Paradise

Pretty soon my wonderful hubby and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary. WOW...I can't even believe that we have been married for that long. I feel like it was just yesterday that it was our beautiful wedding day. I am so blessed to have such a fabulous hubby and a beautiful family. We had been trying to decide how to celebrate this blessed anniversary for quite awhile. We tossed around a couple of ideas, but one night he surprised me that he had booked a trip to the Bahamas for us. I have always wanted to stay at the Atlantis resort so that is where we decided to stay. Oh, my, gosh!! If you have ever the opportunity to go there, you HAVE to Go. It is absolutely beautiful and my pictures definitely do not do it justice. We had such a great time and I even convinced him to get on some of the water slides with me. He wouldn't do the wild and crazy ones, but it was a milestone to say the least. I can't wait until Nolan is big enough for us to take him there, too. It is such a wonderful family vacation spot!

Orange and White Game

So it's time once again for the Orange and White Game. This used to not be such a big deal when we lived in TN, but now that we are out of state we miss out on all of the TN football frenzy. Bill was super excited (big surprise..we all know his love of TN football) to see the new coaches (me, too actually) so we drove A LOT to see this spring game. First, on Friday we drove to my parents house in E-Town and spent the night. Then we got up early and met our good friends in Bristol. We made the drive to Knoxville and introduced our friends to the fine dining of Louie's Restaurant....YUMMY!! I really miss that place. Then we headed to campus, got a great parking spot, headed over to Fan Day for a little bit, and then we met up with some of our dear college friends...love and miss you all :(, went to see the Vol Walk, had a yummy stadium dog, and had a great time at the scrimmage game. Finally, we headed back to E-Town for one more night and returned home on Sunday....whew!! A whole lot of driving, but it was definitely worth it. We had an awesome time with great people and now we are looking forward to a fabulous football season. As always...GO VOLS!

Happy Easter!

What a very special day Easter is around our house. We get the honor of celebrating our risen savior while spending the day with our family. Nolan had a blast, of course. After church he got lots and lots of goodies from the family and went on his very first egg hunt with his cousin, Kay Kay. As you can see the fountain at Mamaw and Papaw's house was the most popular place to put the eggs...even after they had been found somewhere else :)

Lions, Tigers, and Roo Bear..Oh, my!

On Good Friday we decided to take a family trip to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, SC. Everyone went, except for my mom..she was stuck at home sick with bronchitis...sorry Nana :( This was Nolan's first trip to the zoo and he absolutely loved it!! He smiled and laughed at the animals, but his favorites were most definitely the giraffes, penguins, and elephants. Then there were his other favorite things...the train ride, the carousel, and of course the ice cream! All in all he had a fantastic day with his family and we can't wait to go back to the zoo again!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Now anyone who really knows me is very aware of the fact that I am not a big fan of snow....put me in a warm tropical climate and I am in euphoria. Today, however, was very special because it was the first time that Nolan got to enjoy snow and it was absolutely priceless! Thank goodness he is finally feeling better because we had a blast and from the moment we said "Nolan, look at the snow" he started saying "snow..outside..snow". We had to enjoy it very quickly though because it was gone not long after it arrived....ahhh, my kind of snow after all!!


Nolan and his rosy cheeks after a long morning of playing in the snow.

NONO's snow house!!

Nolan trying to figure out how to get the snow off of his mittens.

Hanging out with daddy on a rare day off from work.

Nolan going for a wagon ride on the golf course.

18 Month Check-Up

A note from Nolan:

Well today was the big 18 month check-up. Needless to say, I am not a big fan of visiting the doctor's office. Fortunately I haven't been there since my 15 month old check-up. So, here are my 18 month old stats: 26 pounds and 32 inches, but I am a solid boy. Mama was convinced that I weighed more than that, but she was wrong :)

I brought along my favorite Curious George book, my trusty trucks, and my Elmo Dr. kit. Dr. Mange liked my doctor's kit...who knows, maybe one day I will really be a doctor, too. But for now I will just stick with my Cookie Monster stethescope. Anyway, my nurse got me back into the exam room really quickly..I know this made mama really happy, too. All in all it wasn't so bad until I had to get my shots...but mama tells me that they help keep me healthy so I guess I will trust her and go along with the torture....until next time.

Happy 30th Birthday to Bill!

Today Bill finally caught up to me and joined the "Fabulous at 30" Club. Happy Birthday sweetie! You are the best hubby and dada in the whole wide world..may your next 30 be just as blessed as the first. Love you always!

Nolan is 18 months old today!!

I can't even believe that my sweet baby boy is actually 18 months old today! When did that happen???? SO many changes have happened in the last 18 months and he still continues to amaze me each day. From the moment he wakes up until the moment he goes to bed at night he is a bundle of energy. He is so full of love, laughter, innocence, persistence, joy, and curiosity. I don't even know what Bill and I did before God gave Nolan to us. While I really miss that little bitty snuggly stage, it is so wonderful to see him grow, change, and learn more about his little world. He is quite a little talkative man. He uses a ton of words, or at least attempts them
(tractor is definitely only understood by mommy and daddy, but it is getting more intelligible). I guess that's what happens with your mommy is a speech therapist. Poor kid..it's almost like a speech session each day for him. He is also saying some two word phrases such as, "two shoes," "hi Nana," and "my bubba". I love hearing his sweet little voice, especially when he says "mama" and comes over and gives me a big hug~oh, there is just nothing better than that (except maybe when he says "wubwubwubu" for "love you", that really pulls at my heart, too). His new thing is to give us "family hugs"....If I say "family hug" he will pull both of us in for a huge bear hug...so charming already :) He definitely has mommy wrapped around his little finger! I am so proud of all his new accomplishments, too. He is trying his hardest to jump..right now it more like a hop, but he keeps trying get both feet off the ground. Also, for the last month or so he has been very interested in the alphabet (he is loving Sesame Street and Super Why). Now he can pick out all the letters when you ask him to and he can name almost all of the letters and/or their sound names. I love helping him learn about the world around him...everything is a new discovery. I know these next 6 months will fly by, too, and before I know it we will be celebrating his 2nd birthday...absolutely amazing!!