Long Weekend

We enjoyed having Will home for three days without anything scheduled we had to do.   We've been so busy lately that we haven't had much time to just relax around the house as a family.  

He was able to hang her swing and put the little car she got for her birthday together.  She loves then both and seems so old now playing with such "big kid" toys! She has also discovered that she loves to play between the ottoman and the couch.  She will take her bear back there and hide like it is her own little fort. 

A Woman's Work is Never Done

The saying "A woman's work is never done" is so true.  There are always clothes to be folded, dishes to be washed and tummies to be fed.  Its a never ending cycle.  

AC has already begun to practice all her housekeeping skills and is becoming more and more "helpful" around the house these days.  She loves helping me with the housework and is very intent on copying whatever chore I am doing.  Never mind that it takes me twice as long now to clean!  But at least she is learning and practicing and will one day be a great big help with the chores.

         Sweeping the kitchen

         Setting the table

   Vacuuming the floors

Loading up the dirty dishes

Cleaning the bathrooms

And last, but certainly not least... feeding her bear when he gets hungry! 

(I also just realized after looking at all of the pictures at one time that we spend an awful lot of time in the kitchen.)

Wide Open Spaces

We are all enjoying our new yard so much. When Will gets home in the evenings now, we'll play outside with Anna Cate and Silar before dinner. It is so relaxing to spend time outside as a family, especially when the weather is breezy and cool.  

Of the four of us, we think Silar is the most excited about his new space! He has an electric fence and loves being free outside all day to roam the yard or lay on the front porch.   He acts so much younger now that he has an open space to play in

 and is hyper and excited all the time!

We think Anna Cate will be an outdoor girl because she loves being out in the yard, and cries by the back door when we take her back inside. She got a swing, a wagon, a baby pool, and a little riding toy for her birthday, so now we have plenty of activities to do outside with 

her.   

Anna Cate and I also planted a little salad garden in a corner of the yard with tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, peppers, onions, and some zinnias! We check it out each day to see how the plants are growing and we finally saw our first veggie! We have one little teenie tiny tomato growing on one of our plants!

Curly Sue

I thought this photo was just too funny not to share. We pulled out the trusty old sponge curlers last week to practice curling Anna Cate's hair for her birthday party.  She looks like she is either getting ready for a cheerleading competition or an audition in a play for the part of  Shirley Temple!   I was surprised at what a good sport she was about not trying to pull them out of her hair. Needless to say, I won't be using that small of a curler again.

Happy Birthday Anna Cate!

It is hard to believe our sweet girl is already 1!!  We had her birthday party on Sunday afternoon in our new back yard and had a wonderful time.  Thank you to all of you who came to celebrate with us and for all of the fun presents she received! 

Summer is Here!

Summer has officially arrived in our house because we were able to take the boat out for the first time this Saturday!  We were unsure what Anna Cate would think, but we put her in her bathing suit and a life jacket she had a ball! She absolutely loves being outside and seems very laid back (just like her daddy) and always up for a new adventure.  We are thinking since the lake went so well, we may try taking her on a one-night camping trip this weekend.

Introductions

After much deliberation, we have decided to join the band wagon and start a family blog!  It seems like Anna Cate learns something new each day and it is getting harder and harder to keep family and friends posted on what she is doing.  I hope this will be a fun place to keep in touch with all of you and also to record all of the memories we are creating as a family!