October Fun!

We have been busy, busy around here! Corey and I headed to Indoanapolis with 4 other friends of ours to run in a race. 3 of us ran the mini marathon and the other 3 ran a 5k!! What an amazing time we had!! Corey finished in 2:02 and I did it in 2:22. We dropped a lot of time from our last race in April. After the race we all went out to celebrate, it was so much fun!
Zoe decided to be a kitty for Halloween this year. She was so cute!! We took her to the zoo with her cousins, and also went to our friends church for their fall festival. Zoe had so much fun! On halloween night we went trick or treating at our friends Rick and Cheri's. At first she didn't want to go. She was scared of some of the costumes, but we showed her they were just kids. Finally we got to go out and after to first house she said "I want more!!". So we went on! She had a great time!
This past weekend my dads family had the annual soup cookoff. We had 11 soups this year and the winner was my aunts white chili...yummy! We had a bonfire and hayrides. It was so much fun! I can't believe it's already November!! This year has flown by! Thanksgiving is going to be here soon! I can't wait! Zoe has been doing great at potty training. She has been in panties for 2 months now I think, such a big girl :)

Potty time!

About 3 weeks ago I was getting ready to change Zoe's pullup when she stated that pullups were for babies and she wanted panties! So she picked some out and so it began. She has done really well and I just can't believe it! She is growing up so fast, she is 2 1/2 already! She can even do it all by herself. She washes her hands after, even turns the light out when she is done.
The weekend of the 16 Corey and I will be going to Indianapolis for a mini marathon. We are very excited for the race and to have a weekend together. We will miss Zoe, but she will ne with her grandparents and in great hands! 5 of our friends are going too. I feel grateful to help motivate others. It's great to have friends right there with you every step of the way!
We are loving this beautiful fall weather! Soon we will go get pumpkins and go trick or treating! Can't wait, I will post some pics then.

Fair

Monday we took Zoe to the fair for the day. It was so much fun! She got to look at all the farm animals, jump in a bouncy house, and eat lots of good treats. We let her nap there and then got to take her on some rides. She loves to ride rides, she kept saying she wanted to ride a coaster! We found a toddler roller coaster and she didn't want it to end! Daddy and her went on the ferris wheel together and mommy got to go on the swings with her. Such a good day and we can't wait until next year!! We didn't have our camera with us so Corey was able to get a few pictures from his phone. Enjoy!

Florida!!!!

It was that wonderful time again. Our trip to St Pete Beach Florida. We were able to fly this year and it was great! Zoe was super excited to ride on the plane. This was her 2nd time an a plane, but she was only 4 months old the last time. It was so cute on the way down we gave her gum to chew for her ears. She would chew for a minute then swallow it, she wasn't quite sure how it worked. Her poor ears were hurting her, so as long as we kept feeding her gum she was fine. Here are some pics of her in the airport and plane.






Our trip was great!! The 2nd day in the pool Zoe was swimming on her own. With water wings of course. I just can't believe what a water bug she is. She went from the pool to the beach and back to the pool again everyday. We were all so worn out that we couldn't even stay up late like usual! There was 2 days of rain, but rather it be there than at home. My brother and sister in law came with their 3 yr old for the last 3 days of vacation. That was our first family trip together and it was nice. I hate that it always has to end. Her first day back to daycare as I was getting her out of the car she said to me "My not happy right now, my want vacation" it was so pitiful. Until next time... It won't be soon enough!

Zoo Fun

Well, once again I have neglected to keep my blog updated, so here I am. Since the last post we have gone down to Alabama for my sister in laws graduation from nursing school. Go Molly! What a fun weekend it was. They had a big party after it was all over and it was great to meet their friends and neighbors. The kids had a blast playing on a water slide and a water table. The 2 pictures of Zoe in a dress is during the reception of her pinning. The middle picture is on our way home we stopped in Nashville to visit a restaurant called Cock of the Walk. It is so yummy! We had stopped there before when Zoe was a baby and got our picture taken in the big rocking chair too.
My mom retired a few weeks ago and now her and my dad are both done with work. We went to the zoo with Zoe on moms first day of retirement and had a blast. We took a picnic lunch and sat by the pond to eat. I have to say the coolest thing that day was the orangutan. We went to see her and she came over to the window we were looking . A crowd drew and she was showing off. A dad with another family had a baggie of snacks in his had for his kids and he was leaning up against the glass with the bag. The orangutan peeled the leaves off a stick and began to push it through a hole that was in between the glass and the wall. Then she pointed to the bag and pointed to the stick. She wanted the snacks to eat! It is so amazing how smart she is! You just don't think about that. We then were off to the splash park. Zoe had never been before and had so much fun! It was cute and I determined that I needed an suit on while in there too!
We have been very busy and still are in the coming weeks. We will be heading to Florida on the 27th of June for our annual trip. We are so very excited!!! I will post some more when we get back!

Too Busy!

I am so sorry it has been so long!! We just go non stop it feels like and I can't seem to keep up with my blog! Last time I posted Corey and I were getting ready to do the mini marathon. Well, we did it!!! It was so amazing, there are no words to describe. I recommend everyone walking or running a mini marathon at least once in their lives. Corey did so well, he finished in 2 hours and 30 mins! My finish time was 3:16. Not too bad for our first go around. I was frustrated that I couldn't run like I was training to do, but that's ok. I got to do it! We enjoyed it so much we have decided to do another in October... are we crazy??? Derby weekend was a good time. We had a great time with family and friends and ate way too much food!
Last week Zoe had her first dentist appt! She was so good I just couldn't believe it! They had prepared me for the worst so I guess I just expected her to be afraid. Nope, she sat on my lap and they cleaned her teeth and then the Dr checked them. She was just amazing!! I am so proud of her! I have pictures on my phone, but I need a SD card to put them on the computer. Hopefully I will get it soon! I am sure there are lots of things that I am forgetting to write down, but at least you have a quick update!
These are pictures during the mini that a company called Brightroom took. It was neat to find out that they captured some of us!

Relief

I had my follow appointment with the surgeon today and she says I am healing great. It's such a good feeling to know that it's better now. She told me still no heavy lifting for 4 more weeks due to a possible hernia and I don't need that. The other good news is she says I can walk the mini marathon! I am so excited that I still get to accomplish my goal even though I won't be running. It's only 2 days away, I can't believe it!! I really wish I could run it with Corey... Oh well things don't always go as planned. I am looking forward to next weekend with Derby and all. We have some friends coming up for Derby from Alabama. This is their annual trip to Louisville and we always have a great time with them.
Zoe is doing well, talking so much now! You can have little conversations with her now. It's just amazing to me how big she is. This week we were at the doctor because she has another sinus infection, but 24 hours on meds and she is great. I'll post again soon and get some Zoe pics on here!

Much to Blog About...

What a past couple of weeks we have had! The first full weekend in April we went down to the lake for the night. I woke up Sunday morning very sick to my stomach and developed a fever later that day. I couldn't move off the couch after we got home from the lake. Monday my stomach was a little better, but I still had a fever and my lower right back was hurting. I woke up Tuesday feeling better and no more fever so I went on into work. The pain in my back was very uncomfortable and it had began to move to my lower right abdomen. I called the doctor and they got me in first thing wednesday morning. The doc first thought kidney stones, but then my tests came back fine. Then he felt it could be my appendix. My blood work came back fine, but that didn't mean anything so he sent me to get a cat scan done. The cat scan results were inconclusive because it didn't show the tip of the appendix which is what gets inflamed. My doctor decided it would be best to see a surgeon just in case. So Corey and I made the trip to her office Thursday morning to find out that she was scheduling my surgery for the very next morning! She said that the physical exam I did show signs of appendicitis and she felt it was best to go ahead. This was my very first surgery and I was so nervous! It is a very common procedure and they did it out patient laproscopy. It is so amazing how they can do it so easily. Everything went very well and my appendix was slightly infected, so it was a good thing that they took charge and removed it. It would have gotten worse over time and that can be so dangerous. I am very thankful I listened to my body and decided to make the call. Now I am recovering and I have 2 weeks off of work. That is so tough!! The biggest thing I am sad about is that I can't run the mini marathon. I was looking so forward to doing that with Corey and it is a huge let down! If she will let me walk it I am going to go!
Enough about me. Zoe is now sleeping in a big girl bed! Corey changed it over the weekend because I can't pick up Zoe for the next 2 weeks. She has done so well and she loves it! I really hope this puts a stop to all the waking up at night she was doing. She loves to tell everyone what a big girl she is! It is too cute! We also celebrated Easter on Sunday. We went up to Corey's Grandma's house for a yummy brunch and a huge Easter egg hunt. Zoe had so much fun hunting the eggs and running around with her cousins. When we were going through the eggs to see her treats, every piece of chocolate she came across she bit into it! She was a chocolate mess!! Later on we went to my parents house for another delicious dinner and a small egg hunt with her cousin Parker. It was a very long day with lots of sugar and goodies. Here are some pictures of Easter. The first is Zoe with her Grammy(Corey's mom). The 2nd is of Corey and Zoe and Granny(Corey's grandma). Then her hunting eggs. The last is of her on Easter morning seeing what the bunny brought her. Enjoy!

Chicago

Well, I made it. I made it a whole 2 days without Corey and Zoe. It wasn't easy, but the group of girls I was with made it a lot of fun. What an experience that was to see the Hair Show and what it is all about. I had never been before and it was so neat. So much information packed into a giant convention center! Wow is all I have to say. I think it would have been every girls dream to walk through there. Just for the products and makeup alone. The really cool part of it is seeing the top hairdressers in person like it was nothing. They were on stage and walking around like normal people. I know they are, but to me they are celebrities! We even saw John Paul DeJoria the owner of Paul Mitchell products just hanging out in the hallway. I also saw Nick Arrojo from What Not to Wear on TLC. A lot of the stylist that were on Shear Genius were there too. We ate at 2 fun restaurants. One was a 50's diner where they dressed up and danced. Then the other was Trader Vic's. My grandparents used to take us there when we were younger and they would serve us fancy drinks. I highly recommend going just keep in mind it's pricey. I was all just so amazing! Thank you Corey for keeping Zoe and letting me enjoy it! I love you!

Party!

This past Saturday was another birthday party for Zoe. Her Grammy and Doodad threw it for her up in their hometown. Teresa my mother in law made a delicious meal and my sister in law Lyddia made her another too cute tinkerbell cake. The kids were able to play outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. Her big gift was The Rose Petal Cottage. She loves it so much! There is a stove and washer, table and chairs plus many more smaller items. It is adorable! It was a very fun time and we are so blessed to have such great families! Thank you to all who came to her party!
This weekend is my first weekend away from Corey and Zoe. I am going with my work to Chicago for a big hair show. It's my first one and I hope it's good! I am very nervous about being away from the two of them. I know I will greatly miss them!! I love them both so much!!!
Our cameras batteries were dead so I wasn't able to get pics taken from the party. As soon as we get the pics that Doodad took I can post them. Here are some of her playing with her cottage. Crazy morning hair!!

2 Years Old

We have been so busy. I feel like it's non stop from the time I wake up to the time we go to bed!! Monday we had Zoe's 2yr pics taken. They are very cute and I can't wait to get them in!! She was shy at first then warmed up in the end. Of course! My father in law "Doodad" is great at taking pictures. He has recently decided to set up a studio at home. I am really looking forward to it because it will be so much more relaxed! He will do a great job, and we won't have to mess with going somewhere else! Thanks Grammy and Doodad for taking us to get Zoe's pics done.
Today was Zoe's 2yr doctor check up. She is 26 1/2 lbs and is 2'9" tall!! I cannot believe it. The doctor said she was right on track with everything. I am very proud of her. She sings her abc's and is counting to 14... Has conversations with us. She is a little girl now. This past weekend she even wore big girl panties! She did very well. Only 3 accidents. We just need to master telling us she needs to go while she is playing. She gets caught up and says she doesn't need to go and then it's too late! That's ok, I am still so proud of her!! Here are a couple pictures of her 1 year ago.



At her first birthday party

Birthday Weekend

What a fun busy weekend we had! Friday Zoe got to have a little party for her at her daycare. I made cupcakes for them to have and they sang happy birthday to her. Saturday we had a party for her at my parents house. My brother and sister in law came up for the party from Huntsville, AL and my nephew Parker. We had lots of close family and friends to celebrate. Here are a few pics from that.







Then Sunday was her actual birthday so we let her enjoy it again. I think we sang the birthday song to her at least 50 times!! My mom made breakfast and put candles in her and Parkers biscuit's and we sang to them. Later we went home for some much needed rest. She napped for almost 3 hours!! She was worn out. We took her to dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant and they put a sombrero on her and sang happy birthday in spanish! It was so cute! She also got her first haircut too. Thank you Daddy!! Finally we sang one last time and she finished it off with some of her tinkerbell cake and ice cream. Thank you to all that came and gave gifts, and helped out!! It was a great time!

Sweet Sleep!

We finally got some sleep last night! She only woke up once and was so out of it she went right back to sleep. Thank you to aunt Molly and Grandma for your advice! I sure do hope it helps! I didn't know what to do, so I put her night light where it would be brighter and told her that monsters are scared of it. There wouldn't be anymore monsters! She seemed ok with that. . . Time will tell!

monsters...oh my!

What a past few days it has been! Poor Zoe is waking up terrified of monsters. Last night was the worst, I believe we got up with her 6 times!!! It has been so long since we had to do that. What do you do for a almost 2yr old that thinks there's monsters?? We calm her down and try to tell her they aren't real, but she doesn't seem to get it. I know all this waking up in the middle of the night is making her tired because it's 9:00 in the morning and she is still asleep from last night. I wish there was something we could do to make it better. She is also getting her 2 yr molars in and that's not helping either. I sure hope it goes away soon!!! I hate it for her.
On another note we are quickly approaching her 2nd birthday. I still can't believe it. My how fast they grow!! We have been talking to her about it and she keeps asking for birthday cake!! Yesterday morning she was finally able to hold her fingers up as 2 and she was so excited! We have been showing her that as well. We love her more and more everyday!!

Our Little Valentine

What a fun weekend we had. Zoe had her first Valentine party at her school and I think it went well. Too much junk and sugar because she didn't eat much dinner! That's what it's about right? Saturday night Corey and I cooked dinner for my Gran and Grandpa. We got a live lobster and a steak and made baked potatoes. They were so excited about it. I am so glad that we did that for them. It was interesting cooking a live lobster for the first time. I of course became too attached after the place I bought it from showed me how "pretty" he was. I couldn't be in the room when Corey dropped him in the pot. I am a little ridiculous! Later we came home and had our dinner and watched a movie. Corey got Zoe a fuzzy pink pillow that matched the big one he got her last year. And the cutest heart blanket. She doesn't walk around with out one of them now! I got her some cute slippers and M&Ms. She was so excited about all of it. Corey was wonderful and got me a CHI flatiron for home. I am so thankful!! It's great. I also got him some nice sunglasses. We had a great time!
On a sadder note our fish Fred died today:( He had been with us for a year and a half. He was a part of our family and will be missed. We had to explain to Zoe what happened and he was going to heaven. Not sure how well she understood, but she told him bye. It was sad. We happened into him at a friends wedding. They used Beta fish as their center pieces and needed to find homes for all of them. So, we took the one on our table home with us and named him Bright Red Fred. He was so pretty. He will be missed... This picture was taken while he was alive and well.