Smith Family

David's 2 month appointment

2012-01-12T15:18:00.001-06:00

I was not shocked to see that he weighed 11lbs, 4 oz (26%) and 22.5" (14%) and head circumference 40cm (34%). He's growing great and hitting all the milestones for his age. So proud of you, baby!

New Years Eve 2011

2012-01-12T15:05:00.002-06:00

Emily and Nick had a Roaring 20's themed New Years Eve party. It was a BLAST! I was a little worried to leave both kids... Presley woke up from her nap that afternoon with a double ear infection. Mal was generous to keep a sick toddler and an infant who was still waking up every 3 hours through the night to eat. We had a blast and Cameron and I got 7 uninterrupted hours of sleep! It was glorious!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-12T14:56:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!! It started off with Presley's school Christmas party. Her teacher dressed them all up like elves and they sang a song to the parents. We then went to Birmingham for the week of Christmas. It was a lot of fun!! Bulldog and Nana came to town. Then, we went to Dallas for the week after Christmas. It was Baby David's first airplane ride. I was really nervous, just with all the germs around, but we did well. We had a lot of fun in Texas. We started off exchanging Christmas gifts with all the kids and mom and dad.

We went to Callaway Gardens before we headed to Birmingham to see all the lights. Presley loved it! Her favorite part was the frog jumping in the water.

Here she is at her Christmas party with Emmalynn.

Lea set out a craft table for Caden and Presley. It was Rachel's table when she was little. They loved it!

My little man on Christmas Eve!

First sink bath at G's house

First time meeting Bulldog! We've been so excited to get all the "David's" together!!

Meeting Nana for the first time.

The Lion King move...

The four generations of David Cameron Smith! We've been talking about this picture for months!

Our sweet family of 4 on Christmas Eve.

Putting out the oats she got from school for the reindeer to eat.

Christmas morning

Wearing one of Cameron's outfits from when he was little.

Uncle Wade worked really hard to win Presley's attention.

Hot-tubbing with Dallie. She woke up that morning, looked out the window and said "it's a nice day for the pool." So, Dallie heated up the hottub for her to "swim" in.

Here's all the pictures from Emily's camera. With 2 babies, I didn't hardly have a free hand to carry my camera around. These are a bit out of order for that reason.

The family all got to finally meet Baby David.

Had to post this one with her eyes...haha

Brynnie kind of let me hold her... it took a few days for her to warm up.

The mountain of presents.

Loving her Cinderella doll from her godfather, Nick.

And here's the tea set...

Learning to share it with Bryn...

Everyone opening up gifts.

Playing Guess Who, Cars version

Here's our cheesy couples pictures...

We let Presley and Liam sleep in the same bed for our Christmas Eve night. It was so sweet to hear them soothe each other. We had forgotten Presley's minnie mouse in Birmingham and she was so upset. It was awful to hear her cry for Minnie and no other animal soothed her. Liam was so sweet telling her Minnie was on vacation and would be there tomorrow.

In their fort

Me trying to get Bryn to let me hold her... not going well

At the zoo

Thanks to everyone for all the presents and memories. We had so much with both our families and were so glad everyone finally got to meet Baby David.

Baby David picture overload

2012-01-11T14:33:00.001-06:00

Emily had a mini photoshoot with Baby David. I LOVE so many of these and just could not whittle it down any more than this... He is growing like crazy! He started eating every 2 hours while we were on our trips and 3 hours through the night. Now that we're home, he seems to be able to go a little longer at night, but still eating every 2 hours during the day. We have his 2 month appointment tomorrow so I will update his stats then. He started talking a LOT, smiling and really looking at things. His favorites are the lamp and fan at G's house. He would stare and talk to them all day if we let him. He's such a happy, sweet boy!! The perfect addition to our family.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-15T13:45:00.003-06:00

Shocked Presley didn't cry this year. She did so good.

Mallie's Visit and Christmas Time

2011-12-09T18:49:00.001-06:00

We have had a busy few weeks!! Mallie came to visit us while Dallie was in Germany. We have had so much fun and have gotten so much done! I had a long list of things I needed to do while she was here and we ran ourselves ragged completing that list. I'm happy to say the Christmas shopping is done, PHEW! Here's some pictures of our week:

Mallie bought Presley a princess domino game and they have played several times. Presley told her, "This is the best game ever." I loved watching her learn and get excited to play.

St. Nick came to visit us this week before school. Baby David got a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer book that Presley has thoroughly enjoyed reading. She got a Mater Christmas book.

And she helped David open his stocking.

They got ornaments from their collection with their books.

We set aside Wednesday to bake cookies with Mallie. Presley was a big help in the kitchen! She tried pouring the peanut butter into the mixer. She told us while she was baking that her legs needed to go night-night... think she stood too long in the chair to see the counter.

Here is what Baby David was doing while we were baking... sweet little boy didn't want to lay down in his bed during the activities so he was in the vibrating chair in the kitchen with us.

Enjoying the fruits of her labor.

My sweet little man is starting to talk and smile more and more!

We got our Christmas tree on Monday so we decorated it this week. Presley hung her and David's new ornaments.

Presley had her school program this morning. Grandmom came down the night before to go with us.

Here's all the 2 year olds getting ready to sing.

My sweet girl did such a great job!! She knew every word and every motion.

They kept all the kids on the stage afterward so we could take pictures. I am so thankful for her school. It has been a great experience for her.

Tonight, we went to see Santa parachute in to the fields at Fort Benning. It was really cool! The pictures are blurry, but there was 6 parachuters with gold flares coming off their uniforms when they jumped.

We waited in line to visit with the Santa and all the other elf parachutists.

All year Presley has told us that she doesn't want to see Santa. We don't have a great history with pictures on Santa's lap, but this year she did great!! When it was our turn, she hesitated so I plopped her up there on his lap and told her to tell him what she wanted. He gave her a candy cane and that got her talking. She screamed, a dollhouse and a castle!

She didn't smile, but I am thrilled with these pictures!!

I wish David had been able to get his picture, too, but it was too cold. Thankfully, Mallie took him to sit in the car to warm up... it was a little too cold outside for him to wait in line with us.

Cameron and Mallie, then, took Presley to the housing office tonight to see Santa, Mrs. Claure and reindeer.

They ran into Presley's friend, Logan, and his family.

It's been a fun week!! We are sad Mallie is leaving tomorrow afternoon, but G and D are coming to town so that will be fun! We cannot wait for Christmas in a few weeks!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-04T14:18:00.001-06:00

Since I didn't take many pictures on Thanksgiving Day, this is really more a post of what we've been doing since Baby David was born. Things have been going really well, definitely busy. We sure didn't do anything fast before, but now we really don't go anywhere quickly. I can pretty much plan one morning activity (grocery, one errand, etc.) and that's all I can do before Presley's lunch and naptime at 1:30. Sounds pretty ridiculous, but it's definitely true. I haven't even taken many pictures lately, so I'm definitely going to work on that. Here's Pres and David snuggling in her bed.

David had his 2 week check-up and weighed 7lbs, 9 oz. He is doing wonderful!! He's a pretty easy baby. Loves his paci already, just like his sister. He loves to watch her. The other day all 3 of us were in my bathroom while I was getting ready. Presley kept bringing him toys. He just stared at her. She is a really good big sister. She constantly wants to know where he is and if he's crying, she loves to give him his paci...sometimes a little forcefully, so we're learning that only mommy and daddy get to do that.

This is Thanksgiving morning when she was watching the parade. She was so excited. We stayed in Columbus for Thanksgiving this year because Cameron had to work. Although, it's not like we could really go anywhere with a 2 week old anyway...

We ate lunch with Cameron's troop in the DFAC. Presley walked in and said it was beautiful when she saw all the Thanksgiving decorations. This is Cameron's First Sergeant and his wife (giving David his bottle while we ate).

Presley had a big time going through the buffet line and picking out whatever she wanted. (Wish we had gotten a family picture, but I was just happy I got all three of us showered and dressed that morning to meet Cameron on time.) I did cook a Thanksgiving dinner that night for our little family of four. I did not attempt a turkey (maybe one year), but made some sides and a dessert. It actually turned out better than I thought!

Here's some more pictures of my sweet boy. He is 1 month old today! I cannot believe how fast he's growing. I'm definitely trying to soak up this infant stage while it lasts. He weighed 8lbs, 14oz at his 1 month check up this week and he's already outgrown his newborn clothes.

Doing some tummy time.

Presley in her police officer hat. This is apparently what I look like when we leave the house now... car seat in one hand, diaper bag in other.

Her new Christmas jammies from Grandma Debbie. She loved reading the shirt.

I wish I had been better at taking pictures of all our visitors these past few weeks. Lea, David and Rachel came down for the Iron Bowl. Grandmom stayed with us and was David's first babysitter last week! And one of my best friends, Lindsey, drove over from Montgomery with her two kids to play one day. We have loved having all the company! Mallie is flying in tomorrow for a week and we couldn't be more excited!

Baby David Week 1

2011-11-15T14:28:00.001-06:00

David is now 11 days old! He already looks bigger to me... I'm really trying to enjoy this infant stage because he is already growing and changing quickly and I know he'll be a little kid before I know it! We're doing really well at home. The first week of his life we spent at the house. Cameron played a lot with Presley and helped me a lot around the house. Mallie was here all week helping me get caught up on sleep, cooking, running our errands, etc. I don't know what we would've done without all her help. Dallie got to come spend a few days with us, too! I know he's tired from driving them to GA from TN, flying back to Dallas, flying back to GA then driving back to TX. We really appreciate all their help and traveling back and forth.

Lea and Rachel got to come back in town, too, to visit us and Baby David. It was so nice that Rachel was able to come visit us so quickly after he was born. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family who will do anything for us!

Well, onto the pictures of my sweet boy! He's such a good boy- giving me 3-4 hour stretches of sleep at night and still nursing like a champ! He really only cries when he's hungry, which I can't really argue with. He is slowly starting to be awake a little more during the daytime. I think Cameron and I are both shocked at how many diapers this little guy goes through in a day! It is unreal!! Changing a boy diaper took me a few days and several accidents later to accomplish, but I think I finally have the hang of it. We love you, Baby David! You are the perfect addition to our family!

Daddy is already teaching him how to play the XBOX.

Cameron gave him his first bottle on Saturday. Probably not the best idea to do it while watching Auburn lose to Georgia, but maybe it helped make the game seem not quite as bad...

Cameron had to work Sunday and Mallie and Dallie left that morning to go back to Texas so I officially had my first day with 2 kids. It went surprisingly well (once I got over how tired I was). My only struggle was that Presley kept asking to go play outside. I was a little hesitant to take him cause Presley had some bad bug bites last week from playing at our park so instead I got her to paint some pictures. She was wonderful for me all day! I was so proud of her... she's a great big sister! She loves helping burp David and loves to see if his eyes are open or closed.

This is how David spent most of our first day together... pretty easy when they sleep so much!

Baby David

2011-11-09T17:00:00.001-06:00

Baby David Cameron Smith IV was born on Friday, Nov. 4, 2011 at 6:22pm. He was 7lbs even, 19" long and absolutely perfect! I was induced Friday morning at 6am at Martin Army Community Hospital at Fort Benning. Everything went pretty smooth for the most part. I definitely felt these contractions more than I did with Presley, but thankfully, everything went fine overall. He weighed 6lbs, 14oz by the time we left the hospital. I'm sure that had nothing to do with his marathon feeding the night before we left. This little boy loves to eat and definitely knows how to go through some diapers. He's doing really well already, we are very lucky!!

My sweet little boy!!

Lea and David came down Thursday night to be there for everything on Friday.

David the II and David the IV

Grandmom was there for David's birthday, too!

Our first picture together...

I was so happy to finally get to meet him!

Three generations of DCS!

Ready to go home!

Craig, Charelette and Caden stopped by Sunday afternoon when we came home from the hospital. We are so glad they were able to come meet David so soon and can't wait for the rest of the family to meet him!

Mallie, Dallie and Presley got back in town late Sunday night and are here all week playing with Pres and David!

Presley meeting her baby brother. She was a little hesitant at first.. it could have been all the traveling she did that day, partying she did this weekend or the sniffles that she had. Anyway, she warmed up after an hour playing with her toys and settling back down at the house. She now loves to look and see if his eyes are open or closed. She talks about him all day- introducing him to her favorite TV shows, making him some food out of her play kitchen and wanting to know what he's up to throughout the day. She's been a very big girl and I'm proud of her!

David got his first bath Monday night. Presley was so funny watching him bathe. She tried to soothe him while he was crying. I think she'll be a good helper for me!

Snuggling with his dada!

Yes, we've already started the paci or babu as Presley called it. He is nursing like a champ, but really likes to eat hourly overnight. I busted out the paci this week to try to get him to go longer between feedings. I'm happy to report that last night, he slept great! He gave me a 4 hour stretch and it made such a difference! We were having an issue with him peeing straight out of his diaper. It truly was amazing- he would manage to wet the onesie and pj's, but not touch the diaper.... thankfully his daddy and my friend Lindsey suggested going up a size in diapers and it totally fixed the problem! We went from changing 3 outfits in 2 hours to no changes last night!

Proud big sister photo session

Presley's funny face always makes an appearance in pictures these days.

Welcome to the world, Baby David!

We love you so much and can't wait to watch you continue to grow!!

Halloween

2011-11-02T14:54:00.005-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Halloween! Presley enjoyed it more than I thought she would. Mallie and Dallie got in town Friday afternoon to spend the weekend and wait on Baby David's arrival in case he was early... turns out, he's not going to be early, but at least we had a fun weekend.

Presley picked her costume this year. She went back and forth from Tinkerbell, a pirate, then settled on a T-Rex. Liam had the same costume back in TX which was so funny to me. I love that they share so many interests.

We trunk-or-treated at Cameron's Squadron Headquarters in the afternoon on Halloween. It was a lot of fun! Presley walked around to a few cars, then kind of lost interest and ran up the aisle a few times. I think her sugar high was kicking in big time!

Presley spent most of the time we were there eating... candy, hot dog, chips, then a cookie.

Cameron had to work late that night so we came home with Mallie to pass out candy. We didn't end up going trick-or-treating more that night. Presley did not like passing out candy at first, but she slowly got into it. She would say, "What costume is coming next, mama?" She loved seeing all the other kids dressed up.

In other news, I went to the doctor yesterday and am 2cm dilated. They went ahead and scheduled an induction for me on Friday, the day before my due date. I am so excited to finally meet our new baby!! Presley left this morning to go to Nashville with my parents for Alex and Tippy's wedding. It's going to be really weird not having her around for the next few days, but I'm glad I won't have to worry about her being neglected in any way while I'm in the hospital. I know she'll have lots of fun playing with Liam and Bryn and the rest of the family. I can't wait for her to get back Sunday and meet her new baby brother!

Halloween Fun

2011-10-27T11:32:00.004-05:00

We have had a really fun October and there's still a lot going on the rest of the month. We went to the Oktoberfest on base last weekend. Presley was very skeptical at first and really did not like the guys walking on stilts. She warmed up after we started throwing the beanbags and eating, naturally. Then, she got to pick a pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch, get a balloon animal and we couldn't get her out of the bounce houses. Later that day, Cameron carved our Halloween pumpkin. Presley loves going out at night with him to light it.

We went trick-or-treating at the Library on Wed for storytime. I was so proud of Presley cause she acted like such a big girl. She's starting to become shy like I was, but she was not shy about saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" after she got her candy.

This morning, she had her Fall party at school. They all got to wear their costumes to school, enjoy a class breakfast, then trick-or-treat while playing festival games. I decided her dinosaur fleece costume was too hot since it's getting up to 80 today! I thought she'd love to wear her Minnie Mouse costume from last year, but it's too scratchy for her! She kept saying, "Mama, it hurts me" when she had the dress on. So, we finally settled on an Auburn cheerleader. She wasn't thrilled about this either, but I guess the scratchiness of the polyester finally wore off when she saw everyone else's costumes. It was so nice that I could stay with her today and watch her at school. I am so proud of how well she listens to her teachers and participates in class. Here she is at playtime before the party started.

Eating breakfast with all her friends. Who wouldn't want Chick-fil-A chicken minis and some purple koolaid to start their morning.

Saying the blessing before she eats. I don't know if there is anything sweeter than watching your child fold their hands and close their eyes to pray... it was precious!

I think Circle Time is her favorite part of school. She sang all the songs with her teacher (days of the week, weather song, etc.) and even guessed the letter of the day.

Saying the morning prayer.

Lining up to go to the festival.

Bean Bag toss

Ring Toss, then getting her candy prize out of the bucket

Fishing...this was her favorite game by FAR!

Digging for candy

Class picture

We are so excited that Mallie and Dallie are coming to town tomorrow! Hoping Baby David makes an early arrival before Dallie has to leave, but we'll see. Otherwise, Presley will head to Alex and Tippy's wedding in Nashville with Mallie next week. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Cameron and I are going to make it since the baby will be really young or I could possibly still be pregnant. I am really not happy to miss my brother's wedding, but I don't think there's really any way around it at this point.... who would have thought the timing would work out like this. I am glad Presley will be there to get to see all the family and be their flower girl.

I go back to the dr early next week. So far, Baby David seems to be pretty content where he is. I'm hoping I'll be somewhat dilated by next week. Thankfully, we have lots going on to keep us busy and get my mind off being pregnant.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-14T17:18:00.002-05:00

Presley and I met our friends Jenny, Logan and Ethan at the pumpkin patch today. While there were not as many pumpkins as we were expecting, they had tons of playground equipment and houses made of hay for the kids to play on. We even got to have a picnic lunch. Presley was worn out when we left 3 hours later!

I was so surprised, but Presley was trying to touch one of the goats!

Baby David

2011-10-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

I had another ultrasound yesterday and Baby David is looking great!! He is BIG... measuring 7lbs, 3oz!! Keep in mind, Presley was 7lbs, 6oz at birth and I still have 3 weeks to go. Not sure how I feel about a possible 9-10lb baby, but we'll just hope for the best!

He is moving like crazy, every doctor I see comments about his constant kicking and pushing. He's definitely getting pretty cramped in there. Right now, he is still head down and basically folded in half, bless his heart. My heartburn seems to be getting worse and I am just really not sleeping at night. Turns out, he has a full head of hair! You could see it moving in the ultrasound. Can't wait to see what it looks like in person. I am getting very anxious to meet him!!

Kristin's Wedding

2011-10-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we got to go to Atlanta to celebrate one of my best friends's wedding, Kristin! I am so excited for Dave and Kristin and their new life. Thankfully, Lea and David were able to keep Presley for the weekend so Cameron and I could enjoy one last getaway and I could hang out with all my friends. It was a lot of fun!! It was a little tough being 36 weeks pregnant, but I'm so glad I was able to make it and that it was close to the house.

Here's all our husbands at the Rehearsal Dinner

Kristin had a trolley for the bridesmaids to take us to the church for pictures and the ceremony.

It was really fun!!

Kristin and her awesome mom, Sheila, arranged breakfast for us at the salon the morning of the wedding. It was nice to get to spend so much time with all my best friends... We don't get to see each other as much as we would like between our 9 kids!! My legs are starting to swell pretty bad these days so I was taking a break to prop them up at the salon.

Presley had a fun weekend! She spent Friday with Grandmom, Charelette and Caden at the science center in Birmingham. She touched a spider and a few other reptiles. I was shocked that she actually touched the animals, but she loved it. Here are her and Caden playing hide and seek under the dining room table at Lea and David's house.

Since I am now 36 weeks, we are definitely putting the final touches on baby David's room and getting everything ready. I am starting to slow down when I walk and breathing heavier than normal. It's all starting to catch up with me I think, but I am so excited to see him soon!!

Singing

2011-10-06T13:32:00.000-05:00

Presley learned "God Our Father" at school. It's so precious to me to hear her sing!!

Presley's Big Girl Bed

2011-10-03T14:35:00.004-05:00

Last Friday, we moved Presley to a big girl bed!! We have been talking about this transition pretty much all summer. It took a while to decide what size bed we wanted to move her to and whether or not we were going to switch her room. We moved her to our old guest room and kept the crib in her old room for Baby David to inherit.

I got all her clothes moved into the new closet and dresser earlier that week. Then, when Cameron got back from South Carolina Friday, he set up her bed, moved the other furniture and hung all her pictures and shelves. It looks really cute and I'm so proud of what a big girl she has become.

I was so worried about her getting out of the bed to play or wandering through the house at night, but she has done so well! She hasn't gotten out once!! I caught her reaching from the bed to her dresser one time, but that has been it. She looks so tiny in this big bed!

*On a sidenote, we have started braiding her hair daily because her clips kept falling out at school. Presley calls them her "parades." It cracks me up and something I will always remember her saying... it's so sweet and innocent.

Here is her big girl bedroom!

Since we moved her, I've been working on Baby David's room. I just love his bedding and colors!

I'll be 36 weeks on Friday. This child is already so much more active than Presley ever was! We were sitting in church yesterday and you can just watch his movements through my belly. It's so funny to think he already seems to have such personality! I've been having lots of trouble sleeping - mostly due to his constant movements and the heartburn that has returned. I'm so anxious to meet him, though!! Not too much longer!

Kristin's Bachelorette Weekend

2011-10-03T14:21:00.002-05:00

I got to sneak away to the beach again this summer to celebrate Kristin's Bachelorette party with all my best friends from college!! We had a great time! It was so nice to spend all day on the beach reading, catching up with everyone and relaxing. We don't all get to meet up often anymore, but it's so much fun when we do! Can't wait for the wedding this weekend!

(I mean, who wouldn't want a 34 week pregnant lady at their bachelorette party...)

Labor Day Weekend Part 1

2011-09-03T20:18:00.004-05:00

We had such a good start to our Labor Day weekend. We drove up to Birmingham Thursday night. Friday, we met Charelette and Caden at a bounce house to play. Thankfully, Cameron had the day off so he was able to chase Presley around while I took pictures and watched them play. I definitely don't think I have the energy for a bounce house anymore. The kids had a great time!

Then, that night we went to Cameron's uncle's wedding in downtown Birmingham. I was a little nervous that Presley was going to behave and be quiet during the ceremony. She was great!! We pretty much fed her and Caden the whole time and they were both very good the whole ceremony.

Caden giving Presley a kiss on her cheek and she was making him work for it.

Presley and Caden had a ball dancing!! Presley skipped eating her cake to dance, so that really shows you how much fun she was having.

Today, Cameron woke us up at 6:30 to head to Auburn for the opening game. It was Presley's first time to go to an Auburn football game. She had a really good time. She loved watching the eagle fly and Aubie. We had to leave at halftime cause it was definitely a little too hot for me. It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we finally got to take her to a game!

Family Vacation

2011-08-29T14:49:00.005-05:00

We just got back from a great family vacation!! I've been talking all summer how I wanted to go to the beach now that we are so close again. We planned a trip for my birthday weekend and invited our parents and Rachel to come, too. We had a GREAT time!! I think everyone needed a vacation for different reasons. It was nice to get to relax on the beach and have no real agenda everyday. Cameron has been gone so much this summer, it was nice to get to spend some time with him and our little family. We went to Orange Beach, AL and will definitely be going back as often as we can!

You may remember when Presley and I went to PCB earlier this summer with Libby and Parker, Pres would not walk in the sand and didn't really even like sitting in a towel on the sand. It took a morning to get her a little adjusted, but by the afternoon and the second day - she was a pro! She even walked in the sand!! I was shocked and so proud of her! She ran in it and took a walk along with beach with Dallie by the afternoon. She did great and it was nice to see her enjoy the beach. She loved jumping the waves and being in the water with everyone.

Mallie is cheering her on for walking back to the towel from the ocean.

Enjoying her new beach chair from G and D.

Enjoying dessert one night after finishing her meal.

This is love.... Pres and Rere traded Todo for Minn Mouse one morning.

Presley and I enjoyed our virgin strawberry daiquiris out of the margarita machine that Dallie brought.

Mallie taught her to spit the salt water out when it got in her mouth- think that's what she was doing in this picture.

Cameron and I got to enjoy a dinner out on my birthday thanks to the 4 grandparents! I'm sure Presley wasn't spoiled at all when she went out to dinner with all them without us...

Enjoying some birthday cake

Playing in her princess dress

We had such a fun trip and are really thankful everyone made the drive down (especially Mallie and Dallie since it was a full 11 hour drive for them!) We are glad to spend time with each of you and get to relax a little bit! Hope to do it again in 2012 with Baby David!!

Some Good Stories

2011-08-20T13:27:00.002-05:00

I wanted to document some good lines that Presley says and some of her favorite games at this age:

-Mama, let's play the louder game. I say Yo Gabba Gabba and you say Louder... then, she shouts Yo Gabba Gabba.

-Mama, I have an idea.... let's play hide and seek or another game she comes up with.

-After I picked her up for her first day of Mother's Day out, she says "I missed you mama. That was fun."

-When I'm telling her to stop playing in the back of the car and to get in her car seat, she looks at me and says, "Be patient, mama. I'm going to count to 3 then you go to the naughty spot."

-Walking to bathtime down the hallway, "Mama, you follow me. Now, I get behind you."

-At the playground, we were sitting by a little girl that was stuck climbing. She was yelling for her mommy who was across the park and Presley said, "maybe my Rachey can help you."

-"Mama, you can be my best friend" as she pats me on the back.

-We were putting her in her jammies after bath. I pulled our her yellow Lightning McQueen t-shirt for her to wear and a random pair of pajama pants. She said, "Those pants don't match my shirt." I told her, "I don't have any pants that do match this shirt." She said, "yes, you do" and proceeded to pull out a pair of yellow shorts. I guess they technically did match since they were the same color...

-When I put her down the other night, she was crying. I told her she was fine and that if she needed anything, I would come back. She started screaming, "I need anything..." Then, I started laughing so she did, too.

-One of her new favorite games is makeup. We put nail polish on each other's nails, powder on our faces, eye shadow on eyes, etc.

-Lately, when we go on walks, she says, "When you see a squirrel, say squirrel" just like they do on Dora.

-After her first day of school, I asked what she got in her lunch. She listed off everything, then her cookie. Then, she told me she ate it first before her other food.

-She likes to say "Mama, I'm going to tell you a story." Then, she'll talk about her day. And, she'll ask me to tell her a story about my day.

-When I asked her what my name is, she said Mama Elizabeth Smith.

Presley's First Day of School

2011-08-17T12:12:00.005-05:00

I signed up Presley for a Mother's Day Out program in Columbus this school year. She goes two days a week and I pick her up right after lunch. I was really excited about her getting in this program because I feel like it'll give her some stability and something to be excited about once Baby David makes his arrival and she no longer gets my undivided attention during the day. I also wanted her to be able to have a good group of friends. We had such a great playgroup back in Dallas and I know I miss seeing the same people at playdates and all our friends we had. We have made a few friends here at Fort Benning, but, unfortunately, most of them are only here for 6 months at a time. Since we were going to be here longer, I thought it'd be really good for her to have a full year in school and hopefully learn a few things. It's at a Methodist Church and I am glad she gets to be in a Christian environment.

I don't know which of us was more nervous yesterday for her first day.... Keep in mind, she has never been left with anyone other than family for any occasion. We've been very fortunate, butI knew that wouldn't last forever. We had met her teacher and a few of her classmates on Friday at the Open House. Yesterday, we were outside looking at her name on the wall and talking to some other girls that were going to be in her class. The teacher came to the door and opened it and Presley walked right in! I was shocked, she didn't even look back. I stood there for a minute watching her as she started playing with the baby doll and crib set. I was so excited she wasn't crying, but I was really shocked she just walked in... guess she was ready to be left alone after all. I called to check on her and they told me she was having a wonderful day and was the teacher's helper all morning. I am so proud of her for being such a big girl!! She didn't have any tears all day! When I picked her up, she gave me a huge hug and said "I missed you mommy, that was fun." She told me they played outside, played with water and ate lunch. I asked if she ate her lunch first or her cookie first and she told me the cookie.... guess we'll have to work on that!

I am so glad she is excited to go back tomorrow and that she had a fun day! She is such a wonderful kid with a great personality...I almost don't want to share her with anyone else. I know this is so good for her, though. Presley, I am so proud of you!! I love you very much!

Thanks, Mallie, for her awesome backpack! It definitely made getting ready for school more exciting yesterday. And, she loved her Tinkerbell lunchbox she picked out!

PCB 2011

2011-08-01T12:54:00.002-05:00

Our best friends, Libby and John, moved to Germany earlier this year. We miss them a lot!! Libby and Parker, their daughter, came back to visit this month. We got to go to Panama City with them this past weekend. It was a blast! It was so nice to see them again, to catch up and have the girls play now that they're older. Here's some pictures of our weekend.

Libby's Aunt Kay and her mom were super helpful with Presley and Parker!! Presley would not walk in the sand, even with her water shoes on! So, Kay and Ebby would carry her down to the towel or chair for me. She made little progress by our last day there. I finally got her to shovel sand into a bucket, but that was really the only way she'd consider even touching it. Hopefully, she'll do better on our next beach trip later in August.

Ebby would take the girls out in the boat to ride the waves. Parker loved it!! She would take off running right for the waves. Presley rode in the boat for a little while, but then realized the sand was right there...

We had a blast and are so glad they are still in town to play this week!

Lately

2011-07-26T15:40:00.008-05:00

We've been pretty busy the past few weeks. Cameron has been home from his 9 week assignment at Fort Bliss. Presley has been attached to him since he got home. It's really cute to see her so excited to play with him. The first morning he went to get her out of bed and when he walked in she said, "Hi Momma.... wait, you're not momma, you're dada!" He is definitely her best friend right now.

He gets his hair done, gets to play princess and doctor and all her favorite games.

We went to Birmingham last weekend. Lea and David were watching Caden for the weekend so we got some quality time with him, too. He and Presley are so funny together. They both are obsessed with doing puzzles and games on the ipad. Thankfully, Cameron has one now so they didn't have to share. They were a big help icing Cameron's birthday cake, too!

We celebrated Cameron's birthday this week since he has to go to Fort Knox for 3 weeks. Presley was a big help making his cupcakes. After dinner and his gifts last night, she said "We had a great party tonight." We're sad we won't see him on his actual birthday, but we've had fun celebrating with him this week.

She's in a big princess stage right now. She loves watching the Tinkerbell movies or wearing her princess dress-up clothes. Mallie started giving her Princess Hair when we were in Dallas, so now she requests that almost on a daily basis. We even wear our tiara to the commissary sometimes. She still loves her dinosaurs and Lightning McQueen, though. Thanks to Liam, I think she will keep these interests for a while. It's really cute to see how excited she gets to show Liam her new Mater t-shirt when we skype. And Liam replies with "Wow, Pres, that is so cool." I'm glad we get to skype with them often cause they really are best little friends.

She's also really into playing doctor. She cracks us up by saying "You be the patient, I'm princess doctor. What hurts patient?" It's hilarious to hear her think about these things and know which tool checks blood pressure, temperature, etc. This is one of her favorite pretend games right now. She also enjoys her play kitchen. She will cook up a storm for us, then push the grocery cart full of play food around and us what we want to eat. She makes coffee for dada and water for mama. She even does her dishes now while we'll clean ours. She's at such a fun age and truly makes us laugh constantly by saying some of the funniest things.

I am now 25 weeks pregnant. I am so anxious to meet our little boy. Presley seems to like the idea of having a brother so far... I know that will probably change. She keeps saying "When Baby David come out of your belly, he gonna play with me." She really enjoys going to my appointments with me and hearing his heartbeat. So far, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful. I still have a few weird food aversions and little bouts of nausea, but overall am feeling well. He was breach the past few weeks, but has now turned. Hopefully, he won't turn back. One of the ultrasound technicians took this 4D picture of his face for us. It's so precious!! Can't wait to see him in person!! He already seems to be extremely active...makes me a little nervous for my future!

Presley had her first dentist exam yesterday. She did much better than I expected!! We watched an episode of Dino Dan (yes, it's her favorite show) where he went to the dentist too. She kept saying that she was also going to see a T-Rex at the dentist. I decided to take her stuffed T-Rex from D and G. That seemed to work. It was a great office, though. She laid back in the chair, put on her headphones and watched Lightning McQueen! It was all good till the dentist moved the chair and she realized something was about to happen. She pulled it together though and thankfully, he was very fast examining her teeth! I can't believe how grown up she is!!

More Summer Pictures

2011-07-19T13:54:00.010-05:00

Presley and I finished our summer travels last week. We had so much fun visiting family and friends all summer long, but it is nice to get home and unpack... and of course to have Cameron back home! He flew in last night and Presley has been attached to his hip ever since. It's really sweet to see how much she missed him and how excited she is to have him around again.

Here's the last of the pictures from our summer.

We went over to my best friend, Liz's house, in Dallas to swim one morning. Presley and Caitlin had a lot of fun in the pool together.

We went to the zoo with Mallie, Dallie, Emily, Nick, Liam and Bryn one weekend. It was a blast!! Presley just loves animals and it wasn't too hot since we got there first thing in the morning.

We met some of our great playgroup friends at the Indoor Safari park the day before we left. Always have fun with this group~ of course, Presley just wanted the pizza while we were there.

We had dinner with Dal, Emily and Nick's fam, and Daniel came to join the night before we left. Daniel read Pres and Liam some Cars books. It was a nice time right before we had to fly out the next morning.

When we got home, Presley was so excited to see all her toys and her room again! She got a letter in the mail from Bulldog and Nana. They sent her some coins for her piggy bank which she immediately deposited!

Here's some other pictures off Emily's camera from our summer trips to Dallas...

Hugs after bathtime one night. It's so nice getting to spend the night at Emily and Nick's, too. Liam and Pres have so much fun together and love seeing each other again in the morning.

Ashley and Mia had our playgroup over to their pool one Friday. I miss all these kids and their mommas a lot!! Such a great group!!

Our old playgroup also planned a shower for Lara and Alison (due in Nov and Aug) and included me and Baby David in that shower, too! I was so honored and touched they wanted us to join. We really had such a great group of moms in our playgroup in Dallas. They are all so sweet and thoughtful and truly care about Presley and me. We miss all our friends!! thank you all for the gifts and coming to play with Presley and I while we were in town!

Two good pictures to end on...

Our Weekend with Daddy

2011-07-05T15:47:00.007-05:00

Cameron got to fly in and meet us in Dallas for the Fourth of July weekend. We had a great time with him and family. We took Pres to see Cars 2 Friday morning. It was her first movie ever and she did pretty well. I will say the plot was definitely not what I expected and really was meant for an older child. She loved the seats and the popcorn.

We spent the rest of the weekend in the pool.

Dallie got a new giant margarita machine so the boys were pretty festive all weekend :) Mallie and I enjoyed our virgin peach and mango drinks. This machine will definitely be going on our family road trips in the future.

Pres really has missed her daddy. It has been a month since we got to see him on Memorial Day. She snuggled with him and wanted him to put her to bed, pat her back, etc. It was really sweet to see her love on him. We're excited that he's almost finished with his assignment in El Paso and we'll be meeting back in Georgia soon.

We visited the snowcone lady one afternoon. It was very hot out and the snowcones were the perfect treat!

Presley even got a cool, tie-dyed Snow Cone lady t-shirt.

Dallie playing with 2 babies who each have an Ipad.

We celebrated the Fourth of July by dropping daddy off at the airport then heading to a waterpark. I didn't carry my camera around so I didn't get any pictures, but Presley had a ball! She was soaked by the time we left. She did the lazy river a few times and played in the kiddie splash park and slides all morning. That night, we went to the Frisco Roughriders baseball game. She loved the popcorn and hot dog and of course, the dip n dots.

Standing up to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

They played a song for each branch of the military and had the family of military in that branch stand up and clap. Presley proudly stood up for her daddy for the Army song. We are very proud of him for all his service and sacrifice over the years.

This morning, Mallie took me, Presley and Amelia to the American Girl store and Bistro. Presley put on her pretty dress, took Min Mouse and my Grannie's old leopard purse for her day out.

She was in HEAVEN at this store! She lined up all these baby dolls and would go down the row hugging them and talking to them.

Then, we went upstairs for lunch. If you don't bring a baby, they let you pick one out to borrow for lunch. They give you a highchair for the baby and serve them water in a cup and saucer.

We had a great time at the store!! It was so fun to see Presley light up playing with all the dolls. She's so maternal already. I know she's going to be a great big sister and can't wait to see her play with Baby David.

Kentucky Visit

2011-06-27T19:38:00.009-05:00

Presley and I drove up to Nashville, then Kentucky last week. It was a great trip!! I didn't get any pictures of Pres with kiki, but she had a ball at their house. Kiki and Pres watched So you think you can dance one night and had a ball dancing to the songs. She loved playing at Kiki's and eating all the fruit she bought for her. Thanks for everything, Kiki. Next time, I have to get a picture of you two!!

I don't get up to Louisville too often, so it was wonderful to go for a week and see all my extended family. We stayed at Mark and Julia's house. Max and Olivia were the BEST babysitters all week! They are Presley and Liam's best friends now. Presley seems like she has grown up so much these past few weeks. She's talking really well and really starting to understand things better. She amazes me sometimes with what comes out of her mouth. Here they are playing follow the leader.

Eating a cupcake at Uncle Kevin's house.

The girls all in their matching jammies with Mallie.

She got her first barbie doll from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Toni. She got the Sleeping Beauty one and told Mallie it looked like her.

We didn't get to see Cameron for Father's Day, but we did get to celebrate with Dallie, Pop and Mark. I wish we could've seen Cameron, even just for the day. He is such a wonderful father to Presley. She loves him so much and he has taught her so much in 2 short years. He truly has devoted himself to our family and is a better father than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for all you do for our family! Especially, sitting in the desert heat in El Paso for 9 weeks straight! We miss you and can't wait to see you this weekend!!

Presley loves vents in houses... she is often sitting on top of them or putting her hair over it so it can blow in the wind. Here is Barbie's hair blowing in the wind.

Olivia did Presley's hair "like a princess" one day. She looked so pretty with her tiara. Needless to say, we are in a total princess phase right now. She loves playing dress up in her princess dresses and watching princess movies.

Cameron sent Uncle Tim his sniper suit he made back when he was in OBC at Fort Bliss. Here is Max decked out in the suit. Liam is trying to find him...

Pres followed everything Sam did this afternoon. It was hilarious to watch her mimicking him.

Playing with all my cousins at Uncle Tim's house. It was so nice to be around all these people again!! I have missed them all so much and wish we lived closer and could hang out like this more often.

We took the kids to a splash park one day. Bryn loved it!

Mal, Debbie and Tim babysat one night so all the cousins could go to dinner. Tim made a boat out of this rubbermaid and the kids were entertained for hours!

At dinner

We also met my cousin Jill and her triplets at a bounce house one day! We had 10 kids between 4 adults... a little crazy!

We drove to Birmingham this weekend on our way back down to Georgia. We got to have a birthday party for Caden and played with D, G and Rere and see all their pictures from their trip to Italy. It was a nice night!

We had a birthday party on Saturday near Columbus for one of my best friend's from college, Abby's, 3 kids. It was so nice to get to see her and all their family!! I wish they lived in Georgia still so we could hang out weekly, but we have gotten to see them more lately than ever so I'm not complaining... here's one of the birthday boys, William.

Presley did not nap all day so she was pretty worn out after partying...

Bulldog and Nana stopped by on their way home from Florida last night. We had a wonderful visit. Bulldog read Presley numerous books before bed and Nana brought Presley lots of treats. It was a wonderful night. I'm glad we're close enough to be able to get to see them more than once a year now.

Our travels aren't quite over, but we will get to see Cameron this weekend. I know Presley is SUPER excited to see him. She has been talking about him a lot the past few days. I do feel like we've traveled a little too much cause tonight she was telling me she wants to go home... I had to tell her we are home. I know she's enjoyed being surrounded by other people, especially all the kids. We've had some really good trips, but are anxiously awaiting seeing Cameron this weekend then shortly after that for good!! Thanks to both our families for everything the past few weeks, especially Big D for taking care of Marge and Phil so Presley and I could travel! It has been a huge help not to worry about them or leave them at a vet's office. I know they've enjoyed being in Birmingham and playing with him.

Our day with Caden

2011-06-09T20:34:00.003-05:00

Lea and David kept Caden today so we had a big day planned! It all started off great! The kids played in their jammies while watching cartoons this morning.

Then, we went to the Galleria to ride the carousel. We got there a little early, so the kids got to do a little shopping,

play in the train,

and ride the escalators (several times).

Then, the carousel opened! It was the longest carousel ride of my life, but the kids loved it.

We stopped for a snack at a table in the food court after our ride when Caden fell out of his chair. It was so sad and he ended up at the ER with a fractured elbow. I am glad he's doing better now, but it was so sad to see how bad he was hurting earlier. We are praying he gets a good night sleep tonight and that his arm heals.

Texas Trip

2011-06-08T13:56:00.014-05:00

Cameron had to leave for a long temporary assignment so Presley and I headed to Dallas for 3 weeks. We stayed with Emily and Nick for the first half and my parents for the last. We had a great trip! It was so nice to see all our playgroup friends and my family again! Presley and Liam are really cute together right now. They weren't fighting quite as much as usual and they have so many common interests (Lightning McQueen and dinosaurs in particular) and they get so excited to share that with each other. Presley really got to play with Bryn, too! Bryn is starting to really play with toys and interact more with the bigger kids. It was so sweet to see Pres and Liam smile and play with Bryn.

Here's Pres and "Brynnie" (as she now calls her) in their matching outfits.

Pres and Liam took private swim lessons together while we were in town every afternoon. They not only LOVED swimming, they actually learned a lot from their teacher.

Pres is sitting on the seat in the train with our old playgroup friends at the new indoor safari park in Plano.

Hanging out at beach area with Meredith and her kids, Jackson and Emma Kate.

Pres and Jackson had the same idea... eat snacks pretty much the whole time!

Presley's buddy, James. They play so well together. I know she's missed all our playgroup friends! It was so nice to jump right back in and get to play with everyone.

Bathtime with the cousins at Mallie's house.

These were our water wings when we were little. My mom kept them and Presley and Liam swam so well with them. I am thrilled to be able to let her go in the water when she has these on and not feel like I have to hold her. Cameron got to fly in for Memorial Day weekend and we spent the whole weekend pretty much out at the pool.

Picnic lunch after swimming all morning.

Presley was such a big helper with Baby Bryn. She'd bring her toys if she got fussy or sing to her in the car. She even helped wash her hair!

We went to Mia's pool one day and played with Mia and Cate. These two girls have always made each other laugh and played so well together. It was great to get to hang out with Mia and her mommy. We sure do miss them!

Uncle Nick taught Pres how to play tee-ball...

then they mowed the grass.

Since they share so many interests, Pres and Liam even have matching Lightning McQueen pj's. I don't have a picture, but Emily does on her blog. These are their dinosaur pjs.

Here's an action shot from swim lessons.

Blowing bubbles...

Pres got sick the weekend before we left town. Liam came over to comfort her and play. She definitely perked up when he came.... especially when he brought doughnuts.

Dancing while Uncle Alex plays the guitar

Having a snack before bed with Dallie.

Kristy, James' mom, got Presley some princess accessories for her birthday. She LOVES them and now wears her tiara, watch and princess hairclips all the time!

Our visit ended with a champagne toast because Amelia and Daniel got engaged last weekend! We are so happy for them and excited for their future. Congratulations!

It's a...

2011-05-28T16:58:00.004-05:00

BOY

Since Cameron is in El Paso for 9 weeks, we met in Dallas for Memorial Day weekend. We were going to find out the gender in June. Since Cameron was going to be gone then, we were just going to get them to write it down and open it up when he got back to GA. I decided to get a basic 2D ultrasound just to determine gender. I uploaded the picture on Cameron's Ipad that we got him for Father's day. So, he opened it Thursday night when he arrived in town and it's pretty safe to say he was shocked! We would have loved either, but a boy was a huge surprise. Anyway, we are already starting to collect some blue since our house is totally covered in pink now! I've just started to feel his movements and kicks. We are really excited to meet him!!

Rachel's Graduation and Texas!

2011-05-21T14:28:00.004-05:00

Rachel graduated from Auburn two weeks ago. We are so proud of her and can't wait to watch her in action as a nurse!! It truly seems to be a perfect field for her. Congratulations, Rachel, on such a wonderful accomplishment!!

Cameron had to fly out that morning so Presley and I went to Auburn and really enjoyed the day! Presley and Caden did wonderful through the whole ceremony. It helps a lot that Lea brought the ipad, new coloring books, popcorn, etc. and it was outside so they could be loud and move around.

Here's Rachel on the jumbotron... just like Cam Newton :)

Here's Presley pretending to be a lion tamer to Phil. Flashback to Cameron when he was younger...

Since Cameron was going out of town for a while, Presley and I headed to Texas to visit family. We have been hanging out with Liam a lot. Emily had our old playgroup all over Friday morning. It was a blast! It was so nice to see all my friends and I know Presley really enjoyed seeing her friends, too!

Pres and Mia, BFF for Life!

Presley and Bryn wore their matching outfits from Grandma Debbie! Precious!

I think a minivan might be in Emily's future... we managed without it today, though!

We ventured out to a new indoor trampoline park today. Emily took more pictures, but I have one of Pres flying down the slide.

We're having a great trip and are excited to see Cameron, Mal and Dal this week!

Mother's Day weekend

2011-05-08T13:30:00.004-05:00

I've had a really nice Mother's Day weekend! Unfortunately, Cameron and Presley have both been pretty sick. Presley's thankfully over hers, but she passed it on to Cameron Friday. We've been snuggled up in the house watching a lot of movies. Last night, we watched Tangled. Presley watched the entire first hour completely enthralled with the princess and castles.

We also played out side yesterday with her water table and the sprinkler. She had a BALL! It was really our first day of hot weather.

She's been watching Sid the Science Kid and learned what a magnifying glass was. Yesterday, she told us she was looking at the bugs with her magnifying glass (mirror). It's so neat to watch how her little mind soaks up information she hears once or twice.

Cameron's parents and Rachel came in town today for our Mother's Day brunch at the Officer's Club. It was really nice... Presley and I may not be invited back to a buffet. She ate one really good plate of veggies and meat. Then, she found the dessert/doughnut table and there was no turning back. I think she had 4 plates of desserts! Her favorite was the pretzel sticks dipped in the chocolate fountain, her powdered doughnut and the eclair.

Having a dance party with Rere at the house.

I've had a great Mother's Day!! I wish I could've seen my Mom, but I'm glad she had a nice brunch with the rest of the family. Thank you to all the great moms who are role models in my life. Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Fun Weekend

2011-04-30T17:51:00.005-05:00

I have been really impressed with how kid-friendly Fort Benning is. There are tons of parks and lots of base activities like kindermusik, gymnastics, storytime, dance, soccer, etc. Last month, we went to the Bark in the Park... no, we didn't get a dog. Presley just loves to watch them and they served hot dogs and cookies. Last night, there was a safari zoo on base before the movie in the park. We couldn't do the movie because it starts after Presley is already in bed for the night, but we decided to go check out the zoo. They had a bunch of rescue animals in cages we could look at. Mine (and Presley's) probably favorite part was the food :) We had lots of popcorn, cotton candy and she had a snowcone.

Today we went to Dunkin Donuts, as usual Saturday routine. Then, we went to the Columbus museum and she played in the children's area. She had a big day and topped it off with "pink" (strawberry) ice cream at the PX. She's had quite a weekend!

We've been taking afternoon walks and riding on her new bike she got for her birthday. She loves wearing her helmet (probably because it has Lightning McQueen on it) and cruising the neighborhood.

Easter

2011-04-26T08:26:00.006-05:00

We celebrated Easter Sunday (Presley's official birthday) in Birmingham. We had a lot of fun! She woke up to a basket with lots of exciting things inside. She loved opening the eggs and getting out candy.... she ate more than I realized that morning! Then, we headed to church and she actually sat quietly through most of the service. She discovered that we would let her leave if she said she had to potty so she did ask to go 3 times during the hour-long service, but otherwise, she behaved and was quiet. Then, we had lunch at the Smith's with Bulldog, Nana, Cheryl, David and Lea's sister and her children. It was a nice time and I ate 2 plates! I was glad to finally eat and it settled well! We let Presley nap there so we could visit longer with everyone and we headed back to Georgia when she woke up.

It was a fun, jam-packed weekend!

Putting the flower in the cross just like Cameron used to do when he was younger.

Time to hunt eggs!!

Modeling our new "heels" she got for her birthday present.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Presley's Birthday

2011-04-26T08:03:00.007-05:00

Presley turned 2 on Easter Sunday this year!! We celebrated by going to Birmingham for the long weekend and staying with Cameron's parents. Presley loves the zoo so we took her there on Saturday with all Cameron's family. She had a BALL! Right when we got there, she started listing all the animals she was going to see that day and the noises they make. It was great to see her so excited. After the zoo, we went to the Smith's and had pizza and cupcakes. She was WAY excited about the pizza and practically inhaled her 2 pieces! We went to Party City a few weeks ago and she picked out a Lightning McQueen/Dinosaur themed party. We had a Lightning McQueen banner, plates and dinosaur toppers on the cupcakes. I think she had a wonderful birthday!

Getting a snack with Caden

When we were singing happy birthday, she burst out into tears... I think it was a combination of a lot of people watching her, being pretty tired from the zoo and late for her nap.

She perked right up for her presents, though!

Happy Birthday, Presley!! I cannot believe you are 2 years old! Your mommy and daddy love you so much!!

Baby Smith #2

2011-04-20T12:52:00.002-05:00

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting our second baby. I wish I could post our ultrasound pictures from today on here, but we don't have our scanner/printer set up. We got to see the baby and he/she was moving all around for part of the pictures. We were able to see the two halves of the brain, the knees, feet and hands and hear the heartbeat.

Presley went to see the ultrasound and was a little distracted while we were all watching the computer screen. We told her that was the baby and she said it was her baby brother... guess we'll see! She goes back and forth on that a lot. Usually, she says it's a baby sister, though. We will definitely be finding out what we're having around 18-22 weeks.

I've been pretty nauseous, but hoping that goes away really soon. Shockingly, all that sounds good is chocolate and carbs. Poor Presley watches me eat a Snicker bar almost daily each morning. She asks for bites and I tell her it's mommy's medicine... I feel horrible, but literally it's all I can stomach first thing in the morning. Once I get something in my stomach, I feel a lot better. I'm almost 12 weeks so we're excited to be moving into the second trimester and hoping all the nausea is gone soon!

Mallie and Dallie come to visit!!

2011-04-18T14:10:00.010-05:00

My parents came to visit this weekend. We really had a great time and are SO sad they left this morning! We celebrated Presley's 2nd birthday (a week early), went to Auburn for the A-Day scrimmage game, ate out at some new restaurants, played outside a lot and showed them all around the base. I'm really glad they came out to see our new house. Presley was beyond excited to wake them up every morning! She loved having them here and I'm really glad we have our trip back home already booked so it won't be too long till we see them again.

She got her birthday presents the first morning they were here.... boy, was she excited!

Nick, Emily, Liam and Bryn got her this cool car ramp and Lightning McQueen and Mater cars. She LOVED them!

Mallie got her a special doll named Abby. Presley usually calls her Baby, but is warming up to the name Abby.

Grandma Debbie got Presley another precious outfit!! and this wooden apple pie. She's been a baking machine with this pie! Thanks, Grandma Debbie!!

We had a ball playing outside a lot of the weekend. The weather has been really nice here!

We went to Auburn on Saturday for the A-Day scrimmage game. It was Presley's first time to visit Auburn and first (of many) stadium experiences. The game was at 3pm our time... needless to say, Presley did not take a nap that day. She got so excited in the stadium watching Aubie and having fun with all our family and friends who were there. Thank you to Tippy and Alex for this adorable outfit they gave Presley. It arrived just in time for her to wear it to A-Day!

We had a little Easter egg hunt in the front yard when we got back that afternoon. She closed her eyes while we would hide the eggs.

We celebrated her birthday Sunday night by grilling out and eating special cupcakes Mallie and Mommy made for Pres.

We had a really fun weekend and can't wait for Mallie and Dallie to visit again. We're excited for Easter this weekend, spending time with everyone in Birmingham and Presley's actual birthday Sunday!

Settled in Fort Benning

2011-03-31T19:52:00.007-05:00

We officially moved in our house at Fort Benninng on March 21. Moving was not an easy process. The first day Presley sat here with me as they carried the boxes and furniture in all day. They put together all the beds and furniture for me, though. They would have unpacked us, but there was really no where for all our things to go. Cameron and I took the week to finish unpacking everyday after he got home from work. We are both VERY glad to have gone through all our boxes and be pretty much finished with unpacking and moving in. I'll take some pictures this weekend to post.

Presley is adjusting really well. She likes her new room a lot. It helps that Shiney's barn is right next to her crib. She's also added like 3 animals to her bed, so there's not a lot of room for her. There's a park right by our house that we visit pretty much daily. We also have found a new storytime at the library on base. Cameron gets to come home daily for lunch with us and is usually home by 4:30 for the day. That's been really nice!!

She loved finding all her toys again as they were being unpacked and unloaded.

Our backyard- she loves sitting back here and watching all the neighbors' dogs.

This was today after nap... she woke up with a low fever, so we watched one of the movies we had checked out from the library and relaxed till dada got home.

Our Trip to Montgomery

2011-03-31T19:46:00.002-05:00

While we were in Birmingham, we decided to drive down to Montgomery for the day to play with my best friend from middle school-college, Lindsey!! And her precious little boy, Pollard. He is just 3 months older than Presley. They played SO well together, I can't wait to hang out with them again!!

Yes, that would be my child trying to eat the bubbles.... she still is eating like a champ!

Making each other laugh.... they were too cute together!

Transition Mode

2011-03-31T15:19:00.011-05:00

We are officially settled in Fort Benning, but I have a lot to catch up on how we got here... Our things were packed on Feb. 15. We moved over to Mallie and Dallie's house for about 2 weeks. Cameron left that first weekend to head to Georgia, but Presley and I got to squeeze in a few more playdates and some time with Brittany!! Brittany came in town and took me, Amelia, and Emily out to dinner and to a Body Art Ball sponsored by one of her products. It was a really fun night out for us girls and it was SO nice to catch up with Bitty!! Here's a pic of her and P at the bounce house the next day.

We went to our last gymnastics class with Mallie, Liam, Bryn and Em.

Attempted playing outside, even though it was pretty chilly still...

And got in as much playtime as possible with Liam and Bryn!

Then, we headed to Birmingham and moved in with the Smith's for 2 weeks while we waited for a house on base at Benning. We had a great time in Birmingham. We played with Caden almost every day!

This is Presley's new horse, Shiney. We found it shopping one day while I was looking at rugs for the new house. We left with the horsey and no rugs for mommy...

Presley is obsessed with dinosaurs right now (thank you, Liam :) She names most of them, or at least tries to. Charelette made her this precious shirt with a pink dino on it!! Presley was probably watching Dinosaur train in this pic below...

Here we are baking cookies with G. Lea was on Spring Break one of the weeks we were there. It was nice to get to play with her all day. We went to the park, lots of different story times and ate lunch out. It was a really fun 2 weeks!

Presley-isms

2011-03-10T20:40:00.006-06:00

Presley has had some funny sayings the past few weeks. I wanted to remember these so here they are:

Me- What do you want for your birthday?

Pres- Pizza!

Me- Ok, what else?

Pres- And... birthday cake!

Me- What kind, chocolate or vanilla?

Pres- Vanilla!

Me- What do you want for your presents?

Pres- A Sucker

Me- Ok, what else

Pres- Hmm, let me think what else (complete with finger to her chin thinking)

Prayers at Night:

Now I sleep, Pray the Lord, Now I sleep... Amen

Who do you want to pray for? she'll list various members of the family, usually hitting everybody. Lately, Santa, Bear, Hairbow and Min Mouse get shout-outs

My favorite phrase she says: I hold you (when she wants to be picked up).

She'll brush Cameron's hair and say "Oh, soooo pretty." She was reading her picture Bible and asked who the baby was. I told her Baby Jesus. She replies "Oh, he's so cute."

We had our first playdate here with some new friends today. We dyed Easter eggs and played outside. We started going to the storytime on base and she has really enjoyed it. They have 2 computers she likes to play the Dora game on and she does a craft after the stories and songs. Here's some recent pictures:

Playing with one of my best friends' son, Pollard.

Bye Bye Babu

2011-03-09T20:08:00.002-06:00

Presley had a major milestone on her road to becoming a big girl on March 2... she got rid of her babu (pacifier). Babu has been a lifesaver for her (and me) since she was born! Since she was about 1, we only gave it to her for nap and nighttime (and the occasional public meltdown).

On this morning, I got her out of the pack and play (since we were staying with my mom) and took her to potty. While she was sitting on the potty, she dropped it straight in the toilet! She went hysterical and screamed "Get it, Mama, Get it... Wash it, Mama, wash it!!" I proceeded to tell her, it was gone and we put it in the trash can. We kind of laughed about it all day and I'd ask her to tell people where babu went and she would say the Bathroom or the Potty.

Then came nap time.... I was so dreading putting her down and was fully prepared for her to not sleep and scream the entire time. Needless to say, I was shocked when she only cried for 5-6 minutes, then fell asleep. She did ask for babu several times and I just offered to pat her back. I felt so horrible taking the paci away in the midst of all the transition we were going through. We were living at my parents (and had been for a week) since our house was packed, then we left that Friday for Birmingham. She has done wonderful though!! I am so proud of this milestone in her life... trust me, this was a big one for us!!

In other news, we are still in Birmingham living at Cameron's parents. Cameron is working at Fort Benning, already, so we're getting to see him on the weekends. We are waiting on a house and hope to be settled soon. I am SO grateful for all our family over the past few weeks. It has been great to spend time with all of them and live with most of them :) We are so thankful that everyone has been helping us with so many things and giving us so much advice about moving, selling the house, etc.

We're Moving

2011-02-16T21:46:00.008-06:00

Recently, Cameron got orders to get back in the Army. It was a very bittersweet thing for us.... and something we always thought was a possibility. It's sweet because Cameron and I really enjoyed our time in the Army (minus the two deployments of course). We made some wonderful friends and experienced things we never would have without this career path. I have such a great appreciation for all our military after experiencing life near an Army base and meeting so many wonderful people who all are sacrificing so much for their country and others. I am honored to be part of the Army again and contribute what I can while Cameron is serving. It's also sweet because we will be very close to Cameron's family again. I look forward to Presley and Caden getting to play more often and share so many new experiences together.

It's a bitter thing because my whole family now lives in Dallas. It has been so wonderful to have all my siblings and their significant others here. We have been so spread out for so long, it's been so wonderful to do things together again and be such a big part of each other's lives. It's also sad because Presley and Liam have really gotten to grow up together this past year. They act like brother and sister (and fight like brother and sister). I love more than anything watching them hug and tell each other "I love you." They really love playing and ask for each other constantly... we usually play with them daily if possible. I missed growing up near my cousins and was looking forward to watching Liam, Pres and Bryn get to experience that. I also love watching Mallie and Dallie with Presley and her expressing her love for them. I am so very thankful that I have such a wonderful family.... especially during this transition in our lives. It is so nice to know that they all support us and recognize the sacrifice we are making. It is not an easy career, but I know this is a good choice for our family.

Mallie, Dallie, Emily and Nick threw us a really fun going away party last weekend. It was a great time to get to say goodbye to the friends we've made while living in Texas. We are going to miss all of you so much!! You all mean so much to us and we are so appreciative for all your support and extremely thankful for your friendship!

To all my playgroup friends, you all mean so much to me! I am so thankful I have had you in my life! You are all such wonderful friends and mothers. Your friendship means the world to me. Thank you for treating Presley like one of your own and welcoming us into the playgroup! We are going to miss all of you more than you will ever know!

And a HUGE thank you to Emily... I absolutely love the book you made for Presley of all her playgroup friends. It is such a great compilation of our group and each special child and their family. It makes me sad to think she's too young to remember a lot of our time in Texas because she has had so many wonderful experiences here. I can't wait to remind her of all the fun we've had... from coffee and storytime to park and home playdates- we have loved every activity!! Thank you all for being such wonderful, creative moms and making our playdates so much fun.

We had a very special Valentine's Day this year. Presley, Liam and Bryn got to spend a morning with Mallie. We went to gymnastics, then lunch out, ice cream and two carousel rides at the mall. They had a ball and Presley crashed that afternoon. Thank you, Mallie, for making our Valentine's Day so special! We are going to miss our mid-day playdates with you, but we will be back to visit often, I promise!

Goodbye to the Denney's and Gymnastics

2011-02-15T22:40:00.006-06:00

Our best friends, John and Libby, are moving to Germany at the end of the month with the Army. We are going to miss them SO much!! We went down to visit them one last time at Fort Hood. This is their little girl, Parker. It was such a great visit cause both the girls are now old enough to interact and play with each other.

Presley and Liam got a certificate for a free month of gymnastics so we started the lessons earlier this month. Mallie found the perfect leotard for Presley!! I wasn't expecting her to really catch on in these classes, but she has absolutely loved them! She listens pretty well to the coach and is learning flips, handstands and balance beam. It's a mommy and me class so we get to assist with each activity. I love watching her get excited to see the new group of friends and her coach and do each activity as he instructs.

Catching Up

2011-02-15T22:16:00.005-06:00

Oh I feel like I'm so behind on blogging.... to start we celebrated Emily's 30th birthday in Austin. We took all the siblings and had a really fun night out downtown! Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have, but it was a really fun night!

After that weekend, we got snowed in for a solid week. Then, again for 3 days the next week. It was nice to spend the week in our jammies, but it got old after 2 days. We spent lots of time watching movies, playing Mr. Potatohead, kitchen, and breaking in all of Presley's other toys. We managed to sneak out of our house and move to Mallie and Dallie's after 5 days in our house. It was so nice to see the outside world and some new faces. Liam, Nick, Emily and Bryn even came over to play for a bit. Here's Liam playing Doctor to Pres.

We also celebrated Dallie's birthday. Pres and Liam enjoyed blowing out the candles on Dallie's behalf.

Presley played beauty shop and used the same sponge rollers that Emily, Amelia and I all used growing up. She looked precious, and we didn't make her sleep in them like we had to.

My cousin, Brittany, and her husband, Sam, came in town for work and the Superbowl. It was a lot of fun spending the day with them. They got to play with Presley and Liam and attend our gymnastics class. It was so nice to be able to catch up with them!

Potty Training

2011-01-31T19:23:00.007-06:00

I completely forgot to blog about Presley's potty training! We trained her the first week in December and she has been in underwear ever since! On her 18 month birthday, she asked Cameron to go potty. We put her up there and she went. For about a month, we let her sit up there and she'd go a few times a day. Well, I finally bit the bullet when we got home after Thanksgiving and trained her. She looks SO cute in the tiny Minnie Mouse and Disney underwear. She picks out a pair each morning. I would post a picture of her in her undies, but her daddy has requested that not be blast out in cyberspace... understandable! This milestone definitely makes me feel like she's officially a little girl, no longer a baby. We are so very proud of her, though. She is such a wonderful little girl. We could not be more blessed!

Here's some other recent pictures:

Bryn was baptized on Jan. 16 and Cameron and I were asked to be her godparents. We were so excited and happy to be able to experience this milestone in her life. She is such a sweet, little baby. We can't wait to watch her continue to grow.

Afterward, we went to the Barker's house for the party.

Presley truly loves Bryn. She always points to pictures of other babies and calls them "Bryn." We talk about Bryn all day!

We have a great tradition with our playgroup- every Tuesday we meet for coffee when it's nice outside, then walk to storytime. Bryn has started going to storytime, too! We always hang out in the room afterward and catch up with our friends while the kids burn off some energy. I really do look forward to Tuesdays. Presley LOVES storytime, I mean I can't explain how much she loves it... mostly cause of the dancing and singing, but she's even started to sit and really listen to the books which makes me happy.

Liam had a big milestone this month- he got his first haircut! So, I decided Pres could use a trim, too. They sat in chairs across from each other and both did so good. Liam's hair looks so grown-up and little boyish. He still kept the curls, too!

Pres and Bryn in their matching outfits. About 10 seconds after this picture, Presley moved real fast and poor Bryn landed on the pillow. We're going to have to work on handling babies before she can officially babysit Bryn.

National Champions

2011-01-14T13:58:00.005-06:00

Cameron and I went to Phoenix last weekend for the Auburn vs. Oregon National Championship game. It was an incredible experience and we were so thankful my parents could watch Presley so we were able to go. It felt like college all over again (except that my 5 best friends from Auburn couldn't make it). We got to see so many people we haven't seen in forever. And best of all, we got to cheer our Auburn Tigers to a victory!! It was an awesome atmosphere and we were so glad to be a part of it.

Today is our 5th anniversary! I cannot believe it's been 5 years since our wedding. I still vividly remember certain parts of our wedding and reception. It has been a wonderful 5 years...we have been very blessed. I can't wait to see what the next 5 hold.

We ran into Cameron's cousin, Brent, while in Phoenix at a bar.

Tailgating before the game. These are all Cameron's fraternity brothers.

After the game. It gets really cold in the desert when the sun goes down...

War Eagle!!

Christmas

2011-01-06T15:25:00.012-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year!!! It was our first Christmas in Texas.
We had Christmas Eve dinner at Emily and Nick's house. We exchanged sibling gifts here. We have a WONDERFUL dinner that Emily prepared... who knew she could cook standing rib roast?? It was delicious and we all "respected" the meat :)

We stayed for a while and played some games.

We also had a Christmas pajama playdate with our friends. It was so much fun... we brought back Presley's pig tails. Her hair has gotten longer since we did this last.

Then, we also tried her

first ponytail!! I LOVED IT!

Mom found these outfits that Alex and Amelia wore when they were 2. They fit Presley and Liam really well.

Christmas morning, Presley woke up around 7:15. Mal, Dal, Alex and Amelia came over to watch her open gifts. She didn't quite know what to do.... she didn't really play with her toys until she was really sure they were hers. Her face was so funny! We had tea and croissants and lots of coffee. Then, the gang headed to watch Liam and Bryn open while we got ready for brunch at our house with everyone.

After brunch, we went to Mom and Dad's house. We opened all our gifts from them while the kids napped. Then, they did gifts when they woke up. Here is Presley modeling her new hat and apron for her kitchen.

She wore her cinderella dress the rest of the day! She loved standing on her new stool to model her dress. Quite the princess attitude!

We left on Monday morning to fly to Birmingham and have Christmas with all the Smith's. Presley loved having more presents to open. These were some of her favorite gifts from Lea and David- the Grinch and Max stuffed animals. They are now regulars in her crib for naps and nighttime.

We had such a great time in Birmingham. Presley and Caden got to play every day and had a blast together... it's so much fun seeing them interact now that they can actually play and interact with each other. They are too funny. They loved being chased around the kitchen, dining and living room in a circle.

They also loved playing the piano!!!

We had a playdate with all Lea's friends and their grandbabies. It was a lot of fun to see all the kids. They are all so cute and played really sweetly with each other. Presley was of course thrilled because they served ice cream and cupcakes :) Definitely the key to her heart. I think this was the picture when she looked at me and said "Happy."

Grandmom came to the playdate too! We loved playing with her. Presley is definitely at the age where she remembers seeing everyone and their names. It was so nice to see her interact immediately with everyone and not needing her "warm up" period. She loves all her family!!

Posing with Uncle Craig!! She had lots of fun getting Uncle Craig to give her treats and show her the cat.

Thanks, David and Lea, for everything! We had a wonderful trip!! We can't wait to see Rere, Craig, Charelette and everyone next time!!

A Lot to be Thankful For

2010-11-29T21:02:00.015-06:00

We have had a great few weeks. Libby, John and Parker came up to visit us in early November. Emily and Nick had baby Bryn November 6 and we've spent time with Grandmom, Nana, Bulldog and Big D. It was a busy month!

Here's Presley pushing Parker in the car. This was really the first time they've actually played together. They're both at such cute ages and have the best personalities.

Pres and Liam on a rainy day riding together to Toys R Us.

Cameron's Grandmom came to visit us the weekend before Thanksgiving. We haven't seen her since July. We had a lot of fun!! She was a big help to us and Presley- even bathed Presley for us one night and took her to potty! Presley loved playing with her and showing her all our fun activities in Texas. We sure do miss her, but it was a great visit. Looking forward to seeing her again after Christmas.

We went to see Santa's arrival one night at the shopping center near our house. Presley was not amused with Santa (even though he was on stage), but she loved the big tree and puppet show.

Grandma Debbie was in town, so we had everyone over to dinner one night. She brought Presley an early Christmas gift that Presley LOVES! I swear, she played with these cookies for 24 solid hours. Thanks so much, Grandma! We can't wait to see you again!

Presley and Mia at the train park.

Grandmom and Pres at the train park.

We traveled to North Carolina for Thanksgiving to see Cameron's other grandparents, Bulldog and Nana and Big D. We had a really great trip! It was so nice to see trees changing color and real leaves on the ground. Presley loved playing outside. The neighbors all had horses, miniature horses and cows. We took walks most days to visit all the animals. It was a really great trip and we hope to go back to visit soon!

Presley and Big D had a big time playing together! We are so glad he got to come see us and visit with Presley.

Giving Nana BUMPS! Nana cooked for us all week. We all ate very well- especially the last night when we had banana splits and lasagna!

Watching the Auburn game with Big D. WAR EAGLE!

Throwing rocks/sticks into the creek was also one of her favorite activities.

Nana knitted Presley this cute scarf that came in handy when it turned cold on Thanksgiving Day.

Picking a flower for Nana.

Sweeping the deck of leaves. We definitely don't have that problem in Texas!

We flew in from NC and went straight to Mal's birthday dinner. We had a great dinner and even a champagne toast for Alex and Tiffany!! They got engaged over the holiday. We are excited for them and can't wait to hear the wedding details as they start planning. It was a great night. Happy Birthday, Mal!!

Christmas pictures

2010-11-18T18:59:00.007-06:00

Presley got some Christmas pictures taken today and mommy went a little overboard... I was not expecting them to turn out very good. After our last experience in a studio, we only had one that was decent. These turned out GREAT! Presley was in a great mood and actually smiled in most of them! Enjoy!!

Presley

2010-11-17T22:39:00.004-06:00

I wanted to document some things you're doing now that you're almost 19 months old.

-Counts 1-13 (eleven is my favorite... it sounds like evan)
-Sings all the time: Wheels on the bus, Take me out to the ballgame, Row Row Row your boat, Open shut them, ABC's (my favorite is after S you say YAYA- V... it's too cute!)
-Love storytime at the library with all our friends and Cousin Liam. You go on a bearhunt and love when you get to dance there. You also eat snacks the whole time they read stories.
-Love going over to Mia's house and get sad and cry "Mia" when we have to leave
-You say "Potty" and I ask if you need to go and you say "OK" and run in the bathroom. You have gone on the potty for a few weeks now. Mommy is going to potty train you as soon as we get home from North Carolina for our Thanksgiving trip- you are MORE than ready. Mallie bought you lots of Minnie Mouse underwear and you love them. You also love your Abby potty book that makes noises.
-You love Elmo's World. Your TV watching started with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, then you were obsessed with Handy Manny.... now, it's all about Sesame Street, but really we have to fast forward to Elmo's World. You sing all the theme songs to these shows and Chuggington.
-You make mommy laugh when we are driving and you sing to me and do all the motions to your songs.
-You love riding in your car or taking the wagon to the park in our neighborhood. You now climb up the structure and slide all by yourself. Sometimes if I'm walking too close to you, you'll swat your hand and say No Momma. I know that means I just need to stand at the end of the slide to catch you cause you're too independent!
-You love the little slide we got you for your birthday. You go down it a million times a day.
-You loved saying your prayers for a while... now you enjoy playing while mommy or daddy says your prayers. Afterward, we ask who you want to pray for and you always have the most random people on your list. You always start with Mommy and Daddy, then it varies every night who pops into your mind.
-You talk in your sleep just like mommy :) I love hearing you at night over the monitor either singing or just babbling. Daddy and I always laugh at you when you wear your striped pj's cause you look like a jailbird in your crib. You still refuse to wear your new 24 month pj's. You pick out your jammies every night and always go for your older ones.
-You love sleeping with Min Mouse. You sometimes take a Care Bear with you in the crib, too, but you always lay down and pull Min Mouse in close and get rid of your bear. You also spoon her or put her in a choke hold every night... it's so sweet to see you laying there with her in your crib.
-You also now get a blanket to sleep with. We cover you and Min Mouse up every night.
-You get so excited to see Liam and now Bryn. Your little legs go crazy when I tell you we're going to his house or he's coming here. Today, you sat in mommy's lap while I held Bryn and read Bryn a story. You smile so big when you see her, it's so sweet.
-You love to change your baby's diapers. You lay them down and pull out all the different kinds of diaper creams we have and try to open them and put on your baby.
-You repeat everything!! It's great cause you are so smart and learn so much every day.
-You have learned almost all your letters. We have the foam ones in the bathtub and you now know all of them that we ask you during bathtime. You're so smart.
-You are still a great eater- You eat almost anything we give you. Your favorites are chicken, cheese, yogurt, blackberries- pretty much any fruit, you're obsessed with grapes right now. You still love guacamole and "ham and cheese."
-You love when we drive past horsies or school buses. It makes me laugh cause you'll still do the baby sign for more and say "more horses" or "more school bus". You're just so easy to please sometimes, it's precious!
-You love pretending to put on makeup. You know have your own brushes that mommy wasn't using. We pretend to put on blush and eye shadow. You even put makeup on mommy and daddy and say "Pretty" when you're finished. You are so detailed when you put it on us, it's funny to watch your face while you're working. You even close your eyes when you're putting on our "eye" makeup.
-You love our group of friends. It makes me smile when you call them each by name and smile when you recognize them and their mommies. Our schedule is usually to go to the train park on Monday morning, coffee and storytime Tuesdays, storytime or a playdate on Thursdays and playgroup at a friend's house on Friday. We stay pretty busy, but it's a lot of fun. We usually do the park in the afternoons or run errands.
-You love helping mommy. If I ask you to carry a bag or refill the fridge with waters, you get so excited and say Help momma. You also say "touch it" when you want to touch something in our hands or you'll see the cat and say "Pet her" or "I hold it" when you want something we have for you to hold.
-You love getting our finger and taking mommy or daddy over to look in the pantry when you want a snack. You could stand there for hours just smiling and staring at the food.

You are at such a fun age right now. You're pretty easy to take care of because you're becoming so independent. I love spending our days together and cherish all the memories we've made these past 18 months. I love you, Presley!