Break it down!

I promise I have posts to come soon about baby #3 update and Disney World - but, wanted to share this one first. Most of our videos from Disney Wold are of this little girl breaking it down. Wherever we were, whenever the music started, she couldn't help but start dancing! :)

Lately...

I am completely in love with my girls lately! Yes, there are plenty of moments throughout my day where I feel like I may lose it if I hear them fight/scream one more time or I just wish I could get one chore done without a "Maaaammmaaaa!!!"...but, the sweetness, laughs and the good times far outweigh these times and I am loving my sweet 3 year old and 5 year old. Rhodes completely adores her big sister and there is nothing sweeter than hearing the two of them in another room playing sweetly together (before a meltdown!:))....I treasure these moments and hope I always remember them! I can't believe that in about 12 weeks there will be another Patrick - our bet around here is that it is another girl...we shall see! :)

I thought I would update with a few pictures from our daily lives this past month - iphone blog update, once again!

A week or two ago, I was cooking dinner and the house was way too calm. I heard Rhodeso coming in the room, barking....I almost died when I saw her! She had colored her entire nose black and was pretending to be a dog!
Most nights lately, these two spend the night together. I love going in there after they are asleep (hopefully - I always get in trouble with Ryan if they are not fully asleep and I wake them up! :)) and checking on them and giving them a good night kiss. One night I found them curled up next to eachother, heads touching - it was precious!
Most Mondays and Wednesdays, Rhodes and I have what we call "Rhodesy/Mommy Days!". I wish I could take a picture of her face when I tell her on those mornings that today is that day! Two weeks ago, one of my dear friends from college, Kelly Merck, came in town for a quick trip and Rhodes and I were sooo excited to meet her and Mrs. Merck at Lenox for some wedding dress shopping. Rhodes may be able to hold her own with the boys, but she is a full blood girly girl at heart - she was beyond excited when we got there. She got sad at one point, once Kelly had tried on a few dresses, and asked when it was her turn to put her dress on and get married! It was so cute! The lady (and Kelly!!) was so sweet to let her join in and try on a dress and she was in Heaven! She fell asleep on our way home and when she woke up and saw Ali, I heard her whisper to Ali with excitement, "Ali, guess what! I got married today!" Precious.


And then later that week, she got to pretend to be a bridesmaid at Madeline's birthday party! This girl's got wedding on the brain these days! :)
Due to playing tennis, taking a nap, or other excuses, I have been lousy about going to/posting pictures of Ali's cheerleading this year! There were six games in all and I made it to three of them - and I was so proud of Ali! Ali really loves cheerleading and tumbling and she is really in her element when she is out there cheering! I was so proud of my little cheerleading and she was giddy with excitement to get her trophy at the end of the year party last week!
We (especially Ali) are very into crafts these days. If I don't have a craft planned, Ali tries to come up with one on her own to keep us busy during our down time together. On Friday, I found the idea on pinterest for a Thanksgiving tree and the girls ate it up. We cut out different colored leaves out of construction paper and Ali wrote different things we are thankful for on the different leaves....she could have done it for hours! Both of the girls were excited to go out (still in our pjs) and find sticks for our tree and loved decorating the tree with our thankful leaves. As I have said before, we have so much to be thankful for and I love seeing my girls (especially Ali) realize that and enjoy Thanksgiving!

This past Saturday marked another milestone for our family - Rhodesy's first UGA game!! I can't believe that she ended up going the same year that Ali went to hers - but, I have a feeling Rhodes will be her daddy's game buddy whenever he needs one - she was SO excited!! I've never seen her hop in the bathtub so fast or sit down to get her hair dried for long enough - just so she can get out the door to go cheer on the Dawgs! (and pull them to a victory!) The bad news was that Ryan decided to skip 316 and go one of our back ways and, unfortunately, there was a major accident that shut down the road and had them sitting still in traffic for 2 hours!!! (thank God for DVDs!) Their plan was to go to the first half (or as long as Rhodes could make it) and leave at halftime (so he could get back for our date night!)- but, they did not end up getting there until half time due to the traffic! Ryan went on and on about how perfect Rhodes was. She sat still, raised her hands in the air when she heard people cheering and when the 4th quarter started and loved looking for Uga, the football players and the cheerleaders! This will definitely not be her last game. Ryan said she never even asked to eat (which she hadn't done since breakfast!), go to the potty, or leave - and it wasn't until he decided it was time to go that they left. So impressed with our little future Dawg and so glad they enjoyed their daddy/daughter day! :) Ali and I had a fun day of shopping and, of course, doing crafts! :) Trying to take advantage of some one on one time these next few months, while we can still get it! :)

The one picture Ryan sent me from the game... :)

So...that's all the pictures I have for now! Phew! Relief to be somewhat caught up with the blog for now! :) I am excited to go back to the doctor on Tuesday for an update on baby Patrick #3! I will be sure to dedicate a blog just to him/her after that! With the craziness of Thanksgiving, a somewhat surprise trip to Disney World, Christmas decorating, Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating (and, of course, Christmas crafting for the girls!), and a possible home renovation/addition coming up soon (architect came today to measure/draw up plans - more info coming soon!) - life is about to get even crazier and this baby will be here before we know it! We can not wait to meet this little one! Hopefully lots more posts of our fun adventures to come soon! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hug your families and treasure these sweet moments we have together! Love, Jamie

We are thankful!

This month, as we approach Thanksgiving, I feel like I am constantly going through my head remembering what I am thankful for...trying to have a grateful heart for all of those things we take for granted in our daily lives and remembering how blessed we truly are! Secretly, I can tell you that I can NOT wait for Christmas and am so antsy to start decorating, listening to Christmas music, etc - but, I am grateful for this month, week and this upcoming Thursday to help reflect on all of the things to thank God for!

This past week, we had Ali's Thanksgiving Feast at school. I signed up for green beans and left them on the stove to finish cooking while I ran the girls to school and then decided to stop by the office for a few minutes to write a few checks for my dad, etc. I was supposed to be there to set up for the feast at 9:45, got the girls to school at 9:05 and figured I would have plenty of time when I left the office at 9:30 to run home, pick the green beans up and head back to the school for the feast! When I pulled into my house, I realized that I had left my keys and my spare key locked inside the house. Luckily, my house is only a mile from the girls' school and a mile from my husband's office or I never would have made it. Lately, I'm not sure if it is being pregnant, or having two kids and being pregnant, or just that I am losing my mind - but I have been doing lots of things like this and I have felt very thankful to live in our little house (and it's great location) and our little community. Last week, I left my wallet at church and had no idea until one of my neighbor's brought it by our house that day! (this week, I walked out of church without my purse - until Ali realized it and reminded me - see what I mean?? Losing it!) I am thankful for people that look after me when obviously I just can not seem to get it together! :) I am thankful for a husband who loves me (despite my unlovable moments!) and takes care of me, two beautiful daughters that I adore and are at such a fun/easy age (when they are not bickering!), grandparents that help out with my children when I just need a break or a date or to work or to go to the doctor, family that loves us, etc, etc, to name a few! I love this time of year and am so excited for the fun of the Holidays - I know this is going to the best holiday season with my children yet!

A few pictures from my little pilgrim at her Thanksgiving Feast!



Ali's precious little 4 year old class!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

5 years old!

I know I say it every year, but I can not believe my first baby is FIVE years old! Five is such a big year to me - it means she is such a big girl, getting ready for Kindergarten and Mama's little helper/partner in crime. God sure knew what he was doing when he chose Ali to be my first child - she is my listener, my pleaser, she likes to follow the rules, loves to giggle...she is a shining light and has become so independent and confident this year...which is bittersweet for this Mama who is used to having her under my wing. :) She loves her friends and already talks about which boy she is going to marry almost daily! (we are going to have our hands full with this one!) We think she is smart beyond her years and doesn't miss much - I thank the Lord for her sweet smile, her silly giggle and her love for life and her family - can't imagine what life was like 5 years ago before there was Ali!

As always, I believe birthdays should last much longer than just a day (my dad always said I got a birthday month!)...so we started kicking off Ali's birthday celebration weekend on Friday at our favorite, La Parilla with Libby and the Holles!




On Saturday morning, we got up and ready for Ali's princess tea party - the perfect way for our princess to celebrate her fifth birthday with friends!
We had the party at our Country club and Snow White even stopped in for stories! The food was delicious and the girls had a great time!







c

The hot chocolate in tea cups with marshmallows were a hit - especially with Rhodes!



We continued the celebration all weekend, finally making cupcakes on Monday night for Ali to take to school on her actual birthday - Tuesday!
Waking up to birthday donuts! I'm five!!
One more picture before my big girl headed off to school!
After a fun lunch out with Mama, Daddy, Mimi and Papa - we spent the evening celebrating at one of our newest birthday traditions - a Japanese steakhouse! Ali loves going there (she loves some steamed rice!) - and our little family of four had so much fun finishing off our fun day/weekend there!

Happy fifth birthday to the sweetest, giggliest, smartest, prettiest 5 year old princess I know! We love you more than you will ever know!

October report

The past few weeks, we have been enjoying the feeling of Fall in the air and all of the fun activities that come with it! I have wrapped up my season as captain of my ALTA team and kind of bummed to be giving up tennis until the Spring - but my body is thanking me! :) The girls both had their Fall parties and I loved getting to help with them (trying to knock out all the parties I can now before baby #3 gets here!) and they had a blast!

Two weeks ago, we kicked off a chilly Fall morning by taking part in the Cobb Heart Walk with our friends and neighbors, the Martins. They had a HUGE crowd supporting them and we were so glad to be apart of it!

Afterwards, we headed to the Martins for an after party consisting of a moonbounce, Mellow Mushroom pizza (my favorite!), a band, and yummy desserts and drinks! We had a great time before heading down to Culloden, Georgia for a wedding! I am so mad I did not take pictures of the wedding! It was a beautiful wedding on Joseph's family farm and we had so much fun catching up with old and new friends! Thanks to Mimi and Papa for watching the girls while we had a night away!

When we got back, Mimi, Ali, Rhodes and I headed to a Cobb Landmarks event - Multi-Generational tea at Mockingbird Hill. We had so much fun seeing friends - and the girls loved running around the whole time. Rhodes immediately found a delicious cookie and managed to get green food dye all over her face as soon as we walked in the door! :) I am so thankful for friends who take pictures and send them to me. Almost like having my own personal photographer that I have mentioned before that I need!!

Rhodes was quite the character during the group photo session....

Lots of sweet friends! Can you spot Rhodes in the crowd?
Speaking of wonderful friends that take pictures for me - I am so thankful to my friend, Emilie, for taking these pictures below of the girls! Much better than any pictures I would ever take and I love them! We headed down to Sea Island this past Wednesday night for 4 nights for Ryan to get to play in a golf tournament at Ocean Forest and for the Georgia/Florida game. There were 8 adults and 6 kids (with two preggos - so we'll have 8 kids next time!) and everyone got along great and had so much fun! Here are some of the pictures Emilie took of Ali and Rhodes outside of the Brumby's house...













And now onto the not so good ones from my iphone... :)

View from our living room out over the marsh - it is beautiful!

Took a little trip to St. Simons to play on the playground and on the whales...
Watching a movie while the big kids cheered on the dawgs!
Everyone was tired on our way home - especially Ryan who stayed up a little later than his 3 girls - celebrating a Bulldawg victory!! I ended up driving halfway and not long into my drive, this is what I got to look at....Like father, like daughters....


When we got back in town - we headed straight to Tailgate Treats at our church and ran out of time to carve our pumpkins! The girls and I decided we had to have our own jack-o-lanterns, so we did some carving on Halloween!
And some sidewalk decorating...

My 3 little Halloween amigos... Smurfette, Princess Aurora, and baxter...
The pose I got when I said "Say we can't wait to eat our candy!"

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! Go Dawgs!