Making Progress

If you read this post, you know that Mary is terrified of gloves. She won't touch them or put them on her hands, nor will she go near ANYONE wearing ANY TYPE of gloves. So, imagine my astonishment when we were checking out at Pike Family Nurseries last week and Mary waltzed right over to the glove display and announced that she wanted her very own pair of "gubs".
Here are some pictures of Mary's latest milestone:

Okay, so she is not actually willing to WEAR the gloves yet. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

Sleeping Beauty

I've Been Tagged - Now What?

My sweet friend Robyn from high school (Go Vols!) has a wonderful blog that I check every day. She does all kinds of neat things like "tagging" people. I don't know all the rules, but I think I am supposed to follow her lead and describe my life in 6 words, then tag 5 other people whose blogs I read. The only problem with that is that I'm kind of a lurker. I "follow" 4 blogs consistently - Robyn's, my neighbor's, Linda Lee's, and Emily Cassee's. Those last 2 girls have NO IDEA that I exist, so I'd feel a little uncomfortable tagging them.
So, in the spirit of tagging and blogging and what not, I'm going to describe my life in 6 words 6 times. I don't want to be "that girl who didn't play the tagging game". So here goes:

1. I love my family and friends.
2. Wade Latham is my soul mate.
3. Emma and Mary have my heart.
4. Samson is the best dog ever.
5. I am addicted to the Internet.
6. I want to return to Birmingham.

OMG

This makes me LOL.

The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is...

For those of you who know Mary well, you know that she's a bit of a scaredy-cat. For those of you who don't know her, here is a small sampling of things that TOTALLY FREAK HER OUT.
1. Gloves (this includes latex, gardening, and dishwashing)
2. Houseflies
3. Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal toy from McDonald's
4. This train set
5. Koosh balls
6. Baby dolls that coo, talk, cry, or move
7. Squirrels
8. Carwashes
Yesterday I wanted to get a carwash, and I asked Mary if she thought she could handle it if we went through the $3 Carwash. She was NOT keen on the idea, but Emma promised to hold her hand and "protect" her during the torturous experience, so Mary reluctantly agreed. What's funny is that Emma used to be just as terrified of carwashes, but she apparently conquered her fear to keep Mary safe. Now that's love...

Emma The Artist

Dora the Explorer - Emma's rendering:

Funny Stuff

You may have to click each image in order to read it because the print is small, but it's worth the time because this is hilarious!

Emma's Dance Pictures

We got Emma's dance pictures in the mail yesterday. I don't know how she ended up with a safety pin hanging off of her bow (that NO ONE NOTICED) and how our last name ended up misspelled (we paid up front by check), but they are beautiful anyway and I wanted to share them!

Daddy's Home!!!

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to share a video of the girls taken this past Friday. Wade has been traveling non-stop (at least it feels that way!) over the last several weeks, and the girls and I miss him SO MUCH while he is gone. This week he left Monday morning and didn't get home until late Friday afternoon. We were all waiting in the driveway for him when got home. We are always so happy when we hear his car coming down the street, but no one gets quite as excited as Mary. (*WARNING: LOUD*)

Claustrophobia

This is how Mary sleeps. She has to have each and every stuffed animal seen here, and has added one or two to her collection since this picture was taken. She takes inventory before she lets me tuck her in and knows if something is missing, and she won't go to sleep until she is sure that everyone is present and accounted for. But don't try to just toss them in all willy-nilly either, because they all have "assigned seats," including her TWO BARNEYS.

Random Family-ness

Some recent pictures of our little family...

This is Emma and me at the Mother's Day Tea at her preschool. Emma made all kinds of beautiful things for me, including this hat. I'm not sure why I was flipping someone a bird - seems a tad inappropriate at a Methodist preschool...


The family getting ready to go to Emma's preschool graduation...


The two sweetest girls in the world...


The girls giving BoBo some love...


Mary thinks Sister can do no wrong, even in those crazy socks...

Son, You Got A Panty On Your Head

This is Mary's new way of entertaining herself. Yes, that is a diaper, and yes, it is clean.

Swinging Is Super-Fun!

Even mid-meltdown, how ADORABLE is she with those pigtails???

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...