Happy Birthday to You!

Happy, Happy Birthday to one of the funniest, smartest, most clever people I know. 



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You are a great role model and the best Dad and "GT" we could ever ask for!


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We love you to pieces!!!! Happy Birthday, Dad!

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Pat a Cake

Faegan has started Pat a Cake all by herself! She is getting so big! We have only had one successful "throw 'em in the pan" but she has got the "pat a cake" and the "roll 'em over" down pat!

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9 months



I just love this age! Faegan has started imitating us and we have had the best time learning what she can do. She can stick out her tongue and smack her lips on cue.


Faegan has added some sounds to her vocabulary. For the longest time we just had "mama", but last week (this post is old, so this was just as she turned 9 months) she just started saying "ba ba", "wa wa", "ga ga", and finally "da da". Ben was thrilled!

We finally had that hard headed front tooth push through this week, making a total of six teeth.

We have seen the beginnings of a little temper and impatience. When we are getting our pajamas on after bath, I can tell Faegan to push her arms through the arm holes and if she can't get it through in what she thinks is a timely manner, she gets mad and starts fussing. Heaven forbid we take something away from her that she doesn't need to be eating {ie. newspaper, magazine, dirt on floor, grass} - full out fit will be pitched. My dad will be proud that we have finally taught our baby how to cry.

Books make for yummy treats, and if you aren't paying attention, will have a nice hole in them in no time.

Bath time is scream time. Not the angry scream, the I'm-so-excited-I'm-in-the-bathtub scream.

Still not crawling, but you are trying so hard. You have started pulling up on things and just started being able to stand up all the way when you want to!

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We are still in size 3 diapers and wearing 12 month dresses, 18 month bubbles. At our 9 month checkup, you were 19 pounds and 27 inches. That puts you on the 50th percentile for height and weight for your age, 75th weight for height.

She still loves all things food and continue to be a great eater. Our favorites right now are grapes {I have to hold out on these until the end or nothing else gets eaten}, blueberries, good strawberries {she throws away the ones that aren't juicy}, green peas, still loves plums, LOVES yogurt {will eat an entire YoBaby if hungry}, mandarin oranges, all baby food that is green {broccoli, pears, and peas; spinach, pears, peas}, and anything that is on our plate!

You are waking up at 6, napping at 8:15 until around 10, napping again at 1:15 until around 2:30, and bedtime at 7. You drink milk at 7, 10, 1, 4, and 7 with meals in between.

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Bedtime routine includes reading a couple of books. You are so sweet and will lie back and listen to Good Night Moon and On The Night You Were Born. One night this week you kissed every page of Good Night Moon. I hold up the books to let you decide what book to read first and you look back and forth at each book until you make your decision. You also will turn those pages with a passion.

I don't know if I have ever mentioned this, but your hands and feet are CONSTANTLY moving. You move your feet in circles all the time.

We love you, sweet Faegan! 

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New Cookies

I have added some new designs to my Etsy shop. Check them out!




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our easter bunny

We had a wonderful time celebrating Faegan's first Easter. She, of course, didn't really know the day was any different than others, but I had a great time dressing her up and allowing her to pick up and play with a few eggs. 

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We started the day with pulling out what the Easter bunny stopped by to bring us. We attended church, ate lunch, and then took Faegan to her first egg hunt. She was more interested in having her mommy push her in the swing, but she did have an egg or two in her basket.

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Faegan and some of her cousins anxiously awaiting the Easter egg hunt.

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I am in love with this picture. This is classic Faegan - feet going, smiling, and chewing on whatever she can get her hands on!

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Somehow, I don't have the first picture of me, Ben, and Faegan. I am going to have to do better next time! I hope you all had wonderful Easters! 

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Just like her mama

I am proud to say that although my child may look just like her daddy, she loves ice cream just like her mama. Yes, I have passed on to Faegan one of the most important traits that I got from my family - to love {and I mean love} ice cream. 

I grew up in a household that made three or four churns of peach ice cream in the summer. As children, when asked what kind of cake we wanted for our birthday, we would say "I don't care, I just want some homemade chocolate ice cream." Currently, if you ask me what kind of cake I want for my birthday I will say, "I think I will just take some homemade ice cream." In my mom's freezer(s) you could find up to 10 different tubs of ice cream. We are a little ice cream obsessed.  

I had no doubt in my mind that Faegan would love ice cream as much as we do. So when  we were on spring break, I did what any mom of an 8 1/2 month old would do, I got her some ice cream! 

She didn't know what to do with it at first so mom kind of stuck it on her lips. It was love at first taste. 







This was too hilarious not to video. Every time mom took the ice cream away, she would get so mad until she let her have some more!

The next day, Faegan got her own ice cream. Brilliant mom of the year here got chocolate. I was going for taste, not stain proof. I honestly didn't care if she was covered. She loved it and that is all that matters. 




We are definitely going to have to start the tradition of homemade ice cream at birthday parties! 

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Spring Break in Boca

For Spring break this year, we decided to take a trip down to my grandfather's house in Boca Grande. We were able to find a flight out of Chattanooga and arrange for Mom and Dad to pick us up at the airport in Florida. That was the ticket! An hour flight beats the heck out of a 12 hour drive. Thank goodness Faegan didn't have any issues with the flight and was her usual content self. 

The first night we stopped and had dinner at a precious cafe that hand makes their pasta - yum. This was the beautiful view we had when we were leaving. 

The next morning we lathered up and took Ben on a little island tour and headed to the beach to see how Faegan liked it. The town is so cute and full of people on golf carts.  




I even found a Land Cruiser hiding for Ben!

 She was definitely the cutest baby on the block.



The above is about the extent of Faegan's beach experience. I put her feet in and she picked them up and started crying. The water was cold and she wasn't thrilled about sitting down in the sand. We didn't try much after this visit. Beach trips are quite different when you have a baby and are working around nap time.

We ate some yummy food while we were there and got lots of love from Gigi and GT.




Pop arranged for us to go to Cabbage Key for lunch one day and it is always a special treat. It is a cute little island accessible only by boat. The house specialty is their delicious cheeseburger.



 This is the restaurant and what you see when you arrive at the dock. It is first come first serve on the boat slips and it was busy the day we were there. 

 The cute little dock area and the gift shop. 



 The walls inside the restaurant are covered with money. There is an estimated $100,000 dollars on the wall and about $12,000 falls off each year. The waitress told us that they donate the money that falls off to charity. 

 Ben and Ben Jr. 

They had mallards outside and although Faegan was happy to see them, she only was interested from afar. She did not want me to put her down with those ducks! 



Arguably one of the best things about being in Boca Grande is the ice cream from The Loose Caboose. This was Oreo and I may have had it two days in a row. Faegan had her first taste of ice cream here. Those pictures deserve their own post. 

The weather was absolutely beautiful and we were able to take advantage of the precious little park. Faegan had the best time swinging in the swings.



Everything is super expensive on the island. Gas was $5.61 per gallon! 

 This is my sweet Pop. This was the first time he has ever seen Faegan. She gets her name from his mother's maiden name. 


We had a blast and I can't wait to go back. I think  know if I told Ben let's move to the beach he would race me to the car!

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