March Madness!!!

the cutest little wildcat i've ever seen :)

Yep, It's that time of year again.  The brackets are out and not only is my team the SEC Champions, but a number one seed.  FINALLY!  I L.O.V.E Kentucky Basketball, but it has been a rough couple of years for the Wildcats.  John Calipari has swooped in and revived this great program that has the most wins in NCAA Men's Basketball history!  Can't wait to cheer them on throughout the tournament- hopefully all the way to the championship game!

I have to admit, when I started rooting for the Wildcats it was in the midst of a couple of really good seasons- including 2 almost back to back NCAA championships, so you could say "I jumped on the bandwagon." BUT, it was that same Christmas (when I was in 6th grade) that my brother bought me a UK hat and it was over from there- I knew I would be a lifelong fan.  I had always rooted for the same team my brother pulled for, but now I had my own team and I was proud.

So, for over the past 13 years, my brother has lavished me with some kind of Kentucky themed gift for Christmas.  Ranging from PJ pants to Coffee Mugs and from Jog Suits (Yes, I have a jog suit hahaha) to Tickets to a game (My Favorite!)  I have not watched a game in THE Rupp Arena yet, but I do dream of the day when I can sit amongst the best fans in the nation, decked out from head to toe in my Kentucky Blue.

AND today is my Awesome Brother's Birthday....

Happy Birthday Patrick, Aka Uncle Patch!

-Patch was what I called him when I was little :)

We sure are proud of you! We all look forward to the day that you move back to Chattanooga (hopefully sooner than later!)

 His Law School Grad. May 2008

Uncle Patch & Kate

God has truly blessed me with such an amazing family and especially big brother!

Happy Birthday Patrick!

We Love You!

Where has my brain gone?

It still has not sunk in all the way that Steven and I have our own child! Even after Two Months, we still look at each other and say, "can you believe we have a baby?!"  We are definitely still trying to adjust to this new chapter of life, but then I wonder, do you really ever get totally adjusted.  I'm pretty sure parenting is a continuous adventure and no two days are alike, at least at our house.

We loved our visit with Uncle Patch and spent plenty of time together over the few days he was here.  Kate LOVED him and he was so good with her (he even changed a diaper).  Here's a pic of them hanging out together.  My mom and sister normally fight over whose turn it is to hold Kate, but no chance of either of them holding her when Uncle Patch is around :)

Kate's been sleeping so well and we feel really blessed.  She's been sleeping from 11:30-7:30/8 for about 2 weeks straight, but she decided Monday AND Tuesday night that she didn't want to go to bed 'til about 4/5 AM! That makes for a loooooong night!  (Good news- she went to slept Wednesday & Thursday night at 11:30 and slept 'til 7:30 so we're praying we're now back on schedule!)

I've also recently discovered that my brain is gone.  I now know why people say your brain is never quite the same when you become a mommy.  There have been a couple of incidents where I've either totally forgot something or I've had a huge "mommy blunder".  

For instance, 2 weeks after K was born I had to go in for a 2 week checkup for myself.  After we got out of the car Steven says, "I'm gonna take Kate on in, grab the diaper bag and lock the car.  I'm laying the keys on the trunk." Fast Forward to when we're done with the appointment and we're getting on the elevator.  Steven: "Will you go ahead and get the keys out." Me: "I don't have the keys." Steven: "Yes you do, I laid them on the trunk and told you to lock the car." Me: "I locked the car from the inside...oops."  Then we kinda freaked for a mere second, but our car wasn't far from the entrance so we could see that it was still there...whew.  And there were our keys SITTING ON OUR TRUNK in plain sight.  Thank you good people of East Ridge for not stealing our car as we pretty much said "here's the keys go ahead and take it!"

And of course there are the moments when I just simply forget about something and usually wish I would have remembered.  I've forgotten about water boiling on the stove (YIKES).  I've even turned on the wrong stove eye and because my Kettle was sitting on that eye (with no water in it) I burned it up.  The burning smell caught my attention before any real harm was done.  Maybe I should stay away from the stove! My biggest forgetful moment that bummed me out the most: I ordered K the cutest hat from Etsy for her pics with Kristine and totally forgot about it.  I opened up K's armoire a couple of days after our photo shoot and found it- Awesome! I was so bummed out, but was sooooo pleased with all our pics and there's so many to choose from so no big deal. :) I'm really working on flexibility and patience these days- you now the kind that you have to have when everything doesn't go just as you initially planned :) 

And not to leave out how I've been forgetting to eat.  Not smart I know, but I've been remembering well after lunch time "I haven't eaten anything today" Or It will be well into the day and I'll think "All I've had to eat today are carrot sticks and french fries" real nutritious for myself and especially my child! I know, I've got to get better about this!  I'm still adjusting.  

I'm sure there are plenty of other "mommy moments" that I've probably forgotten about :) but these are a couple that I remember.  I haven't forgotten K anywhere yet or walked out the door without her so I guess I'm doing pretty good.  And with her sleeping 8 hours I can't blame it on sleep deprivation.  I guess it's just simply becoming a mommy that's made me lose my brain...hehe no not really, just become a little more "scattered brain." And my husband will tell you I needed no help with that :) But I wouldn't trade it for anything.  And like I mentioned above I'm working on my flexibility and patience because this new mommy needs all I can get!  

Here's some recent pics...I may be bias, but I think she's quite a cutie :) 

Had to get a pic in her cute hate. LOVE those cheeks! 

She really doesn't like her car seat.  So thankful for that paci (made the clip myself)

And of course watching the intense Bachelor Finale with Honey

(They are both nervously chewing on their nails hehehe)

Introducing our first official family photos!

 We have found our "family photographer"! We fell in love with Kristine Neeley's work the second we discovered her photography.  It's no wonder why we would travel all the way to Nashville for her to do our maternity session and we were so grateful that she would come to Cleveland to meet and photograph our sweet little girl.  Well, we got a sneak peek at some of the pics today and we LOVE them!  The thing that we love most about Kristine is that her pictures are natural.  There's no posing or "staging".  She came to our home and we honestly just hung out.  Check out her blog and our pics and please leave a comment (we get a little something extra if we get so many comments) 

                                                http://kristineneeley.blogspot.com/

Do what you Love, Love what you Do

This week I returned to my little ballerina girls.  I feel so incredibly blessed that I can still be a stay at home mommy and teach dance.  I just have to leave my sweet girl for a few hours three afternoons a week.  Two days I just drop her off with Daddy and he heads home with her and the other day my sweet friend Abbey keeps her.  It was so good to be back and I loved all the little screams of "Ms. Hailey!" that greeted me.  When I told my Monday 7-8 yr old class to settle down and listen and that I knew they were excited to be at dance one of them exclaimed "No, we're excited that you're back!" How sweet?!? I love working with kids- especially the little ones.  Here are a few reasons why I LOVE my job.

-"Ms. Hailey, that bump on your belly is gone"

-"Ms. Hailey, My sister (who is ten) can babysit"

-"I need a tennis shoe (tissue), my nose is running"

-And the highlight of my day: one of my 3 yr olds had a car crash into her house last week and she was telling me all about the big hole that her house had had.  And than she precedes to tell me about the lady who crashed into their house: "And the lady that crashed into our house got out and said, 'What the Hell I did?'" I looked at Liz and said did she just say Hell? and then we laughed really hard. It was at the beginning of class so one of the other moms heard her and apparently mentioned it  to her mom cause she came in and apologized and said "that's what the lady really said, didn't realize she was going to share the story so literally" hehehe 

Here's a pic from nearly 2 years ago! WOW- how time flies!  

Me and Ms. Liz -who I could not do without! 

As crazy and stressful as it gets sometimes we LOVE our job and get much joy and laughter out of it!

After the day is done, I get to return to this sweet girl and cherish the time I have with her because I know she'll be running around in tights and a tutu one day. 

Oh, and have I mentioned K's sleeping like 7-8 hours a night (For over a week now!) Seriously, I think she loves sleep as much as her momma and I am soooo thankful! She's a happy baby for sure!

Uncle Patch is also coming in town tonight! Wahoo...Can't wait for him to meet Kate! He has been so excited.  I hate that he lives so far away.  He's making quite the career for himself out in Phoenix as a Prosecutor, but we're all praying he'll work back in Chattanooga one day soon! He's not only my big brother, but he's been my lifelong best friend! He let me tag along and be "one of the boys" (I grew up with 6 boys in the neighborhood and not a single girl!) and he played the protective older brother when all his friends would give him a hard time about his cute little sister :) We laugh a lot when we're together and I so look forward to just the time I'll spend at my parents house this weekend with my mom, dad, Patrick, lil' sis Kendra, Kate and Steven! My idea of a PERFECT weekend. 

We share a special TN/UK rivalry! We've made several trips to Knoxville to watch both Basketball & Football games together.  Normally the Basketball games end up in my favor :) Ok, football has NEVER worked out in my favor hehe

28 days and counting

T-Minus 28 DAYS UNTIL SPRING!

Such beauty blooms in my own front yard

Spring is exactly 28 days from today and believe me I am counting down.  Spring is my absolute favorite (ok, when Fall is here it's my favorite and when Spring is here it is).  I am a Spring baby as well as my brother and mom (whose birthday is actually the first day of Spring) so we do a lot of celebrating! There are so many things that I am looking forward to this Spring so I thought I would just compile them into a Top Ten List

1. Planting our 2nd annual Vegetable Garden and actually having some clue of what we're doing this time :) (although our first garden was pretty fruitful!)

2. 'The Last Song' coming out on April 2nd- The book was amaaaaazing! It's such a good read and the movie looks like it's gonna be just as good! (And after being disappointed in 'Dear John' the book and even more the movie I feel like Nicholas has really redeemed himself  :)


3. The Smell of Fresh Cut Grass and Cutting the Grass 
(Yes, I love to cut the grass and it's MY John Deere hehe)


4. Going and picking out flowers and planting them in the evenings


5. Sitting in our Breezeway 


6. Easter- because it's one of the main family events in my extended family AND it's at my parent's house this year! Wahoo! 


7. Taking out the Winter Wear in my closet and Replacing it with my Spring/Summer attire


8. Spring Cleaning! -I may not be good at keeping things picked up, but I really like to deep clean!


9. My brother coming in town to finally meet Baby Kate!


10. Spring Dance Recital because it means Summer break! 

Today was absolutely GORGEOUS! I want nothing more than to be outside on days like this.  We felt like it was warm enough to take Kate for her first stroll so we loaded up and headed to Lee to walk.  I love to walk at Lee because you can walk forever without having to walk the same path over and over again.  The sun was shining and I was loving doing even the simplest form of physical activity! I have been sooooo ready to get moving again it's not even funny! I even broke a little sweat :) Here's a few pics from our stroll

She was sooo good (slept most of the time) LOVES that paci!!! :)

Kiss Me Kate

"love...

comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" 

(1 Timothy 1:5 NIV)

With Valentine's day just a couple days away, I can't help but think of the precious book "The Princess and the Kiss."  A dear friend of mine read it and used it as a devotional in high school and after she shared it I thought it was one of the best illustrations of purity I had ever heard.  

The story is all about a Princess who's parents give her a special gift when she is born- her first kiss.  The kiss is put away and when she is grown her parents give her the kiss and tell her the importance of that kiss.  They tell her how special that kiss is and how special it would be to be able to give that first kiss to her husband one day.  All kinds of suitors start to pursue her, but she knows that none of them are special enough for her first kiss.  She even finds herself questioning God and asking if she is ever going to find her true love to share her kiss with.   It isn't that much longer until a young farmer pursues her and even shares with her that he has a gift his parents gave him when he was born- a first kiss.  They end up getting married and sharing their first kiss on their wedding day and of course live happily ever after.

Even though I probably won't expect or even tell Kate she should wait until her wedding day to kiss her husband, I still think the story has such an important message behind it.  I just want my baby girl to guard her heart and be cautious of the relationships she forms when she does start dating- A LONG, LONG, LONG time from now :) I know she's just a month old, but I believe it's never too soon to start praying for her future relationships, husband, and decisions she will make.  I pray she becomes a young woman who loves the Lord with all her heart and guards her heart so she can give it wholly to her husband when her wedding day does come.  I may not have saved my first kiss until my wedding day, but I think it's pretty special that Steven is the only man I've ever shared a kiss with.  I pray she realizes that in this world where purity is hard to find, it is not impossible and under the pressures of our society she stands strong.

How I love you sweet Kate and can't wait to share this precious story with you one day.  And mommy and daddy should be the only ones saying "kiss me Kate" for a long, long time :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

(My poor baby gave herself a massive scratch
during a diaper changing fit. :(

I guess Mommy needs to do a better job of cutting those fingernails!)

Canned Heat

Thank goodness it's cold, rainy, snowy, and yucky outside because if it wasn't, I would be going even more crazy right now.  Don't get me wrong I'm absolutely loving my time home with my new sweet baby girl, but this is all new to me.  I'm the kind of person who is usually "burning the candle at both ends" as my parents like to describe me.  There are a few things that I cannot wait to get back to as soon as the doctor gives me the green light.  

Center Stage wasn't a huge blockbuster hit, but it's still one of my favorite movies.  As I think about all the things in life I can't wait to return to, the song "Canned Heat" from the final dance scene, plays in my head. All because I've "Got Canned Heat in my heels tonight baby"

And when I can release this canned heat....

I'll be doing a little of this... 

Oh Exercise how I've missed you!

I've been dreaming of my return to the YMCA

Maybe a little of this...

If not in the mountains, at least in Hilton Head this summer :)

A lot of this....

And hopefully landing a date with this incredible man... :)