harold's notes

harold and georgia were playing and drawing earlier tonight and this is what i found on their paper.  had to take a picture because this is good stuff to remember.  we are blessed indeed.

1 tree + 1 girl + lots of leaves = fall fun

The first man a little girl falls in love with is her Dad. 

-author unknown 

trunk or treat 2011

last night was the annual trunk or treat at our church.  georgia and her friend maggie were cat and mouse.  i dare to say that you haven't seen a kitty this cute ever.  all the kids were so adorable and she was WAY more into getting candy this year than years past...

we got home around 8pm and although it was late and we all were worn out, i did what my mom always let us do.  dump and sort and enjoy.  there were 4 piles.  one for georgia with all she liked.  one for daddy.  one for mommy.  one for the trash if you can believe it.  then we all ate as much as we wanted from our piles and called it a night...

just so you know this was her pajama choice and she slept in her baby legwarmers all night long.  i mean why not right?

and just to remember, here's the years past:

she's going to kill me for this richard simmoms costume one day.  seriously.  she's going to hate me.  but who could resist...

2 things every american should know...

 

 

along with several other things the pledge and lessons from mary poppins are high on the list! 

 

poppin' in...

i'm still here.  there is no rhyme or reason to this post except that i didn't want a whole month to pass before i blogged.  i'm gonna catch up soon but right now it's 9:09p.m. which means it is 1 hour and 9 minutes past my bedtime.  and i must admit that i just realized i only have 50 or so pictures on my camera since the last time i uploaded in september.  that is a shame.  shame i tell ya.  50 pics to document a whole month is shameful.  i usually average 500 or so.  oh well.  november and december better get their act together and not rush me on through...

we're getting costume ready around here.  i practiced the kitty face for her.  she inturn wanted to practice on me.  not bad for a toddler...

we had open house for her school this week.  adore her teacher ms. cheri.  she loves my girl and i love her for it...

okay be back soon.  that's a promise, k?....

well...

i can't figure out why those pics below are so blurry looking.  so...the middle one is my favorite and i don't want the blurry-ness taking away from how big girl my baby looks.  so how about that one blown up...

now...that's much better :)

today

 
we didn't do anything spectacular today.  took our time getting up and dressed and decided to take a trip to the library.  after she picked her dress and shoes, i grabbed my camera and knew we'd stop on the way for a few pictures.  she looked like such a big girl.  she has all week.  she's growing and i'm snapping away in hopes of capturing every bit of 'littleness' before it's gone...

ballet time

georgia stared ballet last week. if you thought she looked cute in her jew-nastics leotard just you wait. the only problem is she's built like her momma and the only time she was 'fragile' was in utero. nevertheless i love all them thighs stuffed into those ballet tights...

 
 

this is her friend caroline.  they are 1 month apart.  can you believe that? 

first day of school

 
got lots to upload here from the last few weeks but wanted to hurry and get this up.  look how big girl she is...

i could eat her little face off.

just so you know...

this whole outfit was unscripted.  she did this herself.  and was proud too.  as she should be.  skinny belts are in this season and i explained to her that pairing animal print with patent leather is always a good thang.  i also told her i was impressed that she didn't over accessorize.  the one chunky necklace is a statement piece so no other jewelry was necessary.  i mean you gotta teach 'em this sometime right? 

here's what gets me though...we don't have cable so she's never seen beyonce.  never seen lady gaga...jlo...the spice girls...nothing.  so how in the world did she learn to dance like this???

 
 
 

 

i have to admit though.  i secretly wished for a silly little girl so i could relive all the best parts of being a kid.  and guess what.  i got what i hoped for.  you should have seen my get up that day.  the pirate hat was just the beginning...

 

l.o.v.e.

 
 
{ this might be one of my most favorite pictures ever! }

nothing else to say but love. love. love.  i'm thinking grandma might need that last picture blown up on her wall.  look at that look in her eyes.  that is what a picture does.  i can hear one thousand i love you's in that one look of hers.  what a precious gift she is to my baby girl.

she get it from her momma...

 
 
this girl can fall asleep anywhere.  she gets it honest too.  these are just a few pics of random places where i found this little monkey sleeping her head off...

(kelly...meredith...amber...i know ya'll are cracking up at the title of this post more than the pictures.  ya'll are the only ones i could think of that would get it.  for everyone else, it's a rap song.  yes i do love jesus and rap.  i just listen the clean versions now)

last august

 
this was from last august.  her afro puffs are so much bigger now.  that and everything else too.  *sigh*

slow down summer.  please slow down.

pretending

georgia's big into pretending these days.  we play house...doctor...seals...school...church...you name it.  even grocery shop and library.  she tells me "you be the payer" which means customer.  and no matter what or how many i buy of something at her shop, the total is always "forty six dollars".  even if i have coupons.  glad she ain't publix. 

anyway, the other day she wanted fairies.  it began with her and i was the fairy godmother but she wasn't satisfied until i got into the part as well.  she has spotted my wedding gown and veil in our closet and immediately wanted me to put it on.  i had to gently explain that my hips have expanded a little too much for the dress to fit.  she settled for my pajamas, my veil and a wand.  phew.

 
 
 
 
 
 

turning three...what a circus it will be

everyday is a circus when you're raising a toddler but for one magical june afternoon we actually created our own circus to celebrate georgia's birthday.  we had a tight rope walk...pony ride...tatoo parlor and more.  there was hotdogs and cool drinks.  popcorn and cotton candy.  a prize table, a photo booth and some authentic circus music.  but really, the best part...was that we had a house packed full of friends and family that were there to celebrate the goodness of another year.  the sweet, undeserving, blessing of having another year together.  that day was exactly what the best days this side of heaven are made of...

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

tuesdays at jew-nastics

 

georgia started gymnastics jew-nastics at the beginning of the summer.  it's only on tuesdays and just about every other day she asks if it's jew-nastics day.  i kinda wish it was because she is irresistable in her leotard.  they do half of their class in the preschool gym and the other half in the big gym where the big girls are.  we get there super early because she loves watching those big girls.  in that picture above she's trying to do some move she saw and her exact words were..."watch dis mommy.  dis is for big girls.".

 
 
 
 
 

she's not up yet, but she'll be so happy to know it's tuesday, jew-nastics day when she wakes up...

 

funny girl

 
this was the exact conversation that she had with her daddy the other day...

"little people stand on tippie toes but big people stand on big toes and you don't have little feet just me and mommy have little feet and your skin isn't pink just a litte pink but my skin is a little bit brown and a little bit pink and you don't have any hair."

that was all one sentence, one breath.  god love her. 

and if you're wondering about the ear muffs above, those are flight line ear muffs from harold's air force days.  you can't hear anything with those things on.  sometimes around 5 p.m. when little people who haven't napped starting getting fussy, i may or may not wear those around the house and sing kumbaya loudly.  she knows how they work now and i'm afraid she'll catch on and start using them on me.  in that picture above she's saying..."what...what...i can't hear you".  smart girl huh...

love this...

 

there is so much story in each of these pictures.  but really the story is the very same.  it's us two face to face...eye to eye...saying the same thing to the other..."wow we made it another year.  and i am so very glad to be celebrating with you".  

 

and now...

 

and now.  wow.  now just keeps getting better and better.  for the past two years i've thought 'okay, this is my favorite age'.  but now...this stage we're in now...it definitely is.  she is my constant companion and seriously i'm so smitten with her.  we talk about barney and the holy spirit. together, we pray for her stuffed animals and her future husband.  and even the hardest of days bring so much blessing to my life. 

this is what she said the other day... "mommy, you're not perfect.  but you will be perfect when you get to heaven.  but not right now.  you're not perfect right now.  but you are perfect for me". 

before the foundation of the world, we were perfect for each other.  God knew that she would be mine and i would be hers.  so even in the hardest of days, i try to remember that sweet perfection and enjoy every hard, trying, patience testing bit of this third year.

and one year ago...

 

and here we are just last year. bigger. smarter. sweeter. a little more sassy and a little more secure. both of us. that year 2 was a good year. a lot less borrowing trouble from tomorrow. a lot more enjoying the days as they come

and 2 years ago...

 

and here we are two years ago... we had made it through a whole year together us three.  i remember this day so clearly.  i think this first birthday will forever be etched in my mind.  i was so happy that day.  so thankful.  after a year of learning and changing and growing i slowed down just long enough that day to really celebrate her life.  her birthday.  and i made a decision that day to always make a extra effort to celebrate her birthday in big ways.  i'm not talking about money, i'm just talking about effort.  spending time and energy to make her feel so loved and celebrated. 

this picture reminds me of rocking her to sleep.  i've spent countless hours staring at that very face.  so much so that each centimeter of it is committed to my memory.  that face has changed so much from that first year but still sometimes...in the middle of the night...when i still sneak in there to see her chest rise and fall...and whisper a prayer over her soul...and be reassured that all is well...i see this very face.  i really see this very face.