Where has this month gone?!

For Father's Day, Luke got a brand spankin new lawnmower! He is such a good Daddy to Kate, and we were tired of him getting frustrated everytime he went to mow! Now, he is the envy of the neighborhood...and our yard looks awesome! Fourth of July is Luke's favorite holiday. He says it has everything a holiday should have-time with family, a day off work, laying in the pool, good food-without all the things it shouldn't-a packed schedule, overpriced gifts, cold weather, being worn out. We had a two day celebration this year. Friday, we went to Uncle Eddie and Aunt Julie's for some poolside fun and fireworks in Bartlett!

Kate, Maggie, and Evie

Kate and me, Cassie and Will Come here Will! Let me bite your ear!They loved the fireworks! We spent Saturday in my parents pool! The first time Kate rolled over...and Jake was the only one to witness it!

1st Trip to the zoo!! Soo hot! But she loved it anyway! Cutie Patootie! Speaking of...we had a store named Cutie Patootie in Collierville next to Happi Nails where I get my toenails did. Tom and Tammy from Happi Nails gave me a $30 gift certificate there the week before I had Kate. I was driving by the other day, and it is GONE!! No more Cutie Patootie, and I still have a $30 gift certificate. That's enough to make ya cuss!

One of my sweet friends at work made her this precious dress! I absolutely love it, and Kate looks like a living doll in it!

Wild Child! We've added another Mama to the bunch!

Janet (with Natalie born in June), Me (without my bambino), Lesli (due in Sept), and Eden (due in Feb). We are missing Stefanie who is due in October, and Teresa with Jackson. This is just our small group! There are babies all over our church and it is so wonderful!

Have I mentioned we've had crazy weather all month! We had loaded up and were headed to play group and when I opened the garage, this is what I found! We promptly unloaded and went back inside!

Mama, I don't think I like cereal!

But I sure do look cute in it!

Taking time to smell the flowers.

What I really think about all these pictures!

Florida Pics!

Our stinky feet and Kate's sweet feet Jake and Will playing Checkin out the sand and water She can almost get the whole thing in there!

Am I cute or what?

Hi Mom!

Chatting it up with her Daddy

The boys

The girls Workin on that fist again...I promise, we do feed this child!

Ah, to be this carefree in a bikini Body surfing-Dad's Hidden Talent

Coming in from the waves

Look which chair Luke chose to lay out in!!

I know Florida was almost a month ago, but there are some pictures that are too good not to post! Kate was a trooper and slept most of the way down there. After we made the annual stop at the Burris fruit market, she was awake and ready for the water! She was so good all week...napping during the day, and keeping her regular schedule at night. We had a wonderful time with the fam, and I wish I were back there now!

Four Months Old!

Dearest Kate, You are four months old and I cannot believe it! You are a very happy baby, giving your smiles away freely to everyone. Everytime you glance at your Daddy, your grin takes over your whole body. You usually sleep from eleven at night to five in the morning, and I can never wait to get you out of your crib. You then go back to sleep until 8, eat again, and sleep until 10. You are my kinda girl! You are getting more hair, and it is much lighter than when you were born. You have also rolled over both directions, and started eating rice cereal this week. To say you light up our world is an understatement. You light up everyone's world! I never get tired of hearing people say, "Your baby is beautiful!" I was at the grocery store the other day, and I had you in your sling. You had fallen fast asleep, but when people would stop me to tell me how cute you are, you would look at them with your big, blue eyes, bat your lashes a few times, give them a huge smile, and then fall peacefully back to sleep. You also have discovered your voice. You will lay on the floor and talk to your Daddy forever, and if I come in the room to watch or video you, you immediately stop! I don't know what you are trying to tell him about me, but it is precious! You love to watch Bandit, and if he is in the room, your eyes are on him. Baby girl, I love you more now than I did four months ago, and my love is growing exponentially by the minute. I love rocking you to sleep, and watching you discover your toes. I love the smell of your sweet skin, and seeing you grin 1st thing in the morning. I love how you snuggle in right before you fall asleep, and looking back in my car and having you there. You have given me more fulfillment these last four months than I have ever known. I love you, sweet girl.

A baby girl... one of the most beautiful miracles in life, one of the greatest joys we can ever know, and one of the reasons why there is a little extra sunshine, laughter and happiness in your world today.

I can't believe

June is over! We have stayed busy all month! (Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?)

Where have we been?

In Newton visiting my great grandmother...which is Kate's GreatGreatGrandmother!

At Jake's baseball games~ In the pool~Enjoying Sunset on the Square With a Tiger's Blood snowcone And Kate in my favorite baby doll's shirt (literally)! Hiding from bad weather When people kept calling to check on us, we went home. Byhalia had gotten hit by the tornado pretty bad! We almost bought a house on this street (it is hidden behind those fallen trees)! Going to Baby Showers (Jan, please start a blog!!) Lovin being a mama! Watching Kate chat with her Daddy. Matching our clothes! Loving those last few nights of her being in her cradle. Loving my husband for bringing me flowers! Celebrating Father's Day on the beach! (this is what Luke got from my Dad for FD!) (There will be a whole post of beach pictures! Kate was so cute I can hardly stand it!) Enjoying Kate's first plane ride. Attending Amy and Benny's wedding in Leesburg, FL. Seeing friends I wish lived closer.

Going to WICKED!

Whew! I can't believe it is now July! I started back to work tonight, so we will see how much more time I will have to blog!

Miss Thang is really developing her personality! She will sit and talk to Luke forever. It is so sweet! I can hear them in the nursery monitor or in the next room, but as soon as she can see me, she stops! I love that he is so enamored with her, and her with him. She has also rolled over from her stomach to her back and her back to her stomach. She did the stomach to back trick twice last week when she was supposed to be doing tummy time. I, of course, did not see it either time! Also, I have had the video camera ready all week to catch her back to tummy. She would almost get there, but that bottom arm had held her up. On the 4th of July, we were at my parent's and I had given her a bath and my Mom and I were trying our best to get her to roll over. No go. I take her downstairs, lay her on her playmat in front of Jake, and then leave the room. I come back, and she's done it! So after all the work, Jake go to witness it for the first time! I have some cute pics of that too that I'll post later!

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. -John Gregory Brown, Decorations in a Ruined Cemetery