Monday, March 28, 2011

Some catch up

I've got a lot of catching up to do. Sad thing is, it won't happen. We've been having a lot of computer problems and I lost a lot of my pictures that I've taken in the last 4 months or so. So I'll post what was left and recently taken.


Fun With Friends


Things started warming up around here for a little while so we tried to get outside and enjoy the pretty pre-spring days while we could. We went to the zoo not too long ago and I did snap a few pictures.


Libby and the meerkats: A friendly giraffe came to say hello. I think this is the closest I've ever seen the giraffes at the zoo. They normally hang out in another area.

Some friends of ours came as well. Libby and Lucy have become pretty good friends (for 2 year olds). They kept holding hands while walking through the zoo. It was so cute! Friends.
Then they were sliding down the slide together. Libby kept following right behind Lucy, but riding on her stomach backwards. Don't know why she enjoyed riding this way.
They loved the playground area, though!
Finally sliding the right way.
A while back we babysat Annie and loved it! Libby actually got really sick after she left, but thankfully Annie never got it. Here is Libby introducing Annie to her favorite movie: Toy Story. Annie... not too interested. :) Wait till she gets a little older, Libby, then she'll enjoy it with you.
I put a pillow on the floor and laid Annie on it. Libby, of course, curled up right next to her for the "moonie".
So photogenic! She is ADORABLE and I LOVE my little niece! We'll watch her anytime! Libby was sharing her favorite baby with her, that's rare.
SO CUTE!
And happy!



Biltmore


We went to the Biltmore recently to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and Valentines Day. It was great to get away for a little trip before the baby and I had a great time! Wish we could do that more often. Not many flowers were blooming yet so we were able to take advantage of the time to really enjoy the intereior of the house. They don't allow cameras inside so I have limited pictures of the outside.

The orchids were blooming in the greenhouse. Got a few pics of them.


This was the only flower blooming outside at the time, so of course I had to snap a few pics. I think this is Forsiythia (don't know how to spell it :). I love playing around with my camera. Especially with flowers in the spring time.
You can see the house in the background.
The Biltmore house.
Front view with the grounds and fountain.
Clock tower at the winery. The clock tower is original to the grounds. This would be cool in black and white, but I haven't had a chance to do any touch ups or changes yet.



Home Life


Don't have any Daffodils, Tulips or Iris' at our new house yet. So I had to pick up a bunch from the store for inside. The sun was streaming through the window and I had to grab my camera to snap a few pics. I love my camera! And spring flowers!
Our picture window in the kitchen with the sunlight and warm air streaming in.

Love this one! Another that might end up in black and white somewhere around our house.

Enjoying some more warm weather outside.
Picking some of our "flowers" in the yard (mostly weeds, dandelions etc.)

Had a typical "little girl" incident happen the other day. Libby round my lipstick while I was upstairs for a few minutes. Surprisingly, she only got it on her face neck and a bit on her pjs and hair. None on the couch, thank goodness! Had to snap a couple of pics before I cleaned her up. Great color for you, Libby. :)


Fitting that this picture would follow the previous ones, although this is not from the same day. While we were remodeling our bathrooms, we didn't have a bath for Libby. So she had to either shower with me (got a lot harder as my belly got too big to squeeze us in there together) or the sink, which she is a bit too big for. So thankful for a bathtub now! It's a lot easier, cleaner and roomier!
Bathtime in the kitchen sink.

Libby has become quite the little helper even before Ty has arrived. She helps me clean up, cook, and grabs me things as I need them. She loves to sit on the counter and help me cook (thanks Mom, for introducing her to this at your house, I wouldn't have thought to include her in these little teaching moments). She always want to help with dinner now and watches intently everything I do.
She helps when she can, like sprinkling cheese on the pizza.
But preffers to eat it! She's definitly learned from me as I learned from my Mom, taste as you go is the best way to cook! She tastes everything as I'm cooking.


Speaking of tasting and eating, I'm so thankful that she loves most foods and will try most anything (sometimes with a command instead of a question. :) She loves all fruits and veggies and eats well on her own, which makes it easier on me. Feeding her healthier foods has also benefited me as I usually eat what I feed her.


She's still growing and learning so fast! Almost too fast! She talks in whole entences now and it has been a blast hearing whats going through that little head of hers. She picks up on song lyrics on the radio, which means I have to be more careful what I'm listening to in the car. And also picks up on phrases she hears us using (also something that makes us have to watch what we say!) Her most recent one that cracks me up is "Howy Tow, Wook dat" (translated "Holy Cow, Look at that"). It cracks me ups every time she says it! She is so intelligent and I'm having fun watching her learn so much! She can now count to 10, and that wasn't even something we practice on a consisten basis. She just lined up her chairs the other day and I heard her count to four. Since then she's counted things up to 10! I'm so thankful she doesn't only learn when I'm teaching her, but picks stuff up as she goes. She learned Ring Around the Rosies at church and came home singing and dancing to it. It took me a few minutes to figure out what she was saying, but made me laugh after we figured it out. This Sunday she came home singing "All sings work a color" (translated "All things work together") from the song they sing at church that ends with "for the good of those who love the Lord", but she hadn't gotten that far yet. She just spins around the living room singing the phrase she knows over and over. We do listen to this song at home, but she didn't start singing it till she came home from church. Amazing what they pick up from church, 1 day a week. Makes me so thankful to know that they give time and effort into planning what our kids learn in Sunday School.

Libby's favorite day of the week is "Church Day" and she asks practically every day if it is church day. I think she might learn her days of the week just counting down to Sunday. I love it!


That's all for now, until I get some new pics (which should be soon if I remember to bring my camera to the hospital). I'll try to get a couple of last minutes pregnancy pics with Libby, but I don't know how many more days we have as a family of three. I'm due in 8 days, but he could come anytime between today and 22 days from now. Libby keeps me busy enough that I can wait. Not to mention all the house work that I have to do, Whew!! I'll also be posting some "after" pictures of our bathrooms as our vanites and sinks just went in today! Just a few finishing touches left and we're good!