Seth, Kate, Emery, and Scott Kehne

Best Buddies

2012-01-27T16:15:00.003-05:00

They both really love each other and we love them... Emery loves playing peekaboo with Scott and tries to get his attention by clapping as you can see her ferociously doing so...

6 Month Old Scotty

2012-01-24T16:12:00.002-05:00

(Love his shirt accentuating his muscles, I mean, chubb.)
Scotty is now 6.5 months old and had a great check-up last week at the doctor. He weighed 19.2 pounds, maybe 28 inches, and showed off all of his curves. He loved reaching for Doctor Green's utensils and really loved flailing his arms and legs at the Veggie Tale stuffed animal swinging from the ceiling in our exam room. Scotty is really loving his food now and has taken to homemade applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes and is working on green peas. Emery loves helping him manage his water sippy cup. Scott loves his jumper, the silly town, tractor and anything he can shove in his mouth. Still only one tooth but the constant drool proves more are on the way. He is napping better but many naps are in the car running around and is sleeping better at night, lately making it through until 7 or 7:30, finally! He loves being outside, loves watching cars drive by, and has particularly loved all the work machines around our house lately. He is proving to be all boy!

Picasso Junior

2012-01-20T18:14:00.003-05:00

Emery painted a beautiful, colorful abstract painting on her new easel on Monday. I think we will have to charge at least $500 for this Emery original.

Dinner and Movie

2012-01-20T18:14:00.001-05:00

Seth and I enjoyed a nice date night out saturday to the Vietnamese Bistro restaurant whilst Mimi watched the kiddos. It was all delicious, especially the appetizer, and very enjoyable to enjoy a peaceful dinner for two. We caught the movie "Contraband"and further enjoyed our date night out together!

Emery at 2.5

2012-01-20T18:14:00.000-05:00

Our two and a half year old is funny, fun, feisty, orderly, picky eater, preschool lover, Mickey Mouse watcher, big sister care-taker, goofy dancer, prayer warrior over meals, and book reading lover. She is so particular still, has had a few more tears over separation, and is still a homebody. We think she is so smart, precious, and becoming such a big girl. We love her so much.Enjoying her new Mickey and Minnie figurinesSilly faced over dessert with her daddy.

Eating Boy

2012-01-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

Trying a sippy cup with water
Trying sweet potatoes (his hair flip won't lay down)
His first bottom tooth showing
Chubby, fed boy
More teeth are coming with constant drool waterfall and hand chewing
Very chubby legs
Sleepy boy ready for a nap

Brother and Emery

2012-01-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

Two adorable kiddos who really like each other. Scott cracks up at Emery playing peekaboo with him, and Emery loves taking care of him. They are so precious.

Brooke's Baby Sprinkle

2012-01-16T21:40:00.001-05:00

A bunch of gals got together on Thursday night to beat the snow and celebrate Brooke's little girl soon to arrive! It was really fun to enjoy good company over dinner at Seasons and sprinkle Brooke with some goodies for Blair's little sister! Such a fun, delicious evening!

Sitting

2012-01-16T21:40:00.000-05:00

Scott is so cute sitting and playing. I have even started trusting him to sit and play without close supervision. He plays so well and loves his vertical freedom. He does topple over sometimes but is such a trooper and usually just finds his feet to play with or wiggles on his belly. He is so precious and our good big boy!

Daddy Daughter Weekend

2012-01-12T23:25:00.004-05:00

(Emery looking unsure but think she enjoyed the game and crowd watching or at least sharing goldfish with Liam at the game- the only highlight she reported to mom about)
Emery and Seth had quite a fun daddy daughter weekend with dinner friday night at Double Dogs with Hunter and Liam followed by a fun-filled Saturday. Emery got to attend her first Tennessee basketball game, and win over Florida, and enjoyed a bus ride afterwords. Then they topped off the day with Krispy Kreme donuts after dinner for dessert. They had a great bonding weekend and I'm so thankful both have so much fun together!

Girls Weekend

2012-01-12T23:25:00.001-05:00

Me, Brooke, Jessica, Emily, Jamie, Staci, Valerie and Boulder

We had the best time all holed up for the weekend at Valerie's husband's family's lake house in Lenoir City! It was cozy, close, and a perfect cabin to snuggle up with seven girls and five babies under six months. Although somewhat busy with the babies, we still enjoyed lots of food, dinner out at Calhouns on saturday night, and playing the noun game. Despite pictures of all the babies, we did snap this picture of Jessica holding the twins in a Moby demonstration. And also despite some lack of sleep, especially with Scott and Emily and her little Cates in our same room, it really was a refreshing weekend with some of my favorite girls.

Backyard Renovation

2012-01-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

Seth is tackling our backyard and making a super nice patio area with a fire pit. We cannot wait for such a nice outdoor living space and in the meantime Emery has been talking a lot about work machines and the fellas working so hard outside.

Cold Tuesday

2012-01-08T17:33:00.001-05:00

Emery wanted to sit in her brother's bed so only fair for him to pile in with her and all her stuffed animals in her bed. They were cute and cozy on the cold morning post Scotty's morning nap. Scott looked a little serious after watching his big sister jumping up and down in her bed.

Artist Emery

2012-01-05T00:07:00.008-05:00

Emery at work as a budding artist with her crayons, white board, chalk board and paint that Mimi gave her for Christmas. I will have to be a good momma and actually let her paint. Hopefully she will be a clean, spilly-free artist.

Lowes

2012-01-05T00:07:00.006-05:00

We always love to roam around Lowe's and Emery loves running around. We started off the new year getting some organizational shelves for the garage. Emery loved riding around and showing off her new jeggings Mollie got her at Target. She and her daddy are pretty cute.

New Years

2012-01-05T00:07:00.004-05:00

We had a last minute gathering with a few friends for the saturday night New Years Eve. It was nice to visit with friends over pizza for a night in. We also enjoyed having Mollie with us and she enjoyed her really cute date- her nephew. It was a great way to end 2011 and we were thankful to be surrounded with dear people in our lives.Julie, Brooke, Emily, Staci, me, Katie, and Caroline while the fellas were watching football in the den.
Mollie's cute date! I neglected to get a picture with my cute hubby date, but snapped a picture with Mollie on New Years Day.

Doctor Emery

2012-01-05T00:06:00.001-05:00

Emery loves an outing to Target. Mollie jumped at the chance to take Emery to hunt for a toy medical kit, because Grammie got Emery on the playing pretend-doctor kick. She takes a babydoll to "Dr. Green" at least two times a day. So only fitting she actually use doctor tools. Here Emery is cute in action.

First Tooth and Sitter

2012-01-02T22:18:00.002-05:00

Scotty has his first tooth poking through like a dagger. He has had such a drool-fest, and so now that he has one tooth broken through, hopefully he will get the hang of it and not let it bug our happy boy too much. He has also started sitting and really loving it. He moves a good bit upright but keeps his balance, but he still requires a pillow or person behind to catch him in case he gets overly excited or intrigued. We love that he's sitting and it makes us feel like he's growing up so fast!

Holiday Express Trains

2012-01-02T22:10:00.001-05:00

Friday night we went with Mimi to the Holiday Express train exhibit down at the UT Gardens for the second year in a row. It is always so fun and such a sight to see such an elaborate train exhibit. It was a perfect night with just a few folks. We really loved seeing the festive train display. We had a fun night out with Mimi and topped it off with an unhealthy dinner out at Five Guys.

Christmas Day

2012-01-02T22:09:00.003-05:00

Adorable mouse hat from Grammie to keep our chunky boy warm.
Too many toys, too much playing, too much food, and too much fun was had on Christmas day! So much so that we neglected to take many pictures. It was fun to see Emery's excitement passing out presents, of course organizing them in piles for everybody. Emery really loved her cozy coupe car and her new cash register- big hits in the toy department! We all felt very loved and blessed to have a nice Sunday at home celebrating Jesus' birth.

Sweet Mollie

2012-01-02T22:09:00.002-05:00

Mollie came in for Christmas and was able to stay for a week! We soaked up every moment and absolutely loved having her with us! She is smitten with Emery and Scotty to say the least and they are pretty big fans of her. She plays so well with them and simply cares for and loves on them as well as we do. She read many a book, had bath time, went on pretend picnics with Emery, and simply had a big time with all of us while she was here. I could definitely get used to having her around more often and am so thankful for such an amazing little sister.

Angel Emery

2012-01-02T22:01:00.002-05:00

Emery made this adorable ornament at school and it is our most treasured ornament on our tree now.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T22:53:00.002-05:00

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Eve with a nice day before our 5pm family church service. It was perfect and we all enjoyed the worship in preparation of Jesus' birth. Sweet songs complete with Emery mouthing the words and ferocious clapping at song's end. We really enjoyed the special day on the night anticipating the celebration of Jesus coming to earth to redeem us with His grace.

Mollie's biggest fans
All smiles with Mimi, Grammie, and Mollie and Seth and Scott with all the ladies
We ate in our dining room for the first time for Christmas Eve dinner. Emery loved the formality and even begged for breakfast in the new spot.

5 Months old

2011-12-22T23:57:00.001-05:00

This doll baby is already five months old and it's hard to believe! He is simply precious and such a happy, smile-filled boy! He has one bottom tooth about to poke through, he just discovered his feet, he is starting to sit up on his own and can even balance more than a few seconds upright, he loves splashing in the bathtub, he looks like he is running a race when playing in the exersaucer, he loves watching Emery play, he loves any toy with noise, and he will dish out a smile to everyone. Scott has been under the weather this week and after today's doctor visit, actually ended up with an antibiotic, eye drops, and an inhaler to help a developed wheeze. He weighed in at 18 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 26.5 inches long today. He is wearing 6 to 9 month clothes. And he is trying rice cereal out once a day but is not a big fan. We are a big fan of our big boy and so thankful for him and hope he gets a tooth and feels better for Christmas!

Busy Brother and Sister

2011-12-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed dinner with friends before leaving for Brazil, seeing newborn baby Lily, lunch with my college roommate Whitney, girls dinner with Brooke, Val, and Emily at Altrudas thursday night, and then a graduation party for Brett and another birthday party for John saturday night. It was a really full week, reminding us how special this time of year is to be in such fun community with friends all experiencing different life happenings. And also nice to be out and about amidst Emery having a gunky cold and Scotty being a grumpy teether. Here is to a full and joyful week before Christmas.

Lots more sister and brother time... between bath time together and Emery entertaining her brother with toys. They are pretty cute and an adorable pair!

Lawn Butler Christmas Party

2011-12-21T10:47:00.001-05:00

We had our annual Company Christmas dinner friday night. We had a lot of firsts for the evening... We had our first dinner at the shop, instead of a festive restaurant like the last five Christmases... The first time I have ever seen the shop so squeaky clean... The first dinner cooked and prepared overnight by the employees who wanted to roast a whole pig for the occasion... The first catered dinner at the shop because the pig basically caught fire when hickory chips were added to speed up the roast; therefore we called M&M catering to add to our spread of Buddy's sides and El Charro's appetizers... The first lawnmower races with prize money to entertain everyone for the evening along with a couple other games... The first time we had employees bring their significant others and families to the annual dinner making for over 25 people... And really the first time it felt like a big, yet diverse family gathering. It was a lot of fun getting together with everyone friday night, despite the rain and the roasted pig shenanigan. The guys were pretty bummed about the pig but I think the racing lifted everyone's spirits. Emery preferred hanging at Mimi's but Scott really loved the mower racing with his legs constantly flailing. It was a great Christmas evening at Lawn Butler.Robert, Cody, Colt, Brett, Chris, Eric, Louie, Seth, Mike, and Lucio, Brian, Carlos, Jesus, Juan, and Johnny. (side note, Seth got a call from Jesus on Sunday during church; very funny to see Jesus calling on the cell phone during a church sermon).

Seth giving Juan some Christmas hugs
Timed mower races to see who could wheel through the obstacle course with the walk-behind and push mower as a team
Eric, Mike, Brett, Seth, and Robert
Johnny in action

Pops as Santa

2011-12-21T10:41:00.001-05:00

Pops came in town saturday for the day toting along so many toys for the kids, even in big red bags, for Christmas. He did way too much as always and Emery had the biggest eyes for a new dancing baby doll, a red Radio Flyer tricycle, a play doh set, and little basketball hoop! She loves the tricycle and so far goes in circles in the house! We love it too because it has a handy, tall bar that allows us to steer without having to hover over her. Scotty even racked up some great toys of a musical table, adorable wooden toy cube, a little tricycle himself, and some Baby Genius movies. Really the kids could not be more spoiled. When Pops asked if we were getting the kids anything for Christmas, I commented that we definitely don't need to now since he bought all of Target. We are thankful that Pops came in town for a visit, glad he loves toy shopping, and glad the kids are so blessed to have such an abundance of toys but mainly love from Pops.

First Fireplace

2011-12-20T13:20:00.000-05:00

The passed Saturday night and then this last Sunday night, we utilized our fireplace for the first times and all loved it! Scotty loved watching the colors, Emery also rode her fire truck around to the rescue, and it made for perfect cozy nights in! Seth was a good lumberjack chopping wood for his first, successful, homemade fire!

Hark the Herald

2011-12-16T10:59:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday, Emery was one of a bunch that sang two songs in front of big church. She had to have her friend, Emory, sit with her for comfort. She didn't cry or need her mom or dad, so we were proud of her, even though she got stage fright and didn't sing the songs she actually did know. She loves singing "Hark the Herald", and when she sings "Joy to the World", she says, "and Evan and nature sing," because she has an Evan in her preschool class. Close enough. (Emery and Emory are far left down front)

Love how busy-body Emery is looking for me and asking Emory, "huh". She's too funny.

Painted Nails

2011-12-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

Showing off her pink painted fingernails and her Christmas baby doll.

Our Tree

2011-12-09T16:45:00.001-05:00

Emery, and Lovie of course, in front of the tree. She was really into ornament hanging and must have been really proud of the tree because she never lets us take many pictures of her anymore. And she did her cute crooked smile. Love her!
We had fun decorating the tree with added help this year and took a quick pic of the tree decorators. Scotty loved seeing the ornaments but tuckered out before we finished.

Christmas Tree Shopping

2011-12-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

We don't look super Christmas-y but snapped a family shot of our first family of four Christmas tree!Monday night before the rains came we went to pick out our Christmas tree as a family at Jennings Tree Stand. The owner was so very nice, the trees smelled so good, and we picked the perfect Christmas tree! It was strange to choose our tree in 60 degree weather but it was a lot of fun to wander through the trees and hear Emery's little voice saying, "this one?". She was a good Christmas tree spotter but her daddy is the expert!

Aunt Becky visits

2011-12-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Aunt Becky came from North Knox last friday to visit and hang with the kids. She came bearing Christmas goodies and we had a big time having her play, eat lunch, and just catch up! It was fun having her all to ourselves!

Santa Photo

2011-12-07T15:23:00.001-05:00

On saturday Emery's preschool had a Christmas breakfast with Santa full of activities, storytelling, and the treasured photos with Santa. We knew Emery would expectantly be reluctant, so we conceded and took a family picture, even passing Scott off for Santa to hold the sleepy boy so Emery would see how friendly he was. Why are so many kids innately fearful of a man dressed in red with a white beard and hat? We saw a life-size dancing Santa at Lowe's a few weeks back and Emery stopped in her tracks, gripped my hand tightly, and silently watched the moving figure. Who knows, but I'm glad we have our first Santa experience on the books and a family photo, which is rare, to show for the fun event. Topped off with a candy cane souvenir that Emery devoured!

Pizza night

2011-12-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

Friday night we had Blair, Brooke, and David over for pizza and some play time. The girls had soooo much fun together being silly, running in circles, singing songs, entertaining us, and staying up late. We thoroughly enjoyed having this family of three, soon to be four, over, and hope that Emery and Blair always have such fun together!

Many facial expressions

2011-12-06T16:43:00.000-05:00

Scott is so animated and just so cute. Took these in a matter of seconds as he reacted to all my faces and sounds... He is a funny baby full of personality already!

It's beginning...

2011-11-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

to look a lot like Christmas...
The new favorite activity for Emery- moving the little glass lights around on this antique mod Christmas tree from my grandparents' house growing up. I remember doing the exact same thing with Mollie and hope Emery and Scotty enjoy this lit tree as much as we did.

Outings

2011-11-29T22:25:00.002-05:00

Friday we had to get out of the house and enjoy the nice day outside. The crisp fall air was perfect for swinging and sliding at the park, especially with Aunt Mollie's assistance on the slides. Both girls were brave tackling the tall, winding, enclosed slide. We had lots of fun outside.

Saturday we ventured to watch the game with Curtis and Katie at Curtis' parents' house and despite the Tennessee loss, we really enjoyed the time with them and their family as always. Yet did not take a single picture.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a delicious dinner Thursday night at Robb and Lea's with Jack and Josie, Granddaddy, Lea's parents Jack and Jeanne, and Grammie and Mollie of course. The setting was lovely, the food delicious, and the company lively. It was a reminder we have much to be thankful for in our nice evening with family.
Jeanne with all the food spread
Lea's pretty set table

Zack and Josie being sweet to Scott
Robb singing to Scott in their matching plaid shirts
Busy Josie and Emery playing babies
Scotty and me hiding out in Josie's room from all the noise
Zack, Seth, and Scotty

Thanks Weekend

2011-11-29T22:24:00.001-05:00

We had a great time, mainly hanging around the house with Grammie and Mollie. Time flies when you are having fun!

Emery took this one herself with her camera and timer.

Two sicklings

2011-11-23T17:21:00.002-05:00

We are trying to rid the house and everyone of colds before Thanksgiving. Seth, Emery, and Scott have had some gunky stuff. So the two littlest sicklings were in for the day and helpful counter buddies watching Momma make breakfast. Emery was assisting her brother with toys and also keeping his Bumbo seat warm. Sad that she is almost two and a half and can still fit in what he fills out well already.

Date Night

2011-11-23T17:21:00.000-05:00

With kids at home with Mimi, we enjoyed a treasured date Saturday night downtown. Strolling around Mast General, shopping through stores, and dining at Cafe 4, we had a great time just us. And we also enjoyed the concert entertainment over dinner of a former American Idol contestant, even though I don't remember his name. Love, love refreshing date nights after a great saturday!

Thankful for friends

2011-11-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

Brooke set an adorable kid/girly table, complete with festive turkey plates and a brown burlap tablecloth. And despite Blair, Emery, and Hadley's serious faces, I think these girls had a fun evening. Mostly after dinner playing in Blair's cute playroom! Brooke and David were sweet to invite friends over for a pre-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving meal Friday night. We all brought something to add to the feast and really enjoyed the quality dinner time around the table. (Ben's arm, Brooke with Blair, Staci with twin Lydia, David with twin Baylor (and Emily and Cates, Seth and Scott, and Val not pictured). And sad that Hunter had to stay home with sickly Liam.) Much to be thankful for with these dear friends around a full, busy table!

Family time

2011-11-22T15:54:00.001-05:00

Mimi gave Emery an old camera. Whilst playing, she takes the camera, trots over to her play table, props the camera up facing us, runs back towards me, gets close posing her arm on my shoulder, and says, "say cheese Momma." So Seth had to capture Emery's photography session.
Cute kiddos playing together.

A day at the office

2011-11-18T23:22:00.001-05:00

Happy to be with his daddy at the shop. Already looks like a cute executive and daddy's apprentice.

Exersaucer

2011-11-18T23:22:00.000-05:00

Easton let us borrow his exersaucer and both kiddos are really enjoying the new toy this week. Scott can stay busy and feel stimulated with all the lively buttons and toys. Emery loves helping Scott play the musical toys and when Scott's not using it, she puts her baby dolls in it. We simply love seeing the kids playing together and both contented with such great entertainment. Thanks Justin, Brooke, and Easton!

4 months old

2011-11-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

16 pounds, 9 ounces at the doctor today putting him in the 90th percentile for weight, and he's in the 50-75th for height at 26 inches. A good report from Dr. Green for the big, healthy boy!

This is the cutest, happiest little boy, especially after waking up early and still sleepy after a nap. He is really starting to perk up and likes being a busy observer, not missing a minute. He loves grasping toys and also really loves his chubby hands to chew on. He is wearing 6 to 9 month clothes and is taking three naps a day. He loves bath time and also really loves his sister. Emery just started saying, "I love you so much," and often says it to her brother.

Friends Weekend

2011-11-15T22:56:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed dinner with Andy and Cameron, a visit from Grammie on her way through town to see Aunt Mollie, Shelley stopping in for a visit and lunch saturday, and grabbing dinner at Double Dogs with David, Brooke, and Blair saturday night for the game. The fun pictures I captured were of busy Blair and Emery outside Double Dogs and most of the kids eating dinner while watching a movie during small group Sunday night. The small group picture is missing three other girls and Scott too, but I will say it is a lively, cute bunch of kiddos, especially the little girl in the front right chair.
Emery with her buddy Roman

Pops in town

2011-11-14T14:37:00.001-05:00

Playing golf with the kiddos, even Scotty

Emery showing me her gum Pops shared with her (she's getting the hang of chewing gum but has swallowed a couple pieces- oops.)

Pops came in town tuesday and wednesday. We enjoyed his visit and the kiddos enjoyed having him here. There were toys awry, swings swung, thrown tennis balls outside, and lots and lots of playing. Pops is a trooper playing baby dolls one minute and then out collecting rocks the next. Thanks for coming to town to love on your big and little kids.

Four Shoes

2011-11-13T22:20:00.001-05:00

Thought this impromptu, strewn shoe picture was cute from Grammie's house. After coming inside from a walk on Sunday, I noticed the four shoes. I think all four are very telling and cute of the people who wear them. Love seeing the littlest ones and just love the three people that walk through life with me.

Busy Boy

2011-11-13T22:19:00.001-05:00

Scott is staying so busy and loving his toys. I think we are going to be in trouble once he starts moving.

Ashley and Noah's Wedding

2011-11-13T22:19:00.000-05:00

Joey, Katy, Noah, Ashley, Joseph, Beth, Seth and me (Seth is awkwardly trying to make my dress shorter than it already was) Love these fun times and date nights with my hubby
Joseph and Seth trying to catch part of a football game
My high school friend Ashley, part of the fearsome foursome, got married to Noah saturday night! It was a great night at the Hunter Art Museum in Chattanooga and a fun, intimate celebration. The ceremony was short and sweet, followed by a delish cocktail hour, and then a delish dinner. We mostly enjoyed getting to be with Beth and Joseph and as I agree with Beth, wishing we could live in the same city! They are lots and lots of fun, and we enjoyed a night out, thankful that Grammie took care of both kiddos at her house!

Downtown Chattanooga

2011-11-10T22:13:00.003-05:00

Walking to the Chattanooga Donut shop for breakfast saturday morning

Picnicing for lunch outside at the park
One of a few family pictures of us four.
Seth being a trooper carting Scott around and taking Emery on the merry-go-round... a good daddy.

Hank's Birthday

2011-11-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

Hank celebrated his first birthday in style and we were so glad to be a part of the birthday fun on saturday morning! It was filled with lots of family and friends, playing outside, cake, and adorable t-shirts from the Chattanooga Zoo. We had such fun with Hank's family and really loved seeing the adorable family of five.
Emery and me with Hank and Beth

Emery not sure about being at Wilder (her future husband's) whim

One loved little birthday boy
Sweet Wilder wanting to befriend Scott
The busy view of the party from the backyard

Pretty Girl

2011-11-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Beth snapped this picture of Emery over the weekend. We think it's our most favorite picture of our pretty girl. We think she is beautiful inside and out.

Emery and Scotty

2011-11-08T22:09:00.001-05:00

Hard to tell who is who... Scott decided to mess up his outfit before going into the grocery and he has already outgrown his change of clothes in the diaper bag so luckily Emery left her jacket in the car during preschool for Scotty to borrow. And wearing her jacket, he looks like her in the picture above too!

Belly time

2011-11-08T15:57:00.000-05:00

Cute boy loving his belly time. For the moment.

Fall boot weather

2011-11-03T13:28:00.000-04:00

Enjoying the fall weather outside after church (like a redneck in the back of daddy's truck) and sporting her adorable boots! Many compliments were dished out for these artistic boots by Emily Ellison on such a cute girl!

Weekend with Grammie

2011-11-02T15:44:00.001-04:00

Emery being silly reading the paper with Grammie saturday morning.

Happy boy enjoying his Grammie

Grammie carved an excellent pumpkin with a perfect lit glow!
We enjoyed a great weekend getting to have Grammie visit and entertain the kiddos all weekend! Especially since Seth was away wednesday through saturday and we were still car-less, we were thankful Grammie came to visit friday! We enjoyed relaxing, pumpkin carving by Grammie, and lunch out after church Sunday. It was a lot of fun having her here to spend some quality time with some of her biggest fans!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T23:43:00.001-04:00

Our chunky pumpkin! Not much Halloween-ness around here for our kiddos, but did have to squeeze Scotty into this pumpkin costume to commemorate the holiday. He's cute and smiley no matter what he's wearing. (side note: Emery went as a tourist last Thursday to school. She wore a 'I heart NYC' shirt with a camera. Kind of funny for a two year old. She didn't want to wear any of her dress up princess clothes, so that's what we came up with. I couldn't really justify a picture of the humorous costume.)

Fall in the woods

2011-10-28T14:53:00.001-04:00

Our house is nestled in the woods so I snapped a couple golden leaf pictures of the trees before they all fall down with impending rain. Love the scenery, but the blanket of leaves in the driveway will not be as fun.

Miss Priss

2011-10-28T14:53:00.000-04:00

Emery rediscovered her necklaces and bracelets and was putting them on like a fancy girl the other night. So I told her I would snap a picture of her all fancy, but she kept getting too close to the camera so these are all I have.

PJs

2011-10-28T14:48:00.000-04:00

What happens when your car has been transmission-less and in the shop for two weeks??? You have a lot of pj days at home. At least these two don't mind...

Mover

2011-10-27T16:37:00.000-04:00

Scott is really such a mover. He always flails his legs with excitement and is now seeming to hold his head up so well. So I thought we'd try the jumper thing. He loved it. But only for a short time as he got tuckered out with all to see vertically.

Marylanders

2011-10-27T16:25:00.001-04:00

We really enjoyed getting to spend time with Grandma, Great Aunt Sarah, and Aunt Barb who visited for the weekend from Maryland. Poor Seth and Scotty were outnumbered, but a certain two year old loved having all the ladies' attention. And Scott did too as you can see below...Scotty with Mimi and Grandma after dinner friday nightAunt Sarah with Scotty after breakfast saturday morning
The ladies entertaining the kiddos
Emery bossing Aunt Barb around, since she was Emery's choice fun buddy
Grandma and Seth
The sisters overlooking Emery's play corner at Mimi's house; and the other sisters being inundated with baby dolls. The one in the car seat looks so life-like!
We had the best time with these sweet family members and wish they could have stayed longer than a weekend. Or at least that they live closer to come back more often! Or that we had taken better pictures than these few. I guess that means we simply soaked in their presence and it enjoyed it too much to photograph... until next time.

Evan and Kelly visit

2011-10-27T16:18:00.000-04:00

Evan and Kelly came in town thursday night to stay. We caught up, enjoyed dinner and played with the kiddos, and then indulged in some pizza lunch before they left town friday. We really enjoyed getting to hang with them, like in olden Thursdays when they lived here and we'd meet up at Curtis and Katie's to watch some favorite tv shows and eat Katie's home-baked desserts. Glad they made time to stay on their trip in town and just missed getting to also see their little boy. Sure had fun with these easy friends.

Swing and the green balloon

2011-10-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

I really feel like I should write a children's book about the swing and the green balloon, unless one already exists. Every time we venture to the backyard to swing per Emery's request, she is insistent on toting along the green balloon we got for free at the Foothills Festival. We have two other blown up balloons in the playroom, but the green balloon takes the cake. Whenever we are swinging, I just think about a book title " A Girl and Her Green Balloon on the Swing".Swinging in action, even when it's chilly outside.

Daddy dinner dates

2011-10-21T15:40:00.002-04:00

Monday night, I met some gals from small group for dinner so Seth had a delish pizza dinner with these two cuties. He enjoyed his dinner date and care taking the babes for a night in.

Full weekend

2011-10-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

Cameron and Andy's lovely baby shower friday night and Seth snapping a picture of Andy opening girly baby gifts in action; Seth at Aubrey's post UT/LSU game loss with some of the Memphis college crew
We enjoyed a great weekend with a baby shower for baby Lily friday night down by the lake. It was lots of fun to celebrate Cameron and Andy, visit with friends, and enjoy a very nice dinner! Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Sami's and ran into our old neighbor Horace so we enjoyed dining with him and catching up. We soaked in the beautiful day with a trip to the playground before dropping Seth down at the UT game. He enjoyed catching up with old college friends for the afternoon, game, and dinner, even being so nice as to take such a happy picture at dinner. We topped off the weekend with a lively small group and called it a perfectly fun weekend.

Emery at 2.25

2011-10-20T10:29:00.002-04:00

Emery with her two favorite boys... some funny Emery moments and sayings... Emery has a concept now of echoing mom and dad reciting "one more minute" with her little pointer finger up to make known that she thinks she can keep playing for another minute before doing whatever we need her to do, yet she has no concept of time. She is reacquainted with her swinging obsession again since Seth hung it in the backyard. Walking out the door, going to swing, Emery said, "daddy push me high with big muscles." Definitely unprovoked but made us giggle nonetheless. She's really big on saying "Emery likes ___ a lot". She loves to ask "who's that?" when we hang up the phone or "what happened?" if we hear a noise, make a face, or say something. She loves, loves preschool. She adores her teachers and they even tell each other "I love you," when we pick her up to come home. She doesn't nap at school but "rests," she loves pizza day, she loves the playground and music, and she recites all of her classmates names. One day, Asher wasn't there, so anytime she mentioned her list of classmates, she included, "Asher not here". She's really big on saying, "mama forgot" if I meant to do something we discussed or of the norm. She is a creature of habit who is now seeming like such big girl. And of course she is a great big sister to her little brother and he already looks up to her, we can tell. He just may not be vertically looking up to her for long since they look almost the same length in this picture.

Roller

2011-10-19T11:14:00.000-04:00

This cute naked boy was begging for a few pictures the other day when he was on his tummy. Whether because of his chunkiness or heavy head, he is good at rolling from his tummy to his back, but not yet the other way, because who could lift all the rolls. We love our chunky monkey!

Fall Sunday

2011-10-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

We had a fun Sunday lunch at Salsaritas with friends before enjoying Gatti's Pizza for small group Sunday night and a delicious apple dessert at Tim and Polly's! Such a fun Sunday afternoon and evening!

Polly sweetly playing "Ring around the rosey" with Jo, Camilla, and Emery. Four pretty girls having a great time- love Emery's smile!

UT/Georgia Game

2011-10-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

Janna, Cheri, Polly, and me; Kris, John, Tim, and Seth
We had fun having our small group over saturday night to watch the UT loss. It was fun to have dinner and hang out with our small group without kiddos running around. We missed Adam and Cheyenne but still enjoyed a lovely evening at home with friends!

Foothills Fall Festival

2011-10-13T09:05:00.001-04:00

We went up to Maryville for the Foothills Fall Festival after a super fun three year old birthday party saturday morning. It was fun filled and a great day to walk around outside and over a few blocks of the downtown. There were tons of great artisans and very neat booths, also including lots of homemade ice cream. We really enjoyed strolling around, checking out the kid zone with trains, bounce houses, and climbing walls. We were just sad to miss the water skiing squirrel which was seriously one of the main attractions.

Ice Cream Rendeavouz

2011-10-13T09:02:00.001-04:00

We met up with David, Brooke, and Blair friday night at Brusters for a fall night treat. And that it was! Always fun to be with these friends!

Blair was sweet to hold Seth's hand leaving, especially when David and Brooke are always so sweet trying to get Emery out of her comfort zone and hold their hand!

Double bath

2011-10-10T17:21:00.000-04:00

We took these pictures the other night on our phone because the kids were too cute in the bath together. Emery loved having a buddy and Scott loved watching Emery splash in the water. They are a cute pair and one that we hope continues to love having the other around even for bath time.

Cute chubby boy and silly girl!

3 Months Old

2011-10-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

Our precious happy boy is three months old and it's hard to believe. He really is such a happy boy that seems easy going, easily soothed, and easily amused. Simply being smiled at, he returns a smile, coos and talks, and just wiggles with joy. He is so much fun and we are so thankful for our growing boy who loves to smile, move, and has now discovered his hands to chew on. He is so sweet!

D-dad B-day

2011-10-05T15:47:00.000-04:00

Sunday lunch we went to Lakeside with family to celebrate D-dad's 83rd birthday. We all enjoyed the brunch, busy kid wrangling, and celebrating Granddad's 83 years. He enjoyed the cake and ice cream and we were glad to celebrate him and see him enjoy his great grandchildren.

Emery and Josie fighting over Mollie

Cousins- Zack (6) and Josie (2.5)
Emery not too happy to snap a picture with her mom with much other fun things going on, especially approaching nap time...
Pretty Mollie and Josie

Saturday Night

2011-10-04T21:19:00.000-04:00

Hadley (19 months), Blair (19 months), Charley (14 months), and Emery (26 months); me and Emery, Valerie holding Scott, Staci and Hadley, Jessica and Charley, Brooke with baby girl in utero and Blair
We got together with some friends saturday night and enjoyed the fall-ish weather with chili and lots of girl time while the fellas watched football. Scott was outnumbered with more of Emery's friends. We had lots of fun having these fun friends over for some busy chat and play time and snapping a couple of pictures before bedtimes!

Happy boy

2011-10-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

Scott loved being outside on wednesday basking in the sunlit afternoon. I did too but mainly because his smile is so precious!

Family Stroll

2011-09-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

Our frequented family walk down from our house.
We all love stopping to visit with Harmony the Horse. Emery remembered to bring her some carrots, and we will have to bring more next time because she was begging for her treat from Seth.
Emery being camera shy with her daddy.

Young Life Banquet

2011-09-30T16:02:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night's Young Life banquet was so much fun supporting Knoxville Young Life and also hearing the guest speaker, Jeff Foxworthy. He was thoroughly entertaining and even more philanthropic and faithful than I expected. The whole evening was wonderful and we enjoyed a good dinner and being with friends for the evening. It's always a fun night reminding us how important the ministry to high schoolers is and also what an amazing community there is in Young Life. (*A couple funny jokes by Jeff... "how come a bank leaves the vault door open with millions of dollars exposed but has a chain on their pens at the counter, or how does a school bus driver exit the bus, or why can a dog eat vomit or lick their behinds but if it has a bite of chocolate, it dies." And he did a three minute bit at the end on being a redneck, but the other jokes were much more funny!)

Emery and Scotty

2011-09-28T22:01:00.001-04:00

Hard to get a picture of Emery and Scott together with one on the move and one wiggle worm. I did snap a couple pictures of the two of them the other morning since Emery was being sweet and tickling her brother after helping change his diaper. She's a great big sister and he is a perfect baby! We are blessed!

Traveling Mollie

2011-09-28T22:01:00.000-04:00

Aunt Mollie was passing through town this weekend and stopped for some weekend fun! We loved having her here to play with Emery, love on Scotty, go to Greekfest with us saturday night, catch church, babysit Emery during small group Sunday night, and simply just be with us for the weekend and love on the kiddos so well. Emery is Mollie's biggest fan. And Scott gave Mollie quite a few smiles too!Her bossy backseat buddy on the way to Greekfest.
First thing in the morning cuddles with Scott
Being silly with piggy back Emery.

Emery's First Haircut

2011-09-26T22:56:00.002-04:00

In order to prepare for her preschool pictures (that she refused to take and cried hard enough to make her the only child in her class to not have her picture taken) and to eliminate the mullet formed from her lengthy hair, we decided to trim Emery's hair at home on Wednesday night. We bribed her with an M&M, the second piece of candy she's ever tasted. (The first was when she snatched an M&M out of my hand faster than I could blink and shoved it in her mouth, like Will Ferrell with his cotton ball in the movie "Elf"). The bribe worked and she let me snip away her longer layer of hair to give her an uneven bob haircut. We aren't used to the short, homemade hairdo and I miss her longer hair that was starting to curl under, but I think it was wise to end the mullet. Hopefully in a few months, her hair will be back to its length but with all even layers. We love our girl and her pretty head regardless!

Sleeping cutie

2011-09-26T10:53:00.000-04:00

I can't help but snap pictures of our precious sleeping boy. All of his positions and migrating nap spots just make me smile. We love our sleeping cutie!

Morning visitors

2011-09-21T17:07:00.004-04:00

Three deer were outside in our front yard Monday morning when I happened to look out the window. Even though Seth had a scary early morning run-in with one a few weeks ago when it snorted at him, I do love seeing the pretty animals grazing the yard and strolling through the woods.

Grammanooga

2011-09-21T17:07:00.002-04:00

Grammie and Emery decorating cupcakes on Sunday after church after spending saturday together while we attended Joe's wedding. They had lots of fun saturday and continued into Sunday playing chase, baby dolls, and all sorts of Grammie fun. Thanks Grammie, especially wrangling both kiddos!
Daddy and Scotty watching football in Scott's Sunday Best- which was a little outfit Seth wore himself when he was little- so sweet!

Joe and Keri's Wedding

2011-09-21T16:54:00.000-04:00

Joe and Keri's first dance
Gorgeous setting at Dunaway Gardens

Some college fellas' at the reception- Jeremiah, Tommy, Seth, Chris, Kellan, and Joe
Chris, Julie, me, and Seth
Seth and Kellan
A few Memphis-what guys with Seth and Chris making faces.
We had a great time at Joe and Keri's wedding with a tiny reunion with a few college friends. It was a perfect evening perched in these rocky gardens with gorgeous tents and wedding decor and all the more fun to enjoy friends, good food, and a sweet wedding night outside. We had lots of fun celebrating the happy couple and felt honored to be a part of their special day!

Don Gallos

2011-09-21T16:53:00.001-04:00

Enjoying dinner outside at Don Gallos, listening to Chris play guitar. After the first photo of Emery begging to use the camera, when leaving a camera to a two year old, these are the results....Mindy entertaining Emery
David being a trooper and Brooke onlooking the picture taking in the background
Julie helping entertain Emery with Jennifer and Laura chatting

Emily and Liam as smiley look-alikes

Cafe 4

2011-09-19T16:28:00.000-04:00

Not much beats a Thursday night out with friends to have real good food, conversation, and a little extra special birthday fun! We met at Cafe4 downtown for dinner and dessert. We had such a good time and closed the place down. It was a perfect fall evening out with Cheri and Polly, such dear friends!

Coolest gift

2011-09-16T16:16:00.000-04:00

Last fall, our sweet friend Billy and his adorable wife Emily came to town for a football game and tailgating shower. Emily is a talented artist who discovered painting cowboy boots a few years back and sells specialty pieces for individuals in Charleston. She even tried to showcase her talents to Taylor Swift. I mentioned that someone had given us a pair of pink leather cowgirl boots for Emery and that Emily should start hand-painting boots for kids. Little did I expect to receive the first kid-sized hand-painted pair! We received a big package the other day and to my surprise, the coolest gift was inside! Emily had these precious boots arranged so prettily in hot pink tissue paper with signature and style! Not only did Emily personalize these cute brown leather boots with Emery's initials, flowers, clouds, and designs, she also put a power T and Emery's favorite phrase- Go Vols! These boots are a piece of art and quite amazing to look at, let alone for Emery to sport around! Emily is the sweetest to think of us and design a special pair of shoes for our girly girl to wear and treasure! I can't wait for Emery to wear them, especially with the pink tutu skirt that Emily also added to the oh-so-fun care package! Let me know if you would like a pair for yourself or you kiddos and I will relay all her information!

Birthday Dinner

2011-09-16T15:22:00.000-04:00

Sunday night I felt celebrated at small group with a delish ice cream cake to commemorate the old 3-0. Our little family went for ice cream for Moo Monday and I think Emery was the most excited to have her own special cone!
Then Mimi cooked a delicious dinner Tuesday night, complete with yellow cake and chocolate ice cream- my favorite! It was nice to be treated to a yummy dinner out on her porch. I wish we had taken more pictures but these are two from some birthday-ness. And I do believe I've met my dessert quota for my thirties just this week. Now to begin exercising, especially with some new, much needed running shoes post accidentally donating mine to KARM. Ah getting old, round, and forgetful- as one friend put it, "welcome to the old farts club".

Emery's Art

2011-09-16T15:15:00.001-04:00

Emery's beautiful preschool art she brought home Tuesday. Wanted to share the abstract artist demonstrating her use of red, the featured color of the month. Funny how two year olds tackle school art. She may be a minimalist but I do hope she continues her art projects as a budding artist.

The Lodge

2011-09-13T22:38:00.002-04:00

Seth and Corey with their girls.

Walking back from the lake with lovie in hand.

Emery (2) and Charley (1) (yet about the same size) out on the swing that Emery loved so much!
We enjoyed a most wonderful weekend in Banner Elk with John, Beth, and Baby Davis, and Jessica, Corey, and Charlotte. It was so much fun being with these fun friends at The Lodge for the lovely fall weekend! We enjoyed lunches at Pal's, chili and burger nights in, play time by the lake, watching the UT game and Corey and Jess on HGTV, boys shopping at a Boone beer market, eating birthday cookie cake, and mainly laughing until our bellies hurt and staying up late while the kids were fast asleep in their beds! We had the best time and wish we could gather every weekend with this pair of families that we love so much!

Doctor

2011-09-13T22:24:00.001-04:00

13.3 pounds for the 95 percentile and 23 inches long for the 50-70 percentile were Scott's two month stats Wednesday. He had a great report with Dr. Green! Scotty was infatuated with some of Dr. Green's kiddo entertainment of a Buzz Lightyear toy up in the fluorescent light and a swinging Veggie Tale character hanging from the ceiling. He was a wiggle worm, exercising and kicking his way through our visit until his three shots. He yelped, cried, and did as well as possible. It was so sad seeing him pained. I did realize that he and Emery have the exact same face when they cry. However, he did bounce back pretty quickly and passed out most of the afternoon. Sweet, sweet boy.

Grammie and Mollie

2011-09-07T10:09:00.000-04:00

Grammie and Mollie came in town for the long, Labor Day weekend, which was a super fun treat! Emery loved, loved having so much attention of both gals. And we enjoyed having them around, even allowing us tailgating time and dinner out on Sunday with Curtis and Katie to Lakeside. It was a very fun weekend for all!

5 Babies

2011-09-07T10:06:00.002-04:00

7 girls, 5 new babies, 4 moms with 3 baby girls and 2 baby boys... all gathered for breakfast saturday morning with a Panera treat. It was so fun to see all these new babies in one room and too cute to see them in their seats. The babies from the left- Scott, Staci's girl twins Baylor and Lydia, Emily's baby girl Cates, and Jamie's baby boy Eli. Throw in Brooke, Valerie, and Lauren, and it was a busy morning! It was lots of fun getting together with sweet friends and hearing updates on these precious newborns!

Tailgating

2011-09-07T10:06:00.001-04:00

We enjoyed tailgating at the first Tennessee home game on saturday. Curtis and Katie came in town and were amidst the fun crowd tailgating before the opening, rainy game. Seth braved the storms and got to cheer the Vols in their first win as I listened to the game from home with Mollie. It was a fun, orange saturday with friends.

2 months old

2011-09-06T15:10:00.000-04:00

So very crazy that our boy is two months old! Here he is with his two month posed pictures with his baa baa. He is too cute and so snuggly with all of his growing chubb. He is more awake now and when he gets excited, his legs really start moving. My favorite is his new smiling. When Scott smiles, he can barely contain it and has to move his head, then his arms and legs. He is the cutest thing when he smiles so big. Here is a little taste of our emoting, kicking boy.