Catching Up...

It's been awhile since I've updated...I have been such a bad blogger! We have been super busy though, so I thought I would update everyone on what we've been doing.

Whitney, Ana Kate, and I went to Hardy to visit family and friends at the end of June for a few days and had a great time! It was SO good to see everyone!

The weekend after we got home Doug and I took Ana Kate to the zoo in Tulsa and she LOVED it! It was SO hot to be walking around the zoo all day, but we had fun. Ana Kate seemed to like the fish the best, so we really need to take her to the aquariam next time.

We then headed to Iowa for the 4th of July to see Doug's family. We had a nice visit although it rained for the 4th and got quite chilly. During our Iowa trip I was able to sneak over to Illinois to spend a day with my friend Michelle. It was so nice to be able to see her and it seems that we've started a trend...this was the 3rd year in a row that we have managed to see each other during the 4th holiday...definitely a trend we want to continue. She's expecting her 3rd boy at the end of this month and I'm very excited for her! Ana Kate got to see her first fireworks show and she absolutely loved Michael and Matthew.

Since we've been home from Iowa we haven't done a lot. Doug started building a playhouse for Ana Kate and it's really starting to take shape. She loves being outside and 'helping' Daddy. I also let her play in the water some this week, but it's just so hot outside we don't last very long. There are TONS of pictures below....enjoy!

Cash & Ana Kate playing at DeAnn's house. They were so cute....made me think back on all the time Whitney, Donnie, and Jake played together.

Zoo pictures....it was SO hot that day:

She was trying to get down....no time for pictures...

Looking at the zebras:

So thirsty...

Not into this AT ALL....

Not really into the carousel either....but she liked it once it got started.

Eathing the lollipop that Whitney bought her.

I just love those dimples....

Helping Uncle Eric at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Aunt Jennifer and cousin Owen.

Our day visiting Michelle....

Ana Kate loved the horses but was a little intimidated by them.

Trying to play with the boys....

My pretty girl...

Showing us her belly...

Ana Kate & Matthew getting ice out of the cooler.

Some of the fireworks:

Ana Kate 'helping' Daddy build her playhouse:

Playing in the water....I think she was tired of me taking pictures....

She looks so big to me in this last picture....

Father's Day Video

We didn't really do anything special for Father's Day, but we did have a great day with Ana Kate. Plus Whitney got home from her senior trip this evening and we were all SO happy to see her, we missed her SO much! Ana Kate wouldn't leave her alone for even a minute. We went for a walk around 7:00 to give Whitney a little break and Ana Kate kept pointing at things and saying 'What's that Daddy?" It was too cute! I also managed to capture our sweet girl on video earlier today. She can be going non-stop and talking my ear off and then when I get the camcorder out...nothing. She was mostly interested in seeing herself on the screen, but she did say a few things. Enjoy!

One year ago today...

we held Ana Kate for the first time.


What a difference a year makes....

June 15, 2008:


June 15, 2009:

I really can't believe it's been a year already, but look at how our baby girl has grown. She is absolutely amazing! We are SO blessed and thank God every day for our precious gift!

I am working on a video with pictures from the past year to celebrate our first Forever Family Day. When I have it completed I will post it.

We also heard from Randy and Laura tonight (our travel companions in Vietnam). They held Tyler for the first time on that same night. What an amazing experience we all had. Here is the picture of us all together last year:

Whitney's Graduation

We celebrated Whitney's high school graduation this past Friday night. We had lots of family in town and had an amazing weekend. We are SO proud of Whitney and love her so much! I really wasn't sad or emotional...just happy to celebrate this milestone in her life. The graduation ceremony wasn't too long despite there being 756 graduating. We had cake after the ceremony and stayed up WAY too late, but had lots of fun. The rest of the weekend was less hectic and we were able to enjoy visiting with family.

I was horrible with taking pictures this weekend. I didn't realize until after graduation that I hadn't gotten any pictures with Whitney....which stinks. Enjoy the few pictures that I did manage to capture.

Hollyann & Whitney before graduation:



Rogers High Class of 2009






The only picture I could find of Ana Kate in her pretty dress...and even this one is blurry...


Whit's cake:


Brad & Ana Kate being sweet:





Sisters...

Slow Monday

Since it is still wet and gloomy here...and it looks like we are stuck inside for yet another day, I thought I'd post an update. It's been a while since my last post, so I have lots to share.

Our last weekend in April was quite busy. We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary as well as Doug's birthday. We out to dinner on Friday for the anniversary celebration and Ana Kate was quite a character (she doesn't like to sit still during dinner....especially when we're at a restaurant). Then on Saturday we woke up early for the 5K race for the cure. We had a great time....Whitney ran the 5K (we realized we couldn't take the stroller on the 5K), so we just walked around the mall promenade and tried to keep Ana Kate entertained. They had an event for dogs, so she was quite excited and happy to see all the 'puppies' there. After the race we went shopping and ate lunch, so I guess that was sort of Doug's birthday celebration. We decided to get a movie and pizza and relax the rest of the night. Here's a picture of Whitney and Ana Kate with their bunny hats after the race:


We have been working on leaving Ana Kate in the nursery at church, but it hasn't been going very well. We've been called back every time so far, but we're hopeful that we will get there eventually. I decided I really had to work on getting her used to Mommy dropping her off, so I came up with a plan. My friend Amanda agreed to help out, so last Wednesday after nap time I took Ana Kate over to Amanda's house and left her so I could go shopping for 30 minutes to an hour. I stayed for just a few minutes to make sure she was comfortable then told her bye (which is typically when she starts losing it). I really don't like sneaking out when she's not looking...I have done this, but don't like to, and it doesn't typically make a difference anyway. She didn't cry or get upset at all....I was amazed! I'm sure the distraction of Amanda's two dogs helped, but it was still a huge accomplishment for us. Ana Kate will sometimes cry when I leave her with Daddy, so I have to stress how big of a deal this was. So off I went to Target and was able to leisurely shop and take my time...it was wonderful! When I got back Ana Kate was happy as could be. She did have one little incident while I was gone. She tried to stuff too many apples in her mouth and threw up (sorry Amanda!), but after a change of clothes she was fine. Amanda said she never got upset the entire time I was gone, so I told her she is now our 'go to' sitter. :) I can't tell you what a relief it is to be able to leave Ana Kate and know that she's happy and not crying for me while I'm gone. Thank you SO much Amanda!

Whitney was sick all this weekend with a fever and just generally not feeling well. I don't think it's the flu, because her stomach has been fine, she's just tired...so I've been giving her lots of medicine and orange juice. She seemed a little better last night, so hopefully she's getting over it. She has some finals this week, so it will be tough if she's feeling bad.

Ana Kate has been doing really well...she's talking non-stop and putting sentences together. Any time you tell her she looks pretty she says 'mirror' and has to be taken to the nearest mirror so she can see herself. Last night she was so funny. I was making homemade cinnamon rolls and decided I better put on an apron before I rolled the dough out. (Whitney had my apron made for me for Mother's Day a couple of years ago and it's black with white polka dots and has Mom embroidered on it in hot pink...really cute.) So as I put it on Ana Kate notices and runs to the kitchen saying 'pitty' (pretty). It was SO funny, she kept saying pretty and cute over and over. I think I might be in trouble if she already thinks clothing is cute and she's not even 2 yet! I think Whitney was the same way at that age.

We really haven't been doing much else...it's been raining here non-stop for the past week, so it's pretty dreary. Due to all the rain I really haven't taken many pictures...but I do have a few. Enjoy!

These were taken on a beautiful sunny day before all the rain started:



Ana Kate playing with her sunglasses in the car yesterday:



This morning she was watching her video with a blanket on her head...silly girl!