september in review

October 1.  Yikes.

Where did September go?

I'll tell you where.

There was a trip to Dallas to see the Tide roll.

(Throw in a trip to the urgent care for Momma. Verdict: Strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. Roll Tide.)

Claire had a big time at home with Pop and Allie.

(Finished out the weekend with a little stomach bug for baby girl. Thankfully it passed, but the screaming in the middle of the night did not. So Claire's first doctor visit of the month was scheduled. Verdict: Perfect, as always. No ear infection, nothing but teething and a worried Momma.)

Then there was a visit from Uncle Craig. And Beauford.

 

(The work week saw Momma's second visit to the doctor for the month of September - Verdict: a persistent bug. Round 2 of antibiotics.)

Lots of sporting new crimson and white attire to cheer for Bama. 5-0.

The Somerville's made their first trip to Bobbie's Dairy Dip. And Claire had her first french fry.

Then Grandma and Grandpa came for a brief visit. A good time was had by all. And Claire wore her first pair of jeggings!

Then Momma headed to D.C. for a conference. (And Daddy headed to the doctor for the first time that month. Verdict: A severe sinus infection.)

Armed with medicine, bottles and a plethora of Puffs (Gerber, not tissues), Claire and Daddy came to meet Momma in D.C. for Ross and Sarah Michelle's big day!

Upon arrival back in Nashvegas, Daddy took Claire to her second doctor's appointment of the month - this time just a 9-month well baby check up and flu shot.

And Momma and Daddy went on a date to see Martina McBride perform at the Ryman for the first time in eight years. Love her.

Oh, and this little man turned 2!

By month's end, Claire is still teething, but as sweet as ever. Daddy has kicked his sinus infection and is taking care of the house as usual. And I'm on day 32 of not quite feeling myself, but I refuse to go to the doctor again. Post pregnancy has wreaked havoc on my immune system!

Whew! Bring on October! And hopefully a few less doctor's appointments.

(In the interest of getting this posted before, oh, November, these are all iPhone pics. 

Thank goodness for the iPhone.)

(mostly) wordless wednesday with the pups

Checking Grace out

Grace at her happy place

Snuggled up in Claire's clothes

beach catchup

I have so many photos on my big camera to load including our trip to the beach and the 4th of July, but I never seem to get them loaded! Our computer at home is on hiatus and while I could use Bob's laptop, I just haven't. In the meantime, here's a quick peak at our beach vacation via the iPhone camera. Let's be honest...most of the pictures from the trip were taken by the iPhone!

Happy! (On the way down at least)

A trip to see Grandma and Grandpa!

First (little) boat ride!

Toes in the sand

1. Enjoying the ocean 2. How Claire really liked to enjoy the ocean 3. Post-enjoying the ocean

Windblown

Happy Independence Day!

Someone needed her Daddy to ride in the backseat with her on the way home, so Tanner got promoted to the passenger seat!

if bob plants it, it will grow

I'll be the first to admit that I did not have high hopes when Bob told me he wanted to have a garden in our backyard.

Last year, he started with seeds in a few pots. This little monster took care of anything that tried to grow.

This year, Bob wanted to build a raised bed garden to keep the little monster out. Hmmm. Ok. We looked at them pre-made. Can we say, expensive? So in true Bob form, he decided he would just build one. Let me stop right here and say that this was still more expensive than I think it should be. But I can tell it will last and my dear husband assures me that he made it in such a way that it can be expanded and move with us when the time comes. Okay, okay.

My brother came to visit, and he and Bob tackled the bed together on a Sunday afternoon. It was built.

We ventured to Lowe's one day and remembered to buy seeds and potting soil. The bed was filled with soil.

The little seeds started out in a small container in our house. I should have took a picture, but my hopes still weren't high. Bob planted squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, green onions, bell peppers and cucumbers. A little ambitious, yes.

But what to my wondering eyes...they started to sprout!

The little seedlings were slowly transplanted to the outside garden bed.

They eventually started to get bigger...and bigger...until we had this! 

The squash took off first.

Somebody, and I won't name names (but it starts with a b and ends with a b!) planted more squash than he was supposed to and suddenly we had more squash than we could ever need!

Then, our lone zucchini plant bloomed. Although not as fruitful as the squash, we've seen quite a few zucchinis come out of Bob's garden. 

We used the fresh squash and zucchini to make my version of Ravioli Primavera...which is basically throw a bunch of vegetables in to saute in a pan full of butter and garlic and toss with pasta. Voila.

Since we had so much squash, and a few too many zucchinis, I decided to give the homemade baby food a try.

Steam. Puree with my nifty-difty hand blender, spoon into ice cube trays and freeze. Easy!

And Claire loved it all!

Yesterday, our first cucumber came into the house. We're still waiting on a few green tomatoes to turn red, bell peppers to grow some more and aren't sure if we'll ever know when our onions are ready or not!

So, here it comes. One time and one time only. I was wrong. Bob's garden was a success. I'm sure it will be even more successful in years to come. Especially when we figure out how to plan so that all of the plants don't bloom at once!

six month photos

So remember my insanely talented photographer friend, Nicole? 

See Exhibits Maternity Pictures and...well, seems as though I never blogged about the amazing newborn photos she took of Claire. I can't believe that! Ok, see photos in my blog header!

Nicole was sweet enough to take some six month photos of little miss this past weekend. And, let me tell you...I loved my maternity pictures, then I loved Claire's newborn photos even more...but I'm not sure anything could top these sweet pics. I know that I am biased, but isn't my little girl beautiful?

Nicole, you did an amazing job. I can't believe how much you made Claire smile and laugh and what great shots you got. Thank you again.

I had such a hard time narrowing these down to share...so after I had made two pass throughs, I quit. I love them all and want to share them all. They will be even more special to me down the line, and I'm happy to know they'll always be here for me to look at.

a little of this, a little of that

Clockwise starting upper left:

1. Playing in the exersaucer

2. Tanner with his bone

3. Tour de Fat

4. Sick, snuggling with Bunny

5. Catching a nap at the pool

6. Shopping with Mommy is boring!

grace and tanner go on a roadtrip

A few from our recent (well, Memorial Day) roadtrip to the farm.

Are we there yet?

We LOVE the farm! Pop feeds us everything - including popcorn!

Worn out. Keeping an eye on sister as we drive home.

Wordless Wednesday

furbabies

Although they may not make appearances on Facebook or the ole blog as much, we do still love our little monsters! And don't worry, they are getting plenty of attention. And if we spend too much time loving on our little one and not them...they remind us!