30, brady & the park

First things first...I turned 30 yesterday! Eek!! My wonderful husband and friends threw me a surprise party Tuesday night. It was wonderful! We had a cookout in Josh & Emily's backyard. I'm sure she'll post some pics on her blog soon!

Since yesterday was the actual day of my birth, I took the afternoon off work and hung out with Eric. We went to Cantina Laredo for lunch and spent the afternoon just hanging out. It was really fun. I didn’t have my camera with me so here are a few pics from my phone.



Ok, now onto other things. Last weekend was the “Country Music Marathon and ½ Marathon” and my good friend Brady came up, like she does every year, to run it. PS- She just had twins in September!! Can you even believe it?!? She’s a fit little momma!



Brady has been one of my best friends since college. We met our freshman year at Auburn. She is hilarious! There’s probably no one on the planet that can make me laugh harder. She’s a constant encouragement in my life. Whenever she calls, before we hang up she always asks me how she can be praying for me. I need people like her in my life.

I remember the day she called to tell me she was pregnant with her twins. Her oldest boy, Sanders, wasn’t even a year old yet. I was pregnant with Laney, therefore probably a little extra hormonal, and when she told me the news I died out laughing and sobbing crying at the same time!! It was weird mix of emotions. I knew how hard it would be to have 3 kids under the age of two, but I also knew that if anyone could handle it she could! She’s doing such a great job with those boys and is also in the running for being Laney’s future MIL. :)



Last weekend we also met up with our friends at the park. Eli was quite the funny kid. Ryan said lately he answer’s every question with “what”? So I decided I needed to ask him a lot of questions, and every time his response was, “what?” For instance…”Hey Eli, how’s that chicken?” Eli: “what?” Me: “what’s the matter? You can’t hear me?” Eli: “what?” Me: “Does your mommy need to take you to the dr to get your ears checked?” Eli: “what?”





I also got to see this little chunky monkey! Look how cute baby Olive is!! Ryan thinks she might weigh more than Laney. :)



Alright, time to wrap it up. Happy Thursday!

Downtown Franklin

I love downtown Franklin. I really just love it. It's probably one of the most adorable downtowns I've ever been too. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL here in Nashville and we just wanted to be outside, so I talked Eric into driving us down to Franklin to spend the afternoon.



We had lunch at Franklin Mercantile. Which was just soooo yummy. Then we decided to take Laney in the toy store. It was SO much fun! I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, her or us!





I wanted to buy her everything in the store, but my budget conscience husband loving talked me out of it. This little Noah’s ark was super adorable, though. She loved it. It even has piano keys at the top of the ark. Her little hands reached out for every bright and colorful object in the entire store.



She's also loving being on her feet! She can crawl around like nobody's bussiness, but when she can pull up on something she does and she loves it! Lately I've been letting her pull up on the back of the couch and play with the blinds (see maybe I should buy her some toys).



Here she is eating paper. Also, another sign that we might need a few age appropriate toys.



Ok, back to dt Franklin. We stopped in a few more shops. There's this one place called "Hey Day" that is really cute. They have a little baby section in the back of the store that I loved walking through when I was pregnant. Now that Laney is here, we only get to walk through the front of the shop. You know how it is with strollers and little shops.





Anyway, that was our Saturday.

Thanks everyone for the comments on the post about my childhood! :) I'm working on another one for next week. Mommy, I need some more pictures of me in middle school, preferably with some of my friends. Can you get on that for me? Thanks! :)



Have a lovely hump day, folks!

The Final Countdown

credit

Duhn...duhn...duhn. My birthday is rapidly approaching and as of today I am 30 days away from turning 30!! I'm honestly kind of excited about it? I feel like it's made me reminisce about the past 30 years. I might use this time on the good ‘ole blog to look back and see where I’ve really come from. So, if you get bored with old pictures and funny stories, then check back with me after May 4th (don't worry I'll have other posts sprinkled in). :) But until then…



Let’s start with the early years. I’m the first born of four kids, so for the first three years of my life I was an only child. I can only imagine I milked that for all it was worth. My siblings still complain that being the first child AND grandchild on both sides made me a tad bit bossy, selfish and have the need to, most often than not, be the center of attention. I would like to focus on the positive here and translate those things as meaning: I am an excellent delegator, self confident, and life of the party. :)





When I look back on pictures of me as a child I tend to always be hugging my brother, Walker. I can’t help but think that my love for people started at an early age. I couldn’t have been more excited to gain a little brother, but I had no idea how great of a brother I was really gaining (Side note- Walker’s birthday is Friday). He is a rock, a protector, selfless, loving, giving, an amazing husband to my SIL, a hard worker, a great friend and an even better brother.





It wasn’t but about 20 months later that I gained a sister, sweet little Lizzie! Since I said so many nice things about Walker, I guess I should share what I appreciate about my sis. She’s the type of mother I hope I can be to my kids. She is so patient, so calm, sweet to the core, loving, and a great cook! She has always had a quiet confidence in herself and is never too shy to speak up for what she believes is right. I love her and her babies. :)



So, it seemed as though our little family had fallen into place. My mommy had birthed two girls and a boy. All seemed right. Until….SURPRISE!! Baby Jack came along! I was nine when he was born. I remember helping a lot more with Jack than I did with my other siblings. I would like to hope that I was some relief to my mom. Jack was the cutest kid EVER! He was SO funny! I remember him telling jokes all the time. The other thing I remember about him is how much people loved him! They just loved being around him!



Ok, so let’s hit up some highlights of the first ten year of my life. Here are the things that I can remember…

• Swinging on the swing in my backyard.
• Riding my bike.
• Playing with friends like:
Pruitt Liles, Tyler Ely, Katie Hughes, Erin Mitchell, Katherine Bissell, Jimbo & Katharine Nation (yes, I used your maiden names for old times sake :))
• Taking ballet class
• Going to Camp Saddle Rock
• Starting school at Trinity
• Singing “the warrior is a child” in the talent show with Erin



Well, I’m feeling all nostalgic now! Gosh, I could cry! :)

Ok, well, before I go I have to share this. When I was googling images of a birthday cake for that top picture I ran across this...


credit

How hilarious/sad is that!?!

Ok, folks, happy Monday!