tick tock.

I know, I know, I say it a lot, but time is flying by. Now I know the true meaning of the phrase "there aren't enough hours in the day." I also know why people like to remind me "how quickly they grow up."

Liam turned 9 months, and in a matter of weeks will be 10 months. It doesn't seem possible. He's crawling around, pulling up on everything, and is constantly talking. Obviously not in words (other than the odd 'mama' or 'dada') or sentences, though he does do this body convulsing grunt to mimic Hannah's barking. He still adores Abbi Kate and is currently in a bit of a must have mom phase. I can't say it bothers me. I remember all too well how Abbi Kate went through a similar phase and how quickly it passed. Now she's very much a Daddy's girl. He's stood on his own a few times and I'm sure it's only a matter of time until he's walking.

Abbi Kate keeps me busy too. She is definitely developing an attitude lately. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. At times it's downright entertaining. She's been on quite a few play dates recently and would spend absolutely every day in her "bathing soup" if you let her. Thankfully, the weather has been gorgeous lately (apart from this weekend). It should also be noted that her favorite activity (other than swimming, which she very much remembers from last summer) is sliding. Anytime I tell her we're going to a playground that is the first thing she asks, "is there a slide? will there be a slide?"

Happy Easter!

On Easter, I tortured Abbi Kate and Liam by once again putting them in matching outfits. If they didn't look so stinkin' cute in them, I may be less inclined to do this every holiday.






It was actually really hot that day, but we'd decided to venture out to the "Easter Parade." It's not really a parade in the traditional sense. They block off a stretch of Monument Avenue (in Richmond) and there are performers, vendors, food carts, etc... making it a "parade of Richmonders." We calculated that we walked about 3 miles by the time we parked, walked around, and then walked back to the car. As a result, Abbi Kate was completely worn out. We stopped for food before coming back home and she was in bed by 6:30 and stayed down until 8 the next morning. The houses and scenery were gorgeous, and all in all it was a nice way to spend the day.

renovation realities...

Now that the kitchen is at least functional again, and the house is relatively clean (because how clean can it ever really be with two kids?), an update is in order.

A few weeks before Easter, my mom and sister came to town. Somehow we managed to not take any pictures. It was great seeing both of them, and Abbi Kate and Liam loved having them here as well. The next week Shawn's parents came for about a week to help with the kitchen project. Shawn and his dad were able to get most of it done, or at least the hard parts, before it was time for them to go back to Tupelo. For about a week after that Shawn and I spent long nights finishing up the cabinets.

We still don't have our new counter tops, and won't for a few more weeks, but everything is back in its place and the house doesn't feel quite so small and cluttered.

before:



and (almost) after:



The cabinets are MUCH taller, providing much more storage, and make much better use of the space. All we need are the counter tops and new sink installed and we're done!