My pleasure.

 Why are these two so happy? Because they were the first 2 kiddos EVER to play on our VERY own 

Chick-fil-a playground!! To say we are excited that our little 'ol town has a Chick-fil-a is quite an understatement. My bestie Leah's old college roomie, Mandy is Chick-fil-a royalty and was in town for the grand opening... which meant we got the hook up and were able to attend premiere night a couple of nights before the grand opening. Might not sound exciting to most but it was a big deal in my world. I do heart me some Chick-fil-a. =) Being able to get a little glimpse of the "behind the scenes" made me love it even more. Everyone was so genuine and proud to be a part of  it all... ok, so I'm jealous. I want to own a Chick-fil-a. =)

And all God's people of the Golden Triangle said AMEN!!

Sigh.

My baby is 10 months old.... 10 MONTHS OLD... which means that in just two short months she'll have her first birthday.. Oh dear. I don't know that my heart can take it. 

At 10 months old...

Little Mae is full of herself. =)

She is FINALLY sleeping through the night!!

She has two top teeth to match her two bottom ones.

I now nurse her in the morning and at night and she gets two bottles during the day.

Still loves her some sweet potatoes and corn casserole... and yogurt and goldfish.

Getting the hang of her sippy cup... and can drink through a straw.

Not liking table food. Not even a little bit.

She now says Mama, Dada, bye bye and Be (as in Bes).

She claps and plays peek a boo and loves to "dance".

Don't even think about taking something away from her... Little girl has got herself an attitude!

Cruising like a pro and can climb stairs like a pro.

Takes a couple of steps at a time.

 And still thinks her big sissy is the best ever.

Bessie Boo... oh how I love you!

It was on one of the coldest days yet and her daddy had just gotten back from "duck campin" and she was adamant that she was going to be outside with her daddy while he cleaned the ducks he killed. I bundled her up... coat AND hat and out the door she went. A little bit later she came in, made a beeline for the bathroom and back out she went... I happened to look out the front door to find my child "sunning" in low 40 degree temps. "What ARE you doing!?!" came from me and "just pretending to be at the beach" was her reply. That girl and her imagination...

Bes tells us she loves us at least 20 times a day. Her big thing is to say, "Mama, Daddy, Mae... I love you

 -insert random numbers- __________ stacked on top of one another. For example, "Mama, I love you 40, 60, 36, 20 chocolate chip cookies stacked on top of each other." Then we have to do one for her. =)

She loves anything that involves her daddy... lately, they have been working on fixing up our old birdhouses. 

 And she LOVES to help me cook!! She is quite the helper in the kitchen though I do hope she will be able to cook better than her mama can. =)

Moments to remember...

Mae turned 9 months old Christmas day!!

9 month stats:

18 lbs 8 oz 

27 inches

She pulls up on anything and everything and loves to "love the baby" whenever she sees her reflection. =)

Christmas day she got a stroller push toy... and proceeded to push it across the room immediately!

This was her spot of choice for a couple of days... she is always up for an obstacle course. Through the end table, over Miller, under the bench and through the bar stools is a much more fun way of getting into the kitchen than just crawling a straight shot. =)

 Daddy celebrated another birthday!!

I have moments every day where I just want to soak it all in and remember it forever...

 for whatever reason, this was one of those moments.

Shawn made his debut and the wonderful world of Pinterest had me convinced I was a slacker in the Elf on the Shelf department so I tried to step up my game... with the above scenario Bes was largely unimpressed. So I left well enough alone and just had him move from place to place from then on out.

Mae had RSV followed by Bes getting the worst case of strep EVER! Mae bounced back really well... she was not a fan of the breathing treatments but we hung in there. Bes however, had 5 days of fever and around the clock Tylenol and Motrin! I almost went bezerk over it all but we made it... and Shawn was the highlight of her days while she was sick. =)

 Bes has been taking ballet this fall and she loves it! They had their little Christmas party and they got to show us a little of what they have been learning. Here they did a sweet little routine to Away in a Manger.

Christmas is always merry at the Sumralls!

Christmas at DeeDee's...

 Bes got her very first American Girl, Kit! When we get the catalog in the mail, she will spend days carrying it around and looking at it until it falls apart... to say she was excited is an understatement. =)

 Christmas at Pop Daddy and Grommie's... where I managed to take hardly any pictures.

 The art easels were a big hit... and the clubhouse was a BIG hit!

Mama'ts Christmas...

The little girls anxiously awaiting the go ahead to open their gifts!

LALALOOPSY DOLLS!! 

Bes has NEVER been a fan of Santa (or the Easter Bunny or Bully or the Chick fil a cow or anything of the like)... she had the opportunity to visit Santa a couple of times... first time, there was no way she was getting near him... second time, she wouldn't sit in his lap but she got close enough to holler that she wanted a Lalaloopsy doll. I knew my aunts were giving her the hook up so I was so excited to see her face when she opened her doll!

Of course, little Mae is just as happy as can be.

Ward family Christmas... 

Sweet cousins... they have such a great time when they are together!

Uncle Steve getting some Mae lovin'..

Uncle Mark's turn...

Bes loves her some Hollie!

Think she's having fun?

Getting a quick bath from Dee...

Aunt Kristie and Bes...

Every year Pop Daddy takes all the grands to shop for a toy. Such a special treat for the kids... not often that Bes gets turned loose in Walmart and told to pick anything! Bes shopped and shopped and came home with a Barbie puppy vet set... the carrying case for the dog is plaid and Bes is obsessed with Barbie Princess Charm School so she just assumed that it was a Barbie Princess Charm School Puppy... and that totally sealed the deal on that purchase!

Pop Daddy and the grands!

And finally... Santa time!!

I do love me some bed head morning face... and it was in full effect Christmas morning!