Inside, Outside & Upside Down

She may only be 8 1/2 months old, but I can't believe this is my Baby Girl. She is constantly on the move, eating everything she can get her hands on and talking nonstop. She is still (usually) very laid back and would prefer to be held. But you give her some freedom and a little grass and she's making herself a salad!

Her tiny toes aren't nearly as tiny.

And she can not only sit up on her own, but sit herself up on her own. We found her almost standing up in her crib the other day when we went to get her up from her nap. I think it's time to lower the crib. She can't be that old already!

She is always full of giggles and laughs and she makes the craziest faces.

Someone has a new favorite food- Goldfish- or "fishies" as they are called in our house. Yes, I know, very nutritious. She can't eat very many or very quickly because unlike her sister who started teething at 3 1/2 months this little girl still doesn't have any teeth!

R has a new hobby- Play-Doh. Someone threw in an almost brand new 24 pack of Play-Doh the other day when I stopped at a garage sale and it has provided hours and hours of entertainment.

R still feels the need to eat EVERYTHING. Every time she spits it right back out, but that doesn't stop her from doing it again and again.

R loves to read to her little sister and Baby Girl sits and listens intently (or she tries to eat the book).

"Don't leave me."

"I didn't go anywhere."

"She left me."

"Where did you go??"

"Don't leave me!"

"I love you, Baby. I'm still here."

We left the girls for the first time a couple of weeks ago when we went to the race in Texas and we were told that while we were gone they were always looking out for each other. They would always check in on each other and make sure that wherever they went that they were always together. Love my girls!

The reality of what taking pictures of them usually looks like on my end.

This picture pretty much epitomizes their personalities. Miss Thang and her mini-me. Baby Girl follows her big sis around like a shadow. Now that she is crawling, there is no stopping her! 

I am having a hard time wrapping my head around just how big she is getting. Not only is she physically very tall, but she is communicating. She almost always understands what I'm saying to her and can respond in kind (if she so chooses). We have definitely hit THAT stage though. You know, the one where ALL she says is "No." Pray for me, please. I need it. I only thought I was a patient person, but she knows how to push my buttons!

This is a common site around our house. You can tell that by the fact that Baby Girl is not phased at all. R loves her sister so much.

I just cannot get enough of these girls.

I am trying to adjust to the fact that just putting Baby Girl on a blanket outside is no longer enough. She is VERY mobile, so the blanket does little to no good. I brought her inside today only to realize that her legs were all scraped up. It took me a minute to understand why. My legs would be scraped too, if I were to crawl around on concrete! I had a few extra months before R figured all of this out. But Baby Girl is bound and determined to keep up with her sister and she is well on her way!

Gentlemen Start Your Engines

What a wonderful weekend! Jeff and I stole away for the first time since the girls were born and man were we spoiled! We met up with my friend, Natasha, who I met during the first days of my freshman year of college. I will honestly say that I (jokingly) made fun of her all through college for her die hard love of NASCAR. You don't see many girls locking their dorm room door on Sundays so that she could be undisturbed to watch the NASCAR race while listening to it on her scanner : ) See I had good reason! Ha. 

She always said that I should go to a race with her. Well NINE years later and look where she got me!

She got us into all kinds of places and met so many people that I am sure I have no idea the true magnitude of all that we did!

We got to meet Kasey Kahne! 

We got our own picture with Kasey! This counts, right?! : )

These are the two ladies who have thought me everything I know about NASCAR. A few months ago that wouldn't have been much. But after having the privilege of working with Tammy recently and constantly leaning on Tasha for advice, I have figured out a thing or two.

We were just hanging out on the track before the race. Watching the fly over from the best seat in the house. I even heard that we made it on TV during the national anthem!

Chillin in the pit box like we are hot stuff.

My phone was about dead before the race even began, so I didn't get to take many pictures during the race. But we got to watch the race track side from behind the pit boxes. Other times we were even allowed access to the media only areas and stood right next to the concrete barriers as the cars barreled going a hundred some-odd miles per hour. We got to watch a pit stop from only a few feet away and Jeff got some lug nuts straight off the car! I said over and over again all day that we were being spoiled. How do you ever live up to that?

We can't thank you enough Tasha for being an amazing hostess and tour guide. We got to meet- team owners, NASCAR officials, crew chiefs, drivers and so many more friendly and welcoming people. Every time she told someone it was our first race, we got a personal tour of something else amazing!

To make it THAT much better, we got to meet Godwin from Duck Dynasty. (We are HUGE fans.)

Oh and then Tasha got us into Victory Lane! We were standing in the back soaking it in but trying to stay out of the way when I look up and Karl Malone is standing behind Jeff. Because of his "better perspective," he offered to get pictures of the post race celebration for us. How awesome is that!?

Just soaking in our last few minutes together. What an awesome day!

The day and the trip couldn't have been any better.

Honestly, this was how we felt at the end of our trip. We got to do EVERYTHING. I will admit that neither of us have been a huge NASCAR fan before. But after all that we got to experience, I have a feeling that has changed. 

Thanks for opening your world to us, Tasha. We love you and your sweet parents.

Catching Up

I know, it's been way too long. Jeff and I had our first weekend away since before R was born and I spent what little free time I had for about two weeks just to prepare to get out the door. You may think that a bit obsessive, but the thought of someone else staying in my house to watch the girls got my butt in gear to get things done. I also just hate coming home to a dirty house. Of course after cleaning for two weeks and the floors were still sticky, things were still piled in closets and there was still food that needed to be cleaned out of the refrigerator. Oh well.

I can't wait to blog about our AMAZING trip, but for now I just wanted to put up a few pictures from the past week.

Today we did nothing. R never got out of her jammies and I never put on any make-up. We just enjoyed getting back into a normal routine.

An unnamed person (Jeffrey), showed R just how much fun it is to use the chalk on yourself and not the concrete as it was intended. Thus, this is how she looks pretty much all the time these days :)

Baby Girl just rolled around on her blanket soaking in the sun as R pulled me around the backyard.

A barefoot baby playing outside. I was just soaking in the moment. This is what childhood is all about.

R was our welcome wagon when we made it back from Texas. She helped us unload the car and everything. She cracks me up with the blue plastic cup. Who is she, Uncle Si? (Excuse my Duck Dynasty reference :)

There is never a dull moment with her around.

Yep, I caught you red handed little ballerina! She loves to dig through the refrigerator. 

This is one of her favorite things to do. We put toys in her crib for her to play with at bedtime and naptime, but I'm not sure why. We don't even make it out the door before she does this.

So much love.

Baby Girl decided one night at dinner that she was no longer satisfied with baby food. I was holding her in my lap while trying to eat dinner. I always say, "If you think they can't reach it, they can." But obviously I didn't take my own advice. After she dove face into my plate, I just let her go at it. This is the before and after shot.

It's amazing what a little freedom and some fresh air can do. 

Someone wanted to play dress-up with her little sister.

I have the cutest coffee date ever! She got out early with me one Saturday morning before garage saling and enjoyed her milk while mama enjoyed her coffee.

Oh the joy and simplicity of childhood. 

Sunshine and kisses.

Daddy has the gift to always be able to make these little girls smile.