Blue Babies

OK - there are some things only parents think is cute. This might be one of them. Adaline now calls blueberries, "blue babies." Here is some footage...

The Facts of Christmas

We thought you might enjoy Adaline identifying the key players in the Christmas season - Santa, Rudolph and Jesus...

Talking Practice

Cooking!

This video was taken a few weeks ago when we first decorated gingerbread cookies with Adaline. In it, you will hear Grammy's voice - we had put her on speaker phone so Adaline could tell her what we were doing. Enjoy!

Shopping for the perfect tree

Apparently we waited a little late this year - there were slim pickings at the Optimist Club Christmas Tree sale. I thought we were going to end up with a Charlie Brown-style tree (which probably wouldn't have bothered Adaline!). What a fun outing we had!

This is Adaline "hugging" the tree...

Thank you, Auntie Nona, for her cute dress! It was a little warm yesterday for sweaters and long sleeves, but I wanted to make sure we got some good pictures.

Adaline is such a good little helper - she was happy to help Daddy bring the tree in. Yes - that is her, holding a branch and helping guide the tree inside.

The tree is beautiful, and Adaline is in love with the ornaments. She has definitely made Christmas even more wonderful than usual. Merry Christmas everyone!

Planting Flowers

I think Bryan laughs at some of my crazy ideas for activities with Adaline - and this was one of those crazy projects... I saw some Paperwhites for sale and thought Adaline might enjoy planting flowers. We only had one casualty (she pulled the top off of the bulb!), but we will have flowers to watch grow in the coming weeks. What fun!

Tea Party!

In November, Adaline and Mommy went to a tea party together - our first ever! Adaline was ready to go early Sunday morning and couldn't understand why we had to wait until after her nap to attend the tea party... We got all dressed up - pearls and all - for the big occassion.

The historic Taylor-Grady house was a beautiful spot for the fun event...

We heard a special story about a tea party, and all the kids seemed to enjoy the book. I didn't get a picture of the kids singing - but we all sang "I'm a little tea pot..." after the story.

The highlight of the afternoon for the older kids was the tea pot pinata - Adaline wasn't sure what to make of it, but the next picture demonstrates that she quickly figured it all out...

As with all fun activities, the end arrived... Not wanting to leave (and probably a little hyper from all the cookies she ate), Adaline went racing around the grounds of the Taylor Grady House with Mom not too far behind. What Adaline didn't realize was that the gardens circled back around - so she got caught by the bushes!

We had a wonderful time together at the tea party - and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Fall Festival

Amy and Bob Parrish hosted the church fall festival - and we had a great time! Daddy helped Adaline make her own cookie (although I think Mommy and Daddy ate most of it!).

They had all kinds of western-themed games that Adaline took part in. She wasn't really sure if she liked the cowboy hats, though...

Mommy helped Adaline make a "placemat." Unfortunately for Adaline, the placemat "disappeared" not long after we got home... Hmmm. Wonder what happened to it...

All in all, it was a great family activity - and we look forward to going again next year!

Halloween

I have been reminded that I have not recently updated the blog, so I am going to try to add a few items over my lunch break... Adaline did not wear a true Halloween costume this year - but she did wear a fun fall outfit! Her daddy had bought her a Halloween "purse," and JPO had made her a darling Halloween bracelet - so she was ready to go!

Before walking down the street for our one and only trick or treat visit of the night, we practiced saying "trick or treat" which didn't much sound like the real thing. It was adorable, of course. When Terry opened the door, Adaline whispered "trick-reat" and then got shy.

After receiving a box of animal crackers, however, Adaline decided that she loved the Jacksons and trick or treating! She blew kisses before we headed back home. Many thanks to Terry and Ransom!

What are you doing? "Cooking!"

It was a rainy day in Athens today, so Bryan and I looked for a fun indoor activity - and we decided to let Adaline try her hand at "cooking like Rachel" - Rachel Ray for those of you who don't know... Rachel has helped Adaline peepee in the potty and has since been mentioned in our home on a regular basis by our little chef-to-be...

We found a great gingerbread men set at Publix with all the fixings in the box. It made for a fun afternoon for all three of us. Adaline loved every minute of it - including the eating part too, of course. :)
Adaline was so proud of her cookie, and we were so proud of her! :)

Pictures from Karen

Work has been a little busy (yea!) so I apologize for the lack of an update - but Karen sent us these cute pictures from our tailgate a few weeks ago. Thought you might enjoy them.

The weekend of potty-training went fairly well. Adaline is getting the idea, and I think we can reach the goal of being trained within two months. The M&Ms definitely help provide incentive, Uncle Brian, so many thanks! :)

A Fall Breakfast with the Kurtzs and JPO

Since it is difficult to get the Kurtzs, Olivers, Bracewells and McCullicks all together, we decided to try breakfast! Who has anything to do at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning???

Adaline did a pretty good job until the end of breakfast. This is a picture of JPO stopping Adaline from running into the street. As I told Jenny, it takes a village to raise a child - I didn't even see her dash towards the road! Yikes. Adaline is holding the pumpkin JPO brought her, complete with her own Halloween bracelet. Very cute!

I grew up with the Kurtzs and Olivers, so it was very special to get the group together, although it was a bit chilly - our first real fall morning this year.

As you can see, Adaline was quite a pistol by the end of the morning. We will have to get together again soon!

An Evening with the Reicherts

We had a great Saturday evening out with Jill, Tom, and Repp Reichert. Repp and Adaline ran circles around the adults - they were such fun to watch.

Repp is a GREAT bubble blower and will no-doubt teach his soon-to-arrive little brother the ins and outs of blowing bubbles.

Adaline and Repp had even more fun at the outdoor restaurant we visited - there is a boat fountain in the middle of the dining area, and they enjoyed throwing little rocks into the boat. I'm not sure either child ate much dinner - but they had lots of fun!

Mimi's Breast Cancer Walk

Mimi and Poppa returned from three weeks in Russia, and what do they do to catch up on their rest??? Mimi walks a 13-mile breast cancer walk.

Where's Mimi???

Here she comes!

Can you believe she made it? We were so proud of Mimi... The walk raised over $115,000 for breast cancer research!

Mommy-Daughter day!

Adaline had the day off from school, so Mommy decided to take the day off too! We had lunch with our friends Kathryn and Patrick.

Patrick and Adaline are only one day apart in age. He is such a cutie - and said "Yes, Ma'am" and "No, Ma'am." Very impressive. I asked Kathryn to teach the secret to instilling such good manners in Adaline!

We asked the kids to hug good-bye - but Adaline decided it was time to be a two-year old and not oblige... :) Oh well. Maybe next time!

Glamour Girl

Adaline's personality is coming out more and more each day. She is getting the idea of "posing" for pictures - and sometimes the pictures turn out so cute! These are some of my favorites from October...

When I put this outfit on her, I suddenly realized that she was no longer a baby - what a big girl she has become!

Bryan hates it when Adaline pulls out the pacifier - but this picture was too funny, and I had to include it...

Auntie "Nona" gave this to Adaline for Christmas - what a cutie-patootie!