The Thornes

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-01T15:59:00.005-05:00

To say that these two kids had a fun Halloween would be an understatement! They were sooooo excited about everything going on. And both of them were obsessed with the costumes they picked out! We were dressed and ready long before it was time to trick or treat- ha! Last year, Cade was sick, so we all stayed home and handed out candy. But we more than made up for it this year. Heath hooked the trailer up to our car, added some hay bales and lights, and voila! It was a Halloween Hayride:) A lot of people in our neighborhood do this, and it is definitely more fun than walking. Cade would get off and run from house to house as fast as he could. Emmy "got it" too, and loved going to everyone's front doors. Sometimes she would say "twick or tweat" and sometimes she would say "give me some tweats, pwease!" I think it is safe to say that good times and sugar overloads were had by all!
The Princess of the Thorne house;)

Luke Skywalker- Cade is VERY into Star Wars right now. He especially loves the original movies.

Blue eyed girl...a.k.a. mini Heath

Apparently, you have to be very serious to be Luke Skywalker!

Ready for some candy!!!

The Fair!

2011-09-21T09:44:00.005-05:00

We love the Wilson County Fair! It is definitely one of the most fun things about Lebanon (and apparently others agree- over 500,000 attended over the 9 day run). If you live in the Nashville area and have never been, I highly recommend it. The fair is usually held the third week in August and there is so much to see and do there. Of course the kids loved the rides, but they also enjoyed seeing all the animals, watching the tractors, the fireworks, etc. And of course, plenty of fair food was enjoyed by all:) It is always such a good time. We went several nights this year, and are looking forward to the fair's return next summer!

Emmy loved petting the pigs

Carosel

Kiddie tractor pull. So serious!

Cute guy on the right!

Driving sister in the boat

Pirates! Arrggghh!

Fun times!

Riding with Paji

Daddy said this ride was too long! Ha!

Time to go home!

Sweet Home Alabama

2011-07-31T20:43:00.004-05:00

Our dear friends, the Crocketts (Ian and Heath have seriously been best friends since junior high), moved to Birmingham a back in February. Even though it was a great opportunity for them, we have missed having them here! We had stopped by to see their new place on our way to the beach back in May, but decided that we had to come back for a whole weekend, which is exactly what we did. It was so good to spend time with them. Heath and Ian even worked in some early morning golf, then later Banica and I went for some pedicures and shopping:) And if this picture is any indicator, the kids had a great time:

Cade and the triplets: Campbell, Elea Rhea and Ian Thomas

the big girls

Redneck water park. The yellow bucket was the diving board:)

I am sure that the new neighbors loved all of the laughing/screaming they were doing.

Emmy entertained the newest member of the Crockett family, baby Eli. Seriously one of the best babies ever!

Cheese!

Silly faces!

E is over it! She literally slept nearly all the way home- too much fun!

Emmy is 2!

2011-06-27T09:24:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe that this baby girl is two! We celebrated her birthday on June 5 (Aunt Wendy's birthday, too!!!). We had planned on having a pool party at the farm. About an hour before the party, the bottom dropped out (hail, thunder lightning). We had to temporarily move part of the party inside, but then it cleared up (and thankfully cooled off a little) so the kids could play in the water.

Happy Birthday, Emmy! While I cannot believe it has already been two whole years, you get more fun and sweet every day!!!

New Dora trike from Pap and Paji

Cade had to try it out, too:)

Sam and Luke

TWO candles!

Emmy was so excited that her baby Brantley came. As soon as she saw him, she said "I hold him!"

Made by my talented mother in law

Cookies from my friend Neelley

My Martha Stweart buttermilk cupcake recipe was a hit:)

Ready to play in the water!

All the babies love "Aunt B"

Brad spent a good hour filling up water balloons. All the boys were intrigued. Coolest uncle ever!;)

Cade and Escher

Layla and Tarpley had a good time...

Opening presents. She got lots of girly gifts this year, which she was ao excited about. We have been ironing, bathing babies, dressing up, fixing hair, etc. all month!

"I be two!" That is what she says now when you ask how old she is.

Sweet Sam

One of her most favorite gifts: her own purple soccer ball from the Barretts. I guess all those hours at Cade's soccer practices and games paid off!

Happy 6th Anniversary!

2011-06-25T11:14:00.003-05:00

Phoenix Ball, June 2011

What a fun and fabulous six years it has been! I am looking forward to many, many more:)

"...a man leaves his father and mother and unites to his wife. And they become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

The Beach 2011

2011-06-09T12:21:00.008-05:00

Right after the kids wrapped up their MDO program in mid-May, we packed up and headed out for a vacation in the Florida Panhandle. We had the absolute BEST time! The weather was perfect (about 80 degrees everyday), no one got sick (a first for us on vacation), the kids were good (almost too good!) and best of all, Heath's mom and dad got to come:) We were beach bums, played golf (Heath, Rick and Cade), rode bikes, ate out at most of our favorite places and just enjoyed getting away. We were glad to be home after a week, but Cade is already asking when we get to go back- ha!

Digging the sand and getting ready to build a castle

Pap, Paji and the kids (and Cade with another face of course!)

The bay by Harry T's

Cade got his first face painting- he obviously wanted to go all out! It was not fun to take off, and he looked like he was wearing eyeliner the next day;)

in the hole Pap dug

mmmm...Dora shaped popsicle

Cade loved climbing this little tree by the golf course

the best we could do with all four of us

in Seaside with Paji- Pap had to go back home for work:(

Diva

Beach Baby

typical Cade

She always wants to mimick everything her brother does

Sweet ending to a sweet trip!

Easter!

2011-05-06T13:22:00.006-05:00

Easter weekend did not go exactly as planned....but what ever does with two kids?:) We actually did have a great weekend, until Saturday night when sweet Emmy girl started running a super high fever (she rarely gets sick anymore, and the poor thing was pitiful!) Needless to say, we did not all get to go to church on Easter Sunday:( The weather was amazing all weekend, and we did get to have some fun Friday and Saturday. On Friday, we all loaded up and went to see our sweet baby Brantley. Then on Saturday, Cade had a soccer game, and we went to have Easter dinner and an egg hunt at Grandma Thorne's house. Cade and Emmy had a great time. These kids LOVE a good Easter egg hunt. Especially Emmy. She just carries that baskey around saying "mo' eggs!" It is hilarious! We feel so blessed to be able to celebrate Easter and the fact that Jesus has risen! Cade was very into that this year, and we read the story of Jesus' death and resurrection in his children's storybook bible. It is so amazing to see his little mind process things like this and see how amazed he is by God's word. It truly makes me appreciate it more!

Pigtails!

Hunting eggs is serious business!

Go Emmy Go!

I love that ruffle bottom!

He is getting so big!

This is what happens alot now when you try to take Cade's picture...

He and I went to church, because for some reason, Emmy only wanted her Daddy- I think she has caught on to the fact that she is his little princess:).

I am sad that only half of the family got to go to church, but glad that Emmy was over her virus in just a few days!

Soccer

2011-04-30T15:07:00.005-05:00

Soccer season is in full swing and has been SO MUCH FUN! Cade has really loved playing, and with every game and practice, he shows more and more improvement. He scored four goals at today's game! And yes, I am that crazy mom that screams the whole game whether we are on offense or defense. Don't you judge me:) I am just so proud and get so excited! The pictures below are from his very first real game:

Go Cade Go!

This is Cade's best soccer buddy, Escher. He will most likely be in the World Cup one day. He is already an amazing soccer player. At the ripe age of four:)

Emmy just comes for the snacks- ha!

After game hand shake

Team Huddle. Cade's favorite part.

Go Wild Thangs!

The Zoo!

2011-04-26T11:12:00.005-05:00

We got our zoo membership this year, so Pam and I took the kids a couple of Fridays ago. This is the first time Emmy has been, and the first time Cade has been in a while. They both LOVED it. We packed our lunches and ended up staying almost four hours! We were all worn out, but had a great time- I forsee many zoo trips this year!

Looking for the elephants

Flamingos

Cade's interpretation of a flamingo:)

Cade was our tour guide and kept his zoo map handy!

This meerkat liked looking at Cade and Pam as much as they liked looking at him!

Little meerkat

Giraffes

Elephants (or efants as Emmy says)

Miss Sassypants

The Jungle Gym- a big hit!

All worn out!

Holy 4th Birthday, Batman!

2011-04-16T15:19:00.005-05:00

*WARNING: Picture overload!*

We celebrated Cade's 4th Birthday on March 19 (his actual birthday is 3/23, and yes, I am behind on my blogs again!) It was a GORGEOUS spring day- the weather was perfect! For some reason, Cade has recently become obsessed with all things Batman, so the theme for his party was a no brainer. He is at such a fun age, where he really enjoys all of his friends, so he was super excited about his party and having everyone come over.

How awesome is this cake? My super talented friend, Elisabeth made if for me! Some of the food and decor

I rented this slide from Crazy Clyde's Slides in Lebanon. They were so nice, affordable and easy to work with. This was a HUGE hit. They delivered the slide early in the day, and Cade went down it about 500 times before the party even started:)

Even Aunt Debi took a turn:)

Cade and his best friend in the whole world, Ellen

Birhtday Boy!

Princess E had so much fun, too!

Cake time

Blue icing- ha!

Cade and his harem opening gifts

Reagan and Sophie

Elea Rhea

Wendy at 39 weeks, 6 days pregnant. I got The Call at 6 a.m. the following morning. Our sweet Brantley was born within 24 hours of this picture!

This is when the slide got wild- they all wanted to go down together!

This is out of focus, but I love it because it shows how much fun they were having!

Happy 4th Birthday Cade!

2011-03-22T22:47:00.005-05:00

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Happy Birthday, sweet boy! You truly are a light in our lives and keep us laughing everyday:) We Love You!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the fruit of the womb a reward."
Psalm 127:3

Somebody get me a minivan...

2011-03-18T08:58:00.007-05:00

...because I am officially a soccer mom!:)

Cade had his first soccer practice last night, and boy was it entertaining! He loved it, though, and had so much fun running around with the other little boys. They practiced running drills back and forth, then even had a little mini scrimmage. It was hilarious. Anyone who knows Cade knows that he is meticulous about certain things, and likes to try to follow rules (although his "sissy" is turning out to be a different story- oh my!). At one point during the scrimmage, he was yelling at some of the players that they were running the wrong way. Ha! I think he is going to have a fun season. His four year old boys' team is appropiately named the "Wild Thangs." And you know I will be cheering from the sidelines:)

Scrimmage- so serious!

With Coach Shane

Go Cade!

Drills

Celebrating Baby Brantley Davis!

2011-03-03T15:03:00.007-06:00

Ok, so I am WAY behind on blogging...again! I promise I will try to do better:) We are all so excited that Wendy and Brad's sweet baby is due in 17 DAYS! These pictures are from an amazing shower that some longtime family friends in Kingston hosted for her at the end of January. Brantley's clothes are washed and the nursery is ready. Now we just need a baby!

Diaper Cake I made for Baby B

Emmy got to come to the shower, but Cade decided it was "too girly" for him to come. Ha!

Sweet Quilt

Mommy and Emmy (I am thinking that she actually looks more like she could be Wendy's baby!)

Wendy and my honorary little sister, Jenn

Emmy's favorite part of the party- cupcakes

Wendy, me and Mom

Kaybe and her precious little Sadie

Robin Mac

Sadie and I

Snow Days!

2011-01-31T15:14:00.002-06:00

Boy have we had ALOT of them! It has snowed five pretty significant times since the beginning of December. Nothing like the feet of snow that two of my favorites, Stephanie and Casey, are experiencing in Boston and Connecticut, but definitely more than usual for Middle Tennessee! It has been very beautiful (although a bit inconvenient:) Both of my kids have been LOVING the snow this year. Here are a few pictures from a snow day on the farm:

Snow bunny

Cade sledding

Emmy and Daddy

Hazard of too many layers: you fall down and may not be able to stand back up! Sorry, sister!

Cade was insistent that he wear Heath's ski goggles;)

Daddy and his princess: Matching blue eyes

Vols and a New Year!

2011-01-12T19:52:00.005-06:00

We did not have any big plans between Christmas a New Years' but to rest and play, play, play with our new stuff:) Then, at the last minute, Heath scored some great tickets to the Music City Bowl and went with his grandfather (who truly is the biggest Vols fan I know. Over 80 years old and still goes to almost every home game. Makes me proud:)

The kids and I decided that since the Vols were playing in Music City, we needed to rock out our orange and white one more time until next football season. Then I decided to try to have a little photo shoot...results below:

Emmy seemed up for it at first

Let's try holding hands...
This is pretty typical of Cade anytime I try to get his picture these days:)

Ok, just hug your sister. Maybe that will be better. Or maybe not...

Sitting on the floor together...even worse!

Mommy gives up:)

On New Years Day, we were taking our tree down. Everything had been put in the attic when Heath went to come back out. Then I heard a crash. He had stepped down between one of the beams. Right over my stove where my lucky black eyed peas had been simmering all morning. There was Insulation "fuzz" everywhere in my kitchen- boo! But thankfully, the lid was on tight, so we ate our peas quickly in hopes that our 2011 would get better:)

Cade keeps asking Daddy why he "broke the house."

Anybody spy someone above? Ha! I only wish that I could have gotten a picture of his leg hanging out Clark Griswald style!

Christmas Fun!

2011-01-07T08:51:00.006-06:00

WARNING: Picture overload!

We had a great Christmas this year. Cade totally understood everything and had been literally counting down the days until Christmas! And Emmy, well, she is just excited if Cade is excited:)
We spread our Christmas celebrations out over the course of about four days between Heath's family and mine. Needless to say, by the end we were WORN OUT! Poor Cade was so fired up that he barely ate or slept for about three of those four days- all he wanted to do was play! We are so blessed and I really tried to soak in every memory this year, as I know that these precious years fly by way to fast!

Our Tree

"Henry" our Elf cam back!

Wen Wen and Brad brought Candyland- I love it as much as Cade:)

I was proud that my gifts matched this year. It is always my goal, but never happens!

Christmas Eve:

We started off the day at our house. I cooked breakfast and Wendy, Brad and my dad were there with us!

At the Thornes on Christmas Eve. We had a delicious dinner there and opened gifts with Heath's family. Cade and Emmy must have been extra good this year, because they really racked up:)

Of course Pam let Cade use her nice goblet- ha! That is the kind of thing Grandmas let you get away with...

Emmy like Cade's new camping binoculars

Heath LOVES Candy Cigarettes...random I know! They are really hard to find (I wonder why...maybe because they are CANDY that look like CIGARETTES!) His mom always fills his stocking with them:)

Guess who loved them as much as her Daddy? Do they make a patch for candy cig addicts?

Cade can't wait to go camping with his new sleeping bag!

Christmas Day:

E loves her new stroller. It is bigger than she is...Santa did not realize this as it was in a box until assembled:)

This is Cade's favorite new toy: the Batcave. He saw a commercial for it back in October, and was just sure that this was one of the main things he wanted from Santa. He plays with it everyday.

Sweet baby bed

maybe just a sip...why isn't anything coming out???

These were in her stocking

"Your turn, Daddy!"

Christmas at Grandma Thorne's- she always cooks a delicious brunch!

Day after Christmas:

My mom and Grandma came over (and I forgot to get a pic, but I know my mom has one!). We were SO glad to see G-Jo, as she lives in Atlanta so we don't get to see her near enough!

My mom got the kids this 50's diner. It is so cute. We have been grilling lots of burgers and hotdogs:)

We went back to the Thornes that night to celebrate the engagement of Heath's sweet cousin Lacy and her new fiance Ray! Congrats!

We had a couple more stops in between that I forgot to take pictures of. Now you know why we were tired- ha!

Happy Birthday Jesus! Thank you for blessing us with wonderful family to spend the holidays with!

You better watch out, you better not cry...

2010-12-20T16:49:00.003-06:00

Oops. Too late for Emmy.

At least Cade was nice enough to tell Santa that she would probably like a new doll for Christmas:)

Celebrating Baby M

2010-12-19T19:50:00.007-06:00

This weekend, a group of my friends (and sorority sisters) and I threw a baby shower to celebrate Casey Mac and her sweet bun in the oven, "Baby M" (name still TBD:). Kami was gracious enough to let us host it at her beautiful home, and it was great to see everyone again. Casey is literally my oldest, dearest friend in the world, and I wish she lived closer so I could see her all the time. But honestly, no matter how much time passes between meetings, it is like we never skipped a beat. She is the Blair to my Serena (this will mean nothing to anyone unless you are addicted to the show Gossip Girl like we both are. Seriously. We text each other after almost every episode- ha!) I cannot wait to meet little boy "Baby M!"

Kami, Lauren, me, Casey, Kelly, Brooke
(I would also like to point out that teeny little Lauren on the left of me has 6 week old twin boys- crazy right? she looks amazing!)

Opening gifts- I think the highlight of the gift opening was when Casey confused the Boppy for some sort of a fancy neck pillow- hilarious!

I LOVE THIS PICTURE! Casey and my precious little sister, Wendy, are due the same day!!! With BOYS! I am soooooo excited! I just want to stand in the middle and rub their bellies:)

The most delicious carrot cake cupcakes ever

I love this baby!

Sweet Evie Grace

2010-12-14T12:51:00.003-06:00

I am asking for lots of prayers from all of my blog readers. A sweet friend and sorority sister of mine lost her 20 month old little girl, Evie, last Thursday. My heart literally aches when I think of the loss and sadness that Jonathan, Alicia and Evie's twin sister Ramsey are going through. Her celebration of life was yesterday in Memphis. I wish so badly that I could have been there to support them. I spent all weekend praying that God would give them strength, as I cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through. Please pray that God will wrap his arms around them and comfort them in a way that only he knows how. Alicia- I love you and am thinking of you constantly!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T08:51:00.004-06:00

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and has safe travels. As for me, I am especially thankful for these two little turkeys:

"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds."
-Psalm 9:1

"Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done."
- 1 Chronicles 16:8

Free Holiday Cards!

2010-11-22T10:19:00.004-06:00

one of our many Christmas card outtakes- don't you love Cade's athletic socks?:)

One of my most favorite things about Christmas is sending and receiving holiday cards. Heath makes fun of me because I am practically standing at the mailbox everyday during the month of December waiting for the mailman to arrive. Seeing all those sweet cards just makes me smile. It is especially great to see photo cards of my friends and/or their children. Especially ones I don't get to see that often. Shutterfly is currently running an amazing deal for bloggers right now. By writing about this deal, you can receive 50 FREE CARDS! As I mentioned, my personal favorites are their photo cards. And they have hundreds of styles to choose from. I personally love the 5x5 square cards.

***I get 50 free cards for sharing this post! You can too!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T14:28:00.004-05:00

Well, our Halloween weekend did not go exactly as planned (but when you have two kids, what ever goes as planned;). Thursday night, goblin #1 started to get some major congestion. By Friday, he also had a pretty nasty cough. So we skipped a friends' Halloween party to stay in and rest (and to not infect other kids!)
Saturday, he seemed fine, but was still congested, so he took it easy that day too. He went with his Daddy to hang out at the farm. Emmy and I actually went to meet Wendy and Brad that morning at Franklin's Pumpkin Fest. It was a lot of fun. Brad and a group of his friends were in the barbecue cook off (but sadly did not win- maybe next time!).
Two good days of rest, and I just knew we would be fine for Halloween- boy was I wrong! Sunday morning, Cade was a bit stuffy but was fine otherwise, so off to church we went. At one point during the service, I mentioned to Heath that Cade felt a tad warm. Heath said he was probably just hot because it was hot in the room (note to self: moms should always go with their first instinct;). About an hour after we got home, the poor little guy had a fever. I was SO sad, because he has SO looked forward to wearing his Spiderman costume and trick or treating:( Unfortunately, he was just too sick to care about either. He didn't even mind that we missed our super fun Halloween hayride. So we just stayed home and handed out candy (he did like seeing some of the kids in their costumes). Oh well, maybe next year (actually, Pap promised to take him trick or treating to a few places when he feels better:)! The good news is that we went to the doctor this morning, and after a full examination and negative strep test, she said that the cold virus and congestion had left an icky infection on his tonsils, but he should be back to normal is a day or two (with plenty of fluids, rest and Motrin!)

The kids with their Paji (we decided that the hat/mask combo was reminiscent of the Hamburglar-ha!)

He did want his costume on for about five minutes! Spiderman!

And here he is a few minutes after that on the couch- poor guy!

Little sis- the Queen Bee of our house!

Pumpkins that Daddy carved

Emmy helped give out candy:)

Sweet little booty!

Cade finally came out to see a few of the costumes.

Discovery Center

2010-10-21T16:48:00.005-05:00

First and foremost, I must apologize for the lack of posts- I have been a terrible blogger! We have been having so much fun this fall, and it seems like it is flying by! I still cannot believe that Halloween is a little over a week away- that means Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here before you know it- eek!
We have had lots of fun in the last month. Both kids continue to do really well at school. Even Little E walks right in ready to go. Heath has had some cool new work projects, and I organized a charity fashion show for the local Junior Women's Club that I am in...busy busy! We have also been trying to take advantage of the great fall weather we have been having by playing outside as much as possible.
One day last week, my friend Angie and I took our kids to the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. If you live in the area and have kids, it is awesome! It has so many cool, fun interactive learning stations! Cade was in Heaven! And Emmy just wanted to run around following her brother;) We even packed a lunch and ate under their covered pavilion after we got done inside. Then Cade and Sophie ran around outside looking at the pond and playing on the playground. It was a super fun day! I am sure will will be making other trips over there.

Firefighters

This was Cade's favorite. it was a maze of levers and pulleys.

Hard at work

Coming through the "coal mine"

Emmy loved all of the tiny doors- in she goes...

and back out!

"Look Sophie!"

Best buddies:)

It's Great to be a Tennessee Vol!

2010-09-21T13:18:00.009-05:00

We have already been having lots of fun at the UT games this season, even if the Vols have already lost a couple. Cade and I have gone with Heath to the UT Martin (perfect game day weather) and Florida games (hot, hot, HOT!), and we are glad we stayed home for the Oregon rain delayed game!

Cade LOVES going to the games this year. He sings Rocky Top and cheers for the team. And of course he loves the band's halftime show and all of the snacks!
I am so glad that Cade is loving the family tradition of going to the games and supporting Mommy's alma mater. Maybe one day Emmy will get to go, too:) V-O-L-S Go Vols Go!

Pregame

Brother and Sister

Smokey was HOT before the Florida Game

We went to the Vol Walk, but Derek Dooley passed by me too fast!

UT Martin- Cade loved his tattoo

His buddy (and excellent summer babysitter:) Camille

Stadium renovations

Ladies man with the UT Dance Team

Post game ride to the car!

School Days!

2010-09-13T16:52:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day of Mother's Day Out. It was a BIG day, because both Cade and Emmy got to go. I was worried that Little Miss might not be into it, but she was so excited to be a "big girl," and I think she was glad that she got to stay instead of just dropping Brother off (she barely even cried when I dropped her off). Cade was, of course, thrilled to be going back to see all of his little friends! They both got great reports and ate all of the lunches I packed for them. And the real shocker of the day: Emmy laid down on her cot and slept for well over an hour (Sweet Mrs. Anita, the school director even sent me a text to let me know the great news- ha!:) Here's hoping to a great school year!

Can you tell this guy is excited???

Cade was so cute and wanted to walk Emmy in and show her where her class is.

Greeting Mrs. Anita

All the kids wore their matching school shirts for the first day

Off they go!

Wilson County Fair

2010-08-29T12:37:00.005-05:00

Well another fair has come and gone! We LOVE the fair, and tried to make the most of the time it was here despite the heat and many rain showers! Cade especially had fun this year, now that he is big enough to really enjoy it. He rode LOTS of rides, and especially loved the ponies and the tractor pull:) And Emmy just came along for the ride, and was so good!

At the petting zoo feeding the llama

His favorite ride- the ponies! We spent quite a few dollars on multiple pony rides!

Cruisin' with snacks

The lil' Scrambler. He was all smiles at the beginning...then looked like he was going to puke by the end. He got off just in the nick of time!

Too much fun!

Summer Camp

2010-08-25T13:03:00.002-05:00

Cade finished up his "summer enrichment camp" a couple of weeks ago. It was just a Friday half day program that ran through the summer. It was run by the same wonderful woman, Mrs. Anita, who also runs his Mother's Day Out program. For the grand finale, they had a fun night of pizza, homemade ice cream and a sing a long, which was quite entertaining!

Cade walking in with his two girls, Rachel and Ellen:)

Ready to sing!

Rocky Top, his favorite song (note the foot stomping:)

This picture cracks me up! Near the end of the sing a long, Cade informed Mrs. Anita that he had a new song he wanted to sing for everyone. He then proceeds to come out to the middle of the floor and sing a solo of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." We have quite the little entertainer on our hands. American Idol 2023?

Jud for President!

2010-08-18T09:31:00.002-05:00

Okay, maybe not President, but my sweet brother in law, Jud Nave, is running for the City Council here in Lebanon. He is specifically running in Zone 3 . He is such a great guy and I have total confidence that he will do an amazing job. I know that most of my blog readers probably can't technically vote for him since you don't live in the City of Lebanon, but if you do or have friends that do, please spread the word to vote for "Uncle Jud" on November 2!:)

Sibling love

2010-08-09T15:04:00.003-05:00

Emmy is in a phase right now where she wants to do everything that Cade does. Good or bad:) And Cade is usually a pretty good sport about it. I took these over the weekend of them riding the little Gator at the farm.

About to take off

She insists upon standing up so she can hold on tight to the handle.

Heading towards the garden (that thing has put out some serious tomatoes this year!)

Still standing...

What have we been up to?

2010-07-21T16:15:00.005-05:00

It has been forever since I posted, and I apologize, but the summer has flown by! When Cade got done with Mother's Day Out, I was worried that we would be bored, but that is not the case. We have been having so much fun! Last summer, we couldn't do a lot since I had just had Emmy. So we are making up for it now. We have spent tons of time at the pool, and have found a couple of fun places to go on those really hot days. The summer will be over before we know it, then both Cade and Emmy will be in MDO. Hard to believe! I have posted some pictures below of the babies:

Cade is so into golfing these days. His beloved Pap got him these "real metal golf clubs", as he calls them. Note the cute little mini glove, too. He actually has a pretty darn good swing, and already can hit farther than me- ha! Heath has even taken him to the country club to play a few times, which he loves! Anything to be like his Daddy!

back swing...

Good shot!

This is his other favorite activity this summer...playing baseball. he would let you pitch it to him1,842 times if you could! Like the golf, he is a pretty accurate hitter;)
Probably the highlight of Cade's summer (to me) is his swimming. After the first round of group lessons, I signed him up for a private lesson and oh my! Money well spent! The first lesson, he did not want to leave the steps, and by the last lesson, he was going off the board and swimming under water. He still needs plenty of help in the water and likes to wear his floaties some, but he has done such a great job learning. Pictures to come...

These two have been really playing together well this summer. This was an after church tea party- ha (future blackmail?)! As sweet as it is when they play nice, they definitely have their fighting moments, too. Emmy can definitely hold her own, though! She's gonna be a scrapper:)

And what about the princess? Well, we have finally cut our fourth molar. It has been a l-o-n-g month of teething, but we have reached the light at the end of the tunnel! She now has 12 teeth. At her one year appointment, she was only 35% for height and weight. She is a little peanut, which is funny because she is the best eater! The girl will eat (or at least try) almost anything. She is finally fully weaned ( I thought I would be sadder about this, but I was ready!), and loves to drink milk.
She is not walking yet, but can stand on her own and cruises around everything. I think she could walk if she really tried, but she shows no interest. Why walk when you can be carried? Back to the reason that she is the princess of the house...;)

As you can imagine, she has been began talking up a storm since her birthday. She says lots of words including mama, dada, up, down, bro bro (brother), Tucker (our dog), duck, cracker, drink, baby etc. Of course they don't all sound exactly like they are supposed to, but we know what she means;)

I worried about her being a tomboy because she has an older brother, but she is definitely more into her baby dolls and stuffed animals than Cade's trucks and tractors. She wants to hug, kiss and love on them at all times. Sometimes, she wants to hold 3-4 at once. She has also started blowing kisses (so sweet) and loves to give hugs!

So that is the latest with us! Until next time...

Just Another Day at the Beach!

2010-07-01T08:28:00.010-05:00

Well, we survived our first big family vacation with all four of us! Mom and Dad were so sweet to take the whole family to Seagrove Beach last week. I was a bit worried with all of the oil spill mess, but it was absolutely gorgeous and the weather was great (and hot!)
The trip started out a bit more eventful than I would have hoped. We had not quite gotten to Birmingham when poor Cade started having some tummy issues. Three year old + 8 hour car trip + stomach problems = NOT FUN (especially when you are also trying to entertain a one year old)! I will spare the details, but let's just say that at one exit we had to stop three times...luckily, he slept the last leg of the trip. He started running fever that night, but was feeling much better by the next day- thank goodness. I think he just had a little virus.
We were total beach bums! Both of the kids loved the beach- especially Cade. The first day we went out, he kept talking about wanting to "surf," so we got a boogie board and he loved it! He also loved building sand castles with his Daddy, Pa and Uncle Brad:) Even Emmy was a trooper. She liked the sand and sound of the water. Wendy and I would laugh because she would eat snacks almost the whole time we were at the beach, then pass out for a nap (rough life- ha!). While we were there, she cut two molars. I felt bad for her, as she definitely was in pain (especially at night, poor baby). But it was nothing some Motrin couldn't take care of.
One of the highlights of our trip was that Heath and I celebrated FIVE years of marriage! It was so awesome to be in Seaside where we got married. It is so hard to believe that five years have already passed (and two babies and two brother in laws have been added!) To celebrate, we got to go out for a nice, romantic dinner (a rarity) while Nana and Pa kept Cade and Emmy. We went to a place in Santa Rosa Beach called Basmati's, which I highly recommend if you are in the area. We ordered lots of sushi, and it was delicious!
One other thing I would recommend if you are in the area and have your kids with you: Harry T's. This was always a family favorite when we went to Destin growing up. I have so many memories of eating there with the McMillin clan. The old Harry T's is gone, but they have put the new one in a place called Harbor Walk. It is awesome! It is open air, and you can watch the boats come in (good entertainment while waiting on your food). We have been there twice (we went last year with Cade). Both times, the service and food were excellent, and kids' meals are served in a frisbee. So fun!
Thanks Nana and Pa for a great trip! Here are some of my favorite pictures (they are in no kind of order!)

Cade at Harry T's watching the boats

"Sand Angel"

Family photo

Little beach bum!

Princess E and Nana at Harry T's

"Maybe just a little taste of sand..."

Blue eyes like my Daddy!

Birthday twins- Emmy and Wendy

Fishface

We match!

Baby girl

Boogie boarding

the girls

Cade on the alligator Daddy and Brad built

Emmy is ONE!!!

2010-06-10T14:22:00.006-05:00

BIRTHDAY GIRLS!!!

It is hard to believe that a whole year has passed since our sweet princess made her grand appearance on June 5, 2009 (sweet Wendy's birthday)! To say it has been a busy, fun year would be an understatement! Having a little girl has been so much fun, especially to someone who loves all things pink;)
On Saturday, we had our families and a couple friends over for brunch to celebrate Miss E's first year.

With her new piano from Wendy and Brad

Peonies at her party. My favorite! Pink peonies were the main flowers at our wedding five years ago;)

Cade and Rachel

Emmy and her new pony from Aunt B and Jud

Pushing her baby stroller! This is the only way she will even attempt to walk.

Lots of help opening presents!

Homemade strawberry cupcakes. I got the recipe from the Martha Stewart book, Cupcakes. You need this book if you like to bake! Mine did not look quite as good as hers did though- ha!

She was not really into the cake. She did not want to put her hands in it. Such a girl!

She even got kind of mad about it...

We tried again after the party with a fork...

...BIG success!:)

The only downside about her birthday: After her party, she went right to sleep. When I got her up from her nap, she was kind of warm and acting fussy. By that night, she had a full blown fever that lasted until Tuesday night (I thought it was her ears and took her to the doctor on Monday morning. Luckily, it was just a virus). Not a good way to start being one:( But we are glad that she is better now and back to her old self!

MDO 2010

2010-05-31T09:39:00.004-05:00

I am so late posting these! A couple of weeks ago, Cade had his end of the year program for his Mother's Day out program. It was so sweet. Cade was truly sad that his "school" year was over, as he really loves going to see his friends and teachers. And to think- when he goes back in the fall, Miss Emmy will be going too!

Waiting for brother's show! This time last year, I sat at the show nine months pregnant dreaming of her sitting in my lap and watching Cade. This year, I was imagining what next year will be like with her on stage, too!

Here he comes!

I think he spotted us!:)

Mommy and her babies!

This one is my favorite. Cade and his best friend Ellen. The two of them have been in class together for two years. They really love each other so much and love to play together. Katy (Ellen's mom) and I joke that they look like twins because they have such similar hair/eye color and are exactly the same size:)

Swim Lessons

2010-05-17T13:44:00.004-05:00

Cade has been going to swim lessons once a week since the end of March. He has done great! I certainly did not expect him to swim by himself (I taught swim lessons long enough to know that it takes a lot of time to get little ones swimming by themselves), but he has made major strides since his first lesson. He is not scared to float on his back or go under. This is huge considering that when he first started he was afraid to get water in his eyes. Tonight is his last lesson, but I plan to sign him up for another round this summer!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T14:38:00.003-05:00

The two reasons I am blessed enough to celebrate Mother's Day:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."
Jeremiah 1:5

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..."
James 1:17

"Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from Him."
Psalm 127:3

We were so excited this morning to dedicate our little princess, Emmy, at church. I remember sitting there last year, ready to pop, thinking how different this year would be. Cade loved the baby dedication, too, since he got to go up on the "stage." Ha! I hope that all of the moms out there have a wonderful day! Especially my own wonderful mother and my sweet mother-in-law!

Lifelong Girlfriends...

2010-04-28T10:01:00.004-05:00

Since elementary school, I have been friends with these three girls. Above is a picture of us from our class reunion back in August. Last year, we took the picture below at Summer's baby shower. Three out of four of us were pregnant (Amy and I with our second babies!) We were trying to convince Kaybe that her turn was next...

Our wish came true:) Here we are a couple of weeks ago at Kaybe's baby shower! She is expecting a girl, Sadie in June...so exciting! I can't wait to meet her! Congrats Kaybe and Bud!

Easter 2010

2010-04-07T13:27:00.004-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend, and were especially glad to be able to enjoy the gorgeous weather! Here are a few pictures:

Daddy and the babies

Mommy and the babies

Emmy turned 10 months on Monday- I cannot believe she will have a birthday in just two months!!!

Speaking of Emmy, she is a bit diva if she does not get her way;)

All better now!

Best buddies!

A few more party pics...

2010-03-31T11:19:00.002-05:00

Wendy and Emmy

Birthday boy

Family pic...the best we could do!

Party setup

Hayride

Cowboy Up!

2010-03-28T13:36:00.006-05:00

On the Saturday before Cade turned three, the Thornes were nice enough to let us have Cade's cowboy birthday party out on their farm. It turned out to be a gorgeous day! Everything was perfect- we had all the food, tables and party favors set up in the barn, hay bales outside for people to sit on and Cade's favorite thing: A hayride with Pap's John Deere:)

Food table

Cade wanted sprinkled cupcakes

toppers I found on Etsy

Taking "Cousin Maddie" on a gator ride (we had these hats and bandanas for party favors)

Blew out THREE candles (sniff)

Lyla really enjoyed her cupcake!

Opening presents with Rachel and Ellen

Ellen on the tire horse swing

This next picture makes me laugh because of what is happening. Brad and "Wen Wen" gave Cade an awesome kite. Cade, of course, wanted to fly it immediately. Unfortunately, the wind had died down a little so it was hard to get up. The kids here are chasing Brad and cheering him on while he is trying to run at full speed in cowboy boots to get the kite going. Hilarious! Thanks for being such a good sport, Brad!!! And, the kite did eventually make it up for a few minutes:)

Happy Birthday Cade!

2010-03-23T08:24:00.003-05:00

It is hard to believe that my sweet boy is already three. For some reason, I have been a little sad...three sounds so big! Cade is our sweet, funny little guy. He says things everyday that make me laugh. He loves to sing, especially with his microphone (which has also turned into a love of American Idol). He hardly ever meets a stranger, and almost always has a smile on his face. He always tells me that he loves me and gives lots of hugs and kisses (I try to savor all of these moments, as I know one day that won't be "cool":) Cade loves to go places, especially school, church and his grandparents' houses. He loves to eat, but can be really picky. He would do almost anything for a piece of chewing gum. He is (finally) potty trained, and I swear getting bigger by the day. He is a great big brother, and makes Emmy laugh all the time. He truly is the light of our lives! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! We love you!

2007

2008

2009

2010

March 22

2010-03-22T09:37:00.002-05:00

March 22 is a somewhat significant date to me. Five years ago on March 22, 2005, Heath and I bought our first home. We were about to get married and Heath had just sold his "bachelor pad." I was living in an apartment in Nashville, but we had decided to buy this beautiful house in Lebanon. I was scared to death at the time, as this was my first "big girl" purchase (well, besides for my car). And both of our names were on the mortgage, which made our impending marriage seem so much more real. I have never signed so many papers at once in my life. I was certain that somewhere in there, I had just signed away my firstborn (luckily, we still have him:). We loved our house from the moment we moved in, but I love it even more now, as the two empty "guest rooms" now look like this:

and this:

Three years ago on March 22, 2007, I probably had the most anxious day of my life. Anxious because I was 38 weeks pregnant, and due to my high BP, my doctor had me scheduled to be induced the next day at 5 a.m. I had no idea what was going to happen (well, I knew, but I think it is hard to comprehend until you actually go through it). I just knew that we were going to leave as a couple and come home as a family of three. Here I am on 3/22/07...scared to death:

On March 22, 2008, my best friend in the entire world, Casey Mac, got married in Charleston, SC. I am so glad that I go to go be a part of her big day. It was gorgeous and so much fun! She now lives in Connecticut, but I swear we can always pick up right where we left off no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other! Happy 2nd Anniversary Casey and Jason!

This is Casey (seriously, isn't she a beautiful bride???) and her two brothers, Drew and Billy

Cade had fun at her wedding, too!

Tonight will be another March 22 milestone...Cade starts his first "big boy" swim lessons! The kind where they like for the parents to leave. Updates on that later!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T13:57:00.003-05:00

Again with the tongue...

Please note Cade's boots...he got them as an early birthday present from Pap and Paji for his cowboy birthday party. He wears them everywhere. At home, church, with his pj's. You name it, he has them on. The first day he got them, he even wanted to sleep in them. The good news? He can put them on himself, which saves me one extra step:) It cracks me up how he always has them on over his pants- ha! Maybe he learned that from mommy?

Monkey's Treehouse!

2010-03-16T09:05:00.006-05:00

Where's Waldo?

Last Wednesday, we went with a huge group of mommies and kids (seriously...12 moms and about 25+ kids- ha!) to the Monkey's Treehouse in Bellevue. If you have kids and live in the Nashville area, you must go visit! I was a little skeptical at first, since it is located all the way across town from us (and who wants to drive 2 kids 45 minutes unless it is for something really fun???) Luckily, it totally lived up to the hype. It is very clean and age appropriate for toddlers, and is divided into many different play areas. Cade especially loved the ball pit and GeoTrax train station. But his favorite by far was the actual treehouse. I bet he climbed the rope ladder and went down the slide 50 times! There was even plenty for Emmy to do too. I was especially impressed by how clean it was (yes, I am a certified germaphobe), but I credit that in part to the fact that it is owned and run by a local mom:). We finished our morning followed by lunch at the brand new McDonalds located conveniently next door...I got tickled because Cade hardly said a word during lunch- he was starving and ate all his nuggets, apples, some fries, drank a milk and then wanted an ice cream cone. I guess all that playing worked up an appetite! We had lots of fun, and I am looking forward to going back!

Jack

Swirly slide!

Steele and Cade

Cade and Ellen

GeoTrax (Emmy was trying to get in on the fun:)

Emmy and Crew in the baby section

Trying to pull up- she is all about sticking her tongue out these days

Fun times!

Emmy is 9 Months old!

2010-03-05T15:33:00.002-06:00

Finally crawling and into everything!!!

Cade putting his cowboy hat on sister...

"What is this?"

"Peekaboo!"

This month has seen lots and lots of changes for Miss Emmy. She is really showing her little personality now days! Here are some recent developments...it has been a busy month!

- has decided that she does not want to eat babyfood anymore. This was crazy to me, as Cade loved it and ate it forever! She is such a good eater though. She will try anything. So I pretty much just cut/mash up whatever we are having and let her try it. She doesn't always love certain things, but she will try them.

- She is crawling (fast) and is into everything. Including Cade's toys;)

- Trying to pull up.

- She loves to put things in her mouth. Anything.

- She now says dada, mama (yesssss!), and will wave her hand and occasionally say bye bye.

- Has six, almost seven teeth (I think this is why I am not scared to let her be adventurous with food).

- Cade is still her hero, and she wants to do everything he does. If he even looks at her she starts giggling.

- Loves to be on the go!

- Has been doing really well in the church nursery (I am knocking on wood now).

- Just got registered for MDO in the fall (this hardly seems possible!)

This month has been so fun, and I am looking forward to the weather warming up so we can all spend more time outside!

Happy March!

2010-03-03T08:24:00.005-06:00

Some of my favorite things about March: Official Start of Spring (and hopefully warmer weather), daylight savings time, spring break (only now it is mother's day out spring break instead of college spring break-ha!), and most importantly, this little guy's birthday. Can you guess the theme he wants;)?

***Also, we want to wish a VERY HAPPY 3rd Anniversary to Bevin and Jud!!!***

Snow, Snow and more Snow

2010-02-19T07:57:00.005-06:00

This has been the snowiest winter I can remember in a long time. It hasn't necessarily been super heavy snow everytime, but it has snowed enough almost every week for the last month to at least cover the ground, which is a big deal in Middle Tennessee. The best snow came the last weekend in January. The meteorologists kept warning about the big storm about to come through, but we have learned that more times than not, it ends up being way less than predicted. Well, not this time! It started snowing Friday afternoon and kept snowing well into Saturday afternoon. And it was snow followed by an icy mix, which made for some awesome sledding! I bet we had six good inches at our house. Our driveway did not thaw until the following Tuesday. It was so fun! Cade really loved the snow (although I think he is totally over it now, since the weather keeps cancelling his preschool!:) Here are some pictures of our snowy fun:

Snow baby

Teeth!

Snowball fight!

Heath brought the sleds back up for us;)

Pam the Sledding Grandma!

Emmy thought it was too cold...

Ready to sled!

I am thinking he had on 3-4 layers-ha!

Dear Faithful Blog Readers...

2010-02-15T09:31:00.004-06:00

I promise I have not given up on my blog...my poor computer has been having some troubles lately and is going back to the shop as soon as we can get out (due to the snow/ice). I have had two viruses removed, but she is still sick. I hope she can pull out of this rut so we can avoid having to get a new computer:( I am posting this note from Heath's laptop (my computer is where all the pictures are). I will start posting again as soon as I can!

7 months!

2010-01-19T09:14:00.005-06:00

Well, technically more like 7.5 months now! Emmy has been doing great! She is up to nearly 20 pounds, and loves to eat. Green veggies are her favorite (the exact opposite of Cade). She tries to crawl, but can't seem to get both feet under her, so she manages to get around by "scooting" on her bottom. Cade is really loving his sister right now. She laughs at almost everything he does, which he loves. She is such a sweet girl, but tends to act much better when her mommy is nearby:). Of course we are together all day everyday, so I guess it is no suprise that she gets some separation anxiety! For the past month, we have been inside ALOT. Up until this week, it has just been SO cold here. We are really looking forward to the spring so we can get outside more to play.

Here are some of her latest:

Loves her sippy cup

One month ago, she had one little bottom tooth. Since then, she has cut FOUR (almost five) more. The other bottom tooth and three of her top ones. She likes to show them off:) Needless to say, we have had some sleep issues here! And she chews on everything she can get her hands on!

"Peekaboo!" Her favorite game.

Relief for Haiti

2010-01-15T08:45:00.003-06:00

I sat here with tears in my eyes watching a doctor help a two week old baby who had gotten a head injury in the earthquake. His mother had been killed. If you have watched anything on the news, then you know how sad and devastating the whole situation is. Haiti is the poorest county in the entire western hemisphere. Nearly HALF of its population is made up of children. It is reported that up to two million children have been orphaned or separated from their parents. This just breaks my heart. I wish I could go down there and help these people! I figured that the least I could do was make a contribution that would help get food, water and supplies down there. I personally donated through a Nashville based organization called Healing Hands International. It is a first responder to disasters like this, and is run by a wonderful man, Dr. Randy Steger, who goes to my church. They take donations via PayPal, so it takes less than five minutes.

Another superfast way to donate is to text "Haiti" to 90999. This will automatically donate $10 to the American Red Cross. It will appear on your next cell phone statement. Compassion is also an organization that helps the children of Haiti. A little donation will go a long way!

"Share with God's people who are in need..." Romans 12:13

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-08T14:00:00.006-06:00

I know many of you read Kelly's Korner blog. It is one of my favorites, and I especially love the "Show Us Your Life" segment she does on Fridays. The first topic of the new year is New Year's Resolutions/Goals. I figured that if I wrote mine down for all to see, then I would have to hold myself more accountable. So here are some goals and improvements I am hoping to make for 2010:

Start Running. I know this may be nothing for some people, but the last time I remember physically running a mile was in 9th grade P.E. class. It is not to say that I am not active. I love to walk, do yoga, elliptical machine, boot camp, kickboxing, weights, etc. but I just have never been a runner. But ever since one of my best friends, Casey Mac, completed the Nashville half marathon in 2005, I have felt inspired (she will not mind me saying that she started off as a VERY non-runner like myself). And when she finished her first full marathon this past fall, I decided that the least I could do was a 5k:)

Take a sewing class. I did some minor sewing my senior year of high school in Home Ec. I even have a quilt to prove it. But now that Emmy is here, I am feeling like I need to learn. I even have a sewing machine, so it seems like a necessity!

Get ORGANIZED! I will be the first to admit that I am no Type A personality. I like to keep the house clean, but organizational skills (closets, fridge, etc.) are something I have to really work at. After being married for nearly 5 years and having two kids, stuff can accumulate really quickly. I have already tackled the master closet and bonus (with Heath's help), and have a huge donation of clothes and toys for our local Help Center! I just need to keep up organization all year...

Work on my photography skills. I am obsessed with pictures (having kids will do that to you), and need to learn more about my SLR camera, lighting, angles, etc.

(Finally) Start reading the Twilight series. My mom and sister in law think it is necessary. Apparently i am way behind! Ha!

Try more new recipes. I love to cook, and having two small children makes it hard (and sometimes downright unpleasant) to go out to dinner. And I tend to get stuck in a rut (tacos and spaghetti anyone). So I will be breaking out the cookbooks more often (this should be an easy goal- we love to eat, which will make the running more imperative!:)

Spend more time in God's word and practicing it. Self Explanatory!

Continue to work on being the best wife and mother I can. When I had a "real" job, we did yearly reviews and worked on goals and professional expectations for the next year. This is my job now, so it only makes sense to do the same for it. Too bad you don't get a yearly raise or bonus like in the professional world!

I am sure there are more things, but that is all I can think of right now...I better get to it!:)

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T15:28:00.002-06:00

We had such an amazing, blessed holiday season this year at the Thorne house. It is crazy to think that last year it was just us and Cade. Well, I did have a little bump...and now we have two precious kids that are into everything!

This Christmas was especially fun, because Cade was really into Santa. I am actually sad it is over, since I used the good ol' "Santa is watching you" many times as a bribe for good behavior. I guess it is never too early to get ready for next year, right?;)

Emmy had a great first Christmas. Like most babies, I think she enjoyed the paper, bows and tags as much as the actual gifts! We are so thankful that we got to share the holidays with family and friends!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Thanks, Santa!

Santa brought Emmy a new big girl seat since she is nearly too heavy for her carrier

Cade and cousin Maddie

His new hard hat and goggles

This is one of his most favorite gifts. He loves to make a stage and sing songs (which he is very theatrical about). Future Justin Timberlake maybe?

You'll shoot your eye out!

Loving the wrapping paper...

Big hug...or maybe a headlock???

Fun with bubbles!

2009-12-19T11:07:00.002-06:00

Cade loves to take bubble baths in our "big bathtub." The jets really churn up a lot of Elmo Bubble Bath!

"Ho ho ho!"
Abominable snowman:)

Christmas festivities and 6 months old

2009-12-09T08:55:00.002-06:00

Emmy had her half birthday on my (gulp) 29th birthday, December 5! She has had a couple of big milestones this month (besides for her first major sickness). She now has one bottom tooth, and I expect the second one to come in any time. She is also sitting up like a champ. That is all she wants to do! I just sit her up and surround her with toys she can grab or let her watch Cade and she is happy as a clam.

We had our first Santa experience of the year. The country club we go to has a "Cookies with Santa" day every year. It is nice because you never have to wait too long. Cade was a little nervous about Santa, but when he saw Emmy sitting on his lap, I guess he felt pressured to do the same;) After our picture this year, we decided to stay and eat lunch. By the time we were done, pictures were over and Santa was gone. We got almost to our car when Heath and I spotted Santa getting into his car. We tried to block Cade's view in order to avoid the questions that we knew would ensue...but it was too late. Cade froze in the middle of the parking lot and yelled "Daddy, Santa drives a red pickup truck! That is crazy!" At that point, I am laughing so hard that my eyes were watering. It is just so cute and funny how innocent and honest kids really are. Santa saw Cade, too, and I think he felt really bad, because he pulled up next to us and said, "Hey there Cade! On Christmas Eve I am going to come to your house and bring all my reindeer." Cade just stood there wide-eyed, like he could not believe Santa was talking to him. Good Save, Santa!
The next few pictures are from the Lebanon Christmas Parade. Heath and Cade met up with the Thornes and the Naves. Emmy and I stayed in, because it was so cold. I think Cade really liked the parade for the most part, although he did not understand where the big balloons were like the ones we saw on TV. Ummm, maybe because the L-town parade is not quite as big as the one in New York City:)

Having some cotton candy with his "Aunt B"

This is how you roll to a parade Lebanon style!

Needless to say, his coat needed a wash after all the cotton candy!

Happy Birthday Heath!

2009-12-03T09:12:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday to the best father and husband ever! I will not tell exactly how old you are (we know you are still holding at 29;)... but I will say it involves double digits! Hope you have a great day- we love you!

Finally, an Update!

2009-11-30T08:42:00.004-06:00

I think that this is the longest I have let my blog suffer! We have been both busy and sick here at the Thorne house. I feel like November had barely gotten started before it was over! Since my last post I have been on a weekend trip to Chicago for a wedding (so fun!) and Heath has spent a long weekend duck hunting (what he considers the most wonderful time of the year). Between the kids there have been two calls to the doctor, three visits to the doctor and four pharmacy drive thrus:( Then we celebrated Thanksgiving with Heath's family and decorated our house for Christmas. Whew!

A couple of days after I got home from my trip, Cade started running a fever. He had all the classic signs of an ear infection. I had really hoped he would outgrow those this year, but no such luck. We immediately started him on a 10 day antibiotic and Motrin, and he was fine within a few days. Emmy is a whole different story. Prior to Cade's trip to the doctor I had called about a cough she was having. No other symptoms, just a cough. The nurse told me to keep the humidifier running and giver her some saline. They did not want me to bring her in due to all of the sick children they had been seeing, especially since she had no fever and was eating fine. A few days later, her nose started running and her cough got worse. I called again (last Monday) and they told me to bring her in that afternoon. The pediatrician we saw said she had croup and gave us a four day oral steroid. Well, by Thursday the cough actually got worse instead of better. So we were off again first thing Friday morning. Two x-rays and a breathing treatment later, the doctor decides that it is bronchitis:( We have been giving her treatments every 4-6 hours since. She is a trooper, and I can tell she is feeling lots better!

Sleeping through Thanksgiving...this was about when I could tell she was getting worse:(
The blue eyed members of our family!

Brotherly love
Cade put on a show for everyone!
Decorating the tree:)
FINALLY feeling like herself again

Kisses
Ready for church! And matching;)

Happy Birthday Nana!!!

2009-11-12T12:26:00.001-06:00

We love you and hope you have a great day!!!

It's Great to be a Tennessee Vol!

2009-11-09T12:34:00.005-06:00

At least Cade thinks so! We took Cade to Knoxville for his first VOLS game last Saturday. It was UT's Homecoming, so there were lots of neat things to do and see. He was so good all day!

On campus

Me: "Cade, this is where Mommy went to college. Do You think you will go here one day?"

Cade: "Did Daddy go to college here?"

Me: "No, Daddy went to Lipscomb."

Cade: "I wanna go to Wipscomb!"

Oh well:)

With his new football from the bookstore. He held onto it all day, and even fell asleep with it in his hands.

The UT Dance Team ...ladies man;)

Cheerleaders ...at this point I think that my dad and Heath were enjoying the pictures more than Cade! Ha!

Smokey

Waiting for the Vol Walk. Dad mentioned the "Lane Train," and I think Cade was disappointed that there was not a real train.

Singing "Rocky Top Tennessee"

Warm Ups

Tennessee Walking Horse for Homecoming

Sitting with Pam

Five Months Old!

2009-11-05T15:33:00.002-06:00

Emmy has had a great month! We celebrated her first Halloween. She slept throught the trick or treating, though. She gets bigger by the day, and is such a sweet girl. She is sampling lots of stage 1 fruits and veggies, and has liked all of them so far:) She is a squirmy girl, and loves to watch everything her brother does. Emmy is getting better at sitting up, and now really loves her exersaucer. Here's to another month!

She LOVES Cade!
Happy Girl

Love those cheeks!

Goin' Bananas

2009-10-26T15:58:00.003-05:00

On Saturday night, the church where Cade goes to preschool hosted a fall festival that included inflatables, a "Trunk or Treat," and Cade's favorite, the hayride. The weather was really nice, and we decided it would be a good time to test out this year's Halloween costumes. They were a big hit:)

My little banana boy and the sweet Monkey
Emmy was good, as usual. She just strolled around the whole time:)

Ready for some treats!

Cade rode the hayride by himself. He was insist ant that he was a "big boy," and did not want Heath or me to get on!

The director of his school, his beloved Mrs. Anita

Getting some candy. At first, he did not understand how much he was going to get. He was trying to eat every piece as soon as they put it in his bucket.

He really wanted Mrs. Anita to go down the slide with him. Unfortunately, they did not make it up the rock climbing wall...

...but they did give it a really good effort! Thanks Mrs. Anita!

Big Babies

2009-10-22T17:15:00.003-05:00

Not too much happening around here this week, we have just been trying to take advantage of the nice weather! Emmy had her four month check up today (well, technically 4.5 months since our doctor has been out of town). She weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds 1 ounce (85th percentile) and was 26.5 inches long (97th percentile). I knew she was a chubby little thing, but wow! When she was born, she was only in the 20th percentile:) I wondered how this measured up to Cade at four months (you may remember that he was a big baby, too). Well, according to his baby book, at his 4 month appointment he weighed 16 pounds 14 ounces and was only 24 inches long. So even though she started over a pound smaller, she has definitely caught up! Here are some pictures I have taken in the last couple of weeks:

Ready for church
Isn't this dress precious??? My super talented mother-in-law Pam made it!

Trying cereal for the first time- she gobbles it up now!

I have always loved Heath's beautiful blue eyes (since I have brown), and hoped so bad that one of our kids would inherit them! Hopefully, Emmy's will stay blue:)

Cousins!

2009-10-10T15:16:00.003-05:00

With Daddy gone to Knoxville for the UT vs. UGA game (Yeah! Go Vols!!!), we decided to head over to Gallatin to visit our favorite cousins. My first cousin, Karla, has two little girls, Maddie (6 months older than Cade) and Charli (6 weeks older than Emmy). We had a great time visiting. Cade had been really looking forward to going to "Maddie's house," and was asking to go as soon as he got out of bed. He had so much fun playing, that he was fast asleep in the car almost as soon as we got out of their driveway. I think Charli and Emmy had a good visit, too- they liked staring at each other;)

Charli and Emmy
Lounging

Cade and Maddie

Cade LOVES Maddie's doll house and always plays with it first

"Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Gimmie that nose!"

Four Months Old!

2009-10-07T09:57:00.006-05:00

How time flies when you are having fun! In some ways it is hard to believe that Emmy is already four months old, but in other ways, I feel like she has been here forever. She is just such a good baby. She is so alert and loves to watch everything that Cade does. She is constantly smiling and moving her arms and legs. She is a very vocal baby, and loves to "talk." I think that is the girl in her! In the last couple of weeks, she has really started grabbing things in front of her (which then go straight to the mouth!). She will not take a pacifier, but loves to suck her fingers. She has also found her feet and loves to grab them or pull her socks off. We will be going to the doctor in a couple of weeks (our pedi is on vacation) to get her shots and official stats. I am excited about trying cereal in the near future, as it is obvious that the girl likes to eat:)
Happy Four Months, Princess!

Happy Fall!

2009-09-30T11:26:00.002-05:00

We are so glad that the sun is shining and that the fall weather is here!

No, Cade is not totally potty trained yet, but he does like to wear his new undies (and yes, one day he will kill me for posting this picture!)

The Vols and Dollywood

2009-09-23T15:27:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to East Tennessee to see the Vols take on UCLA (I wish UT would have won!) and go to Dollywood. Mom and Dad have season passes to Dollywood, and the park was offering a buy one get one free deal during the month of September, so we did not have to pay anything to get in (even better). Cade had an especially great time riding as many rides as he was tall enough to. He was even brave enough to ride the River Rampage (the round boat ride that gets everyone drenched), but he was not a huge fan of that one, as he kept telling me that he wanted to "park the boat."

It was a GREAT weekend, but I think between the long game day and Dollywood, it took me several days to recover!

Cade and Mommy on the train

Emmy doing her thing:)

Riding the ferris wheel

Cade and Pa on the cars

Both worn out from all the fun!

Nana stayed home with the little Vols...she did not mind;)

Running through the "T"

Always my favorite Vol!

The new Jumbotron is awesome!

Saving the best for last:

The "Lane Train..." even better in person ladies!

Back to School!

2009-09-15T08:53:00.003-05:00

I swear it seems like just yesterday I was taking Cade for his very first day of preschool/MDO. Now a whole year has passed, and he is no longer in the youngest class- he has been upgraded to a "big boy" class, and even gets to sit at a real table! He has been looking forward to going back to school all summer. He goes to a wonderful Christian school with the most amazing, loving teachers. His first day went well. There are seven other kids in class with him (a big change- his class last year only had four total). I think he was really worked up from all the action because they said he never fell asleep during nap time (he is usually the first asleep, and let me tell you that yesterday evening was ROUGH). But he had lots of stories to tell, and I know he had fun. Here's to another great year! It is hard to believe that this time next year, I will be dropping off sweet baby Emmy, too!

"Cheese!"
"No more pictures, Mom- I gotta get inside!"

Ready to start his new class. His best buddy, Ellen, is in the orange.

So excited that Sophie is in his class this year!

The Crockett triplets- they still amaze me! I would be lucky to get dressed, let alone get three two year olds to school!

UT vs. WKU

2009-09-05T10:39:00.003-05:00

As many of you know, my dad was quite the football player in high school. "The Legend," as some even like to call him:). When he was a senior in high school, he was recruited to come play at the University of Tennessee. I think he was impressed by their recruiting techniques:

Here is "The Legend" playing for UT against Notre Dame on November 11, 1972.
A couple of years later, dad decided to take a red shirt and transfer to Western Kentucky University to be a Hilltopper. He was on the team that became the OVC Champions in 1975 and the NCAA National Runners Up, losing to Northern Michigan 16-14.

If you are looking for Billy above, he is fourth row up, third from the right. His face is being partially covered by the guy in front's mini 'fro. Gotta love the 70's!

Some of the team members during the 1995 20th WKU reunion. Dad is the one 'staching in the back row.

Dad goes to all of the UT home games. He seriously LOVES the Vols. Since last year, I have been asking him which team exactly he will be cheering for during the 2009 season opener. I joked that he should have a double sided jersey made. He said he was going to wear a UT shirt and a WKU hat:). I guess we will find out today who he really loves more, although I know he will be torn! As for the people at my house, well, we are not torn:

Cade loves Rocky Top!

Emmy too!

Mini Vols

Fun at the Fair!

2009-09-02T20:39:00.002-05:00

The Wilson County Fair has already come and gone for 2009. Anyone who knows me knows that I love the fair! Apparently, I am not the only one, as this year's fair drew about 500,000 visitors over the course of the week- crazy for Lebanon. Luckily, Cade has inherited his Mommy's fondness of the fair- I am pretty sure he would have gone every night. We did make it out a couple of times. The weather was gorgeous- not near as hot as it usually is. We enjoyed rides, exhibits (Cade liked the tractors best), fair food and of course some prime time people watching:)!

Pony ride

Emmy just liked cruising- she was so good and barely made a peep either night we went. She loves to be outside, and was intrigued by all the lights.

Making their silly faces

Leaning ALL the way over to drive

Watching the the tractor pull

My first- and probably last- camel ride

The Wilson Post

2009-08-26T12:01:00.001-05:00

The cover of today's paper...pure cuteness if you ask me;)

Dressing Up

2009-08-18T15:38:00.003-05:00

What better to wear to school on a rainy day than your rain slicker and galoshes?

This sweet outfit was made for Emmy by one of my dear college friends, Stephanie Sabbe. She is super talented with her sewing and crafting (check out her blog in my favorites) . Not to mention the fact that she is a fabulous interior designer. She recently moved to Boston while her husband completes his medical residency. We miss you, Steph!
I never thought I would be a bow band kind of person, but when you have a bald baby, well, you can easily change your mind!

Cade and Emmy

2009-08-08T10:45:00.002-05:00

I promise I will have a new, more exciting post soon. We have been busy this week. Cade started back to his preschool (it is only 1.5 hours, 2 days a week, but it gives me and Emmy time to run a few errands). He loves going there, and his teacher is awesome. He was in her summer program for six weeks, and we decided to enroll him for the school year in addition to his MDO.

As far as Miss Emmy goes, she turned two months old on Wednesday! Hard to believe- this summer has flown by! Yesterday, we went for her two month checkup and shots. She weighed in at 11 lbs. 5 oz. That put her in the 61st percentile for her age. Not bad for a girl who started her life two months ago in the 21st percentile:). She is really developing a little personality of her own (the princess, as we call her), and is smiling so much now.

Our babies:

Pool Day!

2009-07-25T20:39:00.004-05:00

In his dollar store float...amazing how much fun a dollar can buy!
Kick!

1...2...3...Jump!

Grinning in her sassy suit:)

"Pool days make me sleepy."

Nap Time

7 weeks!

2009-07-24T10:01:00.004-05:00

Little Emmy is growing so fast! I had almost forgotten how much babies change in those first months! She is really starting to fill out now- especially in her face:) We are still having so much fun with her, but definitely see the difference (looks and personality) in her and Cade. Her hair and eyes are both lighter then his ever were (a blue eyed girl, maybe?). She is awake a lot during the day now, and has started giving us sweet little smiles. Her favorite person to smile at, though, is herself in the mirror- ha! Such a girl! Last weekend, she took her first road trip to Kingston to visit Nana and Pa's house. She did great and we all were glad to be there for a much needed visit. Nana was even brave enough to keep both Emmy and Cade while Heath and I went to a wedding in Knoxville. Thanks Nana!

Boys' Night Out!

2009-07-09T10:44:00.002-05:00

Last night, Heath, Rick and Cade went to see the Nashville Sounds play baseball. Heath said that Cade absolutely loved it, and I know he did because he has been talking about the "baseball man" all morning. He told me that the next time he goes he wants to run around on the field:)

Pap, Daddy and Cade

Best way to finish ALL of the ice cream

Apparently, Cade did not like the lion mascot and hid from him in Pap's lap

He got to high five one of the players...

As for little Miss Emmy, she continues to grow like a weed! We went for her one month check up today, and she weighed in at 9 lbs. even now. This picture is from Sunday morning when we took her to church for the first time (and when she was one month old exactly). Her precious dress was made by the super talented Pam:)

4 weeks and Fun with Pa

2009-07-04T09:23:00.004-05:00

Emmy is officially four weeks old as of yesterday! Now I believe what everyone said about time going even faser with your second baby. These last four weeks have been busy with two, but we have had such a good time getting to know Emmy and see her little personality starting to come out.

Sweet Girl

Heath knew that this last week would be really busy with his work, so we had a very fun visitor come to stay: my dad! Cade was so, so happy to have"Pa"at his house, and the two of them played and played outside everyday in the gorgeous weather we have been having. The four of us also made visits to the park, grocery store and outlet mall (right now, we still need man to man defense to take the two of them out:) We loved having him here, and already miss him!
I know that Cade's golf game is especially good right now from all of the golf matches the two of them played in the backyard. Thanks Dad, come back soon!

"Follow me, Pa!"

Happy Anniversary!

2009-06-25T09:41:00.002-05:00

In four years, we went from this:

To this:

What a fun filled, busy four years it has been! Happy Anniversary, Heath!

Just a few new ones...

2009-06-24T09:18:00.003-05:00

Not much to post- we have just been busy at home and trying to stay cool (summer moved in fast!). Here are a few I took over the weekend:

Already growing like a weed...she gained 10 oz. last week!

Still loving his baby sister so much!

A whole week already???

2009-06-14T18:24:00.003-05:00

I feel like we just got home from the hospital, and now a whole week has passed! It is crazy how fast time goes by when you have a second baby! Mom stayed most of last week to help (thank you Nana- we miss you already!) I think my true test starts tomorrow when Heath is back at work full time!

We have had fun this week getting to know Miss Emmy. She is such a sweet baby, and is pretty content most of the time (but when she gets too hungry, she lets you know quick!). Sleep wise, we are a little tired, but at least I knew what to expect this time around. She eats frequently during the day, but usually does get out a good 3-4 hour stretch at night, which I know is pretty normal for a newborn. It is not too bad to me because 1.) I did not sleep well at all by the end of my pregnancy, so I was used to it and 2.) Cade was up eating more frequently at night when I first brought him home, which left me feeling like a zombie.

Thanks for all the well wishes, we are really enjoying our little princess!

She is so long and skinny!

Brotherly Love

2009-06-08T10:47:00.003-05:00

Cade has been loving having a new sister! At the hospital Saturday, he kept asking us to please bring her home. He greeted us at the front door yesterday when we got home and was so excited to see her. We were laughing at him because he wanted to give her a grand tour of the house starting with her room. Then he moved onto his room and toys:) He has been a good helper and I know he will be a great brother!

Kisses for Emmy
"I love her!"

Hugs

He thought her little toes were funny...

EMMY IS HERE!

2009-06-06T09:15:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, this is Heath creating my first blog (with the patient instructions of Kelly over my shoulder). Emma June Thorne arrived yesterday at 4:35 p.m. and was a petite 6.7 lbs and 19 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great and she has already gotten a real show from her new big brother who was more interested in entertaining the crowd last night than seeing the baby. Below are a few pictures to hold you over until the real blogger is back at the wheel.

Mommy Daddy and the new princess of the house. (sorry Kelly)

Daddy's already whipped!

The Birthday Girls! (Wendy says, "best present ever")

I know it is hard to believe, but yes, she had a baby and looks that good the day after.

Weekend Fun!

2009-05-30T21:39:00.003-05:00

We are so glad to (finally) have a sunny weekend, so of course we had to get out and enjoy it!

Cade at the pool
He was so excited that his best buddy Ellen was there...

and her sister, Rachel!

On Saturday afternoon, Jud and Bevin took Cade and Heath out for a boat ride. I was sad that I didn't get to go, but at this stage I knew that I would either be extremely sea sick from a large baby bouncing around in my belly, or go into labor (hmmm...maybe I should have gone!) Cade had a great time and could not stop talking about it!

Cade and his Aunt B

MDO Program, Graduation & a Bump

2009-05-24T16:28:00.005-05:00

On May 14, Cade has his last day of Mother's Day Out until the fall (a sad day for moms:). That night, his school had their program where each of the classes got to sing a few songs. Cade's class was the youngest, and they were so sweet. We were sitting several rows back with Rick and Pam, but Cade spotted us almost immediately when he got on the stage. Even though you could mostly just hear the teachers leading the singing, his class was definitely loving all of the interactions that went with the songs. "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands..."
"Twinkle, twinkle little star"

The grand finale: "Old MacDonald." Cade and his friend, Trevor, were the horses.

Cade and his beloved teacher, Mrs. Dana. He already misses her and keeps asking when he can go see her:)

The following Sunday, our cousin, Elliott (Ewiott, as Cade calls him) graduated from Friendship Christian School here in Lebanon. He was the valedictorian of his class, and gave an awesome speech. Luckily, we had chosen to sit near the back, so it wasn't too embarrassing when Cade was standing up in his chair saying "Mommy, there's Ewiott! I see Ewiott up there!" He is going to East Tennessee State in the fall, and will be a Chemistry/Pre-Med major. We are so proud of him!

Finally, here are me and Emmy at almost 38 weeks. I had Cade a little after 38 weeks, so even though I don't feel like much is going to happen soon, I am trying to realize that she could decide to come any minute now. Either way, we will have a baby in about two weeks or less!

Out With the Old...

2009-05-14T14:03:00.004-05:00

Cade's Nursery:

In with the New!!!

Emmy's Nursery:

Precious custom made curtains by Pam, my mother-in-law

Canvas painted by "Aunt B" (Bevin)

Gorgeous chandelier from Mom and Dad:)

I am so happy with how the nursery turned out! Of course, I have always loved pink:) Now just a few more weeks and we will have a baby girl to put in it. I actually went to the doctor this morning for a checkup. We got a quick peak ultrasound, and all was measuring right on time. The ultrasound tech estimated that she is currently around 5 lb. 11 oz. with just over three weeks to go...they say that in the last month of pregnancy the baby can gain up to a pound each week, so she may be a whopper if she cooks too long! Oh yeah, the doctor also said that I am "about a fingertip" dilated. That almost made me laugh out loud, as a fingertip sounds about as good as nothing! Overall, I am feeling better this week than I have the past couple, even though I can get pretty uncomfortable sometimes. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes! Now it is just a waiting game...

Cade's two year Photos

2009-05-11T15:12:00.001-05:00

We used the same lady that shot Wendy's wedding, Angie. She is awesome! Just go to the following link:

http://www.artphotosbydiana.com/PhotoShootMenu.aspx

password is: thorne