We're Still Here

Okay all. I know it has been way too long, and I do have lots of photos to share, but no time to load them. My usual slow season is not at all slow this year. We actually had a wedding last weekend (Valentine's Day) and we have again tomorrow, which is very unusual for this season. Along with the weddings, I have multiple wedding and senior reorders, along with a few senior portraits still on my schedule. Basically I get up, feed Harlie and myself, go to work at the church, come home, make lunch, play with her for a bit, give her a nap, work while she sleeps, get her up, make supper, work while Mike watches her, play with her a bit more, bathe her, put her to bed, and work a bit more before crashing on the couch an hour or so before bed. Then I repeat it the next day. I really really need a break, but I need to get myself caught up first, or I'll begin to have angry customers on my hands. Anyway, sorry this is boring, and if you all skim through or skip reading altogether that's okay with me. I just wanted to write something so you didn't think I'd forgotten you.

Here's a fun thing to leave you with - Harlie's 15 month doctor visit stats (from a few weeks ago):
Height: 32 in (89%)
Weight: 29lb 9oz (97%)
Head: 18.58 in (84%)

She's still huge. Actually the doctor never mentioned her weight, and was about to leave the room when I brought it up just to make sure we shouldn't be concerned. She said that she didn't even notice her weight until I brought it up and she saw the number. She said when she looks at Har she doesn't see where the weight is. So that's a good thing. She is very very active, and I'm sure she's got most of that weight stored in muscles. My big girl. Anyway, I thought you all would get a chuckle out of those statistics.

Her Cuteness

Hi guys! For those of you that are just checking in, please keep reading, as I have multiple posts below. Actually these are just the photos that didn't fit with any of the others. I still have the desire to share them with all of you. Hope you like them!

Jeremy, Aunt Bonnie, and Harlie a few days after Christmas. It's so great to be around family. Definitely my favorite part of the holidays. Kelly, we missed you. Maybe next time!

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This is one of her new "things". She has found (oops, my fault) that she can really get a reaction if she sticks the spoon in her mouth and wiggles it around with her tongue/teeth. Also, notice the food smeared through her hair. Just another thing she does to drive me crazy.

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I really want to make sure we remember this part of her life. Harlie loves all of her toys, and she loves all of her books, but I never realized how much she would love this box of books my mom and dad got her for Christmas in 2007. There is one book for each letter of the alphabet, and they are just tiny little blocks. Each book has 4 or 5 pictures of something starting with that letter, and the word is written on the opposite page. She walks around for hours each day just shoving book after book in my face, pointing and screaming for me to tell her what each thing is. She has learned so many words this way. Of course she won't say any of them, but she can find anything we ask her to. I LOVE that this is what she is interested in at this point, and I want to make sure to remember it forever.

Vacation

Mike, Harlie, and I went on a little trip at the beginning of the month. We stayed in a sweet little cottage in Colonial Beach, Virginia. We had a relaxing week, and I can't wait to go back again. If anyone is interested in visiting a small town and just getting away, any time of year, check out this site: http://www.twinmaplesva.com./ The price is right and the cottage is so clean and has everything you need. Anything else you need can be found 5 minutes away. It's great.

Just the three of us on our last day before we made the trip back to PA.

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A gorgeous sunset on the beach

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A gorgeous girl during a gorgeous sunset on the beach.

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My little ham in her car seat

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Mother and Daughter

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Mikey and Harlie walking the beach. He actually had to grab her arm to keep her from running straight into the water (the Potomac River to be exact)

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So sweet!

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Harlie on the chair in the master bedroom of the cottage. She liked to play there every day.

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We took a trip to DC one day to visit the zoo. We all loved it, especially Nugget. Here she is looking in one of the aquariums. She would run from exhibit to exhibit pointing at the animals she saw. She's definitely my kid!

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This is when we knew we were back home. It's pretty, though, isn't it?

New Year's Eve

We had a nice quiet evening this New Year's. We had our regular group over for a murdery mystery (Pasta, Passion, and Pistols). We do them quite often and we always have a blast. If anyone ever wants to borrow one, let me know. I have a stack here that we've already done and once you go through them once you can't play them again. Anyway, here are the photos:

The boys: Rick, Mike, and Charlie (Rick was the killer, as he has been SOOOO many times)

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The girls: Shawna, me, and Stacy

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No, we didn't all dress in nice clothes for the evening. We were in our costumes for the mystery. We try to go all out for these things. This one was put together a little faster than usual, so no fancy decorations.

On a wonderful note, I just have to let all of you know that Shawna, my best friend since who-even-remembers-when, is pregnant!!! She and her husband Rick (the killer from the murder mystery) are expecting a little one around the end of August. We are SO SO excited. All in a matter of weeks he got a new job, they found out she was pregnant, and they found a house! The greatest part (aside from the baby in her belly) is that their new house is only five minutes from ours!!! I'll have her close enough to walk to (if we're feeling ambitious). Yay!

Christmas

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas this past year. Harlie was at such a great age. She understood that she was getting new things, but she wasn't holding her hands out for more more more. She just appreciated what she got.

Family on Christmas Eve: Roger, Pap, Gram, Gloria, Brian, Jen, Me, Mikey, Scott, Harlie

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Dad with his favorite grand-dog

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Harlie feeding and cuddling her new twins.

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Me with my FAVORITE Christmas gift from my FAVORITE husband.

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Me, Harlie, and Mikey on Christmas morning. This is the best we could get from the wiggle-worm.

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Mikey playing Rock Band Christmas Day.

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Harlie kissing Aunt Jenny. She LOVES giving and getting kisses and hugs.

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Our crew at our yearly "Day After Christmas Party": Tara, Harlie, Mom, Debbie, Becky, Elise, Aunt Bonnie, Lisa, and me
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Harlie LOVES the drums her Uncle Scott got her.

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Way Too Long...

.... since I updated this thing. It's not that we've been bored... Things have been crazy around here as usual, but the holidays are of course making things even nuttier. I still haven't reached my slow time of the year. Hopefully soon... No matter what, we have scheduled a vacation for the first full week in January. We're getting away just the three of us (maybe four if we decide to take Spike). I'm very much looking forward to it. I'll give you all the details after we return. For now, here are some photos and explanations. I can't include all that I have, but I'll try to show you all just a piece of everything that's occurred.

We had a wonderful visit from our friend Chris, and her kids Rayanne, Ryley, and Rheaunna. It had been way too long since we got together, and I hope we don't wait a year until the next time. We just played games and hung out all night. Relaxing and fun! Rayanne decorated Shawna with some mega blocks. Beautiful, huh??

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Remember a few months ago when I said my birds were leaving the nest? Well since then they had another set of babies, and even still they are living on the porch. I know all the babies are grown, but I think they've found a safe haven under our roof, which is fine with me.

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When my cousin Trish, her husband Jacob, and daughter Dakota came for Thanksgiving, we decided to take the girls out in the snow. They haven't had much in Memphis, and Harlie was always too little last year during our big snows. The girls couldn't move too well in all the layers of clothing (kind of like the movie "A Christmas Story") but I think they liked the snow as best they could at this point in their lives. As you can see in the above photo, Spike LOVES jumping to catch snowballs.

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The girls didn't pose too well for their photo together... neither one of them likes to sit still for more than a few seconds, and of course they couldn't make their few seconds match up! The bottom photo is Trishy and Dakota. They look alike, don't they???

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Just some of the Christmas photos I've taken of her. I have some in one more outfit that I need to process. I'll probably post them after the holiday. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I plan to spend as much time with my family as I possibly can.

Love you guys!