here's to good basketball, even better ribs and the best of friends....

you know the old latin quote, "good, better, best. never let it rest. 'til your good is better and your better is best," well, today was allen's 30th birthday...and the weekend just got better and better as it went on. we celebrated our most favorite way....with our family and friends.

we have been in north carolina for the weekend (go tar heels), sans kids, and it was a treat. we missed our two girls while we were away but we enjoyed some 'us' time too. it's amazing how we've forgotten our love for sitting and enjoying a good meal and quality conversation. not that we don't get solid QT back at home...it's just normally interupted by "umm, hey mommy, umm, daddy." you know what i mean - you've been there.

anyway, our flight returned and we were greeted by sleepy eyes and sticky fingers - two girls very happy to see their mommy and daddy. after naptime (for all of us) at nana and pops i managed to get allen to go to dreamland for his birthday dinner...he claims he had no idea that i had a room full of people there...and i really don't think he knew. i have no pictures to prove that the night took place, i took too many over the weekend, so instead i have a great picture of us in front of The Chapel at Duke (look very closely...we're there).

allen and i left tonight and he gave his most sincere thanks to me and the girls and he told me that all of his favorite people were there tonight. so, if you played a part, know that you're loved!

cold...warm...cold...warm = birmingham weather

monday was a beautiful day...we're so excited for warm weather! addison is starting to have lots of fun at the park as she explores this world around her. and avery is becoming a little more adventurous. avery wanted to swing 'high in the sky' so i tried my best to take a picture of her in the sky. hopefully the next time we have a warm and sunny day, it will stick around for a while! i'm tired of mittens....and runny noses!!!

fun with friends

the girls and i went to a gymboree class this morning! we had such a fun time. i wish they would have had something like this when avery was little...i think it would have been so good for her. they both loved it, but avery was really into the 'participation' part of the class. she sang and clapped and jumped and rolled and acted like she had been a part of the class for years. addison crawled around and explored everything ~ she ventured through tunnels, climbed up ramps and slid down slides. i am a little torn because i planned on taking just addison while avery was in school...but avery had so much fun i hate to go without her. the even better part of today is that our friends abby and sophie went with us! we all had a great time together...can't wait to go back!

what a year!

today we had addison's 12 month checkup. she will be 13 months tomorrow, but we had to reschedule her 'birthday' appointment last month due to a high fever. she was a very big girl and she waved and giggled and played peek-a-boo for dr brian. avery was really upset when she had to get her shots and cried right along with addison...so i had two crying girls. avery is so empathetic....just one of her special qualities. addison checked in at 19lbs, 6oz and 29 inches. if you need help with the math, she's in the 10th percentile, which means she's tiny tiny....such a petite little peanut.

such a fun year ~ we love our sweet addison

mini me

there's nothing like a good cup of coffee to start your day. i indulge every morning and, if i do say so myself, i make a pretty good pot of coffee. i'm not a trendy coffee drinker...no double shot of anything, no hazelnut and vanilla bean extract...just plain coffee with cream (milk) and sugar. i guess you can say i am definitely my mother's child...we like the same coffee, drink it the same way and i was fortunate enough (allen says spoiled, i say fortunate) to have a steaming cup on my bedside table every morning when i still lived at home. my mom kept avery for the first year and 1/2 of her life for three days a week and i quickly learned that nana's traditions get passed down at an early age. apparently avery began 'begging' for sips of tea and coffee at a very young age...so what's a nana to do???

while avery doesn't get coffee every morning, or even every week, we still have some special mornings at our house. i hope our mornings and cups of coffee together carry on for many years and we share many special moments.

i leave you with our morning....

happy valentines day

we've had a great day so far...it started with sweet treats and cards from daddy to his three girls. my sweets came in the form of a cup of coffee but the reality that i could eat addison's chocolate...and i did. avery went on to school where they had lots of festivities planned. i picked her up and she was loaded down with hearts, treats, cards and candy. such a fun time...oh to be 3!

this afternoon they got to open their cards from Nana and Pop...and they were so excited to get a prize in the mail - avery more so than addison, she just chewed on hers.

and, i got a picture of addison's new 'trick' - she's learned to wave bye bye!!

better late than never...

Finally, two weeks later, birthday pictures. We had a 'ball'