Can't Choose Just ONE!

My sweet not so baby nephew is almost 2! I can't believe it. Seems like yesterday I was jumping out of my chair and racing to the hospital. So since he's almost a big boy now, I figured it was time to update his picture on my blog. Lucky for me, his mommy just took him for a little 2 year old photo shoot with the great people at Portrait Innovations. They've always done his pictures and have never failed to please. As I looked through them, I fell more and more in love with his precious little face. So naturally, I couldn't decide on just ONE! So here are some of my favs... Enjoy!

Future Football Star!






Such a cutie right!? Love him to death. Happy Birthday Pumpkin Pie!!

Where Has the Time Gone?

Ok, so I've had the busiest week EVER it feels like. School is coming to a close for the summer, I had cupcake orders (Woohoo!). Stayed with Whitley one night and kept Dalton one afternoon. Baby shower on Saturday. Went to church today and met my favorite twin boys for the first time. Whew. I'm tired just writing about it all!

As you can see from the photos, Dalton REALLY enjoyed helping aunt Kayla clean the batter off the spatula. He was a little leery at first, but got the hang out it real quick!

Luckily, after this week I'll have a little (very little) time off of school to relax and chill out. Friday I leave to meet the fam in Tybee Island, Georgia for a mini vacay. I'm excited to be on the beach for a hot second and to get the heck out of Robertson County for a few nights.


Among my busy week, I made time to invite myself to dinner at my grandparent's house several times, and when I say several, I mean three. That's right. I invited myself to eat, spur of the moment, THREE times this week. Are they not the best? Really and truly, I have what is quite possibly the best grandparents and in turn family on the face of the earth.
Not every granddaughter gets to grow up staying at her grandparents house. Myself, my sister and some of my cousins were lucky enough to never have to go to day care. Instead we got to hang out with each other and spend time with my grandma all day long. Both my grandparents are relatively young, especially to have several grown grandchildren. So not only did I get to spend time with them as a child, but I can now enjoy them as an adult. They come to parties and dress up. They host a huge Fourth of July extravaganza for our family every year. They even came with us for my 21st birthday weekend in Metropolis.



Most importantly, my grandparents have given me and my cousins a great example of love to live up to. They have been married for 47 years. They've been through hard times, good times, sad times, pretty much anything you can imagine, they've done it. For Christmas this year, the Cousin Club found a wall hanging that pretty much summed up what Maw and Papaw have done for us. It said "All Because Two People Fell In Love" and each of the seven of us signed the back with a little message about how much they mean to us. And really, the words couldn't have been any more true. Without them, our family would be nothing. They were the beginning of it and continue to be the backbone, pulling us together for the good and the bad. Hopefully, I will be getting married on their 50 wedding anniversary in 2013 as a tribute to the example they've been for me. I'm so thankful to have them now and forever!

P.S. I would like to add that Papaw is NOT a cross-dresser, well, usually he isn't. That's the only good picture I have of him and it's from a Halloween Party.

Kids. Kids! Kids?

So I'm not really sure why, but I've been thinking about my possibility as a parent lately. I guess I'm getting to an acceptable age to be a parent these days. Most people that are my age are already parents or gonna be parents very soon. Or at least it seems like it to me. I've never been 100% sure that I ever want to be a parent though. I know each and every one of you just gasped in horror. I'm from the south, I'm young and able, and I MIGHT NOT WANT KIDS?!? Awful, I know.

I used to think that I didn't like kids. They made me real nervous to be around. And the fact that I might have to sacrifice MYSELF for another human? HA yeah I didn't think so. But now that I'm an older sister and aunt and way fun older cousin, I see that I am maybe a little more nurturing and maternal that I had given myself credit for. I love spending time with Dalton, and I think he likes me. And hearing Gage tell me he misses me and loves his Kayla just melts my heart. I like being able to share the wonder that is Baskin Robbins with Hunter and to take Abby and Belle to see a movie and have Giggle-Fest 2010 in the back of my car. I like those things. But is that really mom-material?

I don't really know why I have become consumed by this thought. I have no boyfriend, so I'm certainly not getting married anytime soon. I know I know, you don't have to be married to have a baby, but I hope to be. And maybe someday I'll meet some wonderful man that makes me want to immediately procreate. Who knows! I just am not sure that I'll be a great mom. I think some people were born to be mothers. My sister is definitely one of those people. She always tried to take care of me (Read: Boss me, haha) and when she started trying to have a baby, I knew that once she did, she would take the mom cake, so to speak. And indeed, I was right. She is so patient with Dalton. She knows just what to do when something is wrong, or when he needs something, anytime! I just don't know that I will EVER be like that. People always tell me when it's your own kid its different. And even with Dalton, as I've said before, I've done things I never DREAMED I would do just instinctively. It still just freaks me out to know that I would be solely responsible for another being.

I guess for now I really don't have to know. As I said, I have no boyfriend or intention to marry anytime soon, so I have a little time to work things out. I'll just stick to being an awesome aunt, sister and cousin, which I have on lock if I do say so myself.

Thanks for reading. :)

My Stay-Cation

So everyone I know is on vacation this week. Some are in Florida, some in Tybee Island. And can ya guess where I am?? That's right a combination stay-cation between the poor house and summer class. Not really. While my good friends, The Ballard's, are vacationing elsewhere, I'm staying at their beautiful home hanging with their precious dog, Charlie. Me and Chuck (as he goes by on the weekends) are BFFs. We like to lounge together by the pool. Maybe catch some TV in the sun room. Pretty much just chilling, you know, like a villain!

Tonight at the Ballard Plantation, as Treavor and his friends call it, I had my mom, step-dad and sister's family over for some grilling and pool time. The Ballard's pool is to die for. As you can see in the picture with my bro-in-law, they have a lovely waterfall that really adds to the ambiance of the pool setting. Yes, I just said ambiance. Dalton, as well as his daddy, was thoroughly impressed with said waterfall as well as the diving board. Sister, J-Rod, and I had a jumping contest (reigning form champion! woo!) that Mom and Dalton judged. Mom aka Grammy showed off her mean back dive skills much to Sister's and my dismay (We've already been in the ER once this week, let's not push our luck).

I'm really enjoying having the house to myself. Kinda let's me get a glimpse of what my life will be like if I actually ever move out (fat chance ha!). Also, it makes me appreciate being in a house with others a little more. Empty house= a smidge on the lonely side. Nonetheless, it makes my stay-cation a little more exciting since I'm actually away from my house, even if just by a few miles.

Otherwise, my stay-cation looks to be pretty uneventful. I have two tests this week, so it's gonna be study central so I can hopefully so better than my last two tests. I'm having friends over to swim today and Thursday. I'm excited to see Charli and hopefully her sweet baby girl Adi. Looks as if its gonna be a pretty chill week!

On a serious note, my friends Cody and Chad Dorris lost their father unexpectedly this morning. Please keep them and their family in your thoughts and prayers during what I can only imagine is a devastating time.

High/Low/High 1.0

So I know I said I was gonna do the high/low thing in an earlier post, but after I thought about it today, I decided on high-low-high cause you should always end on a positive note, right? So here is high/low/high: the first edition!

High

The first high of the week has been the time I've got to spend with Nicole this week and really the past few weeks. We used to have a really tight knit group of girls that worked together, ran around together, and pretty much spent an obnoxious amount of time together. It was fantastic. But as time goes on, babies and boyfriends (now husbands and fiancées!) and new jobs have broken us apart and we really don't see each other much at all. Nicole and I have become so close in the past five years that its hard to think that we've ONLY BEEN FRIENDS FIVE YEARS! She has been such a great friend,

supporting me when I needed it most and giving me a swift kick when I needed that too. She and I live on different schedules though. She teaches elementary school and I attend college. She has a fantastic man that she's about to marry and we all know I'm single and mingling. We find a way to make it work, but the past few weeks, we've seen each other more than we have all year. And have I mentioned? I LOVE IT! I've enjoyed wedding planning and eating and just spending time together. I'm so happy to be apart of her life and now Maid of Honor in her wedding!!

Low

This week has been pretty great, so it's hard to find a low, honestly. But the one I can come up with is not doing as well as I had hoped on some tests. For those of you that don't know, my first round at college was not one to be proud of. I was young and dumb and made lots of mistakes. But now, I'm focused on what I want to do with myself and have really been trying harder to excel in my classes. I studied more than I think I ever have for any test for these two and just made mediocre grades on them. Really irritates me! Hopefully, the next tests will be better though :(

High

I got to hang out with my sweet baby nephew last night and kept him today while his mom went shopping and dad worked. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with him, especially if its a time that helps his momma out. I surprise myself with my motherly instincts with him. I have wiped

more undesirables from his body without a thought than I ever even dreamed of doing. There's no better feeling than when he says Aunt Kayla or when he gets excited cause I come to visit. So basically, I just love the kid. So thankful for a baby to love and spoil and play with-and then to send home!