our weekend

We had a really nice, relaxing weekend. Saturday, I was able to run some errands by myself and Ansley and Daddy had some bonding time. It is so nice to be able to go into a store and take my time, without my very busy toddler! When I got home we headed to the pool and had some family swim time. We have been working with Ansley to get her to blow bubbles in the water and jump into the pool. She made a few bubbles, but mainly just stuck her mouth in the water. She is just the cutest thing and loves being outside. After a little nap we had a plan to get some chick-fil-a and have a picnic at the park, but the weather had another plan. We decided just to have dinner at the restaurant and stay dry :). Ansley had her first encounter with some chick-fil-a ice cream, and she loved it! She wanted to finish the whole thing, but we decided that probably wasn't such a great idea that late at night.

our week at the park

Our little girl is IN LOVE with the park! We went three times this week, and I think she would've stayed all day if I let her. She is big enough now to get onto the playground, so she is ALL about climbing up and down off of it. I love to watch her, so just loves playing and being outside so much!


Here she is on the way to the park, she is holding onto her little bear that Grandma made for her birthday. It is the perfect size to cuddle!

trip to atlanta

Last Tuesday Ansley and I went up to Atlanta for a quick trip. We went to have dinner with Gigi, Vicki, Daniel and his wife Shannon. Vicki was our neighbor growing up and Daniel is her son. Daniel and my sister were super close, and they are like family to us. Daniel is a Marine and is going to deploy to Afghanistan soon. He was visiting his parents in Atlanta, so we wanted to come and visit with them and meet his new wife Shannon. We had a great time at dinner. We went to yummy Maggiano's! Ansley was such a good girl the whole day, and that says a lot considering she only had one nap! We set up her DVD player, that her Pop got her for her birthday, at the table and she watched some Elmo while we ate. It was so funny because the tables behind her were watching too!! We had a great time and are so proud of the man Daniel has become. Please, please keep him in your prayers as he goes to fight for our country in Afghanistan.

open and shut

We had a busy day today with errands around town. First, we went to Hobby Lobby(my favorite store) and got some GREAT deals. If you are a seamtress, you need to rush your booty on down to HobLob because they are selling McCall's patterns for $o.99!! Holy Moly!! I bought about $180 worth of patterns for $9!! I'm so excited to get sewing! After that we went to Chick-fil-a and baby girl had her first meal there. She loved it!
After a short nap we went to the store to get real food, and had a quiet evening at home. We have started to get into a really great routine at night that I love. We eat dinner at the table together as a family, give Ansley a bath and put her to bed. After her bath tonight we played a little bit in our room. She has begun a new fascination with opening and shutting everything. She discovered Daddy's nightstand and all of its glory. Opening the door and the drawer, pulling everything out and shutting the door over and over. It was the cutest thing ever. We love just watching her discover new things. She is such a joy! Tomorrow we are off to Atlanta so we hope you have a great Tuesday!

One Year Old!!

Tuesday was Ansley's birthday. I can't believe she is one already. I really don't know what happened to this year. It seems like just yesterday that I was having contractions and making laps around our house. This year has been one of the best of my life. Ansley has brought so much happiness to our lives. I really don't know how I lived without her. She has been such a joy and we are truly blessed. We won the lottery when it comes to children! She has really changed over the past few months, she has developed quite the personality! She is such a ham and just loves attention, she flirts with everyone that will smile at her! She is quite the busy body never ever sitting still longer than 5 minutes. She loves being chased around the house and she also loves climbing. She mastered the stairs before she could even walk, and now she is trying to get up on the furniture. She will hike her little leg up onto the sofa cushions, but she is just short enough where she can't push herself up. One new love that she has found is the bath. She gets so excited when I walk into the bathroom and turn on the faucet. She will pull at her clothes as if she is trying to get them off and watch the water fill the tub. It is so cute when we undress her because she will beat on her bare belly with her hands and just crack up. She is so much fun and we have the best time together during the day. I am so so lucky to get to spend my day with such a cool little girl. On her birthday, we played together with her amazing toys that she got at her party. We also went shopping a little bit and got her a few little gifts for her. After Daddy got home we decided to do some more shopping as a family, and got her some fun bath stuff! We then went to Bruster's for her first ice cream cone, and let me just say she is our daughter for sure!!! She gobbled up that cone like there was no tomorrow! When we came home she watched her new Elmo DVD with her new Elmo doll and then we took a bath and went to bed. It was such a great day!!




Turned around in her big girl car seat. She LOVES facing forward!
She is really into Elmo if you can't tell!


Making herself a little more comfortable.

Eww this part is good!


Party pictures to come...

We're Back!!!

I can't believe it has been three months since my last post. This summer has been absolutely crazy here at the Stokes household. It seems like I was gone for the ENTIRE month of July! We have been doing a lot of traveling back and forth to Atlanta. My mom had her knee cap replaced, so I stayed with her to mend her back to health. While I was gone, Ansley got to spend the whole week with her grandma and grandpa! She had a blast! The day I got home she decided that she was going to walk, and she hasn't stopped since. We also went on a family vacation with my side of the family over the week of July 4th. We went to "the forest" which is outside of Charleston. It is a property that my mom's company owns. It is exclusive to employees of the railroad, and it is my idea of heaven-on-earth! We have been going there for as long as I can remember. It was a favorite of me and my sister, and Ansley absolutely LOVED it!! It is so nice to be there for a week because you get to totally unwind and spend all of your day outdoors. I mean, how often do you get to do that in your everyday life? I am also back in school now. I am currently taking one course online (because I was gone all summer and couldn't attend class) and will be taking courses in the fall and winter. I hope to be in the nursing program this time next year!! So, that is our summer in a brief synopsis. Here are some pictures to go along.


Chilling at Gigi's in my new rocker that she got me for my birthday.



Taking my first steps when Mommy got home.
I really loved all the squirrels at the forest, Mommy says they look like bears in the face.
Standing up on my own at the forest.
Carriage ride at the forest with Pawpaw, Gigi, Mommy and Daddy. I really loved the horses and all of the trees!!





Chilling at the pool with Gigi.