thesellers.net

This past weekend we celebrated our niece's 1st birthday! We flew down to Birmingham for the occasion. Leah did really well on her first flights (as seen in this video). She slept on both flights and was generally happy when awake.

Emmie's birthday party was Saturday (though she didn't actully turn 1 until Sunday). Molly, of course, helped Emmie open her presents.

Despite all the excitement, Leah was unphased. She slept for the first hour or so of the party.

Opening presents took a long time, so Emmie took a break to hang out with me for a bit.

Then it was time for cake! It took Emmie a couple minutes to warm up to it, but once she got going she realized how great it was.

Leah did eventually wake up and join the party. Here she is spending some time with her Great Grandmother Dot.

After the party, Molly got some late Christmas presents from her Great Aunt Roxanne, including this rocking horse that she really had fun with. I have a feeling it will be a big hit with our playgroup!

On Sunday, we were finally able to get a picture of all three girls wearing their dresses that G'Mom made them.

There was a lot of music going on during our stay (as seen in this video), including piano, guitar, and these lovely percussionists.

We had a great time visiting with lots of family. The girls did great the entire weekend, even sleeping in the same room! There are a lot more pictures from our trip here.

While we were in Tennessee with Jen's family, Uncle J built us a campfire (Molly's first). A good time was had by all, and the marshmallows were very tasty.

We spent Thanksgiving at The Cottage on Watauga Lake in Butler, TN with my family. We rented the cottage two years ago when Molly was 7 months old, but now we had two more little girls to celebrate with. The 8+ hour car ride was rough due to Leah crying anytime she was awake, but while there we had a nice time.

We mostly relaxed at the cottage, but Molly, Uncle J, and Grampa did go on a scavenger hunt. They found everything on their list (and an extra 20 or so rocks).

Molly also tried to get in a little workout on Uncle J's Wii Fit. She needed a little help, so Uncle J happily assisted. Here they are going down the ski jump.

We put together a nice feast for Thanksgiving lunch.

And here was part of my contribution to the meal. Yum!

Our last night in Tennessee included this great campfire built by Uncle J. It was pretty chilly out, so we all had to keep warm by the fire.

We roasted marshmallows. Molly wasn't into the roasting part at first (though she was very happy to eat the marshmallows), but she eventually warm up to the idea.

During our stay, Molly slept on a very large air mattress (complete with headboard) on the floor in our room. Here she is waking up on our day of departure. She did really well and very much enjoyed her big bed.

There are a lot more pictures from our trip. We even managed to get a cute family picture!

Here's a bit of Molly playing while we were in Savannah. It's a bit random, but it gives you a good idea of our day-to-day these days.

As you saw a few weeks ago here, we took a trip to Savannah to see my extended family. In particular, we had a big Weeks family reunion for the first time in a long time. This video shows a bit of the reunion.

We spent an extra long 4th of July weekend in Savannah. Molly did incredibly well on the 11+ hour drive. We didn't even have to use the portable DVD player! Chad's Grandaddy lives on the water, which makes for lots of fun and relaxation.

Molly had a great time exploring baby crabs,

gazing into the water and watching boats ride by,

running on the dock,

and most importantly, relaxing with Daddy in the hammock.

We saw a lot of family since most of Chad's family lives in Savannah, but I think Molly had the best time with cousin Aidan.

And Molly was still looking as cute as ever!

You can see the rest of the pictures from our trip here.

Last week, Molly and I ventured to Memphis for a visit with G'Mom, Grampa, Aunt 'Chelle, and Emmie. If you saw me in the airport, you would have thought I was a crazy woman - toddler in stroller, diaper bag, purse, carseat in carrying case, and hugely pregnant! We spent 4 days visiting and had lots of adventures.

First we painted plates at Paint a Piece using paint brushes, hands, and feet.

Then we went swimming in a neighbor's pool. Molly's favorite part was squirting Grampa with the water gun.

We started out our second full day with some blueberry picking at Nesbit Blueberry Plantation. Molly did a great job and found lots of good blueberries hidden on the underside of the bushes.

That evening, after eating some home-made blueberry ice cream, Mom, Michelle and I combined all of our craft talents and worked together to make a tag blanket for baby girl #2.

Any time Emmie was playing on the floor, Molly liked playing with her. I hope this is a sign of how great of a big sister she will be!

There are a lot more pictures from our trip. You can view them here.

Chad and I took an early anniversary trip to Stonewall Resort in WV. I wasn't really up for a car ride at the end of July while 8 months pregnant, so we celebrated early.

It was a nice, relaxing weekend. We treated ourselves to massages (a first for Chad), and only left the resort once to check out this glass blowing shop. We got to see them making these glass "kisses."

The weather was perfect for sitting and enjoying the view of the lake,

and taking a boat cruise on the lake.

Click here to see a few more pictures of our exploration of the grounds and the boat cruise.

Today we ventured to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA along with a couple of Molly's friends from playgroup (and their parents). Molly was not into most of the rides, especialy the ones she had to ride by herself, but had a great time on the boat and train rides.

Here she is on her one and only solo ride.

We went for a ride on the monorail and got the best seats on the train - all the way in the back. We got to look out the back window like an old-fashioned station wagon.

The one fast ride Molly really wanted to do was the Fun Slide.

Keira won the award for the bravest kid today. She rode multiple rides by herself, and even had a pony ride!

And there's no better way to end the day than with ice cream!

It was a very successful first trip to the "Kingdom for Kids" and Molly (and mommy) crashed on the car ride home.

While in Birmingham, we had fun playing lots of games on their Nintendo Wii. One night, we all had a turn at Wii Boxing, which was lots of fun. Here's G'Mom's turn.