THE HARALSONS

2010-03-13T16:06:00.003-06:00

{DADDY & HIS GIRLS}

Here are a few pictures I thought were cute from the past couple of weeks. Cleve LOVES having girls and says he'd be happy with even more... as long as he has an escape shed/garage when the hormones are going crazy!

I hope Parker will do this even when she's 16

Happiest girl!

Tea Party with Daddy

Lilly loves to swing

Lilly wants tea too!

2010-02-20T09:33:00.015-06:00

{CATCHING UP}

Blogging has fallen to the bottom of my to-do list lately. Actually, there has been much to blog about in the past month because of the crazy winter weather and Cleve & Parker both celebrated birthdays. However, our family has caught every sickness going around the past few weeks. First, we all got the stomach bug and now Parker has a double ear infection and a bacterial infection that settled in her eyes and nose. I have pneumonia and Cleve's hip has been bothering him so much he can barely walk some days. We are all pretty pathetic and it's making me long for warm Spring days with cold/flu season ending.

Since I'm home bound for a while I figured I'd try to catch everyone up a little. I haven't taken great pictures lately because I'm not too fond of my little camera and also Parker is in a phase where she almost always refuses to look at the camera, much less smile. But here's the best I've gotten from the past month...

CLEVE'S BIRTHDAY & BONFIRE

I decided to surprise Cleve for his 31st birthday since I was a bad wife last year and pretty much let the big 3-0 pass without much thought. The plan was to have a big bonfire party at my Aunt & Uncle's place. They live on 10 acres in Franklin and their place is absolutely beautiful. However, it decided to pour rain the night of the party so we were confined to the porch and inside. Thanks to my sweet Aunt, the party was still a success and we had a great night with friends.

Since we didn't have a bonfire that weekend we did have the third annual Christmas tree burning in our backyard the next weekend. It was a great time (as usual) and all the kids LOVE seeing the trees burn up and then roast marshmallows afterward. We managed to successfully burn three trees without catching anything else on fire or having the fire department called. It's now officially a tradition to have a Christmas tree burning every January at our house.

SURPRISE!!

Our sweet friends, The MacDiarmids, came from Knoxville

The guys setting up the bonfire

Our flaming Christmas tree

The spectators (a.k.a. Friends & Neighbors)

ICE STORM

We had a huge snowstorm hit the first week of February. It was beautiful snow that quickly turned to ice that coated the city of Franklin for several days. It wasn't great for snowball fights, snowman building or making snow angels, however it was PERFECT for sledding. Luckily we have a wonderful long hill on our street that we enjoyed sledding on. Even Parker had a blast zooming down the hill. It was a fun weekend where we stayed at home and enjoyed the beauty that God gave us in the form of snow.... however, the next week was the horrible week of the stomach bug. I'm so glad that is behind us and I pray we never all have it at the same time again!!

Our winter wonderland. The yard is a solid sheet of ice

Sledding down the driveway with the girls

Parker sledding her baby doll

PARKER TURNS THREE

Every year is the same. I look at my baby girl and can't believe we're celebrating another wonderful year in her life. She is precious and every day I am amazed at her brilliance and tenderheartedness. She is truly a compassionate soul and we know God will use her in great ways. We had a wonderful time last weekend celebrating her third birthday. It's hard to think of inexpensive winter birthday party ideas that will be fun for a herd of 2 - 4 year olds. We decided to fill up a baby pool with 500 balls and it was by far the best idea we've had in a while. The kids had a blast, no one got hurt and my house was not destroyed. The party was a success and Parker really appreciated all the attention. We had a Pink Poodle theme (partly because she wanted a pink doggie theme and also because we call her "Parker Poodle Pants"... not sure how that started). She told me about twenty times, "Mommy, thank you so much for my birthday decorations and my party." However, she loved celebrating so much that she still says it's her birthday. She's so cute I just go along with it... birthdays are special and life is nothing to take for granted. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU our precious "Parker Poodle Pants". We love you more than you'll ever know!!

Princess Parker

Parker got stage fright so Cousin Connor blew out the candles instead

Enjoying her cake and ice cream

Lilly loved the pool filled with balls... once the big kids left!

The chef in her new apron

2010-01-11T18:21:00.004-06:00

{SNOW DAYS}

It snowed steadily here for three days. We didn't get any real accumulation but it did make for a lovely winter weekend. Cleve and I get almost more excited than Parker when it snows. We turn on the Christmas music (yes, we know it's January), build a fire and hunker down. Of course we love playing in the white stuff too! We assisted Parker in building her first snowman. "Snowball" the snowman was a miniature version. It was SOOO cold and dry that we had to get a bucket of water to make the snow stick together. I loved playing outside with Parker. It brings back fond memories of playing in the snow as a child (at 489 Berkley Square) with our dear friends, the Joneses, and riding on dad's back as we sledded over and over down our hill. HAPPY WINTER EVERYONE!!

Our wonderful neighbor, Jared Griswold (or "Gris" as we like to call him) takes some pretty awesome pictures. He agreed to brave the cold for a quick family photo shoot in the snow. Thanks Gris!! They turned out great... here are my faves.

2010-01-07T22:47:00.007-06:00

{CHRISTMAS 2009}

Here is our Christmas in pictures...

Parker loved making cookies for Santa with Uncle Chris and Kiki
(not sure why she's not in the picture too... sorry Kiki)

"Mommy, why didn't Santa eat ALL the cookies?"

Parker and her new baby and baby carriage

Noni with Lilly (and her favorite new toy)

Cleve and me (modeling my new pearls from he and the girls)

Uncle Chris and Lilly

Daddy & Parker feeding baby

"I'm ready for presents!"

The Birmingham cousins
(Cooper, Parker, Hope, Lilly, McKenna & Connor)

Micki, Danny (Cleve's dad... slight resemblance)
& Cleve with his awesome new ride

Parker & G Daddy

2009-12-22T08:09:00.004-06:00

{LOVING THE BIRDS}

This post is primarily about our sweet Parker. She has a VERY tender heart. It's one of my favorite things about her, but also one of the most difficult things too. She can cry at the drop of a hat (or a harsh word from her mommy) but she also loves people well and will cry with a friend who has hurt herself or an animal in trouble.

Anyway, Parker gets a neat magazine in the mail called Your Big Backyard (thanks Aunt Judy) that I'd recommend to any parent with little ones who love animals or reading... or both. So we read the latest issue that features birds that we commonly see in our backyard and that led to our conversation about birds having to look hard for food during the winter months. Instead of simply filling up our bird feeder outside I decided it would be fun to make pine cone and cheerio feeders for the hungry birds. Parker had the most fun eating the peanut butter and cheerios. She didn't, however, enjoy getting her hands messy. So I guess I technically made the feeders while she watched. But it did occupy about an hour of a slow winter day. Parker is now obsessed with having Chickadees ("my pavorites") come eat from the feeders. We have two Cardinal families and an aggressive Blue Jay family that frequent them. Occasionally a Chickadee will attempt to grab a bite before the other birds scare them away. It's been fun watching the beautiful birds flock to our patio... and Parker can pick out quite a few varieties too!

2009-12-21T09:48:00.003-06:00

{FUNNY FACE}

Lilly has learned when the camera is about to flash and makes a silly face every time. When I look at these pictures I always laugh... hard. Maybe her silliness will make you smile today. I love this chubby little face!!

2009-11-08T15:38:00.007-06:00

{GOOD EATS & TRICK-OR-TREATS}

I've meant to post about Halloween but there have been some technical difficulties with our internet. We had a wonderful Halloween with our great friends here in Franklin. All three families have 2 1/2 year olds so it was very entertaining to watch them get excited about trick-or-treating this year. I was so proud of Parker for being brave even though we ran into a few scary creatures (kids) I thought might terrify her. She also got the hang of saying "trick-or treat" and "thank you" very quickly. Won't be long before Lilly is chasing her sister around (and stealing her treats too). This year Lilly mostly snoozed the whole outing. Nothing keeps the kid from a good nap!

Also, to brag on Lilly, I'll mention that she is now a champion cereal eater. I was slightly skeptical since Parker NEVER ate cereal. She hated every bite I tried to force upon her. Lilly is her usual chill self and never seemed phased by the new taste. Yay!!

Parker, Lilly, Sadie & Smith

Minnie Mouse and a pink panther

Smith, Sadie & Caitland

"TRICK OR TREAT!!"

Snacking on some candy after a hard night of trick-0r-treating

YUMMY!!

This is a picture I found of Parker at 6 months... told you she hated cereal!!

2009-10-25T21:07:00.005-05:00

{FALL FUN}

2009-10-16T09:31:00.010-05:00

{GREAT REMINDER}

I'm doing a fabulous bible study (Gospel Transformation) and came across this paragraph I love. It's a great reminder that I'm always putting things before God and yet He patiently loves me. We are constantly bombarded with the craziness of life... maybe this will remind you to rest in Christ alone today.

Saint Augustine summarized one of the great themes of Scripture, and thus all of life when he said, "You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you." God made us to be dependent on him for all we need. As creatures, God made us for relationships and worship. If we are not turning to God in worship, we are turning to something else. If we do not bond with God through the gospel, then we will bond to something else- something that promises to do for us what only the gospel can do. We hold to idols so tightly, and return to them so readily, because they appear to do the same thing for us that the gospel does. They become part of us in the same way that our heavenly Father should be part of us. Thus, when called to give up an idol, it feels as if we must amputate a limb.

2009-10-14T21:23:00.006-05:00

{OUR SWEET GIRLS}

This post is mostly just cute pictures of the girls that I've taken (and not posted) over the past few weeks. Not much to say, but I've had some people asking for the latest on the girls...

Lilly falls asleep on daddy's lap every night he's home

She never does this to me... she just squirms until I put her in bed

The sassy big sister with her baby, "Guscos" (don't have a clue where that came from)

When we read she likes to have sunglasses on ("so I can read the words")

Lilly loves bathtime...

especially with Parker

I hope they always love each other this much

Cutie-booties

Game day at our house

Waaaar Eagle, Hey!!

2009-09-26T09:02:00.005-05:00

{BEAUTIFUL COUSINS}

We went to Birmingham three weeks ago to visit family and Cleve's mom had pictures of all the cousins made. The photographer, Jennifer Hagler, did a fabulous job, especially considering there were 5 kids running around under the age of six. Here is the slideshow of the shoot. Now I just have to decide what to order (without spending too much)!

2009-08-31T15:50:00.006-05:00

{POTTY TRAINING}

We began the potty training process with Parker the first week of August. We weren't in a huge hurry because Parker had not shown any interest in going in the potty. She got a little potty for Christmas and was interested for maybe a day. (Then it turned into her stool that she drug around the house to reach things.) I had decided for both of our sakes that I'd wait until the baby was born and the big sister transition had been made. Parker has been amazing. The first day was terrible and I had my doubts, but after that she has only had a handful of accidents. I love seeing her running around in her big girl panties. Another milestone down... can't believe how big my baby girl is!! Way to go Parker!!

This is the potty training set Parker's grandma got her. Parker has watched the DVD dozens of times and loves to play with her (anatomically correct) Prudence doll. It's hilarious but it seems to make the process a little more fun. You can buy the set (either boy or girl) here.

2009-08-17T08:08:00.009-05:00

{BIRTHDAY, BEANS, BABIES & MORE}

I have so many things I want to blog about right now that I'm combining several different (unrelated) things. First, I want to brag on my birthday present from Cleve. Let me start by saying I love antiques (more farmhouse than fine European) and I love sewing. However, my poor sewing box broke and is barely held together by some extra elastic I had. So Cleve saw a need and decided he wouldn't just go to the craft store and buy me a new sewing box. This is what he got me...

And I LOVE it!! I think it has much more personality than any other ones I've seen. Thanks, babe!

Last weekend we also went to our friends' house to visit and pick beans from their impressive garden (about five times bigger than ours). The men picked while the women watched from the shade. It was fun for everyone and we got about 12 quarts of green beans in the process.

Cleve and Brent pickin' beans

We snapped and canned beans all day Sunday.
It's so rewarding and now we'll have beans all winter long.

Cleve's mom came up for my birthday and to see the girls.
It was a short but fun visit! We love Mimi!!

I LOVE this picture.
Can you tell Cleve is already wrapped around Lilly's little finger?

Parker looks forward to seeing Teddy every time we visit.
This time she was very brave and actually pet him all by herself.

This is Cleve in his cycling get-up.
He's trying it out since it's one of the few sports he can do without hurting his hip.
Back up ladies, he's mine :)

2009-08-12T08:32:00.004-05:00

{HOW DOES OUR GARDEN GROW?}

Well, our garden (thanks to my husband) is growing very rapidly. It's producing some good lookin' fruit and veggies that are almost ripe for harvest. So far we've only been able to sample the cherry tomatoes and lettuce, but it won't be long until we're up to our eyeballs in corn and pumpkin. I guess I should be looking up some creative ways to fix them because I'm not quite sure we can eat all that we have... we'll be sharing with friends and neighbors too, so if you're a fan of these veggies we'd be glad to give some away.

I have to brag on Cleve and his green thumb I never knew he had. So he comes home about 2 months ago and told me it would be fun to start a garden (because he'd seen some neat seed packets at Tractor Supply). Having a newborn to take care of, I told him it seemed a little overwhelming and that I wouldn't be helping in the garden process. Well, that didn't slow him down one bit. He borrowed the neighbor's tiller and proceeded plant dozens of seeds which are now full fledged corn stalks, pumpkin and canteloupe vines, lettuce and tomatoes (the peppers are a little fineky). Every day Cleve comes home from work, changes clothes and takes Parker out to look at the garden. It's been their fun little project that now I've gotten excited about too. This was our trial run so next year we're planning to do even more. It's been a great experience and it encourages me to cook healthier for my family. If you have room in your yard I'd highly recommend gardening.

2009-07-22T20:44:00.004-05:00

{ALL SMILES}

It's hard to believe little Lilly is 10 weeks old already. Time seems to go twice as fast with the second child. Lilly is a dream baby... hardly cries, already sleeps 8 to 10 hours a night, great eater, loves to hang in the bouncy seat all day and gives us lots of coos and smiles. I've told many people I'd have tons of kids if I could guarantee they'd all be as sweet as her. I caught some great smiles on camera so I thought I'd share how big Lilly is getting. Enjoy!!

OUR 7TH ANNIVERSARY

2009-07-20T09:23:00.005-05:00

Cleve,
Thank you for the past 7 years... I can't believe it's been that long. We've had happy times and sad times, but it's been great having you by my side. You are my best friend and I can honestly say I love you more today than on our wedding day. You are the love of my life and I'm so thankful for you. Thanks for a great weekend together in San Antonio. It was the perfect way to celebrate how far we've come. Happy Anniversary, babe!
I love you,
Annie

PS- Did we just eat all weekend? Here are our pictures and they do all revolve around eating. I guess San Antonio does have DELICIOUS food:)

Eating a delicious anniversary dinner at Paesano's on The Riverwalk

Trying some delicious Texas BBQ (Annie's fave)

Then on to Smitty's for more BBQ (same lunch)

And eating a San Antonio staple... Taco Cabana!

RIVER WEEKEND

2009-06-24T07:55:00.005-05:00

We joined friends at the river for some fellowship, relaxation and fun on the water. Here's our weekend in pictures.

DADDY TIME

2009-06-13T07:15:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we got some much needed play time with daddy. Between work and the long list of to-do's around the house it seems like Cleve doesn't get to unwind and just have a fun weekend playing with us. We told Parker on Saturday that we were all going to the zoo as a family (a first for Cleve and Lillian). She proceeded to run around the house squealing and announcing, "I'm SO excited!" We had a great time at the zoo and even let Parker skip her afternoon nap (almost never happens). On Sunday afternoon we decided to fill up Parker's new baby pool so we could cool off on a very hot and sunny day. We've filled it several times but Parker always decides she doesn't want to swim after all. Well, we've learned she just wants a friend to play with... and her new favorite swim buddy is her daddy. Cleve got a cool beverage and lounged in the baby pool with Parker (while Mommy laid in the sun watching). It was a great weekend for daddy and his girls... Parker never wanted it to end. I overheard her Monday "talking to daddy" on the phone and saying," Come home daddy. I want to play with you." What sweet words!!

SISTERS

2009-05-15T15:42:00.008-05:00

This is about all the togetherness there has been between Parker and "Baby Lilly". Parker still isn't sure about this new person in her house but today she actually talked to her, rubbed her tummy & sat next to her. I guess she's come a long way in 4 days. (In the hospital she pretty much ignored her). But every day I think Lillian looks more like Parker. Here are pictures of the girls to see if you agree.

PARKER

LILLIAN

LILLIAN IS HERE!!

2009-05-12T17:48:00.005-05:00

Lillian Hatley Haralson was born at 5:31 p.m. on Monday, May 11th. She weighed in at 8 pounds, 4.8 ounces and measured 20 1/2 inches long (almost the exact size of Parker when she was born). Mommy had an easy delivery and everyone is happy and healthy. Parker isn't so sure about this new person she has to share attention with but we're sure she'll quickly adore her new sister. We feel so blessed by our sweet little Lillian and wanted to share some quick pics of her first day. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!

SWEET PARKER

2009-05-11T04:16:00.003-05:00

Here are a few photos of what our big two year old is up to. Thought these were pretty cute...

Enjoying the baby swing... let's hope she wants to share with the baby!

Rainy day fun

Parker in her "princess skirt"

by the way, I'm posting in the middle of the night because I'm having contractions and can't sleep. They seem like the real thing so we'll keep everyone updated if we head to the hospital. I'm trying to let everyone else sleep while I pack my bag (yes, I wait til the last minute), shower, check email & get everything in order. Did I mention the contractions are 4 - 5 minutes apart? Not to worry... this went on for 17 hours with Parker before they'd even give me an epidural... then like 13 more hours before she ever made her appearance. So no, I don't panic. I'm just excited to meet this kid and see if Parker will have a little brother or sister! Keep us in your prayers...

GREAT FRIENDS & A RELAXING EASTER

2009-04-17T13:45:00.003-05:00

Since I haven't been up for blogging much lately I'm actually combining a few things we've done in the past few weeks. First, Cleve flew my sweet friend Mary Alice up from San Antonio with her precious 5 month old little boy (whom I'd never met) so they could hang out with me and Parker all week (Cleve was out of town for 6 days). It was such a fun and relaxing visit where we just got to hang out, talk & enjoy each other. Baby Jackson is such a sweet, laid back, beautiful kid and Parker loved having a baby around. There were a few moments of jealousy, but overall Parker did pretty well. It definitely gave me a small glimpse of what the next few months will be like.

We had a nice relaxing Easter. It mostly involved church, eating and laying on the couch. It was some much needed down time after a busy holy week. We got a few decent pictures of Parker in the beautiful dress her Mimi made her (but as usual she runs from me every time I get the camera out).

Jackson and Parker

Parker on the baby mat

Jackson enjoying the mat

Parker in her beautiful Easter dress

Our family Easter picture

BIG GIRL ROOM

2009-03-25T19:27:00.004-05:00

We've officially switched Parker to her big girl room. Cleve and I were very nervous about the transition because the crib is so easy and Parker has never tried to climb out. But with baby #2 on the way we figured it would be better to bite the bullet and switch to her big girl room while it could still seem like a fun, exciting thing (not a, "you're getting booted for the baby" thing). We've been talking about it very frequently for the past few weeks and every day Parker would say, "Mommy painting Parker's big girl room" today. Once we put up the bed she was practically begging to sleep in there. So we finally put our fears aside and let her enjoy her first night in her big girl bed. To our amazement, she did just as well (if not better) and felt so proud of her new room. It's hard to believe we've reached this milestone because she still seems so small. But I know in less than two months she will seem so big. Just thought I'd brag on Parker's latest accomplishment.

OH BABY BABY!

2009-03-24T08:28:00.005-05:00

I went to Memphis over the weekend to help host a baby shower for my sweet friend (and college roomie) Molly Flynn. She's expecting a baby girl the week before me, so we're excited our babies will grow up together. It was a fun weekend visiting with friends I don't see often enough and having a little break from my mommy duties. It was a huge treat to see my other college roomie, Emily Grimm, who I haven't seen since her wedding over a year ago (because she moved to Dubai). So here are a few pics of me and the girls at the shower.

Emily, Annie, Molly, Laurin, Kristen

Molly, Emily, Annie

The baby bumps

GOOD TIMES AT THE ZOO

2009-03-20T10:05:00.005-05:00

Parker and I made a trip to Birmingham last weekend to visit Cleve's family (while he was camping with friends). It was a fun time with grandparents and cousins, the zoo being one of Parker's favorite things. Unfortunately, cousin Cooper was sick. But we had a fun time with Mimi, Grandaddy, Connor & Hope. Here are some pictures from our day at the Birmingham zoo.