Christmas afternoon...

So we got up to Atlanta by lunch time to hang out with grandma, grandpa and the Clarkes. I was responsible for making yummy rolls and deviled eggs for dinner (the eggs didn't turn out...I'm not sure what happened...but my rolls were good!). Anyway, here are a few pics of hanging out with the fam...

I love this one. Lily always wants to do what Ethan does. So cute.

Little miss Aidrian, happily hanging out.

Riding her new rocking horse from grandma and grandpa (with Ethan's help, if you can see him in the back). Sometimes she liked his help...sometimes she didn't.

Getting ready to eat dinner with the big kids!

Spending soem quality time with Grandma

On our way home... We had to leave Friday afternoon in a rush for Andrew to get back to Macon for a case. Of course, there was a TON of traffic and it took us an hour more than usual to get home...so I crawled in the back to entertain a restless babe.

Christmas morning in Macon

Christmas morning Lily was up at 7, (which is a good day in our house!!). We opened presents here and had our favorite Apple Pancake for breakfast!! It was a fun morning. Then we cleaned up and headed to Atlanta to spend the rest of the day with my parents and the Clarkes!

Ooh, so many things to choose from!!

Her awesome princess shoes from the Biddisons, which she LOVES! Thanks!!

My yearly pj pants gift! Yipee!

Christmas Eve 2008

Christmas Eve we spent in Macon. We went to a short church service where they had a live nativity and we sang Christmas songs. It was nice, and Lily was a perfect angel!

Me and Lil all dressed up ready to go!

Lily and Monkey

After the service, you could go see and pet the animals. They had camels, sheep, a donkey... you can see the camel's head behind Andrew.

Petting the camel

I can do it myself!

I knew it was coming someday!! Lily wants to feed herself now. She actually does pretty well...nevermind the big blobs of yogurt running down her bib! :) She manages to get most of it in her mouth, so I'm pretty impressed! I've let her do cereal, applesauce and yogurt so far. She's growing up too fast!!!

The other morning, after she had finished her cereal, she picked up her bowl and drank the rest of the milk! How did she learn how to do that? Certainly not from me!!

A quick visit with Jen

My friend Jen and her fiance' Steve were in town from Denver visiting family, and we went up to Atlanta to have brunch with them. They are getting married in Mexico next month and we are sooo excited!!! This is a picture of the girls: Jen's mom, Gloria, Lily, Jen and me after brunch.

An Abby in the making??

For those of you who look at my sister Tami's blog, you know her sweet little Abby is notorious for her outrageous outfits. Well, this is one my little 18 month old selected today. Am I in trouble, or what?? What a goofball!!

Hmm. A tutu, brown striped socks, black fuzzy crocs, her rainbow fleece jacket....nice!

No more fleece...it's been so warm in GA lately, we really didn't need it.

Lily has recently learned how to "knock"...and knocks on everything! It's very cute.

Bonjour! Parlez-vous anglais?

Andrew and I just got back from a terrific trip to Paris, France!!! We left Lily with Meme and Poppa (my in-laws), and took 5 days to see all we could see in Paris. It was very cold, but we had a terrific time, other than having a bag lost for 3 of our 5 days...
Here are some of the highlights; although it's very hard to pick just a few from the 300 pictures I took!!!
Of course, Notre Dame

The Eiffel Tower was lit in blue with 12 stars near the base for something to do with their leadership role in the EU....anyway, it made it a little harder to see at night, but this is one of our better pictures of it, with a bridge over the Seine River in the foreground. We went up to the second level (too cold for the very top!).

We ended up walking down the stairs from the 2nd level because the lift took too long! Going down wasn't so bad...

Trying to get a picture of us with the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was not an easy task!

If you used the flash, the tower was barely visible....

The Hotel des Invalides (an Army Museum and Napoleon's tomb)

They have public "out houses" all over the streets, but they are very clean! They automatically wash down the whole inside after each use and are FREE! Doesn't take much to impress us! Notice no toilet seat...that was the norm. Not too convenient for a girl!

The Champs-Elysees (a very popular street in Paris) with the Arc de Triomphe in the background

Same view, but at night. Look at all those cars!!!!! It was crazy!

The Arc de Triomphe. We climbed the bazillion stairs to the top for an amazing view of the city.



One of the fabulous views from the Arc...the Eiffel Tower! It was a cold, foggy morning...but so beautiful!

The Sacre Coeur in Montmarte near the Moulin Rouge

Andrew had Escargot for lunch!! Um....snails?? Yuck!!! :)


Versailles (and Oh so cold!!!)


The Louvre.
We went in the evening, and it was great. No line to see the Mona Lisa, which we heard can be up to 1 hour!



Our friends who we spent a couple of days with: Brice, Claire, Alexis (3) and baby Chloe in the Bjorn. I met Brice when he was in Seattle and haven't seen him for 7 years, so it was so fun to see him and his little family. Although his cute kids made me miss Lily...

What a GREAT trip!!!! Au revoir Paris!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We got our Christmas tree this weekend, and Lily was very eager to help!

She entertained us by dancing on the stool.

She helped me with the lights...

And the finished product. Notice the decorations are a little scarce at the bottom of the tree! :) It's a great tree! It smells fabulous! It looks a little lopsided in this picture, for some reason...but we think it's our best tree yet!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

Auntie Gray

My friend Gray was in town visiting her family for the holiday and came down to see us in Macon for a few days. I always love seeing her and don't get to see her near enough, so it was GREAT that she could come. Poor Lily still wasn't back to her usual self, but we had a good time anyway. Lily says "Gray" better than "Mama"....How fair is that?!?! :) We already miss you Gray!

No smiles from the sicky.....she had just puked again, so what do you expect!

This was the best we could get! Poor babe.

A Thanksgiving to remember

We spent Thanksgiving weekend down in Brunswick, GA with Andrew's side of the family. We had a great time and it is always so fun getting together with everyone. We only get to see most of them this time every year, so it's always a good time. Here is a picture of my sister's-in-law Tanya and Kathy, and niece Taylor doing some prepwork for the big feast! (Actually, I think Tanya is the only one doing anything... :) )

The kids table! Meme got an awesome little table for the kids, and Lily loved it. Great for coloring...and eating...she didn't stay here long, but started out here anyway. (Notice her booster ready in the background)

We always go to the park on St. Simons Island after dinner to get wiggles out. Here are all the spectators!

My sister-in-law Chrissy with cute Emery, the newest addition to the Hayes fam.

The sun was starting to set and it was absoultely beautiful, although a bit cold....



So now the real fun begins! Lily puked all night Thursday, and Andrew felt sick Friday morning. We were suppose to have family pictures (why we are dressed in black) that morning, but we called it off due to "illness". Thank goodness! Lily puked almost every hour that morning, and for a couple more days. I got the bug Saturday, Andrew's parents got the bug Sunday...it was YUCKY!! Lily is still recovering....not fun. Anyway, this is the only picture we got in our black shirts, on Meme's couch before we all changed back in to our PJ's. Poor Lily and Andrew aren't feeling too well here.

So pitiful! My two sweeties sick as can be.