Silly Girl!

As most of you who are parents probably know, sometimes the best toys are not actually toys. For example, Anna Kate loves to play with cups - sippy cups, water cups, coffee cups, paper cups, really any kind of cups! This morning she was playing with a big plastic cup and was being pretty silly, so I had to take some pictures!

Hmmmm...I wonder what this is for...


Should I eat it?


No, I think I should put it on my head....


Wait, I remember this one...I'm supposed to DRINK out of it!

The zoo again!

Luke's parents came to visit this past weekend, and they wanted to do something special with Anna Kate, so we all headed over to the zoo on Saturday! Anna Kate had a great time and was even more excited this time than she was when we went last month. Here are some pictures/videos of our day!

I just love her!

Watching the giraffes

This was supposed to be a family picture with an ostrich, but the ostrich put his head behind the palm tree at the last second...oh well!

Checking out the goats at the petting zoo

Hmmm, I think I'd like to see this one up close!

Anna Kate thought the lions were pretty funny!



And of course, our gorilla comparison shots so you can see how much Anna Kate has grown!

In keeping with the animal theme, Luke's mom brought Anna Kate some bunny pajamas. We thought they were too cute not to put up some pictures!

Pulling up!

Anna Kate pulled herself up to standing for the first time yesterday! I've been trying to teach/help her to do this in the living room on the couches, but they're not very easy to hold on to. So, I thought we would see if she could do it in her crib and she did! She can only do it from a sitting position (since she can't get from laying down up to sitting yet), but she is sure proud of herself! Here is a video so you can see. I didn't quite start it early enough, but you get the idea!

Pretty blonde hair!

Anna Kate's hair is finally starting to grow longer and thicker. So much so that no less than 7 or 8 people have commented on it in the last couple of days. Even she herself has started to rub her head to feel it and tug on it a little bit. (Side note: because of this, she has discovered her hairbows and now proceeds to pull them out every time I put them in - I guess we might have to take a little break from the hairbow thing!). Anyway, I thought I would take some up close pictures this afternoon so you could see it for yourself. So, I set AK on the floor in the living room with her toys and I ran to the bedroom to grab the camera. When I came back, this is what I saw (note who is not in the picture where I left her):


I heard sounds coming from this direction...


There she is!


She's become quite the fast crawler and will disappear in an instant. I've got to keep my eyes on this one!

Ok, back to the point of the blog. Here are some up close pictures so you can see our pretty little blonde-haired girl!



And last, I know this is a terrible picture, but you can see how her hair is now growing down over her ears! It's the little things!

Being silly with Daddy

Two of Anna Kate's favorite things to do are:

1) Play with Daddy
2) Blow raspberries (we call them "spit-kisses")

Put those two things together and this is what you get!

Go Tigers!

Anna Kate loves cheering on the Clemson Tigers! Now granted, neither Luke or I actually went to Clemson, but Luke's dad is a Clemson alum and his brother is currently there for grad school. Luke grew up going to all the Clemson home football games and I have been to many of them these past 6 years! So, all that to say, picking out an outfit for Anna Kate each Saturday is going to be pretty easy this fall! Here's the cute little cheerleader herself before kickoff on Saturday.

Hi everyone!

Go Tigers!

This is how I feel about Auburn...

P.S. She was pretty sad in the morning when we told her that Clemson lost 27-24 in overtime...she couldn't stay up til the end (actually, she only stayed up long enough to get her picture taken...)

Psalm 63 - Come to Jesus

I was reading Psalm 63 this morning and it talks about how we are to earnestly thirst for God and long to be close to Him - that He is the only one who satisfies. As I was reading, the song "Come to Jesus" by Chris Rice kept coming to mind, and I kept thinking about how these things come so naturally to a child. It's amazing how God uses Anna Kate to teach me how I am to trust in Him and what my faith should look like.

"Come to Jesus" ~Chris Rice

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."
~Psalm 63:1, 5-8

Diaper Giveaway Contest!

Our favorite cloth diaper company, Cotton Babies, is doing a diaper giveaway contest this week. The rules are that you have to do something creative to promote cloth diapering online. Now, I know this is just a whole lot of free publicity for them, but I'm cool with that, because we really do love our BumGenius diapers. And if I have a chance to win $100 worth of free ones, then it's totally worth it! So...we came up with a little ditty...

Who knew???

Who knew that flyswatters could be so hilarious?!?



Being a mommy is too much fun!

7 months old today!

Happy 7 month birthday, my sweet Anna Kate! Where has the last month gone?!? I feel like just yesterday I was doing your 6-month update. You need to stop growing up so fast! You are growing up into such a sweet little girl, though, and you bring your daddy and mommy more and more joy every day. Here is your news this month:

~The biggest news of the month is that we have started solid foods and you are quite the fan! In order, you have tried bananas, sweet peas, brown rice, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and yellow summer squash - and you love them all! Well, sometimes we have to mix some bananas in with the peas. You started off just having one solid meal in the mornings, but you started to get annoyed with sitting at the dinner table with Mommy and Daddy and not eating, so now you get to eat dinner too! I am having so much fun making you different fruits, grains and veggies, and you are having lots of fun trying them! I've been thinking about letting you try some finger foods, but you still don't have any teeth...
~One of your new tricks this month is that you have finally figured out how to open up your hand and "give 5". You get so excited about it too!
~When someone waves to you and says "hi" you say "hi" back (well, it's really more like "iiiiiii") and you hold your hand up. Your hand is kind of upside-down, but it's still pretty cute!
~You have gotten really good at your "army crawl" that you started doing last month. You aren't up on your hands and knees yet, but you sure move fast! And you are starting to use your legs a little bit more to propel you (not just pulling yourself with your arms).
~You really like any kind of peek-a-boo/surprise game. You get so tickled and will laugh hysterically for extended periods of time...it's hilarious!
~You have started to become really snuggly and sometimes almost shy when people come up and talk to you. When someone starts to talk to you (or even about you), you smile and bury your head in Mommy's shoulder.
~One of your favorite things to do is pull Daddy's glasses off of his face. He often takes them off before coming anywhere near you!
~You still love to go to the park and swing and watch the fountain. We've also made friends there with another mommy and baby girl just your age and you sure like swinging with her!
~I hesitate to say this, but one of your favorite toys is your mirror, and one of your favorite things to do is watch the videos I take of you...hmmm...
~You love to skype with all of your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live far away. You always start smiling and talking whenever the video starts!
~Your favorite lullaby is the hymn "Jesus Paid it All". I have been singing it to you ever since you were a tiny baby, but now you have really grown attached to it. It always calms you down whenever you are fussy. I love rocking you and singing it to you before you go to sleep at night.

Anna Kate, you are our precious treasure and we love you more than words can say! You are such a blessing from the Lord and we pray that one day you will come to know him too. Happy 7 months!

And here are your pictures!

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old

A childhood treasure...

When my sister and I were little girls, our grandpa on our mom's side made us a beautiful dollhouse that we treasured for all of our growing up years. We were able to paint it and wallpaper it ourselves and made it to pretty closely resemble our own childhood home. We played with it constantly and for every Christmas and birthday we were always asking for new furniture and accessories for it. When we moved out of the house and my parents moved to Bolivia, one of us had to find a place to store it. Since Sarah was the first to get married, we always assumed she would be the first to have a girl also...but we were wrong! So she has had it stored at her in-laws' house for the last 7 years. But lo and behold, it turns out I was the first to have a girl, so this week, Sarah and Dustin packed up the dollhouse and brought it to us for Anna Kate! She's still a little young for it, but I know she will love it as much as we did. And, yes, Sarah, if you ever have a girl, we will let you borrow it!

Finally growing hair!

Anna Kate just wanted to let you all know that her hair is getting longer, and it's starting to fill out just a little! I was giving her a bath last night and realized that for the first time I could give her the funny little bath hairdo I remember doing when I was little! So of course, Daddy had to come and take a picture. Enjoy!