Ugh, I've really been slacking on this blog. The problem (because yes, I have an excuse) is that I'm always on my work computer, but I typically blog (and upload my pics) to our home computer. First world problems! Anyway, I have the cutest content ever and need to do a much better job posting.

Starting with right after Aiden's birthday… We headed to Pinehurst, NC for Madi and Malcolm's wedding.

Aiden's first ice cream…she loved it (duh!).

Crazy what a difference a year makes

sink baths!

Fun at Piedmont Park

Jude turned two!

We cheered daddy on at his softball games!

Besties!

Lots of evenings spent swinging in the front yard.

Cousin fun at the Marietta Square

My girl. 

Hanging with grandpa

Happy birthday, Jude!!

Adam pulled out a tree!

Bubble baths.

Auntie Dom got engaged! Someone was asked to be the world's cutest flower girl. (And her momma was asked to be a bridesmaid! yay!)

Fun fact: If you live in metro Atlanta, you can "check out" a zoo pass from the local library. We had a great time - made even greater by the fact that it was free!

She loved the petting zoo!

I'm a part of the Family Advisory Council at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and we had a fun Family Fun Day in October!

Oh, I'm a sucker for vests. 

I wanted to pose with Charlie Brown while I was in my Charlie Brown sweater… a little chicky couldn't be left out.

They are seriously the cutest.

Adam takes Aiden on the best daddy daughter dates! This one was a trip to the Chick-Fil-A drive thru and back home for a front yard picnic with ice cream.

My mom and I threw Maggie and Michael a baby shower. I was way too proud of this cupcake anchor - I immediately directed everyone to the dining room to look at it.

Can't wait to meet sweet baby M!

Aiden "helping" open presents.

My cousin Emma and Aiden are besties! She's the best babysitter.

Adam and Michael trying to teach Mitch how to smoke a cigar. Entertaining to say the least.

We finally got to meet Madelyn! She's the precious daughter of our friends Dallas and Chad. Dallas was diagnosed with Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer back in June, and I was so happy to finally just give her a big hug and spend time with them. Keep up with her fight and specific prayer requests here.

We visited the same pumpkin patch as last year! (Thank you Dallas for the super cute shirt!)

Ruthie loves Aiden. It's mutual.

My dear, dear friend Barbara came in town, and we got to meet sweet Jax! (aka my future son-in-law)

We got to babysit Jax when they went to a wedding. We were his first non-family babysitters! He was such a sweetheart, but phew… two is hard!

Aiden was a little jealous in the beginning, but she warmed up to him and thought it was hilarious to give him so many kisses.

Afternoon in the Country with two of my favorite ladies! Fun fact, I put this on Instagram and mentioned Paxton (the little boy in Kelly's tummy) - and I'm still mortified because she hadn't announced it on social media, yet!!! Ugh, the ultimate social media faux pas. (I immediately deleted it once I was called out, of course.)

Dinner and a show!

Fun with Jude!

The election happened. Aiden will be on the ballot in 2048. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Andddd that's all the photos that will upload for now. Hooray to me for finally updating!

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Baptism

I got baptized! I remember watching others get baptized in the past and thinking "Oh, haillll no. There's no way I'm getting up in front of all these people - especially my family - and pronouncing my love for Jesus. Nope. Nope. Nope." But as my walk with Christ has gotten deeper, it's become clearer to me that in order to truly do my deal as a daughter of Christ I need to be spreading his glory. I can't keep this awesomeness to myself, no matter how far outside of my comfort zone that pushes me. (Read: I've still been a big baby about tiptoeing outside that comfort zone, but I think this was big step!)

I was originally supposed to be baptized on July 24, but I woke up to a severe allergic reaction to Penicillin. (Who knew - your body can just decide to become allergic to things overnight.) For real, Google "penicillin rash" and I rivaled the worst pictures you can find. Needless to say, I did not get baptized looking like a leper (how ironic). Satan is real, y'all.

I added October 16 in my calendar - the next baptism. (I also kept hoping I wouldn't die between July 24 and October 16, because that would really suck to JUST miss my chance for the pearly gates. Also, JK. While I know God longs for us to proclaim our love for him through baptism, I also don't believe that's humanity' only way to H-town.)

I was struggling with what I was going to say. Adam had such a beautiful, moving testimony at his baptism - a literal "come to Jesus", but I didn't have an exact moment that I could describe when I knew Jesus was real. A few weeks prior to my baptism our pastor, David, did a sermon on "it's not what you know, it's what you believe". This clicked! I decided to go into a little more detail and ta-da, I was ready.

October 16 arrived and a whole slew of family joined us - Dave, Meagan, Nathan, Mom, Dad, Mitch, Kathy, Maggie, Michael. (We missed Kelsey and Debbie!) I got up next to the three kids (yep, all the rest were little children) and did the business-y, public proclamation part. I was last and spent the whole time praying that God would give me words to bring Him glory. That I wouldn't be nervous, but I would be bold and reach an unreached.

Next thing I knew, it was time to kick off my shoes and head to the stage. As a comfort blanket, I held Aiden during my little spiel. To the best of my memory, this is what I said...

"A couple weeks ago, David said 'It's not what you know, it's what you believe.' That was great, so I'm going to steal it. I may now know every book in the Bible. I may not know a ton of scripture by heart, yet. I may not know many Christian buzz words. But I believe in Jesus with my whole heart. I believe that we are all sinners, and I believe that Jesus responds with more love and grace than we could ever comprehend. I believe he has done amazing things in my life and you can't convince me otherwise. I'm excited to see how else he uses me to bring glory to Him. And I'm excited to be up here getting baptized in front of all of you!"

Next came the waterfall and really, truly amazing prayers from both Adam and our pastor, David. And ta-da! I am officially baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. AMEN!

(Side note: My Jesus bestie, Barbara, also got baptized on October 16, eleven years ago! I didn't even know until after the baptism! Seriously, SO COOL!)

Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween! We had a great night trick or treating with our little piggy and Bob the Builder! We headed over to the Causeys' for dinner, then my parents met up with us and the candy hunt was on.

Per usual, I spent a good chunk of the year pinning adorable toddler costumes on Pinterest. After finding the perfect Boo (from Monster's Inc.) costume on Etsy for a cool $100, I decided to ditch my Pinterest dreams and head to Target. (Well, technically Target.com.) BINGO. We had the cutest piggy in all the land.

It was so fun watching Jude and Aiden this year. Last year, although she was the cutest wittle wamb, she was also a bump on a log. This year, she was actually able to participate. And it didn't take her long to get the idea. (Check it out here. Also, here is Aiden and Jude both trick or treating. MY HEART!)

"Jude, hold Aiden's hand."

Good luck handling this cuteness...

Little piggy and daddy

Happy Halloween!