child labor laws

spring arrived...and so did yard work.

little miss was literally in the sprinklers within seconds of them coming on.

we couldn't keep her away.

when the fun was all over we stripped annie down in the garage so she wouldn't get the house wet but somehow she managed to get away. she ran, bare cheeks and all, down our hill, fell face first into some mud and continued sliding down the hill. she cried. we laughed. then cleaned her up.

picking weeds. it sure is nice watching your 2-year old doing yard work while relaxing on the front porch drinking some lemonade. we figured if we taught her from a young age that this is the way things are (kids work, parents lounge) she wouldn't see the injustice of it all.

see! she thinks it's fun.

now if we can only teach her how to bring us our lemonade so we don't have to get out of our chairs....

all you need is love...

...and a cute little 2-year old named annie mae.

don't rain on my parade

...or my birthday. but if you do happen to bring those clouds around i'll still march my band out, beat my drum and give you this cute little face:

heidi and brooke's family came over for a short weekend to celebrate little miss' birthday. our fun-filled plans of an all-day-at-the-park party were quickly put to rest when a huge rain storm crashed the party and forced us to retreat to the house. that's ok. pizza and cupcakes taste the same indoors as they do outdoors. just no cool slides or playgrounds to hit for the after party.

the storm, however, brought us closer together as a family. literally. we were huddled like a pack of penguins trying to stay warm and dry. doesn't kevin look cute with his little parasol?

thanks for coming to visit!

deuce-deuce!

minus a deuce.

happy 2nd birthday annie mae!

we love you madly because...

• you like to lick dirty poles for fun (or perhaps you actually think they taste good)
• your prefer to be naked
• you eat foods like sushi, tilapia, asparagus, hummus, and steak
• you put bbq sauce on everything
• if i'm taking too long to respond to you, you call me 'lyndi' instead of mom
• you have perfected the art of spitting (picked up by my habit thanks to a pregnancy issue) --we just need to teach you where/where not and when/when not to spit)
• every time i get you from your nap your socks are on your hands instead of your feet
• you have the prettiest curly hair
• i say you look like my baby pictures (vainly hoping some of my genes have been passed on) although the truth is you look exactly like your dad
• you give great open mouth kisses
• you let me listen to my music in the car
• you love riding in the car with the windows down
• i sometimes find you underneath the pew in church trying to color the person's shoes in front of us
• you are one feisty little firecracker
• simply stated...you rock our world

we love you little lady and think you are one special gal (so special i even wore mascara for you today)

the best time of the year!

while this is the best time of the year, it is also my least creative time of year. sorry but my creative juices have been soaked into gifts, crafts, sewing projects, office and neighbor treats, and a tiny bit i squeezed out for a cookie exchange. i hate to leave you high and dry on the commentary but right now there's nothing left. merry christmas and happy new year. enjoy the few pictures i took.

annie holding jenny leigh's sweet new baby, gavin.

this activity NEVER got old. they would ride their cars down the driveway until their shoes wore thin from stopping. and then would just ask for a new pair and go at it again.

annie LOVED both her apron (or big bib as she calls it) and her boots.

we had to wait until she was sleeping to take them off.

(my sister-in-law leanne made this apron).

XY and wattles

first things first....we're having a BOY!!!! kev and i were a bit surprised with this news but are excited as ever. annie has told us on different occasions that it was going to be a boy and then it was going to be a girl. i guess she was just preparing herself either way.

our family was able to head over to arizona to spend thanksgiving with kevin's family. the days were packed with taking walks to see animals, cooking, eating, playing games, hiding behind orange trees (annie, not us) going to parks, pinning the wattles on the turkey, running in the stake 5k, and staying outside as long as possible until we were dragged in by the calls of the sandman. enjoy some of our festivities...

did you know?

• did you know that we moved into our house? did you know that i am loving every bit of it (besides the tempermental water heater, the broken microwave, the broken garage door, the water leak in our bedroom and the fact that our next door neighbor plays for the Georgia Bulldogs and caught the winning touchdown against the gators)? where's the landlord? oh wait...

• did you know that little miss made the cutest little insect again this year? last year she sported the bumble bee, this year the lady bug. we've got a good thing going with insect-themed costumes that next year i'm thinking maybe the tarantula hawk wasp. i'll get started on the outfit.

• did you know that grandma jules (as annie calls her) and papa came to visit? our first visitors! and we kindly greet them with a first rate stay on a box spring (the blow up mattress deflated half-way through the night). at least there was a sheet on the box spring. who wants to come visit next?

• did you know ballard baby # 2 is making his/her appearance next april? you can't see my belly but the proof is in the cheeks (the ones on my face)...my cheeks have grown cheeks.

• and most importantly, did you know i cut my hair? maybe not blog worthy but here's a picture anyways.

we like to eat, eat, eat

apples, and apple dumplings, and apple bread, and apple cider, and....i'll stop there.

last weekend we took a trip up to a little town called Ellijay where the locals hold a very popular apple festival. we have finally made it back to living in a place that actually experiences weather changes (besides changing from hot to warm) so we took full advantage of the perfect Fall weather and hit the apple festivities. the food was fabulous, the entertainment was...well entertaining (you haven't seen a cake walk until you've been to Ellijay), and i thoroughly enjoyed sporting a scarf that was actually appropriate for the weather.