Running Our Race

We had such a great weekend. Saturday we spent the day working around the house crossing off some to-do items. We also finished up the last of our nanny interviews. Saturday night we went over to some of our best friend's house, The Kings. They grilled some yummy burgers. Our friends, The Sellers and their kids came too. They built a great fire pit and we had yummy smores at the end of the night. A warm, gooey smore.....YUM! Here are all the "men" tending the fire Some of my favorite people....Faith and Emmie...we had such a great time just talking and laughing...so therapeutic. And here are all the kiddos! They all had a blast and slept soooooo good that night. After we went to church on Sunday, Christopher had baseball practice and the rest of us went for a run. That evening as the sun was setting, we all hung out on the porch for some perfect weather. It was so relaxing. I needed that!!!! Today Caroline had her 2 month appointment. I cannot believe it!!!! ...

Grandmama Gina took Caroline on a little bit of a shopping spree.... So then we went a little crazy and put her in a "flower overload" outfit....Maybe all the loud mismatching prints were the reason she couldn't fall asleep for a good nap?...:) Ha! Here are Emma Grace and sissy hanging out in EG's room- We also have an exciting announcement to make at the Scullen house...... NO BRACES!!!!! Well, at least for a couple of years...and then she has to get them back on for a little bit....but for now we think she looks super cool! With Grandmama Gina here one more week, Brett and I took advantage of free baby sitting and went on a much needed date night this past Wednesday. It was great...we went to this Italian restaurant that we had not tried before. Even though we are soooo tired with work, new baby, etc, we are trying to remember to take time to spend with just the two of us. It feels so good to hold hands and just "be still" together. We have a fun weeken...

We had such a great weekend!!! Our house was full and everyone was happy! Friday night we had "fajita night" with our friend's The Kings...I must of had too much fun because I did not take a single picture!!! Saturday we stayed busy! Sadie had a trip to the vet to visit with Dr. Colley. She has a sore on her hip which we wanted to get checked out. Dr. Colley was the vet that helped her the most after her accident. We love him! He even told our "possible future vet - Kate" to come and shadow him to see what it was like. I took Caroline and we went for a great run in the BOB stroller. I am feeling so much better now that I am starting to exercise again. It has been a humbling experience though....7 months off from running is a lot and I can tell!!! I am SLOWLY getting there. I am up to 3 miles pushing her which is not as easy as I thought it would be with the hills. That afternoon we went shopping for a bit. Christopher plays on a travel baseball t...

Caroline LOVES the bath. We have gotten in a great routine of feeding her around 7 pm, bath time/awake time, and then feeding again at 9:30. Then to sleep. She sleeps so well when we swaddle her tight. Swaddle Designs have the best blankets for that! Lately she has been sleeping from 10pm until around 4am. Then I do a "sleep feed" where I try not to wake her up but will feed her a bottle while she is sleeping and then gently lay her back in the crib. Then I sometimes go back to bed for about 30 minutes, or sometimes just stay up to get ready for work. Whew! She will sleep another 3 hours after that which is great. We are going to drop that nighttime feeding soon and then all will be good in the world - a sleeping baby for 8 or 10 hours. Wahoo! My new favorite thing is this yellow foam bath mat we found at target. Caroline had been using a "baby bath" in the kitchen sink or the bathtub, but it always seemed so bulky and I could not figure out how to store it so it wa...

Brett and I bought this wine last April when we were in California because we had heard such great things about it from our friends and could not wait to try it for ourselves. ...we also bought a pregnancy test at the same time. random i know . Well, we didn't drink the wine that night and instead celebrated with our family. Just telling the news...right as we were posing for a picture... Pure happiness. Well, we have been saving it for the past 10 months and decided that tonight would be perfect. Long day back at work....home....hubby cooking yummy dinner....Caroline to the bath....Caroline to the bed....fire in the fireplace....completely amazing wine...ahhh blissdom... I Heart You Happy Valentine's Day Love, Caroline

This weekend my dad, Dan, and brother, Cameron came to visit me from Texas. Neither one had met Miss Caroline yet so needless to say we were super excited!!! Here is my dad and his first grandchild!!! Uncle "Cammy" and his sweet niece The weather this weekend was so wonderful! After several weeks of really cold and wet weather, sunny and in the 60's sounded pretty good! On Saturday we went to the Grand National golf course to hit some on the driving range. They have a really nice walking path that Caroline and I explored. Here is Brett and his brother-in-law Cameron!! A little friendly competition! Dad "Pops" and Caroline enjoying the nice day. Here we were on our way to church this morning. It was so wonderful to have them here and I was sad to see them drive away this afternoon. This past week was my first week back at work....and I only worked 4 days....I took Friday off to be with my dad and brother. To say I was tired was an understatement!.....In ...

On Friday night we had a fun event at our house!!!! Emma Grace had a Valentine's Dance through her school to go to and we decided to have a big group of her friends over for dinner before going to the dance. In fact--we had 16 SIXTH graders!!! Crazy! PLUS--their parents. They all came to take pictures and just help out. What a hoot! Everyone had a date for the dance and they even gave each other corsages, etc...I don't think I did any of that until high school..they are so grown up! Brett and I had to really scratch our heads to figure out how we could seat all 16 at a table. We ended up putting 2 8ft tables together to form a square and then we were able to get all the chairs around it. We rented the chairs and some chafing dishes to keep all the food warm. We decided on a "romantic" Italian dinner theme of a pasta bar. I think it was a hit! We had a couple of kinds of pasta, chicken, sausage, veggies, a marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, and cheeses. That...

So today is my birthday. Yup, 32 big ones. Being in my "30's" feels very real now. I think how much my life has changed since my 30th birthday. Much better now. I still sometimes pinch myself. I have such an amazing, life changing, husband. He has made me believe that the word soul mate is actually a real thing. I have gotten to be in the lives of his 3 phenomenal children. Emma Grace, Christopher, and Kate have such incredible hearts which are a direct reflection of their dad's. I am so lucky they have embraced me back. I got to experience the emotions when you see your child for the first time. And I pray that I never ever forget what that felt like. I know Caroline will lead me down a path that will be so rewarding, challenging, and full of love... for the rest of my life. I could not be any happier. When it comes down to it, what I just reflected on is all that matters. It is so hard to not get caught up in the whirlwind of life and I admit that I am...

Caroline and I went with Brett to Atlanta on Tuesday, spent the night, and came back yesterday. It was her first official road trip and "over- night-er "...how exciting. Brett had a couple of busy days at work in Atlanta so instead of being by ourselves, we decided to tag along with Dad and hang out in A-Town. We had so much fun!!!!! We got up there on Tuesday morning and while Brett was in some meetings, Caroline and I explored Atlanta and ran a couple of errands. Brett joined us later and we checked into our hotel. We originally had plans to go to a fancy restaurant in downtown Atlanta that Brett had heard wonderful reviews about. We were going to semi-celebrate my birthday (Thursday) early and treat ourselves to a nice night out. Around 3 pm, the weather turned ugly with thunderstorms and the temperature dropped to right around freezing. We made an executive decision that driving to downtown for 30 minutes, in the rain, with a 5 week old, all dressed up, would ...