Birth DAY

Who told that kid she could grow up so fast?  And how did she get that big? 

Morning time with Daddy

Talking to her new plate! 

Needs a picture on the right side.

ICE CREAM!!

Seriously!  Her head is already bigger than mine! 

Getting her ornament...

and helping Daddy (and Monster) put it on the tree.

Birthday book (On the Night You Were Born)

LOVING the doggy wrapping paper! 

Thanksgiving

With family in various parts of the country, we rotate holidays between Virginia and Michigan.  This Thanksgiving was spent in Virginia, and we also celebrated Christmas with the Paul family.  We had a great time and Justice loved exploring a new space and playing with her cousins! 

Weekend Away

Earlier this month, Eric and I took a weekend away.  It was my first night away from Justice and I couldn't have asked for a better experience.  A few (hundred) tears were shed the night before we left - and then I was ready!  My mom came to Nashville for the weekend - so Eric and I took off :)  After much trial-and-error trying to find the perfect cabin for a weekend away, we settled on a bed and breakfast located in downtown Chattanooga.  It was just what we needed.  We did indeed enjoy great breakfasts, along with over-the-top generosity from the innkeepers.  We stayed for two nights and planned our days full of things we love - coffee shops, walking, outdoors, food, and chocolate!  

Walking/Riding through the park.

 Mean Mug Coffee

Shaved Ice - Now this is REALLY vacation! 

The Hot Chocolatier 

Justice spending quality time with Grandma.  THANK YOU, Mom!! 

Blooper Reel

I could title every blog, "She's Getting So Big!"  Because she is.  And doing new things every day.

Justice took her first steps this week.  She's so happy!  She giggles and smiles, and falls on her face, and gets back up and does it all over again :)  We have also been picking up on a few new words.  Justice talks CONSTANTLY.  She speaks with such conviction, points, and uses fabulous voice fluctuations.  So perhaps she's had a few "words" for a while, but we're just now deciphering through the noises/sounds/screeches/screams to pull out those words.  Our list includes: doggy, ducky & kitty cat!  Eric is pretty sure she says "daddy," and our babysitter thinks she says, "that."  One of these days her vocabulary will explode and I won't be able to say, "Oh yes, I think so too" to every sentence :-)

We acquired a little play set for the back yard.  It is tiny, but perfect for Justice.  Eric calls her a pint-sized person so I suppose the play set is pint-sized too!  She seems to like it, and we're hoping to get some good use out of it this fall - now!

We have been trying to capture Justice's first (week of) steps on camera.  We have not been successful.  When discussing this yesterday, Eric said, "How does everyone get such great videos of their kids, and all we can get is a blooper reel?"  So, without further ado, I present Our Blooper Reel (with a few actual steps toward the end)!

Celebration Plates

 About a month ago I was reading a dear friend's blog and saw a picture of her "Celebration Plate." The idea is that any time someone is celebrating something (first day of kindergarten, birthday, promotion, etc) they get to eat off the Celebration Plate. (Thanks, Britt!) She decorated one for her family with a Dr. Seuss theme "Oh, the places you will go!" Clever, huh? Well, right around the same time I noticed "plate making" appeared on the calendar for the MOMS group I am a part of.

My MOMS club hosted the activity primarily as an "easy Christmas gift for a family member - have your kid color a picture and make it into a plate." The plates turned out adorable, and some super clever mamas helped their children create masterpieces, and hand prints, and beautiful works of art that will be given away this Christmas season. Well my dear Justice wasn't going to be coloring, and since I have zero creativity in me, I borrowed Brittany's inspiration!

I first decided to make a plate for Justice. I thought I would use Brittany's idea and pull out the plate for special Justice moments. I landed on this (with some help from Eric). We have called Justice "J-Bird" since birth - so out came this simple-yet-meaningful image.

During this process, I was doing some googling of celebration plates to gather a bit more creativity. And the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that we needed a family plate. As our family grows, and ages, I want to celebrate all members. I also think our children will need to see Eric and I celebrating each other and rejoicing together over special occasions. And out came our first ever family plate!

I love it.

I'm a little annoyed that some of the words aren't straight, or evenly spaced, but I'm trying to let go of my it's not perfect attitude, and cling to the reality that it's so much more! We have so much to be thankful for, so why not start by being thankful for one another?