Across the Miles

Giveaway!

2011-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

HUGE photography giveaway at www.soulographer.com
Check it out!!

I want a Kelly Moore Bag!!!

2011-02-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yes I am waaaay behind on posting, but I do plan on doing some major catch up blogging! As wedding season gets under way, I would really love to have a fabulous bag from Kelly Moore to tote my gear in! I have tried a few times to win one in her awesome giveaways but haven't gotten lucky yet! ha I plan on going with the B-Hobo in Heather Grey! Check it out HERE! All of her bags seem fabulous, so I'm sure this won't be my only purchase from her. Check her site out and her blog as well to show her some love! She is an amazing photographer and I can't wait to own one of her bags!
Also, check out my site www.malynsneedphotography.com to see some of my work if you're in need of a photographer in the Upstate, SC! :)

Thanksgiving in Florida

2010-12-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

So much to be thankful for! This year has held so many blessings for my family & me! One of the biggest blessings thus far has been God allowing me to stay home with our beautiful girls! I am so thankful for my husband providing for us the way he does and desiring to have me home with them. It was a challenge in the beginning and a total change from corporate work world; however, while there are still challening days here and there, we're getting better at this! ;)
I am thankful for... my Lord & Savior, His grace, my husband, children, wonderful parents, family & friends, our home, my sweet girls' precious laughs, delicious thanksgiving food, ;) and so much more! Hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving and counted your blessings!! :)
This year we spent Thanksgiving with my husband's family in Florida. It was a wonderful time filled with great fellowship and yummy food! The girls really enjoyed playing with their cousins, too! :)
Here are a few quick shots from our Thanksgiving day!

Always my Baby

2010-08-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

My charming, funny Kaelyn... as I update on all the little changes in Kalli, I reflect back to your baby days too, and how they have gone by so quickly. Look at you all cuddled up with Mommy, not even 1 day old.

You've got SOME personality, kiddo! You keep us smiling and laughing, and you are a persistent little thing. You definitely know what you want and once you've set your mind to it, whew.. watch out! You remember EVERYTHING! If Nana says she's bringing you sixlets and we don't see her for 2 months, as soon as we do you ask about those sixlets. LoL You're like that with everything. You are definitely a leader (nice way of saying you are BOSSY! haha) But you are a wonderful big sister...most of the time. ;) You are always my big helper and love to help with Kalli. You bring me whatever I need for her, run diapers to the trash, and you've gotten pretty good at feeding her solids. This turns out to be a mess for me, but you two like it. :) You love to get in the crib with her when she wakes up from her naps so you can read her books and play together. You also love to sing to her...she loves it when you do "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for her. She admires you already and gets the sweetest little sparkle in her eye when you entertain her. You are a special girl and we love you so much! Every now and again you still let me baby you. Occasionally at night you will ask me to hold you and rock...I love these moments. And you always like for me to "tickle" you at bedtime. You will say "Tickle my back, Mommy" or sometimes "Tickle my tummy". This simply means to scratch...if I just rub you will say "Noooo, tickle" hehe It's the cutest! You will always be my baby!

How you've grown! :)

7 Months

2010-08-03T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kalli turned 7 months on July 18th and I have been meaning to blog with an update! :)
Right when you turned 6 months you started to become mobile by a lot of scooting, and then you mixed in a little crawling, and now scooting is a thing of the past. You are quite the crawler these days! I have some videos I need to post SOON to show everyone just how good you are. ;) You also pull up on everything and have started walking along the couch a little. You just can't wait to get going. You have started waving when we say hi and wave to you. You also give us fives (hehe) your big sister Kaelyn loves this, and loves to say "too slow Joe!" to you!
You say Mama, Dada, NyNy (Night Night)
You have your 3rd tooth coming in (top right) and you are full of the cutest little wrinkled nose smiles!
Here are a few pics below from a shoot we did today to remember your 1st pedicure ;)
Kae and I painted your toes while you were napping. We love you sweet angel!

Our Tiny Dancer :)

2010-07-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn went to a little summer dance camp and at their last class they showed us what they have learned so far (in just 3 classes) and a preview of what they will learn this fall. :) Nonny and Papa happened to be in town from FL so they got to come see our sweet ballerina too! She did great. I can't believe how much she has grown! Wow, my baby is a beautiful little girl now. Kaelyn, you make us so proud. You keep love, laughter, and craziness alive at all times! :) We love you!

How cute are all these little girls?!

And here's our sweet Kalli at 7 months :)

New Dance bag from Nan & Pop

Kalli Gets Earrings!

2010-07-07T23:07:00.000-07:00

We were in Greenville exchanging a few things at the mall and we walked out right at the place we got Kaelyn's ears pierced a few years ago... Piercing Pagoda. Kae was around 7 months when we got hers done and Kalli is about 6 and 1/2 and we figured since we were there we would go ahead and do it. Luckily I had our point and shoot in the diaper bag so we could snap a few pics. :) Kalli has soooo much hair that I had a hard time keeping it tucked behind her ears so the lady could see where to pierce! LoL Our baby girl did great though... Cried as you can see, but just for a few seconds and she was back to our happy girl!

6 Month Update

2010-06-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Kalli, on your 6 month birthday you were sick with tummy troubles. This is the first time you cried on the scale at your checkup... you just didn't want Mommy to put you down. I still snapped a quick pic to record your weight... 12lbs. 9oz. You are a petite little thing! :) Since you were sick you didn't get your shots on this day. On this day, you had diarrhea and a fever of 102. Since you are on the small side they were worried about you and did a cath to take urine for testing to make sure you didn't have a UTI, or something wrong with your kidneys. This was scary for me considering I thought it was going to be a routine checkup! But Praise God, the cultures came back negative and you are just fine! You had some sort of virus and we went back on the 25th for your 6 month shots.

Now for the fun stuff... You have been making your mmm sounds for a while and people even swore you were saying Mama at 3 months old when you cried. You are a Mama's girl and you were definitely crying for me. haha ;) Your first word was "Mama" and you said it super clear on June 17th!

Here are a couple pictures of you on June 16th sitting up so proudly and starting to scoot and crawl. You are a super little mover!

We spotted your first tooth on May 31st and another one came soon after. Here are your sweet little teeth. :)

Baby Be Blessed!

2010-06-14T12:06:00.001-07:00

I am sooo behind on blogging and need to catch up, but just wanted to share...
Baby Be Blessed is giving away a $56 gift certificate! Click HERE to stop by their blog and leave a comment on the giveaway post! While you're there, check out their awesome ministry and precious dolls and animals!

As you can see below, We LOOOVE Baby Be Blessed!

4 months old!

2010-04-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

Our tiny baby girl is 4 months old today! Can't believe it! Here she is swinging for the first time at the neighborhood playground... what a big girl. Even helping Mommy with laundry already. hehe

Kalli, at 4 months you are rolling over both ways, cooing, smiling, and "talking" a lot, such a sweet girl, sleeping great on most nights...although you are starting to teethe, and it's interrupting a lot lately. :-s You reach out to grab everything and are using your hands so much. You have been scooting on your back since before 2 months...you would scoot right off your changing pad! Now you are scooting a little on your tummy when you see something you want to get. I am excited about watching you grow and introducing you to 1st solid foods soon! :)

Happy 4 months, Kalli Dawn! We love you so!

Just Because HK Party

2010-04-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn's friend Elise hosted a Just Because Hello Kitty party today! Kaelyn and I had some much needed Mommy Daughter alone time. We left Kalli home with Daddy & Skyler and ran some errands before heading to the party. It was so much fun! They played games, decorated cupcakes, played on the swingset, had yummy food, and a pinata. The cake was sooo cute and made by the other little hostess' Mommy. Thanks Patty for opening your home for all of us to have a great time! Tonight when I was putting Kae to bed she said, "Thank you for taking me to the party Mommy. I had fun with you...I love you so much!" What a perfect ending to a great day! That alone time meant as much to her as it did to me. :)

4 Month Checkup

2010-04-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

We had Kalli's 4 month checkup on the 12th, and you know what that means...
those dreaded shots! Everything looks good and she is a growing girl at 11lbs. 5oz.
They said she is a petite little thing and she looks like a babydoll. :) So thankful for our healthy baby girl, and let's not forget Big Sis! She was so sweet and concerned when they "poked" her Kalli.
Check out those metallic bandaids...Recovering in style. ;)

BFF Visit :)

2010-04-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Jonathan got here Thursday night! We had a great visit with them and it was their first time meeting Kalli. Of course they think she's as sweet as we do. ;) Friday the boys went fishing and us girls went to Target. Then we all met back at the house to get ready for P.F. Chang's and the Greenville Drive season opener! (Kalli's 1st baseball game) We all had a great time, especially Kae who was lucky enough to go home with a game ball! Long story, but she and the girls in front of us were yelling at the outfielder that warmed up right in front of us every time... "Number 5, gimme that ball.... Numero Cinco, gimme that ball!" I think Aunt Chels had something to do with this. We left to get a snack and I came back to Kaelyn yelling at baseball boys. LOL ;) Well, a guy right in front of us caught a ball (Numero Cinco never came through for us) and all of the girls was sitting with told him he better give it to that sweet little girl (My Kae! haha) I must admit Daddy had a mean jump for it. We were coming back from getting ice cream and his hands were full of that and he had the diaper bag and he still leaped for that ball...it was close! :) Needless to say... the guy in the purple shirt who gave the ball to Kae was her hero for the night. She tapped him on the shoulder and thanked him a second time and when he was getting up to leave she yelled, unprompted by us, bye guys, thank you thank you. LOL He made her night! Then we had to go get a pink bat for Kalli's room to remember her first Drive baseball game, just as we did for Kaelyn 2 and 1/2 years ago *tear* ;) It was a fun night... always adventurous with the kiddos...I hope we didn't scare Chels & JG away from having kids. Haha

The next day Chelsea and I headed out for some girl time.... We were gone about 6.5 hours, the longest time I had been away from my sweet Kalli! And to make matters worse...I was clipping her nails before we left and clipped a little too close and made her bleed. =( Talk about feeling like a horrible mommy and then having to leave.. ugh, awful! Eventually I got over it so I could enjoy my bestest friend! We had a great time shopping, seeing The Last Song, and enjoying some yummy dessert!

Then it was over, just like that... flew by! Miss you guys and hope to come visit soon! :)

Rolling Along :)

2010-04-08T07:07:00.001-07:00

Kalli finally rolled over for me on video!! =)

Easter 2010

2010-04-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter, celebrating Jesus and His Resurrection Power! What an amazing price He paid for US! We celebrated in church and then with Aunt Jacque's family and had a great time!
Here are all of the Sneed Girls :)

Our family pic below is one I'll remember for a long time. My hero hubby set up the stroller and wrapped my camera strap around the handle so it wouldn't fall, stacked the camera on my Bible and the changing pad and set that self timer.... all so we could have an Easter family pic. I told him we didn't have to have one, but he knows me all too well... I'm the picture queen, deep down I couldn't believe we wouldn't have a family pic and so he made it happen for me. Thanks honey, I love you. :)

Here is my sweet Kae, well sweet sometimes hehe ;)

And here is Kalli on her 1st Easter. It was a rough day for Miss Kalli... Her tummy has been bothering her the past 2 days. I believe she had a little stomach bug, but never got any fever. Bless her heart she had almost triple the amount of diapers as usual and just cried out for comfort. Today she is finally feeling better and seems to be back to her happy little self... Praise God!

My Redeemer Lives!!

2010-04-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

Coloring Easter Eggs :)

2010-04-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn and I had a blast coloring and decorating eggs while Kalli napped today! =) We ended up taking turns hiding them for each other in the backyard. And then we ate 'em! Never knew she loved boiled eggs so much... not the yolk of course lol, I didn't like that as a kid either.

Egg Hunt!

2010-03-29T09:50:00.000-07:00

We went to Covenant (Kaelyn's former daycare church) for their annual egg hunt this past weekend. It had been raining a lot so they moved the hunt inside. They got to color eggs and find plastic ones with tons of candy in them... oh joy! LOL
We didn't see any of Kae's old friends from "school" but she still had a blast!

Happy St. Patty's!

2010-03-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's from all of us girls to you! We went to a fellowship dinner at church tonight and I had to take a pic of our Key Lime Pie with it's cute kiwi shamrock! LoL Hope you all had a great day!

Nana @ Monkey Joes!

2010-03-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

You read right... NANA is here all the way from MI! We picked her up from the airport on the 13th and she will be with us for a week while Daddy goes fishing with PaPa in Orlando. We started the week off right with a fun trip to Monkey Joe's on Monday! Kae had a blast once she started sliding. She's never really liked MJ's because of the actual purple monkey (Monkey Joe) that comes out to see the kids. The last time we were there and he came out she had a meltdown like fell in the floor crying. This time no meltdown, but she still wasn't super stoked when he came out. She clung to Mommy and wouldn't even consider getting close to him. It took her a few minutes to get over him coming out but she finally loosened up and went back to playing. :) She got in free today with the picture of MJ she colored from the Upstate Parent's Magazine, so that was a perk! She said she was going to give the picture to MJ himself.... BIG Talker! LoL We had a blast with Nana and I think we were all tired when we left!

Spring is Coming! =)

2010-03-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today was a gorgeous day! We decided to meet Daddy at the park on his lunch break for a family picnic, and it was the perfect day for one! Kaelyn had a blast and Kalli slept the whole time. :)

The girls and I had a few setbacks getting out the door this morning... I would get one cooperating and then it would be the other one having trouble. lol I got all the food packed and was about to head out the door when Kalli started crying in her seat... it was an "I'm hurting" cry for sure so I put everything down and got her out. After a gas drop and me rocking her for about 30 seconds, she was asleep. So, we finally made it and I'm so glad we did because it was just beautiful outside. I'm ready for SPRING!

March Snow!

2010-03-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

We had another snow day! Here are a couple pics of my sweet Kae playing outside and my sweet Kalli inside. :)

Sister Bath Time!

2010-03-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

Up until now Kalli has been getting her baths in the sink, but tonight we decided she could get in the big girl bath with Big Sis. Kaelyn aka Big Sis was super excited about this! However, once we put Kalli in and Kae realized she couldn't really play yet, I think she was slightly disappointed. She didn't let it show much but she was definitely ready for Kalli to get out so she could splish splash a little more! I know Kaelyn can't wait until Little Sis can sit up and play a little more, and I can't either! =) They are going to have so much fun together!

Surprise Visit

2010-02-28T19:58:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad had to come down to Columbia, SC for a funeral so they came to see us for a couple days! Not so good circumstances, but YAY for getting to see them. Mom is already supposed to come around March 13th to stay with me and the girls while Brian is fishing with his Dad in FL, but Dad didn't know when he would be able to come see the girls so we were all excited! :) Kaelyn provided plenty of entertainment with her wild ballerina moves...see her lovely outfit below. hehe

Kalli was excited to see her Poppy and gave him lots of smiles. =) She is growing so fast! Can't wait to spend the week with Mom when she comes down.

A shaker and a MOVER ??

2010-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

YES, our little Kalli is a mover! She has been scooting on her back for a couple weeks now...she will scoot right off her changing pad when we are changing her on the floor or bed downstairs. And today to my surprise...she ROLLED OVER from tummy to back! I think she surprised herself, too! :) Our pediatrician warned us about this at her checkup for 2 month shots. She put Kalli on her tummy and she pushed up with all her might and our Dr. was amazed and said she was a big girl. She also told us that since she could push up so strong she could accidentally roll on over so we shouldn't leave her places thinking she couldn't move. And sure enough... that's exactly what she did! I am still trying to get it on video! When I catch her, I will post for you all to see! :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Family Pic Time

2010-02-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

It was a gorgeous day so I wanted to get a couple pics of the girls in their matching outfits after church. Thanks to Aunt Jacque and Uncle David for the cutie pie outfits for Christmas! :) My mother-in-law was visiting and snapped one of our whole family for us. Below are just a few of my faves!

The Circus!

2010-02-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to see "The Greatest Show on Earth"! It was of course Kalli's 1st trip to the circus and Kaelyn's 2nd. Nonny came too as she is here visiting with us this week! I decided to whip out the moby wrap for this trip because I knew we wouldn't have room for Kalli's carrier and it would be tough to hold her the whole time, especially with Kaelyn. And the wrap worked like a charm! I wrapped myself before we left the house and slipped Kalli in when we got there. She fell right asleep and slept almost the whole show, which was amazing because it was SO loud! We ended up with some great seats for the discounted opening night price we paid. We were super close! Kaelyn said her favorite parts were the elephants and the tigers, but I think it was that spinning tiger toy Daddy got her. ;) We had a blast!

Sweethearts

2010-02-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from our sweet girls! I cannot wait to watch our girls grow together... they have had so many precious moments already! :)
And to my hubby.... I love you more than words. Thank you for providing for our family and allowing me this wonderful opporunity to stay at home with our babies. Happy Valentine's Babe ;)

Awful Shots! =(

2010-02-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well today was Kalli's 2 month checkup...she's about a week shy of being 2 months old..Crazy how the time just flies! She is doing great and weighs 9lbs. 13oz. It was awful to see her get those shots and Big Sister Kaelyn was concerned about her too. She had lots of lovin' after though and is doing great. :)

Kalli Dawn Sneed

2010-01-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I do apologize for letting this blog go, but I am now attempting to get back at it! :) From where I left off with an ultrasound photo, I figured I would start back up with Miss Kalli's birth announcement. December 18th was a very looong day for us! We got to the hospital at 6am to be induced and Kalli decided to make us wait until 6:48pm to make her debut! She weighed the same as Kaelyn at 7lbs. 5oz. and she was quite short (like Mama) at 18 inches! She was definitely worth the wait. ;) We are partial of course, but we think she is beautiful and can't believe how much hair she has!! We are so thankful for our special girls and feel SO SO SO blessed!

Below is her birth announcement. In the next couple of weeks I will be trying to play a little catch up on the blog as well as updating in the present! :) Hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Year!

December 18, 2009

2009-12-22T20:49:00.000-08:00

Here we are bright and early at Mary Black, 6am, ready to be induced and have this baby!!! We were blessed with the same nurse we had with Kaelyn 3 years ago! She is awesome! (This time we had the baby before her shift ended! YAAAY! Bless her heart...last time she stayed until 8pm - her shift ended at 7, and Kae didn't come until 8:51pm! She did come by the next day to see us though :)

Finally she arrives at 6:48pm and that was a miracle! They were predicting around 10pm but I jumped from 4cm to 10cm just like that and Kalli pretty much just came right on into this world without much pushing at all. In fact they had to delay a c-section down the hall because Kalli decided "ready or not here I come!" I was actually told not to push or even laugh for a few minutes because she was coming on out and our doctor needed time to grab her gloves real quick! It was an amazing experience. Crazy how each birth is so different.
Thanks to Nan and Pop for keeping Big Sis, Kaelyn, and bringing her up to meet her new baby sister! She was soooo excited, and poor thing waited for her AAAAALL day! LoL
Here is our sweet little Kalli Dawn. God is SO good and SO amazing!

In Loving Memory...

2009-09-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, if you had told me the photos below were the last we would ever take with my Papa I would call you crazy! I didn't see his death coming. My mom, Kae, and I went to Charleston to visit with him when he was in the hospital and things were quite confusing. They spoke of kidney problems, infection, etc.. but they also spoke things about rehabilitation centers for him to gain strength back when he was released from the hospital so I didn't think much of it. My bosses were gracious enough to let me work from Charleston and I was so glad Kae and I went for that week because she brought him so much joy! The date is on the tape on his hand in the picture of him and Kae... 8/10/09, the last pictures we would take with him. This particular time I'm so glad I'm that annoying person bugging people for pictures when they don't feel like taking them.

After that week Kae and I returned home. I needed to get back to work and there wasn't much I could do being pregnant, tired, and entertaining an almost 3 year old in a tiny hospital room. And he had my mom, uncle, his sisters, his parents, etc.. And besides I figured I would get a call letting me know he had been released and we could go visit him at the rehab center. I did get a call, but not one I was expecting. It was around 8:30pm on August 26th... Brian was upstairs putting Kaelyn to bed and my dad called. I answered and he immediately asked for Brian and I asked what was wrong. He said he needed to talk to Brian and I knew it must be something bad. I told him Brian was upstairs and he finally told me that the Dr.'s said Papa most likely wouldn't make it through the night. I started crying and running up the stairs. Brian took the phone and Dad told him we needed to come now. I've never packed up our family so fast. On the ride there I was thinking of how we would walk in, hug him, and tell him how much we love him. But then I found out he had not been conscious. :( My heart sank as it became so real and I balled just thinking of him not getting to meet our precious Kalli, due in December. And this is how she got her middle name, Dawn. My Papa's name was Donald Graham and everyone called him Don. It was Brian's suggestion as I was crying on the ride to the hospital that night, just trying to comfort me, but who knew, we both loved the Southern little ring to Kalli Dawn and the whole meaning...Kalli - most beautiful Dawn - sunrise, so she would be "most beautiful sunrise" It brought a glorious image to my mind.

We got there around 11:30 I think. He could only have a few visitors at a time and my parents just weren't sure if I could handle seeing him the way he was. He's my Papa, the one who spoiled me rotten as a little girl..threw birthday parties for me and invited kids I didn't even know, always had the grill fired up cooking the best dinners when we came up to visit, sent me the coolest dolls from the Disney store for Christmas, took me to Lord of the Dance, came down to FL to celebrate my high school graduation, paid for the harpist I HAD to have on my wedding day, and was there for the birth of my first child, his first great grandchild. And he would look nothing like that man, not even like the man I had seen just a couple of weeks or so earlier in the hospital. Not to mention I was 5 months pregnant and on an emotional roller coaster! But they knew I wanted to see him, so they took me back. It was awful, sooo awful. And nurses hurried around pumping more blood in him as we stood there and cried. I was in such shock. Everything just went bad so fast. They thought they had found the source of some of the infection in his stomach and decided to take him into surgery at the last minute. It wasn't planned where we could all be there in case something were to go wrong. His organs just could not handle it... It was a mess inside and when they touched anything, it bled. My parents had just seen him before this surgery and he was FINE, talking to them and in a good mood. And this is what came just a couple hours later. I kept telling myself God could still perform a miracle... they happen everyday. I stood there and talked to him and he did squeeze my hand... I needed that. I just hated not being able to see him before this surgery and wanted him to know I was there. The nurses said he could still hear us and that proved he could.
The next day, August 27th, Papa passed. And even sometimes now, I can't believe it. And by the way, I still believe God performs miracles, and could He have saved him if that was the plan? Yes He could. Even though my human mind doesn't understand why, it was his time to go home. I pray he knew how much we all loved him. "Press On" as he used to say.

Baby Girl

2009-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Thinking about our precious baby girl inside of me brings me back to my first baby girl, Kaelyn Annalise. Wow, not such a baby anymore. She is growing up so fast! She keeps us smiling & laughing, and brings so much joy to us and everyone around her. While we were in Charleston visiting Papa in the hospital, she said the funniest thing. She looked at his mom, my Great Grandmom, and asked, "What's on your forehead?" We knew what she was talking about but poor Grandmom had no idea and started rubbing her forehead and said, "Oh I don't know...Nothing I don't think... Gene (Great Granddad), what's on my forehead?" Kaelyn keeps asking and at this point we are kind of ignoring her hoping she will give up because I don't want her to embarrass Grandmom. But she just can't help it... and she looked up at Grandmom and excitedly asked, "Is it stripes or somethin'?" And made one of her funny little Kaelyn faces. hehe We died laughing!! I still don't think Grandmom ever got it, so thanks Kae for one of the funniest moments ever! I need a video camera rolling on you at all times girl! ;) Love you!
Here she is below looking all grown up on the way to pick up Nana from the airport on 8/10/09.

It's a GIRL

2009-07-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well we didn't even make it until the 29th! We went and did something special at a 4d Ultrasound Office b/c if we plan to do a 4d late in the pregnancy, it was no extra cost to go ahead and find out the sex. :) So here she is in all her glory (pics below)... Miss Kalli Grace. She was so sweet, waving at us and rubbing her little eye.
I must admit, I thought this was a boy. Things were so different and lots of people thought the same way I did so I had pretty much convinced myself and given my poor husband false hope. lol I was completely shocked when they said girl! Especially since when the first shot of her came up I thought I saw a male part, but it ended up just being the cord. hehe I will admit to you all that it took me a few hours to get over the initial shock ... all I had been thinking about were boy things. But I soon got in girl mode and got excited about sweet sisters. I've never had that and I'm excited for my girls to have best friends for life. :) It took Kaelyn a little while to accept it as well. Nobody told her we thought it was a boy, but she insisted she was having a baby brother. She came to the ultrasound with us and after leaving we asked what she thought about having a baby sister and she still said she was having a baby brother. I tried to tell her Kalli would be pretty and sweet just like her, but she said she wanted a boy just like Daddy. ;) Finally a couple days later she got excited about her baby sister and talking about all the clothes, shoes, and toys she will give her. I can't wait to see them together. Poor Daddy...our house will soon be even more dramatic, but I know he loves his sweet little girls. Thank goodness our dog is a boy! ha!
But on a more serious note... We are so thankful and blessed with this tiny miracle and so excited God decided to give us this precious gift!

We are Still Alive...

2009-07-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

...I promise! Okay, so I have been MIA lately. As most of you have probably gathered I wasn't feeling too hot for a few weeks early in the pregnancy and just could not do anything but make it to daycare, work, daycare, home, snack, bath, sleep. That's right.. that didn't include making dinner. My poor hubby for all those weeks! LOL He was good to me though and made me bowls of cereal and pb&j's...the only thing I really wanted. Finally at the end of May I started feeling better and cooking again. :) And then life has just been a whirlwind! Kaelyn went to Michigan with Nan and Pop for 2 whole weeks, we went up for a visit and to bring her back, then we went to FL to visit Brian's family for the 4th, and we have just been so busy and exhausted! I do plan on back-blogging about all of this... and I will date them when they happened b/c I like to document it that way for memories. ;)

As for the pregnancy... all is well. We are 16 weeks right now and will be finding out boy or girl on July 29th! In the past week I have started feeling the little flutters and very small kicks...definitely not strong enough for anyone else to feel right now, but such special moments. We are very excited! :)

Bring back my Kaelyn to me...

2009-06-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn often sings this song, "Bring back by Mommy to me..." and puts Daddy, Brewer, etc.. in there. Well after 2 long weeks we finally got our precious Kae back! We got to Michigan on Friday the 12th to spend the weekend with my family and take our baby girl home. We were so excited to see her and she was excited to see us too! We had a great time and celebrated Father's Day a little early with my Dad, and also had a late birthday celebration for me! Woohoo! =) The weekend definitely went by too fast! :)

On the way home we spent the night in Gatlinburg to get up early and take Kaelyn to Ripley's Aquarium the next morning... June 16th. It was our 4 year wedding anniversary! I am a little embarrassed about this, but we both were trying to get everything out of the hotel and get to the aquarium and didn't even remember the special day until we got a text from my mom. hehe Funny how life changes after kiddos. :) We had a great day together though and time is just flying. I love you babe. Here's to many more! <3 Here are a few pics from the trip!

My Birthday!

2009-06-04T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday and my honey surprised me with some beautiful flowers at work! These were my favorite flowers so far. I still don't really know what they are but they created such a nice fragrance for our whole office area. :) I worked today and then met Brian for a Dr. appt where we got to hear Baby Sneed's heartbeat. It was in the 160's... strong and fast. And then we headed to Charlotte for Cheesecake Factory... my very favorite!
I got a few cards/gifts in the mail, but the most special was one my mom sent from Kaelyn. I am missing my baby girl, but she is having a blast!

Kaelyn's 1st Big Trip...

2009-05-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

....without Mommy and Daddy! Early this morning Kae headed off to Michigan to stay with Nana and Pop for 2 whole weeks! She was so excited about her new Princess suitcase Nana got her and we got it packed and she pulled it around everywhere. She had no hesitations, she said "Bye Momma, Bye Dad" Dad, she said Dad, not Daddy, wow... she is growing up. I know we will enjoy our alone time, but we are already missing her. I know my mom and dad are thrilled and they will have a blast though! Here is my baby when she left this morning and when she arrived with her suitcase at Nan and Pop's. Pray I can make it these 2 weeks!

Women of Joy '09

2009-05-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my friend, Lindsey, and I headed to Charleston for Women of Joy. We had such an amazing time! Charles Billingsley led praise and worship and it was so anointed every time... so very powerful to hear around 6,000 women singing praises to God! We were also blessed with anointed speakers... Kirk Cameron, Nancy DeMoss, Angela Thomas, and the hysterically funny Chonda Pierce. They all had touching words from the Lord to share with us. I loved that they were all so real and transparent. Each one was so different, yet all were sharing such relevant truths. Then that wasn't all...we had a concert by Casting Crowns. WOW. They were amazing. Back to real and transparent...that was them to a T. I love listening to their music, but getting to see them and hear them speak was awesome. This was one of the best conferences I have been too. It was so nice to get away for a weekend and be refreshed with the Word of God and such wonderful times of praise and worship. To see more pics from our weekend (I know you ladies want to see Kirk haha) click HERE!

Mother's Day <3

2009-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

First of all Happy Mother's Day to both of our Mothers! You are so very special to us and we love and miss you very much! and Happy Birthday to my Mom who celebrated one yesterday...Wish we could've been there. Love you!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day! Brian and Kae took me to Olive Garden on Saturday night and when we got home Kaelyn couldn't wait to give me my gift so Brian said she could give it to me early. She brought me a huge bottle of Dream Angels Heavenly perfume (fave!) and box of Godiva chocolates that she of course wanted to share. hehe She came in and said Happy Mother's Day and brought me a sweet card that she drew in for me. :)
The next morning Brian spoiled me with a few more gifts... he's such a sweetie! And then we all headed to church.
We came home for lunch and I got to relax all day while Brian did some cleaning and laundry for me. It was definitely a perfect day!
Below are a few pictures of the things Kaelyn made for me at school. :)

Hope all you Moms had a great day!

Happy Birthday to My Baby!

2009-04-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

My biggest baby, that is! Today is Brian's 32nd birthday! Kaelyn and I surprised him with a red velvet cake because that's one of his favorites! We gave him a few gifts and are taking him fishing this weekend in his biggest early gift... his boat that he is loving!
Happy Birthday Honey! We love you so much! :)

Princesses!

2009-04-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, trying to pick back up where I left off...

Princess Belle and Cinderella were up at Chick-fil-a last night and I had been planning on taking Kaelyn after work. She was sooo excited about it. We got there about 5-10 minutes before they arrived and wow, the restaurant was already packed and there was no place to sit. I decided to go ahead and get Kae her kids meal as I knew it was going to get more crowded and just told her we would eat it at home. The whole thing was chaotic and we seemed to wait in line forever, but it was worth it. Cinderella wasn't that great to me so I tried to get Kaelyn to come on home after Belle, but she was set on Cinderella too, so we waited in yet another line. lol It really made her day though... she was so excited and will be talking about this for a few days to come. She loves looking at the pictures of her and the princesses! :)
The last picture is of my little princess experimenting with eyeshadow. :)

Kaelyn's Has Big News!

2009-04-23T17:42:00.000-07:00

Watch the video below to hear Kae's news!

We are just 6 weeks right now so keep us in your prayers for a healthy, growing baby! We are all very excited. Little Baby Sneed is due December 19th. :)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to this post. Seems like we had such a BUSY weekend! We started the weekend off right with a boat ride out on Lake Bowen. :) It was Skyler's first time on the boat and she wasn't ready to go home. She loved it!Then we ran home to change for an Easter EGGstravaganza at Legacy Outreach (My Aunt and Uncle's church) Kaelyn had a blast. They had a really neat setup with 6 different stations and as you went to each one they were telling the story of Easter. Some of the stuff may have been a little over her head, but she was enjoying herself. Afterwards they had a huge egg hunt, snow cones, and bounce houses everywhere so there was lots of fun to be had! Skyler racked up on the eggs and even shared some with her little sis. ;) We came home and Kae and I crashed...she had missed her nap with all the craziness! Sunday we went to church with my aunt and uncle and had Easter lunch with them afterwards. The girls looked so cute in their dresses. The lunch was delicious and Kae & Brian helped me make Easter basket cupcakes! We had a wonderful weekend and are so grateful for our RISEN Savior! Kaelyn reminded us all of the true meaning of Easter as she sang...Mighty to Save all weekend! It's one of her favorites so I am including a video of her singing it. :) Just in case you don't know the words, here is what she is saying...
Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save
Forever, Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.

More Easter Fun

2009-04-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

Kaelyn had an Easter party and egg hunt at school today. I decided to sit this one out since they did it around lunch and I wouldn't be able to get off work early to take her home afterwards. She isn't too happy when I come and have to leave. Below are a few pics of the gift she gave her friends for Easter. She was soooo excited to give them out! :-) She had fun with hers too as you can see! :)

1st Egg Hunt ~2009

2009-04-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Kae's 1st egg hunt of the season. It was at the church that provides her daycare/school. They are all so wonderful! We had a great time and several of our friends were there! They split them in different age groups and off we went. At first Kaelyn really didn't get it. lol She would point and say, "There's a pink one!" but didn't know she should pick it up. So we prompted her and told her there was candy in them so that was a huge motivation. haha
Before we knew it she was racking up! After the hunt, they provided the kids with a snack and a juice box. They did a great job and everyone had a good time. :) I took lots of pics, but here are a few of my favorites...

First Boat Ride...

2009-04-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

...on the new boat! We went out to Lake Bowen yesterday to take the boat out for it's first ride. Brian had to work until noon and we had 2 birthday parties last night so we only had a small window of opportunity. We decided not to fish, but just to ride. It took longer than I was thinking to get everything set and going, but hey, it was our first time so I guess it was to be expected. There is a lot to this boating thing. haha Kaelyn wasn't too sure about going fast and would bury her face into me. Once we slowed it down she got comfy and had a few snacks with Daddy. :)
Here are a couple shots from our adventure!

Brian's New Boat

2009-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Brian has waited a loooong time to get a bass boat, and it's finally here! I am so excited for him! The boat is not brand new, but new to us and we love it! He had been looking at this one for a few weeks and while Kae and I were in MI he got the ball rolling with it. On April 1st he went to pick it up, no joke. ;) He got an awesome deal. We are so excited to take it out on the water. Kaelyn just thinks it's the greatest thing ever and her new play toy. hehe Below are a couple pics...one of my proud hubby! You deserve it! ~Love you!

Michigan Trip

2009-04-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Kae and I just got back from a last minute trip to Michigan. There were some family things going on that I needed to be there for so Thursday we finalized plans to fly out Friday morning. My Grandma (Dad's Mom) was flying up with us. She was actually supposed to fly up earlier in the week, but had missed her flight. She was glad to have help, as she has a few physical limitations and has not flown since the 70's! Man, how things in the airports have changed since then. ;)
We left our house at 3:15 am Friday morning to head to Charlotte for our 6am flight. Everything went well and there were lots of extra seats on our flights so that was nice. :-) I was hoping little Kae would take a little snoozer at some point between 3am and when we arrived to my parents around 10am, but Noooope! Too Excited, she couldn't do it. haha My parents picked us up and we met my brother for lunch. Kaelyn was excited to see her Uncle T.C. He had to head back to work and we headed to Mom and Dad's. When we got there I was exhausted! I dozed off in the chair and finally decided I'd go lie down for a few. I was going to take Kae with me but of course Pop said she could stay and play with him. haha I knew, but he did not know, that later she would have horns coming from her head. haha She got a tad bit cranky. She was up from 3am until 7pm that night. Craziness! It actually took her pretty much the whole trip to catch up on her sleep.
Some great things came out of this trip and I felt fortunate to be there for them. Brian had to stay behind to run his branch, but I filled him in on everything. ;) Dad got to baptize his own mother, who just recently gave her life to the Lord! We got to celebrate Dad's birthday, on the 28th! Happy Birthday Dad! And we just got to enjoy time with family. It was great! Dad made Kaelyn a fan of his leaf blower. lol She looooved that thing! She would carry it around and "blow" you and then blow herself. Haha It was too funny. Dad also kept Kae all by himself while Mom and I went to a women's meeting. He even gave her a bath! We were proud. :)
Tuesday we traveled to Indiana to be in the area for our flight out of South Bend. There is a little family entertainment center we stopped at to bowl and play games. The funniest thing happened here... So Kaelyn wanted to push the bowling ball down the lane so I decide to sacrifice one of my turns so she can do this. I go up with her and give the ball a little extra push since I know it will take forever to get down there if she does it on her own. Kae was wearing her rain boots so she had pretty good traction... you guessed it... She takes off down the lane after the ball! I, of course, go after her with my slick ol' bowling shoes and as soon as I cross the line, BUST MY BUTT! lol But I did catch her. hehe I am so thankful it was a Tuesday afternoon and not many people were in there to see and my mom didn't think to whip out her camera, whew! It was pretty funny. Afterwards we had an early dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ. It was yummy! Then off to the airport and we didn't get back to our house until around 1am. Oh how I dreaded getting up for work the next day. I managed, and it was all worth it. :) Click HERE to see more pictures from our trip.

Powder Fresh!

2009-03-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Sooo....this is how we found Kaelyn after she was supposed to be napping in her room! Funny thing was that I heard her tinkering and told Brian it sounded like she was on her changing table. I posed a hypothetical..."What if she's mad about having to take a nap and up there pouring powder everywhere?!" HAHA ... What made me say this, i dunno. Brian likes to call it the "very scary mommy's intuition". She just smiled when we got up there and said, "Momma, I put powder on my babies!" lol We had to hide our laughter as we told her not to do this again. :) Too cute! At least everything smells... powder fresh!

Nonnie & PaPa Visit!

2009-03-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Nonnie & PaPa (Brian's parents) got in on the 12th to spend a week with us. Kaelyn was super excited and didn't act shy one bit when they got here! We had a great visit with them. Below are a few pics....one from McDonald's eating ice cream because my father-in-law, Bill, ALWAYS takes the kids for ice cream lol. Now that I think of it, even if there aren't kids around he will still take us for ice cream. ;) They gave Skyler her birthday presents early since they won't be here on her birthday next month. She was excited about her new Camp Rock gear! :) Kae lucked up too and got the cutest little holiday dress for Easter. She loves the bunnies on it. Thanks Nonnie & PaPa! We love and miss you guys! See you in a couple of months!

Across the Miles

2009-03-12T07:54:00.001-07:00

SNOW Day!

2009-03-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

The schools were closed today and I was able to work from home with Kaelyn. I thought I might get away with staying in today since we took Kae out in the snow last night.... WRONG! haha She looked out the minute she woke up and said "SNOOOOW! can i go out Momma?" This is her new thing..."Can I eat it? Can I touch this? Can I play with it?" She asks in the cutest way. And how could I say no to that cute little face?! So we bundled up and off we went again! We had lots of fun and even made a mini snowman, Tootsie. :) Kae thought he was so cute and even gave him a little kiss. Then it was back inside so I could get a little work done. We had a wonderful day together. :) Click HERE to see more snow day pics!

Snow in March!

2009-03-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

It has been raining all weekend pretty much nonstop and tonight around 6 it started snowing! Kaelyn was SOOOO excited watching it come down through the window. She begged to go out and play in it. At first I was very hesitant. I wasn't feeling well and Kae did have a slight cough so I really didn't want to take her out in it... But I finally gave in to those big puppy dog eyes since we only get this weather once or twice a year. So we all suited up and went out... Kae had sooo much fun. She even stuck her tongue out to catch snowflakes! She did NOT want to come in but I finally got her in when I told her we would make snow cream. :) We left our bowl out and she watched it from the window. It filled up really fast! She and I had lots of fun making and eating our snow cream. Although it was a late night for little Miss Kaelyn, we had a blast and I was glad we took her out. :) And besides it was just confirmed that schools are closed tomorrow so Kaelyn will get to sleep in.

Fun in the Fence :)

2009-02-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of my pumpkin playing out in the new fence! She also got new rain boots...she is loving the fence AND the boots! :) She and Daddy are having a blast in our new backyard!

Our New Fence!

2009-02-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

It has been an exciting week for us! We are finally getting our fence! This will be great for Kaelyn, and our dog, Brewer. It's not even completed and Kaelyn is already enjoying it. :) They set the posts on Thursday, the 19th, and will be back this week to finish! Here are a few pics of the progress!

New Room....

2009-02-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

....FINALLY! Since finding my favorite bedding set of all time last year I have been wanting to paint our master bedroom. We just put it off because we are always working, tired, hanging out with Kaelyn, etc.. but we finally got around to it this past weekend and I am sooo glad we did! It is what I have been waiting for. I must admit, I didn't do much painting. I just picked the color, "Storm Clouds" and Brian did the whole room by himself while I kept Kaelyn entertained and out of the way. He did an amazing job! We also added a little romanticism above our bed. haha I absolutely love it all and can't wait to move on to the master bath! I'm sure Brian is just as thrilled. ;)
BEFORE

AFTER

Happy Love Day!

2009-02-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Brian and I got out for a nice, romantic dinner at the Melting Pot last night. It was sooo wonderful and the food was delicious! My honey really surprised me this year. I am kind of hard to surprise lol... He took my wedding ring a few days ago and said he was getting it cleaned and he would return it in a couple days. I knew he was up to something. We had looked at wraps for my ring a little before this so I wondered if that could be it. I had told him it was fine to take my ring as long as he assured me I would get MY ring back and it would be back before our dinner because I feel so naked without my ring. So last night rolls around and we're getting ready and I'm asking if he has my ring and he says NO! I'm like WHAT? haha I'm like yeah right, quit playing...i know you have it. He says babe I did all I could to get it back and I don't want you to be disappointed, I will have it tomorrow and that's technically Valentine's day, so... :) So I accept it. When we get in the car to go to dinner there is a box of Godiva chocolates and a card, perfect card might I add. He has gotten quite good at picking out the perfect card. ;) I had given him some chocolates and a card as well and on the drive to Greenville he asked for one of mine, which I had not opened yet. I was like okay, but is the Russell Stover I gave you not good enough?! lol He was like I just want to try one of yours. I open it up and voila! there is my ring with a beautiful wrap!! He truly got me! I absolutely love it. We had a wonderful night. :)When I got home I photographed it on the flowers he had sent to work for me on Friday. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband! Love you honey!

Valentine's Party!

2009-02-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn and her friends had a wonderful Valentine's party at school! They had lots of wonderful goodies including sugar cookies they got to decorate this morning and the valentine's jello cool whip cups that Miss Kae helped me make...pictured in the blog below. :) And let's not forget the ton of candy they all got in their goody bags! Kaelyn gave photo Valentine's (pictured in blog below as well) to her teachers and family and princess Valentine's to her friends at school. She also gave them fun pencils, Valentine coloring books, and sweetheart candies. Kaelyn also received lots of goodies... candies, books, etc. She had a blast! Oh the joys of school parties...and we are just getting started. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Heart Day! I know it's actually tomorrow, but it feels like today since I had a million gazillion things to carry out the door for Miss Kaelyn's class party today! And Hubby and I are doing our dinner date tonight at the Melting Pot! Yummm... Can't wait! Hope everyone has a wonderful day! <3 <3 <3

M for Mommy!

2009-02-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

I am way late on posting this! Kaelyn did this a couple of days before we went on our cruise (Wrote it on 1/5) And she exclaimed, "M for Mommy!" My mom was here, and we were all so amazed! She had been drawing circular motions and saying circle, but we had no idea she was paying so much attention to the letters! She did this one all by herself! Since then she has been writing them all of the time. Some look better than others. Sometimes she'll ask for help, and she always asks for help on D for Daddy... still working on that one. :)

Superbowl '09

2009-02-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

This year we went out to Riverbend Sports Resort with our friends to watch the superbowl in the cabin/clubhouse. It was very nice and Kaelyn loved the huge stone fireplace! ... I did too! haha We had lots of yummy food and lots of entertainment provided by Kae! There were various "stuffed" animals mounted on the walls and I showed Kaelyn the big moose. She said, "Momma, that moose is wookin' at me!" LOL I can't believe how much she has grown. :)

My Little Chef!

2009-02-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I am so behind on blogging! I forgot to post a few pictures from Kaelyn baking cookies. (1/25) They were just the break and bakes but she had a blast!

Kaelyn & Baby David

2009-02-04T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Urbina's were sweet enough to invite us over to their home just a couple days after getting home from the hospital with Baby David Alejandro. (1/27) They wanted Kaelyn to come and see their tiny bundle of joy. All the way there she talked about holding him and being gentle, touching him soft, and being sooo sweet. Once we got there though she froze a little. She was acting very shy and a little scared. We asked her if she wanted to hold him but she said no, just look. hehe He started getting fussy and she got very concerned. She had just tried to put his paci in his mouth so she thought she had done something. She kept saying "i hurt him" and we all told her she didn't he just had a little gas. :) You can see in the 2nd picture the look of concern on her face. I guess it's a good thing though. I would much rather have her be this way than poking at him. hehe She kissed him and said ByeBye Baby Alejandro.

Baby Jesus!

2009-02-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

We went to see our friend's new baby, David Alejandro, on January 26th, the day after he was born. Brian and I went on our lunch break so Kaelyn didn't get to go. She has been talking about the baby coming out of Amy's tummy though so I wanted to show her the pictures and let her know he was finally here. I recorded so I could get her first reaction and wow what a reaction it was... I promise this was her real first response.. Watch Below...

25 Randoms...

2009-02-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by Babychick to share 25 random things about myself. I tried to throw in a few crazy things you might not know about me to keep it interesting. ;) I am like the last person to do this so I'm not sure who I should tag! Scrapper26... if you read this, tag...you're up!

1. I am so blessed to be married to a wonderful man, almost 4 years.

2. We have an amazing daughter together, Kaelyn, who just turned 2 in January...light of our lives, so much personality, keeps us smiling & laughing. =)

3. I enjoy playing the piano and rarely have time to just sit and play, even though I have a lovely piano in my home. (Christmas from hubby before we were married)

4. I love to sing in the car! Luckily Kaelyn is usually my only company and she isn't really old enough to judge me yet. haha

5. I am 4'11" and 3/4" tall.... or short! ;)

6. I am one of the most competitive people my husband has ever met, and he said when we got married he had no idea i was so extreme when it comes to winning.... board games, sports, video games, etc..

7. I do not like coffee, but love some of the iced, sweetened & jazzed up ones at starbucks!

8. I have worked for the same company for almost 5 years... pretty much since we moved from FL to SC. That's amazing to me... it's gone by so fast! Grateful to have such a good paying job in this day and for such a flexible boss who lets me go whenever I need to be there for my baby girl. Without his understanding I don't think I could've come back to work. hehe

9. I sometimes drive myself crazy not having family around to help out with Kaelyn. :-o

10. With #9 said, I wouldn't trade her for anything! Being a mother is the most wonderful, challenging experience in my life thus far. At this stage, it is very rewarding. ;)

11. I grew up wanting to be a Lawyer.... Got older and realized there was no way I could be dedicated to school for so long!

12. I have recently started lunch workout classes at work in our on-site gym... Mon- TurboKick, Wed. - Body Sculpting, Fri. - Yoga. 3 weeks so far... I am pretty proud of myself. lol

13. I nursed my baby girl until she was 11 months, pumped twice a day, every day at work. Blah!

14. My Dad is a pastor and he, my mom, and brother were called to Michigan about 6 years ago... They pastor a wonderful church up there, but I will admit I've questioned the Lord on why so far away...and why so stinkin' cold??!!

15. I love cookie dough! Yummy!

16. I miss my best friend Chelsea, who still lives in FL. Lylas!

17. I was thrown out of a club, Seville, in Pensacola... college days. :-o Thank God for my awesome roomie Kellie who took care of me that night. ;-)

18. I have some awesome girlfriends, even though some are so far away!

19. I am obsessed with taking pictures.... to the point where I annoy my family sometimes. They will thank me for the memories one day!

20. I am so NOT a morning person!

21. I am part of an awesome church, Evangel Cathedral

22. I am extremely proud of my hubby for planning and putting on our 1st benefit this past year to help a couple of families in desperate situations.... See this ARTICLE

23. I met my handsome husband at place called Big Daddy's in Pcola where I was out with my girls shaking my booty and he was the DJ. ;)

24. I loooove the exotic coconut scented lotion from Bath & Body Works! Of course they don't sell it in my store anymore (If i find something I LOVE it quickly becomes discontinued) but I can still order it online, so yay!

25. I play Bunco with an awesome group of ladies and we have a blast!...and NO, it's not just a game for old ladies! =)

Welcome to the World!

2009-01-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Our friends had their first child, a beautiful baby boy, David Alejandro! He is absolutely adorable. He entered this big world on January 25, 2009 at 9:39pm.
7lbs. 2oz, 20 inches long! Congratulations guys! He's precious!

Potty Time!

2009-01-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks before Kaelyn's 2nd birthday she was doing really well with the potty. Shortly after, she went on strike....around the time Brian and I went on our little vacation. hmmmm....stinker! lol We are trying to get back on track with pottying so we put up this chart and Kaelyn gets to put a sticker on each time she goes in the potty and she gets her m&m's. She gets pretty excited about it so hopefully she will stick with it! =) When Brian came in and saw the chart he said, "Wow, we are really parents, huh?" haha Yep honey, we have adopted the modern decor of Sesame Street in our lovely bathroom... it's only temporary. ;) Here are a few pics of my big girl right after a successful trip to the potty!

What did I do.....

2009-01-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

...to deserve flowers for no reason?!!! Not just any flower, one of my favorites...tulips! Last night my husband came in from the gym and surprised me with these beauties below. I love it when he does sweet things like this! It brightened my whole night. It truly is the small things that mean so much. :) And the flowers fit perfectly in the empty bowl I have been meaning to get more apples for! Thanks for being so wonderful, honey! I love you. ;)

SNOW Day!

2009-01-20T17:45:00.000-08:00

Our district's schools were closed today due to our whole ONE inch of snow! Kaelyn's daycare follows the school district so they were closed too. I was fortunate enough to work from home with her today. =) I always work much harder when I am here than sitting in the office, but we had a great time! Here is a video of little miss priss and a few pics from her exploring the snow!

Sesame Street Live!

2009-01-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took Kae to see Sesame Street Live, When Elmo Grows Up! Brian got us free tickets! Woohoo! I wasn't quite sure how she would do since she is a little weird about the talking Elmo dolls, but she had a blast and was in awe! She got to see her favorite character, Abby Cadabby, from one of our sesame street books and she was so excited. She also loved Zoe... well she loved them all, actually! The Count came close to us and she did well. :-) It was a really fun show and I was thankful we went. Kaelyn had a wonderful time!

And we're back....

2009-01-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

...from the Bahamas! Brian and I left Wednesday night (Jan. 7th) to fly down to Miami and cruise to the Bahamas. We were super excited to see new places and take our first cruise! This was also huge for us because it was our first big trip away from Kaelyn. Mom was already coming for Kae's birthday so we asked if she could stay a little longer so we could get away for a bit. Surprisingly, Kaelyn and I both did great away from each other for 5 nights. Since she was with Mom I didn't worry at all, and she was having a blast with Nana! When we talked to her on the phone she was such a big girl and asked if we were having fun on our "trip short." Toooo cute! Love that girl! ;)

Now for the trip...we had a blast!! We flew into Ft. Lauderdale late Wednesday night, got our rental - red mustang, probably the last 2 door we'll drive for a whiiiile haha, and headed over to our hotel in Miami. We were very pleased with our condo-like room and had a pretty good city view. :) Around midnight we were feeling a little hungry and decided to walk down to a little restaurant we had seen about a block away. We got there and they were still open for drinks, but the kitchen had just closed. =( They told us we could go a few more blocks and Blue Martini would be serving food so we decided to check it out. They were serving food... along with insanely loud music and lots of booty bumping on the dance floor. lol We could barely hear each other in there so we ate an appetizer and got our entree to go. The food was yummy!
Thursday we got up and went down to Bayside Marketplace to do a little shopping and get a bite to eat. We ate outside at Tradewinds. The weather was perfect! It was in the 80's, beautiful sunshine and not too much humidity. :) After we finished up there we went to lay on South Beach. It wasn't crowded but there was a good amount of people there for it to be JANUARY! haha People are very "free" on the beach if you get my drift. It was a gorgeous beach and we couldn't have asked for better weather! That evening we we walked down to P.F. Chang's for some yummy Chinese and to watch the first half of the National Championship game. We headed back to our room to cuddle for the second half and ended up dozing off. ;)
Friday we got up and packed everything back up for the cruise. We walked around for a bit and went to Lombardi's for lunch outside and had some delicious oysters! Then we returned our mustang and took a taxi to the port.
We boarded and checked out the cruise ship. We were pleasantly surprised with the size of our room. I had imagined it much more cramped but we had plenty of space in our room/bathroom. We laid out by the pool for a bit and relaxed in the hot tub... then it was time for the cruise ship drill...fun fun! haha, but necessary in case of an emergency. That night we headed to dinner and met a very cool couple. It was fun getting to know them. We went to the comedy show afterwards and headed back to our room.
Saturday morning we arrived in Nassau, Bahamas! It was beautiful! We did a little shopping and then got ready for snorkeling. We got on a catamaran that took us out to a reef where we saw lots of neat fish in the most beautiful water! It was so much fun and we finally used our olympus camera under water for the 1st time! It did a good job! The weather was again...perfect! We saw gorgeous houses on the way there and back. When we finished on the catamaran we had to rush back to the ship to get ready for dinner. We didn't have much time at all, but we made it to dinner... a tad bit late. :) That night was my favorite meal on the ship...yummy lobster and shrimp! We also had another awesome couple join us for dinner. After dinner we hung out with our friends we met and enjoyed great company and conversation getting to know everyone. :)

Sunday was a pretty lazy day. We slept in until around 10 and got up to get a bite to eat. We jumped in a hot tub for a few, but it was so hot outside we could barely stand it! We weren't in too long before we hopped out to lay in the sun on the "no kids" deck. haha It was so nice and relaxing. We went back to our room, ordered room service, and lounged around. Before dinner I took advantage of one of the spa specials and got a hot stone massage. Ahhhh, it was soooo wonderful! I came back and we got ready to have dinner with our new friends. After dinner we enjoyed a karaoke contest and a comedy show. Oh, how could I forget?!...Brian sang karaoke for us on this night AND the night before! He did an awesome job and we all cheered him on! =)
Monday morning... back in Miami. We had exchanged contact info with our friends and were ready to go our separate ways. We left the ship that morning and went down to Miami's art deco district. There were so many neat buildings and the weather was yet again...gorgeous! We walked all over the place and had lunch at Joe's Stone Crab Take Away. It was delicious! From here we walked a bit more and then headed back to the airport. We felt like we had been away the perfect amount of time. We didn't feel rushed at all, but we weren't gone too long to the point where we were miserable missing Kaelyn.
Mom and Kae picked us up that night and Kaelyn was soooo excited to see us! We were sooo excited to see her too, and she seemed to have grown even more while we were gone. hehe It was a wonderful trip and we throughly enjoyed every minute! Thanks to Mom for keeping Kae. We hope to take trip just for us at least once a year! =)
Click HERE to see more trip pics!

Nana Goes ByeBye =(

2009-01-15T16:00:00.000-08:00

Today was a sad day for us, but happy for Dad. haha We had to take Mom to the airport early this morning. Kaelyn wasn't too happy about Nana leaving.
Mom, thanks so much for all of the yummy meals, helping out with laundry, and keeping our little angel so we could take our much needed trip! Dad, thanks for sharing her for 2 weeks. We love and miss you both!

Here is a video Mom took earlier in the week... The first part shares her thoughts on Nana going back home to Michigan.

Dancing with Dora!

2009-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

Even though Aunt Chelsea was unable to attend Kae's birthday party, she delivered the BEST birthday card! See below...

We love and miss you Aunt Chels!

Tea Party!

2009-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn and Mom played tea with her new Princess table and tea set Mom and Dad got her for her birthday. They were too cute! Kae loves it and it was amazing to see how her imagination just ran wild!

My Baby Girl is 2!

2009-01-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet Kaelyn! Another year flew by and my tiny baby turned into a Big Girl! This year we watched Kaelyn grow into a little girl. Her personality blossomed even more if that's possible lol.
She can say her ABC's and identify all the letters and a word they are associated with, (example: A for Alabama), counts & identifies #s, says the cutest night time prayer, sings all kinds of songs, and has a massive vocabulary that surprises us everyday! She is so bright and funny. She has kept us laughing and I know there's lots more to come. =) A couple of weeks ago she started using her potty a lot. She had a few good days where she went about 3 times in a row. Once she goes back to school on the 15th she will be wearing pullups more and they will work with her there too! ...So hopefully we will get this potty training thing down. ;) Kaelyn, you are our biggest blessing and the light of our lives! We love you so much! =)

We celebrated her birthday at Flying Saucers with a "Create a Critter" party where the kids picked an animal and stuffed it! =) Kaelyn had a few friends there..personal friends and from school. They were all so cute and I think they had a good time. Kaelyn was amazed by the white fluffy stuff!
They might've gotten a little restless during the stuffing process but I think they enjoyed taking their "critter" home. :) Other guests included Kaelyn's Great Great Grandparents, her Great Grandpa, Nana (my mom), Uncle David & Aunt Jacque, and Big Sis Skyler. She had a Minnie Mouse themed party and had a Minnie cake, balloons, and outfit. =) Kaelyn was blessed with many gifts from people all over. We missed her Nonny & Papa who were just here at Christmas, her PopPop, Uncle TC, and Sarah, Aunt Tera & fam, and Grammie Ann, but we know they all sent their love and wished they could be with us!

Here are a few pics from the party! Click HERE to see more pics!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe another year has come and gone! WOW! We celebrated the new year by going to dinner at Mimi's Japanese Steakhouse with a couple of our friends. It was great food and great company! We went early so we could have Kae off the roads at a decent hour...we got home around 9. I did make it to see the ball drop and leaned over to kiss my sleeping hubby. :) I am usually sleeping too, but couldn't fall asleep yet. As I look back over 2008, it was an amazing year and I have sooo much to be thankful for! A few highlights..

My baby girl celebrated her 1st Birthday
Brian and I survived that first year!! haha
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary <3
We got to see my little brother graduate high school in MI
Took a trip to FL to see my best friend, old friends, in-laws, beautiful beaches for 4th of July
I grew and learned new aspects in my photography
Got a promotion at work!
Was able to go to AL to shoot a high school friend's wedding
My uncle finally got married to the lady he's dated for about 6 years! We love her!
Spent Thanksgiving with my great grandparents and family in Charleston that we don't see enough
Watched my baby turn into a "little girl"...more personality, talk your ear off, make you laugh, can't help but LOVE her so much!

In 2009 I have many goals... a few I will share now..

I would like to grow spiritually, spend more time with God.. set aside quiet time to commit to a devotional. :)
Find more alone time for me and my hubby and let him know how much I really do appreciate him, he is my best friend.
Advertise for my passion, photography, and see where it takes me.
Be the best mom/wife I can be!
And of course the ol' get a fitness routine and STICK WITH IT! haha

Wishing you a Blessed 2009! ....
Here are a few pics from our New Years Eve!

Nana is here!

2009-01-02T13:57:00.000-08:00

We picked Mom up on New Year's Day from the Charlotte airport. She flew in for Kaelyn's birthday party on Saturday. We went to the Cheesecake Factory after that and it was delicious!! =) We are so excited to have Mom here! She is going to stay for 2 weeks so she can keep Kaelyn for us while we go on our cruise to the Bahamas!!! YAY! Love you Mom!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T18:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did as well! My in-laws were here with us from FL on Christmas morning for the first time! Skyler woke up and was ready to see what Santa left, and Kae was fast asleep. hehe She didn't keep us waiting too long though...I think everyone was up around 7:45am, although Kaelyn was still groggy.
I popped some cinnamon rolls in the oven to get us started. =) Yum.
Skyler was excited to show Kae the playhouse Santa left her but somehow Kaelyn heard Santa was in that playhouse (lol) and did not want to go inside! We explained he was already gone and then she was fine, and boy does she LOVE that playhouse. **Santa got that on super clearance last year :) Skyler had been wanting a Baby Blue electric guitar, and I guess Santa was listening. She was super excited when she opened it up! The girls were blessed with lots of other great gifts including clothes, baby dolls, mp3 players, purses, etc. And so were we! =) I was very excited to get my webcam so we could do a video call with my family in Michigan Christmas morning!! Kaelyn thought this was so cool and is always asking to talk to Nan and Pop on the "puter". :) And of course I'm super excited about mine and Brian's gift to each other... cruise to the Bahamas leaving Jan. 7th! YAY! In this upcoming year we hope to have another child, but before we even go there I reeeaally need to get away! Being here without family can really be tough sometimes! We are thankful my mom is flying in to celebrate Kae's birthday and can stay longer to keep her for us. :) We are super blessed and look forward to ringing in a new year soon!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas Wishes from the reindeer who got away! =)

Merry Christmas from Kaelyn

2008-12-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of the treasures Kaelyn made for us at school. Tooo precious! I love them, best gifts ever! =)

Kae's Christmas Party!!

2008-12-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Kaelyn's Christmas party at school! They had lots of fun munching on goodies and opening presents! Kaelyn got a cute Santa from Ms. Cindy that says "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas" and other cute gifts from her friends and teachers. :) The last picture cracks me uuuupp!!!

My Girl Likes to Potty!

2008-12-21T20:55:00.000-08:00

Between today and last night Kaelyn went peepee in her potty 3 times!! We are sooo proud of her! She is in that frustrating stage where she says she has to go potty all the time and we take her and she just plays, but we have been trying to hang in there and take her everytime she says (AHHHH!! lol) and today it really paid off! She was SO excited and proud of herself! We sing Big Girls Go PeePee in the Potty...hehe. I got a little clip of Kaelyn singing it. She likes to dance to it too, but didn't do a lot of dancing in this clip... too focused on getting those m&m's! =)

Somebody's Got a Birthday Around the Corner...

2008-12-19T13:27:00.000-08:00

It's Kaelyn! She will be 2 on January 4th and I can't believe how fast the time has flown by! I originally turned on the camera to get her saying when her birthday is, and then she turned into a drama queen... pretty funny! hehe

Big Girl Bed!

2008-12-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend we converted Kaelyn's crib into a toddler bed, or as she calls it her "Big Girl Bed!" She was sooooo excited about it! We were lying in our bed with her watching Dora when she said, "Daddy make me a big dirl bed" lol. It was the cutest thing. We had been talking about it for a little while now and Brian said well I guess if she is big enough to ask me, we will try it. She has now slept 3 nights in her big girl bed and all have been a success. She has not gotten out of bed once, shocker! I thought she would be up at nap time for sure, but she surprised us. We are so proud of our BIG girl! =)

25 Days of CHICKMAS!

2008-12-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to take a moment to share a blog I've been following for a little while now, called SevenChicks! It is composed of 7 funny, gorgeous, sweet women of God. They are an encouragement, real moms, wives, employees, etc.. and sometimes they will just plain crack you up!
Right now they are sharing lots of great holiday recipes AND doing giveaways through Christmas... 25 Days of Chickmas!
Who doesn't love a good freebie??!! Most of the time the winners are chosen randomly so if you just take the time to read and comment you can have a chance! =)
Click the Banner below to visit the Chicks! I promise you won't be disappointed!

"Chemiss Songs!"

2008-12-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here's baby girl singing some of her favorite "Chemiss Songs" She doesn't always sing the "lay down his sweet head" part soooo silly...she actually does it quite well and very sweet, but of course when the camera comes on the little entertainer in her comes out! haha
MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

The Christmas Story....

2008-12-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

....according to Kaelyn! =)

This was from about a week ago. She now knows Joseph right off, but still sometimes calls the angel a butterfly. hehe

New Christmas Tradition!

2008-12-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well, we debated over the Elf on the Shelf for a little while now. I heard about it last year at MOPS and the mom's said their kids just loved it. We are Christians and celebrate Christmas as it was intended... Jesus' Birthday, and HE truly is the reason for this season. We will instill all of these values in Kaelyn and I think for this age she understands it as well as she can. She sings "Away in a Manger" so sweet, picks out baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph from the Nativity Scene, and is purely innocent. We decided this sweet age is the only time she'll be so innocent and have such a wild imagination to enjoy the "magic" of this time of year. This decision will be different for each family, but it was the right one for us.
That being said...
Kaelyn is enjoying "Sammy Noah" so much! That is the name she has given him. She went back and forth on Sammy and Noah so we combined them for her. ;) She wakes up looking for him and says "Don't touch him, Mommy.... He flies in the sky to Santa" hehe (In the book it says don't touch him or his "magic" might go) I wondered how this would work with an almost 2 year old who held ("touched") him when we first pulled him out of the box, but she listens to the story so intently that she is very serious about not touching him. It has been a ton of fun for all of us this year and we can't wait to continue this new tradition for a few years to come! =)

Disney on Ice!

2008-12-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

We took Kaelyn to Disney on Ice in Greenville Sunday evening! We got there a little early and bought tickets at the window and lucked up with some great seats. When the characters first came out we were so close that Kaelyn said "noooo" lol. But I explained to her that it was just like watching a movie and they wouldn't come up to her. She was fine after that and started getting into it! She LOVES Mickey and Minnie if you didn't know by now. ;)
The show included Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters, The Lion King, Peter Pan, & Lilo & Stitch. She had sooo much fun and talked about it for days! Here are a few pics and a video clip of her talking about is 2 days later. =) To see more pictures from the show click HERE!

Muffins!

2008-12-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning we got up and made muffins! I decided to let Kaelyn get quite involved and boy, did she have a blast! She loved mixing the batter and waiting for them to cook. When they were finished cooling we put them on a plate and she decided she needed to take a bite out of each one. lol Since she did do most of the work and these weren't for guests, we let her have fun with it. hehe Here are a few pics and short video! She did good... They were delicious!

Holiday Festival of Lights!

2008-12-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving night, after we were miserably stuffed, we went to the James Island Holiday Festival of Lights! It was lots of fun and the lights were amazing, as always!! =) Kaelyn loved the lights and picked out the turtles, snowmen, fish, and all sorts of things. I was so excited she could tell what they were this year! Last year she wasn't even 1 year old yet and just said oooh and ahhh in amazement. :) We did miss the train because the next one available was an hour and 15 minutes later and Kaelyn was getting tired. She did have plenty of fun though on the carousel and strolling through the park getting a closer look at the lights. She said she wanted to sit on Santa's lap so we waited in line even though I knew she would end up backing out. haha So we waited and waited and she insisted she was going to sit on Santa's lap and of course when it was finally our turn she cried a little and definitely didn't want to sit with him. He did give her a candy cane and now she has been saying Santa is her best friend. She says "He's nice, he gives me candy." LoL He made a pretty good impression so she may just sit with him next year! hehe We shall see. :)
Click on the Sneed Pictures link to the right to see more pics!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving... we sure did! We spent the day with my Great Grandparents and family in Charleston. Our morning started out a bit rough though...We planned to head out early this morning but when I went to wake up Kaelyn I discovered throw up everywhere, it was clearly oranges. ugh! We didn't hear her in the middle of the night or this morning so I am not sure when it happened. We were thankful she was okay and seemed to be feeling good. So much for the "bathe her the night before so we can get up and go" theory! haha Brian took the bedding and I took her to the bath. An hour later than we had planned we were on the road though and all was good. When we got there Kaelyn was pretty tired and wasn't hungry. We definitely weren't going to make her eat after this morning's events. lol We went into the pink guest room in my Great Grandmom's house that I have stayed in a few times. :) She climbed up in the full size bed and I read her a story and left her with a few books. I peaked in about 15 minutes later and she was out with her 3 books stacked neatly beside her. I couldn't believe she didn't get up and try to get out through the door. Maybe she is ready for her big girl bed after all. ;)
She woke up from a nice nap and ate some turkey! We all ate way too much!
Tonight we went to the famous Holiday Festival of Lights in James Island. I LOVE going every year we are there for Thanksgiving. I will blog about it soon with a few pics! I am sooo blessed and thankful for so much... my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, my beautiful baby girl and loving husband, friends who are like family, the fact that all my needs are met, and I could go on and on. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends! Here are a few pics from Grandmom's house.

Oh Christmas Tree!

2008-11-20T18:46:00.000-08:00

I admit I am a tad bit crazy! We put up our Christmas tree last weekend. I just love all the holiday decor and think the longer it can stay up the better!! Kaelyn had so much fun decorating the tree this year! She was so excited and that made it so much more fun for us too! It was so sweet to see her holding Brian's ornaments he made as a child. (See pictures below) Here is a little clip of our growing girl!

Kaelyn's Thanksgiving Feast!

2008-11-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn's class had their Thanksgiving Feast at lunch time today! They eat lunch at 10:30 so I took an early lunch and headed over. I debated this decision for a while. I didn't want her to be upset when Mommy had to go back to work, but I didn't want to miss out either! You can see in the one picture of us her eyes are filling up with tears...I was about to leave. She melts my little heart. :) They were all so cute eating lunch with their turkey hats! The kids, with help from the teachers) even made a pumpkin pie this morning so they could have it for dessert! It was kind of mushy but they thought it was great!

Friends :)

2008-11-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn had such a good time with her friend that came to visit Saturday. The girls had so much fun and it's so cute that they are getting big enough to acknowledge each other and be real friends. hehe They ran all around and giggled a lot! Tooo cute!

Little Miss Manners!

2008-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn has been doing very well with her manners so I wanted to catch her on video saying yes ma'am. =) This is from a couple of weeks ago... better late than never. ;)

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving....

2008-11-11T19:14:00.001-08:00

Happy Feet!

2008-11-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

Kaelyn's Great Grandpa recently gave her the movie, Happy Feet. She LOOOOVES it! And we have to watch the "penwins" (Penguins) alllll the time! lol Here's a short clip of her talking about HER happy feet! ;)

Pigtails!

2008-11-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

My girl is growing up too fast! Her teacher put her hair in pigtails today and she was just adorable.. and yes, im still partial! haha ;) Also including a video from a couple of weeks ago of Kae singing You are my Sunshine...listen closely. She sings this to me at night before bed in the sweetest little voice. I love her so much! =)