Emma's Dance Recital

Emma had her dance recital on Saturday, May 17th. She did perfectly (and not because we are biased!) She does so well on stage and loves performing! She never gets nervous - just excited! Here are a few pictures from her big performance.

...waiting backstage.
...Daddy waiting for Emma onstage. Emma's class danced to "Butterfly Kisses" and the girls' dads were part of the routine. It was the sweetest thing EVER!
...during the "Butterfly Kisses" routine (also one of my favorite pictures).
...during the "Feels Like Love" routine.
...more from "Feels Like Love".
...Wade calls this "the hucklebuck".
...Mary entertained herself by wallowing on the floor and playing with batteries. (I never said I was Mother of the Year.)
...our little ballerina after the recital with her trophy and flowers.
...Mary giving big sister some lovin'.
...Wade and the girls. It is almost impossible to get a picture of Wade without his eyes either almost or completely closed. I'm starting to think he does it intentionally.

Mother's Day

We spent Mother's Day at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The weather was PERFECT and it seemed like every flower was blooming. We had so much fun and it was a wonderful Mother's Day!

All of us at the orchid exhibit...


Daddy and the girls...


My big girl...


Some sweet pictures of Emma...




Some sweet pictures of Mary...




Here are some of the gorgeous orchids we saw...



One of the biggest magnolia blooms I've ever seen...


Gorgeous poppies, one of my favorite flowers...






Roses...




Foxgloves...


Water lily...

For Sale

Free setup and delivery of the swing, too.

Happy Birthday Samson!

Our sweet Bobo's 10th birthday is May 5. Happy Birthday to the best dog EVER!


Go ahead, honk him. You know you want to.

Spring Has Sprung

I love this time of year - when I haven't had time to kill my plants and my bird feeders look like Grand Central Station.
...male and female cardinals. I can't believe I got this picture - the female flew right into the shot.
...zinnias.
...I WAS trying to get this one and I'm very proud of it.
...geraniums.
..ruby throated hummingbird and an eastern towhee. This is another picture I really love because we don't see either of these guys very often. I couldn't believe I was able to get them in the same picture!
...hibiscus.
...daylilies, just about to bloom.
...redbellied woodpecker. I SO love this bird - we only see him about twice a week and I think he's so handsome!
...mandavilla.
...pansies on the front porch.

Mary's School Pictures

And the tradition continues...
Yesterday we got Mary's school pictures back. It's been quite a while since I had a professional picture taken, but it looks like the standard "Say Cheese" just wasn't getting the job done, and photographers are trying new methods to get that perfect photograph.
Just a few techniques I think Mary's photographer may have used:
1. Say "Vomit"!!!
2. "Look at those cute little toes! Mr. Photographer is just going to bite them right off, one at a time!"
3. "I bet you're a Mommy's girl! Too bad she's never coming back to get you."
4. "Wow, look at that fun ride-on toy you're sitting on! Now look right here and pretend it's a dentist's chair!"

My Babies

Mary's 2nd Birthday (Part 2)

Mary's birthday was yesterday (April 15th) but Wade had to travel for Macy's this week, so we celebrated a little early. Sunday afternoon, Wade and Emma baked a cake for Mary while I ran a few errands. Emma met me at the door and led me straight to their culinary creation - a yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting, complete with pink and red icing roses and Mary's name written across the top. I told Emma I was very impressed with how beautifully she decorated the cake, and how well she wrote Mary's name with the icing tube. But she wanted to give credit where credit was due, and she told me that her Daddy did that part.

After Mary blew out her 2 candles, we all enjoyed a piece of birthday cake (which tasted even better than it looked, if you can believe that!) and celebrated the fun we've had over the past two years with our sweet little Mary Wade.


Awww, makes you just want to kiss her, doesn't it? Well, maybe you should hose her down first.

Mary's 2nd Birthday

Saturday night we took Mary to eat at Texas Roadhouse (or "The Peanut Place", as Emma calls it) for her birthday. After dinner, some of the servers brought her a little ice cream sundae and sang to her, which thrilled her to pieces! She heard them coming and you can even hear her say "Me!!" when they got to our table.