Is this the one?!

I THINK SO!! Tony and I have found a house-finally! It's not in a location that we had even considered. It's on the water, something that we had never considered. It doesn't have a fence for the dogs, again, something we never considered.

Tony found this property online, and I was a skeptic immediately. It wasn't where I had been looking, it didn't have a fence, and what would we do with a boat dock now that we've sold our boat?! Needless to say, he convinced me to go look at it. It was a wet, rainy day, and all the odds were against this home in my mind.

Once we arrived, the landscape started racking up the brownie points! The lot was beautiful and much larger than we've ever had before. The driveway was nice and flat so Lakely could have a field day with all of her vehicles. We walked in and the smell alone sold me. It still smelt new! It was built in 04 and had the upgrades we'd been looking for. As the tour continued, I knew this was the one! We went back last night to measure some walls and confirm our decision. We're moving at the end of October!! YAY!

Here is the link to check it out!

http://norfolkwaterfronthome.com/

Mimi goes to school!

Lakely's Mimi was in town this past week and was able to attend Grandparent's Day at school. Lakely seemed really excited to show her around, especially the playground!

Where were you?

The day that the world changed forever, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. I was 18 years old, still living at home and in my first semester of college. I was about to leave my house when I glanced at the TV and saw all of the commotion on the news. There was video footage of hundreds of people running out of their buildings and down the streets. Smoke had filled the sky when the first tower was hit. I sat watching in awe, unable to pull myself from the television. As soon as I was about to get up and head to class, the other tower was struck. Unbelievable! I remember starting to sob because I'd never seen such a thing. What was happening?! Why were all of these innocent people dying in NY? Still a mess, I headed to school to take my exam. The radio stations were going bananas the entire trip. Right as I had pulled into the parking spot, the school went on lock down- I raced home. The entire country was in a state of panic. Where were you when the world stopped turning?

My how things change...FAST!

I just got back from Lakely's preschool open house. I can't even believe this is happening! I have noticed in some of her pictures lately that she even looks different from week to week. Let alone the way she interacts and socializes with you. I know this will be so good for her, (and me), but man is this HARD!


What a difference a year makes!






She also likes to dress herself now...




And read on the potty like Daddy...




It was time for Lakely to go to the dentist for her first check-up. We let Mimi tag along since she is a dental hygienist herself. I'm not sure if we'll let her go next time ;)








And lets not forget the incredible week we had full of natural disasters. It started off with outrageous smoke for days from the awful forest fires we obviously couldn't control. The smoke was so bad, that it woke me in the middle of the night because I thought our house was burning down! We all smelled like a bonfire. A couple of days after the smoke had started to subside, we had an earthquake! Thankfully nothing terrible happened to anyone we knew or anything that belonged to us, but still scary to say the least. Then we had lovely hurricane Irene enter the mix and really rock our world. Before the mandatory evacuation was enforced last Friday, you could cut the tension in our home with a knife. I wanted to go, Tony wanted to stay. Surprise, surprise. So, needless to say when we were "forced" to leave, I couldn't have been happier! However, it was hard leaving all of our belongings and not knowing whether we would see them again. I have to say we lucked out considering the water was 3-4 ft. deep and it never made it inside the house! True miracle is more like it! We ended up with some interesting things in our yard too, including a pretty nice cooler =) (That's what you get for not securing your stuff!)

Pulling up to the house, fingers crossed...


Treasures we inherited


You can see the water level on the gate


This was our neighbor's garden

It only took two years, but she finally enjoys the swings!



Which way to the Baywatch auditions?

Quick Trip Home

We flew back to Atlanta last w/e for a friend's wedding. It happened to be in Chattanooga, so Tony and I got some time to ourselves while Lakely stayed with Grandpa & "Maga,"(my Mom's new name.) She got to visit with a lot of family who hadn't seen her since Christmas! I think they were all floored at how much she had grown/changed. Here are just a couple pictures from her little adventure ;)

Baby Lucy

Tony and I have some dear, dear friends that we've known for years, but have become so close with since our move to Virginia. (Erin and Phil, who have Parker, one of Lakely's BFFs.) Erin's sister recently had to deliver her daughter, Lucy, @ 36 weeks. Her and her husband were aware from early on that this precious baby had some things going on with her that made her special. On the 20 week ultra sound, it was confirmed that she had a cleft palate and some swelling in the abdomen. The pregnancy continued on without any complications until her 36 week ultrasound. That is when the doctors realized that Lucy had not grown in almost four weeks. They decided to go ahead and induce Kate hoping that they could help this baby stay alive. She was born later that day, and seemed healthy except for the lip. She didn't even have to go to the NICU nursery. They continued running tests on her and discovered at the end of last week that she was blind in her left eye. That was hard to swallow, but certainly doable knowing that they at least had there baby girl here on Earth. As the weekend ended and this week began, Lucy started taking a turn for the worst. Test results came back and concluded that Lucy had a fatal genetic disorder known as Trisomy-13. She passed away in her mommy's arms last night.

I have been beside myself all day, praying for Erin, her sister, the family and sweet baby Lucy. I know she is now in God's hands and in a much better place, but the thought of losing a child is unbearable. If you're reading this, take a look at your precious baby and think how blessed you are to have him or her in your presence. Thank God that you got to leave the hospital with your newborn and pray for those that don't.

ABC's

Big Girl Room

Lakely is moving on up! We have gotten her into a toddler bed and she has new bedding to go with it! I seriously think she's more excited about the comforter than the ability of getting out of bed on her own. She has yet to get out without me in there; she still calls for us once she wakes up, (I'm sure I'll be eating those words in a few more days!) Anywho, the new room is nothing like her nursery in SC, but I think it's pretty darn cute!

2 yr. check-up

We took Lakely for her check-up last week and were blessed, (reassured) with the news that our baby is perfect =) She only had to get one shot and a finger prick, which wasn't as bad as I had expected. Since she hadn't been since she was 15 months, I thought for sure that the shot would be a traumatic experience. But with silky in hand, only a couple of tears were shed. I feel like this was the most significant visit to the doc so far. We were told that she now needs to see a dentist, she is to switch to a toddler bed, she should have nap OR quiet time each day, and she is to attend preschool twice a week! I was shocked. So much to digest at once. She has officially turned into a little person. I thought I was ready, but now I'm not so sure. Each day her vocabulary explodes with new words; most of which, we haven't even practiced. She weighed in at 33 lbs (97 percentile) and measured 35.8 inches (90-95 percentile). She is a healthy little booger!



PERFECTION.

Lakely Loo just turned 2!!

Wow!! Lakely's birthday week was absolutely fabulous! It started last Saturday with a fun day on the playground and a great Father's Day spent at Harbor Park for the Tide game Sunday.


Big girl crossing the bridge by herself


Play time @ the park with Daddy!





Ready for the game!


He stole a kiss on the ferry ride


I Wuv Daddy!

The Monday after Father's Day, Lakely and I headed back to Atlanta to see my best friend Lauren. She was in town from Germany for only one week and I had not seen her in a year! Lakely also got to spend some quality time with family, which was completely necessary for a birthday girl =) Lauren and I also took Lakely to the Georgia Aquarium one of the days we were there. She loved it! Her enthusiasm was much greater than when we took her at 6 months old!



Lunch with Great-Grandma Jane


Look Mommy!!!


Watching the dolphins


They were HUGE!


W/ Aunt Lauren


Say CHEEEESSSSEEEE!


Fish!


Doll house fun with Gramma


One last visit with Nana before we left


Sleepy girl heading to the airport w/Papaw

We flew home to Virginia accompanied by Papaw and Memaw for several days of birthday celebrating! We went to the beach, shopped, and enjoyed a house full of little ones on Saturday @ Lakely's party. All went as planned and every one seemed to have a great time!


Let the festivities begin!


Birthday Girl!


Amazing art work from a family friend!


Yay for presents!


Sweet girl


Chllin'


Cheese!


Our lil mermaid


Lakely & cousin Ava...so sweet!