Lighting of the Christmas Tree...sort of.

On Thanksgiving night we decided it would be fun to go to Lenox Mall and see the lighting of the Christmas tree. We met up with my brother and his family there and were ready for some fun. The advertisement on t.v. said there was a pre-show at 6:30 and the tree lighting was at 7. Perfect we though! Watch the tree light up, load up in the car and head home just in time for bed. Whoo! Except the tree didn't actually light until 8. The pre-show was basically the singers/dancers warming up. And it was FREEZING outside!!!!! Though we were all pretty bundled up, it was still so cold. The adults could have clearly toughened up, but the poor freezing, hungry, tired kids just could not handle it. Really, we headed home at 7 for their sake.

We managed to get back to the car, load up, and get home in time to watch the tree light up live on TV! Now we know why we have lived in ATL for as long as we have and never gone down to see the live show. It was a great idea though!

Isabel is really having a blast!

Ayda was so bundled up! She looked quite comfy!

Abby was so good to Ayda! She made sure she was doing ok under all the blankets. She was so sweet rubbing her head and talking to her.

The crew...having so much fun! We were so bundled we could barely move around to pick up little ones!

Babyland General

My mom, Ayda and I decided to take a day trip to North Ga to visit Babyland General. It is where the Cabbage Patch babies are born!!! I was not sure if Ayda would have anything to do with it but thought it would still be fun. And, wow, did Ayda have fun! She was out of control visiting all the different babies. My mom had said she wanted to get her a doll for her birthday while we were there. Ayda picked hers out rather quickly and I was surprised at how very badly she wanted that particular one. There were tons of little girl babies with lots of hair and cute bows in their hair. Did Ayda want those? Nope. She only wanted the bald headed boy. I even tried to trick her into getting the cuter one and she screamed till I gave her the little boy back. Oh dear! So Coop joined our family and she LOVES him. She carries him around all the time, pats his head, and gives him kisses. It is really very cute!

(Stay tuned...I am WAY behind on pictures of our trip to ATL. I'll keep posting till I get caught up!)

One Year Ago Today...

Ayda Grace Lin came into our world!! I cannot believe her first year is over. She has been the most amazing blessing for both Kevin and me. To try to sum up her first year would be impossible. It has been fun, adventurous, fast, exciting and more. Ayda has such a great personality and to see her develop into what it is today has been wonderful. She keeps us on our toes, but only because she loves to explore her world and she loves to be with people! We have had more laughs than tears this year as a family and most of the laughter was because of something Ayda did. Kevin and I were warned that we would never feel more tired than when we had a newborn. Yep we were tired, but the energy we receive from being parents totally makes it worth it. We love every second of this!
So today as I refect on this year and the day Ayda made her entance into this world I am full of joy, pride and sheer happiness for our daughter. It is bitter sweet as we conclude a big year of firsts but I am also so very excited to start her second year. I know she will keep us busy learning and growing more. We are thankful for her health, the many people who love her so much, for the many lessons we have learned about being parents and about ourselves in general, and for these first 365 days!

Ayda, we love you so so much! You are beautiful, smart, fun and more. We are incredibly proud of you! You make being parents easy and fun! We have had a blast with you this year and can't wait to see what you do this next year! We love you, pumpkin!
Daddy and Mommy

Thanksgiving and a Developmental Burst!

We have had quite a week to say the least. No pics because I am not home yet to upload them. I will have tons though when I get there! For now a recap of our rather busy and exciting week. We got to Atlanta November 19th. It has been wonderful to see friends and catch up. My family all made it to Atlanta Thursday which began the circus at my mom's house. Four kids under the age of 5, 6 adults, 2 black labs, and a cat made this house seem a little snug! There were kids, toys, clothes, diapers, food, little shoes, big shoes and more scattered everywhere. We enjoyed our big shopping day on Friday. Tradition still stands. I will say not being 9 months pregnant this year made it much easier and more pleasurable, even at 4AM. The best part...I am pretty much all done with shopping for everyone! Friday night we all managed to hold our eyes open and our mouths full and enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious! Saturday started out with a bang as I made Ayda's birthday cake (with the help of my SIL Allison). It turned out absolutely adorable and I cannot wait to post the pics. Then we headed to the park for Ayda's one year old pictures by Allison. We had a blast capturing her goofy faces and fun personality. Then we came home in time for lunch where we stuffed ourselves again, cleaned up and had a big birthday party! Ayda loved opening her presents and had even more fun eating the cake (which I paid for later when she didn't go to bed till 10pm)!!! All in all it was a wild but amazingly fun weekend! It was awesome to spend so much time with my brother's family. Ayda loved playing with her cousins!!
And as for the developmental burst...well Ayda has taken off! In the past week she has started pointing to her nose when asked where it is, signing "please', "more" and "all done", and blowing kisses (my favorite)! She is also saying "uh oh" any time she drops something! It is so neat to watch her figure something out each day and communicate with us better. Much less frustrating for her for sure!! I also think we are working on two more teeth...because 10 on her first birthday is simply not enough! AHHH!!!! Where did my baby go?!?! Well that is all for now! The blog was calling me for an update of some sort. Check back soon for pictures of all these festivities!

Wordless Wednesday

A Lease and A Senior Night

Yesterday was an exciting day around here. Kevin got a call from his lawyer saying we had a lease on the property he was negotiating for his practice!!! It is such a relief to know where his practice will be and to move on to the next phase. As Kevin said it is always exciting to finish one chapter but also a little nerve wracking entering the next one. The place is perfect though. Room to grow, great location, in great condition. We are thrilled!

There are two suites in the building. He will be suite A.

The inside, which will end up looking drastically different as they build walls. I'll post pics as the office becomes his own!

Then last night we headed over to Southlake High School for George's (kevin's brother) senior night. He is in the marching band and they were announcing all the football, band, color guard and cheerleader seniors. George asked Kevin to escort him on the field which Kevin enjoyed doing so much. I think you can tell he is proud of his little brother by the huge smile on his face!

Two handsome men

Ayda simply loved being out and part of the festivities. She loved running around and one of us chasing behind!

Ayda playing with Aunt Ivory!

Congrats George! We are proud of you and can't wait to see where you head after graduation!!

A Cold Day in Florida!

I was pretty excited when I got up this morning and it was only 56 degrees outside. Ayda did her morning routine of getting Kevin up and we all bundled up and headed outside. Ayda LOVES being outside. She has so much room to roam around and play. She would be out there all day if I let her! So still in our jammies...with an extra layer added on we had fun playing just after breakfast!

Her way of going down the slide all by herself. She walks up to it, leans over, and "slides" down on her tummy.

Like I said...we got bundled. Kevin was not as excited about the cold weather though!

Quick picture with mommy! Ayda really would have rather been running around though!

Later today it warmed up a little but the wind was still cold. I was super excited to get out the coat my cousin sent Ayda. I was afraid she would outgrow it before she got to wear it. It is super adorable!!! We had fun running around the front yard for over an hour!

Always on the go!!!