Trip to Gatlinburg - Warning! Cute pictures ahead

Lucy with the fishes at the Aquarium


On Sunday, we took Lucy up to Lake Junaluska for the Sunday service. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it wasn't TOO warm. :) We saw Wes and Toni Ruth and their kids while we were there and it was nice to visit with them. Lucy seemed to enjoy it and it was fun to see all of the other PK's (preacher's kids) playing outside of Stuart Auditorium.

After the service, we drove over to Gatlinburg for a few days of vacation. We spent Sunday afternoon shopping at the Tanger Outlets in Sevierville and then ate dinner at the Olive Garden across the street. Lucy charmed all the people that she met - it was amazing the number of people that came over to speak to her and wave at her and say how cute she is! Of course, her Mommy and Daddy already know this, but it's always nice to hear other people say so. :) On Monday, we took Lucy to the Aquarium where she enjoyed watching all of the fish and even though she was too young to understand and appreciate a lot of what she saw, we enjoyed watching her laugh and squeal as she watched the different fish swim. After that we went to lunch at Bubba Gump shrimp company. (Yes, Michael was in the mood for seafood after watching all the beautiful fish!) It rained while we were at lunch so when we finished it was really hot and steamy outside. The Hollywood Wax Museum was right across the street so we went in to escape the heat. Lucy was interested in all of the "people" she saw. . . except for Michael Jordan who scared her! When we were finished, Daddy had some ice cream which Lucy loved! It was a short, but fun trip for us and nice to have some family time together before Michael and I leave next week on choir tour! Below are some pictures from our trip.

Getting ready to leave for the aquarium - the hat didn't last long!

She loved the fish - she's just not quite sure about all the people around her!

Mommy and Lucy

Daddy and Lucy

Looking at the penguins

Telling Donald Trump he's fired :)

Playing Ray's piano - Lucy can't understand why it doesn't play like hers at home!

"Beam me up, Daddy" - if you look at Lucy's face, you can tell that she is thinking the same thing her Mommy is thinking! :)

Standing on her own with Toto from the Wizard of Oz

MMMM - Ice Cream!!!

Mmm. . . ice cream!!!

We are heading back to Mills River today after a quick two days in Gatlinburg. I will blog more about our mini vacation when we get back. (Or trip ,I guess I should call it - I have quickly learned that there is no rest on a trip with a one-year-old!) But I wanted to share this photo with you - the rest of the pictures are in the eleven month folder and I'll post more when I get a chance!

A Big Kiss for you!

Only a few more days . . .

I can hardly believe that ten days from now my baby girl is going to be one year old. Time is going by so rapidly . . . last year at this time I was anxiously waiting for Lucy to arrive. (Remember at that time I thought Lucy wasn't getting here until July!) Days couldn't fly by fast enough back then with the end of the school year and Michael's ordination. Now it seems that there is never enough time!

Lucy is growing and changing every day. She is finally getting some hair. . .although it is so fine it still looks like she doesn't have any. :) One of Lucy's top front teeth has popped out and I think another top tooth is out as well - it's hard to tell though since she won't let you get near her mouth! Lucy is cruising around and getting better with her balance every day. It won't be long now until she starts taking steps all by herself and then there will be no stopping her! She is "talking" all the time now and trying to echo what you say. She says "Mama" and "Dada" and "mmba" (food) and "Ba" (Baxter) and "Bye." Tonight I was talking about the ladybugs on her pajamas and said "Bug" and she responded "Ba" with a big grin. . . so she's trying! She still loves her baby food but is beginning to like "grown up" food more and more. A few of her favorites are: bananas, cheerios, applesauce, biscuits, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and Nilla wafers (thanks to the ladies at MRLEC at church).



Grammy and Poppa got Lucy a Little Tikes Play Castle for her birthday. It arrived early so we put it together yesterday and she has had a great time playing with it so far. The picture above is her spinning the steering wheel. She loves the swing and is still not sure what to think about the slide. She loves to spin the wheel around and look through the spyglass . . especially if Daddy is looking back through the other end! :)

Dinner with friends

Melissa and Erin drove up last Friday night to have dinner with us. Michael grilled "manly meat" and made cheesy rice and vegetables. Add that to the green beans and fruit salad Melissa and Erin brought with them and it was one good meal! Then Michael made ice cream for dessert which we ate while watching the spelling bee. The spelling bee by itself is always fun to watch. . . but it's even more fun to watch with friends! :) It was nice to get to see them - it had certainly been a while. I think the last time they saw Lucy was at her baptism. She enjoyed the company too and spent the evening entertaining them and showing off her toys! :)

Cruising around

Here's a quick video of Lucy walking around behind her car. Sorry that it is so shaky - it's hard to keep in front of her! :)

Mommy's Mini Me!

Lucy wanted to play piano this afternoon! Isn't she cute??

Lucy can finally reach the keys when standing!

Looking at ourselves in the piano

That's my girl! :)