play in the snow!

Yes, that is the lid to a plastic box.

The fine art of snow angles

Look at those faces!

The good news: The snow is beginning to melt and life is getting back to normal.
The bad news: Snow is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.

Better get to the store now for more Pepsi!

Case of the blahs...

2010-01-18T22:49:00.006-05:00

I don't like January. No offense to anyone who has a birthday this month but January is just BLAH! It is cold, boring, and slow.
It took us forever to take our tree down. It wasn't a challenge; I just wasn't ready to let go. The presents are opened, the food is eaten and Christmas is over. It is a little depressing. We finally took it down on the 7th.
So when January rolls around I go looking for things to pick me up. Little things, big things, non-boring things. Here is what I have been doing so far:

1. New make-up. I know it's weird but I love it when I get down to the end of a bottle of foundation or the end of my eye shadow and I get to buy new stuff. (I know, the little things.)
Here is what I found...
This stuff makes my skin look and feel so good. buy it! Now! (No, I am not a paid sponsor for Neutrogena. I just love this stuff.)

2. Cooking,
I have discovered a new love of cooking. I am always on foodnetwork.com. I am a huge fan of Ina Garten and I love food. Case in point, I found an awesome recipe for apple turnovers over at The Daily Grapefruit. They were amazing!!!

I also found the best recipe for shrimp and grits. I could like to plate they are so good. When Kevin and I went to Asheville my favorite parts involved food. Tyler Florence's crunchy granola is now a staple in my pantry. Wow, now I'm hungry...

3. Camera
If I have to stay indoors because it is so cold outside I guess I will make the most of my windows. Love the yummy light on Caroline.

4. Music
My favorite Christmas present is a CD my friend Peg makes me every year. It has some amazing bands and amazing songs. This year's CD is now a permanent resident of my car's CD player. My great loves right now are: Warpaint, Throw Me the Statue, The Everybody Fields, Avett Brothers, Iron and Wine, Death Cab for Cutie, Matt and Kim, Ray LaMontage, etc.

5. Books
I love to read. Our book club just met to discuss The Book Thief (AWESOME!) and planned out the rest of the year. My goal is to read all of them. On the list so far, The Glass Castle, Fast Food Nation, 1776, The Lovely Bones, Water for Elephants, The Red Tent, etc. Some of these are titles I have wanted to read and now I have an excuse.

OK, dear Internet. That is my list of things that make me a little happy during my cabin fever. How about you? What helps you make it from January to mid-March?

3..2..1..

2010-01-01T21:32:00.006-05:00

So,

What did you do for New Year's?

Caroline and I stayed in our pajamas until about 2:30 PM! on New Year's Day.

Life is good!

You better watch out. You better not cry...

2010-01-01T21:07:00.004-05:00

Well,
Caroline must have been good, really good this year.

Like, found a cure for cancer good.

Santa came, and Grandmas bought and Mommy and Daddy indulged and Aunts spoiled etc.

Our car was loaded down when we came back from Wilmington.

Bedtime on Chirstmas Eve

My greatest wish is that this Christmas found you surrounded by your loved ones. That was the best present I received.

To Do List...

2009-12-05T22:51:00.014-05:00

Well...
I looked at the date of my last post and then looked at the calendar and all I can offer is my sincere apology. We have had such a busy month and then it became a new month, just like that.

That wasn't fair.

I was just getting the hang of November and then BAM! December drop kicks me in the head.
I will give you an update in the form of my to do list since that is the only writing I have been doing lately.

1. Have a great Thanksgiving! {Check}
We had a lot of family join us for Thanksgiving this year since Kevin had a crazy work schedule. We got to feel just how many square feet our apartment has. We had good food, good conversations and swimming! Kevin's family rented a hotel here in town and got one with an indoor pool. I highly recommend it! The next day we did some sightseeing before everyone left to go home. My favorite part was watching Caroline and Katy play.

2. Spoil my new niece, Ava Grey {To be continued...}

3. Halloween...
When we explained the whole trick or treat process to Caroline you could see the gears turning in her head. "So I get to dress up in my new Cinderella dress, ring someone's doorbell, say "trick or treat" and I get candy? And why can't we do this everyday?"

4. Take Christmas pictures for others...
This has been a lot of fun. Head on over to my website to see the end results:
web.mac.com/toni.walker click on "view images"

5. We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. You can come too, too, too...
Caroline's preschool took a field trip to the Nature Center here in Greensboro. The girls have been learning about different animals and this let them see some up close. They had a blast. The weather was great. We packed a lunch and just let the girls run and play until they literally dropped.

6. Play new game with Grandpa {Check}

7. Test out new rain boots {Check}

8. Be better about updating my blog...

While she is sleeping...

2009-11-05T22:50:00.007-05:00

I just found the greatest website. I won't describe it because you just need to go there and play.

picnik.com

Check out my masterpieces...

I love this one. It looks like a 1960s photo.

Fast Forward

2009-10-27T22:31:00.006-04:00

{Sigh}

I knew that Caroline loved letters, and numbers, and books. I knew that she would love school but I wasn't prepared for this.

She loves her teacher, Mrs. Shelley. She loves learning about different subjects. She loves her classmates.
When she gets home I can tell what the lesson was about or what they did that day. When she told me I could be Leader #1, I assumed she was line leader for the day. Just today I found her reading a book to her toy puppies. She would "read" the page and then turn the book around for the puppies to see.

I took this picture on her first day of "school". She was so proud of her pink Dora backpack and her blue lunchbox. I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed. She is growing up so fast. She is so independent and so grown. I love her so much, but where did my baby go?

{Sigh}

Caroline says...

2009-10-01T23:27:00.005-04:00

{I am totally stealing this idea from Andrea and Shelly. Thanks ladies!}

Caroline was taking her shoes and socks off so she could put her princess dress up shoes on. Kevin suggested she could just leave her socks on. She says, "Daddy, princesses don't wear socks."
Indeed they don't.

We had apples with dinner one night and Caroline asked me to cut the crust off.

(During a quarter moon) "Mommy, I think the moon is broken. I think we need some glue to fix it."

I was trying to make Caroline laugh using her stuffed animal. She had a great belly laugh and then says, "Mommy, you knock me down!"

I was driving to the library when my phone died.
C: Mommy did your phone break?
M: Yeah honey
C: That's ok mommy. You can get a new phone. Do you want an iphone?
M: (laughing hysterically!)
C: I know. How 'bout we go home, have lunch and then we can go to the phone store.
Caroline, if you are buying I am there!

All the proof you need...

2009-09-21T22:24:00.004-04:00

When I was about 18 weeks along in my pregnancy I made a doctor's appointment to have an ultrasound done to determine the sex of the baby. Kevin couldn't make it because of work so I told the nurses not to tell me but to write it down on a piece of paper, fold it, and put it in an envelope so we could open it and find out together when he got home. I had a good feeling that we were having a girl and so when Kevin opened our business sized envelope and read the post-it note that said, "Girl! Congratulations!" I wasn't too surprised.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years later and that post-it note proved to be the understatement of the century! Not only do we have a cute little girl but we have a girly-girl. She loves all things pink and princess. She has more babies than the Octomom and her closet is second to Imelda Marcos only. We went to Wilson this weekend because my sister had a baby (pictures to come) and my mom brought her a treasure trove of dress-up items. She had a Snow White costume, ballet slippers, tutu, dress, tights, etc. She got all of these things at a thrift store and thought Caroline would enjoy playing with them.

She underestimated my daughter.

Caroline immediately put the Snow White dress on and didn't take it off for a long time. At one point during the weekend she had on a leotard, a tutu and stripped pajama pants under her Snow White dress with Spongebob crocs on.

Yeah.

The most embarassing part isn't necessarily what she was wearing but the fact that I let her outside in that get up,
in the front yard,
in daylight.

And of course I got pictures...

At so it began...

2009-09-01T21:58:00.006-04:00

10 years ago today Kevin and I were married in the Washington DC temple.

It was the most beautiful day.

Even though there was a hurricane brewing off the coast.

Kevin is helping me with my dress because Brian would not let me put him down. He was 2.

Kevin and I have been through a lot in 10 years:
We have lived in 3 different cities in 2 different states
We have lived in 2 apartments and 2 townhouses
We have earned 3 degrees
We have driven cross country, went to Hawaii, drove to Philly, drove to Charleston, New York, Atlanta and DC, and flown to visit family in Utah.
We have owned 6 cars
We have 2 cats
We have had 7 jobs between the two of us
We have spent 20 birthdays , 10 Christmases and 10 anniversaries together
We have watched countless games together
We have too many inside jokes to count
We have one amazing daughter that we love endlessly and...

Through it all, no matter what, I would do it all over again.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this:

(Pablo Neruda)

Kevin, I love you.

Memory (Almost) Full...

2009-08-15T18:16:00.013-04:00

There was one point in our family reunion when I tried to take a picture and my camera wouldn't let me. The screen kept flashing "Memory Full!"

My camera was almost right.

We had so much fun in Utah for the Brad and Becky Walker reunion and made so many great memories that our memory banks are close to running over.

Wednesday: We left Greensboro at 12:30 pm. Caroline was a pro on the airplane. She was so excited about flying and we used that to our advantage. We got into SLC at 7:30pm and that was the first time she showed any sign of slowing down. We stayed with Great-Grandma Walker that night. Kevin and I were almost too tired to sleep. I had some crazy dreams when I finally fell asleep.

Thursday: This was going to be the marathon day. We had a family portrait appointment in Provo at 10:30am. With 17 people we knew it would be hectic but I had no idea the photographer was going to try and take every combination she could think of. I knew I hated Portrait Innovations and this experience only added fuel to the fire. After 2 1/2 hours we grabbed lunch and headed to the cabin. The cabin was near Heber, UT. It was up on this mountain (The tall mountain like Dora as Caroline liked to point out.) There were only 3 cabins that were up higher than ours. As someone who is used to sea level the drive was a little strange to me. I am so glad I had my ginger for car sickness.

Check out our view from the cabin!

The Cabin itself. That's how we roll.

There was a sand box that the kids stuck to like glue.

Yep! Deer! Right out the front door!

To the delight of the boys there was a basketball hoop. Zach is trying to be Air Jordan.

Aunt Emily is getting Caroline addicted to Cap'n Crunch.

Mom bought glow sticks for everyone. We would turn off all the lights at night and play and tell stories. I decided to experiment with my camera. This is Brian jump-roping with his glow sticks. If you look closely you can see his form in the middle.

Friday: We had a great breakfast (Kevin and I cooked.) and headed out to Hogle Zoo. Caroline loved it. I think this was the 1st time Kevin had been there since he was 5.

Amy, Brook, Caroline, and Katy. Those girls are too cute.

My favorite picture from the trip. Caroline and Kevin on the merry-go-round

Rding the rails

Saturday: After breakfast we headed to Deer Creek Reservoir. It was a little chilly and I thought the water would be cold but it wasn't. Dad rented a boat and a jet ski for everyone to share and we had a blast. Kevin and I took Caroline on the jet ski for a little while and she fell asleep. I have a weird girl.

Tubing is so much fun. Amy was a brave soul.

Saturday afternoon we packed up and left the cabin. That night we met at Mark and Leslie's house for a Walker get together. I haven't been to Utah in 4 years so it was like meeting everyone all over again. It was great to see everyone. Caroline got to play with more cousins.

Sunday: We went to church with Grandma Puckett. Our whole family took up two rows. It was way fun. Caroline, Katy, and Brook went to nursery together. We went to Emily and Chris' for lunch, hung out there, and started talking about the reunion for 2011. Kevin and I are in charge. That is a scary thought. That afternoon we packed up, picked up Grandma Puckett and went to Pleasant Grove to visit with the Puckett side. There were so many cousins there for Caroline to play with. I love catching up with people I only get to see and talk to on-line. I was also trying to convince everyone to come to NC and play at the beach with us.

Kimmie, Caroline, and Ally

We left SLC at 2:00pm on Monday. Our trip was so fast but so worth it. I felt like I didn't see Caroline for 4 days because she played non-stop. She had the time of her life and slept like a bear in hibernation when we got home. We can't wait for 2011.

Flat Earth

2009-08-12T09:41:00.008-04:00

These are four of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

These pics are coming your way Amy.

There is a line from one of my favorite Death Cab for Cutie song that says, "I wish the world was flat like the old days and we could travel just by folding a map."

When your nieces and nephews live on the other side of the country you tend to agree with that statement.

I love you guys!

Class dismissed...

2009-08-07T09:27:00.008-04:00

Dear John Hughes,

Your movies shaped my childhood.

Sorry but I picture Duckie whenever I hear Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness".

Because of your movies, high school became the great common denominator.

I hope that I can learn to not take myself so seriously like these guys.

Thank you Mr. Hughes. You will be missed

There are no words...

2009-07-19T13:19:00.007-04:00

For how much...

I love...

My Squirrel!

It's a hard knock life for us...

2009-07-08T13:54:00.005-04:00

It has become an almost tradition that we go to Atlantic Beach with Aunt B (Tanya) and Me-Me (Uncle Brian) and stay at the Bennett's beach house. We have been doing this for three years now and we love it!! Caroline loves going to the beach with her family and the beach house is within walking distance of the ocean. I live such a hard life! :) We spent a weekend this year and had a blast. Tanya, Caroline and I left Thursday night. We spent Friday morning going to the grocery store, exploring new stores in Morehead City, etc. After Caroline's kind-of nap we headed to the beach. It was overcast and windy. We heard that there were storms approaching and when we saw a lightning bolt we quickly packed up and left. This picture is from when we first got there. Caroline may look happy but she refused to touch the sand.
Saturday was much better, weather-wise. We headed to the beach so Caroline could build sandcastles with her new bucket (Thank you Dollar Store). The waves were pretty rough and scared her too much. She wouldn't even look at the ocean let alone go in. Oh well.

After we get back from the beach we put Caroline in a little kiddie pool and let her splash and get all the sand and salt off. She thinks she is just playing. Silly girl. I love this face.

I love this picture. We had just got her out of the pool. I actually gave her a bath and washed her hair in the pool. Got her out, went to get her clothes and found her in the chair like this. Yes, she is naked. Yes, she is eating Pringles. Yes, she strategically placed the can to hid her assets. We found lots of cool sea shells at the beach. When we got home she used her new magnifing glass to really look at them. She cracks me up.

We had so much fun. Can't wait for next year.

What I did on my summer vacation v2.0

2009-06-23T17:17:00.010-04:00

I know it has been forever since I posted but I have a great excuse...IT'S SUMMER! Plan and simple. We have been enjoying the warm weather, the pool right out our back door and any free time that Kevin has. I have lots to tell you but here is our adventures in the great outdoors.

We have been talking with Kevin's family about meeting somewhere in NC and camp. We finally did it. I was worried about Caroline since she has never camped before. We got her a princess sleeping bag awhile back since she was doing so well with potty training. We borrowed a tent from Mom and Dad. We left on Friday afternoon and drove to Morrow Mountain. Mom and Dad got there on Wednesday and Laura and Donny got there on Thursday. As soon as we arrived we went to the pool located in the park. Caroline was all about that. She and Katy jumped into the pool, played in the kiddie area and showed everyone how they could float. After the pool we headed back for dinner and smores. As it got darker Caroline and Katy remembered their flashlights and had flashlight wars until we finally had to turn on the lantern Mom and Dad brought. We got Caroline ready for bedand she realized that she would be sleeping in a tent...in her sleeping bag. This is what I was worried about. I had visions of her running toward the car screaming she wanted to go home. That was not the case. She was so excited about the whole idea she didn't even want to tell people goodnight. She barely napped all day and played hard with her family so she was out in no time.

On Saturday we had a great breakfast (Kevin made pancakes and bacon and eggs). Laura and Donny decided they needed to get Katy home because she wasn't feeling well. We decided to take Dad's new canoe to the lake. Again, I thought Caroline would be terrified of getting in the canoe, but she loved it. She had to sit in my lap so Brian and Kevin rowed for us. We saw birds and turtles and trees. It was awesome. We came back to the dock, dropped Caroline off with mom and dad and I got my chance to row. When we got back to the dock, Brian, kevin and Dad had a turn. Caroline had a blast sitting in Papa's truck in the AC eating snacks. When everyone was done, we loaded up the canoe and went back to break camp. Caroline fell asleep on the way back to the camp site so we let her sleep while we took everything down. She was not happy when she had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a good time and have already made plans to go again in Sept/Oct.

Setting up the tent. Caroline is "helping"

There was a little stump in the campsite so Caroline used it as a stage. She is singing to Katy.

There were deer that would come right into the camp. Grandpa and Caroline were feeding this one cereal.

She talked about the canoe for days after.

The top of Morrow Mountain

What's gonna work...TEAMWORK!!!

2009-05-31T15:14:00.006-04:00

Kevin and I love our little girl. She makes us laugh, loves us back and is just all around awesome. She is getting so big these days. She is potty trained and insists that she does things "by myself." We love watching her gain confidence and love to help her develop her own strengths. All in all, we love everything about her, except...her choice in cartoons. Let me explain...
We don't let Caroline watch a lot of TV, but after she has her nap (or quite time these days) she can watch a movie, Finding Nemo ("Fishies"), Little Mermaid ("Ariel"), etc. After she gets her jammies on we let her watch one more cartoon before bed. This isn't everyday, but she has her favorites. One night while Kevin and I were suffering through "The Wonder Pets Save the Panda" he looks over at me and says quietly enough that she can't hear, "I hate this show." We began discussing which ones we hated and which ones were ok. We came to the following conclusion: Kevin detests Dora. Her voice is annoying and the story is ridiculous. He doesn't mind SpongeBob because some parts are funny to us. He hates The Wonder Pets because they sing everything. I decided that I can't bear Wow Wow Wubbzy for reasons I can't explain. You just have to watch it to understand. I actually love Cars. It has Paul Newman (who could just read the phone book and I would watch. Miss him already), Good music, cute story line and amazing graphics. Caroline is hooked on it. We have decided to purchase it on DVD for our plane ride to Utah this summer. I actually don't mind watching that one. The interesting thing is how different cartoons are from when we were kids. I remember watching Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck on Saturday morning. I never really liked Scooby Doo but I loved Thundercats. In fact, my brother, sister, uncle (he was our age) and I used to play Thundercats after school. I was Cheetara. I was really fast.
So now I throw the questions to you, Dear Internet, which cartoons that your kids watch do you suffer through? Which ones do you actually like? Which cartoons did you used to watch when you were younger? Leave a comment and share the fun!

R.I.P. Pampers

2009-05-24T13:31:00.012-04:00

This post is pretty lengthy but worth it. ( I think anyway.)

I don't want to jinx anything but I can almost safely say that Caroline is potty trained. I know that most books and experts say kids are not "officially" potty trained until they can stay dry through the night. Those experts can stick it. After a grueling week that doesn't look like it will let up anytime soon I am calling it: Caroline is potty trained. Here is a run down of what my week was like: (I am going to do it Aagard style. Here's to you Shelly!)

Monday: Only have a few Target diapers left. I used to love these diapers but they went and changed everything: box, design, print on diapers, shape of diapers, etc. I am not happy. So I compare and the Luv's are more but only by a few cents per diaper and they have Blue's Clues on them. Fine, grab them and let's go. Use the last one that night which only leaves the new ones for tomorrow.

Tuesday: After using her last diaper I go to open the new pack of diapers and Caroline flips out. She has gotten used to the polka-dot Target ones and refuses to use Blue's Clues.
"Don't like Cues Cues"
I explain that all I have are her big girl panties. (Sniff, Sniff) "Ok, Mommy" (We have had these for awhile to get her used to them. She picked them out herself.)
"You want to wear your princess panties?"
"YEAH!!!!" At this point she runs to her dresser and is dancing around while I find her a pair of Cinderella. I am shocked. She is actually excited. We'll see how long this lasts...
***BTW, We have been working on Caroline for awhile with going to the potty. We set up a system where if she just sat on the potty she got a sticker (princess or Cars). She loved it. I tried to get her to go Pee Pee in the potty but she always wanted to get down before it happened. As soon as I got on her diaper she would go. That is when I knew she was ready but I didn't want to push her. I have known moms who made their kids go just because they didn't want to buy diapers again. I would rather pay the $13.00 for the new pack of diapers instead of $100/ hour for the therapy they will need later. We did not push her. We looked for the signs and encouraged her. ***
After we put on the underwear she ran around the house jumping, playing, just loving the free feeling of big girl underwear. She got so excited that she wet a little before she could tell me that she had to go. She sat down on the potty and nothing. I made her sit for just one more second. Still nothing. A few minuets later she told me she needed to go, sat her down, and then it happened. She pee peed. Her eyes got so big and her grin was even bigger. "Mommy, I go PEE PEE!" I showed her how to wipe, we flushed the potty, washed our hands, and danced the happy dance. I knew Caroline would be the type that would need some over the top excitement when she went so we called aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She was so proud of her accomplishment and it showed. We made sure to praise her and make her feel special and it worked. She almost stayed dry all day. (One little accident that I made her clean up.) That night we put her in a pull-up and just told her again how proud we are of her.

Wednesday (early hours of the morning, around 3am): I awaken to Caroline by my bed telling me that she is poopy. She isn't, her pull-up is full. Put on a new pull-up put her back in bed.
6am - I awaken to Caroline again. "Mommy I need to go Pee Pee." This is great. Her little bladder is waking her up and telling her to go. I take her to the potty and she pees a lot, we do our routine and then she runs to our bedroom to tell her daddy. She is so proud of herself. We snuggle in bed and watch cartoons.
Later on that day: Caroline has been dry all day and now the big test: she doesn't want to put on a pull-up for her nap. YIKESSSS! I tell her ok. Lay her down for quite time. When she falls asleep I go in and put a towel under her. I knew if I put a pull-up on her it would hurt her feelings. She wakes up from her nap 2 hours later and comes out holding the towel and says, "here Mommy. Here is your towel." It is completly DRY!! We go to the potty and she uses it instead. We do the happy dance. Stays dry all day. Work it girl!!!

Thursday: Caroline has been doing great for the past few days but here was the test. We go to the library on Thursdays for storytime/art time. That would be a challenge alone but we are planning on meeting family who are driving through Greensboro for lunch after that. I insist she wear her underwear instead of a pull-up. I am either Brave or suicidal. I know that she would be scared to death of any public bathroom so we pack up her potty and put it in the back of the 4-runner. Our car seems designed for this thank goodness. She goes to the library and has a great time and even picks out a few books to take home. We go to meet our family at the restaurant and a few minutes later she tells me "Mommy, I have to go pee pee." Ok, folks. This is not a drill. This is what we have been preparing for. All systems go. I take her outside, open the back, get her settled, and she goes! In the potty! In the back of my car! She actually thinks it is fun, hence the getting up a million times at lunch to go. The rest of the day goes well and we let her know how proud we are.

Friday: Ok, so I am going to push my luck a little further. Kevin has to work all day and I need to run some errands. Caroline has been doing so well so I decide to take her run errands in her big girl underwear. She is pro at this. I teach her that we always go to the potty before we leave the house and we will use it as soon as we get home. She does a great job and I even get her a kids drink at the snack center. We pick up some of those toddler wipes to use with the potty. They were a big hit. The only problem we encountered was after she woke up from her nap she insisted on going to the potty every 2 miutes. She would pee sometimes but most times not. It was like timing a contraction. I could barely get dinner done or eat it for that fact. I am not sure what is going on but I know we will get through this.

Saturday: Great day except for the going every 2 minutes. This is getting old fast.

Sunday: OK. the big test. going to church for 3 hours. And nursery!!!!! So I pack up the potty again but this time I put it in the mother's lounge. We make it to sacrament meeting but 3 mintues in she tells me she has to go pee pee. It has begun. We actually made it through the sacrament but after that she just asks to go all the time. I finally pack her up and take her in the mother's lounge and stay. I set her on the potty one more time before she went to nursery and she seemed excited to go, but 10 minutes into Sunday School they brought her to me because she needed to go. She doesn't do anything on the potty so I take her back. When we change classes I go in and get her, try to potty, she does pee and then I take her back. She actually stayed the rest of the hour. It was great. It was progress and I am still proud of her.

It is amazing to watch Caroline come into her own. She has gained so much confidence with this whole potty training and it is spreading into other parts of our lives. She insists on doing things herself now. As a mother I want to give her so much. I thought that I would be the one who would give her confidence but I am finding that I can't give her anything, but I can help her find it within herself. I guess we both had a lot to learn this week...

My Inner Ina...

2009-05-17T22:47:00.007-04:00

Kevin and I have been married for 9 years (10 years in Sept.) and over the past 9 years we have figured out this whole gift giving mess. When we were first married we couldn't afford anything so we usually got some really great cards and notes. (I still have all mine.) Gradually we moved into the "Double Income, No Kids" phase of gift giving where we would give each other nice gifts without worrying too much about how much it cost. Then Kevin went back to school and it was back to the "make it affordable and make it count" phase. During this time we really dug deep and not only got thoughtful gifts but got creative in making them and giving them. Even though he is done with school we have really taken this kind of gift-giving philosophy to heart. We realized that we don't have to give random, meaningless things because it defeats the purpose, but we still think that gifts should be a want and not a need item. (Thanks hon, for this wonderful laundry basket. I've had my eye on it at Wal-mart for awhile. How did you know?) Having said all that let me explain what Kevin got me for my birthday in March...

There is an amazing restaurant in Atlanta called "The Flying Biscuit". We went a few months after we moved there after a suggestion from a classmate and loved it. Only problem was Caroline was not happy and we had to shovel our wonderful, delicious, Southern food fast. When Kevin and I went back to Atlanta to pack up sans Munchkin, guess where we went for breakfast? The Flying Biscuits they bake daily are to die for and I really could have eaten those for the meal. We left the restaurant stuffed; not a good idea when you have lots of projects to work on. What does that have to do with my birthday? Well, my dear, sweet, thoughtful husband did some research and ordered the "Flying Biscuit Cookbook" for me!!!!!! I have really been getting more into cooking and now watch Food Network religiously so he knew how perfect this gift was for me. I was blown away. The interesting part is this is the only cookbook that has the famous Flying Biscuit recipe. If you buy the cookbook at the restaurant it is from the new owner and doesn't have a lot of their older traditional recipes. The amazing thing is that Kevin had to hunt this book down on E-bay and had it shipped for my birthday. He is so good to me. How did I thank him?

Biscuits!!!! They are "slap-your mama" good!!

I don't even remember how many I ate as soon as they came out of the oven. These biscuits in turn gave me the idea to make freezer jam. It was so much fun trying these recipes. I often think of my great-grandma Ruby while I am cooking. She passed away when I was 6 years old but people still talk about what a great cook she was. I hope I have her genes and that they are the dominant ones. PS: Thanks babe for the wonderful, thoughtful gift. I love you.

To Do List...

2009-05-13T13:57:00.004-04:00

Guess what we've been working on...

Oh Come On...

2009-05-08T13:35:00.004-04:00

I am sure there is a law in NC that if you are within a 5 mile radius of the beach you must go. You may sit, read, people watch, whatever but you have to enjoy it. So that is what Caroline and I did. I picked her up and tried to take her right out toward the waves but she was not happy. We turned around and sat on the steps leading down into the sand. We sat there for a few minutes and just watched this couple who were surf fishing. We watched a dad and daughter walking down the beach with a kite flying overhead. We also watched a group of pelicans skim the surface of the ocean. After awhile she ventured a few feet from the steps. I let her do it by herself. After that she went a few more feet and finally she went all the way to the edge of the water. I love watching her try new things and figure it out on her own. I can see how proud she is of herself when she does it without my help. She isn't my little baby anymore.

With a name like Caroline, it has to be good...

2009-04-30T14:19:00.005-04:00

We did so much this past weekend that I am going to have to break it up into several posts. Caroline and I went to Wilson to visit Tanya and Brian and to attend my great-grandma's 90th birthday party. On Saturday we took Caroline to a strawberry farm where they had a little strawberry festival. They had animals for the kids to see, a bouncy castle, stickers, face painting, etc. Of course they had strawberries. The kids could pick a pint for free and of course we picked more for Tanya to freeze later. Caroline had so much fun and got so dirty. When you have tater ridges you know it was a good day. (If you don't know what a tater ridge is, ask your Southern friend)

They had a horse that kids could sit on for a minute. She was ok for about 5 seconds. I am proud of her for trying.

I am so glad they didn't charge us by how much we ate or we would have owed them a fortune. All she wanted for lunch was strawberries.

I have let Tanya use a lot of my baby stuff for her baby's nursery. She has my glider rocker, crib, dresser, changing table, etc. When Caroline walked into that room she said, "Oh my goodness! It's Caroline's room!" Well, it kind of is.

Hopping down the bunny trail...

2009-04-20T17:05:00.004-04:00

This Easter was a full weekend for us. We traveled to Wilmington for a baby shower and decided to spend Easter there so Caroline could go egg hunting with Katy.

Caroline, Brian, and Papa flying a kite.

Are you kidding? How cute is this?

Scarfing it down before Daddy could get to her.

The cool thing about our drive home is that we didn't leave until 9pm. We got home at 12am but it was amazing how fast we got home. No more 7 hour drives. We will be back in Wilmington again next week. It is my great-grandmother's 90th birthday so Caroline will visit for a few days.

Are you surprised?

2009-04-05T23:16:00.004-04:00

80 degree weather + my camera + one cute girl...

This camera was my great-grandma's.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

2009-03-24T17:35:00.006-04:00

Here you go. Some new pics of the girl...
The first ones are before we left Wilmington.

Caroline and Katy liked to sit in their cave and read books. Here they are roaring like lions.

This is at the Children's Museum in Wilmington. The girls got to dress up and perform on a stage. Caroline just liked wearing the dress.

American Idol Wannabe

She liked the hopping part of hopscotch.

The art room...I didn't think the girls would ever leave.

Our cute girls

This is how Caroline gets dressed to go outside to play, purse and all.

Seriously, how cute is this?

More to come....

Buy some stock in cardboard boxes...

2009-03-19T22:31:00.006-04:00

Well, we are out of Wilmington and finally in High Point. Well, actually we are in Jamestown, but we are .5 miles from Greensboro city limits and .4 miles from High Point city limits. We are renting an apartment here while we figure out the area and Kevin's job. We like our ward so far. There are lots of families with small kids here and they have been so eager to welcome us. Kevin likes his job already. They are patient with him and helpful to this ex-student. He has a crazy schedule but we are used to that. He works for a few days and has a few days off.
Caroline LOVES her new house. For a couple of weeks before we moved we kept telling Caroline that we were taking her to her new Caroline house where she would have her own Caroline room and her own Caroline bathroom. We thought she would have a tough time because when we came house hunting she wouldn't let us put her down. That was not the case when we got here. We had some of her toys and things set up in her room and she RAN in there and played. We couldn't get her out of there for anything. She runs all over the house, loves to chase the cats and loves to jump on the beds. In other words, she is fine. Kevin and I have been looking for fun things to do around here. We found an awesome farmer's market, found some great parks, and I found an amazing sandwich shop. I am also excited because the end of April is the High Point Furniture Market which means that I can get some awesome furniture with my sister!!!!!! I know it is hard to believe but I have not taken any pictures for awhile. I will remedy that situation soon and post some cool pics. Thanks for hanging in there with us. I love it when people post new blogs so I will try my best to post often now that we are settled. We love you all.

Answers...

2009-02-26T14:34:00.004-05:00

We have exciting news about our lives right now but we will get to that after cute pics of the girl...

This is Caroline in her "Jungle". If you ask her, it is where Boots (Dora's friend) lives.

She loves pretending she is an airplane.

Kevin and I finally have answers to the questions we get asked all the time:
1. When are you moving? - March 6-8
2. Where are you moving? Jamestown, NC about 15 minutes from Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem
3. When does Kevin start his new job? March 9th
4. Are you getting excited? Kind of. We are more stressed out than anything. We are trying to rent our place in Atlanta and move at the same time.

I will have more updates and pics soon. Love you all.

Are we still friends?...

2009-01-03T17:05:00.013-05:00

Ok. Don't hate me. I have a valid excuse for why you have seen the same Thanksgiving pictures for the past few weeks. You can take your pick. Here are my excuses in random order...
#1 Kevin graduated. I know you won't believe me so here are some great pictures
I am so proud of him and so glad it is over. The ceremony was great. It was also so nice to have family there to help us celebrate. Tanya, Brian B., Laura, Donny, Katy, Mom, Dad, and Brian came down. Donny's favorite part of the whole weekend was riding the Pink Pig. :)

#2 NYC - about a year ago Kevin and I made plans to go on a cruise right after graduation and before Christmas to get away and to celebrate. Those plans fell through so we decided to go to NYC instead. It was so cool. Mom and Dad watched Caroline for us and so we took off for about 4 days total. We drove (why?) and spent about 2 days in the city. Here are some cool pictures to prove it...

Rockerfeller Center

"It's Christmas Time in the city"

An authentic New York slice

Of course I would take a picture in front of the library!

The next 2 pics are the view from our hotel.

#3 Christmas - We had a crazy, stressful, fun Christmas. This was the year that Caroline really got into all of it. She loved lights. She even screamed if she saw any. She loved the songs, and was ok when she saw Santa. This year she cleaned house with Santa Claus. She must have read to the blind after volunteering at the soup kitchen. She got a kick out of opening presents. It made Christmas fun again.

#4 - We moved back to NC!
Kevin and I left the Sunday after Christmas to go to Atlanta and pack up our house for a few days without Caroline. His family came on Wednesday and helped us pack up the house where we took our stuff to a storage unit in Greensboro. My blood pressure went up just typing that. We are staying with the Walkers until Kevin starts his job and we find a house in the Triad area.

Caroline liked to "help" pack some boxes

Controlled chaos

We are in the process of renting our house out. We might have a potential renter but we are just hammering out some details.

Now that we have working internet and a roof over our heads I will be able to update our house hunting and next big move, crossed fingers and the creek don't rise...

Thanksgiving for the rest of us...

2008-12-08T22:25:00.009-05:00

We got to travel to NC for Thanksgiving this year and to break up the trip we decided to head to Winston-Salem and check it out. Since we might be moving there we wanted to get a feel for the place. We stayed in a hotel there and drove around the city. The next day we went to the Children's Museum were Caroline had a ball...

The museum had a "grocery store" where she could use a shopping cart her size. I was so proud of her because she filled the cart up with a lot of fake fruit and vegetables, but then she saw the fake cake and pastries and took every last one of them.

The kids could check themselves out with a cute cash register. The best part was everything was her size: the shelves, the register, the carts, etc. She had a blast.

Beside the grocery store was a Krispy Kreme store. Since KK was started in Winston-Salem it made sense. It had the doughnut making machine and fake doughnuts for the kids to use. She loved it. They also had an art room for the kids to color and play. It was so much fun. It was money well spent. It also got her tired for the trip to Wilson.

We had Thanksgiving at Tanya and Brian's house in their new remodeled kitchen. It was so good! Caroline played so hard with her daddy and her uncles that she slept on Aunt B's comfy bed for 3 hours.

Since everyone was scattered on Thanksgiving day we had a Thanksgiving dinner Friday night at the Walkers. Mom found this soft rug in her closet and put it out for the girls to play on. Katy and Caroline together again.

Fall into Autumn

2008-11-14T13:22:00.002-05:00

I love the colors of fall. All of the trees look like they are on fire. I also love the crunch of the leaves. I decided to take Caroline outside and learn the fine art of jumping in a pile of leaves. Enjoy!

Story Time...

2008-11-11T12:01:00.002-05:00

Caroline loves to read. I caught her in her room reading to herself and couldn't help but grab my camera. Enjoy!

I made a height chart for Caroline's room. She likes to measure herself everyday.

Things are going well here. Kevin had another job interview. This one was in Ashboro. We now have some major decisions to make. There is a strong possibility that we will be moving over Christmas. Yeah for me. Maybe Santa will put some Xanax in my stocking! We will keep you posted.

New Day, New Pictures

2008-10-19T13:21:00.005-04:00

I took some pictures of Caroline so that I could practice with my camera. I am trying really hard to use the manual settings instead of relying on the program setting. You get the enjoy the rewards of my practicing. Also if you take your time to look at them then you can enjoy my new playlist.

HELP....

2008-10-06T14:14:00.002-04:00

I NEED A NEW BOOK TO READ!!!!

I finished the Twilight series and now I need something great that will keep my attention. Any suggestions...

Take 2...

2008-09-30T14:14:00.006-04:00

OK, so back to the summer vacation stories.

Kevin was able to make it back for Caroline's birthday party. We had it the weekend after her birthday at the Walker's. It was so great having everyone there. Caroline got lots of goodies and Kevin and I wondered how we were going to get it back to Atlanta...

The girls dancing at Papa's house.

Kevin made the yellow shirt for Caroline.

Who knew that $1 stickers could be this much fun?

I also had the opportunity to attend Jennifer and Mayo's Wilmington Reception/Party. The hurricane hit the night before and so the bar where it was held didn't have electricity until about an hour before the party started. We didn't care. The music was great, it was right on the beach, it was all wonderful.

Kathy and Peg

Katie and Jennifer R

Me and Jenn
We danced the night away and had a great time.

I also had the great opportunity of photographing Lori Allen's wedding. She looked so beautiful and happy that day. Congrats guys!

After Lori's wedding I got to pick Kevin up from the airport. It was such a thrill because not only did I get to see him but it also meant that he is done with clinicals. After a whole year he is finally finished. We had a great week in NC together including seeing Pucketts that we haven't seen in years and also celebrating Katy's birthday.

Even though I miss everyone like crazy and Caroline keeps begging to go to papa's house and dance with Katy, we are happy to be home with Kevin. Our next exciting project is getting our house ready to put on the market. We will keep you updated.

FYI...

2008-09-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

If you read past the bloglists I have a post about our summer vacation

Blog list

2008-09-23T23:03:00.002-04:00

This just looks like too much fun to pass up...
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) – Telsy 4Runner
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) – Vanilla Peanut Butter
3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) –Purple Bird
4. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -WalTo
5. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) -The Green Pepsi
6.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) –Carol Sylvan
7. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a place you’d like to vacation) –Rouse Rome
8. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) –Spring Hydrangea
9. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now) Strawberry PJs
10. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) – Granola Magnolia
11. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) -The photo rain tour

Tag...You're it...

2008-09-23T22:37:00.002-04:00

Michelle Brunjes tagged me in her blog so here it goes...

The ABC's of Me:
A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached
B. BEST FRIEND? Kevin
C. CAKE OR PIE? Cake -I am not a fan of cooked fruit. I do like apple pie if it is the only thing sweet to eat.
D. DAY OF THE WEEK? Thursday - the Weekend eve...
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? chapstick (just ask Kevin), pretzels (just ask Caroline), a book (my worst fear is to be stuck somewhere without one.
F. FAVORITE COLOR? purple -
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? bears - you can lick the back and stick them on stuff
H. HOMETOWN? La Grange - I'm from the 252, so I'm kind of a big deal :)
I. INDULGENCE? Bags, books - I think kevin will actually leave me one day because of my addiction.
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July - hate cold weather, Love cookouts and the beach
K. KIDS? one cute girl
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Caroline's laugh, Kevin's car pulling in the driveway.
M. MARRIAGE DATE? September 2
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 1 bro, 1 sis, 3 sis-in-laws, 2 bros in law I consider them all family.
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Fuji apples from the farmer's market.
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Not really, I do fear boredom!!!
Q. QUOTE? "Be the change you wish to see in the world"
R. REASONS TO SMILE? Caroline saying "Hiiii Mommy", pictures, purses, the beach, The Avett Brothers
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? I had a wonder woman night light.
T. TAG 3 PEOPLE? Amy Anson, Sidsie Drysdale, Ashley Hooks
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I can't spell. I am a horrible speller. If it wasn't for spell check I don't think I would show my face in public
V. VEGETABLES? snow peas, corn, green beans,
W. WORST HABIT? Everything has to be even. I have to chew equally on both sides of my mouth. I have to have equal amounts of peanut butter and jelly on my sandwich.
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? I hope in the next few months we can have a reason for an ultrasound
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? cheese pizza, pasta, cheesecake
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? aries

What I did on my summer vacation...

2008-09-23T13:30:00.010-04:00

Caroline, Kevin and I are home and (somewhat) unpacked from our extended vacation in NC. Caroline and I were there for 8 weeks. We had weddings, family reunions, concerts, etc. to attend and because Kevin was out of Atlanta doing clinicals, and since gas prices are outrageous we decided to just go up and stay. I am so glad we did. I got to see family and friends, Caroline had playdates and grandmas to spoil her, and Kevin was able to come and see us when he had a free weekend. The best part about all of this is that Kevin is done traveling with his clinicals. He drove home with us on Sunday. It feels really good to know that he doesn't have to leave us again. The weird part is he will actually be home every night for dinner. I don't know what to do with myself. I can actually make dinner instead of just sandwiches or cereal.
As I am editing some pictures from this summer I thought I would share them with everyone and some great stories also. Here it goes:

As soon as we got to NC we went to Atlantic Beach with Tanya and Brian. We had the best time. I actually got to read 2 books while there. Caroline had a ball. Every morning she would wake up and ask for the beach. This is a picture of our drive there. When you cross over the bridge you have to roll your windows down and smell the salt air.

Caroline loves her Aunt B (BaBeez)!

After we got back from Atlantic Beach we had a few weeks to play and have fun with family and friends. The coolest part was when Kevin surprised us and drove to NC for a weekend that I wasn't expecting him. That meant a lot.

One of the reasons that I went to NC was to help my BF Jenn get ready for her wedding in SC. Caroline was supposed to be a flower girl, but more about that later. Jenn and I drove to SC to order the cake, arrange locations, etc. Caroline of course came with us and was great the whole time.

If we ever needed to get some work done, all we had to do was give Caroline some crayons, and paper and she was golden.

While we were ordering the cake, Caroline turned into a copycat.

Caroline and her Aunt Jenn

Caroline turned two while we were home but we decided to have her party after the wedding when Kevin could be there. We decided to have a little bit of cake for her on her actual birthday though. I can't believe my girl is getting so big.

We don't know where she gets this face from.

In August we traveled to SC for Jenn and Mayo's wedding. It was so much fun being there with friends for a great event. Mama and Tanya came with me to help with Caroline. I am so glad they did because I would not have been able to photograph the wedding without them. Ok, so Caroline was supposed to be the flower girl but we weren't sure if she would do it. Even the groomsmen took bets on if she would make it down the aisle. Enjoy some of these pics and I will give you the outcome at the end.

Caroline got some cute gifts from Aunt Jenn and Uncle Mayo

Jennifer Raspet, Kathy, Jennifer E. and Me

The crowd sang "Sweet Caroline" to my girl! She loved it.

So Caroline gets to the door of the ceremony and freaks out. She begins crying and Tanya has to take her out so, no, she didn't make it down the aisle. Bruce won $5. But she still looked cute.

OK, I have to pause here...More to come...

Just a taste...

2008-09-06T15:25:00.004-04:00

We are having so much fun traveling and visiting in NC that I haven't been near a computer long enough to post. We are fine by the way. Tropical Storm Hanna should have been labeled a really a shower for all it did here.
Here are a few pics to tide you over for a few more days:

Caroline tried to be a flower girl at Aunt Jenn wedding.

I have been having the best time going through old pictures. This is Travis, Me, and Tanya.

More to come...

Gone but not forgotten...

2008-08-19T15:16:00.002-04:00

I promise that I have not neglected my blog. I am in NC and am not around a reliable, steady internet connection. I hope that will change this week and I can post some new pics.

2008-07-10T14:06:00.002-04:00

A few recent pictures...

Our Yankee Doodle Sweetheart...

She loves shoes

On Sunday, Kevin and Caroline decide to build a fort. Toward the end she just like to tear it down.

Put me in the zoo...

2008-07-01T14:48:00.004-04:00

Caroline and I went to the zoo with the Drysdales last Friday. It was so neat to see all of the animals. Caroline liked it but after awhile in the 90+ degree heat she was done until we got to the pandas. She laughed so much people were laughing at her. She loved the baby panda, Mei Lan. It is interesting how much Caroline loved her because when we first moved to Atlanta (when she was 2 weeks old) everyone was on "panda watch". They thought the Panda was pregnant, but apparently you can't really tell until the baby is born. In September of 2006 Mei Lan was born and was the size of a stick of butter. I will never forget sitting on my couch in the wee hours of the morning nursing Caroline watching the news of Mei Lan's birth. It was a weird parallel universe for me. Here are some pictures.

If you give a Caroline a water hose...

2008-06-21T22:12:00.004-04:00

Since we have to water the grass everyday Caroline decides to turn it into her own personal water park.

She is waving hi to her daddy

Happy Baby Daddy Day!!

2008-06-16T13:13:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all Dad's out there, but more specifically:

Dad Walker - Thanks for all of your love and support. You constantly show me how to put family first by example. I love you.

Mom-As a single parent my mom had to be both mom and dad. Now that I am a parent I realize just how hard her job really was. Thanks Mama, I love you.

Kevin - Thank you for being a great dad to our girl. She lights up when you walk in the door which says a lot about your relationship with her. Thanks for understanding that parenting is a tag team effort. I love you more and more everyday.

Summer reading list

2008-06-10T22:06:00.003-04:00

So I know that I am not teaching anymore but I decided to make myself a summer reading list (I know. Nerd, right?!) I have tried to take time out to read everyday, even if it is just 15 minutes. Kevin and I were talking the other day about books that we like and I realized that there are a lot of classics that I never read. (I think if the NC board finds out they will take away my teaching license) So I decided to make a summer reading list of classics that I should have read but didn't. I am going to list them and then write about them whenever I get a chance. I would love to hear what everyone out there is reading or what you would suggest I put on my list.

Summer 2008:
Anne of Green Gables - I know. I am 31 and am reading it for the first time.
Lord of the Flies - I am addicted to "Lost" and it got me thinking about this book.
The Catcher in the Rye
Their Eyes were watching God
Babbitt
Invisible Man

I don't know if I will get through these. I might (probably(more than likely(will))) change these by the end of the summer. Wish me luck. The good news is that I don't have any tests on these! (Don't get any ideas Jennifer Raspet:))

Safe and Tired

2008-06-05T21:50:00.005-04:00

Caroline and I made it home safe but tired on Wednesday. We had so much fun in NC. We miss everyone already. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Jenn's Bridal shower

We let Caroline loose with the water hose.

Uncle B is such a good sport.

Gearing up...

2008-05-27T12:22:00.004-04:00

Caroline and I are getting ourselves packed for our flight to Wilmington. We are coming home to visit, because Kevin is out of town, and I have a fun bridal shower to attend. Here are some new pictures to tide you over until we get back. Love you all.

A rare photo op. I am in the picture. This is us at Piedmont Park.

Caroline loves the slides.

Way up high!

Caroline is in the phase were she doesn't like to wear a shirt. If I take her shirt off for any reason, I will not be able to catch her to put another one back on for at least 1 hour. If finally have to grab her and hold her down to put it on.

BLADES OF GLORY!!
We finally got some grass to grow!

Can't wait to see everyone soon!

More pics

2008-05-17T21:46:00.006-04:00

While Joseph and the Walker's were here we got to take in a Braves game!

Lost in Lost...

2008-05-16T13:37:00.006-04:00

Forgive me for not updating. Ever since I got home from NC I have been watching old reruns of Lost on-line. It gets awesomer and awesomer. So that is my excuse. When I put the squirrel down at night I will watch an episode or two. Anyway...
Some crazy stuff has been going on lately. First, we had a packed house for a few days. Our brother in law, Joseph stayed with us so he could attend a conference. Well, he came for Braves games and there just happened to be a conference going on:) Just kidding. Kevin's parents (ie. Mom and Dad) and Brian also came. They stayed in a hotel since we have such a small townhouse and we only have one bath. We had so much fun with everyone. When Kevin finally lets go of the digital camera I will post some of those pics.
Second, I rode to NC with the Walkers so I could spend some time with Tanya in her new kitchen. We went to the Bennett's for Brian's birthday and had a great time. Caroline especially...
Caroline and Katy got to spend some quality time together. They loved splashing in the puddles.

Yard Work...

2008-05-02T22:14:00.003-04:00

Kevin and I have started working on our front lawn. After we raked the leaves up we noticed that the previous owners put tarp down over the ground. The only problem is they didn't do any clean up work first, they just put it down. They left stumps, grass, bark, rocks, etc. ARGGGGGGGG! We pulled everything up and put the leaves in refuse bags. We ended up with 25 bags.

Next week we will till the ground and plant grass seed. Caroline has been a great helper. She insists that we get out her rake every time we are outside.
Check back to see how it turns out.

A Few Pictures...

2008-05-02T22:09:00.004-04:00

Enjoy!She found my headphones and knew exactly what to do with them!

Like Father, Like daughter...

Portraits at last...

2008-04-18T22:39:00.008-04:00

Well I finally took Caroline's 18 month portraits. Only problem is she is 20 months old. Oops! You can find all of them at the photo albums link. Look under Children's Portraits II. Enjoy! Please leave a comment and let me know which one you like best so I can print some for family. Don't worry they are not all in black and white.

Kevin Walker, photographer...

2008-04-13T21:24:00.003-04:00

Kevin is trying to move in on my territory. Look at these great photos he took today.

A sign of the times...

2008-04-12T21:47:00.002-04:00

Ok. Don't pass out, but I have made an executive decision. I have decided that I am no longer going to print my digital pictures! Now that doesn't mean I will never print pictures again but it just means that I will now have digital photo albums instead of the albums that sit on my bookshelf collecting dust. I will still have some prints printed to give to family and put in my home, but I just realized today that I hardly ever look through my photo albums once I get them printed. If I put them online then everyone can see them, from Dee Dee in NC to Aunt Amy and the gang in Utah. So over on the right hand side of my blog you will see a link that says PHOTO ALBUMS, just click and enjoy. I have also been working on some of my art prints (which I will continue to print) and you can find them on the Flickr link. Let me know what you think.

NC or Bust...

2008-04-10T14:04:00.007-04:00

We just got back from our extended weekend to NC and boy I need a vacation from my vacation. Here are some cute pics.

We took Caroline to UNCW. All the students had to stop and look at her.

Can you tell the azaleas are in bloom?

Guess who got a new bike?

We also took Caroline to the beach. She didn't like it too much but we got a few great pics of her.

New Day, New Pictures

2008-03-30T21:37:00.005-04:00

Here are a few cute pictures that I have snapped in the past few days. We are getting ready for our trip to Wilmington. Can't wait to see everyone.
Kevin surprised me and came home for my birthday. What a sweet guy! Of course Caroline thought he came home for her. He was taking pictures of Caroline and she wanted to see them. Such a cute moment.
I was reading one morning while Caroline was watching Sesame Street and playing. I looked up and found her trying to change her teddy bear's "diaper"! She laid the bear down, got our basket we keep her diapers in and opened the diaper up. She was a little unsure what to do after that. Later on that night Kevin was playing with her and she tried it again. He helped her by handing her a wipe. She wiped the bear's bottom and then they put the diaper on the bear. It was too funny.

Hannah came over to play and feel in love with Caroline's shopping cart (Thanks again Janine!) Of course Caroline got jealous so we found a solution so both girls would be happy. We put Hannah in and let Caroline push. They giggled the whole time. Tarrah and I watched as Caroline pushed Hannah all around the house. Those girls crack us up.