The Nashville Neelys

It has been too long, so I'm forcing myself to blog. I'm trying to type this out with one hand while I sit here nursing Maddie.

Here's a recap of what's been going on...not much.
Its getting cold, very few trees have leaves left but the ones that do are gorgeous. It's getting colder and colder and it's been raining. I keep thinking about how much I hate this kind of weather. But I'm really beginning to love this time of year... more than I ever have. I think having kids does that to you. I can't help but get excited every time I go shopping. I can't wait to buy Taylor and Maddie their Christmas presents... and Chris too! To see them get excited! It'll be so much fun. And I've gotten to the point where I honestly can't think of anything I want. I would rather spend money on my babies or my handsome. I guess I could use some clothes and such, But there really isn't a whole lot that I Want. I guess I'm growing up! Ha!

Well, Maddie has started talking! Yup... my 2 month old is talking. She can coo and goo with the best of them and it melts my heart when she does it. She laid down with her daddy and talked to him for about 30 minutes... I mean a real conversation. He would say something to her and she would coo back. I don't remember Taylor interacting this much this early, but maybe it's just because I'm busier now, time seems to be going by faster. I love it though.

And Maddie is REALLY into Taylor. She'll follow her with her eyes around the room. And whenever I talk to Maddie, Taylor comes and gets in front of me and starts talking to her. Taylor adores Maddie and LOVES being the big sis. She loves to hold Maddie and actually does pretty good considering their ages and size. She even gets mad at me when I try to take Maddie away too soon. So my girls are getting along great.

Taylor is learning and growing everyday. I can't believe how much she knows now. I can't keep up. She says about 2 or 3 new words everyday. And she speaking in sentences now. It's just nuts. She can say all of my brothers and sisters names now. Sorry to all of Chris's family... we're working on y'all too, but she sees mine everyday so I guess they're easier to remember. Michael is her latest one, and she'll walk around the house saying "Michael, Michael?" Then Avery is "boo boo". She can say cayce, Chelsea and kyle too. She's getting good at the whole word thing. She's also learned what the color yellow is. That's the only one she knows every time so far. Blue Green and Red we're still working on :) And she can almost count. Most of the time every number is two... but every once in a while she throws in a 3,6,7,8 or 10! And she loves Letters! She tries to say her alphabet, but most letters come out sounding like "A." I love it. She's such a little person. Everyday more and more of her personality come out. And her attitude. I'm getting kinda nervous on those terrible twos getting here. The way she says "NNNNNOOOOO" drives me a bit nuts already. Oh well. She listens pretty well most of the time and will clean up her messes on her own now! For the most part. That's nice.

Anyways - As far as what's new with me... I'm just trying to not go crazy. I have to make sure and get out of the house a little bit each week, with or without the girls. It's hard to not get a bit stir crazy when you're with two babies all day every day. I'm WAY excited for Time Out For Women this weekend. It's an inspirational conference for women for those who don't know. My mom is helping with running it and stuff this time, and so she is taking me along with her to it. I can't wait to get inspired and uplifted. I need it. I feel a bit like I'm dragging. I think is just the pick me up I need.

And I think I'm going to be seeing one of my favorite bands "KINGS OF LEON" next week. They're coming to municipal auditorium and a friend is giving me tickets. WOOHOO. It'll be mine and Chris's first date since Maddie was born. Actually, not just our first date, but first time ALONE! And we need it. I feel kinda like we see each other in passing most days. Usually when he gets home from work he takes over playing with Taylor while I keep up with Maddie, so this is definitely needed.

Well, I figured I've rambled enough on here now. I'll be going. Here's some more of my grateful list!

1. Gorgeous red, orange, and yellow leaves that are left on the trees. There's a gorgeous view from the front of this house. Just perfect.

2. Chris being such a good dad. Some dads don't help out nearly as much as he does. I'm grateful he enjoys our kids as much as I do. It makes me fall in love with him all over again to see how sweet he is to our girls. And they both adore him.

3. A car that works and is mine all mine. I can come and go whenever I want. Me and the girls could just leave for the day and that would be fine. I love having that option. Now I just need to take advantage of it one day!

4. Good friends who like to watch the Hills and reminisce about the good old days :) It was such a fun break! And I LOVE Skipbo

5. The internet and my own computer to use it on.

6. The greatest 2 sets of grandparents for my girls! It's so much fun to watch how Taylor is enjoying her grandparents now. She saw a man at the store today with white hair and kept calling him papa... she knew he was a grandparent too :)

7. Chris's job. It is a great job for him and our family. I'm so grateful that he has it, and to Mark and Lu. Y'all are great.