8 Things

Michelle sent this to me a while ago, so here goes...

8 Favorite TV Shows
The Office
Friends
Law & Order
Boston Legal
The Unit
Hell's Kitchen
new fav. is Ace of Cakes
I like to watch the Today Show too

8 Favorite Restaurants
Texas Roadhouse
Zupas (it's in Provo - thanks Em)
Perkins (for sentimental reasons)
Arbys
Chik-fil-A
Ruby Teusday's
Chilis
Macaroni Grill

8 Things That Happened Yesterday
Washed the Dishes
Did the laundry
Called my sister (Happy Birthday Amy)
Sorted through and boxed up Katy's old toys...Finally
Vacuumed
Met with our realtor
Got gas and milk
Watched Cars with Katy

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
Donny's 4 day weekend - woohoo
Visiting with family over Thanksgiving weekend
Christmas Shopping
Tax Returns so I can by a plane ticket :)
Selling our house
A bigger kitchen (one day)
More kids?
Potato Soup for dinner tonight

8 Things I Love About Fall
Cooler weather
Football Games (even though we don't go to them anymore)
Birthdays
Colors of the leaves
Raking leaves and jumping in them
Hooded sweatshirts
Haunted houses/hayrides
Candy corn

8 Things On My Wishlist
Bigger Kitchen
Fenced in Backyard
Camcorder
Curly Hair
"Sold" Sign out front
Headband/headwrap like Emily's (I can't remember what kind it is)
A play room for Katy
More cute Paper to make cards with

8 People I Tag
Shannon
Jenn L.
Jen I.
Jami
Amy A.
Emily G.

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe she's two! I've been very slow to get any postings done, especially Katy's birthday. She turned two back in September. We celebrated with Donny's family the week of her birthday and then with my family a week late so that Emily and Chris could be there. It was a lot of fun to have them here for that. Kevin and Toni were up too, so we almost had the whole family together. Katy loved playing with Caroline. Aunt Emily bought the party hats and blowers (is that what you call them??). They played with them for days after the party. Thanks Em! You rock!

Katy and Caroline

Mom and Dad had an old mattress out for the girls to jump on, so naturally that's where we had to have the party. It was so cute to watch them jump and giggle together.

It didn't take long for Katy to figure out how to work it. She was so proud of herself.

We have a lot of birthdays in our family in the months leading up to Katy's so when it came time for her cake, she knew exactly what to do!

When Katy woke up on her birthday, I sang happy birthday to her and when I was done, she blew like she was blowing out candles. She watched her dad, grandma, grandpa, meme, and Caroline all blow out their candles between June and August, so she knew that after "Happy Birthday" come the candles. In fact, everytime she sees a candle she says "happy birthday to you." Sometimes she calls them "happy birthday to you candles," but it sounds more like "hap day to you tandles." (After we carved our pumpkin for Halloween, we lit a candle and turned out the lights so Katy could see it. Before we could blow out the candle we had to sing "Happy Birthday" to the pumpkin. I think we may have started a family tradition.) When she was opening her presents everything was "Oh toot!" (Oh cute). She got mostly clothes, and she was very impressed with all the "dresses" (even though they were shirts).

She talks so much now! Amber suggested that I make a list of all the things that she says right now and I'm beginning to think it might be easier to list the things that she doesn't say. I think my favorite thing that she says right now is Laura. If I'm in another room and she calls me, she says "Noo-wa!" (Laura). It is so cute. She makes me laugh all the time. One night I asked her what she wanted me to cook her for dinner, and she said "how 'bout cookies." I told her that she couldn't eat cookies for dinner and she said "how 'bout cookies." We went back and forth for a little bit like that, and then she said "how 'bout pizza!" When I told her we didn't have any pizza she whispered "how 'bout pancakes!" The whole exchange made me laugh, so now sometimes she says it to try and make me laugh.

Where has all the time gone? I remember when she was just a newborn and crying all night wishing that she would grow up so she would sleep through the night, and that she could just tell me what she needed. We used to say that we couldn't wait for her to get to where she could play with us. Now we find ourselves wishing we could go back and hold that sweet baby again. I have a picture in my bedroom of her when she was just a few days old. I like to look at it and see how much she's changed. I almost forget sometimes that she used to look like that. We wonder what we ever did without her. She has brought so much joy into our lives! I love my little buddy.

What a cute kid!

Katy's favorite new place is the dryer at Grandma's house. It got really quiet one day so I knew it was time to check on her and I found her in the dryer. I think it's funny that the only dryer she cares about playing in is Mom's.





She is really starting to use her imagination now. She'll play games more and more by herself, which is nice for me so I can get stuff done, but it's a little sad at the same time, cuz she doesn't need or want me as much anymore - she's growing up. Mom and Dad have some little sesame street guys that all us kids played with. Katy loves playing with them too. The other day she lined them up on the counter and said "I'll be right back." Once she was running around the house saying "No stop. Wait, I'm coming!" I think Uncle Brian taught her a game where she says "I'm scared - run! AHHH!", and then runs down the hall. She loves playing with her Uncle Brian. She's also started saying a few things that are just funny to me. One morning she woke up and I was taking too long to get to her, so she started fussing a little and then she said "I cwyin'!" When I need her to listen to me, sometimes I'll put my hands on either side of her face and say "listen" etc. Now she goes around to people and puts her hands on their faces and says "yisten Mom." Anytime I get something for her and even when I put her to bed she says "thanks Mom." When I put her to bed she'll say "Thanks Mom, bye, have a good trip, see ya later." She makes my day when she says thanks mom. I love being her Mom.

Daddy Daughter Fun

One day when we were at Donny's parents' house I went looking for Donny and Katy and found this. It was so cute I just had to take pictures. Meme bought the table and the tea set for the grandkids and it's the first thing Katy looks for when we go there.

She loves her dad. He's such a good Dad too!

Katy enjoyed taking turns feeding each other "cake"

I've been tagged - twice!

Ok - I've been tagged twice now and haven't done either of them yet, so here goes. Here's the first one. (sorry it took me so long). I can only answer each question with one word, and I'm supposed to tag 5 people so here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? Donny
3. Your hair is...? up
4. Your mother is...? great
5. Your father is...? patient
6. What is your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night was...? none
8. What is your favorite drink? milk
9. What is your dream/goal? togetherness
10. What is your greatest fear? failure
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
12. Where were you last night? Mom's
13. What you're not? nightowl
14. Muffins or cupcakes? muffins
15. One of your wishlist items? fence
16. Where did you grow up? Wilmington
17. What is the last thing you did? naptime
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. What's on your TV? nothing
20. Your pets are...? nonexistent
21. Your computer is...? black
22. Your life is...? FANTASTIC!
23. Your mood is...? happy
24. Are you missing someone? sisters :(
25. Your car is...? new
26. Something your not wearing? makeup
27. Your favorite store is...? target
28. Your summer is...? hot
29. The last time you laughed? morning
30. The last time you cried? August

That was a lot harder than I thought it's be. Anyway, I tag...Amy, Shannon, Jenn L., Jen I. and Jami. Good luck girls!


Now for the second one. I'm supposed to tag 3 people, so check in T if you've been tagged.

THE ABC's OF ME:

A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Very much so attached - I don't know what I'd do without Donny.
B. BEST FRIEND? Donny, Emily and Katy - she's my little buddy.
C. CAKE OR PIE? Cake, although I do like cherry pie too.
D. DAY OF THE WEEK? Sunday. Donny doesn't have to work (usually) and we can be together all day without chores getting in the way.
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Katy's snack bag and stickers and my cell phone.
F. FAVORITE COLOR? burgundy
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Neither, but I love fruit roll-ups.
H. HOMETOWN? Wilmington
I. INDULGENCE? It used to be chocolate, but now I'm not supposed to eat it, so I'll have to find something else. I would say Ice cream now, but Donny would say it's bags. He might be right, I can't help it.
J. JANUARY OR JULY? Definitely January - I'm a cold weather gal, and that's when I got married too.
K. KIDS? 1 perfect daughter and we hope to have more one day.
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? My family, and a "Hi Mom!" from Katy
M. MARRIAGE DATE? January 3, 2003
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? Two brothers and two sisters
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Oranges definately!
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? I'm seriously scared of heights and being eaten alive - no joke.
Q. QUOTE? I have a funny story for this one: I've always quoted movies, so when I'm asked what's my favorite quote I think about movies. In one of my lab classes at UNCW, our teacher went around the room and had us all introduce ourselves. We were supposed to say the usual (name, major, where your from etc.) and our favorite quote. So I thought it was a movie quote thing, and I couldn't think of anything else to say so I said ... "Your head has the shell on it." It's from Tommy Boy and it's a quote that Donny and I say to each other a lot. Anyway, everyone was looking at me like "what?" so I had to explain what it was from and the teacher said "O...K...next." I was so embarassed. I told myself that I'd find a quote so I'd have one to share in case I needed to again. It's from David O. McKay I believe..."Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you, but on what happens inside of you."
R. REASONS TO SMILE? It's a beautiful day; my family is well; Emily is coming soon; I'm going to see Amy soon; I don't have a headache today; why shouldn't I smile?
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDERWOMAN? I'd have to say superman, because I don't really know who Wonderwoman is. (I feel retarded now)
T. TAG 3 PEOPLE... Shannon, Amy, and Jenn L.
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I don't even think Donny knows this... I had a major crush on Legolas from the movie Lord of the Rings when it first came out. Not on the actor, but on the character. I know I'm a geek, but it's true.
V. VEGETABLES... I like lot's of them. My favorites are potatos, corn and green beans.
W. WORST HABIT? popping my knuckles
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? ultrasound if it means I'm pregnant. :)
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? cereal
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Scorpio

Ok, now I need to go get something accomplished while Katy's still asleep.

Camping

Katy figured out how to bend over with her head on the ground and look between her legs. Guess what happens when you do that at the campground?

Brian and Katy on the hammock. It didn't last too long. This "game" wasn't exciting enough for Katy.

Good morning Katy! She loved waking up in the tent (and waking the rest of us up too). :)

The end of July, we went camping with my parents and Brian. It was really hot, but the campground we were at had a lot of shade so the heat was bearable. Katy absolutely loved it. We were later getting up the road than we wanted to be, so we got to put the tent up in the dark. Katy had a big time running around with her flashlight and "helping." We swam in the lake to cool off. I wasn't too thrilled about swimming in a lake, but this one was really clean and didn't have too much "seaweed." It was a lot of fun and it felt wonderful. Katy loved being able to walk around in it. She was convinced that she could get out to the deeper water where everyone else was without my help. Eventually she believed me that she couldn't touch and let me carry her out there. Can you tell she's two? After the lake, it was still pretty hot, so we went into town to kill some time and ended up at Chuck E. Cheese's. She'd only been once or twice before, but she knew exactly what to do. She had a blast! (One of her favorite things to say is "chuck e cheeses." She'll walk around the house saying it - I think she just likes the way it sounds.) We can't wait until it starts to cool down, so we can go camping again.

4th of July adventure

For the fourth of July we had our families over for a cookout in the backyard. It was really fun. Katy had a blast playing outside with her cousins. Wil would give her a push down the "roller coaster" and then he'd help her back up and they'd do it again. Those kids played and played.
Donny got some firewords from a customer and so we set them off once it got dark. They were too loud for Katy - they scared her. Mom ended up taking her inside so I could watch. The other kids were ok, they were just in and out a lot. After Donny lit one of the fireworks, it tipped over and shot toward us and the house! That was scary. No one was hurt luckily. The ditch caught on fire in a couple of places, but thanks to the boys' cat-like speed and reflexes, they were put out quickly. It wasn't very funny at the time, but looking back on it now, it was. When they went off, everyone went running to get out of dodge. I was screaming - I wasn't trying to be brave. But, Dad was just sitting in his chair as calm and relaxed as he could be. There were fireworks shooting everywhere, and he was just chillin'. Someone there got it on video and Donny says it's really funny, but I haven't seen it. So, you'd think after that little episode, we'd be smart enough not to do any more, right? Well, we weren't. They found some supports so it wouldn't tip over again and kept at it. Thankfully nothing else happened. I tried to get pictures, but they didn't turn out very well.

The kids came back out when we did the sparklers and little fountain things. Katy was afraid of them too, so Dad held her while I got some pictures. They had fun with them, and they went way too fast.

Logan and Brian ended up spending the night with us, and the next morning we bribed them with breakfast at Hardee's if they'd go outside and pick up all the trash from the fireworks. It worked too! We went to the beach and really enjoyed it. Katy stayed out in the waves with me the whole time. I was glad that it was a calm enough day that I could it. As much as I like sitting in the water and playing in the sand, I think jumping the waves is a little more fun :). It was perfect.