Bedtime!  To be more exact, right BEFORE bedtime.  It is such a great part of my day.  Not because Kate's going to sleep though.  It's such a great time because usually she's so relaxed, usually still in a good mood, and we get to snuggle just a little. :)  And of course, there's story time.  10 points for anyone who can name this book!  I think the 4th picture really gives it away.





My FAVORITE part of bedtime stories, besides the snuggling, is that Kate loves to look at the pictures and then turn all the way around and look up at me while I'm reading.  Yep, definitely the best part of this day.

So this weekend my mom, sister, Kate and I went to visit my grandmother (Mitzi) in Charleston.  This was Kate's first girls weekend, and we had a blast!  I took a 1/2 day off on Friday so we left home right after lunch.  I first stopped in Newberry to pick up my mom, and then we drove on to Columbia to pick up my sister.  From there we finished off the trip and got to Charleston around 6:30 Friday evening.  Traffic wasn't bad at all and Kate did GREAT for the entire trip.  I was really impressed.  She didn't get antsy until the last 10-15 minutes but even then, she didn't cry out.  We cranked up her CD (Praise Baby) and she was all good.

We had a great visit with Mitzi.  On Friday, we just ordered in pizza and visited for a bit.  This was only the second time that she's seen Kate, and the first time was when Kate was only a few weeks old.  Kate LOVES Mitzi.  Mitzi would talk to her and Kate would watch her intently, and then just burst out in a big smile.  :)  I got a couple of cute videos that I will have to upload and post.  But for now, here are a couple of cute pictures...




We spent Saturday doing a little shopping, eating lunch outside (great weather- 70 degrees in January!!) , and then decided to take Kate to the Battery to walk around.  It was really windy and a little cold, so we didn't stay a really long time.






We got up bright and early on Sunday to drive home.  I dropped Kristi off in Columbia and then mom off in Newberry.  Then Kate and I TRIED to make it the rest of the way home but she decided that she wanted out of the car seat.  I can't say that I blame her.  I was ready to get out of the car myself.  We stopped at a McDonalds and she had a bottle, and then we drove the rest of the way home.  She was a great little traveler and I am SO glad for it.  I will say though that I am going to be buying another Praise Baby CD.  Listening to the same CD for 4 hours on Friday and then 4+ hour on Sunday has made me sick of it.  So lucky for Kate, she'll be getting a new CD to add to her collection of 2. :)

That was our weekend, and it was so much fun.  What a great way to spend a few days!

While uploading pictures & videos from my phone onto the computer, I came across this cute video!  I took it right after Christmas when we were in the mall exchanging something.  I had to try to catch her smacking her lips.  This is one of her new things.  And oh, that smile! :) 

I have a confession to make.  I have a bad memory.  Sometimes that's a GOOD thing, but sometimes it's a not so good thing.  So as I started writing this post, I definitely had to go back to my pictures to see what we were up to in 2011.   I can remember some of the BIG stuff, but here is some of the other things we were doing...

January 2011:
Well we had one of the biggest snow storms that I can remember.  Kevin and I were literally stuck in our house for 3 days.  It was actually kind of nice.  No place to go, nothing to do.

We also STARTED the adoption process in January when we submitted our initial application to Bethany Christian Services.  Wow.  Was that really just one year ago?


February-April 15, 2011:
Honestly, I don't have time for picture taking during this time of year.  Due to this being my busy season at work, this period of time during 2011 was spent in an office.  It's sad that I looked through my pictures and had a grand total of ZERO pictures for these few months, but it's true.

In other news, somehow Kevin and I had the time to complete tons and tons of paperwork for our formal application for the adoption, and we were also able to start and complete our home study.  We were officially approved and waiting as of April 4th, 2011!!

April 2011:
At the end of April, my mom and I went to visit my grandmother in Charleston.  Kevin and I also spent a lot of time catching up on some R&R and spending some time with family at my parent's lake house.  To say that the dogs enjoy the water is a bit of an understatement.


May 2011:
In May we went to hike the Rainbow Falls trail at Jones Gap State Park.  We had great weather, but when we got to the waterfall at the top, it was pretty cold.  Lots of fun though.


June 2011:
At the beginning of June, we got an email about a baby boy that had been born just a few days earlier. We were asked if we would like for the birth mother to consider us as potential adoptive parents.  We said yes, and were excited to think that this COULD be our child.  The birth mother chose a different couple, but it really sank in that we could get "THE CALL" at any time.  So, we really got motivated to get a nursery ready.

After getting lots and lots of questions from people asking how they could help us with our adoption, we started our Adoption Puzzle fundraiser.  We still can't believe the number of people who wanted to help with our adoption, and are so grateful for each and every one of them.  THANK YOU again.

We took the youth to a Braves game in June, and got stuck in a HUGE rain storm on the way home.

I started this blog in June.  You can read my very first post HERE.

And last, but certainly not least, we found out about Kate on June 29th when our adoption worker called me at work and asked if there was any way to also get Kevin on the line!! She told us about Kate's birth parents and asked if we'd be willing to drive to Raleigh, NC to meet them.  :)



July 2011:
In July, we made the trip to Raleigh, NC to meet with Kate's birth parents. Click here to read about getting matched.  While we were in Raleigh, we stopped by the UNC campus so Kevin could take pictures in front of Dean E. Smith Center (where the Tar Heels play basketball).  We also went by the football stadium.  It was unlocked so we were able to walk right on inside.

The night before we went to Raleigh, Kristi, Kevin and I went to Clemson to eat at Cook Out and go back through campus.  While we were out, our house got struck by lightening and TONS of stuff inside our house was destroyed (TV's, AC Unit, well pump, etc).



August 2011:
One of the best months of my life!

We had a couple of baby showers to get ready for Kate.

We went to a Hillsong United concert, and then...

Kate was born on August 10th.  We got to meet her on August 11th, which was mine and Kevin's 4 year anniversary.  Best anniversary present ever.  We brought Kate "home" on August 12th and then spent almost 2 weeks in a hotel room in Raleigh, NC before we were able come back home to SC.  I know I say this a lot, but Kate has been such a blessing.



September 2011:
This month was all about Kate.  I was able to spend the entire month at home with Kate.  It was so great, and I love being a Mommy.  Kate got to meet lots of family, experience her first football Saturdays supporting Clemson and Georgia, and she turned one month old!

With the help of some of our great friends, we also held a HUGE community yard sale.



October 2011:
I went back to work at the beginning of October, and that was a big adjustment.  During the rest of the month, Kate got to go to her FIRST football game (although we didn't take her into the stadium), she started smiling, she got to experience her first Halloween as a watermellon, and she turned 2 months old!!

In keeping with our fall tradition, Kevin, Kristi and I also went to two away football games.  We went to Tennessee to watch Georgia play Vanderbilt and then went to Atlanta to watch Clemson play Georgia Tech.

I also wrote this blog about my top 10 baby items.

Oh October, you were a very busy but very fun month.



November 2011:


December 2011:
It's hard to believe that another year has past.  December literally FLEW by.  It seems like last weekend was Thanksgiving, not Christmas.  This month, Kate turned 4 months old, she was in her first Christmas parade, and we celebrated Christmas with TONS of family and friends. Two days after Christmas, I turned 27.  And now, I'm writing this post to close out the year.



2011 was such a great year, filled with lots of surprises and great news.  I sincerely hope that 2012 is just as good as 2011.  It has a lot to live up to!

This morning, as I was getting Kate ready for church, I noticed that she looked pretty funny.  I brought her in the kitchen, where Kevin was eating breakfast, and told him that I dressed Kate up as a little bank robber this morning.  Kevin took a picture with his phone and showed it off, and we also got the comment that she looked like a little baby ninja. :)







She actually had on a really cute red dress OVER all of this, but I failed to get a picture after she was fully dressed.

We had yet another packed weekend.  On Saturday, we took our youth group on a Christmas shopping trip to the Tanger outlets in Commerce, Georgia.  We left at 10 am and got back around 8.  Long day.  It was fun and we got most of our Christmas shopping finished up.  Although, I do still have a few people left on my list.

We went to church this morning and then came back home afterward to pack up a few things.  Then we headed to Six Mile, SC for a baby shower for one of Kevin's old friends.  They're having a little girl in February, or sooner!  We both enjoyed seeing some people we hadn't seen in a while, and meeting new friends.  We got home about 5:15 tonight and since then, we've just been somewhat lazy.  I figure we deserve it since the rest of our weekend has been non-stop.  Although, I cannot believe that there is just one more weekend before Christmas!  What?  I didn't even realize Christmas was THAT close until today.  Crazy.

Hope everyone else had a fantastic weekend.  Is everybody else done with their Christmas shopping, or am I the only slacker left with some shopping still to be done?

I'll get back to my Thanksgiving recap posts tomorrow but I wanted to put up these pictures of Kate under our Christmas tree.  I the tree up on Sunday. It's nice that it's not even December yet and the Christmas decor is DONE. :)

I've been on a bit of a blogging break.  Not on purpose but because, let's face it, life gets BUSY sometimes.  I'll be back later this week to post about Kate's first Thanksgiving.  We've got all kinds of things planned with both sides of our family, so this long weekend should promise to bring lots of fun.  But for now, here's a picture of Kate- who woke up super pumped about her first Thanksgiving!

Sorry it's a bit grainy. It was taken with my phone.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Hope you have a wonderful day filled with family, fun, and of course lots of food!  Don't forget that while Thanksgiving can be filled with all of that good stuff, it is most importantly a day to reflect and be thankful for all that God has given us.

"...May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light."
-Colossians 1:11-12 

In June, Kristi, Kevin and I purchased tickets to the Clemson/Ga Tech game in Atlanta.  At the time, we had no idea that Clemson would be going into the game 8-0.  Actually, none of us would have ever IMAGINED that this would be the case.  So when we bought our tickets at face value, we didn't think that our tickets would be worth a whole lot more than what we paid for them when the time for the game was actually upon us.  Let me just say, we shoulda sold those things!  But, we didn't and we found ourselves in Atlanta, GA this past Saturday for the LAST of our away game adventures.

I got Kate all ready for the fall festival at church, and we dropped her off with her Nana and Papa on our way out of town.  (There was really no need to mention this, but I really didn't want to write a whole post without a picture of Kate!)


We ended up leaving Kristi's car at Perimeter Mall and taking the MARTA to the stadium.  The walk was only 5-6 blocks from where we got off the train to the stadium, and there were lots of people to follow, so we found it easily.  We had pretty great seats.  We were only a few rows up from the bottom of the upper deck in the end zone, and the people beside Kevin never even showed up.  Lucky us.  Well, sort of.


Too bad we didn't look like this AFTER the game.  Ah- it was so frustrating and disappointing.  Even with a "Go Tigers" all the way from Illinois, the Tigers still couldn't pull off a win.  And then to add to the frustration, we didn't get home til 3am.  I'm still tired.

Even though we lost, the three of us got to see Bobby Dodd Stadium and Kevin can cross that one off of his list.  I have to say, we probably won't be going back to Atlanta to watch Clemson play ever again.  I think the city must have a curse on it for the Tigers. :)

Happy Halloween weekend!  Hope everyone out there had a FUN, SAFE and FESTIVE weekend!

And finally made it back to the car before everybody met us there.