My little athlete and daredevil...who knew?

Last Thursday was Lindy's first soccer practice. She totally exceeded my expectations. She loved wearing her pink soccer shoes and socks and listened intently to Coach Chris. Her favorite part of the practice was chasing Miss Steph around the field as she crawled around like a crab. She also loves that three of her best friends are on her team, Caden, Jack, and Izzy. She can't wait for her next practice and for Daddy to be there for her 1st game on Saturday. Her team name is Wildcats, and I think it's hilarious that she keeps referring to her team as the Kitties! They all looked so cute and did a great job...Go Wildcats!Over Labor Day weekend we went to Lake Hartwell with the Killimetts, Richardsons, Kings, Uncle Shannon, and Paul and the boys. We rented an absurdly beautiful house that was over 7500 sq ft. and equipped with pool table, air hockey, dock, paddle boat, canoe, and tons of space for the kids to run freely. Bobby and Amy also hauled their boat to the lake that we all enjoyed thoroughly. I have so many fond memories as a kid of spending weekend after weekend on our boat at the river. I loved seeing how much Lindy enjoyed spending time with her family and friends on the water. Lindy is a little timid when it comes to trying any type of somewhat dangerous activity, but this weekend she broke out of her shell. She jumped right on tube with her Dad and then again with Miss Steph and Miss Amy. She absolutely loved it! She also loved fishing with Paul and Mr. Mike and for some reason was very interested in playing with the worms. Sloany also enjoyed her first "cabin" trip. She mostly just ate and slept, but did enjoy some dock time.

Baby Sloan has Arrived...

and Big Sister loves her! Sloan Alexa was born on August 6th at 11:12 am after a very easy labor and delivery for mom. She weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 21 inches long. Lindy was so excited to meet her little sister. She was suppose to go to summer camp the morning Sloan was born, but would have no part of it. She just wanted to come to the hospital to be with Mommy, Daddy, and "Swoany". Week 1 has gone smoothly - Lindy wants Sloan included in all aspects of our normal routine (bath time, bed time, dinner). We have also given the poor girl a nickname that I'm afraid is going to stick, Sloany Bologna. I think I might be changing the blog name to Lindy Lollipop and Sloany Bologna. Lindy also told me that my belly was still big and wanted to know if we could put a baby brother in there...if only it was that easy! At her 1 week appointment Sloan was 8lbs 1oz...All good progress!

Some 1st's

Over the past couple of months Lindy has experienced some big "firsts" in her life...

First, in May, we took Lindy to Disney World for the first time. The Killimetts and Richardsons joined us and we all had a blast together. We started the trip by having a relaxing day of pool time, Rain Forest Cafe dinner, and then mini-golf. Everything was great until the kids went through this Fantasia tunnel towards the end and the lights went out and some devil-looking picture flashed on the wall. All three kids cried and were terrified. Lindy still brings up the tunnel any time we talk about golf. Day 2 was spent at Animal Kingdom, which was fun, but probably a little too spread out for their short little legs. Day 3 was the best...Magic Kingdom did not disappoint. Lindy's favorite part of the day was meeting Cinderella and Belle (something about Sleeping Beauty scared her).We left midday for naps and then returned for the parade and fireworks...all three kids loved it!





























Then, a couple of weeks ago she had her first visit to the dentist. I was so hoping that Lindy has my teeth, as I have had only 2 cavities in my life and haven't had any problems with my teeth. On the other hand, Mike's teeth are terrible and he's had braces and several problems as an adult. Unfortunately, she might look like her mommy, but she got her daddy's teeth. The dentist already warned us to be prepared for braces and she has two spots on her baby teeth that will probably turn into cavities. Lindy was excited for the dentist visit until they tried to x-ray her teeth...she screamed bloody murder. Luckily a super-nice hygienist heard her screams and switched patients with a colleague so Lindy could get her cleaning underway without too much anxiety. By the end of the visit, Lindy declared that she couldn't wait to go back! She is even embracing our new routine of trying new toothpaste that she has to spit out and putting ACT on her two teeth with a q-tip. They also want me to floss her teeth, but mommy hasn't had the energy to tackle that yet.

Finally, Lindy and Mike went on their first Daddy/Daughter trip over the 4th of July weekend. Lindy was not excited to leave without me...she's definitely become a mamma's girl since I'm home so much now. She had a slight meltdown before we left for the airport, but once we got in the car and she asked Mike several questions about the flight she was fine. Mike didn't take any pics, but I've heard several stories about swimming in the lake, playing with her cousin, Sarah, and sleeping in the tent. She admits that she had a lot of fun, but was ready to come home!

I'll have to update with another first in a few weeks as Lindy will be meeting her new sister, Sloan. As I put Lindy to bed tonight, she wanted to look at her picture book, which included pictures of her ultrasounds, all my showers, and pics of when she was first born up through 3 months old. She was concerned that "Swoany" did not get a cake like she did when she was born ( she was referring to the cakes at all three of my showers) and that Swoany did not have a best friend like Caden. I assured her that we will celebrate Sloan's birth with a beautiful cake and that I'm sure Sloan will be lucky enough to have a great best friend like her Caden!

Cupcakes at School

I gave Lindy the option of making our own cupcakes for her school b-day party or buying them at Publix with the pretty princess rings on them. Without hesitation, she decided we should make our own and they should be the colors of the rainbow. We didn't quite make every color of the rainbow, but we did make some beautiful pastel cupcakes. Lindy, of course, had to taste every color of icing and tried to convince me that all of them tasted different...I wish a couple drops of food coloring made the orange taste like oranges. I let her go with it because she was not buying my explanation of how food coloring works. Before we left for school she asked me 100 times if I remembered the cupcakes and napkins (she was excited because we bought the napkins at her favorite store, The Dollar Store.) When I showed up after lunch for the singing and cupcakes she was smiling ear to ear. She yelled at the top of her lungs, "I love having cupcakes at school!" Girl after my own heart.

Early B-day Party

On Saturday, we had a combined birthday party for Lindy and Caden. I think they were both thoroughly confused as to why the party was happening a month after Caden's "real" b-day and a month before Lindy's "real" b-day. Once we got to the park for the party, I don't think any of the confusion really mattered. They were thrilled to play with all their friends and blow out their candles together. Lindy literally ran around the playground for an hour giggling uncontrollably because she was so excited...it was so cute! Happy 3rd Birthday, Girls!!!

Easter Weekend (and more)

Easter weekend started with a quick visit from Lindy's cousins from Buffalo. She was so excited to see them, especially the youngest, Sarah. For the short 24 hours they were here, they played soccer, had tea parties, and believe it or not went swimming in our 68 degree pool...crazy kids. It was great visiting with them.








Then on Saturday afternoon we had a little Easter celebration with a few friends. We painted eggs, had an Easter egg hunt, and played a traditional Easter game that my Nan used to play with us, "Roll the Eggy for the Candy". I'm sure my Nan was looking down from heaven both delighted to keep the tradition alive, but disappointed that I changed the name of the original game. As kids, we always played "Roll the Eggy for the Money"...which probably explains some of our gambling addictions. Maybe once these kids appreciate money more than candy, I'll go back to the original.


Next, of course, was Easter Sunday. We went to church with the Killimetts and then headed to Park Tavern for Easter brunch. Lindy loved that the Easter Bunny was there handing out candy, but only wanted to see him from afar. She definitely does not care for ANY life size characters. The girls ended the afternoon with showing off their panties to anyone and everyone at Park Tavern. We are going to have our hands full...5 girls between our 2 families...watch out teen years!



Finally, we ended the action-packed weekend with a trip to the Braves home opener. This was probably my favorite event of the weekend. Lindy is now at an age, where she really enjoys the baseball games. We ate popcorn, nachos, ran the bases, and cheered for Chipper (over and over again). My favorite moment was when I took Lindy to the restroom after the 1st inning and she asked if the baseball game was over (I could tell she was hoping it wasn't). When I said "No", she said "Mommy, baseball is amazing. Chipper is my favorite team." So, she has a little to learn, but being that Mike and I are both big sports enthusiasts, I was ecstatic to hear her excitement for the game. Grandpa Lawley would also be very proud that Lindy bought her new Braves shirt with the $10 he sent her for Easter. I can't think of anything else he would have rather her spend it on.

She's a "Big Girl" Now...

Well, today was a big day. Lindy finally agreed (with excitement) to give up her crib to her little sister, Swoany, as she calls her, in exchange for her big girl bed that got delivered this morning. They showed up with the delivery before she left for school and she was beside herself. As soon as she walked in the door from school, she immediately asked to see her new bed. She beemed from ear to ear when she saw her new room. She jumped around, rolled around, and then assigned clothes to each drawer. I purposely left the dresser empty, as I knew she would love helping me put all her clothes away. She thought it was awesome that she now has a big blanket

like mommy and daddy have on their bed and even agreed to leave a few of the "baby" blankets in her old dresser for Sloan. We'll see how tonight goes...she took a good 2 hour nap and is now sound asleep for her first night as a "Big Girl".

Storytime...

Today we ventured out to find a new place for storytime. We ended up at a tiny little library in Smyrna called the Lewis A. Ray Library. I've driven past the library a ton of times, but never really gave it much thought. Well, it turned out to be a great find! Lindy and Caden loved the dancing and singing, the 2 stories about trains, and they LOVED craft-time using their very own glue stick. After storytime, we headed to lunch where the girls were dancing in their seats to the music at Five Guys. They absolutely cracked me up when Caden got on her knees and started shaking her "booty" and then declared that her mommy taught her that. Lindy then followed with a mommy-signature dance of pointing her fingers in the air and going in circles...she declared that daddy taught her that dance (which I find hilarious because Mike has made fun of my dancing since we met). All three of us laughed hysterically the entire lunch. Finally, we made it to the fountain where the girls had a long conversation about who they were making wishes for before they threw their pennies in together. Their first wish was for Mimi (Caden's Grandma) and then they both went through everyone in their families (including the dogs)! It was so sweet. Love these girls!!!

Catching Up...

Well, it's been awhile since I have updated Lindy's blog, so I'm going to try to update from Dec - now and keep it short and sweet.

Christmas 09 in Atlanta...Lindy loved having

her family here.

... especially her Brookie!We flew to WV on Christmas day and spent time with our families in WV and NY. I think Lindy's highlight was seeing all her cousins.

We also have seen a lot of snow this year. Lindy and I were at my mom's in Feb. when she got over 2 ft of snow at her house. Lindy went slide riding with Grammy and we made tunnels in the snow. She loved every second of it. Then, we were lucky enough to have snow a couple times in Atlanta this year...we even made a snowman!

We were lucky enough to spend some time at a beautiful cabin up in the mountains with great friends. Both the adults and the kids had a blast!



Lindy loves this $1 Easter hat that we got at Target. She wore it around the house for days.

Lindy finally got to wear her new leotard to gymnastics last week. Here she is with her BFF at gymnastics...they love each other!

Lastly, is the reason I got behind on my blogging. In November my step-father was diagnosed with lung cancer. By the time they found the cancer, it was all through him and he passed away less than 4 weeks later - the day before Thanksgiving. He loved Lindy to death and she loved him so much. Lindy talks about "Pappy Jake" a lot, but today was the first day she asked "Where has Pappy been?". I didn't really answer her, but she knows that talking about him makes me sad because every time she says his name she looks at me and asks if I'm going to cry a little. One of my biggest fears is that she will not have any memories of her Pappy. Hopefully, by showing her pictures and telling her stories about him, she will always remember him.

This is the card that Pappy Jake sent to Lindy for her birthday last year. They always told each other that they loved each other to the moon and the sun and the stars and...whatever else they could think of. We miss him so much.