Growing UP

Katie Lee woke up a few days ago and decided that she wanted her ears pierced. She was all excited about the idea of it. I told her it would hurt a little but it did not change her mind. She had talked about it a while ago. I just did not say anything about and neither did she. Well, she has started talking about it again in the last week or so. Yesterday, was the day.

She got her ears pierced!!

We Can "Bearly" Wait

Last night Mother and Kathryn hosted a Gender Reveal Party for us with some of our family. Their theme was bears. The table was adorable.

The table was set in a cute bears with pink and blue ribbons.

The delicious cake.
other yummies they made
Take home bags to remember the day with.
Now, lets get to finding out what baby is. I came up with a puzzle game that each couple had to do. Each couple was given a bag with a piece of paper, glue stick, and a bag full of letters that spelled out a message to reveal. The couple that figured out first, won a prize.

Katie Lee kept the secret all day. She did a great job. She is super excited. She got to read what we are having off the ultrasound machine.
Each group began trying to decipher the puzzle.
Eager grandparents could not wait to see what we were having.
Donnie's aunts.
Everyone working hard to find out.
Kathryn and Zeb worked hard. They have a competitive streak in them.
Scott and Stephanie have a competitive streak too. They figured it out first!!

Katie Lee is getting a brother!!!

Donnie getting some practice with a little boy.

I think Langdon was very happy to get a new little boy cousin. Can you imagine what fun these two little boys will have?

Friday Fun--A to Z

I have decided to start something new. I found Summer Fun A to Z on several other blogs and thought that it was a cute idea. Since summer for me is about over, I decided that Katie Lee and I would have Friday Fun Nights. Our weeks will begin getting busy and routine again in about a week, so we will do something special every Friday. I made a list of things to do from A to Z,but we will not go in alphabetical order. Some weeks will have more than one letter covered and other weeks will only do one. This will depend on the activity.

This is our first Friday Fun.


D--Date with Daddy
We had the chance to have a lunch date with Daddy. He was off today to go to the doctor with me. We had lunch at Bridge Street Red Robin.



U--Ultrasound
This morning I had an ultrasound that also revealed the gender. (This will be told in a later post.) Anyway, we let Katie Lee go with us too. She was so excited. On the way she told me that she thought it would be a boy or maybe a girl. I think she is right it is one of those. :) She was amazed at the pictures.

Apple Dip Recipe

This morning, my grade level team came over for a back to school meeting. I cannot believe that it is already time to think about going back to school. I have one more full week before it is back to the school routine again. Anyway, I had Cream Cheese Danish, apples, and apple dip as a snack. This was the first time I had ever made this apple dip. It may be my new favorite. It was like eating candy. It was also super easy which is my way of fixing things.

Apple Dip

1 10 oz. tub of soft cream cheese or 1 8 oz. block softened

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 pkg of a 8 oz. bag of SKOR English Toffee Bits

6-9 Granny Smith Apples cut into wedges for dipping

Mix together with a spoon until smooth – cream cheese, sugars and vanilla. Fold in toffee bits just before serving so they don’t get soggy. (soggy is yummy too!) I cut the apples just before serving to prevent them turning brown.

I forgot to take a picture of mine before we dug into it, so here is one from Taste of Homes.

Take the Survey

Friday is the much anticipated day. We find out if we are having another girl or a boy. I think we are all excited to find out.

Please leave me a comment with your prediction. I will reveal sometimes on Friday or Saturday.


Do you think it will be a GIRL?

Do you think it will be a BOY?

Shopping Trip

Yesterday, the girls and Langdon had a shopping trip to Florence. It has been a while since any of us have been. We had a great day. Langdon loves riding in his stroller looking at everything.

While we tried on some clothes, Katie Lee entertained herself in the 3-way mirror.
She sang and danced and counted how many of Katie Lee's she could see.
They were also having a talent show. By the time we finish shopping, the show was over except for one special talent.
On a bargain note, I lucked up on several things to wear. I don't like spending a lot of money on maternity clothes. I am just going to wear them for a few months and then I will yard sale them. Luckily I ran across several things on sale. I got a pair of shorts, two pair of pants, a dress, and a tank for less than $55 total. I felt very successful!!

We finished our fun day with supper at Texas Roadhouse. We rolled in exhausted around 9:30. It was a great day!!

All Bug Eyed

Sometimes, Katie Lee gets a little bug eyed! :)
Especially when she is surprised with a friend. Sunday night, these two were so excited when they say each other at Cracker Barrel. You would have thought that they had not seen each other in a long time.
Katie Lee gets all excited when Langdon comes over too. Monday, he got to spend some time with us while his mommy had a dentist appointment. These two had so much fun playing. He loved watching every move she made.

Winnie the Pooh

Saturday afternoon, we watched Winnie the Pooh. Katie Lee has been so excited and counting down the days until this movie came out. This was her second time to go to the movies. I think because it was only 70 minutes, she liked it better. She is not one to watch an entire movie ever. She LOVED IT!!

After the movie and some shopping, we headed to Rosie's for supper. They have a pretty garden area so I had to snap a few pictures.

Happy Birthday!!

This past weekend has been full of fun birthday parties. Friday night we headed to Onyx Gym for Kinsley's and Anna Beth's 4th Birthday party. As always everyone had a great time.

Sadly, the only picture I got of the birthday girls they were not smiling. I hope that they had a great birthday!

Saturday morning, we headed to Huntsville to Kendall's 3rd birthday.

What a great way to spend time with our friends.

Kiddie Carnival Fun

Last night we had a fun night playing at the Kiddie Carnival. Lots of our friends were there to play too.

Now I Know

How to write my ABC's.

Earlier this week, I worked in my classroom getting it set up early so I will not have to worry about it closer to time. Katie Lee and Mother went too. Mother was great help. Katie Lee had a ball. This was right her ally. She played school and sang all day long. She constantly gave out stickers and put kids in the time-out chair that she made. She also loved writing on the white board. She wrote the entire alphabet across my back board. I think getting to write on the big board made it more fun.

Splish Splash

How do you stay cool in 100 degree weather in Alabama in the summer? Play in a splash pad!! Wednesday we met up with some friends for water play and a picnic lunch. I was slightly worried when I pulled up and saw 3 bus loads of kids there to play too, but it worked out great and was never too crowded. The girls had a blast.

Outside Project #1

Last week, Donnie had the week off from UPS. He worked even harder at home working on the first flower bed. He is such a perfectionist when it comes to things like this and would not hire any help. I think that it turned out beautiful and I am very proud of all that Donnie did.

We spent a couple days locating all of the plants that we needed. Thanks to Carol Barron for helping me know what plants we needed. Donnie then spent a couple days getting all the wild grass that had grown up in the flowerbed, then he had to move in several loads of dirt, level the bed, and add all the nutritious soil.

Before pictures:

Finally it was time to begin planting. He dug all of those big holes with post hole diggers. I think my arms would have just fallen off especially with those 3 large trees. He did get help moving those because they were so heavy.
During:

Finally he added mulch and the project was finished. He planted about 65 things. I think it turned out great. Maybe when we get to do the rest of the yard, I will be able to help out more.
Final:

Time for Dessert

For dessert on Saturday, I made Not Yo' Mamas Banana Pudding. It is a wonderful light and refreshing summer dessert.

image from PaulaDeen.com

How to make this:

1 12-ounce container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whip
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cup milk
1 5-ounce box instant French vanilla pudding
6-8 bananas, sliced
2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.