These are a Few of My Favorite Things

My birthday was Friday, September 26, 2008. Yes, I turned 33 years old. All I can say is I definitely don't feel 33 and I just pray that I keep on having them! This birthday was the best ever (well, behind the birthday I celebrated after having Zoe)! My parents came down for the weekend as a special gift to Mark and I. They decided that we needed a night out and that they needed some time with their Zoe. They were scheduled to come down on Saturday morning; however, when we got home from work they were sitting on our front porch. And my mom had made me my favorite cake! I had been asking for this cake, but it takes a long time to make so she hadn't made it for quite some time. I actually got it for my birthday! It's called a burnt sugar cake and it is phenominal! Anyway, Daddy and Zoe made me a cake on Thursday evening and I absolutely loved it. I got lots of great things for my birthday and wanted to share them with you below:

This is the cake Daddy & Zoe made me for my birthday. This is the best birthday present Mark and Zoe could have ever given me. I loved it and I loved watching them make it. Now, it definitely will become a tradition for Daddy & Zoe to make Mommy a birthday cake. And let me just say that that cake tasted AWESOME! Mark could open a bakery! It's a good thing he doesn't bake like that a lot around here because my butt would become as big as my car!
My parents gave Mark and I the best present ever because we got to have a date night this past Saturday night. We went out to eat and then went to the movies! Plus, my husband actually took me to see Nights in Rodanthe. If you have never read a Nicholas Sparks novel, I highly recommend him. He's a phenominal writer and, yes, it was a total chick flick. But Mark didn't care and took me to see it because that's what I wanted. He's pretty awesome, isn't he?

This is such an awesome gift from Mark and Zoe. It's a spa package for a massage, pedicure, manicure and facial! I'm going to schedule some Saturday to get totally pampered! How awesome is that? I can't wait to use it! I also have to add that Mark bought me a new flat iron (not a cheap one either) and a new purse!

Besides giving Mark and I a chance to spend some time together, my parents bought me an iPod. I had asked for money to contribute toward buying one, but they went ahead and bought it for me! Yes, I realize I'm a little behind the times with this being my first one (Okay A LOT BEHIND THE TIMES because my Dad actually bought one before I had one), but I'm so excited to use it. Now, I have to get the adapter for my car so I don't have to switch CDs again! AWESOME!

For those of you that don't know, I'm a total history buff and I love movies and period pieces. Anyway, I had heard that The Tudors was a pretty phenominal show on Showtime so I had asked Mark for it for my birthday. I can't wait to begin watching it!

These are flowers I received Friday afternoon from my girlfriend, Nikki, and her boys. They are beautiful, although I don't think this picture does them justice. Plus, I guess I should've taken the picture before Monday night, three days after receiving them. But, they are beautiful and it was such a sweet and thoughtful gift. And I love the bucket they were delivered in and Zoe has already had her eye on that bucket. It will be cute for her to play with!

And what would a birthday be without a gift to myself?!? I went to see the Sex & The City movie with one of my best buds, Shelley, and we LOVED it. I was a huge fan of the series and this came out a few days before my birthday. Of course, I just HAD TO HAVE IT!

I got this gift card from my boss, Todd. He's pretty awesome and knows exactly what stores I love to shop in. He couldn't have gotten me anything better!

Plus, Todd walked into the office with this camo balloon! I totally lost it and laughed so hard. I think he bought this more for himself and for Mark, but I love the balloon and now he has to find me a camo balloon every year for my birthday!

I also got great cards from co-workers and was taken to lunch by one of my other bosses, Tom Corts. It was a blast. I also got a $50.00 gift card from my new boss, Britton, but I didn't get to take a picture of it since Mark and I used it on Saturday evening! Oh, and my great sister-in-law and brother-in-law sent me an awesome card, too. It's one that talks to you so you can only imagine how much I laughed at that one. Plus, Rosann got me a card that sings and I kept opening it to play it so I could do the Conga! I think it's safe to say that I had a wonderful birthday!

Chocolate Face

Just wanted to share a pic of our Zoe after she helped Daddy put icing on my birthday cake. I think it's safe to say that she definitely ate more than she actually put on the cake!

Macarodi

Zoe Reading "The Gruffalo's Child"

T-Ball

Happy Nana & Papa Day

Can You Say Slacker Blogger?

That's me! Hi! My name is Courtney and I'm a slacker blogger! I can't believe I haven't posted about our little Zoe before now, but things have been rather hectic in the Lawrence house. First, Zoe has been sick. She woke up around 1:30 a.m. on September 10th and was running a fever. It never got really high (100.4), but I still don't like it when she runs one. Yes, I realize that it's the body's response to fighting infection, blah blah blah, but I still don't like it at all! They make me nervous! Anyway, I got her back to bed and when she woke up around 6:00 a.m., she had developed a cough. That is NEVER a good sign for our Zoe as she tends to progress rather quickly with these things. So, I took her to the pediatrician on the 10th and they said her ears were good and that she was not wheezing in any way. However, by the weekend Zoe was REALLY congested and sounded like a 60 year old man that had smoked for more than 40 years. I took her back to the pediatrician on the 15th and she still had not developed a wheeze, which is awesome. Dr. Beveridge felt like Zoe had built up a tolerance to her Zyrtec and she switched her to Allegra. We've been trying that out and it seems to be drying up her cough, etc. Praise God! Now, Mommy has gotten sick with whatever Zoe had and feels a little under the weather (I say "little" using my most sarcastic voice). I now have the horrid cough, but I've been drinking Robitussin DM and it seems to be breaking up everything! Again....Praise God!

Zoe and I have been taking a class at the Nashville Zoo called "Zoo Twos" and it is awesome! We love it! The class is every Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 and we do art, have story time, snack time and meet some animals each week. The first week we met a screech owl and a bearded dragon. Zoe loved both and actually got to touch the bearded dragon. Last week she got to touch a possum and saw a toad. She thought both were rather cool! I love it that Zoe and I are getting to do this class together. Deer hunting is getting ready to come in full swing (bow season) on September 27th and Zoe and I needed something to do rather than staying in the house all weekend! We let Daddy crash our class last weekend, but we'll be going to all the next ones by ourselves. We will miss Daddy terribly (he's a blast), but it's good for Zoe and Mommy to have something to do together! I will most pictures once I download them off my camera!

I guess I can relinquish the title of "Slacker Blogger" now and pass it along to one of my best buds, Shelley! Poor Shelley has started back to work since the twins have started kindergarten. Plus, her husband has been working on this huge project and been putting in a lot of overtime hours. She's exhausted and I'm sure the last thing she wants to do is Blog, but I miss her humor! Please, please, please pass the title along to someone else, Shelley!

Palin/Clinton on SNL

And.....ONCE AGAIN.....Who Do You Think I Look Like?

Enough Said:0)

It's Official

It's official! Our little Zoe has curly hair! Both Mark and I have VERY curly hair and it's REALLY become apparent here recently that Zoe is going to have VERY curly hair, too. I took a photo so you could see just how curly her hair is becoming. Isn't my girl absolutely beautiful?!?

Scrapbooking

I LOVE to scrapbook. I just NEVER get the time to do it. To tell you how bad it is, my wonderful sister-in-law, Patty, made a scrapbook for me for Zoe when I had her. The pages were already put together and all I had to do was add pictures to it. I haven't even had the time to add the pictures so I sent the book back with her when they were here a few weeks ago so she could do it for me! Ridiculous, huh? Anyway, McKendree asked the parents to scrap some pages of their child's summer vacation. Of course, I was a little late in getting it done; however, I kept looking at all of the pages being put up at school and it got me pumped up about doing my pages. And, it forced me to scrap some for Zoe. I must say I'm quite proud of my pages and wanted to share them! Enjoy:0)

Bam-Baid

Letting Scripture Speak to You

I constantly wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people. I often say, "When I get to Heaven and meet my glorious maker, I will get to ask Him why so many good and wonderful people have bad things happen to them. I will get to ask Him why he took my Taylor Grace, etc. In my passion for knowledge and reading Blogs, I came across a scripture that spoke to me and I wanted to share it. The Blog directed me to the passage in John 9:1-3:

"As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

And, as many of you already know, Jesus went on to touch the man's blind eyes with mud, send him to bathe, and cause him to be completely healed!

In my life? I believe God (in His infinite wisdom) knew things we didn't know about our Taylor Grace that we would have been illprepared to handle. So, being the gracious God that He is, He took the burden from us and gave her "ultimate healing." He wanted our faith to be to trust Him to take care of her for us. And I also believe He had already planned to entrust Zoe to us and bless our lives so richly.

Now, how's that for an answer for inquiring minds? I know I feel immensely better.

Prayers for Zachary Reed Beachley

**UPDATE**

Nikki just called me and Zachary's shunt in fine! There is absolutely nothing wrong with it! Thank God for answered prayers. Vanderbilt did their own CT Scan and found that Zachary's shunt was working properly. Apparently, the CT Scan done back home in Kingsport was read wrong.....way wrong. PRAISE GOD!

My girlfriend, Nikki, sent an e-mail tonight asking for prayers for Zachary. As you can see from my previous post regarding Seth Peak, I believe in God and the power of prayer. So, please say some prayers for Zachary. Below is the e-mail I received from Nikki:

" I need to ask everyone to say prayers for Zachary. In an attempt to find out what has been wrong with him, we had a ct scan done today. Ends up, that was our answer. Zachary's shunt is no longer in his ventricle but actually migrated down into his brain tissue. He is also collecting fluid now on the outside of his brain which is putting pressure on the brain tissue that he has left. The pediatrician called and we are to check in at Vanderbilt tonight and page the neurosurgeon upon arrival. We are unsure as to whether or not surgery will be tomorrow or Thursday but they will do surgery to redo his shunt and possibly add another. We will not know for sure until we get there tonight. This is totally unexpected and we are in a mad dash trying to pack and gather our things to make this trip. I am not sure how long we'll be there or whats going to happen. Please pray for Zachary and pray that this is the answer to all of his problems. The ped says that this could very well be why his thyroid came back off all of a sudden in March. Could be why he has been anemic for so long, why he started having seizures again and why he's been having so many issues for several months on end. I am so nervous about leaving him in the PICU. Vandy actually makes you leave your child twice a day for shift change for 1.5 hours each time. I am so sick to my stomach over that. Pray for the neurosurgeon as he does his job to make Zachary better. Pray that Zachary comes through surgery okay and that when he wakes up, my happy smiling child is back. Pray that I don't lose my mind with worry. Also, pray for Cam, he is staying home alone with Christian while mom and I travel with Zachary. This is a first for him and he's pretty nervous!"

Pack Pack

Since the last time Nana & Papa were down and Papa kept trying to sneak Zoe out the door, Zoe has said she needs her "Pack Pack." Of course, that's due to Nana & Papa telling Zoe to go "pack her bags" so she could go stay with them. So, we have to put a few books in her "Pack Pack" and let her carry it around the house on her back. Too funny! "Mommy, I need my Pack Pack."

We Love "Ankle"

Of course, we LOVE Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals and went on a mission while we were at Nana & Papa's to find a new Pujols shirt since Zoe had outgrown her other one. We weren't able to find one in her size; however, we do love Ankiel so we bought her a shirt with his name and number on it instead. The catch.....Zoe calls him "Ankle." It's hysterical. For those of you who aren't Cardinals fans, his name is pronounced "Ann-Keel." But in this house we say, "Go Ankle!"

Such a little poser!

The Wilson County Fair

On Tuesday, August 19th, Mark, Zoe and I went to the Wilson County Fair with Rich, Lisa & Ava. The girls have been talking about this for a few weeks and they had a ball together. Of course, Zoe ended up crying when strange men would come near her to buckle her in the rides and wouldn't stay on them for anything. I've posted pics of our time together! We had a BLAST! Enjoy!

Ava, Mr. Rich, Daddy & Zoe
Zoe Fishing with Daddy

Zoe - Happy to Ride the Ride Before the Kooky Man Came Near

Zoe - After the Kooky Man Came Near Her

"Zoe, would you like to feed the baby goat?" "No way, Daddy!"

Zoe's First Pony Ride

Zoe & Ava Petting the Bunny Rabbit

Sesame Street Live - Elmo Makes Music

The weekend of August 16th we traveled to Nana & Papa's house so they could take their baby to see "Sesame Street Live - Elmo Makes Music." We had taken Zoe to see it when she was around 17 or 18 months old; however, she didn't really remember seeing it and she certainly didn't "enjoy it" like I figured she was going to now. And boy was I right. That child had a ball and you would've thought that her Nana & Papa had given her the moon. She sang, danced, clapped, etc. You name it, she did it. That child LOVES Elmo and unless you've ever really been around Zoe, you can't really understand just how much of an Elmo fanatic she is until you hear her talk about Elmo. I guess there are worse things she could love, huh? Anyway, I just wanted to post some pics from the show. Enjoy!

The Cast
Bert - Stayin' Alive!

Elmo, Bert, Big Bird, Ginny & Zoe

Elmo's #1 Fan

Elmo, Zoe, Papa & Nana

Welcome Jonah Sethan "Seth" Bhattacharya Peak

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has given me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

One of my best friends, Julie Peak, gave birth to her beautiful, HEALTHY son on August 20, 2008. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 2oz and was 19.5 inches long. My family has prayed for this baby a lot (so have my parents), along with many other people who love the Peak family. I came across the bible verse listed above and it rings so true for my family, as well as Julie's family. So, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to introduce you to Jonah Sethan "Seth" Bhattacharya Peak. And, yes, I cried like a baby the first time I held him from being so thankful that he's here safe and sound. And I just have to add that Princess Shyla has adjusted so well and is a GREAT big sister! Congratulations to Julie, Judd & Shyla Peak!

Judd, Julie, Shyla & Seth

(It should be illegal to look so good after giving birth!)

Julie, Shyla & Seth

The Lawrence Family Olympics

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What Do You Think You're Doing, Papa?!?

My parents (and my niece Courtney) came down this weekend to babysit Zoe while Mark and I went to see the Titans v. Rams preseason opener. Uncle Steve & Aunt Patty drove all the way down just to go with us and we had a BLAST! I can count on one hand how many times Mark and I have actually gone out without Zoe and I must say it was a good time. Don't get me wrong, I missed my child dearly and thought about her all the time, but it was good for Mark and I to get out together. And it was good for Zoe to be able to spend some quality time with her Nana & Papa without Mark and I around. She simply adores them and I think that "bonding" is so important. Anyway, when they left this morning after breakfast Papa tried several times to sneak Zoe into the car and take her with them. It was pretty hysterical the lengths he went to. I was able to catch all three times he tried to take her. You've got to give him credit for trying!

The first attempt in the bag!
The second attempt......Papa, children aren't supposed to be in plastic bags!!!!

The third and final attempt......

Nice try Papa! We'll see you and Nana on Saturday for the Elmo show! Zoe is going to LOVE it!

I Love Papa

Zoe absolutely adores both her Nana and her Papa; however, I only found one shirt that says "I Love Grandpa." Since Zoe calls my Dad Papa, she says her shirt says "I Love Papa." And she has become quite the poser. It's hysterical how she used to hate to have her picture made and we were forced to do any number of silly tactics just to elicit a smile from her. Now, she's all too proud to stand and pose for a picture. I love it! Too cute!

More Fun In The Sun!

As you know from my last post, we went swimming at The Cassidys' house a few weekends ago and I wanted to post a few pics from our day.

Hey Daddy! That's Zoe's hat!
Daddy & Zoe Again (of course)! Mommy always has the camera!

My beautiful princess takes a pause from singing with Ava!

Zoe, Ms. Lisa & Ava singing Elmo Makes Music! This was following the puppet show that Lisa & Ava put on for us, which was awesome! Zoe and I loved it and it was great entertainment while Mr. Rich and Daddy cooked dinner.

Fun In The Sun!

This is video I shot of Zoe & Daddy swimming at the Cassidys' house. Zoe absolutely loves Mr. Rich, Lisa & Ava and has a blast every time we get invited to go swimming at their house. I think you can tell by this video just how much she loves the water now. It's amazing how much children change in one year because last year when we went swimming at their house she absolutely hated it and was terrified.

Happy Birthday Shyla!

One of my best buddies' little girl just turned three and her birthday party was today! Of course, Zoe LOVES a birthday party and we rehearsed singing happy birthday to Shyla for her big day. We had such a good time at The Monkey's Treehouse, which I didn't even know existed until today. It is literally a child's paradise! And that Shyla is a beautiful princess....I think you'll agree when you see the video below!

Dressed and ready for the party!

This slide is sooo FUN!

My beautiful girl now stopping to pose for pictures!

This cupcake is AWESOME!

I love playing in the balls, Mommy!

Zoe & The Wiggles

Zoe's day care, McKendree United Methodist Church, closes four times per year for teacher training. I don't complain about it either because it's worth it for the care your child receives. I've been with the day care from Hell and GREATLY appreciate every single aspect of having my child at McKendree. Anyway, they were closed on July 25th so I took the day off to spend it with Zoe. It just so happens that The Wiggles were also having a concert in Nashville so it worked out perfectly. My child is a HUGE fan of The Wiggles so, needless to say, she was sooo excited about going. WE HAD A BLAST!

Dressed and VERY excited to go!

Totally mesmerized by what she's about to see!

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car



This is video of Zoe & Wags the Dog!

This is a video of The Wiggles singing Zoe's favorite song.