The Fam. from Alabam.

The girls' Aunt Elizabeth (Chad's sister), Uncle Bill, and Cousins Warner and William were in town this past weekend, so we got to spend some time with them. Warner and William are awesome with the girls, and Aly is finally old enough to be able to enjoy them! We spent all of Sunday morning together, and even got a few pictures! We love you, Johnsons!

Warner, Aly, Big D, Caroline, and William

The Cousins looking at the River

Aunt Elizabeth, Caroline, and Warner

Aly and William

These Keds Were Made For Walking...

...and that's just what she'll do!

Mini-Cheerleaders

It is fall in the Warner home. The windows are open, the fair is in town, and basketball practice has begun. Chad started on Sunday, and I think we've made a good adjustment to the season so far. The girls and I have only made it to one practice, though I'm sure that as the weather gets colder, we'll make it to more and more. Aly is an all-time flirt, and LOVES the "basketball boys" (her favorite being Tomas whom she cheers for individually during games and even practice!) Though Caroline went to plenty of games and practices last season, this is the first time that she actually realized what was going on; she was enamored and watched intently the entire time we were there. The sweetest thing was a few minutes after watching when she finally realized that Daddy was out on the court and she started squealing, pointing, and looking back at me like, "Look who's here!!" Aly cried as we left, but that's kinda par for the course with her emotional state these days!

I took the girls to the fair today while Chad was at practice. Not one of my better ideas.

My girls have officially started boycotting pictures. They will not look at the camera, and when they do, it's usually not pretty. I've attached a couple of pictures, though, and a video of Aly doing a Georgia cheer Chad taught her...this is the same cheer that she is singing to "Cawo-yiney" in their room every morning around 6:30. She seems to have handled Georgia's loss last weekend better than most people around here!

"Princess Aly"

Daddy's Little Girl-part 2

The Invisible Woman

So, you have a bad day!

Yesterday was one of those days that by the time I got in bed, I had to give Chad a huge, "I'm sorry." It seemed like from the moment I woke up, things just went counter to how I would have planned them.
Just one quick (though disgusting) example:
I went into the girls' room to get them up from nap, knowing that we had a 'trip-to-Walmart-unload-groceries-and-cook-dinner" three hour-marathon in front of us. I walked in, gave Aly a kiss, then made my way over to Caroline's crib. She had taken off her diaper and wiped the contents of it all over herself, her crib, her sheets, and bumper pads. I had to laugh because it was really just par for the day.

So we drove out to Wal-mart. Aly cried the first 15 minutes we were in the store because I made her keep her stuffed animal in the car (even though this is ALWAYS a rule). We had about 15 minutes of fun shopping, and then Caroline cried from about the cereal aisle on. My friend Mandy has talked about her love/hate relationship with Wal-mart before, and I told her about the girl at the check-out whom I always get...she's from the North and always tells me about how annoyed she gets with "Dumb Southerners". Well, I got her again (she always has the shortest line, and with a crying baby, I take what I can get.) This is honestly how our conversation went:

Girl: Why is your daughter crying?
Me: Well, we've been here a long time, and she gets worn out by the end of the trip.
Girl: I don't think that parents should bring kids under about 3 or 4 grocery shopping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: 'Cause I think the best time to shop is while their sleeping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: I just hope that whenever I get married and have kids, my husband is willing to stay home with my kids so I don't have to take them shopping, until they're an appropriate age like 3 or 4.
Me: I hope that works for you.
I mean, really? And the whole time (as she's talking SO slowly), Caroline is losing it!

The frustrating thing was that there was still quite a bit of 'day' left, and I just couldn't get my bad attitude turned around. Poor Chad. By the time I got home from small group, it was 9:30 and I was about in tears.

But I can laugh about it now. And I guess that if that's my idea of a horrible day, I am indeed a blessed person!

Coach Daddy

Chad is at a coaching clinic this weekend--I know that he will have fun talking basketball and seeing friends. He is so sweet, though, because he's been genuinely upset about leaving us. Obviously as a coach, he is no stranger to being out of town...but we've had one of those "off-seasons" where we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family...and really enjoyed it! As excited as he is about the season starting up again, I appreciate the fact that leaving is a little tough for him...home is where his heart is! While I'm on the subject, I just want to brag on the fact that I truly believe that God created him to be a dad--and not just that, but a dad to GIRLS. Most of you who read this know that he is the sensitive one in this marriage: the cryer, the communicator, the Life-Time-channel watcher. We laugh at this from time to time, but I really think that he was created for this role...and what a job he does in that role! We love you, Daddy!

Aly and Daddy going to "Daddy's Dessert" at school

Tickly Monster

More Tickly Monster...

Sweet Caroline

While the cats are away, the mice will play!

Our weekend away in Chattanooga was wonderful ! We relaxed, ate out, and got to see our best friends from Farmville, Bubba and Cortney (they have just moved to Sewanee, TN). The girls had a great time and were very well-taken care of, thanks to Big D and Poppy. The best part of the weekend was getting to see the girls when we returned. Oddly enough, Aly was in absolute melt-down mode from the time she saw us yesterday until she finally went to bed...really bizarre. I can't help but think that she was probably just on emotion-overload after a weekend without us, and crying off-and-on throughout the afternoon was her way to express that. Bless her little heart! :-)

Aly riding her bike...

...and Caroline on her car

Dinner with Bubba and Cortney