All of these photos are from the flower bed in front of the house. I am thrilled that so many of the perenials are blooming already.  Seems like it was winter just a few days ago. 

Biscotti anyone?

Doug and I decided to make biscotti last night around 11:00 p.m.  It is actually very simple to make.  I like it becuase you can throw extra goodies in and not screw up the recipe.  We made Apricot Cherry Pecan biscotti.  I had a little dark chocolate, so I chopped that up and added it at the last second.  We also added some almond extract, love the stuff, and end up adding a little to most desserts.  We also made Chocolate Walnut biscotti with mint chocolate chips.  And they must have been pretty yummy, because there are only a few left less than hmmmmm...........24 hours later :-)

 Yeah, I have my jammies on, but that does not mean I plan on going to bed anytime soon!

And she's off; Our girl is walking!!!

April 22nd, 2010. Chloe is 10 months and 3 days old today and decided it was time to take a walk. We were so excited and caught every moment on video. Excuse the poor video, dark lighting in the house.

Here are some shots from last weekend.  More mushroom hunting and hanging out by the bonfire.  It was Mom and Pop's birthday weekend.  We had some friends over to celebrate. We had a nice, laid-back time with good people and good eats.   

 Chloe turned 10 months old yesterday and  her first "toofer" broke through the gum today (that is what Doug calls a tooth.  Everything has a baby name with him.  I think it is too funny how men turn into softies around their babies). She has also started pushing around a mini shopping cart.  She thinks she is big stuff and she gets really excited when goes around the island at Mamaw and Paw's house all by herself. 

Hanging out on the porch, enjoying the beautiful sun

A "few" photos from Monday April 12, 2010

Another wonderful day with Bear Pie

Today's Findings, 84 more!

Happy Birthday Mom!  Doug, Chloe, and I made Mom this Hummingbird cake for Mom's birthday.  It is a pineapple, banana, pecan cake with cream cheese frosting.  I usually don't have a ton of luck with homemade cakes, but this one turned out very well and was super delicioso.

Our friends Brook, Corey, and Lily came over today and we took the girls to the Aquatic Center for a dip in the pool.  We had a great time and took full advantage of the water slide.  Brook and I got quite a kick out of standing in line with a bunch of youngsters waiting to go down the slide.  Hey, what's the fun in growing up anyway?  

Chloe and Lily looked so adorable in the bathing suits that we had to get a photo and what better place to do that than in a huge patch of creeping phlox.  

It's Hunting Season

Spring is my favorite time of year and hunting for mushrooms is probably one of our favorite things to do.  Doug and I get so into it. We search on our hands and knees turning over leaves and gently moving the baby groundcover to see if there are any hiding.    We get so excited when we spot one and wait  until we are both there to witness the picking.  It is especially awesome when you find three or four growing right together. Chloe is a good little shroom hunter too.   She had a big stick and was sweeping the leaves all around and uncovered a little mushroom, so she officially found her first shroom today!  When we picked her up to head to the house, she was sitting on another one!  Doug decided she is our good luck charm.  I remember last year, I was 8 months pregnant out  hunting, and we were daydreaming about how next year we will have a little sprout with us traipsing around in the woods.  Time is flying by so fast nowadays and we are having such a wonderful time with our little bear. 

We found 104 mushrooms today in a little over an hour! 

Mamaw, Mommy, and Chloe

We went swimming at the Aquatic Center this afternoon.  It was so fun.  We have been interested in getting Chloe started on swimming as soon as possible.  I have done a little research on YouTube and few other sites.  Basically, you just push the baby down into the water and I guess they will swim on their own.  I was a little skeptical and definitely a little scared.  Well, today after she warmed up, which didn't take long she was splashing and squealing after just a few minutes in the pool.  I decided to give the swimming idea a try.  First, I just did a quick dunk to see how she would react.  She didn't cry or even gasp, so I pushed her over to Mamaw and she swam underwater to her!!!  She came right up as if she had been doing it her whole life (and by whole life I mean 9 big months).  She swam underwater over and over.  She was very worn out after our little venture, so we dried off, and headed home for a nap.  Our little trip to the pool was pretty amazing.  Apparently swimming is very natural for bebes. 

Oh, Little Miss can drink out of a straw now and she says "dink" when she wants a little sip.  Growing up too, too fast.

More Dancing with Chloe

Mawmaw and Paw love dancing with Chloe too, she will pretty much take it wherever she can get it.

New Toys ohhhhh baby

Chloe loves getting new toys, especially when they light up.  I love her face here!  This video is a little over a month old.  She has changed so much since then.

Poppa dancing with Chloe to her fav song

 Chloe loves listening to music almost as much as Poppa likes dancing and singing it to her.  Somewhere over the rainbow is her favorite song since she was little and Poppa loves it too.  This video is from March 7th, 2010 so you can see how much she has grown since then.

Paw and Chloe sharing some fun

Chloe taking off!

Point camera at self and press button

"Good kid, Good kid"

Mamaw, Chloe, and I were out running a few errands today and Mamaw was commenting on how Chloe is such a good little shopper.  I agreed and told Chloe that she was a good kid and she said "good kid, good kid".  It was too cute.  I really cannot believe how much she is talking.  Every time she says something it takes us a minute to realize or even believe that actual words are coming out of her tiny mouth.

This is a photo of Mom and Pop's front yard.  It is hard to tell, but there are approximately 7,000 daffodills blooming just in the front yard!

Doug was home from work on Friday.  We spent the day cleaning out the garage and waterproofing the deck out front.  We also had a little meeting with the neighbors new baby cow, whose name happens to be Chloe! 

On another note, Chloe will now give us five!  She will even do up high and down low.  Doug is obsessed and every time I turn around he is saying "five, five, five!". 

 I know there aren't any photos of me.  I am almost always the one behind the camera.  I think I need to remedy that :).