McKenzie's visit with Santa

About a week ago we went to visit Santa. Last year McKenzie loved Santa so we took her to the mall this year for a visit. She DID NOT like him this year. We didn't get a picture with Santa because I didn't want to spend $20 on a picture where she was unhappy. So we decided to take her to the Avenues where we did last year and get a free picture with Santa. So here it is.

McKenzie loves the idea of Santa. Everytime she sees him she says "Sana Cause .. HoHo". She just doesn't want to get too close to him.

Pictureless Post of Thanksgiving Week

Now this is a little strnage for me but there are no pictures in this post. Partly because I am at work and don't have the camera (and actually should be grading papers instead of posting) and partly because I have no pictures from Thanksgiving. Why you ask ....

Sunday before Thanksgiving McKenzie and I flew to Pensacola. It was our 1st flight together and went really well. There was no body cavity screaning just regular old security and you get all the perks of getting on 1st when you have a baby.

McKenzie had been coughing since Sunday morning and I called my peditrician because you can't give a kid under 2 cough medicine. They said to go to a walk in place if she started running a fever. Monday afternoon she started so we took her to urgent care. They did a strep test and it came back negative and said it was a virus. They would know the results of the long strep test and call me if it turned out positive.

All week Mckenzie battled a fever and acted blah. She is a very active child so for her to want to cuddle and be held all the time is odd. She was basically attached to my mom. We had to let her fall asleep on us because she would cough so much. Thursday night her fever hit 103 and we called Gulf Breeze ER and the on call people at my peditrician's office. They said it was probably a virus and give tylenol and fluids. The fever broke that night and she ran a 99 fever all Friday.

Saturday McKenzie really started acting like her self again so we did get some pictures then. Plus we were all decked out in our FSU gear for that AWESOME game! It was the 1st time since Jason and I have known each other we beat the Gators in football.(Now we don't have to split up for FSU to win!)

Sunday we traveled back home and it was back to the grind yesterday.

After work yesterday I got a text from my mom that my cousin had strep. Then I got a call that McKenzie has strep. Let me say, I was NOT happy. I always was a false negative so I understand about that. I just don't realize why they knew on Thursday (my mom read the report) and didn't call me until yesterday. So that was Thankgiving. A sick child, who had never been sick before, that went a week untreated for strep. Now we have the meds and Jason is AWESOME at giving them to her. He calls it her candy and she takes it for him. Hopefully she won't be a cronic strep person like I was. If so she's getting her tonsil's out as soon as it happens too much. I waited until I was 21 and had mono for 6 months. Not fun.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I promise to have pictures of this weekend's Christmas parade and visit with Santa!

Then and Now

Today is the 6 year anniversary since mine and Jason's 1st date. Here's a little then and now.
Then...
    I met this guy Jason on November 6th at the FSU- Duke football game. I didn't really retain much about him since there was a game being played and I tend to be very vocal. The guy was cute but I thought I'd never see him again, I mean there were 80,000 other people there too. Then on November 11th I went to my friend Jason's place to watch the FSU- NC State game. Jason was also there. We didn't talk much during the game but talked some afterwords. Jason got my number because we were going to try and get tickets to Dierks Bentley for a group of people. Sunday November 14th Jason called me and ended up asking me out. I don't actually remember him asking me on a date until I hung up the phone. That's how I knew God was in control and this was going to be the one. Monday November 15th we went out to eat at Chillis and stayed there for 3 hours talking about all kinds of things. We then came back to my apartment and watched Fresh Prince of Bel Air and we kissed. We've been together ever since.

Now
  Today Jason and I got up and went to our jobs. I teach and he works for a company called WinWare. When I got off work I picked up our amazing 19 month old McKenzie and came home and played with her until Daddy got home. Then he played with her while I fixed her grilled cheese. Kenzie then got a bath and went to be. Jason and I left her with the babysitter and went to Chillis where we met our newlywed friends Ashley and David for dinner. It was a great night and I love my husband so much. I can't believe how God has blessed me in the last 6 years.

For your viewing pleasure here is our 1st picture togehter and our most recent picture together.

                             November 22, 2004 - FSU, Polo Club apartments

                                       October 30, 2010 - Hope Church, Trunk or Treat, Dallas Ga

We Voted!!!

Today was election day and McKenzie and I went and voted ... hope you did too! Afterword we took some pictures in the front yard because it was a cool fall day. Here you go!

My little Tinkerbell

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween. Nana (my mom) made McKenzie a Tinkerbell costume and we went to Trunk or Treat at the church. It was huge! There were almost 40 trunks there. McKenzie did well with trick or treating but wasn't too interested in it. We did a cake walk (and lost) and rode a hayride to pick out a pumpkin. After trunk or treat we went to Publix and did some trick or treating there. McKenzie made a cookie, got a popcorn had and lots more candy. Later we went by Ms. Stacey's house and then went to eat at Sonny's. Tonight is Halloween but we've decided to just stay at home and give out candy. We're also going to watch Its the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown because its my fave. Here are some pictures of Tink!

Ready to trunk or treat

I love this one

Wiping off daddy's face

Picking out a Pumpkin

Trick or treating with Papa at Publix

 Reading a "gook" with Nana

 Eating an orange

Pumpkin Patch

Today we did one of my favorite fall things ... went and got a pumpkin. We went to a patch beside a gas station but it was still fun. I didn't want to drive forever just to get a pumpkin. We took McKenzie to the same one last year and there is a huge difference a year makes!

                                                      October 18, 2009

                                                        
                                                                 October 18, 2010

After we went and picked out our pumpkins we went to a house down the road that always decorates their driveway and took pictures. McKenzie had a lot of fun and so did I.

This weekend is my friend Ashley and David's wedding and Jason and I are both in it. My Momma and Daddy are coming up to watch McKenzie and Uncle Dicky and Aunt Pam are also coming. It stinks I don't get to hang out with them but I'm really excited about the wedding. More pictures after the wedding!!!

Fun at the Fair

On the 3rd we went for our first trip to the fair. I haven't been since before Jason and I got married. I was so excited to take McKenzie to see the animals since she loves them. Of course we spent most of our time by the goats. For those of you who don't know there is a goat at the neighbors behind my parents house. McKenzie is OBSESSED with goats. If they were cuter I'd let her be one for Halloween. McKenzie also ate her 1st corndog (well a bite of it) and funnel cake. She LOVED the funnel cake ... who doesn't? Well here are some pictures from the fair.

McKenzie and the Goat

My little Pumpkin!

Yumm... Funnel Cake!

McKenzie and the Horse

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?

As you know McKenzie loves to make animal noises and she also loves to read. Here she is making the noises for "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See?". She's just learned the frog and cat this past week. She also changed the way she barks for a dog.

In other news McKenzie is now going potty in her potty. We're not really potty training her but I put her on it when she wakes up and before bath, etc. She's been using it about 3 or 4 times a day. She gets so excited and says "pee pee" when she goes in the potty. I'm so proud of her!


As for Jason - he got a job! He's in the operations part of a company called Win Ware. They make computer stuff for those big tool cabinets. That's all I know about it. He's really happy and the company is really cool. There are 2 people from the church that work there so he already knows a couple of people.


As for me - I'm busy with school. I'm department chair to a department that doesn't really know anything about social studies, so I work really hard with all of that. I'm also taking gfted endorsement classes. Its like being in college again. Its so much fun! I'm also going to take part in the Teaching American History Grant starting this spring. I should find out more about that soon.


That's all for the Williams family right now... more pictures/ videos to come soon!!

The Best Day

Today was pretty much the best day ever. We woke up this morning and Jason brought McKenzie in the room to hang out in the bed with us. I just love starting my morning off this way but it rarely ever happens because we seem to be busy all the time. Then we got dressed and went and got the lawn mower from Ben's house (Jason's business partner). It was so wonderful outside today ... in the 60s this morning so jeans were necessary. Jason mowed the yard and the neighbor's yard and then it was time for the real fun to begin. FSU football season. Here is McKenzie's reaction to the start of the season.

This is probably my proudest moment as a mommy so far. She's watching this all on her own. She started the war chant because she can hear it in the background and then when the Noles took the field she started clapping. She knows her Seminoles!

Well after the game/ when McKenzie woke up we went to Marietta for Sonny's. Our Sonny's is amazing because this month is teacher appreciation month and we got 10% off and McKenzie always eats free. I thought this was a Sonny's thing but apparently its just our Sonny's. The only thing is we have to make the 20 min drive to Marietta. On the way home we stopped in at Barnes and Noble because Paulding County doesn't have a bookstore and I needed and etiquette book for a class I'm teaching at school. McKenzie loved playing with the train table.

When we got home we took a walk/wagon ride around the neighborhood and the played on the swing. It was so nice outside we just loved being out there. We came back in and watched Ole Miss get upset by Jacksonville State and then put Kenz to bed. Jason and I have been watching football and I've also worked on my Gifted Class assignments (that's another post).

Today has been the best. I love having days with just me, Jason and Kenz where we can really hang out ... nothing else to do.

Here are some pictures of McKenzie in her new Seminole shirt ... I've been wanting this one since Jason and I found out we were having a baby. It says product of FSU Alumni!

Home Alone

No, I'm not referring to the movie, I'm referring to me being home alone since Wednesday. Jason and Kenz went to Leesburg for Ted's 30th birthday/ Big Fish's 57th birthday parties. I could not go with them because tomorrow I am throwing my friend Ashley a wedding shower. It weird having the place all to myself. I definitely feel like Macaulay Caulkin (I don't know if thats how you spell his name) when he asks Santa for his family back. Even though tomorrow will be packed with pre wedding festivities and a bachelorette party I can't wait to have my hubby and little girl back!

The Car Wash

Saturday was overcast and not 100 degrees so we decided to was the cars. McKenzie loves the water so we filled up the pool and let her play.

Then McKenzie decided to help Daddy wash the truck.

And then she played in the bubbles.

McKenzie's 1st Day at Ms. Stacey's

Today McKenzie started at the new babysitter's house. Ms. Stacey is super sweet and watches 3 other kids at her house. I was super nervous because Alisa, our former sitter, was AMAZING! I just loved her to death and so did McKenzie. Alisa reccommended Stacey so that is who we went with. This morning I decided to take a "first day" photo of McKenzie. I know she isn't going to school but a new place is just as exciting. So I took her to Ms. Stacey's and when I was there she found the choo choo and started playing. I told her bye and McKenzie stood up and waved and said bye. No crying, no need for a hug or sugar ... just a hey mom I'm ok you can go now bye. She's such a big girl! When Jason picked her up she had played hard and napped hard. The other kids cried when she left! Here is McKenzie on the 1st day at Ms. Staceys!

The First Day of School

Today was the 1st day of school in Paulding County. I went back to work on Monday to start getting my room ready but we didn't have to report until Wednesday. Crazy .. they expected us to get all of our stuff ready in 2 days. Well, one really because last night was open house. Going back to work has so many highs and lows so I thought I'd make a list.
Lows
getting up at 5:45
leaving McKenzie - this one is the worst because I've been with her all summer
wanting to go to bed a 8:30 because I'm so tired
lesson planning - its not hard, just time consuming and I'm the only one on the hall who has taught 6th grade social studies before
talking all day long - my jaw hurts today from going over things all day

Highs
new students - its always so much fun to get to know new kids, plus last years were a little on the rough side
new classroom - everything is neat and organized and I'm constantly improving things
being department head - this one is new for me, I found out on Wednesday that I'm department head ... scary!
getting my gifted certification - YAY! after this year hopefully I'll be teaching gifted social studies next year
having Jason and McKenzie bring me flowers today - it was so sweet they came in to my 3rd period class and brought me flowers and McKenzie came running to me. I have the most amazing husband and toddler ever!

That's about it. My classes seem really great. I feel like there are a lot of boys in the class and not so much on the girls. I just love the beginning of school!

Eats with a Fork

Last year at this time McKenzie had just started to drink formula from a bottle and hadn't started any cereal yet. Now a year later she's eating her dinner with a fork. Where has the time gone. I do have to say she's a quick learner beacuse today was the 1st time I've given her a fork. Here is Kenz eating dinner tonight.

Sing It Baby!

McKenzie and I spent the last week and a half traveling. We left on Friday the 16th with my Mom and went to Pensacola. We hung out with my cousin Sara for her birthday and then I went out with Ashley and Candi for a girls night. Saturday I went to New Orleans to be with Kim and Ted and baby Jonah. It was wonderful to be with them. I came back Monday and then Wednesday we left for Savannah for Sara and Bill's wedding. Sunday we came back home and have been hanging out.
While I was in New Orleans Aunt Ashley taught McKenzie how to "sing" in a "microphone"(aka brush). Well they looked in Pensacola for a microphone and couldn't find one. Today McKenzie and I went to Wendy's and in her kids meal was none other than a microphone. Here are some pictures of miss priss singing today!

Singing to Daddy

Happy Girl

McKenzie and Mommy - se loves to say cheese now

McKenzie got a monkey from my Grannie while in Savannah and she LOVES it

What's a Cow say?

So in the past few weeks we have been working on animal sounds with McKenzie. She makes the sounds of the animals in her puzzles. There are still a lot more for her to learn but here are a few of the sounds she makes. Note: not all are animal noises - you will be able to see she lives up to the name baby Seminole!

The Fourth of July and the Cutest Cow Ever

This past week we celebrated Independence Day and Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. For the 4th we celebrated 3 times and had a great time at each one. Saturday the 3rd we went to the Rome Braves game. They are a single A team and have a great field. We sat in the outfield on Home Run Hill so McKenzie could play around. Afterwords there were fireworks and McKenzie LOVED them! Sunday we went to church and then cooked out at the house. We then went to Powder Springs to watch thier fireworks. They were the only ones around that had fireworks on Sunday. We parked by the train tracks and McKenzie loved the "Choo Choo" that went by 6 times. Then Saturday the 10th we went to Paulding County's fireworks which was really nice. We hung out with a friend from work and McKenzie played around in the big field. McKenzie got a glow in the dark necklace and kept trying to use it as a steering wheel.

Last Friday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A so I made shirts for us to wear so we could get free food. McKenzie was SUPER Cute so here is a picture. Tomorrow I'm going to try and upload the video of McKenzie making of her animal sounds ... they are so cute!

Stone Mountain

Jason's parents were in town last week. We haven't seen them since the New Year so a lot has changed with McKenzie in 6 months. We had a good visit capped off by a night at Stone Mountain. Jason's parents are big camper people and have a nice 5th wheel so we took it over to Stone Mountain for a few nights. We stayed with them Monday night and left Tuesday after dinner.
If you've never been to Stone Mountain you really should go. They have a great lazer light show and lots of fun things to do. Monday night we did the light show and Tuesday we went up the mountain and walked around the park. The train wasn't in service so I was super bummed we couldn't do that. McKenzie had been walking around saying "Choo -chooo" because I told her we were going on one. All in all we had a great time though!

McKenzie climbing up Stone Mountain - it totally freaked me out she kept turning loose of our hands and wanting to climb. Obviously she did not inherit my fear or heights.


I like this much better - safe on Daddy's shoulders

On the skylift up to Stone Mountain

Ready for the lazer light show!

Beautiful Stone Mountain