cont...

'member me telling you about the guests that stopped by last week? the ones who left the ice cream in the fridge...well here's one of them, Ashley. she and her mom stopped by on their way to Ashley's state diving competition in North Alabama. georgia fell for Ashley at first glance. she was glued to Ashley's side the whole time they were here. she kept looking at Ashley smiling and saying 'hey'. and Ashley was just as crazy about her too...

and checkout the peacoat and headband they brought for her. for the first time i was loving her in a headband...

they brought her a gold one too...which georgia decided needed to be worn as well...

bet you didn't know two headbands could be so adorable right...

but wanna know what is equally adorable?...

we were on our way our the door and i said for georgia to hold my wallet while i grabbed my other things and this is how she looked... i couldn't help but grab the camera. she was so over me taking her picture that she started walking to the door crying because she was ready to go but i couldn't help it...

i mean this is for real ya'll. i do not stage these pictures. this is how she puts these headbands on. and then insist on wearing them.

so what am i to do except try to encourage another hair accessory choice. i made several of these little felt clips a long time ago and now she has enough hair to hold them down. i'd say this is MUCH better. don't you agree?

i'll keep working on it. and on how to correctly position her other choices. a.k.a. headbands. we'll have a lot of time this week to work on it seeing that she has some sort of stomach bug that she has to shake before i venture too far from home with her. we're going on day 5 of this. phew. literally and figuratively. she doesn't feel bad at least. well, not that bad. just a little bad.

but definitely not bad enough to take off her crown OR her smile.

which is a good thing. a very good thing. she's a princess all right. and her Daddy is the King of Kings ;)

"On his robe...he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
Revelation 19:16

you've been warned...

if you just happen to carrying an extra 15 lbs of 'baby weight' { or any other weight for that matter} you definitely should not have this in your freezer. in fact you might want to pick some up on your way home today just so you can taste it to be certain that it is definitely not something you should have around. you know, for proof. some friends spend the night with us last night as they passed through town and left this behind.

it was gone before lunch today. all of it. just keepin' it real here.

{and another friend just dropped off strawberry cupcakes at my doorstep. this really isn't good people. it really isn't }

"well...you almost won"

{okay before i begin my request for commiseration i will start with first things first...}

today is cissy's birthday {my mom}...here she is as a young{er} girl

beautiful huh? still is. inside and out. she is an incredible mother AND grandmother AND wife AND sister AND friend AND everything else. her own mother died when she was only 12 years old and the more i mature, the more i realize just how amazing she is to be the mother she is without any example. no one was there to 'teach' her how to be a mother. or a wife. or a grandmother. she just knew. she still does. there is so much she just knows. i've asked her before on certain occasions ' how do you know that' and she just smiles. that is unspeakable wisdom. and it's so beautiful because she doesn't even know she has it. hopefully some of that is in my dna.

so again...happy birthday cissy. muuuuaaaaahhhhh.

next of the first things was another birthday celebration this weekend. my niece, maggie, turned a whole 8 years old. and here she is as a young{er} girl

{i'm going to be getting a phone call from miss thang about this pic just you wait}

i can't believe this little one is 8 years old. phew. and what better why to celebrate than with another trip the ice skating rink with all her 8 year old cohorts. i only got a few pictures before 'the incident' but here ya go...

the birthday girl...

the bday girl with one of her friends...

aunt ginger and georgia...


winn and georgia breaking into the arcade room...
and here is max and aunt kristie on the ice right before the race...which caused 'the incident'.

if you're still with me here, let me set the stage. all the kids {and kristie who really is just a big kid...well an obviously me too} anyway, all the kids were ice skating and the adults watching. 'cept kristie. so i decided to ice skate too. and after a round or two decided i would challenge kristie to a race. on the skates. on the ice. i even got max and maggie to pick their winner. they both said aunt kristie. well whatever. anyway, if you know me then you know that i was determined at this point to win the confidence and praise of my niece and nephew {and whoever else might be watching}. so we set the guidelines. lined up on one end of the rink and asked for a countdown. we where racing down one side. all the way to the end. it was maybe 40 yards.

kristie got off to a better start than i did and the whole time i was trying to make up the 6 inches that separated us. and can i just add that we were GETTIN' it. going full speed to the finish line with the kids cheering us on. well i think they were. i was focused on winning so i heard nothing but it makes for a better story to say there where cheering right. so anyway, about the time we reach the end...at FULL speed...i realize that i need to turn. well. i don't know how to turn. and i hadn't considered that before that very moment. and about that time...WHAM. right smack dab into the wall of the ice rink.

thank goodness i had enough sense to turn my head or i would have had a broken nose. unfortunately my knees weren't so lucky. they hit first. it's a wonder that i didn't shatter my kneecaps. wanna see the damage???? here...

{and can i just add that this picture doesn't do it justice. the flash masks the bruising quite well. you should see them in living color :) .}

anyway, they are so darn sore. like can't even turn over in bed or cross my legs, sore. and to top it off i'm getting no love from my husband 'bout this injury. he says i knew better. says is was a really dumb idea. and when we were leaving the party and i could barely walk to the car he says...

"well...you almost won".

i love him so. even in his lack of sympathy, he is so positive. and right kinda. but shhhhh....don't tell him i told you that.

and what about kristie???? she turned alright. right into a 5 year old boy. who she knocked down and kept going. what a winner eh???
{baaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaa...okay so she didn't knock the boy down. it just looked like she did and everyone kept saying she did which TOTALLY irked her cuz she didn't. so ya'll....SHE DIDN'T KNOCK THE BOY DOWN.}

i'm done now. peace out.

a welcomed change...

the weather has been so mild these last few days making it impossible to stay indoors. usually the alabama weather forces us indoors or underwater, but this change has been nice. and taken advantage of.

saturday morning we hung out around the Samford campus where Harold works. you'd be hard pressed to find more beautiful landscaping in all of town. the grass. the architecture. the fountains. the stained glass windows. brick sidewalks. wooden benches. massive magnolias. i could go on but i imagine you are getting the picture. it is the perfect place to spend an 80 degree sunny morning with a 13 month old who love to frolic.

we walked the sidewalks...

we admired the flowers...

dipped our hand and feet into the fountains...

played hide and seek amongst the hedges...

admired the library daddy works in...

snacked some...

and mostly just plain enjoyed the green grass, blue sky and bright sun...


hope you got a chance to enjoy the weekend too. love from us all...

"His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun..."
Psalm 72:17

making progress...

she got herself into this mess and then...


got herself out. i'd say we're making some big girl progress 'round here.

we've been away at the lake this week so sorry for the absence. plan on using the weekend to catch up and wind down.

more to come...love from the ham.

all you auburn girls....

Our Fall /Winter show is starting toady in Auburn. And don't let the picture above fool you...we have lots of cute girl AND boy stuff. Super cute stuff for the little ones too. Here's the info if you want to swing by the show today or tomorrow...

Jennifer Guthrie
251 Graystone Lane ~ Auburn
209-0850

If you can't make it to the show, you can see the catalog online at www.hollywoodbaby.net
{and even if you don't want to shop, click on the link and watch the slideshow to see georgia modeling}

I'm in the office today helping answer show questions and getting organized since the season is starting so I must not linger here, but I can't leave without asking you to help me wish my sweet husband a very Happy Birthday today. 37 years young today he is. I've only had him for 7 of those years but I luckily I get him for all the rest.

Happy, Happy Birthday baby.

settle in...

it's going to be a long post. not too wordy. i'm pooped from the day, but lots of pictures for you to see what g diddy has been up too lately...

we got her this babydoll stroller at yardsale last week. but her and sar sar {sarah avery} decided they would push each other around in it instead. as you can see sarah avery fit in it just fine...

georgia on the other hand had a little trouble fitting those hips in. but they worked it out and kept taking turns pushing each other around. dede and i were cracking up.

and i was cooking squash the other night and georiga was sitting on the counter next to me {supervised} while i cut them up and she grabbed the stem and walked around all afternoon chewing on that raw squash.

and here... let me explain this. she walked over to the pantry. opened the door. got this bag of veggie sticks out. TOOK THE CLOTHESPIN OFF. opened the bag. got her one then walked off with the bag too. now that is big girl stuff.

ready for church on Sunday morning...
and at the same yard sale where we got that stroller {and tons of other stuff} we also picked up this Strawberry Shortcake backpack for a quarter. she loves it and wants to wear it if its in view. we were on our way to Costco here...

and here she is in my cowboy boots. i'm going to have to find her some in her size too.

and this happened in about two seconds while my back was turned. i tried to explain to her just how expensive good paper towels are. she's uninterested.


and because it is just so often we see this sight... more headband pics.

she was upset that it didn't quite match her t-shirt...

and here...this is how she walked out of the bathroom this afternoon. i have no idea where she found an empty apple juice and diet dr pepper bottle. but obviously they were hidden somewhere between our master bath and closet. which is frightening kinda.

so there you have it. days of our lives. and lovin' every one :)

3 amigos

{maggie 19 months, sarah avery 17 months & georgia 13 months}

this picture is just so funny to me. you kinda have to know the personalities of all three girls to really 'get it'. but these babies are something. they love playing together as much as us moms do. heather and dede are two of my good friends here and it really has been a blessing that we all had girls around the same time. georgia is the youngest but who would ever know.

such a good girl to care about sunscreen. we gotta keep that golden brown skin beautiful you know...
and here is baby elvis. baby elvis with a watermelon grin at that. this child can eat her weight in watermelon {or any fruit for that matter} and just yesterday georgia starting saying 'hey sar sar'. meaning "hey sarah avery".

and sweet maggie rose. she ain't depending on sunscreen. she is some serious about keeping her porcelain skin beautiful. couldn't you just eat her right up???

well friends...it's going to be a hot one again today. grab your suit and join us if you'd like. the more the merrier.

love from the little amigo land...

and before i forget...

i wanted to post her updates from her 12 month appointment:

*31 inches tall { 95th percentile - dr. said she's likely to be around 6 feet tall}
*24.9 lbs {95th percentile}
*completely through with formula {thank GOD} and down to just a bottle of milk at night. will be eliminating that this month
*walking / running
*saying about 10 words crystal clear: mama, dada, bible {her first real word}, orange, bye bye, hey, juice, dog, up, duck, quack quack, light
*and several other words that we understand but you might not ;)
*has started saying two words together like: hey dada or hey chief {which sounds like hey chi}
*beginning separation anxiety {which hopefully doesn't last long}
*still taking two naps a day. still sleeping 11-12 hours a night.
*loves to eat. shocking, eh? {wink} here is a typical menu:
breakfast: blueberry waffle w/ fruit and egg or cheese
lunch: grilled cheese or bean tortilla or leftovers w/ yogurt / fruit
dinner: whatever we are having
snacks: goldfish, veggie sticks, fruit, animal crackers and she loves vanilla wafers {gets that honest}
*she loves to climb. she is an excellent climber. has good balance too. so i try not to discourage the climbing, i just teach her how to get herself down.
*she's beginning to sit still while reading.

and lastly, each morning harold and i pray before we start our day. we end each prayer by saying the Lord's prayer together. usually georgia is trying to open our eyes while they are closed or she is saying 'hey' to get our attention, but lately after we say 'amen' and open our eyes she smiles and says ' a ben'.

a ben is right sweet girl. a ben.

catching up : freedom

first things first...happy 4th to you all. hope everyone had a great holiday. we've been here and there over the last days and glad to be back home safely.

we headed to georgia to visit grandparents and while we were there harold and i decided to drive up to helen, georgia to have breakfast and walk around. it's about 45 minutes north of his parents house and well worth the drive. i think the drive there was more beautiful. the town sits between the mountains of north georgia and the scenery really shows its Creator off big time.

and the town was nice. it was re-built some decades ago to resemble an alpine village you might find in germany.


we ate breakfast at a nice german bakery and enjoyed walking in the shops. although i must admit that i'm not a big fan of souvenir type shops. fridge magnets and toe rings aren't my thing. and i'm not convinced that there are shops full of crocs and john deere shirts in germany, but i enjoyed strolling the town with my husband nevertheless. next time we go back it will be for this...

you can rent intertubes and 'tube' down the river that runs through the mountains. if i would have had a bathing suit near we would have spent the day here instead, but we'll be back again.

we made it home yesterday in time for some holiday fun around town and spent the afternoon watching watermelon races, eating and dusting the dirt off our feet.


it was a good day. or weekend really. now georgia is getting rocked to sleep by her daddy. i'm trying to catch ya'll up and then we are all headed to bed. {and it's only 6:53 p.m.}

one more thing though...

Galatians 5:1 says..."It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."

i have thought about that verse so much over these last days. many soldiers have given their lives to fight for and maintain our freedom in this country. and i have the utmost respect for all of them. my dad, my husband and his family are among them. but this weekend i kept thinking about One who gave His life for our ultimate freedom. and while we celebrate our independence as a country this weekend, if you are a believer, i hope you are celebrating as well your independence from bondage...from the things of this world...from lies...from the grave. it is for freedom. freedom. freedom. that Christ has set us free. i hope you let that captivate your heart. Christ did not set us free that we would be bound to anger. or affairs. or depression. or impurity. or drunkenness. we have freedom from those things. complete freedom. so if you are finding yourself unable to celebrate that 'freedom' this holiday, i urge you to get into His word and be reminded of what was fought for on your behalf.

the liberty bells are ringing. can you hear them?