Pretty Pink Pedicure

I've been wanting to paint Handley's toenails for a while now and I'm not sure what was stopping me. I guess I thought the chemicals from the nail polish would be bad for her or something.

This afternoon I trimmed her toe nails and after I finished she was trying to trim and file them herself. It was so cute. I figured that was my cue to give her a little color!

While she was eating dinner in the highchair I painted away. They aren't perfect (because she wasn't about to sit still), but after I finished I held her leg up so she could see and the biggest grin came across her face. She loves it and I know she feels pretty. :-) What girl doesn't like pink toenails?!?!

Just in case you were wondering...

the putting everything in their mouth phase still hasn't ended for us! Yesterday our friends Erin and Ella came over to play. We tried to get a cute picture of the girls together, but both of them insisted on having something in their mouth!

Like a kid on Christmas Eve...

The bathing beauties: Marlee (5 months) and Handley (3 months) ready for a day on the lake!

That is exactly how I feel right now...just like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for tomorrow. Some of our best friends, Kathy, Corey and their little girl Marlee are coming to visit for the weekend. I haven't seen them since April, which feels like forever ago!

You know how sometimes you meet people that you just automatically connect with? That is exactly what happened with Kathy and Corey. When we moved to Orlando, we hardly knew anyone and didn't have any friends there. Then, I was hired to team-teach 1st grade and was introduced to the girl I'd be teaching with. I could have never imagined how close we would become and how much we would end up having in common. Those of you who are married know that it isn't very likely for the husbands to be just as good of friends as the wives, but that is what happened with Robby and Corey!

Corey and Robby with their baby girls...the first day Handley was home from the hospital.

Kathy and I went through a lot together...not only teaching side-by-side for two years and providing each other with much needed comic relief at times, but we were also pregnant together, went through the birth of our daughters within a few months of each other and made it through the newborn phase together. When we got word that we were moving back to Atlanta, Robby and I were thrilled, but sad at the same time to leave behind such great friends.

Kathy with Handley (1 day old) in the hospital.

The girls hanging out on the boat.

Handley (2 1/2 months) and Marlee (4 1/2 months) enjoying their first play date!

Carrie Beth and Handley, Kathy and Marlee, Kristen and Halle - 1st play date

Over the past year (gosh, I can't believe we've been back in Atlanta almost a year now) we have seen Kathy, Corey and Marlee just a few times, but every time has been so much fun. I love watch the girls together. In April we were at their house for Marlee's 1st birthday. We stayed with them for 5 days and it was amazing to see how the girls got excited to see the other in the morning.

Thanksgiving week - Marlee 7 months, Handley 5 months

Marlee (1 year) and Handley (10 months) ready to do lunch and a little shopping!

They arrive tomorrow and we plan to spend the weekend up at the lake. Robby and Corey both love to wake-board, so I'm sure that is how we'll spend most of our weekend. Check back next week for more pictures from our weekend!

Shake your booty!

We spent this past weekend up at the lake. On Saturday afternoon we met up with some friends who also have a house up there and who have a really nice wake-board boat. It is complete with ballast tanks, "fat sacs" (0nly those of you who wake-board will know or care about what these are), and enough speakers to run a nightclub with. You can seriously hear them coming from the other side of the lake. It is a bit obnoxious, but fun at the same time. Apparently, the music gives the person riding on the wake-board more courage and guts to throw some pretty big tricks. Robby attempted a flip a few times and was "this close" to landing it.



When we hopped on their boat they told me that the front would be the quietest place for me to sit with Handley. Well, um, let me just say that if the front was supposed to be the quietest place, I certainly didn't want to be in the back of the boat. The music was so loud that I couldn't even hear myself think or talk and let's just say their selection of music (rap) was not what I would have chosen for my 14 month old to be listening to. I was about to ask them to turn it down until Handley stood up and started dancing like I'd never seen her dance before. It was hilarious. Robby and I were dying laughing and could not believe our eyes. Then she kept busting out all these new moves and I don't even know where she got them. She was entertaining everyone else on the boat too and had a blast flirting with all the guys. I can't wait for the teenage years....j/k!



When the day was over and we got back onto our quiet boat, she told her Daddy that she wanted a boat like theirs. :-) I can't believe that I don't have a single picture or video of her dancing or of the amazing wake-boarding, but we're heading up again next weekend, so hopefully I'll have some to post then.

Curls

One afternoon last week we were outside on the deck and I was letting Handley splash around in some puddles created by an earlier storm. It was so muggy and humid outside, but it was the perfect conditions for curly hair. Because most of my pictures of her are of her face, I thought I would include one of her sweet little curls.

Beach Vacation

I haven't posted in over a week, so this is going to be pretty long, but there are lots of fun pictures, so read on...and on...and on!

Our week at the beach was so wonderful! We were in Wilmington, NC at Wrightsville Beach. We had a beach house rented for the week, only one house back from the beach. It had a great view and was so convenient.

I really loved being around my whole family for the week and letting my parents experience Handley's fun personality for themselves all week long.

We spent everyday on the beach, watching Handley play in the sand, splash in the water, and beg for snacks from anyone who would share with her. My mom says there must be something about being on the beach that makes kids want to snack!

I will say that during this vacation I got a lot more sand in my bathing suit than I have in a very long time. It was all worth it though to see Handley enjoying herself so much!

Most of our evenings were spent hanging out on the big porch and listening to the sounds of the ocean or to Cameron, my youngest brother, playing the guitar. Robby even gave it a try, although we all agreed he needed a lot of practice!

Stefanie and Trey looked like pros at paddle ball and every time their ball would get away from them, you can be sure Handley was all over it!

Don't they make such a cute couple?!

Handley's favorite thing about coming back up from the beach was that she got to take off her bathing suit and wash off the sand.

This was the view...

I saw for most of the week...Handley's back as she ran towards the water. Since she was just a few weeks old she has been in the water and always loved it. However, this was her first real trip to the beach where she could really enjoy it. The first morning we took her out she ran straight for the water. I thought for sure she would stop as she approached the waves, but that wasn't the case. The waves were crashing around her and she kept on going, walking further and further into the ocean. Talk about no fear! My little girl has a since of adventure and love of the water. It took her a little while to get her footing and get used to keeping her balance as the waves came and went, but by the end of the week, she was a pro!