A Trip Down Memory Lane

I'm feeling a big nostalgic tonight. It dawned on me that one year ago I just returned to school from maternity leave. My how times have changed! One year ago, I felt extremeley guilty for going back to work. How could I leave Courtney when she was still dealing with her dysmotility and throwing up all the time? Thank goodness for Grammie (Clay's mom) for coming to stay that week at our house. She let me ease back into school and I didn't have to worry while I was teaching. Thank you, Cheryl!

Here's a family picture exactly one year ago today. Boy do we all look exhausted!

Now I have a 13 month old who's walking and talking (well, in her own gibberish way). She still loves to cry when she doesn't get her sleep, but who doesn't?! We love her sense of humor. It's a combination of the both of us which is nice. The funny thing is you can tell when she's totally kidding and when she's serious. Also, I love how sweet she is to Holly. Holly went from "child" to dog very quickly, but Courtney is making her feel part of the family. She loves to give her hugs and kisses and bring her toys to play with. Let's hope it stays this way!

Here's a recent pic of our little ladybug. If you read my last blog I explained the headband fascination.

In other news, our backyard is quickly becoming our new entertainment venue. This weekend we put up a gazebo we bought. And by we, I mean Clay. I did help carry the pieces over to it final spot! While he was doing that I was weeding a flower bed and entertaining a certain someone until it was time for her nap. Both the weeding and the nap were sucessful! That night, we had dinner outside to enjoy our work. A little rain shower decided to come through at that moment while we were eating, but we stayed totally dry. Courtney got a kick out of that!

Here's a picture of our new addition to the house. By the way, the weeds are in the process of dying. Thanks Round-Up!

In the next couple of weeks we're going to be painting the house, getting a new front door and we're getting a big sandbox for Courtney courtesy of my mom's old pre-school. Now let these next 2 months fly by so I can have some fun in the backyard!