Busy Days

This week has been extra busy for me and Emma. Usually we have a few obligations here and there but this week it has been crazy! And we feel so blessed! On Thursday we went to tour a local Mother's Day Out. And it was so so fun! Here's Emma right before we went in.

After our wonderful tour we went to the Brentwood Library for a play group with some families from our church. I was in total awe. Their children's library is absolutely beautiful! I only took some pictures of Emma running around in the story time room. The entire back wall is beautiful stained glass.

We had lunch with our wonderful friend Jennifer. I'm so sorry I didn't take any pictures, but Emma had a wonderful time with Aunt Jennifer and I did too! As always, I ate too much at Cracker Barrel, but it's just so delicious! 

We spent our afternoon at home Facetiming with our family afar and playing in Emma's room with her toys and books. We had a wonderful and very busy day! (I also made Emma a bow holder for her closet out of ribbons and a wood plaque with her name on it. I'll have to snap a photo soon.)

{MSP}

Allergies, Birthdays, and Lunch Dates

With the weather constantly changing I feel like we are in for a crazy Spring. There are a few Pattersons around here that suffer from seasonal allergies. This little lady is one of them. I've been chasing her around with tissues, but I think she'll survive. She looks just miserable here, doesn't she? :)

As the few people who read this know, my brother and sister-in-law and their kiddos live in Ecuador. Their littlest girl just had her very first birthday a few days ago. It was so hard being away and not being able to celebrate her with a big party. We did get to FaceTime and sing to the birthday girl which was so very special. I love that Emma can connect with her cousins in this way. After Emma went to bed (we're so cruel) Daniel and I had a little bit of cake and ice cream to celebrate our sweet niece's first birthday!

I love getting to see my handsome husband during the day. It's such a treat because we usually don't get to. It's hard for us to go meet him at work because Emma usually falls asleep in the car right before nap time. But when we do get to have a lunch date with Daniel, it's just the best! Emma adores her daddy (and I'm a pretty big fan too!). Before he left for work Daniel invited us to go downtown to meet him for lunch and I was so excited! What a nice treat! And he even let me pick the restaurant! What a gem! We had the best time and I feel so blessed!

World's Best Lunchdates! (Sorry it's a little blurry)

{MSP}

February Summer

We've had a bit of a warm spell lately. As a survivor of the Union University tornado on February 5, 2008, I realize the danger of warm weather in February. Thankfully the past couple of times it's been followed by cold fronts without the danger of tornadoes. This past one was a doozy and we spent some time with Emma in the bathroom to wait out the storm. Daniel is such a good leader and kept us all in good spirits! The plus side was that the next day was so, so beautiful! Emma and I went to the park and played on the playground. It has been months since we've been able to and it was a blast!

Louisville was Frozen

A few weekends ago Daniel had to head out of town for a bit so Emma and I took the opportunity to load up and head to visit Louisville! My dad travels pretty frequently so we love to keep Mom company when we can! And Emma adores her Nana! We FaceTime almost every day so they can chat! We had all kinds of fun! I was a little nervous about the drive because it was supposed to be snowy and icy. It did snow a lot of the way--but I just pretended we were in Narnia (which was easy because we were listening to Narnia audiobooks--we're cool like that!).

Snowy Drive

Bananas at Nana's

 One day my Mom had to teach so Emma and I had a special Mommy/Emma day! We went out to McAlister's for lunch and then we went to see the Frozen Sing-a-long. This was Emma's very first trip to the movie theater! I tried to make it special so we bought some snacks and it was so fun! Especially because it was snowy outside, so it made it seem more "real". There were only a few other people in the theater which was so wonderful because I was worried Emma would disrupt everyone. A little girl about 3 years old made friends with Emma and the girls shared snacks and danced around the theater together. It was darling!

Lunch date!

Hello Kitty Treats

So excited about the movie!

We headed to Ikea for a visit on Friday and I got some cute things for Emma's second birthday (which I can't believe is coming up in 4 months!!!).  Poor Emma got worn out during the shopping but on the plus side she slept on our way home!

Shopping wore this girl out!

We had the best weekend and were missing Nana the second we pulled out of her driveway! It was so wonderful to come to our home and be reunited with Daniel. Emma is a total Daddy's girl and I love that! Thanks for letting us come to visit, Nana!!!

{MSP}

Mommy and Me

Recently we enrolled Emma (and Mommy) in a Mommy and Me gymnastics class. We found the best and most fun place in Franklin that is a Christian gymnastics place. Here's their link in case you're in the area and interested. I took Emma for a lesson as a test to see if she'd like it and she LOVED it! I will say it was pretty fun (and a pretty good workout for moms too!) Here are a few photos of her enjoying class. (I haven't taken too many because it's a hands-on experience for the parents too.)

This was on her first day of gymnastics! I'll use these photos when she is an Olympian and we'll make everyone cry on a commercial or something. Ha! Just kidding. I'm sure she'll grow out of enjoying gymnastics at some point and that's fine. We are loving being social with the other kiddos and moms in the class and having some fun bonding time together too! 

{MSP}

NYC

I'm not really a "gifts" girl. I do appreciate a well-thought gift.  Lately Daniel has started giving me "experience" gifts for birthdays/Christmas/anniversary/etc. This year for our anniversary he surprised me with a trip to NYC! It was for 2 days and 1 night. We had the best time! We left our sweet Emma with Daniel's family (and she had a blast--they spoil her rotten :) !). We had been in town for his sister's college graduation and it just made sense to go ahead and leave her as we had Daniel's work Christmas party to attend. And then we flew out the next morning! We jam packed a lot into our two days! We mostly stayed in mid-town and the Upper East Side. I am a big NBC fanatic so we went by 30 Rock about 10 times while we were there to see the big tree! It was so festive to be in NYC while it was all lit up for Christmastime!

30 Rock!

Times Square--I realize we are super touristy!

Watching the ice skaters and enjoying the Winter Fair at Bryant Park.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I love love love the parade!

The Plaza Hotel

Ice Skaters in Central Park

Eloise's picture at the Plaza Hotel

I recently read a book about the rise and fall of the Vanderbilts and this is the only surviving structure from their 5th Avenue mansions.

The Disney store was decked out--it was perfection! (Poor Daniel--he was such a good sport to go with me!

A couple got engaged while we were there watching!

The Palace Hotel

We had the best time in the world! We stayed at the Sanctuary Hotel and it was so fun! I highly recommend a Christmastime NYC visit--we had so much fun and it was a great getaway! But, at the end of the trip I was so happy to go pick up our girl! And I think she was happy to see Mommy too!

{MSP}

Friday Favorites

Because it's Friday…it's time to share a few of my favorite things! Obviously, I'm not endorsed by any companies or authors or anybody…I'm just sharing a few things I like!

1. Sonic Diet Coke. Can I get an Amen?

2. Cheekymaidensoaps.com These soaps smell amazing! Seriously…they are natural and homemade and wonderful. I've tried a few other products and they are all great as well! These would make great gifts…if I wasn't obsessed with trying each new smell of soap myself!

3. My mom got me an amazing bread maker for Christmas! It was a total surprise! I love to make homemade bread. It used to take me almost a full day while I was trying to juggle Emma and kneading dough. Thankfully, with the bread maker, I can put in all the ingredients and leave the bread maker to do everything! I've had a few mishaps, but for the most part, we've had some wonderful loaves of warm, delicious bread!

4. Paper straws! Is anyone else on this bandwagon? I love them! I ended up buying some for the house after I used one at a restaurant. It feels so luxurious!

5. Speaking of luxury! I am loving faux fur throws! This particular one is from Walmart and is only $15! I have the brown one but couldn't find a picture of it! I feel like a princess when I use it--it is incredibly soft and luxurious! And I'm not 100% positive but I'm pretty sure when you buy it you get one of those postcards to get a yearlong subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. 

I'll have to post some more favorites soon! These are a few things that bring joy to my life right now! Oh, and of course these two sweethearts!

{MSP}