Last week was Brendon's trip to NAB (National Assoc. of Broadcasters) or as Rachel refers to it... the big geek's convention. It is in Las Vegas, so while he was gone for 4 days the girls travelled to Nashville for a little visit.

So, here are a few pictures from our adventures...

Yeah, Papa mowed the grass and it was such a pretty day!!!


A little fun with the Hunt's in their new back yard.


Our visit with Ma


Aunt Virginia and Roy loved hanging out with me...


We even got to play with Ruby and Griffin


Daddy's girl...


And one little smiley picture with Mommy....

Easter Egg Hunt

Can you believe that Easter Sunday was colder than Christmas Eve Sunday! Can you believe that?!?! All the little girls at church were in their Easter dresses, tights and coats.

We didn't let the cold stop us from having a little Easter fun, though. We had a cookout at Vicki and Micah's house. Here are a few pictures...

Both Haley and Lia like to hang out by the coffee table these days...



The Easter Bunny was on the hunt for eggs...






and inside were goldfish and veggie puffs...yum! (this party trick gets all the girls!)



Of course, the kids had fun, but they were out numbered by the photo takers...



We hope you all had a Happy Easter where you are too.

Little Comedian

Lia really likes cheese, but usually she will share a little with her Daddy. Tonight at dinner, though, she pulled a fast one on him and started to share, but then pulled it back and put it in her mouth and giggled. I think we have a little comedian on our hands...





and for those who would like a up close of the fangs...just click on the picture below to enlarge...

The Park

We took Lia to the park this Friday and had fun swinging and crawling in the grass...

Here she is on the swing...



giving Daddy a hug...



and on the swing again with Mommy...

Spring Cleaning

We changed over Lia's spring/winter clothes last weekend just in time for some REALLY cold weather this week. Anyway, she got into the act and helped me with the clothes.



In the midst of all this she also had a little fun playing "Where's Daddy?" with Brendon... She likes to stand in her crib and he comes running around the corner after saying...where's daddy? It's pretty funny and I wish I could get the giggle that comes with it, but I thought an action shot would be good for the blog.

Happy Easter!

Ok, I couldn't resist a little Easter Bunny fun....

Lia says, "Happy Easter to all her Peeps!"





Sunday is an important day for us and more than anything we feel priviledged to be able to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Egg hunts and Easter baskets are lots of fun, but we try not to let all of that overshadow the true reason we celebrate this day! Brendon and I look forward to teaching Lia these things as she grows older and can learn more about God.

Have a Blessed Weekend.

Crazy hair and Playin' with Friends

Lia's hair has been growing longer, but it's normally calm in her little baby coif. When she gets out of the bath though, it's a different story.... crazy hair!



I (Rachel) got to go on a little night away with some girl friend and when we were gone the Daddy's and babies got together for pizza and playtime...check them out...

Josh and Lia playing together


Haley makin' some music with the maracas

St Patty & the Wedding

Our good friend from the Belmont days, James, got married on St. Patrick's Day. We left Lia with "Miss Shae" for the day and we drove to Alabama for the wedding. We had a great time celebrating with them!

The Pettys and The Tates


The Belmont Gang (Scott, Audrey & Doug, Beth Ann, Carolann, David, Brendon & Rachel, Scott & Sarah, Wayne & Erin)


Wayne and Erin came back to Atlanta with us and got to go to NPCC and play with Lia a little on Sunday morning. We had a wonderful time getting to know Erin a little more and catching up on all that is happening in their lives.


Wayne and Erin are also engaged (congratulations, guys) and will be getting married this June...aren't they cute?!?!?

Can't sleep...

I (Rachel) can't seem to get into the mode of sleep. I am so thrilled that I got to spend some time with the Hawthorne FAMILY tonight. What a blessing Aaron and Holly have been to us - definitely part of our family here. They are such a sweet couple and have hoped for baby Lily for a long while now. As someone said tonight, "Be careful what you pray for - God is listening!" But we have prayed and hoped with them and I am overjoyed that this precious little angel has come along, healthy and happy.

I can't help but reminisce a little about Lia's birthday last year too and how much she has grown since we held our little blanket bundle last spring. I teared up while I was watching Holly hold Lily knowing that the fun (and prayer) has only begun. I also know what an amazing mother Holly will be and what a precious daddy Aaron will be. Lily is a very special girl to be a Hawthorne!

Well, I don't know that I will be able to sleep, but I'm glad I don't have the window seat like Aaron tonight :P.

More pictures soon, but can you believe our blanket bundle now?

Happy Birthday Lily!

Can you believe it? I have a new friend!

Lily Hawthorne was born today at 4:30pm and was 7lbs 6 oz. and 20 1/4 inches long.

Congratulations to Aaron and Holly on the arrival of their perfect little miracle - she was definitely worth the wait!!
If you want to see more you can check out Lily's link to the left for more pictures, but here is one of her first glamor shots.

Where have we been?

Well, it's finally spring! YEAH!!!! We had the plague at our house a few weeks ago - Lia and Brendon both had the stomach flu, then Lia got pick eye and Brendon got an AWFUL cold. So, that's why I haven't blogged a lot lately, but now that the sun is shining and we are getting out more, I will make sure and blog more in the coming weeks...

Here's a cute picture of Lia to tide you over though... she's gotten into a few new outfits....

Birthday Parties Galore...

We had fun a few weeks ago going to two of Lia's friends birthday parties...

First, we drove to Winder and got to see Joelle, Todd, Creek and Austin (and their dogs and cat) in their new house. Creek is only a few months older than Lia and they had fun playing on the floor with each other. Here are a few pictures of the fun...

Creek with his cake (we missed this, but we had to show the pictures - it's he cute!)





Laura was brave enough to ride with us to Creek's party and she stole a hug...



Lia and Creek trying to figure a way off the chair



Mommy and Lia




After Creek's party we met up with Daddy and went to my friend Noah's party...hey, when is it going to be MY turn to have one of these parties?!?!

Mommy made Noah's cake to match the dog on his quilt...





and he got a special hat while he smashed into the cake...



Miss Sara gave Haley, Ben and I our own hats, but Ben wouldn't stay still long enough to have it on....

I really didn't like mine very much either...





but Haley seemed more interested in the duck!



They managed to take one picture of us together though...

Headbands are fun...

My Nana sent me a package for Valentine's Day (thanks Nana!) and there were two headbands included. Since I didn't know what to do with them at first I thought I would let my friend Haley try it on with me... what do you think?

Visit from Paxton

Last week we had a visit from some of our friends in Nashville - Mike, Rebecca, and Paxton. Paxton is now 5 months old and is such a cutie! Lia had fun playing with him, but I know next time we see them they will have even more fun!

Dueling excersaucers...



I'm such a big boy now...



Holdin' Hands...



I want to sit up!



Smiley...