Growing Up Fast

Amelia @ 22 Months & Alex @ 5 Months

I asked her to smile and this is what she did.

She picked out her baby legs today.  She insisted that they be two different colors.

Chubby cheeks!

Sitting up like a big boy

OMG!

Playroom

The entire second floor of our house is a bonus room, so we made it into a playroom for the kids.  We spend most of our time in this room.  It is awesome.  In addition to all the kids' toys and gear, we are also able to fit our sofa, love seat, chair, and office furniture into the room!  This room is about as big as our entire living space in our DC apartment.  We love all the extra space in this house.

The room isn't completely finished yet.  I ordered some curtains, so hope to get those up soon.  We also have to organize the office area (not pictured).  I'll post pictures as soon as it's finished.

Living Room

The living room isn't quite finished yet, but here's a preview.  The walls were originally a mauve color and we ended up painting them a light-cream color. 

Since taking this picture, I've already changed out the rug.  The rug that's down now is exactly the same as the one pictured only much larger.   

Our furniture didn't quite fit the space right and it has lots of awkward walls, so we've changed the furniture arrangement more than a dozen times!  This will do for now ;0)

 A view from the second floor

Hello Kitty Room

Amelia's room is the first (and only) room we finished in the house!  We didn't have to do much.  We just painted the walls light yellow and added a few Hello Kitty decals.  All the furniture and decor is what she already had in her bedroom in DC.  I don't like clutter and knick-nacks, so it's really simple.  Easy peezy! 

Door

I think her red dresser is my favorite piece of furniture in the house!  (I want to get something similar for Alex's room, but in blue.)

I put the lower case letters on the outside of her crib so we could practice after diaper changes.  The shelf was already in the room, so we got lucky since it was in the right spot.

Luckily, all her furniture fit in her new room nicely.  We even used her old curtains.  Although, I still have to shorten them as they are too long.

Amelia loves to count, so I put numbers in the crib!  (Sometimes she likes to kiss them good-night, ha ha.)

George and Martha- The original inspiration for her nursery in DC.  As you can see, we kept the same color scheme: red, yellow, and green.

She has two of these bins for her toys.

A Walk in the Park

Amelia has been going to "school" twice a week for a few hours in the afternoon.  This gives Amelia a chance to socialize with her peers and start to get a feel for a school environment and schedule.  (I'll talk more about that later.)  Another benefit is that Alex and I get to spend some quality time together!

After dropping off Amelia, I decided it would be fun to head out to a place called The Greenway with Alex for some quality time outside.  It's a park just a few miles from our house with paved trails.  Jimmy goes running there on Sunday mornings.  He always talked about how beautiful, quiet, and shaded it is.  So, off to The Greenway we went! 

Jimmy was right, it was gorgeous and it felt very refreshing to be around lots and lots of trees!  There are not very many trees in this area, so it was a welcome change of scenery.  Alex and I had a nice long walk....... until it started to rain.  It wasn't just a drizzle, it poured.  Alex and I were about a mile from the van, and with no cover in sight,  we were stuck outside.  We were drenched!

Going for a romantic walk with my little man ;0)

Picture perfect...

Soaked! 

I'll have to check the weather forecast next time.

  

Memphis & Elvis

Since Jennifer was in town, we took a day trip to Memphis to check out Beale Street, Graceland, and get some Memphis style BBQ at Rendezvous. 

Beale Street

Family Pic at Beale Street

Graceland Estate

We all agreed the house was very ordinary. The only thing that really set it apart was that some of the rooms were decorated in a tacky, over the top way. I wasn't able to get too many pictures, especially of the crazy rooms (jungle room and TV room), but here are a few I was able to snap with a baby in tow.

Dining Room

Kitchen- It seemed very ordinary

Pool Room- All the walls and ceiling are covered in fabric 

Backyard

Amelia was kept quiet and entertained by my iPhone... she was sooooo happy!

Lounge

RIP Elvis

Did I mention in was still 100+ degrees outside?

Amelia's favorite part of the whole trip was the visit to the Graceland Ice Cream Shop! She squeeled and giggled in delight when she saw Jennifer's ice cream.  She was even more excited to have her own scoop to munch on.  Here she is pointing out the letter and numbers on the jukebox.

BBQ @ Rendezvous

We had a Memphis style BBQ dinner at the world famous Rendezvous.  And yes, it's located in a dirty, smelly alley.  Oh yeah, and we had a celebrity sighting.  Jimmy and Jennifer recognized Debbie Wasserman Schultz (a frequent guest on Bill Maher and other political shows) as she came in and sat at the table next to us.

Auntie Art

Coloring with Auntie

Jennifer was clever enough to draw a farm scene to go along with the stickers Amelia placed on the paper.

Fourth of July flags made with chalk paint

Red, white, and blue chalk paint

The 4th of July

We have had no respite from this terrible heat wave. The fourth of July was another hot day in Tennessee. We had a high temperature of 105 degrees and it didn't get much cooler in the evening. 

Jimmy was brave enough to barbecue, but we all ate inside since it was blazing hot outside.  Amelia and Jennifer played in the sprinkler to cool off, but we were only able to handle being outside for about 30 minutes before heading back in. 

In the evening, we went to the carnival and fireworks show at Fort Campbell.  Despite the extreme heat and staying up more than 2 hours past their bedtime, the kids did very well.  It was Amelia and Alex's first fireworks show and I will always remember it because of this heat wave!

Amelia and Jennifer trying to cool off.  It was over 100 degrees!

Fort Campbell Carnival

Amelia catching up on her reading while waiting for the fireworks show to begin

Alex catching up on putting everything in his mouth and eagerly waiting for the fireworks

Alex LOVED the fireworks!  He was just chilling in the stroller and watching the show.  (Doesn't he look like a little boy in this picture?)

This was Amelia's reaction to the fireworks.  She got really scared and ran to hug Jennifer, myself, and Jimmy.  Once she got to Jimmy, she stayed close to him and fell asleep about 3 minutes into the show.

Heat Wave

We've been experiencing 100+ degree heat this past week!  It's been absolutely miserable.  We try to play outside, but it only takes a few minutes for the kids to start to get uncomfortable.  Amelia says, "hot" runs to the door and says, "inside." 

We are hoping it cools off soon because Jimmy's sister is coming for a visit.  She is coming all the way from Washington (state) and we want to welcome her to Tennessee with beautiful weather!  *Fingers crossed*

Hot and sweaty Mimi

Playing inside

Daddy's Hat

Alex playing with Amelia's favorite book... Alex likes it too!

What a cutie pie!

Even though we have air conditioning in the house, it couldn't keep up!  Alex chillin' in his diaper.