June's Adventures

Katie loves to play outside and any time Sam goes outside she feels is a perfect time to go outside herself:)

 Lynnsey had an extra ticket for the Alabama Shakes at the Sloss Furnace! They really are a great band and have lots of character! You should check them out! Because there was only one ticket Jake and Katie stayed at Lynnsey's while Lynnsey, Rob, and Stephanie went on our adventure. So much fun!

What stop at Aunt Lynnsey's would be complete without a Oh So Special Lynnsey Birmingham tour! We finally went to the Vulcan, made a stop by Steel City Pops, and even a farmer's Market! Wow! Busy day! Katie was such a trooper she went all day w/o a nap and really was pleasant until the last 15 min when she was done being in the car...unfortunately we still had to drive home. Thankfully Katie took a nap and was her usual pleasant self for the truck ride back to Jefferson!

 2nd highest Katie has been, the Vulcan is slightly shorter than the lighthouse at Tybee island

 The walkway at the top of the Vulcan statue was see thru, kinda unnerving and cool, I tried to get a pic of the ground below.

 Buns of Steel! HA

 Couldn't get her to look at me for nothing!

June 29 Fireworks in Commerce

This was a perfect Saturday! Kids playing in the grass, eating cotton candy, eating hot dogs, eating watermelon, staying up late and watching fireworks with family. This brought back memories of being a kid and watching fireworks at Bill Hall’s house. The food and the fun that was had, I can still smell the sparklers! (no sparklers for Katie this year, not yet!)

This was the 2^nd time Katie was with us for fireworks, but the 1^st time she was mesmerized by the bright lights! She was naturally frightened at first by the big boom, but then layed back and enjoyed the show! It was the one of many just outright magical moments we get to enjoy with Katie.

Katie is also wearing red white and blue barrettes, but of course no one really cares about that but me..

Katie's new walk, for some reason she walks with her hands behind her back.
Her personality to starting to come through and it is just the beginning...

Because there are men and women around the world fighting for our freedom we have the privilege of sitting and watching fireworks, voting, and driving, complex and simple things that all came at the cost of someone's life, someone's valued time with their family. I do find it odd that American's choose to celebrate that by shooting off fireworks, drinking beer, eating watermelon, and the many other fun things we do this holiday. I know that it is time well spent, don't get me wrong, just kinda funny I think. I am grateful to all the soldiers and their families for their sacrifices!
I am proud to have so many family members on all sides of my family either currently serving or have served in the military. Proud beyond measurable words! 

Katie is also a very hip happening baby. She already Skypes! Oh yeah that's right! If you want to Skype with Katie just let me know and we can set up an appointment:) We have been Skyping with our Aunt Who is overseas and it is the cutest thing. She tries to kiss the screen. She can't quite figure out the whole thing, but seems to enjoy it!

May the 4th Be With You! And More!

May The 4^th Be With you! HA how awesome is today! An entire day to celebrate Star Wars! There is a festival in Athens celebrating the awesomeness that is Star Wars. There was even a troop of people dressed in full gear (movie quality, according to their website) as star troopers! To some people not so awesome, but we Harmon’s enjoy Star Wars. I am pretty sure I have seen all the commentaries and Jake has not yet, but he knows the information already so it doesn’t really matter! Either way we were excited that we would be able to go the Athens festival with Katie dressed up as Yoda, there’s a cutest baby contest with her name on it for sure! However…..thanks to the rain that will not be happening. Oh well, Yoda Baby will have to rule the house instead of all of Athens! 

 

 Cutest Yoda EVER!!

 

 This one is my favorite!!

May 8 Dr. Bo and more shots! Katie is still growing and progressing as she should according to Dr. Bo. I do not keep up with the percentiles and such…

More pictures of Katie’s unique way of sleeping. Before I go to be the last thing I do is check on her, and I usually find her twisted up or hanging out. I find it delightful! Enjoy! 

 This was a morning nap (when she still took morning naps... she had thrown all her animals out of her bed and this is how I found her!

 Jake says he slept like this alot, so maybe that is where she gets it from...

Katie and Sam have really started being super sweet lately. Sam has realized that Katie is a giver of food and Katie has found that Sam is a pretty comfy pillow. It is cool to see them accept each other more and more. 

Katie has started feeding Sam and giving him treats when he comes in from outside. He is still listening more to me at this point, but Katie says Sit, Down, and Easy, each time with as much authority as a 18 month old can muster. She is proud to do it and it is routine now. The feeding needs a bit of work she gets excited and dumps the cup before she actually gets to the food bowl, but luckily Sam really does not care where his food is... 

 

Jake took this one with his phone, they were laying on Sam's bed relaxing. 

                                                              Daddy's Rock Star!


Granny found a kids drum set at an auction, so we have 2 drum sets in the house! Katie loves playing it, although she is a bit spoiled on the Mapex set her Daddy has and usually ends up still playing on his, sitting on Daddy's lap:)

 Here she is playing both her and Daddy's drums at the same time!

April 2013

April 9 2013 ESP and friends said good bye to Bekkah today. Although I had very little interaction with Bekkah, she touched me much more deeply than I realized. I remember her cocking her head to the side and giving me a smile specifically on two occasions. Funny how the smallest of things come back to you when you stop and think. It made me want to run home and hug Katie even closer. It was a nice celebration of Bekkah’s life. It was sad, but it was a celebration. We all took communion at the end of her celebration service and while we did that a slideshow of Bekkah and her favorite songs played. I could only smile as we took communion to Justin Bieber’s song  Baby, One Direction’s You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful. It was perfect.  There was standing room only and so many people got up to share sweet words about Bekkah.  Collin said one of the most beautiful things I have heard in a long time. Collin would know what to say in a time like this. He said when Bekkah walked up to Heaven’s gates it wasn’t St. Peter it was Tyler that greeted her. She ran into his open arms and they sang Happy Birthday ESP style. We didn’t need to worry about Bekkah because she wasn’t by herself, Tyler was there. Our kids have a deeper understanding of God’s plan it seems. They are sad and they cry, but they truly believe that you go to a better place when it’s over. They are the one’s cheering us up and holding us up when it is all said and done.

                         The picture is of Tyler and Bekkah at the Big Hearts Pageant 2009.

April 15 2013 Thirteen years ago today I married Jake. It has been a happy journey, not without growth and trials, but with each one I can honestly say that we have grown closer together. We decided early on that we would fight for our marriage, even in the rough times. Thankfully the rough times have been few and far between. Jake has embraced my love of kids and adults with special needs with an understanding that means more than I could ever express. I embrace the drum set (now 2 drum sets, counting Katie’s set) that makes our house musical. I love Jake. I love waking up next to Jake each morning. I love sharing Saturday morning family snuggle time with Jake and Katie and Sam. I love my life. (deep sigh of contentment)

 Then and Now! Ha! How things are so very different!