Is This Seriously Happening

Cora Chelsea Jotham

2012-01-28T21:21:00.001-05:00

Cora Chelsea Jotham arrived at 12:51pm Saturday, January 28, 2012 at a shockingly giant 9lb 6oz (Elliana and Olive were a full two pounds lighter!) and 20.5in long!

She's a beaut and will meet her sisters in the morning. We're so thrilled to have a perfect, healthy bundle of joy!

Identity Concealed to Protect the Fat & Innocent

2012-01-27T16:19:00.001-05:00

Two days away from due date. Officially moved my office to the lounge, feet up... so tired, so impatient. Hurry Baby Jotham, mama's hurtin!

A Lightly Documented 2011 Christmas

2012-01-05T20:41:00.001-05:00

Such a wonderful Christmas, so few pictures. I somehow lost my camera at the end of it all. I still have hope that it is just packed away in someone's bag. In the meanwhile here are photos courtesy of our phones.

Our holiday started with Christmas at home. The girls both got bikes as their main gift from mommy and daddy.

We're still working on the pedaling part of riding.

Then we headed up to Blue Ridge, GA where Collin and Jody had rented an adorable cabin in the mountains. We poked around the downtown area and then took the Santa Train where the kids met the man himself (this is where I get really sad about losing the camera!).

We went fishing in a stocked pond, where Elliana proudly caught a catfish! And mined for beautiful, priceless north GA gems!

There was hiking with Nana and Papa.

And of course, Princess dresses! Thank you to everyone who sent thoughtful gifts, the girls had an amazing Christmas!

I think Jody took some Christmas morning pictures as well, so hopefully I'll be able to supplement these soon.

Pregnancy Hormones + Christmas = Tears

2011-12-21T16:03:00.000-05:00

Things that made me SOB yesterday (not just tear up, but cry like a baby):

1. Pampers commercial
2. The Little Drummer Boy song
3. War story on NPR
4. Buying the girl's bikes for Christmas

Welcome Levi Thomas Vagen!

2011-12-14T14:32:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Gwen and Greg on their sweet bundle of joy! Levi was born early Sunday morning at a hefty 9lb 9oz and 22.5in long!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-12-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving in Florida

2011-12-01T22:48:00.001-05:00

I really shouldn't visit Florida in the winter, it's like visiting Maine in the summer... I can almost convince myself that I could live there!

The Jothams were overly hospitable, as always... but even more this time as Debby's parents were visiting in addition to my gang!

The obligatory matching grandchildren picture!

Front yard wiffleball tournament.

Fancy Thanksgiving dinner. Elliana enjoying her apple juice aperitif.

At the plaaaaayground...

Perfect day for the beach!

Well-fed neighborhood ducks.

Enjoy the next bazillion PICTURES from our long weekend!

Random Maine Visit

2011-11-22T21:33:00.001-05:00

We took one last visit to Maine as a family before baby Jotham #3 comes and we're grounded for a while! As always, the cousins had an absolute blast. The girls were enamored with Yaya's large collection of fancy scarves!

Thank you Yaya, Popi, Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Joe for all your hospitality!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-30T21:09:00.003-04:00

You know the Jothams love our Halloween! This year was highlighted by our annual trip to Bert's pumpkin farm and the best neighborhood party yet! Great showing, adorable costumes, pony rides AND a petting zoo with the most tolerant animals ever!

Enjoy all the PICTURES from the pumpkin farm

and PICTURES from the neighborhood party!

Hey, Look What We Found!

2011-10-23T14:30:00.001-04:00

Hamtastic

2011-09-23T17:30:00.000-04:00

A Wedding on the Cape

2011-09-19T22:20:00.001-04:00

Beautiful wedding weekend of friends Jess and Brian in Cape Cod. The weather was perfect, the food fantastic and the company some of the best!

Thank you to the Jothams for coming up and taking such good care of the girls while Damon and I gallivanted around Massachusetts.

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Dylan's Beach Birthday

2011-09-07T22:40:00.001-04:00

Such a fantastic 4th birthday celebration with the Jothams in St. Pete Beach! The cousins were inseparable! Lots of pool and beach time.

Enjoy a few highlights:

Who do you think Olive looks like?

2011-08-02T13:33:00.005-04:00

Everywhere we go, people gasp at how much Olive looks like Damon, but check out MY baby pictures... shockingly Olive-esque.

Hot Birthday Fun!

2011-07-31T18:48:00.004-04:00

Bouncing with the boys on a HOT birthday afternoon!

Cinderella cake tastes better with goggles.

Olive destroys a slice of watermelon rind and all!

Elliana's Mexican Birthday

2011-07-26T20:41:00.005-04:00

Elliana takes after her father in that she loooooves Mexican restaurants. So for her birthday we went to La Parrilla. She ate her traditional giant plate of rice and beans and then the employees sang her a birthday song.

And then there was the brownie and ice cream. She screamed any time we attempted to even snag a bite and ended up eating nearly the entire thing by herself. Note the picture of the plate before and after.

And one hour later... the aftermath

Wait... What?

2011-07-25T17:36:00.002-04:00

Yes, that is exactly what you think it is. Baby Jotham #3 is due to arrive January 29, 2012.

The girls are thrilled! Olive reacted by body slamming my midsection and Elliana told me she has a Cinderella and a bike growing in her tummy.

We find out the sex in about 6 weeks. I'll bring a straight jacket and a few Xanax for Damon just in case.

Sweet Sister Love

2011-07-06T11:23:00.005-04:00

Enjoy the whole photoshoot HERE!

Mommy Escapes: Golden Girls & NYC

2011-06-24T21:20:00.004-04:00

Damon and I thought that once we had children, we would travel a lot less. It turns out, travel is way too ingrained in us. So we don't travel less, we just travel differently. We take fewer trips together and far more "girls trips" and "mancations," so that one of us is always home with the girls. On the rare occasion we do go on vacation together, or our trips overlap, our parents have been fantastic about traveling to Atlanta to cover.

Most recently, I went with three of my favorite travel gals to Florida for what we dubbed our "Golden Girls Trip." My sister and Joe were kind enough to let us stay in their beautiful coastal home in the sleepy retirement town of Englewood. We did a lot of eating, drinking and beaching. A much-needed rest and escape for all of us.

A few weeks later, Damon planned a Father's Day diving trip with his father, brother and cousin in the Bahamas. At the same time I planned to go to NYC to attend my cousin Will's wedding reception. Enter mom and dad Smith to watch the girls!

If you remember my disappointment in missing Will and Emily's wedding in remote Mexico (that is the part of our travel that HAS fallen to the way side for financial and timing reasons: Exotic International Trips). I was determined to make their NYC reception! So I did a 24-hour trip up just for the party. And it was worth it! Pictured above: Uncle Pat, Aunt Bernice, Me, Cousin Will.

The trips will continue... Damon is off to Vegas for a bachelor party in a couple of weeks and to keep things even, I'll be planning something fun and fantastic for the fall. Children have changed us dramatically, but it turns out there are some things we're not quite ready to sacrifice.

The Jothams Take on Iowa

2011-05-26T20:26:00.009-04:00

Now that was the country. Farms, windmills, overalls and unrelenting wafts of cow manure. We went to visit Damon's mother's family who seemed to be 50% of the population of Carroll, Iowa.

I joke, the truth is my hometown in Maine isn't much larger. But this being my first visit to the Midwest, it felt very different from anywhere I've ever been. The people were kind and helpful, the grass was the greenest I've ever seen (well-fertilized?!) and the farms extend further than the eye can see.

We spent a lot of time eating, hanging at the assisted living home and visiting farms! I know the grandparents and great grandparents appreciated it. You could see the pride in Elmer and Marjean's eyes as they introduced Elliana and Olive to their friends and family.

Thanks to Bill and Debby for keeping us sane with the girls and the city of Iowa for putting up with us city folk invading!

Here are a few funny farm highlights!

And if you want even MORE Iowa Jotham Family fun, enjoy all the PICTURES

And... here are random PICTURES from the past month or so.

Summer Approaches

2011-05-10T20:13:00.008-04:00

And boy am I ready. Not necessarily for the 90-degree temps... but for a break. Spring is our busy time at work and I'm pretty cooked. My last big project wraps in just over a week (leaving Damon with the girls Sunday-Thursday, ouch!) and then it's a slew of vacations! I have to say, I have done a pretty good job juggling family mixed in with late hours. I refuse to sacrifice time with my girls, so extra work is done once they go to bed. Who needs sleep, right?

Atlanta's Piedmont Park recently expanded and added a fun water fountain. We took an impromptu trip last weekend and the girls had a blast!

An afternoon on Lake Lanier with friends. Olive made sandcastles with daddy and Elliana discovered her love for geese!

And we even broke out the sprinkler Gwen and Greg got Olive for her birthday. Pretty sure Elliana enjoyed it more. Olive is still getting used to the feel of grass under her feet.

Enjoy all the PICTURES from the last few weeks!

Our Backyard

2011-04-18T21:24:00.008-04:00

A little over a year ago, we moved across the street. Same exact house, one very big difference, the yard! We ditched what we dubbed our "MTV Party House" (pool, outdoor cable, giant sliding glass doors), for a family-friendly, flat 2-acre lot with a nice grassy yard, a shaded swing and play set and a custom-built play house.

It was a bit of a sacrifice, since I originally wanted a home with more bedrooms... but seeing the girls and neighborhood kids like this, makes it all worth it.

Mikey and Monkeys!

2011-04-18T20:36:00.001-04:00

Thank you to cousin Mikey and Aunt Chelsea (chow-see) for visiting a few weeks ago! It was a fantastic bonding time for the cousins AND me and my sister.

We went to the zoo and from the pictures, I think we let the babies run around in their diapers quite a bit!

Enjoy PICTURES!

Cake, cake and then more cake

2011-03-24T20:59:00.013-04:00

Olive had the opportunity to celebrate her birthday three times over the past week. Three times the gifts and three times the CAKE. And let me tell you, that girl knew what she was doing!

Cake One: Nana and Papa's House

Cake Two: YaYa and Popi's Timeshare in Orlando

Cake Three: Party at Home with Friends

Argh, my stomach aches just thinking about it all! But my baby was a trooper, she didn't get sick at all. Daycare went through a few extra diapers that Monday, which I'm sure they really appreciated.

And of course, Elliana enjoyed all the celebrations, gifts, cake and ice cream as well. I think she was was making up for lost time. If you recall, I used to be a little neurotic about sugar... (one tiny mini cupcake for Elliana's first birthday!)

After all that cake, I was a little concerned about going to Olive's 1-year doc appointment. But she managed to stay on the charts for weight percentiles:

Weight: 92nd percentile
Height: 75th percentile
Head: 90th percentile

And props to the hubby! Over the past 6 months he has been competing with his father and a family friend in a heated weight-loss battle. The final weigh-in was this past visit to Florida (before the cake fest) and Damon won, losing over 40lbs! Here is an especially skinny picture of him and the birthday girl:

Thank you to all our friends and family for celebrating with us! Olive may be a little slow with her thank you notes, but they're coming!!!

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Fresh from the Garden Turnips

2011-03-07T21:43:00.007-05:00

And corporate retreats with:

and of course a conference room, HR rep and flip charts...

Activities Galore!

2011-02-24T19:36:00.008-05:00

A very busy Jotham family. Exploring child-friendly activities in Atlanta.

Ice skating for the first time!

Climbing trees in the park.

Jumping with friends.

Studying friends jumping...

Princess dresses at Katie's house

Swinging in the yard.

Sesame Street on the couch.

We also just recently discovered the Children's Museum. Fantastic. After the first visit, we became members... we'll be visiting A LOT.

Both girls are blossoming into amazing children, but Elliana is really becoming a sweet girl. Her vocabulary triples daily and while I can still only understand about 70%, anything she says in that little girl voice melts my heart.

Batten down the hatches, Olive will be turning one in less than a month and is so close to walking! I hoping before her birthday she takes her first steps... then she'll be able to keep up with her sister.

February has renewed my faith in Atlanta weather. After being snowed in for a week in January, the temps soared and we've had consistent sunshine and 60-70-degree weather. We have daffodils in the backyard. Ah... I hope it lasts all the way til spring.

YaYa, Cruising and More...

2011-02-02T21:17:00.007-05:00

Damon was feeling pretty guilty after his extended stay in Vegas, so he immediately booked a flight for my mother to visit (and help!) for his next trip a week and a half later to Colorado.

I always wonder if I will be as much of a help to my children as our mothers are to us? When my mom is here, all the laundry is done (and it's usually backed up to the sky), a hot dinner is on the table every night, my house doesn't look like a tornado hit it... and most importantly, my children are entertained and happy. Having my girls happy is all I truly care about... but it is nice to have clean underwear and a full belly too!

While daddy was away, Olive's been getting closer and closer to walking. She is officially cruising. She moves all around the coffee table and walks with finger assistance. And... looks more and more like her father with every passing day, if that's even possible?!

And just a few more cute moments from the past few weeks...

Vroommmm!

bunny, baby Olive, baby Elliana and big girl Elliana

beautiful day for heading to the back creek and picking up river trash with daddy

A Warm Escape with Cousin Mikey

2011-01-24T21:23:00.006-05:00

My sister and her hubby have a winter home down in Florida, just 45 minutes south of the Jothams. We were recently invited to visit, which was far more attractive than an invite to Maine in January! And after the the week of snow, I was very excited for a little sun and family fun!

Mikey and the girls really bonded. He chased Elliana around and mimicked everything she did (she is such a cool older cousin) and Olive did her best to keep up! Mikey is smack in the middle of my girls, 10 months younger and older... I look forward to them all being the best of friends!

It was so nice to have some quality time with my sister. It had been a long time since we had one-on-one sissy bonding.

And of course, we spent a little time with Damon's family as well. GiGi and Olive got some snuggle time.

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Serious Southern Snow

2011-01-10T21:14:00.007-05:00

Ok, Mother Nature and this global warming thing are NOT messing around. We got something like 5 inches last night with sleet on top!

Of course, like a true southern family, we were completely unprepared. Footy pajamas with sneakers would have to do. I put socks on Olive's hands.

I rocked it true redneck-style and took the girls for a ride in a laundry basket pulled by an extension cord! They LOVED it!

With work and daycare closed... the girls and I had some good bonding time! Daddy was supposed to be home from Vegas tonight, now it's looking like Friday! And I just got an email informing me daycare is closed tomorrow too. Hmmm... will have to get creative to avoid cabin fever.

Snowy Atlanta Christmas

2011-01-07T20:34:00.002-05:00

Christmas was so much fun this year. Elliana was excited about Christmas trees, houses, lights, Santa. She loved it all.

For the first time we actually stayed in Atlanta. My parents were able to visit over Christmas weekend. It was a really nice, special time for all of us. And it even snowed on Christmas day! So exciting for us, less so for my parents.

Our family is still recovering from a month-long cold that ravaged all of us. The girls recovered quickly, but Damon and I were hit hard spending days in bed with a fever. We still have coughs that make us sound like death.

We're looking forward to 2011 and all the joys it will bring. We love and appreciate you all and look forward to making more time for friends and family.

Enjoy all the PICTURES.

Birthday, Bahamas and Baby Brunch

2010-12-19T15:45:00.014-05:00

For the past few years my birthday has been spent in NY for work. But this year coming home was so sweet. The looks in my girls eyes when I walked in the door was the most heart-melting ever! Elliana learned how to sing "Happy Birthday dear Mommy..." and with Daddy's assistance I got a beautiful card (check out Damon's muscles!).

We had a much deserved vacation to the Bahamas with friends Lindsey and Dusty. All-inclusive=lotsodrinkin!

Thank you to the Jothams for taking such good care of the girls! Something tells me they were just a little spoiled...

Olive is a wild-woman these days, getting into absolutely everything: cat food, toilet plungers, diapers, paper products...

And in case this surprises you at all, she now refuses baby food and is on to 100% table food. Her lack of teeth (2 bottoms) and age (9 months tomorrow) aren't holding her back!

To catch up with friends many of which have had babies recently, we hosted a baby brunch. All the little ones had fun and having that many kids inside the house made me realize just how few square feet we have! Thank goodness for card tables and folding chairs!

And of course, holiday parties. Thank you BCG for another great one! Damn we clean up good!

This will be the first holiday (ever?!) that we stay here in Atlanta. AND my parents are coming down for actual Christmas! Not our normal time-adjusted holiday. We've got Elliana all excited to see Yaya and Popi (and Santa!).

Enjoy all the PICTURES from the past few weeks!

November 2010 in Review

2010-12-04T20:58:00.011-05:00

Work, work, work. Bad excuse, I know. Does it help that the projects I've been working on are super cool and interesting? Probably not. Thank you to my superstar hubby and Mr. Mom for being the glue that held us together. In between the late nights, weekends at the laptop and trips to New York, some real life actually happened.

Damon taught Elliana how to get the "best deal" online.

Elliana taught Olive to read.

Damon picked up the girls from school a lot.

Thanksgiving in the North Georgia Mountains with the Jothams. Thanks to Collin and Jody for hosting! Elliana and Dylan bonded like never before!

Also pretty upset that we missed my cousin Will and his sweet new wife, Emily's amazing wedding in Mexico. Congratulations to you both. We love you and wished we could have been there.

(photo credit: Holly Wilmeth Photography, hollywilmeth.com)

If you use, Firefox, watching Holly's slideshow is well worth it:
Will and Emily McCool

Hopefully life will slow down a little for at least the holidays. We're off to the Bahamas on Thursday for a mini-escape with friends. Then my parents are coming down for Christmas.

Enjoy PICTURES from the past month.

She Stands

2010-11-23T23:16:00.002-05:00

Work has got me a little nuts... in the meanwhile, Olive is advancing faster than I can keep up with!

The project rolls out on my birthday, things should be a little more normal after that. Everyone be extra nice to super dad Damon, my late nights and NY trips have him working daddy double duty.

Halloween: A dragon and a lobster

2010-11-01T22:32:00.008-04:00

And our little lobster attempts to crawl. Whoa nelly...

Enjoy PICTURES from the weekend!!!

Caaaareful...

2010-10-28T20:28:00.002-04:00

Elliana has always been an unbelievably cautious child. Despite significant encouragement from mom and dad to be independent, she has always held close to her. Even at 2, when most children need to be put on leashes, Elliana will not venture more than 5 feet from us at any given time.

She is also timid when it comes to physical activity. Even when she began climbing stairs, we were never terribly worried because she was sooooo sloooow and soooo careful.

The above video show's the difference between a normal 2-year-old (thank you Alexis) jumping and running and Elliana's careful step-down.

Fall Visitors

2010-10-25T21:36:00.008-04:00

Sigh... I miss my family so very much. Having children has made Damon and I realize just how precious they are and how much we (and the girls) need them. We're lucky enough that both sets are willing to visit as often as they do... especially since we have sworn off flying with Elliana for a while.

My mother and Elliana really bonded this time. Elliana is finally old enough to clearly communicate and fully recognize and remember people. Mom woke up with her each morning and read, eat and played climb on Yaya!

And as always, my father is the baby whisperer. Any time Olive was fussy, he picked her up and walked to his famous "move it, move it" and she calmed down immediately.

Enjoy more PICTURES.

The weekend prior, our friends The Teallows came to visit with their 7-month-old baby boy, EJ. What a great opportunity to strip em down and throw all the babies in the tub!

Enjoy the PICTURES.

Fall Fun with the Jothams

2010-10-10T20:35:00.011-04:00

We've been non-stop as always! I'm pretty sure the phrase "down time" does not exist in Damon's vocabulary. Not that I've been helping things, September kept me insanely busy at work. But here are a few highlights:

Simon and Laura are just a few weeks away from having their first baby girl! We look forward to another set of friends joining us on baby side of life. And a big thank you to them for taking care of the girls while we...

... enjoyed celebrating friends Jason and Sarah's wedding at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Two of the most positive, happy people we know! Smiled so much my face hurt that night!

Bert's pumpkin farm!

Our bathing beauties!

Elliana workin it at the Midtown Arts Festival.

Olive is very fast and any time I look away for even a moment, she has grabbed the container of veggies. Above is the result.

Olive has grown to looooove Tamale. If he's in sight, she's in bliss. Meanwhile, Elliana believes he is just another being that steals her spotlight.

Enjoy the rest of the PICTURES!

Eggs

2010-09-29T16:01:00.001-04:00

Elliana used to be allergic... she's making up for lost time.

Peaceful Moments

2010-09-25T14:59:00.008-04:00

There aren't many... but for some reason, this particular activity on this particular night kept her amused for about an hour. Unfortunately, I haven't been about to replicated it since.

The Eichenbergers invited us to join them four first live kid's show, Elmo and Friends. Elliana and Alexis had a wonderful time dancing to all the familiar songs!

Olive has made it on to veggies. Face full of peas!

Elliana with a bow! She keeps them in longer and longer...

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Happy Birthday Papa

2010-09-17T21:26:00.008-04:00

A wonderful long weekend with Papa, Nana, Uncle Collin, Cousin Dylan and a slew of friends and family! Bill's 60th birthday was a celebration to top all. His friends and family brought props to give him a true roast.

Elliana loooooves Dylan (and his flip flops)

Hooray Naked Olive!

Elliana enjoying the props

The best birthday gift ever!

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Best Friends

2010-09-06T20:22:00.009-04:00

Sigh... sisterhood. So sweet.

Enjoy a month's worth of PICTURES! Here you'll find:

Random Cuteness

House Renovations

BCG Family Retreat

Olive's Visit to Maine

Olive's Playdate with 4 of my HS girlfriend's babies (all within just a few months of each other!)

And parade pictures from Dragon*Con

Under Construction

2010-09-03T08:45:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the silence. We've been renovating the new house and I've put my camera cord in a box somewhere... eeks! Unpacking this weekend.

In the meanwhile enjoy my baby girl swinging for the first time!

Time, time, time

2010-08-07T21:35:00.006-04:00

I can't even tell you where the past few months have gone? Life has been a blur since I went back to work. But here are a few PICTURES from the past couple of weeks.

Elliana taking a business call before seeing the doctor for her 2-year check-up. Stats: 35.5in (90th percentile) 29lb 5oz (75th percentile). If you go by the old wives tail that you can double their height at two to determine their adult height, Elliana is on par to be 5'11". Although I don't put a lot of weight in that, my father likes to remind me (with extreme disappointment in his voice) that I was supposed to be 6'2".

Elliana and Alexis on the boat, anxiously waiting to swim and make sandcastles at Lake Lanier.

Our girls hanging. Elliana looking more and more like mommy. Olive looking more and more like Jabba the Hut! Seriously, try to count the rolls! No surprise at her recent 4-month appointment she was off the charts for both weight and height. She continues to be the happiest, most laid back baby in history.

Elliana helping daddy pick out new tile for the kitchen. Putting her to work already!

Surprise, surprise

2010-07-29T21:03:00.002-04:00

Olive loves food. She has been waking up in the middle night hungry, so we thought we'd try to fill her up a little more.

Happy Second Birthday Elliana

2010-07-26T22:30:00.005-04:00

Cannot believe my sweet baby is TWO!

Thank you YaYa for visiting and bringing a slew of gifts! I think Elliana has a completely new wardrobe! We sang, ate cake and played non-stop!

We also took a TON of PICTURES.

RIP Amanda Jotham

2010-07-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

A sad time for the Jotham family. Damon's 19-year-old cousin recently died in a car accident. She had just joined the Air Force and was stationed in Germany.

Her memorial was sad and wonderful. There were so many friends and family they were spilling out the door. Family traveled long distances to share heart-felt memories. I hope she knew how much she was loved.

The Atlanta Jotham clan went down to support the family. While there were many sad moments, I only captured the happy ones hanging around the house with immediate family. PICTURES

4th of July with Nana & Papa

2010-07-07T21:41:00.007-04:00

So thankful when the grandparents are able to visit. The girls love it so much and mommy and daddy are ridiculously grateful!

Nana and Olive bonded

Papa and Elliana play kissy-face

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Olive-tini

2010-06-27T20:48:00.006-04:00

My sweet baby is already growing up! We had our first real milestone recently... Olive has been rolling over and lifting her head up! I have no idea when Elliana did this, but I feel like my little Olive-tini is soooo advanced.

Enjoy all the PICTURES!

Hot Broccoli

2010-06-21T20:39:00.002-04:00

Anniversary Weekend

2010-06-13T20:34:00.007-04:00

What a perfect weekend. Finally a balanced combination of adult time and family time! Thank you to all our babysitters (Lisa, Rob and Melissa!) who allowed us to celebrate just the two of us!

We started Friday night by finally attending Yacht Rock (co-worker and friend Elliott's hubby is the lead singer). Good times, lots of singing, dancing and PBR tall boys!

Saturday afternoon we had some friends over to watch the U.S. tie England in the World Cup! Saturday evening Damon and I celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary with dinner at Lobster Bar. Yum... I'm still full!!!

And the rest of the weekend was sprinkled with lots of good ol' family time!

Enjoy all the PICTURES from the weekend!

Jotham Family Update

2010-06-04T21:49:00.010-04:00

I survived my first short week back at work. My co-workers will have to deal with me wearing the same five outfits over and over until I fit back into my regular clothing. Turns out it takes a while to lose 50lbs! (and hense no mommy pictures!)

Olive is transitioning from life at home with mommy to a room of screaming babies, strangers who do not lactate and daily trips in the car with her sister. I've also started a site for Olive at school. Look for the link to the right.

Elliana is blossoming in the older toddler classroom! In one short week I feel like her vocabulary has doubled, her whining has been cut in half and replaced with laughter!

Damon is still coming to terms with his very very pink world.

We had a Memorial Day party over the weekend and dodged some serious thunderstorms. Thanks to all our friends who came, it was great to catch up with everyone!

Enjoy PICTURES from the past few weeks.

Super Chunk!

2010-05-28T13:25:00.003-04:00

Olive had a doctor's appointment at the beginning of this week at 9.5 weeks. Let's just say she has grown!

14lb 1oz (way off the charts!)
23.5 inches (90th percentile)

Compare with Elliana at about the same age. "Topping the Charts"

Back to work on Tuesday. Sigh... I will miss my girl, but look forward to more adult interaction! Also look forward to the Jotham Family carpool! How long does it take to get a family of four out the door?

Carrots

2010-05-25T11:14:00.002-04:00

We first introduced Elliana to carrots (the non-pureed kind) last Thanksgiving at Aunt Chelsea's house. Since then she just can't get enough. Enjoy the shoveling joy! She eats her bananas like this as well.

Maine

2010-05-21T11:39:00.011-04:00

Such a lovely time visiting family and friends in Maine. It would have been more lovely if Elliana hadn't picked up a daycare cold and infected the whole fam. Argh! But no amount of snot wiping could have slowed us down! Below are some highlights

Elliana running laps around YaYa and Popi's house

Elliana kayaking with Popi

Thank you to Nick the Greek for letting us borrow his camp and providing a comfy place for Olive to nap

Mt. Daddy/Uncle Damon! Mikey and Elliana bond

Popi and Elliana pushing a found stroller around the garden

Mikey and YaYa loving the sunshine

Memere and Pepere meet baby Olive

Aunt Judy bonding with the girls

Enjoy ALL the PICTURES!

Olive Smiles

2010-05-20T18:03:00.003-04:00

May Visitors

2010-05-05T17:07:00.010-04:00

We've had a busy May already. Visits from college friends Lauren and Jenn, then Collin, Jody and Dylan. Thank you friends and family, we loved having you! Here are a few highlights:

Lauren and Elliana at Highland Bakery for brunch

Jenn and Olive enjoying some pancakes

Co-worker's son Will's first birthday

Elliana and Dylan loved the aquarium visit

Dylan was so good at holding Olive, Elliana not so much

A bath after many hours in the backyard

All that was left of a giant pancake and two pieces of toast

Enjoy all the PICTURES from our long weekend!

And be sure to check out the Elliana Video link to see she and Dylan hand and hand at the aquarium!

Happy First Birthday Mikey!

2010-05-01T17:39:00.000-04:00

Sorry I couldn't be there! Looks like you had a great time with YaYa and Pepere! See you in a week and a half!

Everyone be sure to keep up with the Michael Sebastian Ray link!

Florida Fun with Family

2010-04-28T11:22:00.002-04:00

Thank you Jotham Family for hosting us! Glorious time at with friends and family at the beach, the pool and the park!

Sorry the commentary is short, but these PICTURES should tell the happy story!

Next stop, Maine!!!

My Very Different Girls

2010-04-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

Is am still boggled by how siblings can look so different? They come from the same set of parents, shouldn't those genes be identical? (can you tell I did not excel in biology?!)

Olive had her one-month check up today. Her stats were a little surprising to me:

Weight 90th percentile
Height 50th percentile
Head 60th percentile

While I can't find Elliana's one-month percentiles, I know for her first year of life, every check up was pretty similar. Somewhere in this range:

Weight 70th percentile
Height 95th percentile
Head 40th percentile

Not only are their bodies different, but there features don't match either. Right now, their only commonality are their blue eyes and even those drastically range in shade!

But they are both insanely beautiful and share a love for food and sleep, like their parents!

Enjoy PICTURES from this weekend. The weather has been beautiful, so we've spent a lot of time in the yard and at local park festivals. The other set of baby boys you'll see are our friends Ana and Pat's children who are each just two months older than our girls. Damon jokes they are our couple twins, since so many of our big life events have seemed to coincide.

YaYa Visit

2010-04-12T20:47:00.003-04:00

Thank you YaYa (my mom) for a very special visit. She got to meet her brand new granddaughter, help give her her first bath, change a bazillion diapers and give lots of cuddles!

But mainly she was Elliana's non-stop entertainment! Playing blocks at 6am, great! Push on the swing for the 80th time, super!!

And of course, she was our chef and maid. I think she did 20 loads in a week!

Enjoy a few PICTURES of our week!

Easter

2010-04-06T16:09:00.004-04:00

Thanks Martin Family (neighbors), for inviting us to their family Easter! My new favorite Easter tradition, hardcore competitive volleyball! Damon was in his element to say the least.

Enjoy a few PICTURES of the girls!

Olive in her Easter dress from Aunt Judy!

Elliana getting excited for volleyball!

Easter hat with Daddy!

Happy Baby Olive

2010-04-01T15:44:00.003-04:00

Thank You Nana & Papa

2010-03-28T20:44:00.003-04:00

Doesn't this picture just make you melt? Click on it to zoom in. It is a seriously passionate kiss!

Nana and Papa Jotham left on Saturday after a wonderful week of helping us transition to life with two girls. We would not have survived without them! They kept Elliana entertained and totally spoiled! We especially appreciated Nana getting up with Elli every morning and letting us get a little extra sleep!

And of course, we provided lots of Olive time. Check out how happy she is with Papa!

We have one week solo and then Yaya arrives for a week of sweet baby girl love!

Olive at Home

2010-03-24T18:07:00.002-04:00

Grandpa and Daddy lovin on baby Olive.

Just a few days at home so far, but things are going relatively smooth. It had helped that we've had Damon's parents here to take care of Elliana. She loves the baby and wants to feed her and touch her and every time she sees her, she says "baby!" But at the same time, she has been a bit defiant when we ask her to do things and cries when she goes to bed. I'm hoping it'll pass fairly quickly and we can get back on schedule.

Olive has been an angel. She only fusses when she is hungry and sleeps like a rock... although I'm pretty sure Elliana was the same way the first few weeks and became less content and cranky after a while.

Enjoy a few random PICTURES from the past two days home.

Olive Debra Jotham

2010-03-20T20:27:00.003-04:00

Welcome my precious daughter! And happy birthday to my beautiful husband who helped create her! A birthday gift like no other.

Olive was born at 4:23am, weighed in at 7lb 5oz and stretched out at 19.5in long. Once again, we had a very easy and uneventful delivery.

So far she is an extremely content baby and an eating/pooping machine.

Thank you for all the kind words of love. Enjoy a few PICTURES of Olive and a very tired mommy and daddy.

Family Visit & Aquarium

2010-03-17T21:26:00.003-04:00

Thank you to Damon's aunt Micky and cousins Kelly and Hailey who visited this past weekend from Iowa and NC! Elliana had fun with all the attention.

Enjoy some PICTURES!

No Baby #2 yet. Nine days til due date. Getting really uncomfortable and antsy! Someone send her an eviction notice please!

My First NASCAR Race!

2010-03-12T15:09:00.002-05:00

I can officially call myself a true Southerner now. I've been to a NASCAR race.

I was very impressed. We were lucky and a friend of the family got us suite tickets, so I didn't have to damage baby Jotham's tiny ears. Not sure if I could have handled the sound, pregnant or not? We got to meet the Home Depot driver, Joey Logano and Damon was pretty psyched to get a few minutes to chat with the owner and former Redskins coach, Joe Gibbs.

I give NASCAR serious props for being so fan-friendly, I can now see the allure. When you first walk into the track, they have all the semi-trailers lined up and many of the drivers were out and about talking to fans and signing autographs. Not sure if there is any other sport that allows you to get to close to the stars!

We left Elliana with a babysitter, so we didn't stay for the whole race, which was too bad cus it was a nail-biter ending.

Enjoy a slew of PICTURES (please forgive just how giant I am, argh!)

Two-week count down til due date. I'm begging for her to arrive closer to ONE week from now!

Nana Jotham is Excited

2010-03-05T11:46:00.003-05:00

One Month

2010-02-26T12:28:00.002-05:00

Exactly 4 weeks from today, baby Jotham will be here (honestly, I'm thinking it's more like 2.5 weeks).

I've avoided all cameras successfully, because I learned from last time, I want no evidence that I ever looked like this. BUT, my mother has been begging for a belly shot. So above is a screen shot of a video we took of Elliana and her friend on the swings. My belly was in the shot the whole time, even when the rest of me wasn't.

Snow then Sun

2010-02-23T16:03:00.005-05:00

Gotta love February in Atlanta.

Here is President's Day weekend. This was the most snow I had ever seen in Atlanta!

Here is this past weekend, shorts and t-shirts!

Enjoy a few PICTURES from the past few weeks: Snow day, Daddy's new office party, lunch at Fellini's, bath time and a beautiful Sunday with friends in the new backyard!

Stay in there food

2010-02-09T17:41:00.001-05:00

This is Elliana shoveling so many orange slices in her mouth that she must hold her hand over it to keep them in. That's my girl!

Preggers in Panama!

2010-01-22T13:27:00.003-05:00

With all the drama of my last pregnancy, Damon and I didn't get to take what is so cutely named a "Babymoon." So this time around, I'm healthy and have a bazillion friends who are also pregnant and looking for one last hoorah before the madness of parenthood. Therefore Damon and I and the Teallows (Stacy & Eric) headed for a long weekend in Panama!

We hit up the Panama Canal and ventured out into a few cute little mountain villages and did a little mini-hike through the jungle. Otherwise there was a lot of beach/pool laying and eating. Just what 2 mamas and papas and fetuses needed!

Stacy is due 3 weeks before me, yet her belly seems to be half the size. I'm convinced I either have twins in there, or the world's most massive child... for the sake of everyone who reads this blog, we took NO bathing suit shots.

I cannot thank the Jothams enough for traveling up to Atlanta and taking such good care of Elliana while we were gone. It was our first real time away from her and normally, I would have been fine, but there were a freakish number of sweet little 2-year-old girls running around the resort that I did get weepy a few times.

Enjoy some PANAMA PICTURES in addition to some random shots from the past month in this set of PICTURES. You'll see some Atlanta snow, a couple of pictures of my co-worker's son and then Elliana opening Christmas gifts from her Aunt Judy and Uncle Dan.

A Tropical Holiday

2010-01-04T14:26:00.009-05:00

Some people say it's just not Christmas without snow. I am NOT one of those people. I welcomed the warm Sarasota winds in my holiday sweater.

We had a beautiful holiday with the Jothams who's hospitality goes beyond words. They put up with us for over a week and maintained a consistent smile!

Elliana melted over the non-stop attention and stayed glued to the side of her cousin, Dylan. We captured quite a few sweet moments!

Enjoy my PICTURES.

Easy Move

2009-12-19T20:09:00.006-05:00

Hmmm... looks oddly familiar doesn't it? That's because it is across the street and nearly the exact same house! So why did we buy it? The pictures below should explain...

From our intown search and many years in Atlanta, we've never seen a yard like it (under a certain price point of course). It technically goes back two acres, so crazy amounts of space for the girls to play. It reminded me of how much fun my sister and I would have in the woods playing make-believe all day long! And the playhouse and swing set, come on, like a kid's dream come true!

We wanted a 4th bedroom, which it doesn't have, so if we decide to stay for a while an addition will be necessary. But we stayed in the school system, stayed in our friendly neighborhood, kept our easy commute and got a crazy sweet yard. I'm really excited to have our first gathering and watch all the kids play!

Thankful for Mike

2009-11-30T16:40:00.004-05:00

A wonderful Thanksgiving in Maine! Thank you Chelsea and Joe for hosting the meal and to my parents as always, for their hospitality.

Elliana and cousin Mike couldn't have enjoyed each other more. A few random PICTURES.

Sold

2009-11-24T09:24:00.012-05:00

Yes, you all think we're crazy... and we probably are. It started a few months back when we considered the possibility of moving up to a larger house (and finding a project for Damon). We figured we'd put the house up on the market just to test things out. We would take it off if we hadn't got any serious bites in two months.

The first month was insane, 1-2 showings a day... consistently! But no good offers. Month two went slower, 2-3 showings a week, but still nothing. So at the end of the two months, we told our agent that after the weekend, we were going to take it off the market and stay put. That night, an offer came in. After a few back and forths, we came to a price.

So here we are. We closed on the house yesterday, and are able to rent it back until after the holidays... but then, we're technically homeless. We've been searching, but a perfect fit has yet to appear. We knew all along we'd have to rent something for a while, but now we're now sure how long that will be?!

In the meanwhile, let's say goodbye to Ridgemore with a few before and after shots!

Helen GA

2009-11-09T21:04:00.003-05:00

Visited Helen, GA on a beautiful sunny Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa and friends.

Enjoy a few PICTURES!

Sisters!

2009-11-05T17:16:00.004-05:00

It's another GIRL! And she is a thumb-sucker! So cute!

Don't worry, Damon is still with us, he hasn't passed out from shock. It may be another story when the girls are 15 and 17! Phew! Good times ahead!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T13:46:00.004-04:00

Happy Halloween from the Jothams. Two inmates and the warden. Sums up our life...

Enjoy all the PICTURES, including some from school with her classmates.

Speaking without Words

2009-10-26T17:29:00.004-04:00

Dylan and Elliana speaking in their own language of squeals and squeaks! Thanks to the Jotham family for inviting us up to the North Georgia Mts to be involved in their vacation.

The kids had so much fun together! Sweet, sweet, sweet. Here are a few more pictures.

The Zoo

2009-10-19T17:07:00.003-04:00

Elliana in the petting portion of the Atlanta Zoo. I was surprised at how timid she was with the animals, considering she mauls Tamale every chance she gets.

Enjoy PICTURES of Elliana and the zoo animals, plus a few bonus pictures of her and Dylan (they stopped by on the way to the North GA mts... that blog to come soon!)

Pumpkin Patch & Braves Game

2009-10-06T20:33:00.005-04:00

Such a fun weekend. Traveling an hour and a half outside the city, Elliana enjoyed a morning with her toddler buddy, Audrey, bouncing around thousands of pumpkins at Bert's Pumpkin Farm. Meredith brought orange beads for the girls, and as you'll see in the PICTURES Elliana refused to take hers off all day (even in the tub)!

Later that day, we went with the Clintons to a Braves game where Elliana discovered popcorn. Not sure if it's on the baby no-no food list, but it doesn't matter because Elli has inherited her father's love of the corn and ate two cups full. The girls did well and lasted a full 6 innings!

Random Fall Fun

2009-10-02T16:53:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts... in the meanwhile, enjoy some PICTURES!

The Parents are Excited!

2009-09-22T14:13:00.002-04:00

We surprised my parents with the baby news by putting Elliana in a tee shirt that said "I'm Going to be a Big Sister." Their reactions are pretty awesome.

MOM

DAD

Round Two!

2009-09-15T11:20:00.003-04:00

Yup... that's correct! Baby Jotham #2 is on his/her way! We're 12 weeks along and due March 26th. Above is my little creature, nice and healthy so far... and so am I! The first trimester is a bit different when you can actually sleep and aren't in constant pain!

Elliana has no idea what she is in for... sharing attention is not her specialty! She'll be 20 months when Jotham #2 is born.

Watch out world, another Jotham coming!

Walking Germ Bag

2009-09-10T17:21:00.008-04:00

So Elliana is officially walking with ease now. That's her in the striped dress in the background cruising like a pro. (sorry, I've been pretty bad with the picture taking/video shooting lately!)

My co-worker went to pick up her son who is in the class next to Elliana and snapped this lovely picture of her licking the window. My god, how many other things does she lick?! Click on the picture to get the full-effect of grossness!

Three Days of Sedona Bliss

2009-09-02T20:20:00.008-04:00

Sigh... that was just what I needed. Three days in Arizona with my girlfriends Gwen and Jennifer.

Hiking up red rocks...

Swimming in the creek at the bottom of rocks...

Homemade breakfast by a babbling brook...

Outside massage and yoga on the lawn...

and of course, many cool beverages!

If it wasn't for my sweet family waiting for me, I may not have ever returned! Thank you to my favorite event planner gal, Gwen who planned every detail. Enjoy the many many PICTURES!

A Country Reception

2009-08-26T17:04:00.004-04:00

Thanks to our friends Lindsey and Dusty for having a beautiful wedding reception in Juliette, GA. It gave me and Damon and a handful of friends the opportunity to kick back country style!

But we couldn't have done it without our friends, Amy & Becky who were visiting from Boston. They offered to babysit Elliana (and Tamale, have you ever seen him so happy?!) while we drove an hour and a half south of the city to party.

Enjoy a few PICTURES!

Smith Family on Thompson Lake

2009-08-26T16:41:00.003-04:00

Annually my father's side of the family all vacations together. My father and his two sisters rotate picking the location. 2009 was my father's turn and he chose to rent a lake house in our home state of Maine.

It was the first time my Aunt Kathleen (who lives in Washington state) and my two cousins (who are in NYC) got to meet Elliana and Mikey. There was lots of scrabble drama, chats under the stars, lobster eating and overall family fun.

I apologize that picture taking was so baby-focused. I have no pictures of my family members anywhere?! Argh... enjoy the PICTURES I did take.

Nose Picker

2009-08-21T12:10:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. August has been non-stop. I'll hopefully get the Maine pix up this weekend. In the meanwhile, enjoy this lovely picture from school.

We're so proud.

Challenging Transitions

2009-08-06T20:45:00.003-04:00

Phew, what a week. Poor Elli has a lot going on.

1. This week at school she has been transitioning from the infant room to the toddler room. That means a new space, new teachers, new kids and attempting to nap on a mat rather than in a crib.

2. We took away the bottle completely.

3. She has three teeth breaking through her gums. It's causing her a good amount of pain and she is drooling like mad.

4. She has a lingering cold that makes her nose run most of the day and cough at night.

We were struggling quite a bit at the beginning of the week. 45 minutes between the first attempt of sleep and actual sleep. Lot's of fussing with mom and dad. And if you can actually believe it, not eating as much.

Today was a huge improvement! Just going to bed without issue was a relief. But we had lots of fun playing before bed and Ms. Elliana to six whole steps!

Enjoy some PICTURES from the past week. Some playing at home, some are at Nicholas' first birthday. I've also updated the school pictures and the videos (links in the upper right of blog)

One-Year-Old

2009-07-30T20:29:00.005-04:00

Elliana is a healthy, happy, energetic one-year-old... and Damon and I are still alive after a whole year. It was the happiest, most exciting year of our lives. I love watching her change every single day! And big changes are coming... no more bottle starting on Saturday. We'll see if any of us survive that?!

We had a great birthday weekend. Cousin Dylan came all the way from Tampa for Elli's birthday! We had a big birthday with lots of friends and baby friends. Elliana ate her first cupcake and definitely enjoyed it... I even broke down and gave her two! Thank you to everyone who was able to join us!

Enjoy PICTURES from the whole weekend. I even captioned some of them!

And her 1-year-old stats...

Height: 31inches (95%)
Weight: 23lbs (75%)

Sour Puss

2009-07-23T21:32:00.003-04:00

Random find this evening... our daughter loves lemons. Does this mean she is deprived of some vitamins?

Enjoy some PICTURES of other people's babies. The 3-month old boy is my co-worker's baby, Will. And the twins are my friend Amanda's newbies, Oscar and Ruby!

Let's Go Mama

2009-07-13T12:10:00.005-04:00

She can finally make the "mmmm" sound. So I get a random Ma, but with no reference to me. Hey, I'll take what I can get. At least she has moved on from Ya, Da, Ra and Ba.

I did a poor job of documenting our fun weekend! But enjoy the few PICTURES I did snap.

4th of July Sarasota-Stlye

2009-07-05T20:26:00.008-04:00

Such fun with the Jotham family for the 4th of July celebration! We were all spoiled rotten, as always... but Elliana really got the 5-star treatment!

Elli was very helpful in the making of meals... here she is scrambling up some (make believe) eggs.

Every morning we took advantage of the shaded pool, before the summer sun got too hot!

We went to GiGi's house and rolled around on the floor, tickling and giggling while the boys went fishing.

And the highlight of every trip to Florida, cousin Dylan came to visit! He and Grandma taught Elliana to climb stairs... (greaaaat)

On Saturday, Damon's cousin Kelly took us to visit MOTE Marine Laboratory where he had a summer internship working with the sea turtles and manatees! Elliana made some very large whiskery friends who nibbled her toes!

There was plenty of adult fun as well... Collin, Jody, Damon and I went downtown and saw an unbelievable fireworks display on the night of the 4th. They shot off fireworks for a full 30-minutes and I even saw brand new explosion styles!

Debby introduced me to a delicious whiskey slush beverage... which I will attempt for a BBQ this weekend!

And we went out on Bill's boat with the Teallows and watched the Super Boat Grand Prix races they run every year.

Phew... all in one long weekend! Enjoy the plethra of PICTURES!

RIP Magoo

2009-07-02T09:54:00.003-04:00

Magoo Booger Smith passed away on Tuesday after 23 years of wonderful kitty life. Yup, 23 years. I was 7 when she showed up on our door step. She will be remembered and loved.

The Many Faces of Elliana

2009-06-29T20:13:00.009-04:00

Photoshoot at Blue Moon Pizza, all within 60 seconds. Enjoy all the PICTURES.

Elliana at School

2009-06-24T12:25:00.004-04:00

A few times a week the teachers at Elliana's school send out a visual update of what the kids did that during the day. They are generally pretty cute and often quite funny cus Ells is such a ham... so I've started a secondary site for the hardcore folks. It's really simple and will feature Elliana's school activities. Look on the right hand side under "Other Jotham Sites" you'll see "Elliana at School."

I posted yesterday's art activity thus far! ENJOY!

Toddlers Elliana & Alexis

2009-06-18T22:16:00.007-04:00

So, can I call her a toddler? She stands and cruises while holding on... or do I have to wait til she actually walks (toddles)?

I almost didn't post this videos because the adults sound like idiots (mainly me and Damon's booming voices). What is it about babies (or toddlers?) that make parent's brains melt and say the dumbest things?

Enjoy a few PICTURES of Elliana and Alexis playing and our evening at Brew at the Zoo.

Five Years Ago Today

2009-06-12T07:00:00.001-04:00

Damon and I were getting hitched. Holy moly. Five years. And I am proud to say it's been five years of wonderful. Especially the past 10 months. I look forward to a lifetime.