And Ada Makes Three

testing testing...123

2009-08-20T15:20:00.005-04:00

Is anybody still out there? It is okay, if you are not. I talk to myself in real life so why not talk to myself on here :)

I have a special reason to post. Our best friends in the whole wide world just had their first baby. We are so blessed to call them friends, much lest best. We love you THREE dearly and are so excited that your first is a girl. This combats any potential awkwardness with future vacations with our travels buddies...rahaha.

Without further ado...

Miss Gabriella Paige Whitaker
08.16.09
7lbs.11ozs/18.5 inches

You are absolutely gorgeous Miss Gabbie Girl and we are so thankful to be a part of your life!

Your slideshow....Click HERE

l-o-v-e

This picture reminds me of Becca so much...it is the I just woke up look :)

new and old

you are PRECIOUS!

Our family and theirs. LOVE girls!

P.S. Ada LOVES Gabbie. She wanted to give her hug after hug after kiss after pat on the head and over and over and over again. She was really great with her and only had to be reminded a couple of times to be gentle and this was running on no nap for the entire day. Good thing we had Grandma Whitaker, Aunt Sydney and Cousin Casey to play :)

I hope to do a strictly Ada update sometime soon. She is doing fabulous and I am kinda starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with editing and photo sessions and stuff. I don't mind being busy, but suffocating is a bit uncomfortable to sat the least :)

molly ruth has arrived

2009-04-01T12:42:00.000-04:00

Molly Ruth Hampton

03.30.08
7 pds . 13ozs. 20 inches

Monday morning started just a little earlier than normal in the Moncrief household. With a call at 5:36am stating her water had broke, Jessica and Michael let us know that they were taking us up on our offer to keep Reed until a family was available (or indefinitely...we like the kid, after all). 6:20 arrived and so did Reed. He was rocked back to sleep and sleep he did until 10:22am. He was hovered over constantly ensuring that this usually early riser was still in fact alive. In the meantime, Granna called at 9:13am to say Reed's little sister, Molly Ruth Hampton had made her grand appearance at 8:42am. Molly Ruth more than made up for the false alarm she gave Jessica and Michael just one week prior. Once Molly decided to say hello, she did it fast. We know you are a sweet girl already! You were good to your mommy :)

After Reed decided he was rested up to see his little sis he had a breakfast for big brothers consisting of banana, strawberrry oatmeal and a side of o's. He did a little pre-Molly practice with Ada as his little sister at the breakfast table, in the car and a little morning play. Poor Reed was immersed in girly colors from the first hour of Molly's arrival. A purple sippy cup for breakfast, a pink floral car seat, a pink sippy cup in the car and oops...pink socks. In the hustle and bustle he accidentally left his shoes and socks at home. Picking up Amy and Anna Kate, Reed was sent to the hospital to meet his little sister.

Reed is such a trooper and is going to be the BEST big bro. . .

Check out this slideshow of Molly's first day, largely through the eyes of her big brother. You will have to click there to meet Molly if you have not already :)

We love you Molly girl and can't wait to watch you grow up!

-Sidenote- Hope to be back on here more often. Need to update on what Ada has been up to since she turned one. Be back soon (fingers crossed)!

she loved and was loved

2009-02-28T16:30:00.001-05:00

A good wife, mother, daughter, sister, "Gran" and friend. Her cancer cured. Her pain is gone. She can again be with the man that she continuously called for, her Hawthorne (She always called the love of her life by their last name). This women who loved and was loved, Jimmy's Gran, went to be with the Lord yesterday.

Always holding pictures close to my heart, during times like these they are held even closer. Encouraging you to continually take pictures/have pictures taken of your family.

November 2008: The last time Ada got to be with Gran. Great Gran had many collectibles and wanted to share one with Ada...

(click photo collage to enlarge)

My favorite...

Now you are free Elizabeth "Gran" Hawthorne. You can dance again with your beloved...

happy birthday ada luv

2009-02-10T00:28:00.003-05:00

We dreamed about you. We wondered who you would be. We envisioned different personalities and an even more eclectic look. We thought about you often, spoke to you frequently, and prayed for you much. Counting the kicks we knew you would be active, but remained clueless on the specifics of your reality. Though our dreams were big, you far out weighed them. You, Ada Olivia (also know as Ada Luv) are better than we ever imagined. You have made us love stronger and deeper and know love in a way that we never knew existed. You mean more to us than I am certain you will ever know until you, one day, are able to experience the same thing we did exactly a year ago today. We thought we loved you in my belly, but our love for you has grown even greater though we did not think possible. This day is bittersweet. Today you are ONE! We want to keep you little forever, but at the same time you get even more fun everyday. We love you our Ada Luv and are so thankful that the Lord entrusted you with us for our short time on earth. Thank you for coming into our lives and allowing us to love you as well as we know how!

mommy.daddy.ada

aMo
2.10.08 @ 12:28am
6pounds 13ounces
20inches

Love you forever
Like you for always
As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
(anyone recognize this excerpt? It is from one of our favorite books)

We love you sweet Ada Luv!
Happy FIRST Birthday!

Huge huge thank you to our fabulous friend Tobi for this awesome hoodie! If you think this is cute and were unable to make it to Ada's b'day party then you are in for a treat. Tobi embellished Ada's b'day garb too. Tobi could you share just a smidge of your talent with me? Just a little tiny baby smidge? Visit Tobi's place here.

P.S. Click to enlarge any of the storyboards

my baby's birthday

2009-01-25T04:30:00.003-05:00

Yep, you are right. Ada's birthday is not for 16 more days, but today is Jimmy's birthday. No. 28. Whoop Whoop!(click to enlarge) : Jimmy in new b'day cycling garb

I will have known Jimmy for 9 years this year and will have been married to him for 7. I can NOT believe it (almost as much as I can NOT believe our little love is soon to be one). He knows me better than anyone else, though sometimes he may not think so. He knows my mannerisms and strange habits and facial expressions. He knows that I love the night and hate the morning. He knows that I hate scary movies, but love romantic comedies and that I really LOVE to travel. Anywhere. That when I do decide to eat a hot dog I take it plain and that chocolate is my true obsession, but this is not about me. This is about him.

I won't tell you how we met...how long we dated...where he proposed...or about our wedding day. I won't even tell you that he once gave me an odd and potentially offensive gift for our first Christmas. Okay, I will tell you about that one. An AB ROLLER! Potentially offensive, ah-yeah! Promise, he did it out of love or at least that is what I have told myself all these years :). Either way I love him anyway and about all that other stuff, I am sure I will talk about it at some point. Anyway, today is his day. I love him for so many reasons. I love him because...he is like my dad. He, like my dad, puts special items in his underwear drawer. Like the hand written response he received just today from Charlie Monger, ya know Warren Buffet's best friend. Yeah that's right, the richest men in the world. Okay, yeah. You don't know and well, neither do I. So if you want more information from this section of the post then be sure to contact the birthday boy. Back to the underwear drawer. Does anyone else out their have a husband that has converted his underwear drawer into a secret treasure chest? Proceeding. He changes my oil for me. He will go to the store to get an ingredient I need for a recipe even though he JUST got back from the store and I failed to mention said ingredient the first time around. He cleans the bathroom, empties the dishwasher, irons his own clothes and takes out the trash while never complaining when he comes home to a tornado plowed threw house. He let's me play every day with my most prized possession, my little love, while he works all day to pay the bills. The hubs. He is my sunshine. He literally does make me happy when skies are gray. I love him more today, than the day I first met him. He is my help mate in so many facets. He is the spiritual leader of our home. He is the bread winner and always has taking care of his family at the forefront of his mind. He has always been a great husband and I have been continually floored to see he is an even more incredible father. I love to see their initial response to each other every. single. day. when he gets home from work. Sweeter than pie. His daughter is the apple of his eye and he is the twinkle in mine. Hun, I hope you have a most fabulous continuation of your birthday! You have made me the luckiest girl alive.

Exhibit A: Jimmy gets down in the floor as soon as he gets home to play with his daughter. These are from last week and no neither Ada nor I received something from Tiffany's. I wanted a little blue box for our first anniversary and so six years later of course I still have it and Ada mysteriously found it. Hey, it is almost Valentine's Day. Any men out there? You should go get the lady in your life a little blue box. You will not regret it. (click to enlarge)

Eskimo kisses at Fresh2Order (btw, yum factor of 5+ get the salmon panini and you will not be disappointed)...

The reaction Jimmy gets from Ada when he wakes her up from a nap...

And a couple more as a fam from our sweet December photo session.

If you would like to leave him a happy birthday hello you can do so here or on his blog.

(and yippee, finally a Non-Meal Item Monday post..hiphiphooray)

meal item monday

2009-01-19T23:44:00.001-05:00

My fear has come to fruition. I am becoming a recipe blog. Yikes! No offense to anyone who HAS a recipe blog, but that was just never my intentions with MY blog. Yes, two post in a row now are titled "Meal Item Monday". This must stop. Hold me accountable, people.

As if THAT was not enough. I did NOT try a new recipe this week. GASP. But, hopefully y'all will forgive me and we can try one together. The following recipe is one I intended to try this past week and specifically chose it bc I felt like I already had all of the ingredients on hand and I STILL did not try it. I honestly, completely forgot. Well, hopefully you have the ingredients and will be able to try it on a whim.

Pasta Cartwheels with Cheese and Broccoli

prep time: 10 minutes
cooking: 35 minutes
nutrients: calcium, protein, B vitamins (folate, vitamin A, zinc)

1/4 lb. pasta cartwheels (will definitely use a cartwheel alternative so I don't have to specifically go out and buy also, will definitely use wheat pasta..bc that is all we had and well, I love it)
1 1/4 cups broccoli (cut into small florets)
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

Cheese Sauce
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 c milk
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Topping
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tbsp fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook pasta according to packaged directions, drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, place broccoli and sweet corn in steamer and cook for 4-5 mins or until tender. Cover to keep warm and set aside
Sauce: Melt butter in small pan. Add flour to make paste and stir over low heat for 1 min. Gradually whisk in milk, bring slowly to boil, and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add nutmeg, stir in cheddar cheese until melted and season.
Stir veges into sauce, then mix with pasta. Pour mixture into greased dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Bake in preheated oven for about 15 mins.

Yum Factor: sounds yummy
Ease of Recipe: seems easy

Let me know if you try it and I will be sure to let you know too.

And because a post is always better with a picture...Here is one I snagged of Ada passed out in the carseat last weekend. She was REALLY passed out. I can not believe she did not wake up when I a.)stopped the car b.) opened my door c.) opened the trunk door d.)started taking pictures.

meal item monday

2009-01-12T00:44:00.002-05:00

I received some great feedback on the inaugural Meal Item Monday so I am happy to continue the recipe sharing in hopes to further combat picky eaters or just offer some variety to meal planning. This Monday there are two items listed below (one main course and one snack or side item)

Snack item first. I l-o-v-e smoothies. Who doesn't? Hubs and I have periodically made smoothies for ourselves for at least half a decade. It just dawned on me last week...Ada would probably l-o-v-e smoothies too. All the antioxidants in the berries make me so happy. This simple snack was a great hit with Ada. Coupled with a cheese omelet and the smoothie became a complete meal for her.

Mixed Berry Smoothie

prep time: 10 minutes
nutrients: vitamin A, calcium, vitamin C, iron, folic acids

16 ozs frozen mixed berries (I used the strawberry/blackberry/blueberry/red raspberry combo)
16 ozs vanilla yogurt (This is NOT to be confused with plain yogurt. Plain yogurt is bland and completely disgusting. You only have to make the mistake one time and it is never to be forgotten)

Blend frozen mixed berries in blender until you have reached a smooth consistency. A couple of times during blending I take container off and shake it. My blender is seven years old so this may not be neccesary on new models.
Add yogurt to blend all items together.
Pour

Yum Factor: * * * * *
Ease of Recipe: * * * * *

My only dilema in offering this to an 11 month old was in what manner she was actually going to be able to drink it. I tried several different sippy cups and ended up opting for a topless sippy cup with an adult straw. I sometimes add ice for adults, but have not felt a need to do so for Ada's smoothie. Using frozen fruit makes for a nice consistency either way.

By the looks of it, I think she liked it. . .

Next...

Many of you are aware that we have made the decision to raise Ada vegetarian during this portion of her life or a fishetarian I should say. As she grows up she is welcome to make her own decision on meat, but for now only fish for her while her parents are complete hypocrites (I actually do not eat that much meat myself and while I do not consider myself a vegetarian I would not be completely opposed to the idea).

Fillet of Fish with Vegetables

prep: 10 mins cooking: 35 mins nutrients: beta-carotene, calcium, protein, B vitamins (including folate), and vitamin C

1 tbsp butter
2/3 c leeks, washed and finely sliced (left this item out bc the hubs did not get this at the store-purposefully or accidentally is unbeknowst to me :)
1 c carrots (used baby carrots since they are already peeled and "chopped" aka small)
2/3 c broccoli (cut into small florets-used frozen that were already in small florets)
1/3 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/4 lb cod, hake, sole, haddock or halibut fillets, skinned (used frozen halibut that was already skinned)
2/3 c milk
3 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
sprig of parsley

Sauce

1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

melt butter in saucepan, add leeks-saute for 2-3 mins (did not use), add carrots, cover with water and cook for 10 mins. Add broccoli and cook for 5 mins. Stir in peas and simmer for 5 more minutes, or until veges are tender (add little more water if necessary)
Meanwhile, put fish in pan with milk, peppercorns, bay leaf, and parsley. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until fish is cooked. Set aside, reserving cooking liquid. Discard peppercorns, bay leaf and parsley.
For sauce, melt butter in a pan, stir on flour, and cool for 1 min. Gradually whisk in fish cooking liquid, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir until melted.
Drain veges and mix with flaked fish and cheese sauce. Blend to a puree of desired consistency for the wee ones. Veges should be tender so they can be mashed or chopped for older babies who are starting to chew.

Yum Factor: * * * * *
Ease of Recipe: * * * *

I tripled this recipe so hubs and I were able to eat it for dinner along with Ada. We had leftovers so that Ada could have it for lunch two more times. The first time we set it before her she refused it before she had even tasted it. I truthfully forced her to at least try it. She loved it after that every time we gave it to her. It actually seemed she liked it the best on the third time she had it. This dish is suitable for freezing if you so desire.

I hope this dish is an even bigger hit with your little ones than the couscous (Reed, Anna Kate and Ada actually all ate couscous together this last week. Two out of three kids really liked it. My cousin told me that her little man Brooks also enjoyed the couscous so with this small sample of kids we are at 75% on the yum factor for the couscous). As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated.

wordless wednesday

2009-01-07T04:09:00.004-05:00

meal item monday

2009-01-05T03:41:00.004-05:00

I know what you are thinking....like I have not already written every ones ear off already.
Yeah, and for those of you who don't know there are at least four other very recent blog posts lingering under this one. So if you are having a boring (very boring Monday) feel free to proceed.

Tangent annihilated (finally you say) and back on topic. So I have seen all around the blog-o-sphere a little thing called Meal Plan Mondays where one maps out there entire menu for their entire week. In addition to her menu, I once saw a blog chick type out her grocery receipt in its entirety. Interesting, but not what you will see here. So my blog title is a bit bland and may end up changing it once I get some creative juices flowing, but for now we have Meal Item Monday. Every Monday (hopefully) I will share a concoction that I have whipped up for my sub one year old. To give a smidgen of background...this whole idea was contrived after a sickly month of December for my little love that resulted in an unwillingness to eat the variety of foods that she once voluntarily partook in. If you have not experienced this in a child it can be VERY frustrating. One day the child willingly eats something (scarfs it up even), a few days pass and you offer the child the same thing again and she refuses. You try to ~~cram it down her throat~~ calmly offer it several times and still no such luck. I want my daughter's taste buds back. Things have been going well with these new tasty/healthy/easy recipes so I thought I would pass them along. So here goes the first run of Meal Item Monday. Would love some feedback if you end up trying this....don't want to deprive myself of quality time with my family for nothing after all...what am I kidding myself? It is 3am in the morning I am not depriving anyone of anything., ha! Oh my, I really should be sleeping like normal people. I regress....

Cheesy ~~Pasta Stars~~ Couscous

prep: 10 mins
nutrients: Beta Carotene, Calcium, Folate, Protein and Vitamins B12 and C
Also, Vitamin A and Iron if couscous is substituted

1 cup carrots (I used baby carrots that were already peeled)
1 cup boiling water
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp butter
1 cup tomatoes (skinned and chopped)
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup couscous (calls for 2tbsp pasta stars, but I obviously substituted)

place carrots in a small pan, cover with boiling water and cook until tender, 15-20 minutes

warm 2 tbsp butter in separate pan, add tomatoes and saute until mushy. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.
meanwhile, microwave in glass container 1/3c couscous, 1/2c water and 1tsp butter for 2 minutes.
mix together cooked carrots with their cooking liquid, cheese and tomato sauce. Blend to a puree and combine with couscous.

Yum Factor: * * * * *
Ease of Recipe: * * * * (would have received a rating of 5, but it dirtied up so many pans)

Hubs and I thought this was delicious also. I am going to make more next time so we will be able to indulge as well. This dish is suitable for freezing if you so desire.

merry christmas eve

2009-01-05T01:00:00.012-05:00

So our Christmas did not exactly start out as we had expected. Ada had ran an elevated fever for almost 48 hours so we booked a last minute appointment on Christmas Eve to rule out a potential ear infection. We bundled up and headed off.

But, not before taking a picture of our crazy Weim, Daisy. Poor think has only made the blog cut maybe two other times so since it is Christmas thought I would be generous :) Lurking behind her is Brown Dog (best dog name ever, yeah) a 149 lovable beast that we were dog sitting for friends. {side note: we love to dogsit. We have had many many dogs in our backyard and would be glad to have yours. If you are ever in a pinch with your canine, just let us know and they are welcome to come keep our crazy firstborn pup company}

Brown Dog himself

Back to the story. So for the first time we entered the dark side. The side where microscopic illness causing organisms breed. So we took a quick glance, heard the coughing, sneezing, sniffling sounds and turned around for the car. We were not ready for the dark side.

Ada took a short, I am talking brief nap in the car before she was summoned by the Doc. A quick glance down the auditory canal and the doc declared it was most definitely an ear infection which is not contagious though the cold that caused the ear infection could be contagious to possibly ease the minds that we have come in contact with in the last few weeks.

Ada's first prescription and first antibiotics sent us in this direction. Poor people have to work on Christmas Eve...Doctor, Walgreens Employees, etc. I thank each of you very much!

Her prescription packaging even acknowledged it was her first time by welcoming her to the world of prescriptions on 12/24/08. Hopefully this is one of very few times needed.

Back to festivities and such. We did something completely different with the Christmas Tree this year. You may find it creative, ingenious or completely tacky. Instead of ornaments we hung your (yes yours!) shiny happy faces on our tree. It was fun to watch our tree fill up with the faces of friends and family and made for a much safer environment for Ada. It was also very neat and very humbling to see some of my work come in the mail. Thank you for sharing my work of your beautiful families this holiday season. I plan to share some of those at some point.

For now I will share ours once again. Check out the clips used to trim the tree with cards. I got those at IKEA (one of my absolute favorite places) last year.

We normally go to a Christmas Eve service at my parents church, but were unable to attend this year with the E.I. of our little babe so instead we stayed home and read O Little Town of Bethlehem which is quite the intriguing version of the Christmas Story to a ten month old with all of the twinkling stars that go along with the story. So after slurping up her first round of antibiotics (amoxicillin to be specific) in its form of brightly colored bubble gum pink, a great nap and picking up a last minute gift for my mom (which may or may not have been a live animal hence the last minuteness of picking up the gift) our family of three headed to my parents house.

Mom fixed a delicious meal and we topped off our Christmas Dinner with a beautiful made from scratch cake from my sister Jennifer.

Ada was still not completely herself and had lost much of her desire for varied types of food.

Roman could NOT wait to open presents and gave us this face when told we were going to take a few pictures first :)

He quickly turned his frown upside down

All the little monkeys. (Roman, Peyton Carli, Ada and Preston)

Mark was unable to be with us this evening, Dad was on the phone with a friend in the hospital and Jimmy was behind the camera so just the ladies and kiddy kats in this silly pic. Left the serious ones for our personal photo albums :)

Ada's emotional progression while opening presents. It started out really rough, but by the end she could not get enough of her Busy Ball Popper that she got from Aunt Suzi and Roman nor could any of the other kids. That little machine entertained each of the four ranging in age from 10 months to 10 years. This is a great gift idea for a child turning one.

Not a great gift idea for your mother is surprising her with a dog, even though hers died earlier that year and you could have sworn she said she wouldn't mind having another one. Not only did said mother not appreciate the gift from her daughters, she insulted the gift and proceeded to cry. YES, she shed tears and said she would never be able to workout again and never be able to travel again because she would always have to come home and let the dog out. Well good think we PUNKED you mom! We are so mean, but you would think mom would not believe us because we do something like this to her every single year. After announcing the joke was on her she withdrew her insults to the gift and said she really did like the dog (I videoed the whole thing and unfortunately during a pass off with the video the volume was turned off-tragic-hopefully I can get a copy of Suzi's) Thank you Brent and Becca for allowing us to borrow Fiona and completely traumatize her. I hope she will be released from therapy soon.

Thankfully we had a "real" gift for mom and dad. It is a 26x29 family tree personalized with pictures and names of our family. They look way better in person. From the same website, a couple of years ago Jennifer got us the personalized plaque that says "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15. Yeah, that year the joke was on her bc she spelled our last name wrong :), but we really do like the plaque.

Jennifer and I are always in competition of being the favorite Aunt. Last year she won Roman over with Crayola's Ozzie The Octopus Spout Cover that colors that bath water. He slept with the Ozzie under his pillow. Yeah, how could I compete with that? So this year, I was determined to win. It was not in gourmet packaging nor did it (they) cost a lot of money, but they were his favorite! Roman got four new fishy friends for his aquarium.

Suzi was sure to tell Roman that he was not allowed to hold the fish. After I acknowledged what he was doing in this picture he was sure to tell me not to worry and that he was not holding the fish he was just petting them. Surprisingly, last I heard all fish were still alive and kicking, but seriously if you want to win over a three year old spend forty cents and get him a couple of goldfish and so you don't feel too cheap some accessories too, even though the fish would suffice :)

Ada is so little big and I think this picture displays just that.

Do you know the tradition of the Christmas Pickle? I heard of it a few years back and forgot about it until one popped up this year at an ornament swap. I was on the tail of the Christmas Pickle the entire time, wanting to take it home and make it my so I would not forget again the tradition that this special cucumber would bring.The pickle is a German symbol of good luck. Traditionally, German parents decorated the tree on Christmas Eve, hiding the pickle ornament last. On Christmas morning, the first child to located the pickle was rewarded with an extra gift from St. Nicholas.

Mom also introduced the Christmas Pickle this year and Preston was the one who in the case received a monetary gift from St. Nick for his find.

Just a random slice of our Christmas Eve. More to come. Barf you may say. I know I know I am almost done with my ramblings. On this event, at least.

countdown to christmas part IV

2009-01-04T01:00:00.000-05:00

This year the UTC crowd went to Nolan's house for their first annual Christmas Party. The first year marked high standards with not only a cookie swap, but also an ornament exchange. Good luck to whoever host next year and has to follow that entertainment :) and seriously ya'll this decorating... Kristi has the decorating wisdom of a fifty-five year old. I am so serious! Look at how she tied, place and maneuvered the ribbon on her mantle. Gorgeous!

And this Christmas Tree...

and then all this silliness stepped in and took over all of Kristi's beautiful decor.

The whole clan minus Brent and Becca (missed you both).

All of the little bambinos: Emma (5 months), Ada (10 months), Nolan (4 months) and Owen (3 months).

I think Nolan is apalled that Emma jumped out of this shot.

Thank you Strait family for having all of us take over your house for an evening. The homemade manacotti was scruptious and all of the cookies from the swap did not even make it a week.

I love my grinch ornament. McKennas, I aplogize for the ghetto glowing snowman :)

My sister, Jennifer, normally hostesses a Happy Birthday Jesus party for our family, but she ended up having hers a little early with her own family so I was so thankful to Christy for inviting us to hers. Along with Ada and I came my mom, sister Suzi, nephew Roman and niece Peyton Carli.

We were also able to see Jennifer and Tucker! Yay!

Ada was not acting herself AT all! I kept thinking it was bc we were in the middle of her nap, but we skip her first nap fairly frequently and she usually is fine. We later found out what the deal-yo was.

I love the two Happy Birthday Jesus cakes that were made out of cupcakes.

It definitely made it easier when it came to dividing up the cake.

Tucker kept staring at my sister Suzi while she was holding him. He was thinking, "You look kinda like my mom, but you certainly don't sound like her." Suzi and Jennifer (ironically the same name as my other sister) remind me so much of each other. They have extremely similar personalities. That is why I love them both so much!

Jennifer and Tucker

Roman (3 years old) with a dab of icing

Peyton Cali (8 in Jan) about to dig in

Ada not being her sweet self, but still being pretty sweet.

Speaking of sweet. Jenna was there.

Seriously, almost to Christmas. Just a couple of days away...It is almost Jesus' real birthday. On the blog that is.

countdown to christmas part III

2009-01-03T20:30:00.007-05:00

For Becca's birthday we were able to celebrate with her for a whole almost 24 hours. We met her at Opry Mills. It was chaotic to say the least. Mid-holiday season and we are in the heart of one of the largest shopping facilities in Tennessee. What were we thinking? We had a late lunch with Becca solely (Brent was still at work for a bit longer) and then did some mild shopping. We really only hit up four stores then we all had gotten over the whole shopping thing :)

Foodcourt shot amongst a beautiful backdrop of not one, but TWO wate disposal containers. We are so good and a little smelly... The girls went into the Old Navy outlet and upon our return found the hubs doing a little bit of this...

Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers had some good light so here are some pics of Becca and hubs with the little love.

After a stressful exit from the mall (30+ minutes to leave the parking lot alone :), Ada went down for an extremely late afternoon nap to be rested up to hit up Maggiano's. A delectable family style Italian dining experience was a wonderful choice for Becca's birthday dinner and for our taste buds. However, the ~~cave like~~ intimate/romantic lighting definitely did not give way to the best pictures :)

Oh and there was that beautiful nutcracker that Ada nearly knocked down on the hard stone floor that would have smashed the elegant creature to a million pieces, after I so brilliantly showed her the delicate handle that does the nut cracking or simply allows the little friend to talk.

Happy Birthday Boo! So glad we got to spend a mini weekend with you!

Upon our return home I went to a ladies only Christmas party thrown by our good friend Jennifer who is the perfect party planner. She has done several weddings and a coutless amount of parties. This years party was held at the Southside Gallery Cafe and was the perfect setting for the girls only affair. There was dinner, dessert and a dirty Santa gift exchange. Many pictures taken, but even more deleted and unrecoverable. Only a few were salvaged. I will share what I have though some of my favorites will have to stay tucked away in my mind forever. Do NOT make the same mistake I did. Back up your photos. I learned the hard way. Thankfully one of the group shots managed to be recovered though if I remember correctly there were some better ones but I am just thankful for what I have :) The ladies...and the most important, the dessert buffet. This is a small sample of the goodies Jennifer provided.

Thank you Jennifer for organizing such a delightful evening. I know we all love our families, but it was a bit refreshing to be out solo and not worry about packing diaper bags and dressing the hubs and see I can actually be on time (early actually) when I don't have the rest of the fam, ha.

I, of course, did not feel too bad about an all girls Christmas bash when later that week we attended an all inclusive Christmas party. The theme, the very trendy Tacky Sweater Christmas Party. This was definitely the year for it. So we got tacky. Well, the adults did that is. The kiddos stayed as sweet as pie. {sidenote: I used some funky editing on this one to spice it up for the tackiness of the night}

Thank you Santa for coming by to see all of us. We were so thankful to have a personal visit from you. You were great.

Tucker, Ada and Santa {sidenote: Ada's red outfit came from Pottery Barn. On clearance for under $10!!!}

Santa and Silas

Adding in Addie and Gabe. Oops, I just realized you can't see Gabe very well. He is semi hiding behind Santa's right calve holding Tucker.

Silas decided he was very comfy in the arms of Santa so he stayed while Foy and his Mommy got their pic made with Santa. Foy was a bit freaked out by the bearded man. I love a freaked out kid face with Santa, don't you? Priceless. Right in line with Ada freaking out over the Christmas tree.

Not a complete group shot, but a group shot of all of the tackiness that showed up. Check out the sleeve length on Jimmy's sweater.
Merry "almost" Christmas. Yes, in the real world the holiday has come and gone, but on my blog it is just almost here.

christmas card photo session

2009-01-03T16:52:00.004-05:00

Early one very cold Saturday morning we left to meet up with new friends Josh and Amber Ulmer of Ulmer Studios. I love how they captured our family. It was fun being in front of the camera usually being behind it :) This was the first family session we have had together since the birth of Moncrief Photography. As we interacted during our photo session my mind scrolled through snapshots of clients. Seeing interactions that they were brave enough to share with me and anyone else who would eventually see their pictures. The ones that many times happen so often only in the comfort of ones home. Sweet hugs and kisses. Those sweet interactions that you want your children to remember later on in life and while they will know it, it is also fun for them to see it. Thank you Josh and Amber for braving the cold with us and taking such "magical" pictures of our family. You two are the greatest!!! I want to share many many many more soon, but for now here is our Christmas card and head on over to the Ulmer's site to check out some more :) Oh, and I updated my profile pic to reflect an Ulmer creation as well!!!

I am sorry if you have not received your card. I just got one back in the mail today and have heard of a couple of others who never received them. Cheers to the gloriously reliable United States Postal Service. Just kidding USPS, well kinda....

Here is the sequence we used...

And we did not take many pictures that day, but we snagged a couple...

We of course had to do a self portrait...

It was too cold for me to take off Ada's sweater the day of the photo shoot. The chick was already sporting some blue lips:) She had the cutest Ivey Handcrafted onesie by the forever talented Tobi underneath that was just waiting to be shown off. So one random warm day that we had in December we stripped off the sweater and Ada showed off her little personality....

...and during those moments the back of our Christmas Card was born :)

Thank you Ulmer's and thank you Tobi for personalizing our Christmas cards and making them so special. You each are very talented and are truly inspiring!

P.S. Our CCs were printed by Paper Locket. Wendy the owner is super nice and talented. The next time you need something printed then be sure to check them out and actually if you mention me and you will get some free cards...I told you Wendy is sweet. I referred many to her over the holidays so she started offering the free gift as a thank you.

countdown to christmas part II

2009-01-03T15:50:00.001-05:00

This quite possibly could be a very boring post for many to read. This was done for documentation sake so those who care nothing about the week my family was sick and/or detest country music (okay, I am not a HUGH fan of it myself, but who can resist a little C-A-R-R-I-E) be sure to stay at bay :) Oh and we actually took many pictures this week, but being the doe doe that I am I deleted them. UGH! That was a stressful moment since sickness was not the only think deleted. So, no pictures for this post.

The following week was a whirlwind. Ada was sick for the first time in her 10 months of life. She has had a little cold of course and several runny noses, but had not been sick enough to phone the on call nurse (or murse-male nurse-in this situation:) at whatever o'clock in the morning it took place. A photo session on that Saturday led to a visit with Uncle Mark, Aunt Jennifer, Preston and Peyton Carli for Ada. Upon retrieving my wee one from her cousins, Jennifer mentioned that Ada was not acting herself. Jennifer was so convinced that something was up that she followed me to Wal-Mart and went inside to get some meds in preparation of an upset. She went inside and left Ada and I nestled in the car and returned with earache relief numbing drops (I suppose it is like Oragel for your ears so Earagel...ha...yeah nevermind) and Ibuprofen. I already had Tylenol at home and Jennifer informed me that while both Tylenol and Ibuprofen are to only be administered ever four hours, with different active ingredients in each, the two can be alternated so the infant can be given fever reducing meds every two hours. My sis is full of kiddie wisdom and I am so very thankful. The first OTC drug was not put into use, but the latter certainly was. Ada continued to not act like herself, but no major ailments prior to going to bed. We still chose to go ahead and stay home from a Christmas party we intended to attend (Ada was going to Mimi's house) and we are so thankful that we did. Asleep at her normal bedtime, Ada awoke around 2am. We allowed her to settle back down, but she awoke again 15 minutes later. Completely unlike her to wake in the middle of the night hubs and I headed upstairs to find our sweet little girl in a sea of peas and carrots in her crib. She was drenched. We took her downstairs for a bath, temp check and cuddling. Squeaky clean she lost her peas and carrots once again. As I have expressed to many, I had no idea the difference between spitting up and throwing up in an infant until that very moment. To see your baby's body convulse as her little tummy empties was devastating. In tears I held her. She had an elevated temp the entire night that peaked at 103. She was on fire. It was the first night that she had been held the entire night through. It was the saddest yet sweetest night. Thankfully there was no more throwing up for our little girl, but then it passed to the hubs. To hear a grown man throw up is a disturbing sound. For 24 hours I only saw the hubs in 3 minute increments to bring him requested items (first a bowl-ugh, water, crackers, etc.) To prohibit the spread of germs he stayed quarantined and would call me on my cell when in need. I knew he was sick when this avid reader did not even do that. He stayed in bed for a solid day straight and did absolutely nothing. SOOOO unlike him. Everyone finally started perking up and I have NOOO idea how I ended up without the crud, but am so thankful that it stayed away from me. I literally drank a whole 2Liter of O.J. (vitamin C) in 36 hours. Overdosing on orange juice, vitamins and prayer must have done the trick.

The day between Ada and the hubs getting sick I was able to escape for just a bit and have some fun girl time. Amy and I went to see Carrie Underwood preform. It was an incredible performance though Ams and I both agreed that it was the first concert we had ever wondered will it ever end verses I hope it never ends. The girl played for forever. It really was delightful. I love her sweet charisma and hope that she continues to remain humble in her successes. So here is a clip from the concert of a sweet little girl named Caroline singing "American Girl" with Carrie. Be warned you may get sick yourself camera shack and unexplained static :)

Wow, you stuck around. See, it was not that painful was it?

countdown to christmas part I

2008-12-30T12:00:00.001-05:00

Before turning over to a new year I thought I it would be nice to at least be caught up on December. Let us not forget the entire month of November (minus Thanksgiving). Oh and that trip we took back in October, yikes. Back to December.

We started the month wondering if Ada was even going to like Christmas. We put our tree up the weekend following Thanksgiving. Ada did not like the bare naked tree. She in fact was repulsed by it. As if on a preceding night the bold green Christmas tree had snuck into her room and promised nothing but hatred and hurt. She literally screamed and cried at the big green "monster" that stood tall in our living room. We of course laughed and we videoed. I suppose if I was right under 2.5 feet tall a Christmas Tree could look like a big scary hairy green odd human. Of course upon adorning him with some sparkle Ada learned to accept, love and even torture our fine tall green furry friend.

proof... (please forgive us. I promise we ARE good parents)

I was further assured that Ada would enjoy Christmas (not that I REALLY ever doubted) when a couple of days later a package came in the mail and Ada immediately dove right into the bubble wrap, paper and boxes.

We later turned Ada's feet green...

...along with two friends...

...to make these for their grandparents

The green foot definitely required a late night bath, which was held in our kitchen sink and no this is not the only time in Ada's 10 month of life that we have bathed her in her bathtub in the kitchen sink. Call me crazy or old and feeble, but bending over in the real bath does not feel good on the knees and back.

We then went to Ada's first Christmas party where we did her first ever craft, a reindeer from the tracings of her hand...

...at this sweet little girls house.

Lastly we played on a train on a mountain with three friends.

The conductor and host for the event who was not quite himself, but a sweetheart anyway.

Our three fellow passengers. Wish Ada was had been in this shot too.

Come aboard...

...stay for a while...

make a proposal...

We tried to get a picture of all three. Well, obviously we got a picture, but there were very diverse emotions following through this scene. Reed was ready to get the heck out of there, the girls (A.K. and Ada)were chatting and Jackson wanted to simply check out Ada's shoes.

We have also been having issues with Ada standing in her highchair. I promise you I have the strap so tight I feel like I am going to cut off her circulation and she maneauvers her way out. I am fully aware that taking photos of this misdemeanor only reinforces this bad habit, but I had to take just one :) Oh and we have resorted to Ada sitting in her travel highchair while eating which cost us a fifth of her "real" highchairs cost. Hindsight is always 20/20, but man we should have JUST bought the travel highchair.

Lastly, Ada was caught with her hand in the cheese straw jar. Shame on us for turning our backs with our goodies laid on the couch. Better cheese straws than chocolate dipped pretzels. For her that is :)

This concludes week one of our Christmas festivities.

wordless wednesday

2008-12-17T16:16:00.004-05:00

thank you for the reminder :)

giving is awesome

2008-12-11T22:16:00.004-05:00

I first heard of Giving is Awesome here. As soon as I heard about it I knew I definitely wanted to be a part and hope you will too.

You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography, including 20 4x6s, 10 5x7s, 5 8x10s, 1 11x14, and a 16x24 mounted canvas. It's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a complimentary session and a print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in Tennessee. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my services. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : moncriefphotography@gmail.com

The winner will be announced on Christmas Eve -- get nominating! I can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

much love,

-brittany-

moncrief photography

P.S. Feel free to link to this on your blog if you so desire

a weekend of thanks

2008-12-09T04:33:00.011-05:00

With Christmas just THIRTEEN days away I thought I should at least post about our Thanksgiving weekend. The rest of November will just have to wait for another time.

Thursday: The three Moncrief's embarked on a Thanksgiving tradition that my other immediate family had been holding true to for several years now. With Jimmy's dad and stepmom now living in Chattanooga we now are able to stay in our hometown and still spend time with them over the holiday of thanks. Early T-Day morning we got bundled up to do the our local Turkey Trot. This five, three or 1 mile event was destined to do some pre-burning of the evenings caloric intake. Not as ambitious as the remainder of my family Ada and I chose the three miler and were thankful to have Melissa, Emma and my neice Peyton Carli along for the trek too! We hope to make this a tradition of our own. I have loved doing new things this year that will mark the inauguration of new traditions with Ada.

All of the family that participated in the event.

Dad came for moral support :)

My three mile buddy

Beautiful Emma girl and...

Ada Love

My sisters kept poking fun of my toboggan and said I should go hug that tree over there. I well I ain't scared and maybe we all should be a little bit more like the tree huggers. Besides I thought staying warm always equated to looking a little homeless.

After the trot we headed to IHOP. Which I just learned within the last ten years was in fact NOT an indian restaurant, but instead a house of pancakes. What better way to stretch out your tummy for dinner than to eat an expandable brunch.

Aunt Suzi "gave" Ada some syrup. Thankfully she just pretended to let it drip on the open mouthed little bird. Pretended, ya right, the chick ended up sticky, but thankfully none made it in the beak :)

The group and thankfully the Crane's were brave enough to come along too. Everyone again made fun because I almost set in a guys lap while taking this shot. Sad enough, the guy was sitting all alone on the holiday of thanks. We asked him to join us, but he declined.

That evening we headed to my parents where my entire family (minus Roman :( was with us along with Jimmy's Dad and Inn. I was not in charge of taking pictures that evening so I am actually in several.

I know others have mentioned that their little ones were able to participant in the Thanksgiving feast and mine was one of those as well. Ada's favorite was the sweet potato casserole that I provided, but who doesn't like "good" for you foods packed full of cinnamon and sugar. It was my first time making it and will definitely again since it is SO easy.

Jennifer once again introduced us to a new game. I am so serious, every time we are together she has another new one. This one was called Snorka, I think.

I have mentioned before that we are chocoholics in this family and here we are in action. I love Jennifer's chocolate goatee. One day Ada will be standing right beside us with a beard of chocolate and a mullet of syrup.

Yes, here we have a toilet. My parents have a house that was built in the 1970's and while the house has been completely refurbished chocolate shag carpet and all until recently the mint green toilet in one of the bathrooms remained. The picture leaves no room to guess our reaction.

Friday, we had a surprise visit from our friends Chris and Christy Vaughn who currently live in Washington D.C. It was so awesome to see you guys and guess what they are expecting. A girl. In April. Yippee. Once again, the baby boom continues.

Saturday was the what fourth??? annual cookie extravaganza with my Becca Boo. We made gingersnaps, peanut butter balls and little pretzel contraptions. This time we elicited help from my neice, Peyton Carli, who helped out a ton. With Peyton and cutting down to only making three items we turned a typically twelve hour event into one that lasted only four or five. I love this tradition! I am sad to say I did not take any pictures of all of our hard work and have now either eaten or given away all the evidence :(

That night my family went out to eat at O'Charley's. While finishing up our meal the kids taught Ada how to click her tongue. I love love love it when this little girl clicks her tongue. I think it is so very cute. Here she is getting instructions and then a video of her in action.

Sunday was a special time. We had Ada dedicated at our church and were so thankful that our families could be in attendance. While we do not believe that dedication will secure a spot in heaven for our little girl we do it as a means to be held accountable in how we raise our daughter, for the Lord and not for man. Becca said that while we bowed our heads during prayer Ada was looking down too, like what are we looking for. :)

Our group outside of the church: Papa Campbell, Mimi, Halmoni, Halabaji, Aunt Suzi, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Mark, Ada, Jimmy, me, Peyton Carli and Preston. Plus, Becca who was taking the picture :) Thank you everyone for coming and showing your support. We love each of you very much.

Becca "wearing" Ada as we walking to our lunch destination, Taco Mac, in the brisk wintry weather.

Lastly, during the cookie extravaganza we got a call that Miss November had made her appearance. Whew, right in time. She almost went into December :) Past her due date, I know Robbie and Katie were more than ready for this little girl to get here. So Sunday we had to go see our friends and their brand new babe. Presenting sweet cuddly little Josie Makayla. Isn't she just so sweet and I just love the name Josie. I was able to take several pictures of Josie at the hospital and then do an at home session. Click here to see more.

I am thankful for good friends.
I am thankful for a loving family.
I am thankful for a saviour that lives and loves unconditionally.

it's fall ya'll but not for long

2008-11-25T04:43:00.001-05:00

I hear by declare that I am a blog slacker. I must get points for the confessional. Falls end is just around the corner, but before winter finishes sneaking up on me I must post these pictures we took several weeks ago.

So we stuck our kid in a pumpkin. Cute? I think so.

I love the little tuft of hair that is sticking up on top of Ada's head.

A picture of the hubs. Babe, you are hot!

Ada's first fall which meant her first time to play in the leaves. I love the one where she is sticking her tongue out.

While these three are almost exactly the same I just could not choose which of Ada's expression I loved the most. A girl of many personalities.

I have been wearing hats alot lately. It certainly would not be to cover up dirty hair. No, there is no way I would ever wear a hat just so I would not have to take care of this long unwashed mane. No. Way. But, I am sure that would be a great solution to any of YOU out there who run around with dirty hair sometimes.

Ada, your eyes are captivating.

Favorite shoes. I got this shiny red heels when we were in California last month. Jimmy doesn't believe me that I "accidentally" left all my shoes back home and just "had" to get some new ones. Ada's are her first pair of real shoes and she is wearing them 99% of the time.

sharks bite, bumble bees sting and other fun with critters

2008-11-12T00:02:00.007-05:00

This year's Halloween theme song revolved around "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumble Bee" {sidenote: there is actually a home video of me, at two, singing this and doing the choreography}. Oh yes, on Ada's first October 31st she was a baby bumble bee. A bumble bee she was and a bumble bee she was several times. She made full use of her costume including a little potty break while inside and that is when her cute little disguise was retired.

We started out the holiday by heading down to Reseca, Ga (and if you don't put the emphasis on the second syllable like them Georgians do, you will be made fun of :) with Ladybug Anna Kate and Penguin Jackson. Spider Reed didn't make it, but we missed him and his web making abilities. So to Reseca we went to what we thought was going to be a pumpkin patch per the website, who knows???, but we were able to pet many furry creatures and take a hayride. The first picture demonstrates just how small this little town is. . .

Speaking of squishing things, poor Penguin Jackson. . .

We saw all kinds of critters (besides the ones we brought), but this was my favorite. I had a bunny as a child though he was nowhere near this size.

Per request, we were then directed to a pumpkin patch down the road. Unfortunately/fortunately the pumpkin patch had closed 45 mins prior, but the very gracious owner was outside and said we could go in just long enough to get a picture of our little critters.

My little bumble bee had a moment of drama. I think her stinger got it a wad or such. It was too cute not to capture.

Next up, Tucker Shark came to visit. He was the cutest dang shark we had ever seen and not only did he not bite us he actually bit his own "teeth" almost the entire time instead.

Don't you just love some good shark tail and bumble bee stinger?

That night, oh yes, we had a wild day. We went to meet the newest critter or vegetable (?) rather, Pumpkn' Silas. Just a brand new little pumpkin at just a couple of weeks. He is SO cute, right!?!

The next day we went to Lobster Emma's house for she was hosting a party. It was the first party for the 2008 UTC marketing babes and Lobster Emma pulled out all of the stops. The attendees were of course Lobster Emma, Bumble Bee Ada, So Cute It's Scary Nolan and Tiger/Michael Phelps Owen. The major topic of conversation for the adults consisted of the major change in the dynamics of our group and what in the world did we talk about before babies. Along with these conversations, Lobster Emma's parents conducted a costume contest. Each baby won a category and even received prizes. It was so cute. With all the babies on different schedules we tragically never got a group shot.

Lobster Emma and my Baby Bumble Bee as she rips Melissa's earring out. I am so happy that your ear was okay and that we did not have to front the money for reconstructive surgery. I am so sorry about your ear, Mel!!!

At this moment we also discovered that Ada and Emma though 5 months apart weight the exact same. I knew Ada was in the 30th percentile for weight, but man, am I feeding her enough!?! Though very different ages and similar weight both girls look perfectly healthy, cute and precious to me.

Becca made the cutest and most scrumptious cakes. Aren't they cute!?!
Emma had an eventful day so she was down to sleep at this point so it was just Ada with the boys, Owen and Nolan. Nolan was really into bee fur.
The boys are holding hands. Aaah!
Happy (late, very late) Halloween!

fighting foca

2008-11-07T01:55:00.002-05:00

FOCA Would Wipe Away Every Restriction on Abortion Nationwide

This would eradicate state and federal laws that the majority of Americans support, such as:

Bans on Partial Birth Abortion
Requirements that women be given information about the risks of getting an abortion
Only licensed physicians can perform abortions
Parents must be informed and give consent to their minor daughter's abortion

FOCA would erase these laws and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

I just went here to fight FOCA. I hope you will too. (The above information is from fightfoca.com) Implementing FOCA goes way beyond being Pro-Choice. If you would like additional information search YouTube and you will recieve more than you ever wanted.

. . .on a much much lighter note. . .see the post that follows. . .

reunion beach trip

2008-11-06T01:09:00.002-05:00

Last month, Lindsay said it best. It was the beach trip that consisted of furbalows, cream cheese cupcakes, beautiful beaches, a girl in leather pants and two more in too-tight-80s-wash jeans in a target dressing room with a camera, matching t-shirts, attempts to catch waves, 17 adults, two babes and seagulls in too close proximity. A reunion in honor of my friend of almost fifteen years who came back along with her husband from almost 8,ooo miles away so that we had the opportunity to hang out with them for a solid week. It was great. It was wonderful. It was fatty munchin'. What more can you ask for?

If you would like any commentary that coordinates with the pictures or just prefer to scroll through the pictures verses the slideshow then please direct your attention to album on right.

Beach II from brittany moncrief on Vimeo.

you can vote however you like. . .

2008-11-05T00:30:00.000-05:00

happy birthday reed man

2008-10-30T23:35:00.000-04:00

Ada and I had the pleasure of celebrating a first birthday with our favorite little man twice. Reed completed 365 days on earth on October 22nd. That day we celebrated with him by attending our weekly Kindermusik class, eating cupcakes and playing at the park.

This picture is Reed in a nutshell. Full of spunk, personality and absolutely adorable.

...and yes we cage our animals. Don't judge. If you have not had a mobile little one then your opinion does not count :) Ada ENJOYING the cage.

This monkey, Anna Kate, out of the cage and snagging Ada's sippy cup and greenie beans :)

The birthday boy lovin' on his mommy!

Self portrait of me and the little misses :)

THE birthday boy!

A week prior while at Navarre Beach, to celebrate the short-term-homecoming of Auntie L and Uncle Whit (more pictures to follow), we also had a birthday shin-dig for Reed-man. The cake which I had a delightful time making was demolished by the almost one year old. Reed did an excellent job taring into the cake, but my favorite was when he put his whole face in it. Great job, Reed! Happy Birthday, once again!

Doing well

. . .and mastered!

The finished product produced by Reed alone. No cake, just icing. That's how I like it too!

Happy 1st Birthday, Reed!

crumpets and tea

2008-10-22T01:16:00.005-04:00

{sidenote: not that anyone even cares :) but I am going out of chronological order. oh no. yeah. The post that precedes this one is a little on the long winded side and I have not collected all the photos from it yet. So just to let you know. But, like I mentioned,not that anybody cares. hehe}

With a love of all things British (after all my name does mean "from England" :) what better way to introduce my daughter than to have a tea party at our vey own British tea room, The English Rose.

Amy and Anna Kate met Ada and I for afternoon tea at 2pm yesterday. We had a delightful time and the girls were on their very best behavior. Well, almost. Miss Lynn took great care of us and continually complimented the girls on their good behavior. As soon as we arrived Miss Lynn gave each of the girls a biscuit that they devoured. Ada not quit as gracefully as Anna Kate.

This is the before and I will spare you the after. Amy brought a child appropriate (and very cute) tea set that the girls enjoyed "sipping" and then tossing on the floor. Continually.

Yes, this is the well, almost that I previously referred to. So many times that we ended up with some damaged goods. First by Ada. Then by Anna Kate. Ada's mommy (moi) was delighted when A.K. repeated Ada's offense so her daughter was not the only one breaking things, though in general she still feels bad that it happened at all. We do apologize, again A.K.

The offense.The offender.

While the girls munched on their biscuits, the adults each had a delicious cup of asparagus soup and split a sampler of finger sandwiches. The two little A's ended up have a bit of the asparagus soup, along with many different kinds of other little people food. And we must not forget dessert. I of course went for the chocolate dish while Amy chose a palatable strawberry option. I think it is safe to say that we both would be up for a repeat.

yum!

For some after tea entertainment Anna Kate showed us her peek-a-boo skills. . .

. . .and then posed like a little cutie.

Ada thought A.K. was hilarious.

And if they had not already been the most perfect (almost) sweet angels and just as cute as could be. . .they held hands.

The four "tea huggers". Black and White. Oh yeah. Truth be told. My face was looking as shiny as one of those 1970s disco balls.

eight months and many firsts

2008-10-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

A week ago, Ada turned eight months old. I am going to spare the part where I tell you how time has flown too quickly, how my little girl is growing up too fast and how much I love this little lady, because you all already know all of that. Instead, here is Ada at eight months old and several firsts.

Ada went to her first county fair with her good buddy, Ann a Kate. The two were frequently confused as twins as they road around in A.K.'s cute little red wagon. At the tail end the two got caught pulling every single wipe out of their diaper bags. Because the girls had been so good for so long and we wanted to ensure this goodness lasted just a little bit longer we stood there and let them.

264 pound pumpkin

287 pounds of pure cuteness

Preston and Peyton Carli's goats, Victor and Lily, made an appearance at the county fair and both won blue ribbons.

As Amy mentioned in her post, we went to see Charlotte's Web several years ago and by the end of the movie each wanted a "Wilbur" for Christmas.

After using Ada's Bumbo for the longest time we finally broke down and bought Ada a highchair. We regretted waiting so long to make the purchase considering she loved it so much and it has been soooo much easier to feed her in her fancy new chair. No more fighting her from trying to flip out. Ada shows her excitement during her first time strapped in. . .
First encounter with the magical kiddo food most often referred to as O's. It was love at first sight.

Ada and I went on our first solo road trip. Daddy had to work so the two females of the family headed out by ourselves (note to self: road trips are much more complicated without two sets of adult arms. . . wearing your baby in a baby bjorn for pit stops for example). Our first stop was a surprise drop by to Nashville. Becca had been recovering from her foot surgery so we arranged with Brent for a surprise girls lunch out. Ada and I brought her some surprises and confessed that we (read: I) ate all the Dove chocolate that was an additional part of the surprise. Thankfully, Becca loves me despite/because of my chocolate addiction :)

Becca suggested that we go to a little place called the Puffy Muffin for lunch. It was a quaint little cafe filled with yummy food and homemade pastries. It was delicious. Ada was quite the attention getter though most of those doting over her thought she was a boy, so immediately after lunch a bow was purchased. This is a picture of her wearing her first bow.

The second stop on our first girls only road trip was Lexington, KY to see Aunt Suzi and Roman. Where's Ada? How did you get over there so fast?

Ada and I brought Roman a pumpkin. Anytime Roman really loves something such as his Lightening McQueen shoes or his toy Octopus he will want to a.) use it as a bath toy and/or b.)sleep with it at night. The pumpkin got invitation a. He also could not wait to carve the pumpkin. I think that is the first think he spoke about upon waking up the next morning.

Taste testing.

The next day we all went to a local apple orchard. It had the most ginormous slide. Roman could not get enough.

Slide down in a sack on this slide.

No apples for us, but apples for somebody. . .

. . .like they needed anymore lunch. They could barely move. Not quite as cute as our little Wilburs previously pictured.

That night was Ada's first time to be left with a non family member (oh yeah, besides the nursery at church). Miss Maggie, took care of Roman and Ada while Suzi and I went to go see Angie Smith (wife to Tod Smith, a member of the Christian music group Selah) speak at a women's conference. The evening was incredible. The Lord showed up in so many different ways. This was Angie's first speaking engagement since she lost her baby earlier this year. This is a letter that Angie wrote to her daughter. ***warning: this site elicits tears***

Ada's first pair of "real" shoes. I love how girly they are. A target purchase for only $9.99!!!

First time to be a ballerina.

Ada's first day trip with her buddy Anna Kate. Amy invited us to go down to surprise her dad at a conference he was hosting down in Cohutta, Georgia. The girls did well overall, though at one point they were competing for highest octave while attempting to take naps. We were gone for the entire day capping off the road trip with a bit of shopping in Calhoun. The following pictures are a before and a couple of after.

Surprisingly, this last month Ada rode sitting up in a shopping cart for the first time. She has had the ability to do so for a while, but I continued to put her along with her car seat in the shopping cart for the longest.

While this picture does not depict a first for Ada, Tucker had a first this same night. We all witnessed him sit up for the first time. Go, Tucker, Go!
Lastly, Ada met Mr. October, Baby Silas for the first time. He is so incredibly cute and as everyone has mentioned, looks just-like-his-daddy. Verbatim. Congrats on your little cutie. He is precious.

beach, at last

2008-10-10T13:45:00.002-04:00

Last month our family went on our annual beach vacation. Mom and Dad have treated their girls to this family tradition for as long as I can remember. I could not say how many years we have been going to St. George Island, but this year we headed down to that quaint part of Florida once again. I love this time together as a family and so thankful that Jimmy and I had our very own addition this year. Ada loved her first beach experience as did all of her cousins! Thank you again mom and dad. Without further ado here are Mimi, Papa Campbell, Jennifer, Mark, Preston (9 years old), Peyton Carli (7 years old), Suzi, Roman (3.5 years old), Jimmy, me and Ada (7 months old) at the beach. . .

mr. september and sweet baby kisses

2008-10-01T00:05:00.000-04:00

Owen, Mr. September belonging to our good friends Katie and Kevin, was welcomed into the world on September 15th. We unfortunately missed him on his day of arrival, but were able to visit him last Friday. He is absolutely adorable and so very sweet. He did not say a peep the entire evening. I love those moments where they sleep so soundly through absolutely anything and everything. Ada just started giving kisses this last week and decided to share some with Owen. How sweet!

While in utero Owen's parents often referred to him as Baby Mac. A nickname spawned from the family's surname. A cutie little onesie was created by the infamous Tobi with Ivey Handcrafted to show it off. I love the sweet star that Tobi applied to this onesie to make it extra unique.

Oh, my little girl. You just don't look little compared to Owen unless we are talking feet. Though the two are a little over seven months apart they already have the same size feet. This boy is going to be tall.

Welcome to our world, Baby Mac! We are so glad to have you :)

wordless wednesday

2008-10-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

seven whole months

2008-09-24T18:02:00.004-04:00

Our little cutie completed seven months of life this month. She is crawling everywhere and now has octopus arms as my sister, Jennifer, so accurately describes them. I love the way she explores and wants to reach new ends of the world (read: house). Along with this she has figured out how to open the DVD cabinet and pull out all of its contents. The first time, I sat there and let her without any interference, the entire time wondering where my baby had gone. She is not one any longer. Babies don't stand up and move around and pull things out of cabinets. I know I am probably sounding very sentimental right now,but I am really just floored how quickly time passes. Nonetheless she gets more and more fun with each passing day and I am loving every moment of it.

Ada said her first "word" the day of Jimmy's Ironman. "Dadada" comes from her mouth quite frequently, but how appropriate to begin this bit of conversation the day of her dada's race.

Here she is with her first teething biscuit. We keep thinking she is getting teeth, but none have surfaced yet. Either way she still enjoys the teething biscuits.

Showing off her toothless grin and her five three inch hairs. She is beautiful with or without. Lastly, yesterday morning at 5am Ada started crying. Unlike her to wake at this hour and unable to see her on the monitor I went to check on her. She had pulled up for the first time, freaked herself out by her new ability and could not figure out how to sit back down (She had a similar reaction the first time she sat up in her crib in the middle of the night). I first thought it was a fluke, but then yesterday in our office, she did it again.

She may be bald and she may be toothless, but she is on the move!

***update: I started this post yesterday and then while at Stonecup for lunch I felt Ada's first tooth***

***update: Sept 26th-Another tooth discovered***

the wild week before the beach

2008-09-23T13:37:00.002-04:00

The Saturday evening of Anna Kate's 1st birthday party was a third b'day party for Jenna. These two birthdays set standards high. At Jenna's birthday it was all things prince and princess. Each kid made a personalized crown and Cinderella herself made an appearance.

Miss "Lashes" Jenna (the birthday girl)The rest of the pictures are of the other kids from small group and one big kid.

Allison with her petite princess crown.

Abby (mommy pictured above)

Anna

My Love

Adalie

J and J with Tucker and Ada

Gabe

Happy 3rd Birthday Jenna girl. We had a fabulous time at your princess filled party!

Next up was a short road trip to Nashvegas to see Brent and Becca. Brent has embarked on a new venture consisting of stand up comedy. He has been taking a class in stand up while in Nashville and we came up for the finale. We already knew Brent's ability to be funny, but it was awesome to see him up on stage and in action. Supposedly speaking in public trumps death when in comes to peoples fears. I would be even more fearful of having to make people laugh up on stage, but Brent did awesome and had us in tears of laughter.

The headliner for the night was Tommy Johnagin. He was H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S. We even walked away with one of his CDs. We appreciated his, like Brent, no cussing policy.

After the show we headed to the much talked about Melting Pot with B&B, Casey and Brad. It was incredibly delicious. As a chocolate fean I was in love. We are supposedly getting one here in Chattanooga. So excited.

The night in Nashville led to Ada's first sleep over with Uncle Mark, Aunt Jennifer, Preston and Peyton Carli. Ada went to church with them and stayed in Aunt Jennifer's class while she taught the middle school youth. That night Ada slept in Peyton Carli's room and did not want to go to sleep because she instead wanted to sit up and look around at all the pretty pink hello kitty decor in Peyton's room. We arrived back at 2am, woke her up and took her back home to snuggle in her own bed.

Friday morning was our first walk with the UTC babes. We went to this great park that Melissa recommended over in Collegedale. Pictures is Nolan, Emma and Ada. Owen just arrived a week ago (yippee!)so he will be joining the crew soon!

Saturday was wild and crazy. Starting with a photo session you can see here and then off to Reed's new house to check it out and see if we could help out a little bit. Your house is incredible. You guys have worked your tails off. We can't wait to see the finished product. During our attempts to lend a hand Reed and Ada took a ride with Granna who said they talked and talked and finally fell asleep. We all thought they had continued to nap in the driveway, but when we went to check, this is what we found:

That evening was another photo session pictured here. Jimmy, Ada and I were about to head home to pack up to leave for the beach the next day when we got a call from Mimi saying that my sister Suzi and her son Roman had come in town early and wanted us to come downtown and play.

Roman loves "the hill" in Renaissance Park. He slide down both bare bottom and with cardboard.

Ada wanted to crawl down the hill the entire time. I suppose she chose this direction with gravity working in her favor.

A yummy meal at Greenlife Grocery, capped off with their delicious gelato, made for great fuel to go home and pack after a long-jam-packed-fun-filled-day.

happy birthday little friend

2008-09-13T07:42:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday, Ada attended her first kiddie birthday party. Her good buddy, Anna Kate turned one whole year the day prior and it was time for a celebration. Anna Kate's mommy started the party off in style by sending out very cute invitations. There were cute mementos scattered throughout the party that took much time and creativity and showed a mommy and daddy's love for their daughter. Happy Birthday little one! Thanks for sharing your special day with us.

Anna Kate got the neatest wagon from her mommy and daddy for her birthday. All the party girls hopped in.

Anna Kate, opening her first gift at the party. A cabbage patch doll that she held on to almost the entire time.

What did Ada do during the party. . .
And a little. . .
Anna Kate is the master of eating your first birthday cake. She ate it like a pro. Can you give Ada lessons?

On our way out Jimmy stopped for one last chat so Ada got in Anna Kate's swing.

Ada went from this. . .

. . .to this. Ada had way to much fun and by this time was in desperate need of a nap.

Happy 1st Birthday Anna Kate! Ada truly had a wonderful time despite what the previous picture may say. She may have had a little too much fun :)

max's 200,000 plus mile journey

2008-09-13T00:01:00.002-04:00

Monday morning after the Ironman, four adults and a baby crammed one Maxima named Max/Maxi and headed to Chicago. The ladies in the group had never stepped foot in the windy city, but had heard nothing but rave reviews from their male counterparts. Chicago dogs while watching the Cubs at Wrigley Field, an architectural tour by boat, Chicago style pizza times two, the W Hotel and some shopping on Michigan Avenue made for a perfect trip.

Due to time constraints once we arrived in the Windy City we bypassed our hotel and headed straight to Wrigley Field to pick up our Cubs tickets and enjoy a game against the Houston Astros. Seeing a Cubs game live was a first for all five of the Montikers (Moncrief-Whitakers). I believe I enjoyed the camaraderie and the nostalgia behind Wrigley Field more than the actual game. Ada enjoyed the atmosphere as well. A couple of months back we took the little dear to a Chattanooga Lookouts game and it was no good. Ada made it blatantly clear she did NOT like AT&T field or anything in it. (it was probably the name change, Bellsouth Park sounded so much better). Looking back it must have been attending a minor league game. Ada must prefer major league baseball, but who doesn't?

Everyone minus Ada and I munched on Chicago Style hot dogs with the poppy seed open faced buns. I did taste Jimmy's and decided I should have went for it. They really were good. Down to the last inning, a devastating projection that the Cubs were going to lose and an antsy baby lead the Moncrief's to venture outside while the game wrapped up. We were all devastated that the Cubs lost, but even more so that we did not hear the Cubs song that Brent relentlessly spoke about :)After the game we spotted the McDonald's hatching egg. We only saw one version of the egg, but at 6:30am every morning it begins to hatch. It stays open until 10:30am all the while letting all the passers by know that there are fresh eggs currently available. Not a huge fan of McDonald's, but the egg was pretty cool. We only saw one angle of the egg, but if you would like more click here.

It was dinner time by the time we got checked in so of course we sought out some Chicago-style pizza. It is definitely easy to find. Thankfully Becca's boss use to live in Chicagoland and gave us some great recommendations. We went Chicago-style two nights in a row. Here is a picture from the second night.

While Jimmy, the Ironman, had been walking as if he did not just swim/bike/run 140 miles the rest of us were quite the opposite. Brent had blisters on his feet from wearing leather flip flops the entire day before (Becca lovingly insisted that he betray his tennis shoes due to space), I had developed Morton's Neuroma (I am internet diagnosing so ?-felt like I was walking on a pebble) from running in my teva flip flops and Becca was in a boot anticipating foot surgery later in the month. So for the first two with foot injuries, it was off to Niketown Tuesday morning for a new pair of shoes. Later in the trip we compared our new kicks with Bob Newhart outside Navy Pier. Woah, there are those blinding white legs again. I promise they are not this pale in person. It must be the camera. ha!

We walked around Michigan Ave, went up in Trump Tower and then headed to our departure point for an architecture tour by boat. There are many many pictures in the slide show at the bottom, if I have not started to bore you already. Ada did well on the ship. She snoozed and then embarked on a teething biscuit that kept her entertained for the entirety of the ride, almost.

The Sears Tower is with us in the background. As of yet, no skyscraper has risen any taller when you include its antennas in height. It will lose this title shortly.

After the tour and a snack for the adults we headed back down Michigan Ave. The Moncriefs headed to there favorite store ever, H&M while the Whitakers scoped out the John Hancock Center. The JHC is currently the third tallest building in Chicago. Back in the day it was the second tallest building in the world. Surprisingly enough the most beautiful views from the building are from the large window in the women's bathroom on the top floor (this is strictly the opionion of the author and her cohorts).

Good thing Becca had to use the facilities or we may have missed this view. This picture and the other bird's eye views located in the slideshow are all from the women's bathroom.

On our way back to our hotel Tuesday night we stopped by Trader Joe's (really neat-an upscale Dollar Store) to pick up a couple of things and our cashier gave Ada her very first balloon(s). She was mesmerized for a while, but think she was too sleepy by that point to truly enjoy them. She started falling asleep on the walk back with her balloons tightly clinched in her fist.

Wednesday prior to departure we checked out Chicago's number one attraction, Navy Pier. While we contemplated why this would be Chicago's top tourist attraction, we still enjoyed our time there. This pic is Navy Pier from what was seen from our hotel room.

I think I now have a small addiction to slideshows. When an event has a lot of pictures they make blogging so much more simplistic. Again, I have peace of mind that if anyone is bored to tears at this point then they certainly can fore go the slideshow :) So with the highlights covered, here is the slideshow. . .

Lastly, the title of this post was spawned by our Nissa Max hitting 200,000 miles during this road trip.

jimmy's 140.6 mile journey

2008-09-08T22:00:00.003-04:00

The man of mine and Ada's dreams completed his first Ironman a week ago today. We are so proud of you babe!!! For those of you who are not familiar with an Ironman, it encompasses a 2.4 mile swim, a 113 mile bike followed by a marathon (26.2 mile run). I was exhausted just watching him in action. We had a great time cheering Jimmy. Thank you Brent and Becca for joining us in showing Jimmy support. I am thankful for so many reasons for you guys being able to make it, but one in particular is being able to help me with Ada. There is no way I could have done it without you guys. Unfortunately, our family reunion falls on labor day weekend every year so while my family really wanted to be in Louisville, KY, the locale for the race, they were unable to do so. Jimmy, Ada and I are about to be excommunicated from the family for missing the reunion. Truthfully, for Jimmy and I it is the third year in a row to miss. We have promised to be back next year. . . major tangent. Anyway, babe we are so very proud of you and your accomplishment. Words can not express it! Please see Jimmy's post here if you want details on the race and many more pictures.

This is Ada in route to her daddy's Ironman in Louisville, KY. She was a sweetheart the entire time. She was being too cute not to capture and for the record yes, I know I sound like a complete dorko on the video.

We arrived in Louisville on Thursday so Jimmy could get situated prior to his big day on Sunday. We were able to stay with my cousin Courtney and her husband Eric for the first half of our time in Louisville. Thank you guys so much!!! Sadly Courtney was at the aforementioned family reunion, but we were able to hang out with Eric a bit. . .so good to see you!

The anugural evening in Louisville we headed to a quaint part of Louisville to eat at Fat Jimmy's upon the recommendation of Courtney. Kudos to Courtney for the delicious recommendation with a great name.

Ada drank out of a straw for the first time while at Fat Jimmy's. Now that is all she wants to do when she sees her mommy or daddy or whomever else with a straw. Along with straws she has a new obsession for drinking from water bottles too.

The next day while Ada and I slept in (I don't think Jimmy could sleep out of excitement) Jimmy took a solo drive to do a final registration and scope out the locale. Upon his return, he and Ada went through his reading material for final tweaks of race day. All planning complete from the father daughter team and the three members of Team Moncrief all headed to downtown Louisville together to get a taste of the action.

Jimmy at the expo and loving every minute of it.

Ada and I were super excited about daddy swimming in this. . .

Joe's Crab Shack for lunch and Graeter's Ice Cream for dinner made for a day of yummy food. At Graeter's, around since 1870, I had the best brownie sundae imaginable. Jimmy is a turkey. He says let's go to Graeter's and then we got there and he did not even order. I was so close to sharing with Ada so I did not have to be a piglet all by myself.

While at Courtney and Eric's, Ada really stepped up on her crawling moves.
Saturday morning we moved to downtown Louisville to be closer to the action. This was Ada's first time in a hotel and she seemed to love every moment of it. We stayed at 21c (21st century), a very swanky hotel located within an art museum. It is North America's first museum to house art solely from the 21st century. One crazy amenity that none of us had encountered prior to the stay, was a fully loaded iPod in each room. I seriously thought the previous guest had left theirs. I wonder what type of amenities will be available when Ada is our age or if there will even be such a thing as hotels.

The onesie that Ada is sporting along with all of our personalized attire for the weekend came from this site. The personalized onesie from this post is also from the same site. The prices are incredible. $8.99 for a personalized onesie and the prices on adult shirts are very reasonable as well.

Honestly, at this point in the post I am becoming tiresome of uploading pictures so I am going to finish off with a slideshow. That is, if there are still any interested parties left : ) (sorry, some of the pictures are copious :)

We are so very proud of you and your accomplishments. We love you very much!

swapping spit

2008-08-26T22:14:00.011-04:00

Today was another quintet playdate. Our original plan of going to the pool got rained out thanks to our friend Fay. Plan B was an invite to the House of Moncrief. Everyone consented and even agreed to the requirement: pajamas only. No pajamas, no entry. What more could you really ask for on a rainy day than to literally stay in your pajamas all day long? Our den was quickly transformed into a playroom, not that we needed toys since all three of the "big" kids found the most amusing "toy" to be Jackson and his carseat. The little guy played along until Reed took his pacey. I really think Reed wanted to make sure that he got both the girls since he is quite the ladies man. So much so that Ada got her first kiss. On the lips. No, I did not have the camera. This is the first event that lead to the title of this post. Furthermore, Anna Kate swapped spit by drinking Reed's sippy cup (yes, she had the green eyes for sippy cups once again), sucked on his pacey and disposed of the remainder of Ada's teething biscuit. So as you can see there was a lot of spit swapping going on.

Fatty Munchers beware. Even post pregnancy, Jessica still makes her killer cookies. I devoured three and we all know those things are not tiny. Ashley brought some yummy looking cheesecake balls, but I was too sick from all the cookies to try them and of course no one wanted the fruit and yogurt I provided. How can you compete with homemade chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake balls?

We put Jackson in Ada's very girly swing. He still looks all boy amongst the pink fru fru.
At the end of the playdate we ran up to Ada's room and with all three of the "big" kids in the crib we concluded that next time we just need to throw them in there first. Who needs toys when you have Jackson, a carseat and three monkeys in a crib?

a shower for mr. owen and a party for his daddy

2008-08-26T02:40:00.000-04:00

Katie due Sept 18th and looking good!

We gave, Katie, the last of the four UTC girls to deliver this year, a shower on the 23rd of August. The event was hosted at our house. Our home was filled with travel decor. Owen, due September 18th, has a very uniquely themed nursery. Katie chose a travel theme with underlying Dr. Seuss' "Oh! The Places You'll Go" parafinalia. So cute and so very creative. It laid a great foundation of fun for the look of the shower. The craft project mentioned here was the makings of Katie's invitations with a Dr. Suess-like look. (some info blurred out :)

Along with our individual gifts, as a group we showered Katie with two world maps used as tableclothes, a book full of travel destinations, an "Oh! The Places You'll Go" onesie and three sweet suitcases to be used in Owen's nursery. My favorite shower decoration/food item (and everyone elses) was this beautiful cake. Yes, I said cake. Can you believe it? Completely edible (and delicious too!) Becca's mom made it and did a fabulouso job! Thanks Mom II.

Four of the six UTC girls with babies in tow. (Ada 6 months, Emma 6 weeks, Nolan 2 weeks, Owen -3 weeks) I did not get a pic of our whole group :(

Melissa, thanks for this picture depicting Ada camped out at Katie's feet while she opened presents.

Melissa, thanks for this picture of Ada and I from the shower.

Lastly, I thought it was funny to see three boppys hanging out in Ada's nursery. We should have added the one Katie received at the shower. Forget designer handbags. We all tote around boppy pillows these days.

The night of the shower gave way to the first time Jimmy and I had stayed out past 10pm without Ada since she was born. It was the second time this year that I felt like a 16 year old girl. "Mom, can we please be gone past 11pm?", I asked. Mom easily consented and she ended up keeping Ada till 1am. I felt bad the next day when she phoned in good fun to tell me she could not get settled down until 4am and still made it to church. We on the other hand were in the middle of naps when she called and had not made it to church that morning. Oops!

The long fun filled evening was in honor of our buddy Kevin who will be turning 30 in October. Katie, determined to make Kevin feel special and make his birthday a complete surprise threw the party two months early. K&K are due with Owen Sept 18th. Katie knew that with a new little one that early would be the best. She did an incredible job surprising Kevin with a full array of family, friends, food and fun staked out at their house. Here are a couple of pics from the night prior to Ada going home to hang with Mimi.

Melissa, thanks for this one of Jimmy and Ada. You can see where Ada gets her beautiful blues.

Ada, me, Kristi and Nolan. Ada looks ginormous compared to Nolan (6 month age difference). Thanks for this pic Mel!

This years new dads with Ada, Emma and Nolan (thanks for this pic too, Mel!)

Kevin, the birthday boy, got in with the new dads "holding" his baby as well!

The UTC crowd (minus Antonio and Jess :( ) and its newest additions. Next time we all get together Owen will be with us too.

Owen we can't wait for your arrival and Happy extra early Birthday, Kev!

three hundred and sixty-six days

2008-08-25T02:14:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we took a short, but sweet road trip to see our little cousin, Brooks, on his 366th day of life. I wish Brooks and his mommy and daddy (Marcy and Jason) lived closer. We had so much fun hanging out. Ada and Brooks got along so well. They spent half the time in time inside "reading" books and being entertained by Aunt/Cousin Courtney (Marcy's sister/Brook's aunt/our cousin). Aunt Courtney is a physical therapist working specifically with pediatrics so she adores children and in return they adore her.

I heart this picture. Courtney is reading to the two little cousins.

Having such an efficient mode of transportation, distracts Brooks from walking. But when your this fast crawling, who needs to start walking?

In this shot, Brooks reminds me of my Uncle Wayne (Marcy and Courtney's dad/Brooks Granddad) who passed away the year both Marcy and I got married. He never got to meet Brooks, but he always had a cap on and would wear it tipped back on his head as Brooks is doing in this picture. Uncle Wayne would have eaten up this little boy. He loved children and would harass them any chance he got. We miss you Uncle Wayne!

Brooks, you are such a sweetheart.Happy Birthday little cuz! We love you so very much!

After a long day of play it is time for bath time. Mommy and Daddy better start practicing saying "no" now. Who can resist these big beautiful eyes?

everything but the (kitchen sink)

2008-08-18T15:45:00.001-04:00

Not only is this a Ben & Jerry's flavor, but also the description of what was taken into Coolidge Park during our playdate adventure. Collectively, we had a waterproof blanket, a regular blanket, crawl ball, teething necklace, bubbles, sippy cups, wipes, diapers, cameras, strollers, toys, toys and more toys, diaper bags, graham crackers, pacifiers and seriously this is literally only half of it. We looked like bag ladies. . .

Thursday we had a play date at Coolidge Park with Ja ckson, Ree d and Anna Kate. It was fun to have two of each kind, both male and female and four different ages and stages. We have the completely immobile Jackson to the walking Anna Kate. I would like for Ada to have three siblings, but thankfully this quartet consisting of an 11, 10, 6 and 2 month combination is not physically possible or that would be one busy mommy.

Jackson was a sweetie and was definitely the most laid back and easiest to handle. I am sure much of this comes from age. He was able to sleep through the chaos and only let out a little peep when Ada momentarily took his pacey.

Reed was obsessed with testing out everyone's toys. Last outing Reed left with Ada's toy that is often known as "ca-bear" and his mommy ended up buying him one because he loved it so much. He found a new love for so many other toys today. His mommy may be investing in them soon as well. When he wasn't toy testing, Reed was in search of more graham crackers and would gladly eat Anna Kate's half eaten pieces that fell on the blanket.

On your mark. Get set. Go.

Flash forward 16 years. Reed sees a cute girl stranded on the side of the road.

Anna Kate had another obsession, Ada's sippy cup. The almost one year old had her very own cute pink sippy cup, but for today Ada's purple and green sippy cup looked more appetizing. When not eyeing the sippy cup, Anna Kate was showing off some of her new walking skills.

Ada sat, played and watched. It will be just a few months until she will be mobile like her slightly "older" friends. Ada loved her time with all of her little friends and can't wait to see them all again soon.

Each mommy took lots of pictures so I am sure there will be more from others to follow.

happy six months, my love

2008-08-10T21:34:00.021-04:00

Happy 6th months, my love. I am floored that you are already half a year old. It seems like yesterday we were overwhelmed with anticipation just wanting you to get here. You are one precious little girl.

You are now sitting up very well. Every once and a while you will still crash and burn such as last night when you did so and donked your noggin on the laptop. Uh-oh!

You started "crawling" backwards, really scooting. Your man Reed and cousin Brooks did the same thing so no worries. You will get the forward thing sometime soon. In the meantime, you have been getting a bit frustrated when your intentions are to head towards a toy and you just end up further and further away in a backwards pursuit.

Was Ada one of the last babies on earth to receive an exersaucer? Possibly. We had good intentions on the delay. Those things are expensive! Hopefully Ada will appreciate our frugality now so that we will be able to pay for her college in the future :) So close to buying one at a consignment sale a couple of weeks ago, I am so happy for second guessing that decision. Tonight as a happy six month birthday present, we found a brand new one for the exact same price, $40!!! So this version does not have all the bells and whistles, but Ada seems to enjoy it nonetheless.

Ada, you are so very loved and I hope you always know that.

detour

2008-08-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

So we had planned to go on an ice cream tour this week. What is an ice cream tour, you ask? It is a trip where you drive to different cities and eat ice cream in large quantities from local facilities. As a member of the fatty munchers, we are just trying to "keep up with the Farley's" . So yeah, we were going to go to Johnson City and stay with our cousins Jason and Marcy and Mr. Brookes. Then we were going to drive to D.C. then to Boston and then to the ice cream mecca, Ben and Jerry's. Y-U-M!!! But we are not going. At least not this week as originally planned. You see my honey bunny had a training accident Friday. You can read about it here. There are pictures. You can't say I didn't forewarn you. After a test run to downtown with the bum leg we decided it best not to imbark on a 2200 mile road trip. We were stoked about our little adventure. We know everything happens for a reason. Maybe Ada wouldn't have done well, duh you say. . .a 6 month old in the car for almost twenty hours in a week!?! Ha! Maybe Maxi the Maxima with 197k miles would not have made the entire trek? A car accident? Gluttony (that one wasn't really a question) Jimmy is going to get a job offer this week? Or perhaps it was a simple reminder of how much my husband does for our family on a normal basis. Thanks, babe! I appreciate you more than you ever know because I get to do all this stuff myself, ha! :) Who knows, but we felt we received clear direction today to forgo the trip for now.

This is actually the second time our vacation plans have been rerouted, this month! We were suppose to go to the beach with my family the first week of August, however my nine year old nephew broke his arm for the second time this year. This injury resulted in two screws because part of the bone broke off. Oh, what Preston now has to look forward to when going through security at the airport. Well the doc said no beach for Preston for a while so my mom finally got her vacation deposit back so that trip is being put on hold until next month.

So we are starting to believe someone is trying to tell us something. hmm? In the meantime we are sitting back with our Ben & Jerry's in hand and dreaming of Burlington, Vermont.

another month ripped off the calendar

2008-08-07T23:15:00.000-04:00

Behind is an understatement, but I know I am not the only one. This summer has gone crazy fast. A whirlwind for most, but let's skip intros and get straight to the catching up part.

On the eleventh of last month with the encouragement of Tucker's mommy and daddy, we completely dunked Ada at the pool. I am sure everyone has heard the blow test. Blow into an infants face and they automatically close their mouth and their eyes. At least, so "they" say. I am not sure if it was because Ada had recently started solids and smelled food on our breath (ha, but seriously), but Jimmy, Chris, Jennifer and I each attempted the feat and each time we failed. Ada would open her mouth and not think twice about it. Since I came to the pool without my swimsuit, Jimmy had to do the dirty work. I assured him that if I had my suit I would dunk her anyway. He said he did not want to do it to his little girl. Thank you Chris and Jennifer for cheering us/him on. They had dunked Tucker at 2.5 months old the same night. Tucker and Ada though 2.5 months apart reached a milestone within the same day. Along with my swimsuit I also forgot the camera so thanks so much to Jennifer for the pictures. Before and after shots:

I have thought about making baby food since for a while now. I remember opening up Jennifer's (sister) freezer door to find ice cube trays filled with oranges and greens for Preston and Peyton Carli. I still needed further direction and a little bit of inspiration. When Marcy and Brooks came in town they brought a gift to Ada, a book on baby food called First Meals. I have really enjoyed it and have learned that making your own baby food is not only cost effective and easy, but can also widen the variety of foods your child can eat. So far, fresh organic carrots, broccoli and zucchini occupy our freezer.
In addition, Nissa allowed me to borrow her baby food grinder. I had been telling her about this new venture in baby food, but explained that my blender was a bit of a pain to clean. Since Henry has a ways to go before starting solids Nissa so graciously allowed me to test out the grinder for her. Along with it she handed over delicious blueberries that were handpicked from her neighbor down the road. With the two in hand I decided to use them together. After consulting Marcy's book that cleared blueberries as a first foods, Ada was not left out from the sweet scrumptious treat. Making baby food is fun, but for all of those other days we are thankful for pre-packaged organic baby food.

blueberries. . .yum. . .

and a taste of daddy's pear. . .

One day last month, Ada and I had accessory day or shoe day is more like it. I recently asked if you had ever purchased a pair of shoes thinking these are completely unpractical, but I must have them. As girls I am sure we all have. Baby shoes are completely unpractical, however they are adorable and completely irresistible. Thankfully many of these irresistible pairs have been given to Ada.And she's done. . .

A week ago, some extended family came into visit. Jimmy's Uncle David, Aunt Julie, Cousin Lily and Cousin Ellen. We were very excited to have them in all the way from Ft. Smith, AR. This was the very first opportunity for Ada to meet this portion of the family. She enjoyed every moment with them. Lily is headed into her freshman year of college and Ellen into her sophomore year of high school. These girls are growing up so fast, just like the little girl in our household. I am trying not to blink so I won't open my eyes and she too will already be graduating from High School. The fam brought Ada all kinds of goodies. One is this little stuffed kitty that teaches you how to tie shoes, zip a zipper, button, etc. Ada has become quite fond of this new little creature and has taken a nap with it ever since.Last week, we finally met Daniel, Mr. June. He is such a cutie and he has the most fun big brother David who is soon to be three. For the entirety of our stay, David was acting like the family St. Bernard, Stonewall. I would say, "What is going on Stonewall?" "Stonewall" would then bark and bark and bark. Ada found the barking "Stonewall" absolutely hilarious. It literally is the hardest I have seen her laugh thus far. Supposedly, David has quite the way with the ladies and quite the harem. First, Baby Daniel and then "Stonewall's" boots.
Melissa had a good story here.

On Friday, Jimmy and I went out with our good friends Kevin and Katie who are expecting Baby Owen in just over a month. I was able to take some pictures of the two and the cutest baby bump ever seen. You can check out their sneak peak here. Aretha Frankenstien was our food stop of choice. It was Ada's second time. She was just a wee little thing her first time their, also with Kevin and Katie. Next time we may have another little one with us. Aretha's has the most incredible food, however, the most incredible wait time ever. every. single. time. Just a fair forewarning. Do NOT go if you are starving, but then again, don't go full either because you get a ton of food. We honestly have concluded that the wait time is part of the atmosphere and I swear there is only one person running the entire restaurant. After dinner we took a stroll down to Coolidge Park. After a couple of more shots of the cute couple we ended up at Clumpies. Baby Owen wanted some ice cream :) I hope you continue to "speak" up after you get here. We all enjoyed our Ice Cream fix. This ice cream joint usually leaves you with quite the wait as well, but at least you can see why you are waiting along with all the other ice cream lovers. P.S. Both Aretha's and Clumpies are native to Chattanooga. Love that about both.
Jimmy's dad and his wife are building a house here in Chattanooga so after a delicious dinner at Green Life Grocery (located solely in Chattanooga and Asheville-another kick tail town) we went to go check out the progress. Foundation poured. Framed up. Roof on. Wired throughout. Certainly getting there. And no we did not take any pictures of the house, however Jimmy did manage to take a picture of the us girls in front of the dumpster. Yes, I know, but surprisingly enough if you can forget it is a dumpster it ended up being a pretty cool backdrop.

We have been M.I.A. from church for the last two weeks with out-of-town guests coming in two weekends in a row. This Sunday was Ada's second time in the nursery. Knowing that she did so well the first time allowed me to concentrate a bit more during the sermon. My heart was so very happy to hear that she did so well once again. Miss Avonne told us that she was a joy and such a social butterfly. She would "talk" "talk" "talk" and as soon as everyone got quiet she would giggle. Oh how that report made me so very happy. Oh and Tucker was dedicated during the service. It was so very sweet. His daddy had the most precious words to say.

P.S. Prior to church, Jimmy was feeding Ada the "solid" portion of her breakfast. I walk in to find this. . . (look closely. . . at the ADULT SIZED SPOON) He had not even noticed it until after I said something and then laughed at his comical mistake. Such a goof ball.

Monday, August 4th Baby Nolan, Mr. August was born to our good friends Nathan and Kristi. Mr. Nolan delayed his entrance to the world at several days past his due date, but did so in perfect fashion. He is just perfect and so very cute. We went to visit the new addition on his birth day and had just missed Miss Emma. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of the three of them together. We will just have to wait for a playdate. Krisit looked so good and Nolan was cute as could be. He was well within his baby coma. Nathan poked and prodded him, but he just would not wake up.
I am completely floored by all of the babies that have been born and/or arriving soon. I have a feeling that the baby boom is going to continue. I love it. Speaking of, I just remembered Kristi's friend Jessica told her that she was pregnant the day that we went to visit Nolan.

Lastly, but very importantly, I want to thank each of you that have offered encouragement this past week in the start of Moncrief Photography. You have no idea how much it has meant to me. My husband and my best friend are the only two people that know how truly unnerved I was the day that the website was launched. Tears are an understatement. I regretfully have passed over so many things that I have seen and loved without giving encouragement to the creator. I will no longer do such a thing. I now know how much encouragement can mean to a person and I sincerely thank each of you who have left a comment, sent an email or made a phone call full of encouragement. I appreciate you. So. Very. Much.

so here's the skinny

2008-07-28T14:24:00.005-04:00

I have been working on a project for quite sometime, actually decades I guess you could say. Anyone that knows me is aware of my love of photos and photography. At one point I carried around disposable cameras wherever I went. That got expensive. Once some maturity set in my mom allowed me to play around with her 1980's manual cameras. Friends would say throughout the years I have rarely been caught without a camera. This year's birth of our daughter has allowed me to focus my photography on something I absolutely adore, babies. Along with our daughter, we have had another birth this year, Moncrief Photography.

Thank you friends and family for your support and encouragement. I am so excited about this new venture in documenting the lives of little ones. Moncrief Photography started out with a bang. Thank you Emma and Henry for allowing me to capture the loving kindness of you and your families. Love you both so very much.

Please come by and visit Moncrief Photography. I would love to hear your thoughts and I am sure the babies would too. (The website requires the newest version of quicktime :))

lots o' love

-brittany-

P.S. If we have never met, I would love to bring my camera the first time we do.

- how ironic, the photography announcement post has no pictures :) -

chugga chugga crust crust

2008-07-28T01:00:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we had the tremendous pleasure of having Brent and Becca with us the entire weekend. The Montikers better half showed up around 9pm eastern time on Friday night. Ada was nestled in her little bed while all the "adults" stayed up laughing into complete delirium and eating virtually raw brownies. Everyone slept in on Saturday which was extremely nice. Ada and I slept til eleven. E-L-E-V-E-N. It was magnificent.

After the adults woke up from their grog and Ada from her nap we decided to go for a linner-lunch-dinner around 3:30. We really appreciated our house guests on so many different levels, but in two areas in particular. Oh, let's make that three areas. One. They never have to be "entertained". Two. If they want something they get it even if it means cooking for themselves or all of us for that matter. (should I be embarassed about that one? Oh, it is Becca-Dean we are talking about and my husband does request her fabulosso grilled cheese whenever we are in the same proximity of a kitchen) Three. They never make fun of our crazy cost saving-environmentally friendly antics. Number three pertains to our method of transit to lunch-dinner. We all road our bikes to a new pizza place, Crust, a restaurant indigenous to the area.

While riding bikes may sound like nothing out of the ordinary, I must explain. Except for Jimmy, everyone had a first time experience. Becca who is almost a complete foot taller than myself was riding my mountain bike sized to fit someone one foot shorter than herself. Brent was trailering a baby . Ada was being trailered and I was riding a road bike for the first time without the trainer (device that makes the bike stationary for indoor use). Collectively, again minus Jimmy, it was also the first time all had ridden on a five lane major road. Nope, no back roads this time. We were "cars", just without all the nasty emissions.

"They" always say safety in numbers and I sure felt it. Jimmy was Papa Hawk, soaring around us in protection as our little convoy pedaled down the road and Brent did an awesome job pulling Ada while Becca and I brought up the back. Heckling was kept to a minimum with only one environmentally/safety-innept idiot yelling "Quit hogging the lane".

The crew sitting at a table filled with mug-shots of celebrities. Anyone from Nicole Ritchie to PeeWee Herman was plastered under our beverages.

Ada had another new experience with her first time to sit in a highchair (in barbershop style, of course). I don't know if she was more intrigued with the sitting experience or the big screen t.v.

On our way out the door, we were impressed to see a Crust employee cutting fresh herbs from the large herb garden nestled in front of the restaurant. The strong scent of rosemary and basil was a nice twist to the normal smell that accompanies a fairly busy road.

The highlight of Sunday was going to see sweet little Miss Emma. It was B & B's first time to meet the seven pounds of cuteness. More on this fun little outing shortly which will also explain while I have been just a little bit behind on just about everything, but I know we all know how that can be.

Look how Emma just cuddled right up. A little cuddle bug just like her buddy Ada.

Thanks B&B, thanks for coming to see us this last weekend. We had an incredible time, as always!

And we did a little craft project too! More on that later, also!

wordless wednesday

2008-07-23T14:39:00.004-04:00

{sidenote: The August issue of Outside Magazine boasted Chattanooga, TN as the no. 2 of 20 best towns in America. Ada is already becoming an outside junkie like her daddy.}

fifth month fifth street

2008-07-17T23:45:00.004-04:00

Exactly one week ago our little lassie turned five months old. Yes,I am late. There were some pictures left to capture and I wanted her giggle caught on video however every time we thought videoing we had her to the point of hiccups, so scratch that for now and we will be sure to catch it soon.

Happy fifth month, Ada Love. This is the fasted five months I have ever experienced in my life. Ada, you are a blessing to be around. So much fun! We love every waking and sleepy-time moment we have with you. I can't wait for the next stages, but at the same time I want time to stand still. You are wonderful and we love you so very much. a&f!

We did not go to the doctor this month so we had to do our own measurements. Ada, you have doubled your birth weight going from 6pds 13ozs to 14 pounds. BTW, if you want to know your child's percentiles and are not headed to the doc anytime soon then you can always go here.

Bottoms Up: You roll over all the time. For the entirety of the month every time we

put you in your crib for a nap or for the night you have turned over to your tummy immediately scrunched up your legs and stuck out your tush. The first night you woke up a couple times freaked out about your new positioning, but the days following, it has not faced you. Oh and when you are not asleep you do a lot of girl style push ups.

Bottoms Down: You are working hard on sitting alone. You do well until there is a toy out of reach. You reach for it and then crash and burn. No worries! You will be there soon enough.

You have the sweetest giggle ever and we eat it up. I almost cry when I hear it because it is so very precious. Don't worry, I don't really cry. I just think about

it. You never know what will cause the giggles and ultimately almost every time the hiccups. It is usually a silly dance move or raspberries on your belly, but one truly never knows. You can daily find us doing silly things, anything, to see you laugh. We love it. It makes us feel truly comical. Babies don't give courtesy laughs, after all. You are into everything and want to touch everything. Loving your avocado and then you spotted the table arrangement out of the corner of your eye and that was way more interesting.

Feet and everything else are in your mouth at all times. If I were only that flexible again. Amazing. How weird would that be if we were like babies and put our feet in our mouth during, oh I don't know, general conversation or dinner.

Details. Details. Details. Tags are way more fun than actual toys. I remember my nephew, Preston, at this stage intrigued by a piece of lint on the floor verses a room overflowing with toys.

You are eating up your "solids". You now eat rice cereal, peas, green peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, avocado, pears and suck on cantaloupe and watermelon (I will puree it for you soon). You pass on butternut squash and bananas and only eat apples if we hide them. Unheard of. From what I have heard,with most kids you have to hide the veggies with Ada-whoo we have to hide the fruit. I am not complaining at all, but just think it is funny. I am wondering if it has anything to do with introducing veggies first. How about all of you mommies out there? What did/do your kids like/dislike? What did you introduce first?

few words wednesday: got guac?

2008-07-16T00:36:00.002-04:00

have you ever. . .

2008-07-15T23:45:00.001-04:00

. . .found a peanut butter sandwich in the pocket of some of your husband's dirty laundry and when you tell him about it he asks if you threw it away? Hun, it was in the dirty laundry. Come on.

. . .bought a pair of shoes thinking these are completely unpractical, but I must have them?

. . .laughed so hard you cried or cried so hard you finally looked in the mirror and laughed?

. . .thought what was life ever like before (this person)?

. . .unloaded the groceries that your husband just purchased to find cans of cat food and you don't have a cat and your first thoughts are A. the grocer must be out of store brand tuna and B. my husband has reached an all time low in frugal moments? Come to find out the person in front of him left the bag and he accidentally brought it home. Sigh. Relief. Thank Goodness. In addition to the feline food you did score some new batteries and you don't feel bad because you have left surprise grocery bags at the store before for fellow shoppers to take home.

. . . decided you wanted to stay at home all day long and even stay in your pajamas until thirty minutes before you husband gets home just so he doesn't know that you were in your pjs. all. day. long?

. . .felt like you had a productive day, but then looked around your house and saw soooo much to do?

. . .had to walk your computer through breathing techniques so it would complete a page load because it is such a dinosaur?

one road trip: three generations

2008-07-14T00:45:00.001-04:00

This week we had the pleasure of having my Aunt Joan (aka Aunt Mue Mue or Grandee), Cousin Marcy and her son Brooks in town to visit. It was the first time for the Three Moncriefs to meet Mr. Brooks, the 24 pounds of cuteness. We had such a good time and are so thankful for their road trip down to Chattanooga.

Here is the cutie himself. Brooks is a month shy of his first birthday. He is all over the place, full of energy and lots of entertainment.

The second cousins played well together.

During dinner Aunt Jennifer gave Ada her first taste of watermelon. Ada enjoyed every moment. She of course did not actually eat the melon, but I believe she enjoyed the cold on her gums. We recently felt an uprooting tooth.

Daddy wanted in on the first fruit action too with some cantaloupe. Ada has been enjoying her vegetables, but up until this point had not been enjoying fruit. The typical face she had been making with fruit, would have made you think she had just been given lemons, when it was really just apples or pears.

The next day of the visit Mimi, her twin sister Meu Meu/Grandee, Marcy and Brooks went to Granny's house while Ada finished up her nap. That was so incredibly sweet of you all to go by and say hello to Granny for a bit. She loved each moment and found Brooks ability to fly around her house tremendously entertaining. After Ada's nap and a bit to eat for Brooks we headed downtown to Chattanooga's North Shore.

Wanting to stay close to The Coolidge Park Carousel, we decided on the Mud Pie for lunch. This was after reassuring my mom (Mimi) that it was under new ownership. Mimi had not stepped foot inside the restaurant in 18 years. At that time she and her fellow naval officers had gone into Mud Pie in uniform and were refused service due to being in the military. Can you imagine?

For multiple reasons I am thankful things had changed. On that particular day, it was because of the delicious food we soon devoured. Marcy had a veggie wrap, the twins quesadillas and I a veggie sandwich. Yum. Yum Yum. Mine had fresh slices of avocado and I chose sweet potato fries as my side. Brooks borrowed some pears from Ada as an afternoon snack. Ada had carrots brought from home, which she fell asleep while eating. I found extremely funny bc Mimi had just been telling me that none of us girls ever took naps when we were little and would fall asleep everyday while she was feeding us in our high chairs. While Ada does nap, we were interfering with her second nap of the day and she planned on taking it whether we were at home or not. (I am pretty sure Marcy got a picture so I am hoping to get that from her soon)

In route to the carousel. . .

One of Chattanooga's finest features for children of all ages is Coolidge Park. Planted in the center is the most wonderful carousel. At only $1.00 per ride and free for children two and under we spent several Abraham Lincoln's (the paper kind) in childhood merriment.

Are they in awe or exhausted? Probably a little of each.

Marcy and her sweet sweet Brooks.

I love this picture of Ada. Look at her arm rolls. The only time in ones life when arm rolls make you even cuter.

Brooks, Marcy, Grandee (three generations), Moi and Ada

Brooks with his Grandee. He was squealing with delight by the end.

Ada held on to the pole the entire ride around with her Mimi. That little chick is hilarious and don't worry she was sanitized upon debarkation from her new big hoofed friend.

That night we had dinner at Jennifer's where she and I split dinner responsibilities. Within my to-do was the dessert and just like last week I spilled the dessert. Luckily this time it was salvageable and its taste unaffected. Death. By. Chocolate. (not the exact recipe used, but very similar) So good and so easy, of course, I only do easy.

Ada's barbershop look received quite the harassment during all meals of the 48 hour extended family stay.

After dinner fun consisted of playing with the goats. Brooks loved the goats and kicked his legs in delight while petting Victor.

Jennifer, Suzi and I grew up going to the beach with our cousins Courtney and Marcy. Even though these guys below are second cousins I hope they will remain close forever (you too Roman). Ada (5mths), Preston (9), Peyton Carli (7) Brooks (11 mths)
It was past bedtime for two of them. Can you guess which ones?
One more, because Brooks is too cute with his legs crossed and his hand in his hair. Night-night buddy! (and Peyton you, of course, are always looking cute!)

I am so glad you guys came down to visit. We had a wonderful time. Please, come again very soon. Love you lots!

meet miss july: emma grace

2008-07-11T11:57:00.000-04:00

We are interrupting the regularly scheduled blog post for a special announcement.

Our good friends Dusty and Melissa welcomed their beautiful baby girl into the world at 2:51pm on Wednesday July 9th. Little Miss Emma weighted 7 lbs 5 ozs and was 19.5 inches in length. Her parents were anxiously awaiting her arrival. Thankfully she came a perfect 6 days early so they did not have to wait any longer to meet their little bundle of cuteness.

We had the precious privilege of meeting Miss Emma Grace yesterday. Dusty and Melissa seem like ole' pros at the parenting thing as if this were child number four or five.
Ada was especially excited to meet her new little friend. We held Ada's hand and comforted her as she peered upon Emma's head full of dark hair. Ada-love, I promise, you will not be bald forever. One day, oh, one day.

weekend adventures

2008-07-09T23:15:00.001-04:00

Lula Lake Land Trust decided to open its doors to the public every Saturday in July. This Saturday morning we decided to take advantage. Jimmy and I had not been there since our first semester together in college. It was the location of our first hiking and camping experience together. The difference is this time we waited for Lula Lake's open invitation. Oh yeah, and this time we had a baby. Ha!

To add to the differentiating experience we went with our buddies Whitney and Tim. We had a great time with many of the days adventures guided by our good "friend" Kenny. The real navigation came from Whit with her built in gps system, while Ada narrated the happenings.

One of the silly shots that I took concluding that it would have turned out much better if everyone would have been wearing Tevas or Chacos AND most importantly had pretty feet like Whitney. Sorry guys, the fur just doesn't do it.

This picture makes me hope that Ada will end up with her daddy's complexion and not mine. Here's for hoping, right?

The Baby Bjorn must be quit comfy since Ada took a snooze in it again.

Saturday night Ada had daddy time while I went biking the Riverwalk with Jennifer, Preston, Peyton Carli, Mimi and Preston's friend Justin. While I did not take any pictures of humans I did capture a shot of our new friends we met a long the way. We actually saw 8-10 of these furry friends along our ride. I am just glad we did not have a run in with the snake that had decided to stretch across the path last time we were out riding.

This Sunday marked a milestone that will infinitely change our church with a child experience. Ada went to the nursery. Dun. Dun. Dah. She was "branded" with a number four ankle bracelet.

While I still was unable to concentrate in the service worrying about the little bambino's new experience, I now know that she and the nursery attendants will be just fine. Becky and Darian took wonderful care of Ada and even gave her an A++. Ada, guess where you are going back next Sunday? I did manage to deviate my worried focus from Ada for a few moments while Rich and Heather were dedicating Baby Alana. Rich and Heather are wonderful parents and are very inspirational in the way they have been raising Alana. What a special moment and Alana was as adorable as always. She even grabbed the mic at one point and sang us a little coo-ditty.

After church and the excellent nursery report we headed to Granny's for lunch with Papa Campbell and Mimi. Granny and Ada were apparently checking out the "other" camera while playing pat-a-cake.

Family portrait on Granny's front porch.

all american weekend.

2008-07-09T01:04:00.003-04:00

While I have not always been proud of our American leadership or my fellow citizens or of myself for that matter, I have always been proud of our flag. I am proud to be an American and Ada is my favorite American girl.

The Fourth of July started out with a trip for Ada to see Reed. They had a wonderful time enjoying the aqua.

Reed Man was loving Uncle Bill's rope. Got to love this guy's baby blues.

Mommy, if I can not breathe on land does it really matter if I can't breathe underwater?

Micheal, Bill and Jimmy (their should be a Whit up here too!) Going. . .

Going. . .

Gone!
No that is not the wake from an ocean liner nor a belly flop though it sounded like it. Instead, Jimmy landing on his back. Whiplash? Oh yeah!

And as if the previous whip lash wasn't enough. Let's dunk him.

Check out Bill's vertical and I hear Michael put on a good show with the tube.

I love this picture of Reed and his Granna.

I thiefed this one from Jessica. Thanks!

Thank you all for having us up. We had a great time, as always! (and we missed you guys, Whit and Linds, very very much)

Independence Day started with the makings of two dessert pizzas for our two destinations of the day. It is one of the easiest desserts ever to make. While I usually put strawberries and blueberries on the pizza for a festive 4th of July look, when Jimmy went on a grocery run there were no blueberries. Oh well! One was hopefully demolished by the family it was left with, while the other unfortunately landed on the ground, was semi-salvaged with a plastic apparatus that stayed in place and ended up out the window when it dumped in my lap during transit to my sister's house. {sidenote: no actual littering was done, in this process, only bird (ugh) feeding}.

Anyone that knows my family is aware of my moms outrageous obsession with the fourth of July. Each year it gets bigger and bigger. Next year Jimmy promised he would come dressed as Abraham Lincoln or George Washington.

Mom delving out instructions to the children on what they are to do next.
Peyton Carli, Preston and their buddy after reciting the preamble to the Constitution and reading quotations from our forefathers. (buddy, that's right, family or not, you show up and you are required to participate)

One section of the performance is representation from each branch of the military marches around the pool to its individual hymn. Jimmy marched around the pool to the Marine Corp Hymn.

He and Ada were escorted by Preston and Peyton Carli.

The hosts, Jennifer and Mark, acting "natural" after discovering the camera had spotted them. Jennifer says the celebration got way to serious this year and people were not making as much fun as usual. Wah Wah Waah.

Sydney with percussion. People, of course we have instruments.

Kaylah and Brandon marching around the pool. This was Kaylah's first year to be broken into the Campbell-Evans festivities. Jimmy caught her "you are kidding, right?" look right before we started to march :)

Kaylah and Brandon's Baby Peyton taking a whirl in the festive carriage. Her eyelashes are amazing.

Austin is sooo very cute. Her sisters are Denver and Sydney. I love the city themed names their parents picked. Oh and Sydney's namesake comes from Lindsay. They share the same middle name, McCall. Linds explains the meaning behind HER name here.

Ada in the carriage Mimi decorated for Peyton to push her around the pool. (I accidentally deleted those pictures. Please, like we need ANY more pictures, you say.)

With their love of water, Ada and Turtle had to make a little splash before the end of the night.

Mom said she was getting a sound system for next year.

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th!!!

Small update: Just received this picture from Jennifer (pictured on left). Minus my goofy grin, I thought it was a cute pic. I love the patriotism displayed in the outfits of our munchkins at Pops on the River.

seventy years

2008-07-03T22:34:00.003-04:00

Seventy years ago would put us in 1938. The Great Depression was ending and World War II was beginning. It is wild to think during that time two Chattanooga landmarks were born. Along with the Bradberry's, we had the privilege of patronizing both the Chattanooga Zoo and Wally's Restaurant this weekend in their 70th year.

The Chattanooga Zoo has come a long way from the first time I visited back in 1994 or so. I went with my sister, Jennifer for a little drive by of our local zoo. The one and only pitiful animal that I recall is a lama. The poor dear was blind and ran repeatedly into a tree. Ten plus years later, the zoo has completely redeemed itself with no maimed animals in sight though we did see a couple of attempted escapees. . .

oh and a nappy haired donkey. I wanted to take this guy home and give him a bath and a brush.

Some favorite animals. . .

Rainforest Acrobat

While Amy despises camels, I think they are really neat. I would love to ride one sometime. Check out the shag carpet look.

Barn Owl. I am sure glad I don't live in a barn. I don't know what is worse- this guy or his prey, rodents. The owl just creeps me out a bit. Such an eery look.

Red Panda

The Sacred Monkey with his crazy long tail.

Ada's favorite animal, Little Nut Brown Hare. He goes everywhere with us.

Ada's new formed habit for the past two weeks. She does this. All. The. Time. I think it is cute!

Anna Kate: Hey Ada, do you mind? Oh yeah, a little bit higher. (Ada's look again)

At high noon I look over at Ada and she is snoozing. Nap time. On. The. Dot. (Thanks, Amy, for snapping this picture for me)

The Zoo was followed up by lunch at Wally's, the downtown version, which is tremendously better than its counterpart in East Ridge.

Fun day you guys!

wordless wednesday

2008-07-02T12:59:00.001-04:00

a bowl full of carrots and a friday night splash down

2008-06-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Days of peas without any allergic reactions has allowed us the opportunity to introduce other items to Ada's menu. Carrots and then Sweet Potatoes. I believe she enjoyed these even more than the peas. Imagine that. These orange tinted vegetables sure leave a lasting impression. From cutlery to epidermis everything is orange. Thankfully, so far, it has come out of all cotton substances. On another note, vegetables have been much easier on her little tummy than rice cereal alone.

We have found bibs don't do much and have resorted to putting a straight jacket in the form of a hand towel around Ada while she eats. It makes for less of a mess and a much easier clean up. We knew we had to do something different when the first several times a bath took the place of after dinner dessert.

A shot to show that Ada does not mind the mush or the straight jacket.

For the former lifeguards, Friday night was shark cafe.
A wonderful time at the pool with wonderful friends. Okay, so it is really hard to get six to look at the camera. This is the kiddos with their future babysitter Sara Catherine, then Ada, Anna, Jenna, Addie, and Gabe. This is such a precious group of kids. A group that you desire your own child to model after. Thanks for playing you all. We had lots of fun. Hi to Foy and Abby! We are sad we missed the two of you!

Also, Baby Boom 2008 is extending into 2009. Gabe and Addy are going to have a little bro/sis expected to arrive January 2nd. I am actually hoping he/she will arrive in December to complete the 2008 Calender :) Congrats you all! Are these two not adorable?