No more army crawling!!

Natalie has finally gotten the hang of  real crawling!!  We've got all the outlets covered and now she is on the go and there is no stopping her...

49 lbs of chaos

The newest addition to our family, Gus, is now a 49 lb yellow lab who seems to make frequent visits to what we like to call "crazytown."  Just yesterday, he came barreling in the house with some firewood in his mouth.  Yes, firewood.

Maybe one of these days we'll get him enrolled in doggie school...

Hayes family bike outing

Scott and I were planning to go for a bike ride when we had the thought to see if Grandpa wanted to join us.  So then we decided to ask Uncle Pat and Andrew if they would like to come too.  So we all met at the Walgreen's parking lot and set off on our merry way.  This was our first outing together and, I'm not going to lie...it was really fun.  

Riding behind Andrew reminded me that kids really do believe they are made out of rubber ... and they may actually be right.  That kid flies on his bike and doesn't appear to be scared of anything.  Admirable.  And also, nerve-wracking.

Hawes Trail, Mesa, Arizona.   January 2012.

Uncle Pat was kind enough to bring a few Phoenix Brewery Camelback IPA trail beers for Scott and I to share.  Scott was bold enough to take his nephew off a jump on the trail.  I waited at the bottom with Grandpa.  A video of everyone conquering the jump is below.  Be sure to turn the volume up and listen carefully.  Andrew makes it clear he is not so sure about his dad's abilities to take the jump...

Bear Down Arizona

Natalie loves to watch sports with her daddy.  She really enjoys wearing her tutu and cheering for Arizona!

9 months

"Yay....it's my birthday again!!!  Over the past month, I've been working hard on perfecting my army-crawling and once I started being able to move around more, I learned to pull up on heavy things such as my crib, the coffee table and the large bin full of wood blocks.  

I don't really like to crawl like all the other kids at my school.  I prefer to army crawl with my left elbow doing most of the work, leaving my right hand free to grab things like the dog, the dog's toys, shoelaces and pretty much anything I find.  (Sorry Grandma Judy, but daddy thinks that this means I am showing a definite right hand preference.)

January 20, 2012 - Me and Marty

When momma came in to wake me up on my birthday, I decided to surprise her and stand up in my crib and wait for her to come in.  I knew she'd be in soon to get me ready for school, so I just stood there in the dark and waited.  Boy was she surprised when she saw me!  I laughed at her.

I recently learned how to say "dog-gie" when I see Gus come in the room.  I still like to say "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" and wave when someone comes in the room.  My teachers at school say that I am the classroom ambassador.  I'm not really sure what that means, but mom and dad seem to think that it's a very fitting role for me.

Mom and dad (and my teachers too) have started feeding me lots of new foods: corn, apples, bananas, oyster crackers, mashed potatoes, avocados and peaches.  I've liked them all so far.  Mainly, I just like to eat.

Last week mom took me to the doctor because I wasn't really acting like my normal happy-go-lucky self.  Turns out, I had a cold and an ear infection.  I got some medicine and am feeling a little better but each morning, mom or dad used the snot sucker to help me clean out my nose.  And everyday, I've been taking a nice warm bath before I go to bed.  I really love playing in the bathtub though so this is GREAT!!!

Speaking of playing in the bathtub, it's time for me to go because tonight...I get to have my bedtime bottle IN THE BATHTUB!!!!  I love this.  And then when I'm done, daddy brushes my teeth in the bathtub too.

Hugs and kisses to everyone!"

Flashback to Virginia

My parents were preparing to move to Nebraska later that year and told me that they were not interested in moving all my stuff.  So I made a trip home to clean out my room and pack up my things.

So in February 2007, I made my last trip "home" to Spotsylvania, Virginia (yes, that is a REAL place) and decided to take Scott with me.  It was somewhat bittersweet knowing that the house I had so many memories of would no longer be around for me to visit.  But it was exciting because it meant that I could soon make just one trip and be able to see my entire family (Grandma's, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, etc.) in Nebraska.
Scott got a chance to see the place I considered my home and also spend some time getting to know my parents better.  We shared some good laughs as he read through my very embarrassing and very girly old diaries (ranging from 5th - 8th grade or so).

While we were hanging out in the VA, we took a trip downtown to visit all the bars I never could previously and I took him on a whirlwind tour of my favorite places (1995-2004), like Carl's (which was closed and I think why we ended up at the bars).


Interestingly enough, Scott's Grandma, Eleanor Kilgore, used to live at one of the 3 National Park Service houses in Chancellorsville, the battlefield that backed up to my parents house. So we took a little trip to visit the Visitor's Center so Scott could learn the history of the battle and on our way out, we did a quick (and successful) search for the house where they used to live.

The history of the guest room

In 2005, after Scott first bought the house we live in now, his first priority was giving Katie a room that would make her feel at home in her new house.  So she and Scott picked out some paint and a wallpaper border and went to town.  She was even willing to jump in, get a little dirty and help paint the walls with her dad.

 She had a pretty pink princess canopy over her bed, new pink butterfly bed sheets (and flannel Hello Kitty sheets for our cold Arizona winter nights) and a purple lava lamp to watch as she fell asleep at night.

This room is now painted a soft green and serves as a guest room.  So if you're our guest anytime soon, just remember that there is a little purple heart under the green paint somewhere that was painted with a lot of love by a happy little 4-year old.

Flashback to 2001

After digging through old photos the other night, I thought I'd do a little flashback to 2001 and do a quick glimpse into the life of Young Scott and Baby Katie. 

A tribute to the Bronco

As most of you know, Scott is very attached to his 1985 Ford Bronco.  This photo from 1995 may help explain why...

Our first photo

August 2005.  I stressed about asking Scott to accompany me to Nashville, Tennessee to go to the wedding of a dear friend of mine (the groom) from high school.  We had only been dating since February so it was a big deal for me to ask.  I didn't want him to think I was too serious about him and yet I didn't want to go to the wedding alone (or have him shoot me down).  So I threw it out there and he bit.  We had a fabulous time and I was very thankful to be able to attend this wedding and see many old friends.

 

Playtime with da-da

Just a few pictures from some fun Saturday afternoon playtime with daddy after he got up real early and went for a long bike ride on Saturday morning.  I had almost as much fun with the tub my toys are in as I did with the toys.