Toes

Hehe. She sat perfectly still while I polished her nails with Piggy Paint and dried them with the hair dryer. Now whenever my manicure bag is out she finds the polish and brings it to me while yelling "toes!"

Big Sister

We're expecting baby #2 in September! Considering Trudy pitches a fit when I show attention to a cat or a small dog this will be quite an adjustment for her. Eventually though I think she'll make a great big sister. ;)

Splish Splash

It's a good thing T has finally decided she likes baths. Otherwise there would be no more Nutella for dinner!

Sleepytime

I rarely take sleeping pictures because I don't want Trudy to wake up. Let sleeping babies lie! She had already overslept for her nap at this point and needed to get up in order to keep her usual bedtime so I figured it was worth the risk. What I can't figure out is how this is comfortable!

Fun times with Gigi

Mom comes over 1-3 times a week for a few hours to spend time with Trudy. It's a huge blessing and allows me to blog for a living at Sweet T Makes Three and to clean enough to keep rats and roaches from carting our house away. Today I decided to join the fun. We went to a consignment sale and out to lunch. I need to get a DSLR stat! My little perpetual motion machine won't be still long enough to capture.

Today must also be "Windsday" because it is so blustery outside

Despite the cloudy, blustery day we enjoyed some playtime at the park. I really should call it rock time. She'd rather play with the rocks than the equipment.

Lookout Mountain Getaway

Dave and I were desperate for a childless weekend getaway and our Mentone cabin rental on Lookout Mountain wound up being just what we needed! Before checking into Amy's Cozy Cabin we stopped at De soto Falls which is about three minutes away.

Since winter in the South tends to be very wet, the falls were in full force and beautiful! There were hardly any other visitors there save a few photographers one of whom was happy to snap the above photo for us.

As a child I visited during the summer and remember this portion of the water being full of swimmers thanks to the dam.

After exploring the De Soto Falls area we checked in at Amy's Cozy Cabin. With amenities such as a hot tub and gas fire place, we might as well have been in the Smoky Mountains. In fact, this Mentone cabin was much cleaner than many we have stayed in in the Smokys, and for a fraction of the cost and drive!

The downstairs bedroom where rain trickling on the metal roof lulled us to sleep

Bathroom #1. Love the barrel sink!

 

This kept us toasty warm and added a touch of romance.

We even spotted more deer than we ever have in The Smokies. We decided to sit out on the porch during dusk, opened the door and came face to face with a herd of deer.
"Holy crap, there's deer!" *runs to grab camera*
"Holy crap, there's humans!" *runs into the woods*
I got a picture anyway before they were completely gone. Can you spot the deer below?

Use the link at the beginning of the post to explore more photos of Amy's Cozy Cabin as well as the other rental cabins offered. During our first night we enjoyed dinner at the Moonlight Bistro in Mentone. Of course I whipped out the camera to photograph the food, but Dave stopped me insisting that we were on vacation so I shouldn't be "working." I humored him, but let me tell you the food was delicious! Dave raved about his bison burger, but my favorite part of the meal was our fried green tomato appetizer. It's served with a special sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese and bacon. The first morning of our stay we managed to pry ourselves out of the hot tub long enough to enjoy some hiking trails at De Soto State Park. We did the family bike loop on foot as well as the orange trail. On the orange trail we encountered a beautiful waterfall that is probably best viewed during the rainy winter.

Sorry for the scary face. I don't style my hair or wear makeup to go hiking. If you do, well...good for you.

Dave thought it was fun to knock over dead trees during our hike (for safety reasons of course so they won't fall on another hiker. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it was fun).

That night we enjoyed dinner at the Wildflower Cafe which is famed for its use of local, organic produce and hormone free meat. Live music set a romantic atmosphere and both enjoyed our entrees. I was disappointed that they ran out of peanut butter pie, but the carrot cake we ordered instead was moist and delicious. We can't wait to visit Mentone again and plan to do so this summer. If you are in the Alabama, Georgia, Tennesee tri-state area, I highly recommend Lookout Mountain as a romantic retreat!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! We've kind of been celebrating all week. First my MOPS group had a marriage counselor speak and she gave us some tips for incorporating romance into our lives. She recommended the Love Actually blog for some great ideas so I'm going to incorporate some of them tonight. Maybe a themed dinner? Sunday we had a church breakfast with Valentine's-themed games. Aunt Katy made some amazing chocolate cinnamon rolls and I hope she posts the recipe soon!

Yesterday, Sweet T and I both got cards from my dad. Sweet T also brought me some red roses. Wasn't that thoughtful of her? ;)

This morning, Hubs left me a beautiful card (right by the computer where he knew I'd find it) and some Starbucks money. He knows me well!

 

Later in the day, our neighbor brought over a helium balloon for Trudy which was a big hit and she also got a  handmade Eeyore card in the mail from her Mom-mom. After Dave got home, we had a beach themed dinner since we couldn't go out alone.

Dave brought Trudy a musical Disney card that she played with like a toy and a new Wubbanub! As soon as she saw what was in the box, she started crying and trying to get it open. Then she popped it in her mouth before we could wash it. I guess we'll call him Tex. Last year's Wubbanub valentine, Clyde Frog, has been sadly lost.

Chocolate Tears

Mom brought Trudy a Pediasure shake (so she'd stay away from my Slim-Fast!). She thought the bottle was empty before handing it over to her but it wasn't quite.

"Why do they call it a "shake" if that's not what you're supposed to do with it!!"

Spring Fever

We've had a milder than average winter which is making spring fever even worse than usual. I can't wait to get some seeds in the ground! Hubs tilled last week while it was somewhat dry (as dry as it ever gets here in the winter) and we fertilized with 13-13-13.

There's nothing like the smell of freshly tilled soil. Hurry up spring!