Hi!

Molly learned how to wave last week and she just loves it! Anytime any of us says "hi" (whether we are talking to her or not), she starts waving. It's adorable! Don't mind the apple pieces on her face...she is a little messy when she eats :)

Soccer!!!

Lauren had her 1st soccer practice last week and she did fantastic! The only goof up was mommy...I put in a bow in her hair that was just a little too big. Lauren got stuck in the net of the goal :) Those were the only tears of the evening though, so we count it as a success!

Molly walking

Molly is walking all over the place now! Here is a video of her walking and missing out on getting the mail with Lauren & Daddy...

Lauren and Taylor

Here is a little video of Lauren and her best friend, Taylor. We went to a street festival in downtown Franklin. The girls took full advantage of the live music and danced the night away :)

1st Day of School

The girls started school this week at Forest Hills UMC. Both were very excited on their first day! Lauren went into the 3 year old classroom this year with Ms. Brooke and Molly started in the toddler classroom with Ms. Tracy & Ms. Allison. The first thing Lauren did in her new classroom was head straight for the dress-up clothes - she was in heaven!

Since Molly's birthday is only 2 weeks before the cutoff, she is the youngest in her class...most are actually 6+ months older than her. She looks so young! She is the only girl in a room full of boys, but she is holding her own quite well! Actually when we were leaving, we said goodbye to Molly and she started waving. The teachers were very impressed with her social skills :)

Molly's 1st Steps

Molly started walking at 10 1/2 months, while we were visiting my parents at their lakehouse. My brother and parents all got to see her 1st steps and just like her mommy, she was motivated by food :)

Peek-A-Boo

Molly LOVES to play peek-a-boo with her dresses. Look how adorable she is!

Fried Catfish & Dancing

We met our neighbors at Uncle Bud's Fried Catfish (a fabulous traveling restaurant) for dinner a couple weeks ago. The food was wonderful and the girls had a great time running around and dancing to the live music. Now I'm sure this is a video only a mother could love, but the girls are just so darn cute trying to dance!

Oh, how we love our swing...

The girls ask us every single time we go in the backyard to push them on their swing. I say "their" swing, but really Lauren has outgrown it even though she can still cram herself into it! Here is a video of Molly in the swing and Daddy & Lauren pushing her. I don't think I captured the pure joy Molly experiences when in the swing, but I tried!

4th of July Weekend

We had a great time over the 4th! We had a family game night one night and then went to our neighborhood pool for a 4th of July BBQ. Fun times!

Rainforest Cafe

Here are a few videos of our birthday lunch for Lauren at Rainforest Cafe. We go there a ridiculous # of times, but Lauren just loves it. We are even Safari members. If someone would have told us 7 years ago when we got married that we would be Safari members, I would have thought it would be for something much more exotic than a children's restaurant!

Birthday Girl!!!

I can't believe my baby girl is 3! Lauren chose a Princess theme for her party, so we did a Princess & the Pea party. She invited several friends from our neighborhood and also from my mom's group. It was an unbelievably hot day, but we survived Lauren's party with a pool for the girls and beer for the adults :)

Here is a cute video of Lauren wearing new dress-up clothes a friend gave her. She LOVES pretending to be Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Thanks to her friend, Hannah, she has mulitple Barbie, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty outfits. It is just too cute watching her pretend to be a princess!!!

Girls Only Lunch

Lauren, Molly, and I had to pick up a birthday present for a friend of mine, so we decided to make a day of it and ate out at California Pizza Kitchen. It was the first time I had taken the girls out to a sit down place completely by myself. The girls were great and loved it :) I definitely see a lot more "girls only" lunches in our future!

Videos from Papa's boat

Here are a few videos while we were at Papa's lake. My mom didn't know there was a zoom on my flip, so we are really little :)

Papa's Lakehouse

I took the girls to Grandma and Papa's lakehouse the first 2 weeks in June. I drove the entire 10 hours (including 2 one hour breaks) by myself and survived! It actually wasn't as bad as I expected. I had lots of snacks to toss back to Lauren and toys to toss to Molly. Lauren watched videos most of the way, but poor Molly just had to stare at the back of her seat since she still sits in a rear-facing carseat. Luckily, she is a good sleeper :) Anyway, we made it and had a great time on Papa's boat! Lauren loved to sit at the front of the boat and Molly was fine as long as she was being held - typical :)

Family Vacation to The Great Smoky Mountains!!!

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted - geez! We took a family vacation to The Smoky Mountains over Memorial weekend and had a blast! We stayed at The Wilderness Lodge resort for 3 nights and traveled into Gatlinburg during the day. The resort was incredibly kid-friendly and both Lauren and Molly had a fabulous time! Here a few pictures...

Lauren's New Shoes

Before we went on vacation, I took Lauren to buy a pair of tennis shoes - her first pair. Of course, she picked out princess tennis shoes! Anyway, as soon as she put them on, she started running. And not just normal running...running like Phoebe on Friends...it was hilarious!!! I tried to catch a reenactment of it on video, but this is the best I could do...

We Love Our Pool!!!

We LOVE our neighborhood pool and go almost everyday. Here are a few clips of the girls enjoying water time!

Video Mix

Lauren and I are having so much fun playing with our new camera! Here is a video mix we created!

Lauren's Last Day of School

Lauren's last day of school was last week. It was field day, so they had a bounce house and several outdoor activities. Lauren LOVED it!

Baby Ann

We visited my friend, Susan, and her baby girl, Ann, this weekend. It was just a wonderful experience to see a friend that I've known since 3rd grade with her baby girl. It was even more wonderful to have one of my baby girls there to meet them as well. Here they are :)

Molly, Molly, Molly

Here is baby Molly in her walker. Towards the end she starts to "talk", which is what she does ALL DAY long...

My little ladybugs

We met some friends for lunch the other day and while we were waiting, the girls decided to put on their ladybug sunglasses - so cute!

Mother's Day!

I had a great Mother's Day!!! Robert was such a wonderful husband and just let me relax in the morning while he took care of the girls. I enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee and I didn't even have to reheat them - that NEVER happens! We went out to brunch to Mere Bulles - a fancy Southern restaurant in Brentwood. It was fabulous! Lauren ate more more than I have ever seen her eat. Her little belly was even sticking out from underneath her shirt! Molly had fun too, but since it was her naptime, she almost fell asleep at our table :)

I enjoy every Mother's Day more and more and I only can thank Robert and my girls. Being a mother only makes me appreciate my mother more. It is hard work!

Lauren makes dinner for Molly

This is what happens when mommy turns her back and Lauren takes over feeding Molly dinner - a huge pile of puffs! Obviously, Molly didn't mind :)

Pancake Pantry

Lately, the girls have been waking up before 6am, so this weekend we decided to take advantage of our early risers and head to a yummy breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. Usually there is a long wait, but not when you get there before 7am! We all had a great time eating the yummy pancakes and we were even home before 9 for Molly's morning nap :)

Breakfast & Kisses

Here is little Molly trying to eat breakfast. Then along comes Lauren who decides she really, really needs to give Molly a kiss! I couldn't get the sound to work on my camera. Hopefully, the next post I'll get everything to work...

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Just trying to figure this blog thing out!