1st Picture with Santa!

After seeing Mrs. Sherlocks pictures of her girls with Santa from their 1st Christmas up until now made me want to go get a picture with Mabes and Santa. So thinking if we didn't do it tonight, we would be stuck in the masses at the mall tomorrow. So we made a memory tonight...Mabry crying, terrified of Santa! It was pretty sad, so mom and her greasy self and dad jumped in the picture to calm our precious little one. OUr picture is pretty funny...Mabry clinging on to my side. I'm glad we did it though.

A little celebration...school is out until Jan. 7th! I am ready to relax, spend time with family, hang out with Mabes during the day, have real lunches (like going to Hopkins during the weekday!), reading, working on the new house, packing up the townhouse, sewing, maybe cooking...Andy...that was a maybe. I haven't been to the grocery store in so long. We haven't even had milk in about 2 weeks, and those of who who know me, Andy and I usually have our late night OREO dates...it is time to go to the grocery!!

The gift of the year for teachers this year was baked goods...so if you have a sweet tooth just let me know, I could hook you up! I cannot count how many cookies, gooey bars, chocolate covered pretzels that I ate today. Tis' the season...

Tomorrow Andy plans on working on the house. I'll maybe get over there for a little while. We want to get it all primed so we can start painting the fun part-color!

The wallpaper is finally all gone-YEAH!!!! I don't ever want that job again. I can't believe people do that for a living, no thank you!

Mabry took about 6 steps for me today. I am in awe of that little stinker. She is getting over pneumonia, but always so spunky you would not of know that she was even sick.

We are headed for Indiana on Christmas night. Kind of a tradition for us to fly out then...it is because the tickets are cheaper. We are SO EXCITED to see our family. They are not going to believe how big, silly, spunky and sassy Mabes has gotten.

Love you all. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and are blessed by the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

:-) L to the A

Grandpa's Wedding!!!

Wallpaper...please go away!!!

Hello friends!
So... Andy and I are cross eyed from tearing down wallpaper all weekend...and lucky us there are still a couple rooms to attack. I have no fingernails, some people are smiling at the fact that my pinky nail has no hope of growing while we are in the renovation mode. My mom covered 2 rooms with Kilz primer and Andy and I are trying to get the rest of the house ready to cover with Kilz. I've told some of you but the only thing, if anything, that was holding us back from buying our house is that the people in it were smokers. When you take the border off the wall and there is a distinct line, you know there is a problem. Or when you remove a shelf, mirror, picture and it is the only semi-white spot in the room...nappy!!! So anyway, what I was getting at is when I was tearing down wallpaper in the master bath, I could smell the smoke coming off the walls...I really hope the Kilz works! We have lots of work to do...but we are enjoying it and we are so thankful for our new home. I cannot wait to see Mabry running around in our yard! Andy will get a lot done Wed-Fri because the Mabes and I are going out of town. We are headed to Natchez, Mississippi for my 90 year old Grandpa's wedding!!!!

Love to you all!

:-) L.A.

Is it really December??? (Part 2)

It was like 80 degrees outside today!!!!!!!!!!

:-)

Is it really December???

Is it December already???

I cannot believe how fast time is flying by! Mabes is getting bigger (and sassier) everyday. We are packing up things here at the townhouse and continuing to work on the new house. Wallpaper is being torn down, primer is on some of the walls and the roof is getting put on tomorrow. We are going to have a "painting party" on Saturday (anyone is welcome!). Lots to do! The townhouse is a "hot mess" right now. Boxes and stuff everywhere...no Christmas tree though :-( A bought a little one to put up on a table somewhere, but it was broken, maybe I will return it tomorrow so we can have a decoration. I've been listening to 103.1, all they play is Christmas music right now. Hope everyone is having a great week!!!


Love you all!

:-) L.A.

Quick Hanlon Update

Quick update...
Work is great, before Thanksgiving I had a fun, busy and successful Field Day We have a big week this week with the evaluation team coming in.
Mabry loves the nursery and mommy loves having her so close

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Great times with family and friends. I loved meeting my buddy Corbin (Steph and Dennis' new addition) My 90 year old grandpa was in town...big talk of his upcoming wedding! Yes- his wedding! I got another haircut...way short with some highlights, I guess now that it is short it is fun to get it cut and change it up a bit.

Not much work on the new house- hopefully this weekend we can really get things going

Mabry is super busy-always! The child does not stop...must take after her daddy :-)
She has 6 teeth...and mom and dad are totally lacking in the sleep department.
She will walk if you hold her hand. She says dada, mama and kitty! She turned 9 months old on Thanksgiving...amazing how much she changes each week! We are so THANKFUL for her! Mom and Mabes are sporting a little cold right now, hopefully nothing more than a runny nose and sniffles.

WAR EAGLE!!!

L.A. :-)

Missing Gizmo

Well...I tried to add a picture of our precious Gizmo, but it was not working. On Thursday a neighbor found our little buddy "sleeping." We are not sure what happen to little brother but he is no longer with us. My heart has been so sad all weekend. Today I can finally talk about it a little without crying. I'm also sad for Rackadew (our other cat), I bet he misses his brother. When the picture attachment cooperates, I will attach one.

Love to you all...

L.A.

HOLA!

I love holidays when my hubby gets to stay home and chill with his girls! We had a great long weekend. Some good times with friends and great time just hanging out as a familia. Last night I signed my family up (me included) for the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. I am totally disappointed in myself for not signing up for the 15K...but since I have not been running in approx. 8 weeks...at this point I'm just hoping to get through the 5K!!! Anyway I'm over it, i am just excited to be out there Thanksgiving morning with Taylor, Sarah, Ralph (mom's boyfriend), Andy and Mabry! If you will be in town...sign up it is so much fun (go to gulf winds track club's website for more info.). I started this blog typing with one hand as my naked baby climbed all over me. Now daddy is home helping a sista out. Why is she naked you ask? Well I thought since she is in a diaper all day I would let her be "free" for just a few minutes. Well, I think she peed everywhere the first 30 seconds she had the diaper off!!! Oh well :-) Auntie Sarah is coming over to babysit tonight...Andy and I are off to the FAIR!!! Love me some elephant ears, carnies and my favorite ride-the Zipper!!!

Peace...

:-) L.A.

Techie Attempt

Techie Attempt

I attempted a slideshow...no idea how to get it on without making it a link...

http://www.slide.com/r/defqbyMQ5j8OoS1_reu3Kv3afSZJJOYZ?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Some Recent Pictures

Moose Kasey and little Mabes Dinosaur and Little Chick
Palmer really is growling...Mabry crawled off to get some skittles
Fun trick or treating!
Love those skittles!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Here is what Jill wrote on her blog
(I am too tired to write my own :-)...

Yesterday we went to the Pumpkin patch for the first time. We were joined by quite the group, we had the Hanlon family, the Paske's, the Pope's, and some really proud grandparents. We all had a blast! Linley took all of the pictures of Kent and Mabry, even some with her boys, Palmer and Peyton! Kent and Mabry had matching fall outfits, the pictures of them are priceless..in fact, they are worth a thousand words!! That is Linley's new business' name. She is awesome! Thanks Linley. Check out the slide show or click on the link to see ALL the pumpkin pictures!!


http://picasaweb.google.com/paskeboys/PumpkinPatchBabies


:-) L.A.

Great Weekend!!!

Finally here is a link to my reunion pictures. There are only a couple.
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=175660386/a=35258044_35258044/t_=35258044

We had a GREAT weekend, it was filled with friends and family!!! Friday night we went to the Governor's Club with Bert and Jill, Bert's parents and some of their friends. Our plans were to go to the getdown, but due to the rain it was cancelled. We still had a lot of fun, wonderful food, and stayed out until after 10:30!!! That is funny to write, but these days it is pretty impressive that we were even out. Saturday was the Robster's (my moms) birthday...we had a yummy morning party with whataburger taquitos, bagels and cake with magic candles. The candles were a bit of a bust...I thought I was going to burn mom's house down. Fun times with the familia! Sat. afternoon we went to celebrate some more at a birthday tailgate for my mom. I love the tailgating atmosphere...tons of garnet and gold, people and junk food. Mabry was all about it. There was a dog there so of course she was excited! Saturday late afternoon Brady, DeeAnn, Addie and Lydia came to visit. We decided they need to move down here so we can hang out all the time. They stayed the night, and after a fun and relaxing morning, lunch at MOES and time at the park, the got on the road and headed south. We are going to get to see them again this weekend....fun times for us. The cousins were all so cute together...Mae Mae did not miss a beat, she loved all the action! Then this afternoon we had one more visitor...Ms. Reggenia. We used to teach together and when she is in town we spend some time catching up. She loved seeing Mabry, amazed about how fast she is changing. We love Ms. Reggenia..another special treat to our weekend! Andy and Mabes and I went on a walk this afternoon. It was great to get some fresh air and get some exercise. Now Andy and I are "geekin'" out. After I finish blogging I'm going to try and finish Mabry's fall dress...I will post a picture of that soon. Hope everyone is doing great! Love and miss you all!

:-) L.A.

Mabry's First Pony Ride!!!

HCES had their Fall Festival on Saturday and Mae Mae had her first pony ride! She had so much fun. She started panting like she does when she sees a dog or cat. She stayed on (with mommy at her side...of course) for 3-4 times around the circle. Then we had to take some pictures...thank you Lawson! The bottom picture is from the book fair, we went with Aunt Julie and Lawson just to hang out for a few minutes. Mabry was sporting her school uniform...I must say she is pretty stinkin' cute. Andy and I are going to try not to stay up to our normal 11:30 tonight...so I will keep this entry short. Do my retainers totally stick out in these pictures, because if it weren't for little Mabes that is all I would notice!?! Oh, just so you all know, I am wearing my favorite "tee" right now..."ESCALADE!"

Adios!

:-) L.A.

P.S. The next post will be a couple pictures from my high school reunion!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Yes, Andy's mom, grandma Aralee (mamaw), Aunt Karen and Lois adopted that name for the weekend. They had a fun flight to Tallahassee and a great couple of days of family time. We hung out on Sat. went to the mall (rainy) walked around and then hit up Cold Stone...yum yum! We were a sight wheeling around Mabry and Aunt Karen (in her wheelchair due to a broken foot). Sunday morning we drove to St. George Island so our family could get a look of the coast. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. We had a BJ's pizza picnic and enjoyed the beach for a couple of hours. Thanks Matt and Katie for the best parking space on the beach! Monday I had to go to work, Mabry decided she wanted to skip school and hang out with her Grandma Janet :-) They had lots of fun before all meeting back up and heading to the airport. I wish I could have seen them all together in the airport...they are a funny crew!

This week has been great...busy! I feel like it is always busy. Ali had a sewing get together last night...we were sewing until almost 11pm and I loved it! Andy and I went to look at another house before sewing. We are looking into this one! We will see what happens. God will let us know when it's the house he wants us to live in. Tonight we are chillin at home. Mabry went down great, we had a tasty dinner and now Andy is practicing guitar while I am updating ya'll on the Hanlon life. Tomorrow night I think we get to chill again before a busy busy weekend. Supper Club, HCES Fall Festival and I can't forget my 10 year REUNION! Have I really been out of high school for 10 years? Am I really in my 5th year of teaching? How can it be? Anyway, we won't talk about my 29th birthday coming up in less than a month.

Love you all!

Here is a link to some pictures from the fun weekend!

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=175615688/a=35258044_35258044/t_=35258044

:-) L.A.

Recent Pictures

FIRST BOW!!!



















Mae Mae with her do-rag

Here are the retainers...all nice and shiny!!! The kids have loved them. "Look ya'll Coach Hanlon got braces"

Flashback!

I am wearing retainers...can't wait to download a picture!!! My teeth are shifting so the Dr. hooked me up with some nice metal...I forgot how sore they get, ouch! Andy and I are geekin' out right now on the couch. I don't know how my eyes are still open...I am so tired. I have to wait up for our late night Oreos and milk...so no sleep for now! Oh, and Gaye gave us some pumpkin spice coffee that is sooooo good that we have added to our nighttime treat. Mabry had a busy busy day and crashed right around 7:00. She is so much fun. She tried to play with the big kids in the sandbox today...only came home with a little bitof sand in her little bit of hair! All is good in the Hanlon house. My back is feeling better, have not tried to run yet...maybe soon. I am able to feed Mabry again, so that makes me a super happy mom. We are looking forward to a visit from Andy's mom, grandma, aunt and cousin's wife this weekend! It has been way too long since we saw them last and miss them so much. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Adios,
L.A. :-)

War Eagle!!

Good title..right!?! :-) Good game against UF last night...sorry my gator friends and family (T.A. and Gaye)! Anyway we are up on this beautiful Sunday morning, the back door is open and "Shane and Shane" is leading some worship in our living room, Mabry is snuggling on her daddy's chest taking her morning nap, so sweet, and I am having some coffee (in my Auburn mug). All to say that it is so good to be home and spending time with my family. We had a good week. We all took the day off, not planned, on Thursday. My back has been hurting, so after 4 days Andy said it was time to go to the doctor...I figured it would just go away. I'm not stubborn. I am on some medicine now....medicine that does not allow me to nurse my precious Mabry. It is so hard to "pump and dump" and not be able to just feed her and have that special time with her. Thankfully I stored up alot of milk to take to school...it is disappearing fast though! I don't even know what formula to use...any suggestions? Minus the bum back it was soooooo good to be home with Andy and Mabry. Do you think we could do that once a week? Lets see, what else?!?! Halloween is coming up and I don't know what to dress Mabry as. We had one costume from Addie and Lydia, but it is way too big for this year. So I am trying to think what little sister wants to be for Halloween. We are excited to go trick-or-treating in Southwood with some friends. So sad for Mabes, someone is going to have to eat her candy for her! I guess that is what moms are for! I hope you all are doing well. I love that my blog links are growing...so fun to read what everyone is up to. If you don't have a blog (HOLLEY DICKINSON), then you need one! Oh yeah...it's hard to keep up with facebook, blogging and Snapfish! The technology....oh my! I am going to attach a link of pictures that sum up the last 3 months or so. I have not had time to edit or caption them, but I hope you enjoy them all the same!

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=175420720/t_=35258044

Love you all!
:-) L.A.

Looking for the Perfect Baby Gift?

I am selling changing pads, burp cloths, bibs and diaper/wipe holders. Check the link for pictures of the fabric. I have one of each in all of the different fabrics. Let me know what you want and I will get it to you. Remember...I am not a photographer, so if you want to see any of these in person just let me know and I can bring them to church, school, bunco, etc. I found my love for fabric this summer and enjoyed making all of these items out of high quality fabric from our local stores and online vendors. I keep these things in my diaper bag and they are so handy. If you have fabric that you want me to custom make your changing pad, etc., I would love to! Hope everyone is doing well. Let me know if you have any questions!

L.A.'s Little Tings'
Changing Pad $16
Diaper/Wipe Holder $16
Burp Cloth $11
Bib $13

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=175422041/a=35258044_35258044/t_=35258044

:-) L.A.
lauraashley@mail.com

Still Around

I felt like I haven't blogged in forever...this will be short. I feel like I have been super busy with school this week, having fun playing with Mabry after school and then hanging out with Andy and staying up way too late sewing! I am exhausted!!! I did get a lot done at school today (teacher workday) but until I get one more thing turned in I feel a little stressed...just a little.I am excited to watch HCES's first XC meet tomorrow...Mabry's first meet, she is excited! The Hanlons will be in town again this weekend...yes 2 weekends in a row, shocker! I am excited to chill and spend time with mi familia. Little sisters birthday is on Friday...Sarah, the baby, will be 22! Yeah, I kinda feel old. I want to link my new Snapfish pictures on to my blog...Darby can you help a sister out?

Love you all...
:-) L.A.

COOSA RIVER CHALLENGE

We had a great weekend in Wetumpka, AL!!! Andy and Levi participated in the Coosa River Challenge for the 2nd year now. They did great this year with lots of new challenges throughout the race. Ashley and Mabes and I were the cheerleaders...trying to find them at all the transitions. They finished so fast we didn't even see them run through the finish line! Sat. night we all loaded up and drove to Auburn. We realized that it was only an hour away...so we decided to show Ashley and Levi my alma mater and eat at bubbys favorite place...Mellow Mushroom! Auburn was packed with people...everyone was tailgating and about to head into the game. So we drove through the madness and then headed to Mellow Mushroom...where there was no wait! If you have ever been to the Auburn one, that will be shocking to you. Mabry had some sweet potatoes with her ghetto bib, as we chowed down on some yummy food.

Yesterday on the way home we stopped through Dothan to visit with our good friends...the Sticklers. We had a great, but too short, time catching up. Mabry, Paige and Morgan were so cute together! We miss those guys a lot!!!

We are going to chill on the traveling for a while. We have had so much fun, but we are ready to relax, and we miss our church family. I'm sure there will still be plenty to blog about with little mae mae growing up so fast!

Hope this finds everyone well!

Love to you all...
:-) L.A.
(P.S. when my phone broke in half I lost all my phone numbers so if you have not sent me yours...please do!)

Little Big Girl

Ok, so our little pumpkin head has totally takin off. I hope you like my grammar :-) Anyway, she is everywhere. Not only that, but when she gets where she wants ...she pulls up! No our house is not baby proof yet...it needs to be. We had a great weekend at Rosemary beach with family, including Ashley and Levi. It was beautiful...weather and water. We laid out, swam, walked, kayaked...and so much more! This weekend coming up we are headed to Wetumpka, AL for the Coosa River Challenge. Andy and Levi will be adventuring racing as Mabes, Ash and I watch.
So you might be wondering why it has taking me so long to blog. Maybe you haven't but I'll tell anyway :-) It is all Stuart's fault!!! She signed me up for Facebook and I have been spending my time looking for "friends". If you are a "facebooker" you will know what I mean. It's not just me...Andy is a "facebooker" as well!
Life is good. School is busy, but great. Mabry is loving the nursery....my little busy body. Oh yeah, she also has 2 teeth coming in (on the bottom) and is trying new veggies all the time. I will attach pictures soon! It amazes me how much and how fast she is changing!!!

Until next time...

:-) L.A.

Mabry on the path to Mobility

This is my first attempt at video so hopefully it works. Here is some footage of Mabry from about a month ago just beginning to figure out the crawling thing. Needless to say in a month she has progressed mightily. She now makes her way around our living room with relative ease. Can't hardly believe it. So hope you enjoy my first blog posting and the first of hopefully many video clips to follow.

God Bless,

Andy, Andrew, or Rew... However you may know me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0oMov751Lk

Happy 6th month Birthday Mabry!!!

Mabry in her H.C.E.S. uniform!
Good Morning! Happy 6th month birthday!!!
Fun standing with my buddy Kent!
Thanks for my present Aunt Jilly!
Mabry loves her daddy!

Today our little pumpkin' is 1/2 a year old! It is so hard to believe how fast the time has gone by. She is such a sweet baby. She is such a busy body and loves to practice her crawling and pulling up. She has crawled just a couple times but she still can get all the way across our living room...she army crawls, scoots and rolls! She loves to pull up on mommy and daddy and act like a big girl. Tomorrow we go to the doctor for her 6 month check up and shots :-( sad for my little baby.

School is going well. I really am thankful for a full week to adjust before the kids came. Now that school has officially started, I've been able to go down to the nursery a few times to visit...but that will be impossible with my Thurs. and Fri. schedule :-( I know she is in good hands and she has so much fun, so that helps mommy feel better. I still miss her.

Andy and I have yet to exercise since our race :-) Maybe we will do something tomorrow. Probably not. I am sitting here with my pint of ice cream, eating and typing, when I should be asleep resting up for my big day tomorrow!

Love you all my family and friends!

Bye for Now,

:-) L.A.

More Pictures

Pictures

To Finish is to Win!

We did it! Andy, Ashley and I finished our first ever sprint triathlon! We drove up to Huntsville Friday afternoon to visit our good friends Levi and Ashley Perigo... Uncle Levi and Aunt Ashley. After a long drive with Miss Mabes we arrived just in time to hang out a bit, read through our race packets and get pumped up about getting up at 5:00 am. Let me remind you my friends that we did not really train. We were on a roll for a little while but then got busy....needless to say when we arrived to the starting line we became a bit nervous. Ashley took off in the third heat while Andy and I followed in the fourth heat. Mabry and Uncle Levi hung out and took pictures. We all had our strengths and all felt like we had jello arms for the swim. This tri was backwards run, bike, swim rather than swim, bike, run. I had so much fun and definitely ready to sign up for another one! The rest of the day has been so much fun...it always is with the Perigos. After the race we went to Fleet Feet (with our coupon from the race) and I got some nice sunglasses for work. Then we cane back to the house and showered and chilled! Mabry has been a sport all day. She has been a little busy body... CRAWLING! It is a scoot with a couple of crawls...so cute! We are so proud of our little athlete. We just got back from a trip to Dicks Sporting goods and a Starbucks treat from Target. Tonight we look forward to pizza and hours of Wii. Hope everyone is having an incredible weekend. Please pray for me as my kids come on Monday. I am a bit nervous and sad to leave my little Mabes. She did have a great first week in the nursery, she loves all the action from the "big kids."

Adios for now!

:-) L.A.

HCES Babies

Having fun with Peyton!!!
Coach Paske...Sorry about the pink whistle David :-)
Mabes and Palmer

Mommy's Back!!!

Today was a big day for me and my little Mabes! Teachers "reported" back to school today and Mabry had her first day with the HCES Babies! I did have a hard time leaving her this morning....it made me sad. I love the nursery workers, I was just sad to leave my little pumpkin! Mabry did great! She had so much fun with all the other kids and she was even trying to show off her crawling skills. Well...almost crawling skills. I am thankful to have a week to get adjusted. I can't complain a bit since she is there on campus with me. Thank you Holy Comforter!!! Just wanted to send a short update, now it's time for bed. I'm pretty tired...not used to having a schedule. Oh yeah remember that triathlon I mentioned??? I don't think we have trained a bit for it since then! It should be fun for us this weekend! :-)

Adios...

:-) L.A.