we've had our hands full

chasing ladybugs

trick or treating

enjoying the weather

playing in the leaves

and potty training...no pictures on that one :) there's nothing like a little halloween candy to jump start the potty training. parental note: when raisins were are longer cutting it, peanut butter m&m's seem to do the trick. 5 days and counting of big girl underwear with only a few accidents. woo-t0-the who! growing up is hard to do. unless there's candy, of course.

snow way out

we woke up this morning to snow falling from the sky and it hasn't stopped yet. this is definitely the most snow that we've seen since living in Montana. unfortunately, since it hasn't really stopped falling, we haven't been able to play for very long. well, that and the fact that we haven't gotten the girlie a snow suit yet. whoops.

mary adelyn liked the snow and loved watching delia rolling around in it. so much so, that she let us know she was not happy about coming back inside.

believe it or not, she was really interested in putting my boots on. that is until, we put her on the floor to stand. we're hoping the weather will allow us to leave town tomorrow to begin our holiday celebrations. if not, looks like we be staying close to the fire and wishing we had made a mad rush to the grocery store.

the o-o-z

as it is now referred to at my sister's house. if said allowed or spelled correctly, riley kate, my 3 year old niece, has her bags packed and car seat buckled in 2.5 seconds. so, it was fun to finally experience the zoo through riley's eyes. this girl is destined to be an elephant trainer, or at least a zoo tour guide.

mary adelyn was actually a little more interested in the animals than what we thought she would be. probably because byron and i were both expecting to see the zoo that we remembered growing up. luckily for the kids, and the animals, it is in much better standing. the parakeet retreat was definitely a fun spot.

but not quite as fun as the goats and sheep.

this girl loves to 'pat them gently.' the zebras were pretty cool, but not nearly as interesting as the fence that contained them.

and to finish off the tour, there's nothing better than a merry-go-round.

we had a great time and somehow managed to escape with these three monkeys.

first things, first

here's a peek of the girlie's first birthday tailgate. she wasn't quite sure of what to think while watching us run around and get the tailgate situated. so, she just sat on the chick-fil-a nugget platter (minus the nuggets, of course) and soaked it all in.

and then, like the light above the griswold family christmas tree, her cousin mia arrived.

oh, how we love mia. i'm already thinking of ways we can smuggle her back to asheville with us. and when mia found bigger people to play with, the tunnel arrived!

i have a feeling a tunnel very similar to this one will find a permanent place in our hallway. i'm sure the dogs will adjust to their new mode of travel down the hallway. don't worry, cousin elic got his chance in the tunnel too.

now for the most important of details...the sweets! mmm, hamburger cupcakes.

well, not really hamburger. more like brownie-burger cupcakes. they actually tasted as good as they looked. i found this really cute idea on one of my favorite cooking/baking blogs. and you know, you can't have burgers without fries.

that's what sugar cookies are for. special thanks to the chick-fil-a of clayton, ga for sponsoring this event.

mary adelyn thoroughly enjoyed her very own red velvet birthday cake (although, i'm pretty sure she never really made it past the icing).

and even decided to share with her daddy.

this girl is a true sweetheart, especially now that she has entered the world of sugar. all in all, it was a wonderful tailgate. we couldn't have asked for better weather. and the amount of friends and family that traveled to athens truly amazed us. byron kept saying the last time we had that many people gathered for an event was for our wedding. which just so happen to take place about 15 feet to the right of our tailgate.

it's still hard to believe that mary adelyn is officially a toddler.

here's to many more years just as fun as the last!

pick and choose

we were able to schedule a family photo shoot with a wonderful local photographer a couple of weeks ago, you know, when we all had the flu. despite our symptoms, we decided to go ahead with the shoot since the weather was beautiful, and boy we are so glad we did. the pictures turned out wonderful! you can click here to see our sneak peak on the photographer's blog.

now comes the hard part of picking and choosing which ones we want. while i keep saying, " i just can't decide," byron keeps shaking his head to the notion that maybe we should just buy them all.

so, here's where you come in. click here, then click on 'your photos' and type in the password: alday

tell us which ones we can't live without. we have until november 30th to decide.

she hearts carbs

this girl could live off of bread and biscuits. she loves, loves, loves them. about as much as we love sunny point. if you've ever visited us, then you've definitely eaten there. it's pretty much our staple go out to eat with visitors place. this little clip was from her first sunny point meal. yes, we love it that much.

it's a whole new world

the hands behind her back is a new trick that evidently helps her balance. too cute.

one small step for baby,

one giant leap for mary adelyn. it's official. mary adelyn took her first steps today while waiting to get her flu shot. yep. right there in front of byron and i both. i mean, what are the chances of both of us seeing it? pretty, pretty cool.

so, how many days are in between the first steps and the no longer requiring any assistance to ambulate? i'm thinking we have at least another week or so.

any baby gate recommendations?

pumpkin patch kids

we decided to brave the cool weather this weekend and head out to a local pumpkin patch while the skies were still blue. mary adelyn and deacon had a great time, despite the super cold wind. it was fun to see her experience all of the barnyard animals that we've been reading to her about. but first, we had to venture through the kids area. and no kids area complete without one of these...

i'm serious. those cheeks crack me up. and just in case you've been wondering how tall the girlie is now...

just about pigs height. and now for the pumpkin patch. or what was left of the pumpkin patch.

she's not one for sitting still very long anymore, so as far as the pictures go, you get what you get.

did i mention we were skipping her nap time?

fun. fun. pumpkin patch, check. now, i'll have to try my hand at carving.

stay tuned.

family affair

please accept my apologies for lack of posts lately. i've just got a few things on my plate that seem to be taking up more time. have i mentioned that we are trying to sell our house? that should explain it pretty easily.

anyhow, on to the pictures from papa pete and grammy pam's wedding. we had a wonderful time with our georgia family last weekend and now miss them more than ever. for those who don't know, i am the middle child of three. older sister and younger brother. and it didn't really hit me, until i saw all of these beautiful children sitting on the step, how crazy it is that we now have children of our very own. three of us, now six of them.

from top left to bottom right: aysia, phoenix, lily ann (matthew's), mary adelyn (do i really need to say?), ben, and riley kate (sandy's).
aren't they precious? thank you aunt sandy for the cute outfits! this is pretty much the best i could do. it's not easy trying to arrange six kiddos while attempting not to fall over and praying that the little ones don't lean too far forward on the step.

now, that's a little better. thanks lily for the helpful hand. i'm not sure mary adelyn could have handled another tumble that weekend. oh, i guess i forgot to mention that. mary adelyn had her first official fall off the bed. she's ok, not even a bump or scratch to show from it. byron on the other hand, turned white as a ghost and left the room to "get her pacifier." i'm told that there is some old wives tale about falling off a bed before turning one. although, i'm sure you could find an old wives tale for just about anything. enough about child endangerment. more pictures please.

this is my bro.

don't let that cute little smile fool you. he's got some spunk and plenty of stories that will make your stomach hurt from laughing so hard. i'm sure it has something to do with the tricks we used to play on him. but hey, that's what being a middle child is all about, right?

mary adelyn loved her uncle matthew. he's one of the few people that have been able to hold her in my presence without some major leaning, whining, or absolute rejection going on.

and finally, mary adelyn and her daddy.

please tell me my husband will one day dance with me again. i'm thinking it probably won't be until mary adelyn has a boyfriend. or until she realizes that it is so not cool to dance with your dad. which one of these stages come first?

in the genes

mary adelyn has an official best friend at her day care. they smile when they see each other, they play together (yes, they actually play together--not just next to each other), they make each other laugh, and today it was taken to a whole new level. the little man had just awoke from his afternoon nap and was not very happy about it. so, mary adelyn crawled over to him and patted his back while leaning down to give him hugs. it was by far the cutest thing that i've ever seen. all the grandma's kept saying that she's going to be a nurse and it must be in her genes. i told them that i would make sure to share that with byron, seeing as how he is convinced i lack compassion or nurturing abilities, towards him anyway. i tried to explain that there's only so much compassion and nurturing that one can hand out everyday. and it just so happens that the little elementary students reach my max daily, leaving little left for a 33 yr old man.

and just because i do not like posts without pictures. here's a shot of our big girl from a few weekends ago.

i'd say she's adjusting to the cold weather walks pretty good. thanks mimi for the super cute sweater find! we love it!

ivory grill

it's here! mary adelyn's first tooth has fully emerged and graced us with it's presence. my little girl has a tooth. ah, sigh. a tooth. poor little thing was tortured during her dinner just so we could capture glimpses of the new ivory accessory. yes, the camera was present.



no, i did not get a shot of it. really, you didn't think it would be that easy did you? maybe next meal time.

america's game

mary adelyn made her first trip to our local minor league baseball stadium. it was a great day for baseball. she was definitely interested in what was happening on the field, but mostly she was fixated on her index finger (see above).

it was fun to watch her take in all of the sights and sounds. and clap when the crowd clapped.

and give high 5's

and enjoy her daddy's company

and wonder what the heck the umpire was thinking

and hang out with this cutie

and sit back, relax, kick her feet up, and enjoy what is known as america's game.