Atlanta trip!

We drove to Atlanta last week for my dad's birthday. We had a great time. We went down a day earlier than the rest of the extended family so that we could visit the Georgia Aquarium. We had a great time!

Ivy dancing for Uncle Craig and Daddy while we waited for the aquarium to open.

Once inside, we started with the rays - Ivy didn't want to touch one, but she liked watching them.

Next came the jelly fish tank. Ivy seemed to like them a lot.

Another tank full of pretty sea creatures...

Walking through the tunnel under the really big tank. This fish was a grouper. The aquarium man said he estimated it to weigh about 200 pounds and it wasn't one of the biggest groupers they have!

The large viewing window looking into the big tank. I could have sat there all day. This aquarium has 4 whale sharks - 2 males, 2 females. It was so beautiful - I've never seen so many fish - they are just amazing!

Ivy touching a sea anemone (sp?). Ivy touched several of these...maybe she wasn't as apprehensive because they didn't move??

Friday night, after the aquarium, we went out to dinner to celebrate my dad and his brother's 60th birthday. They wanted to go to Longhorn Steakhouse. This is Ivy waiting outside.

The birthday boys!! Colby is on the left, the "younger" twin. My dad, Jimmy is on the right. My dad is older by 5 minutes.

Saturday morning, we met my Dad and Uncle at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Ivy really liked the hashbrown casserole.

Saturday afternoon we made a trip to the Ikea store in Atlanta. I've always heard great things about Ikea, but I've never been to a store before. I was overwhelmed at all that they had. And at how HUGE that store is.

And Saturday night, we went to an Atlanta Braves game. Ivy did much better than I thought she would. She actually had her own seat, so we had a little extra room for her to stand and move around. This is her doing the "tomahawk chop". She thought that was fun.

We got home late Sunday afternoon. We had a great time in Atlanta. We got to see Uncles and cousins that we haven't seen in a couple of years. I hope we go back again soon!

First off, I have to say "hello" to my Aunt Betty. My mom finally sent her the link to this blog. So now we have another family member checking in to see how Ivy is growing...

For those of you that read the last post, you know that Ivy got stung by a bee beside her left eye. You can see from the picture that it was a little swollen - not bad though.

I can't remember what morning this was, but Ivy had gotten up at 5:30 that morning!! She usually sleeps until 7:00 at the earliest. I think I snapped this picture at about 9:00 - she was so tired that she was laying on the kitchen floor!

We went to the Farmer's Market for Watermelon Day. Ivy wore one of her watermelon outfits (the one that I didn't mind getting soaked in watermelon juice!). We got to meet the Watermelon Queen and of course eat some watermelon.

Richard's 4x4 Club took some of their trucks to a local truck show so we went along to enjoy some of the warm weather and let Ivy play in some of the trucks. I think she liked this Hummer the best - it had LOTS of buttons to push. Ivy thought the cb was a phone...

Here is Ivy standing in front of a 54" tire. It is almost twice her size!!!

And finally, here are Richard's grandparents, Pop Pop and Grammy. Pop Pop was celebrating his 91st birthday! Happy Birthday Pop Pop!!

How can it be August already??

We (me and my mom) started out the month of August by driving to Hickory for the day. My Aunt was being surprised with a retirement party. Ivy had a great time, but I was worn out by the end of the day!

This is Ivy sitting in her Great-Great-Grandmother's rocking chair...

Ivy with my Aunt Betty and her husband Ray. Happy Retirement Aunt Betty!

Yummm...Eating some yogurt...

This is okra from two times of picking it...Sunday night and then again on Monday just before dinner. Our okra is still doing really well, as you can see :)

Ivy got a new (used) play house tonight. We found it on craigslist. She went with us to pick it up and didn't understand that when we left that the house was coming home with us. She was so upset, but as you can see, she cheered right up as soon as we got it unloaded...

The previous owners warned us about all the batteries we would go through with the house having a door bell. Ivy tried it out A LOT!!! The door bell is a big hit!

Such a classic "Ivy moment". She could not get enough of this house!

This is a video of Ivy playing in her new play house (sorry it's a little long)...

I let Ivy play until almost 8:00 because she was having so much fun. But 8:00 is her bed time and she was in desperate need of a bath, so this is what happened when I told her it was time to get ready for bed...

Almost forgot!! Ivy got stung by a bee today! We came up the front steps and Ivy has some toys on the front porch... I turned for just a second to look at the dogs and all of a sudden Ivy started screaming. When I turned to look at her, she was rubbing her face, right by her left eye. I rushed right over to her and the stinger was still there, but no bee. So , I got the stinger out and ran in and called the pediatrician. They said to give her Benedryl (which I didn't have) and then just watch her. Nothing really happened. Her eye is a little puffy and seemed tender to the touch. But I'm glad she didn't show any signs of a major bee sting allergy. I've never had to deal with this before, so I had no idea what to do. I just hope it doesn't happen again!! It was heartbreaking to see her in such distress... I would ask her if she was okay and she would say "nooo" and start bawling all over again!

Animal noises...

Richard took a half-day off work on Friday. We built Ivy a "fort" out of chairs and an old sheet. She really enjoyed playing in it.

Here is Ivy (in her fort) doing some of the animal sounds she knows. She always gets so shy when I get out the video camera - either that or she tries to grab it from me!!

Piglet tails...

Ivy wore her hair "up" for the first time!! I call them "piglet tails" because there isn't enough there to call them pig tails!

Ivy's new pink, sparkly shoes - they were on clearance and I thought they were fun!

Ivy riding the carousel at the mall...

okay, I just had to include this picture - this is our smallest cat, Sharky. She has claimed the dog bed as HER bed. Sometimes I find her on this bed and our 80+ pound dog laying on the floor next to it. You see who's boss...

.Just a normal week...

Things are just business as usual around here.

Here are some pictures from the past week...

This frog was in our trash can - I almost put another bag of trash right on top of him! Luckily I saw him and got him out before he was squashed!

We went for a ride in our Blazer. It has a soft top so we rolled up the sides and went for a spin. We drove to Chick-fil-a and got a milkshake (they have peach ones for summer). I got a large, knowing I'd have to share with Ivy. I'm not sure I even got half! She LOVED that milkshake!

My mom got a new kitten. His name is Zachary. He is so cute and so full of energy.

We met some friends at the park. Here is Ivy playing with her good friend Corbin. He is 3 months older than Ivy.

Ivy getting ready to go down the slide...

So Ivy loves bags. It can be a brown paper grocery bag, it can be a reusable shopping bag, even a toy purse. She loves to carry one around with her. So I found this small Coach purse that I bought years ago (before having a child, when we could afford such luxuries!). It is small and just happened to match her outfit that day. She carried that thing everywhere!

And last but not least, Richard celebrated his 34th birthday on Sunday. We had his parents, his brother, and my parents over for dinner. His mom made her delicious cheesecake, thanks Pat! Here is Richard and Ivy checking out the cake and candles.

16 months old...

Ivy turned 16 months old today...

Before I post recent pictures of Ivy, take a look at what she looked like this time last year.

She was only 4 months old and just rolling over, she had no hair and no teeth!

Ivy smirking at the camera...

Ivy rolling over...

Ivy at the 2008 4th of July parade.

2009 4th of July Parade

Richard, Pat, Pop Pop, Ivy, and Dick