… I think Bella is one, also. This is her after a couple of minutes in the swing today. It might be hard to tell, but her head is in the seat, and her legs are kicking in the air. She thought it was sooooo funny.

She was in this kind of mood all day today. Just fidgety.

Last week we started some solid foods! This is her first time eating carrots below. This week it’s butternut squash…

(Bella loves her feet)

I have found it so hard to have time to post lately. Or I’m not taking the time and it’s not really bothering me. I’m not sure which it is. But either way, Chris has def. been better at posting lately. So this week, I’ll try for a post and pic everyday. We’ll see…

I am somewhat of a busy body. I guess this goes along with motherhood, but I was kinda already one. I love love love spending time with Bella during the day… we walk, play, EAT, diaper change…so I spend my nights getting ready for the next… chores… etc. Then I lay in bed thinking of things to do the next day.

Question for ya: what would it be like to have a whole day where you didn’t think even once about something else you should/need to be doing? Would this be as huge for you as it would for me?

Ok, so this pic is of Bella, Bandit and I on one of our walks this past BEAUTIFUL week. She can now sit up for short stints of time unassisted (30 seconds or so then crash), and so we’ve moved her up in strollers so she can see what’s going on. I think she is enjoying it! She feel asleep on the way home here - I love the way she looks so tiny in this huge stroller. If ever I get sad that she is growing too fast… all I have to do is put her in here! 

chris and i sat out on the porch tonight and read. we’re reading Blue Like Jazz with our small group. most have yall have probably read it already, but we aren’t too big a’ readers. but we are loving that book. i’m actually reading a couple, which again, is so unusual for me, but i am loving it. i’m catching up on some old books that i’ve heard are good over the last couple of years…

we have a bookcase of books that i doubt we’ll read twice. so i’m trying something new. i’m going to post a few books we have. if you want one of them, just comment and it’s yours. if this works, i’ll post some more. if it’s too boring and no one takes us up on it… you won’t see this again! you can take more than one, as well. i just want others to benefit from the books before they are too outdated!

Wild at Heart - John Eldredge

Captivating - John & Stasi Eldredge

If You Want to Walk on Water, You Gotta Get out of the Boat - John Ortberg

Weekends with Morrie - Mitch Albom

When Godly People do Ungodly Things - Beth Moore

Your Money Counts - Howard Dayton - good small group book on money

Intimate Allies - GREAT book to read in a married small group OR with your spouse!

Cure for the Common Life - Max Lucado 

Marriage on the Rock (two books and a workbook!) we used this in our small group. Not to be confused with "Marriage on the Rocks". ha.  - Jimmy Evans

Ok, go! 

Props to Amy (Long) Howard that spotted this article in the AJC print edition in the real estate section! It’s an article about the buyers of our Waldo house. This makes me feel great 1) because they love the house and 2) they really liked our renovation. Jessica even said at the closing table they weren’t changing a thing - even down to the paint colors! (They also negotiated in our dining room table we had over there for staging - so I guess we had the same taste!) I miss ol’ Waldo! But I am glad such a nice couple moved in.

By C.W. Cameron
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/23/08

Our house hunters:

Josh Alexander, 29, works as a legal assistant at King & Spalding and Jessica, 33, is in the client services department at Moxie Interactive. Josh says, "We’d been putting off looking for a home because the market seemed so crazy, but the recent downturn opened the door for us. We wanted an older house intown that had character and was close to MARTA because we both use it to get to work." Jessica adds, "We love playing Frisbee so we wanted to be close to a recreation area. We were looking for a 3/2 with a little storage space."

The process:

They met their agent, Helen Archer of Keller Williams Premiere Atlanta, through her husband who works with Jessica. "She had helped several coworkers, and they all had a great experience. She kept in touch with us periodically sending us an e-mail about houses and sharing information that helped educate us about buying a house," Jessica says. "We found the house we wanted the second weekend we were looking," says Josh. "We hadn’t expected to find exactly what we wanted so soon. She really understood what we were looking for and guided us to the right place."

Choice #1: This $220,000 two-bedroom, one-bath Grant Park bungalow was built in 1920. "We love the yard and garden. It’s planted with low maintenance shrubs and flowers and is really tasteful. The backyard has a water fountain. There’s access to the garage off the alley, and it feels like a really good value for the price," says Josh.

Choice #2: "The renovation of this 1920 Grant Park bungalow opened up the kitchen to the dining room and family room, and there’s a fireplace in the middle. The kitchen has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, and there’s new electrical service and fixtures throughout the house," says Jessica. It’s listed at $239,900.

Choice #3: "This 1926 three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow in East Lake is not even a block outside the Decatur city limits, so we’d have access to all the amenities of Decatur/Oakhurst but not have to pay the taxes," says Josh. The house is three-sides brick and the lot has great old hardwood trees. The kitchen has granite countertops and there’s a master suite with sitting room. It’s listed at $210,000.

Which home did they choose? Our house hunters went for No. 2. "The renovation was great, and we even loved the paint colors," says Jessica. "The kitchen and bathroom had been completely renovated … and the house is two blocks from Grant Park on one of the best streets in the neighborhood. When we were looking at the house, the neighbors all greeted us and made us feel at home. … Every day we’re in it we say ‘We love this house.’ "

Two weeks ago, my grandmother’s side of the family had a small reunion. It was on a Monday afternoon, but it was a decent turnout nonetheless for meeting at a BBQ joint! Mom, Chelsie, Bella and I were able to make it. It was good to see everyone and made for some good photo opps! :)

4 Generations:

Bella and her Great-Granddaddy:

Bella with Great Grandmother and GMama:

Bella and Aunt Chelsie:

Bella got to sport her first Easter dress. I had about 2 hours between services today to come home and relax with Katie and Bella. They came to the 11am service, and it was good hanging with Katie during the service while Bella rocked Waumba Land.

Here are a few shots from today. Enjoy.

Chillin’ on the couch. I’ve discovered that I make really embarrassing faces when trying to get Bella to smile. Please note Exhibit A: 

And, Bella in her first Easter dress:

Dang…that’s pretty cute:

What an amazing day. Bella and I (Chris) spent the day running errands around ATL. Katie called this afternoon and said that she wanted to go to Piedmont Park and eat at Willy’s as soon as she got home from work.

The best part about having our new camera…? We take it everywhere, and it’s helped us capture great moments. Bella was in a fantastic mood this afternoon…and we made sure to enjoy that. We’ll share a few with you. 

Need I say more?

Seriously, Chris is a great dad and I love watching him love on Bella. She is going to look up to him so much growing up - like girls do! She couldn’t ask for better.

(Chris)

This has been a thought marinating in my mind, and even more now that fatherdom has consumed me. People say "savor every moment." But…I have no idea how to do that…how do I capture all of my senses? 

…my girls are so important to me…

As random as this is…I just wish I could push "File: Save As" on all these amazing experiences. 

We celebrated with Caleb this weekend for his first birthday! Happy 1st, Caleb!

In the aftermath of "TORNADERS 2008," which is what I’ve dubbed this weekend’s crazy severe weather event, it’s nice to see God’s merciful follow-up, with a 67-degree, cloudless day. I think this perfection probably is what Moses experienced the day after God flooded the Earth.

Bantering on…Sundays, when I don’t have to work the morning services, are great with the family. This morning we headed over to a Grant Park neighborhood restaurant, Dakota Blue, and had breakfast. Katie had an unusual dish called,  "Baby’s Daddy." Although that seems like a dish I would want to eat, it had everything in it, except the kitchen sink. I had the Grand Marnier French Toast. Dang it’s good.

Enough banter.

We got home and snapped a few pics of Bella. That’s becoming a near-daily ritual. I already feel sorry for our second child. There’s no way we’ll be able to sustain this pace. Honestly, Katie and I don’t want Bella to know that she’s beautiful. In my brief study of life, I’ve realized that one reason Katie is so irresitible is because she doesn’t realize to what extent she is beautiful. Her humility is irresistible. We have no idea how create that in Bella, but I have a feeling that taking millions of pictures of her cannot be helping.

As long as she doesn’t turn out like Omarosa… 

Just taking the time to post some pictures of Bella and the dogs. We’re having a blast here at the Green’s house.

But never dull, right?

A couple of weeks ago, Chelsie came out and walked to the park with us for a little picnic. Chelsie loves being an aunt!

Last week, GG stayed with us! She was taking a class in Decatur and was able to hang with us for a couple of nights. Bella goes to bed so early, but GG got to do bathtime with her, and we enjoyed the company!!

Last Friday, we went out to visit Chris’ old co-workers - and Uncle Ryan now works there. GDaddy was in the area and we got a couple of cute shots! Check out more here.

We went out to lunch with Ryan and he was nervous about taking the GMAT the next day. But he KILLED IT! Congrats Ryan!

And just as cute and silly as when I first arrived!

We started rice cereal last Sunday (3/2)… we are a little behind in posting! She seems to like it, and most of it comes right back out. But we are getting better each day!

I’m getting ready to try some rice cereal, people!

I’m not scared:

Ok, not so sure about this:

Wait, I like it! Give me more (as she flails her arms around like crazy!)

Happy girl!

We must have been wiping her mouth everytime, because I promise it was everywhere!

Poll for new moms: How many feedings was your little one at when you started cereal? We are at 5… 7:30, 10:30, 2, 5 and 7:30. I can’t decide if I need to cut one. I think she could do it, but not sure! Maybe I’ll try that this week… or is it a "if it’s not broken, don’t fix it" thing? What did yall do??

Love from the Greens!

Chris and I are working on building a little wall/fence combo out in front of our house. For those of you who have seen it, you know we are at a busy part of the neighborhood and aesthetically, it’s going to look soooo much better. Plus, the dogs will have a place to run around without being watched so carefully.

Anyways, we started the work a couple of weeks ago, and proceeded to do so without getting a permit. (We did all the other work - 3 years worth - at the other house without ever getting one.) Well, I guess because we are at a busy intersection, an inspector drove by and gave us a Stop Work Notice. Chris and I have spent about 10-12 hours up at City Hall trying to get a simple permit. Those government workers. I know they hear complaints all day. But there is a reason. And they know it. But they don’t care how slow they are! This was even posted:

Seriously. Can I just rant for a second and tell you that the wall is a mere 15".  The 4th person (out of 10) I had to go through looked at my drawing and asked, "Now how tall is your wall? 15 feet?" Yes. I am puting a 15 foot wall in front of my house. "Um, that would be inches," I said.

I can say that there is no way we would have gotten the permit as quick as we did (if I can say quick) without my aunt, Kristy. Thank goodness she helped us soooo much AND went with me for 3 1/2 hours on Tuesday. Sheesh.

a couple of us spent the night at Morgan’s last week. we had one crazy night.

Just throwing up a couple of pictures of my beautiful girls. It’s been a busy week, and we are ready for the weekend.