Happy Birthday Layla!

On August 25th, our sweet baby girl turned 2. We had her party at our house and just like last year, it was a small gathering of mostly family. We were grilling hot dogs for lunch and then having cake and ice cream afterwards.

I just love how her cake turned out. Thanks Wendy for another amazing cake!

(If you look closely, you can see where little fingers have already been in the cake. They were waiting the moment I took it out of the box and I guess the temptation was just too much to contain!)

Birthday Girl!

She has been asking for weeks about her "parkly tutu" as she calls it and she was so excited that it was finally time to put it on.

Just so you know, we didn't intentionally leave out the birthday girl. She was playing on the stairs behind us and refused to come down for a picture.

Layla and Papa

Me and my girl

Me and my little man

Me and the hubby

She loves the icing!

She wanted everyone to enjoy the yummy icing!

Daddy helping to open her gifts

Sitting in her new anywhere chair

Pushing her baby in her new stroller

I think she was singing with Grandma in this one

Stole Daddy's cap and claimed it as her own

Too much birthday!

My guys

Happy Birthday sweet girl! We can't believe how fast these 2 years have gone and I know they will only get faster from here. You are full of personality and you definitely keep us on our toes! You have made our little family complete and we can't imagine life without you. We love you baby girl!

1st Day of School

On August 15th, our sweet boy had his first day of Kindergarten. He had been looking forward to this for weeks so I was happy he was excited.

Just FYI, the white around his lips is from the powdered sugar doughnuts he insisted on having for breakfast!

Mommy's little man, dressed and ready to go.

Where has the time gone?

He had a wonderful first day of school and has done great every day since. He loves his teacher (Mrs. Tammy Boyd) and Parker Jerrolds seems to be his new running buddy in class. The year is off to a good start so far!

Getaway

On the afternoon of August 8th, Darren and I headed out to Nashville. I was attending a payroll conference on Thursday and Friday and Darren was coming along with me. It was nice to get away for a couple of days even if I did have to be in a conference. We still got to spend time together afterwards and went out for a couple of nice dinners together. We stayed at the Millenium Maxwell House hotel and this was the view we had outside our window.

 

The brief "vacation" was nice, but of course, we were very anxious to get back home to our babies!

Shepherd Reunion

On Sunday, August 5th, the annual Shepherd reunion was held at the Carver barn in Defeated. When I was a little girl, we had these reunions at the park and I can remember it was always so terribly hot. The crowd has slowly dwindled through the years, some due to loved ones passing on, some due to other committments, and some due to sheer lack of interest. It makes my heart sad to think this reunion may soon be a thing of the past. I know that's not how my grandaddy would want it, but we live in a much faster-paced world today and folks don't want to make time for gatherings like this. I pray that our little family creates some of our own gatherings and traditions and that our little ones will faithfully pass them down through the years.

Me and my sweet Mama

Me and my "little" brother, who is not so little anymore! Also, just to brag on him a bit, he recently got on with Vanderbilt's Lifeflight program and is super excited. He is an excellent RN and I know he will excel in his new role. Way to go Patrick!

A rare shot of me and both the kiddos

Mom and Kenneth

Mischievous little ones!

I have to add a couple more of Layla's recent funnies. First, I was making a cake the other night for Darren and I offered to let Layla lick the batter off of one of the beaters. She looks at me and says "What's at Mama?" I told her it was chocolate cake and she replied "I looooove chocolate cake!"

The next one took place in the truck. We were riding to town one morning and she told me she wanted to hold my hand. I reached my hand back there to hers and she noticed where I had snagged a hang nail on one of my fingers. She said "What happened Mama?" and I told her I just had a little boo-boo. Her response?? "Awwwww......Bess You Heart!"

This kid makes my heart melt and definitely keeps me on my toes! Love you Layla Bug!

Happy Birthday Moms!

On Saturday, August 4th, we celebrated my grandmother Moms's 85th birthday. Her actual birthday wasn't until the 12th, but we had come in a weekend early so that we could attend the Shepherd family reunion, which was the next day. My Mom grilled out and we had a wonderful dinner followed by cake and ice cream. We tried to get some pictures and they aren't the best, but they will just have to do!

Happy Birthday Moms! We love you!

Three generations

And thanks to Kenneth, we were able to get one with Mom in there, which makes it four generations.

(Just FYI, Isaac has been told many times NOT to make this particular face in pictures but for some reason, he continues to do it and thinks it's the funniest thing ever!)

Pool Party

On Friday, July 28th, Ellie and Emma Reynolds had their birthday pool party. As always, a good time was had by all and the weather was perfect. The kids had a blast and it was fun to be able to sit and catch up with Dale since we don't get to see each other much.

The party theme was watermelons and Dale had made and decorated the cutest cupcakes. Maybe one year I will attempt to do my own too, but for now, it's just easier to have someone else do them for me!

Layla concentrated hard on her cupcake...

...and thoroughly enjoyed it too!!

Thanks Reynolds girls for another great party!