Queen Bee

Ask any one of Chip's employees and they will tell you, Karlee rules the roost at Beehive Construction when she is there every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She knows daddy's dump trucks from any other in town and would rather play with a tractor than a doll on most days.

Since it has been raining for about 4 months, Chip is working any time the sun is out - even Sundays if it calls for it. He is fortunate to have so much work right now that it's all piling up so I can't complain (even though I wish he was home more on weekends).

Karlee and I decided to visit daddy on a job sight Saturday since it was just him and grandaddy doing some prep work for Monday with no employees. As soon as we pulled up, Karlee saw her daddy's truck and lots of mud and new we were about to have some fun. It didn't take her long to hear a tractor and she took off running. She stood at the edge of the pavement calling her daddy and saying "come get me". The pictures tell the rest of the story!

You can't see her well but Karlee is helping pick up all these trees. (Mommy was a nervous wreck!)

Karlee is so tiny compared to the big trackhoe.

Lovin' on grandaddy. The bulldozer was in a crazy position on top of a fallen pine tree so I wouldn't let grandaddy crank it up and drive Karlee like he really wanted to.

When Karlee gets older, she can tell all of her friends that she helped knock down trees for the start of Belcastel subdivision. And, as I'm typing this, she is running around in princess shoes, a crown, and tutu. She truly has the best of both worlds being able to enjoy boy things like tractors and girly things like playing dress up. I guess she is dressing the part to become the real Queen Bee of Beehive. I have been dethroned!!!!

Sunny Sunday

To say we've had crazy weather lately is an understatement. It was sunny and warm on Sunday and today it was cold and snowing. Definitely not typical Alabama weather. I'm so glad we got out and enjoyed the beautiful sunny Sunday. I worked all day Saturday and Chip was in a fishing tournament so Karlee enjoyed sunny Saturday with Chip's parents.

Our little family headed to Keisel Park Sunday morning and played like kids. Chip insisted on bringing chairs but I knew we wouldn't sit in them long. Karlee was running everywhere. She stopped mid-stride and bent down to check out the flowers on the ground. Then, she started picking them and bringing them to me one by one. I had quite a stash by the time we left.

The wind was quite strong at times and Karlee's ball had a mind of its own. She would take off running after it when the wind made it roll away. She picked up leaves and put them in her bucket. Then would dump them out and watch the wind blow them everywhere.

Chip packed a nice little lunch for us too. After eating, Chip decided to rest from all the running and "soccer" playing. Karlee, on the other hand, had other ideas.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and gave us a small glimpse of what warm weather will be like soon. I should be in great shape by the end of spring if Saturday was just an example of how much running with Karlee I'll be doing. I was exhausted after our soccer game but would not take it back at all. Karlee's laughs while running and kicking the ball with us were priceless.

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

What an amazing sight we had on Friday! The weather man got it right and we had 3 inches of snow that fell all day. That's a pretty big deal in Auburn, Alabama. The flakes started falling around 8 a.m. and Karlee camped out at the dining room window watching them fall. She kept saying "look mommy, snow fall down!"

We played outside off and on all day. We would play a little and come back inside to get warm. Karlee would go to the front door and say "again mommy, go play snow." So of course, out the door we went.

Catching snowflakes in her mouth.

Just looking too cute!!

Daddy came home from work and Karlee had to take him around the house to show him the snow.

Daddy teaching Karlee how to make snowballs.

Arm cocked back and ready to fire!

After a long nap, Karlee woke up wanting to go play some more. It was now dark outside and a lot more snow had fallen since she last saw the yard.



Karlee kept saying "stuck, stuck" when her feet got buried. It was a whole lot colder in the dark and Karlee was ready to go inside when her feet got stuck.




It was a fun snow day!!

Bye Bye Crib

Yesterday was a sad but exciting day at the Baker house. We all said bye bye to the crib. I sat there watching Chip take apart the crib thinking back to November 2007 when it arrived at our house. I was so excited to see it being put together and just couldn't wait to have a baby sleep in it.

Time just seems to be moving at such a fast pace. Now, I have a 2 year old that is sleeping in a big girl bed. Tear. Tear. Karlee told her crib bye and gave it a kiss.



My mom came over to keep Karlee entertained while we tackled this project. Karlee came in her room from time to time just to see what was going on and help out a little. She kept wanting the put the screws back in that Chip had just taken out!!




When all was finished, it was nap time. After my mom left and I was doing our normal nap/night routine and rocking and reading, it took Karlee and hour to finally fall asleep. She was rolling from one end to the other and just chatty Kathy the entire time. I was sitting at the top of the steps watching her in the video monitor just in case she got too close to the bottom. I was also thinking, "my Lord, are we going to have this much trouble going to sleep from now on?"

After a 3 hour nap, she woke full of smiles. I gave her lots of praises for sleeping so well in hopes she would do it again for bedtime.




After bath and reading her books, she pointed to the bed and said "night night mommy." She was ready to go to sleep. I laid her down, she snugged up with all her animals, and went right to sleep for the entire night. Shew!! I was so glad. I can't wait to see how nap goes today though.

Side note: We have the convertible crib that goes from crib, to toddler bed, to full size bed. We just skipped the toddler bed phase because Chip didn't want to be converting again in just a few months. When we put the mattress on yesterday, I was shocked. The bed is extremely high. The top of the mattress is even with the changing table/dresser. So, if you have one of these beds, buy a very thin mattress and box spring!

My little princess

Ever since Karlee received this dress at her birthday party, she has wanted to wear it everywhere. She decks out in the dress, crown, and shoes and struts her stuff around the house.



Karlee also puts on any shoe she finds around the house too. She is getting really good at walking in shoes that are way too big for her. The other day, I found her walking around in my tennis shoes. She just smiles and says "Look mommy. Big shoes."




Notice the finger in the mouth. This is the sight you will see all day long these days. That finger is always in her mouth. There is a big reason: 2 year molars. They are trying to come in. One has popped the skin and the others aren't far behind. They are driving her crazy (and mommy too). Brushing her teeth has always been a chore but it's just down right torture these days. She refuses to let me get her back teeth. She screams and twists her head around like we are trying to cut out her tongue or something. I really wish they would all just pop on through and we will be done with teeth for a while. That finger in the mouth is just breeding germs and we can't get rid of a runny nose and nasty cough. It has been a pretty sickly start of a new year.

The Birthday Parties

I know this post is extremely late. We have been very busy around here lately. We had Karlee's birthday party with friends the weekend after her birthday. I wanted to celebrate on her actual day too so we invited the grandparents, great grandmothers, Uncle Adam, and Aunt Erin over for dinner and cake. The outfit Karlee is wearing is from her 1st birthday too. It still fits. The pants legs were just a little too short!!

I took lots of pictures and here are just a few.

The Saturday after Karlee's birthday, we had her party with lots of friends. Noahs Ark Workshop came and put on a build a bear party that was a big hit with all the kiddos. They all went home with special teddy bears and beautifully decorated bags that they all colored.