15 months old

Tate turns 15 months old this week....here are a few of his latest tricks:

• Says mama, dada, ba (ball), ca-ca (cracker), bye-bye, uh oh, 1-2-3-GO!, ca (car), bebe (for belly and baby), bi boy (big boy), nana (banana), kee (kitty), bu (book), no no, ah done (all done), ma (more)
• Tells us "nigh nigh" when he's ready for bed and then crawls upstairs to his room
• LOVES to dance and march and run
• Can point to his nose, tongue, hair, shoes, toes and belly
• Learning to swim...attempts to blow bubbles and likes to jump in from the side
• Blows kisses and gives hugs
• Can throw and kick a ball
• Seems to understand most of what we say and can follow simple commands..."pick that up", "take that to daddy", etc
• On average, sleeps from 8pm - 8am at night and takes 2 naps during the day
• Wears 18 month clothes and weighs around 25lbs
• Favorite toy of the moment: his plastic golf clubs and any type of ball...although after seeing these pictures from his friend's birthday party, I think we are going to have to get him a rocking chair!

On the waterfront...

One of my favorite things about our house - and really the main reason we bought it - is the backyard. I love being able to look out from the windows to see the lake, but it's also the little things that I love... like hearing the bullfrogs at night... and seeing baby ducks in the spring...and having bonfires by the water. (Sidenote: There are also many things I don't love...snakes, goose poop, random people fishing on our property... but I'll save that for another post.)

Here are a few pictures of our "Golden Pond"...

Sunset

Snow (2009)

Cashing in!

For my birthday this year, my parents got me this:


and this:

So, five months later, we're cashing in! We'll spend Wednesday and Thursday night at my parent's house in St. Simons, and then Keith and I will head south to Ponte Vedra, where we will spend three days/ two nights at the Lodge and Club... alone, by ourselves, without work or baseball or any responsibilities. YAY! The last time Keith and I vacationed alone was 2007(!), so, needless to say, we are really excited to get away.

On Sunday, we'll drive back to St. Simons to celebrate the 4th. In all the years that my parents have lived on SSI, we've never been there on the 4th of July, so I'm excited about that as well.

For anyone interested, here are a few pictures of what we did last year...

The Layfield's boat at Big Canoe

3 months old

Wishing everyone safe travels this week!

And so it begins...

"On Golden Pond was a treasure for many reasons, but the best one, I think, is that I could believe it. I could believe in it's major characters and their relationships, and in the things they felt for one another." ~Roger Ebert

Welcome to my new blog! With Tate growing so quickly, I figured now was as good a time as any to jump on the blogging bandwagon and begin documenting our life (and his childhood) on our own little "Golden Pond" in Roswell, GA. I won't flatter myself to think that I'll have many readers - most of my posts will probably only interest family and close friends - but, regardless, I look forward to sharing the daily entertainment that comes with being a full-time working wife and mother. Enjoy!