Need another reason to smile today?



What can I say?  Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

I think his big sister would be content to sit there and turn that handle as long as he wanted.  You would too, wouldn't you? 

Now go back and watch it again.  You know you want to!  :)

cj

Worth Pulling Over . . .

Sometimes you've just gotta pull into a parking lot and shoot a little video. 

That's what Ryan did today. 

Miss Kaitlyn loves to sing.  Always has. 

Whether she knows the song or not, she's going to sing along. 

The first time I heard of The Band Perry (the group singing in the video) was when K asked me to turn up the radio.  I asked her who it was, not really expecting her to know.  Yeah, right.  

There's one country song she sings -- I'm horrible with groups and names, so I can't tell you who -- where the female singer has the most southern twang I've ever heard. 
Kaitlyn nails it, spot on.  Cracks me up.

So, anyway, as they're riding down the road today, Ryan pulls over
and documents what he gets to hear all the time. 

When K was just a wee thing, she used to perform for us all the time, whether it be singing, puppets, whatever.  Usually singing.  And she always liked an introduction -- a big introduction -- as she stood off in the hallway. 

So, honored blog readers, I present to you now the one, the only, the super-talented Miss Kaitlyn, coming to you straight from Ryan's backseat!

Enjoy the show!

I've got a little video to share in the next day or so of a certain little soon-to-be one-year-old that's guaranteed to make you smile laugh. 

So check back soon!

Mommo

The blues . . .

Santa brought somebody a guitar . . . and their daddy likes it!

This little pink guitar has got the blues. 

Enjoy!

You know his talent all comes from me.    heeee! 

Cj

goodbye 2010

have you been good this year?



I sure love new year's eve !!!!

This is Kaitlyn wishing all of Mommo's friends and all of our family a

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!

ETA by Mommo:  It started off with me practicing taking pics on manual without the flash, and getting a pic of K for a simple "Happy New Year!" post for the blog.  Then she started posing and coming to look at each shot on the camera.  Then she got a shot she wanted to use {the first pic} and said she knew just what she was going to say... Then my blog was hijacked.  ;) 

A special visit with Santa

We took Kaitlyn to the house on Hwy. 109 that has a light festival each year.  You drive through the property and enjoy all their hard work.  Tune your radio to the correct frequency and you can enjoy the music.  We were kinda late getting there, which turned out to be a blessing.  Sometimes the cars are almost bumper to bumper, but there were very few cars when we were there and we were able to take our time.

(This was on the way there.  It was hard getting a good picture in the car.  The flash was hurting her eyes...and annoying Chip. <g>  Check out her cute hat!  No, it doesn't match that coat, but it was new and she loved it!)

Toward the end of the "route," you go through a barn that is all decked out as Santa's house.  It's so cozy.  Makes me want to jump out and sit by their fire.  Mrs. Claus is there too.  There was a car in front of us, and as we sat a distance behind and waited, so as not to make them feel rushed, Kaitlyn was sizing up Santa.  Although he walked like he might be a little old, she felt like it was probably a helper; something about his beard, I believe.  But that was fine.  She still had a card she'd written -- wish I'd taken a picture of that! -- for him, and a helper was just fine.  She understands Santa can't be everywhere.

We pulled into the barn and had a nice chat with Santa.  He was such a gentle soul and spoke to Kaitlyn so kindly.  He gave us all candy canes and told us of their meaning:  Turn the candy cane upside down and it's a "J" for Jesus; turn it over and flip it around and it looks like the shepherd's crook, the ones who first learned of Jesus' birth; the red stripes are for the blood shed by Jesus, and the white stripes are for purity after being forgiven of our sins; and the candy is hard and brittle to represent that God's love and promises are rock solid.  Kaitlyn listened, wide-eyed, hanging on his every word.

The second we pulled away, she declared that was, indeed, the real Santa.  I must say I agree.  I don't think a helper can make you feel so good inside.  It was definitely the magic of Santa ~ and a magical memory for me.

The next little piece of entertainment after leaving Santa was Frosty dancing on a "frozen pond."  And he was busting some moves, let me tell you.  It was hilarious.  Even more hilarious was Kaitlyn saying, "Whatever he's getting paid, it's not enough."  At least his face was concealed by his costume, so the humility level would be low.  She had a big time with him, doing the little "stirring the pot" dance and saying, "Go, Frosty; Go, Frosty; Go, Frosty, go."

All the while, Kaitlyn is wearing a hat she got for her birthday from Whit, Janet, and Lillian.  She loved it so much, she didn't want to take it off.  Mommo loves it too.   ;)   Finally, after at least 45 minute, it came off.   She was giving me a hot flash!  ha!   Good times!

I still need to devote an entire post to Kaitlyn turning eight!   I've got some pictures from her birthday dinner at Famous Dave's.  I'll just do that post a little out of order. 

Merry Christmas!

GO TEAM!

In the past week, we've cheered for different teams. 

Last Friday we went to Mt. Juliet High School's varsity girls basketball game.  Our niece Sally, a freshman at MJHS, is a starter on the girls varsity team.  That was a lot of fun.  Particularly since they won.  Perhaps we should have stopped there.  GO BEARS!

Saturday morning Kaitlyn had her first basketball game.  They fell victim to a really good team.  It may be a stacked team.  I'm just sayin'.  I think the score was 19 to 5.  It may have been more than 19, but, honestly, why keep counting?  It still wasn't a hard loss to swallow simply because it was so much fun to watch.  Kaitlyn had a blast, as we evident by the smile on her face the whole time!  GO HAWKS!

Later Saturday we rooted for Kentucky in their battle against North Carolina which ended in heartbreak.  Last-second shot.  sigh.  North Carolina isn't at the top of my list of teams I reeeally hate to lose to, but they're in the top three.  'Nuff said.

Sunday we got all fired up for the Titans vs. Jaguars game.  Let's just say that flame was extinguished pretty quickly.

Kaitlyn had another game Monday night, and I think they learned a thing or two from being "schooled" on Saturday.  I think the score was 8 to 0.   I'm positive about the 8, because Kaitlyn scored half of those!  woo-hoo!  GO HAWKS! 

Then they had another game last night.  Another loss, though nothing like the first game.  Again, these games are so much fun!

Sorry no pictures to share yet.  I'll have some of both of our ball players soon.  Just wanted to post real quick and let you know part of what's been keeping us busy.  =)

Cj

Blog it . . ..

One of these two kiddos suggested I take a picture of this and "blog it."  Can you guess which one?  And I might have been reminded to get a picture of his little hands holding her fingers.  I might have more blog posts if I had her someone here to keep me on my toes.

Halloween recap

Hey there!  I mentioned doing a little fall crafting, and I did it on Halloween day.  Over a year ago -- or maybe longer -- I bought yards of burlap for a project I never completed.  Okay.  I never started it.  But I knew the burlap would be put to good use eventually.  So many possibilities.  I've seen some cute burlap table runners in blogland.  I decided to start simple, and I made a runner for the chest in the foyer.   

Cute huh?  My next one may have hemmed sides and a 3-inch ruffle on each end.

Things I learned for next time: 

Don't work with burlap right after you've dusted your house.

Don't wear black pants.  Please.

Use a tape measure instead of "eyeballing" it.

Don't work with burlap right after you've dusted your house.
Yes, that deserves being mentioned twice.

Here's a shot of the chest in the foyer as we waited for trick-or-treaters.  What's significant about this picture, you ask?  Well, it's the yellow melamine bowl.  That was the bowl we used for our candy when I was a kid on Sunset Drive.  And now I always use it for our candy. 



That bowl also held lots of green beans, and macaroni & tomatoes, and mashed potatoes in its day. 
No, no, not in my house.  On Sunset Drive.  It's my candy bowl, remember? 
Me having a bowl for mashed potatoes would give my family a good chuckle.  ;)

 Here's a shot of the front porch.  Instead of putting mums in my planters this year, I just added pumpkins.  Much cheaper.  I'm hoping they'll last through Thanksgiving.  It doesn't show up very well in these pictures, but there's a grapevine draping thingy (I can't think of the word I'm looking for!) with some burlap ribbon woven in it and hung over the door, along with a "boo" sign, and a spooky spider web is stuck to the storm door.  That Kaitlyn is full of good ideas!  ;)

 

Oh, look.  You can see Chip sitting in his chair with his laptop, and you can see part of my still-summer mantel.  The smart thing to do would be go straight to a Christmas mantel, but I am determined to celebrate Thanksgiving in true fall style.



And since these pictures were taken on Halloween day, it's only fitting to end the post with a cute little pumpkin.

And a cute little '50s diva!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cj

Happy Halloween!



  

My little monsters spent a little time with me Saturday.  Kaitlyn only had about an hour after basketball practice, which was just enough time to get a craft done. 

We used a treat bag she'd gotten last year as our inspiration. 

I cut out the hair, but the rest of the handiwork is hers.  

When I told her we could sew the mouth, she said, "I call the pedal!"   

And you're not going to believe this, but I couldn't find my camera.  Ryan already had Nolan in the car seat, ready to get home and get K ready for a 1:00 birthday party.  But I kept looking, because I'm stubborn that way.  I sometimes hide my camera when I leave the house.  (Robbers:  Steal my computer, tv, whatever, but please don't find my camera!)  And it would be a little counter-productive to leave myself a Post-it saying where I'd hidden it, so I often find myself looking for it.  Ironically, it was where I usually put it, I just didn't see it the first time I looked. 

 I got Kaitlyn to stop for a quick picture while her daddy was waiting for her to leave.  I reeeeally wanted a picture of K and Nolan together, too, but I didn't think Ryan would go for that...

Look at that sweet smile.  Right.  She could care less about the camera at this point.  She's wanting to fish a pumpkin out of that jar of mixed candy you see there. 
And she knows her daddy is waiting . . .
and Mommo is wasting her pumpkin digging time. 
I've got her number.

Here's the back of her "card."  Even though we're always telling each other "It doesn't have to be perfect!" ... and that usually works ... she wasn't pleased with her commas.  She thought they looked too much like 1's.  So we made a small, last-minute "repair" and we were good to go!

 I don't have any pictures of Nolan from yesterday, but here's a couple from last week.  He's growing like crazy!  And smiling like crazy.  And I promise you he was singing "Your are my Sunshine" with me!  Such a shame there were no witnesses.   ;)

There will be pictures of these two in their costumes next week.  Plus, I'm doing a little fall crafting today which I'll share with you.  Stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!

Cj

5.1 in 2nd

"5.1 in 2nd."  That's going to be the title of the scrapbook page that will one day be made to go along with this post. 

Here is Miss Kaitlyn on her first day of second grade.

She's very proud of her backpack. We do these pictures each year.

Okay.  So back to the title of the post, "5.1 in 2nd."  

Students are tested near the beginning of the school year to determine their reading level.  Books in the library are "ranked" by appropriate grade-level reading abilities.  The kids will read a book and then take a computer test on the book which will indicate their level of reading comprehension. 

Miss Kaitlyn's AR (accelerated reading) score was 5.1, meaning that upon entering second grade, she was reading at the level of a student in the first month of fifth grade.  Now, how cool is that!?! 

She currently has the highest AR score in second grade.  I think that means that she has read and tested over more books, not that she's necessarily reading at the highest level.  But I could be wrong... 

So we know she's got the smarts . . . if only she had more personality!  Ha! 

Thanks for indulging Mommo's brag session. 

I'll leave you with a layout I did about Miss Kaitlyn this summer.

Journaling reads:  "Kaitlyn traded in her dance slippers for ball cleats.  She loved performing, but I think she's more comfortable in her cleats.  And while the recitals were fun, it's just hard to beat a Little League game.  The whole family comes, lawn chairs in tow.  Ryan keeps the books and helps out where needed.  Fun times for all of us, with great memories being made.  The ballpark burgers aren't bad either.   :)  

Spring - Fall 2009"

Her last dance recital was May 2009.  She's played three seasons of ball since then.  There's a spring league and a fall league.  She loves it.  We all love it!

Happy Saturday!

Cj

Kiddo update

We got to keep Mr. Nolan for a bit last weekend, and I discovered something.  If you're babysitting and you need, say, 30 minutes to get something done around the house, put the baby on this little play mat and you're good to go. 

Not that I do that.

I waste spend that 30-minute window of housecleaning opportunity and watch him entertain me himself.

I've gotta tell ya, that picture is actually quite misleading.  I think he's in some sort of a self-induced trance here.  Typically, his hands and feet are in continuous movement when he's "playing" on his mat. 

Case in point:

I need to talk to him about that.  It makes it really hard for Mommo to get good pictures...

And looky who's discovering his hand!  And it's always the left hand.  Wonder if that means he'll be a lefty like his big sister, and his daddy, and his Mommo...

I think he'd like to say hi to you-all real quick before we move on ...

Hi!

Miss Kaitlyn has been on fall break last week and this week.  I was hoping to have a "Camp Mommo" while she was off, but it just didn't happen.  She did come spend a day with me, although I think her plans were more to come over and play with Amanda, a little neighbor girl. 

We did get a little craft time in before Amanda came over.  I'm so glad "our" scraproom is back in order so there can be more of this taking place:

This girl is in her element when she's crafting. We've designated one of my scrapbooking t-shirts as her painting shirt.  We started that when she was younger.  She hardly makes a mess now, though, at all. And did you notice which hand she uses?  =)

Hope you enjoyed the quick update on the grandkids!

Cj

Sweet, sweet sounds

So are you ready for some sweetness ???

We'll show this to them in a few years when he's following K around and won't quit asking her questions.  ha!

Cj

Smile File

Does this make you smile as much as it does me?

One of the boys decided he'd had enough.  And it wasn't Ryan.  Although he may have had enough, too, but he didn't cry about it . . .

That's all I've got to share with you today.  Hope you smiled.    =)

Cj

These are a few of my favorite . . .

. . . things people! 

We had some visitors today.  Always happy to see these faces.  

This cute little monkey girl had a big time.

And it was hard to get a good picture of this little fellow today.  He doesn't lay as still as he used to.  And to think this is only the beginning.  Here are a few shots of him talking to his mama.

If you look closely in the last picture of Kaitlyn in the tree, you'll spy a sliver of fall leaves.  I'd love to have a yard full of maple trees.  Their fall parade is hard to beat.  Follow me throughout the fall and you'll probably see a hundred few pictures of the pretty leaves . . . and the pretty little girl.

Speaking of fall, it was a bit nippy today.  I'm ready for the change of seasons.  I was inspired to do a little fall decorating today, but then I got inspired to take a nap.  The nap won.  And I enjoyed it.  =)

Happy fall, y'all!

Cj

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood

Sunday morning was, for sure.  Kristi, a neighbor across the street, has started something.  See, for two years now, she takes some of these . . .

from this tree in our side yard. . .

and later shows up at our front door with this . . .

which quickly turns into this . . .

(I should have taken a picture with just crumbs left)



Kaitlyn was lucky enough to be here when they were delivered.  She requested I take a picture where she was blurry.  Future photographer in the making, y'all.

This year Kristi threw in a jar of strawberry preserves too.  Yum-my.  And, yes, the biscuits were warm when the kids brought them over. 

I do have a confession to make.  I might have reminded her this year when the cherries were ready.  And I might have said something like "better get 'em before the birds do!"  I might have.  Because that's what a good neighbor does. 

Kaitlyn loves the cherries.  She wouldn't typically be fond of anything with a seed, but it's somehow different when you're picking it yourself and can sit right down in the grass and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  Seriously, "fruits" of your labor!  ha!  Am I witty or what?



I wonder if Kristi makes pear preserves.  We've got a pear tree, and it looks like it's pickin' time!  Should I be a good neighbor and let her know?    =)

Cj

Extended Family . . .

Whoa!  Where did the time go?  Looks like this ol' blog is yet another thing I procrastinate with -- on.  Whatever.  Yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition.  It's my blog.  =)

So I left you last time with K's big fly ball.  Lo and behold if she didn't catch another one!  Of course, then a few games later, she hit a fly ball and it was caught.  There may have been a tear or two shed.  It's tough being seven and a half.

So for a quick September recap, we went to Ryan and Molly's to celebrate Pam's birthday.  I'm pretty sure she's 49...  Kaitlyn made a nice birthday sign that greeted everyone on the front porch.  Ryan had the iPod set up with music he knew Pam would like, and had the Ping-Pong table and the corn-hull-bean-bag-toss-thing (whatever it's called) set up too.  Nolan went to sleep right on cue, and the whole time we sat outside and ate and visited, he was snoozing in his stroller.  It was the perfect night to sit around outside and enjoy just being there.

Yea!  I got pictures to upload!  Uh-oh.  Y'all are so in trouble now, that's all I can say.

The next weekend we were invited to Whit and Janet's house, Molly's dad and step mom.  It was another great night and we got to enjoy eating out on the deck.  I'd already heard what a cook Janet was, and she certainly lived up to her reputation!  I may or may not have had a piece of both her homemade key lime pie and her homemade caramel pie.  I'm just sayin'.

Lillian and Kaitlyn had a big time, with everything from playing with the American Girl dolls, riding the zip line, providing us a little entertainment inspired by the "check it out girls" on tv, and topping it off with a game or two of Twister .  The older kids -- Ryan, Wes, and Chip -- provided musical entertainment of their own.  Janet had said she was going to make Ryan play for his dinner.  We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

I have been so blessed with this new extended family of ours.  They've all stepped right into Kaitlyn's life without missing a step.  She and Nolan are truly the blessed ones.  My heart is just spilling over.

Okay.  I think I'll call it quits here with the family recap.  I've got more to share, so never you worry.  I've got ball pictures to share, a scrapbook page or two, and there may even be a picture of a certain little almost-three-month-old.

Oh, wait!  How did that happen?  Told ya y'all were in trouble.  I'll be posting again really soon . . . now that I can add pictures!  I'm literally clapping my hands and letting out a little squeal right now.   =)