Tomlinson Times

Easter 2010

2010-04-26T22:33:00.003-04:00

We had such a wonderful Easter this year! We went to several egg hunts and were able to spend time with all of our family. Sara Grace had a great time picking up the eggs and putting them in her basket. At first, she didn't care much about it, but by the third hunt, she knew what to do(and was so proud of herself).

Sitting with Betsy and Jenne at Jenne and Darby's easter egg hunt

Finally getting the hang of putting the eggs in the basket

So proud of all the eggs she found

Relaxing on Marcus' parents swing

Sara Grace with her cousins Anna, Sadie and Manning - SG's getting a little tired of the photoshoot

Easter morning dressed and ready for church (so cute how they were holding hands!)

SG enjoying what the Easter bunny brought her

Snow Day

2010-02-16T21:29:00.002-05:00

Well, we are finally back to the blogging. Things were crazy for a while - we sold a house and bought a house and are now getting all settled in.

Sara Grace was staying with my parents when it snowed last weekend. We were so sad that she was not here with us but my parents were great and took lots of fun pictures. They said at first she was a little unsure of the snow but then all she wanted to do was run around in it. She did not care about actually playing in the snow at all and of course she cried and cried when it was time to go inside.

Fun at the Zoo

2009-11-10T22:08:00.011-05:00

We had really been wanting to take Sara Grace to the zoo while the weather was so nice. So, Marcus took a day off from work so we could all enjoy our trip. I could tell that she was very interested in seeing all of the animals. It was really a neat experience to see her take it all in. I think that she liked seeing the tigers the best because while we were pointing them out and saying what they were, she repeated "Ti-Grr" to us several times. I was teasing Marcus that she said Tiger way before Gamecock!! We have such a great zoo here, and I know that Sara Grace will love going more and more as she gets older.

Sara Grace really enjoyed getting her picture taken on the animal statues

She didn't know what to think about the gorillas

On the nature trail to the Botanical Gardens

The carousel was an interesting experience.

She was excited before it started...

It moved faster than the one at the State Fair

Too fast!!

It's over... much better!

Time to go home!

Halloween

2009-11-10T21:43:00.005-05:00

We were very busy during Halloween this year. On Thursday night, Marcus' work had a Halloween party. On Halloween night, we went to Trunk or Treat at Lexington Baptist. We had never been to one of these and it was really a lot of fun. Sara Grace was a little young for everything but she enjoyed walking around (not riding in her stroller!) The Sunday after Halloween was Marcus' birthday and we had planned to go to our church's Fall Festival that afternoon. However, Sara Grace woke up with a fever of 101 that morning. So, we stayed at home all day so that she could rest.

At Trunk or Treat

She didn't last very long in her stroller.

Even though she wasn't feeling the best, we decided to get a few pictures in her Halloween costume!

SC State Fair

2009-11-10T21:22:00.007-05:00

In mid October, we went to the South Carolina State Fair with my parents and my sister's family. Marcus really loves going to the State Fair, and I think he has Sara Grace following in his footsteps!! She really had a good time seeing all the sites!! We did all the usuals - ate corn dogs, walked through the Midway, saw the animals, rode some rides and had mini donuts before we left. We even checked out Aunt Jessica's coconut cake that she entered. It was so great that she won second place!! We had a great time at the fair and we are already looking forward to next year!

Sara Grace had just started walking so she wanted to walk everywhere!

Here is a shot of Sara Grace at the fair last year, it's amazing to see how much she has changed!

Sara Grace really enjoyed riding the carousel

Alabama

2009-11-08T21:12:00.003-05:00

Marcus and I went to the Carolina - Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago. This was our first time leaving Sara Grace overnight. She stayed from Thursday to Sunday with "Mimi" and "Grandpooh" (my parents) and they said she was great. We stayed in Birmingham and had a relaxing weekend of shopping and football.

We ate BBQ before the game. Supposedly this place was world-famous but I was not impressed at all!!

We got to the stadium very early and walked around a lot!!!! The campus was beautiful. It was Homecoming for them, so there was a lot to see. This was us in front of the Bear Bryant Museum.

After leaving the museum, Nick Saban and a few football players walked right in front of us. That is him in the navy suit in the second row on the left.

It was such a fun game to go to even though Carolina lost.

My Mom sent us a few pictures of Sara Grace while we were away. Thank you sooo much for keeping her!!

Sky Top Orchard

2009-11-03T20:55:00.001-05:00

We went up to Hendersonville, NC to the Sky Top Apple Orchard with my sister and her family. I had never been and it was so much fun! They had about anything "apple" that you could think of - apple slushes, apple cider, apple juice, apple butter, and even apple doughnuts (which we waited in a very long line so we could try them) They had every kind of apple there is and you could even pick your own. They had hayrides that went all around the farm. Here are some pictures from our day....

Seeing how tall (or short) Sara Grace is

Jenne and Darby

The Taylor family

Sara Grace got tired of the stroller!!

Go Cocks Go!!

2009-10-27T22:07:00.002-04:00

We took Sara Grace to her first football game, when Carolina played Kentucky. We tailgated with our friends before the game and had such a great time. We sat down in the stadium right when 2001 was starting. It was really loud and Sara Grace started crying. I took her down to where the consessions were so it wasn't so loud and then she fell asleep. She slept until almost halftime. She woke up and saw a little bit of the game and then we decided to leave at halftime. We had such a fun time taking her to her first game.

Tailgating before the game

Ready for the game to start. She loved her doll that Mimi and Grand-pooh gave her

Sleeping during most of the game. I really don't know how she slept through it!!

Country Adventures

2009-10-21T21:50:00.003-04:00

Like I said, I am playing catch up with my blog entries. The first weekend in October, we went to Country Adventures with our church. It was our first time going and we all had a really great time. Sara Grace loved being outside and looking at all of the animals. She especially liked the hayride and sat so still during the whole ride( I couldn't believe it!!) We ate hotdogs and roasted smores, and Sara Grace got a little pumpkin to take home with her!

My First Haircut

2009-10-11T22:03:00.003-04:00

Well...we have been a little busy lately,and I was looking back at pictures and realized I had not blogged in a while. So I am going to attempt to catch up. On September 4, Sara Grace had her first haircut. I really thought that she would not be happy during it.....but she did great!!

Standing outside of Hair Doodles before going in

Her hair before her trim

So excited that they gave her animal crackers....it made everything so much better!!

Spraying her hair with water before getting started

Wondering what this lady is about to do??

the first little snip

doing great.....as long as we kept the animal crackers coming!!

Almost done....

The finished product!!!

Football Season is Here!

2009-09-13T21:19:00.005-04:00

Sara Grace was very excited about the start of football season. Since the game was away at NC State, we decided to "tailgate" at Chick-Fil-A.

Patiently waiting on her food...

First time in the play-area, not so sure about it.

She decided it was a lot of fun after all!

This was her first time wearing her Carolina cheerleader uniform. Although she didn't get to stay up and cheer for the Gamecocks, they did win!

Aiken

2009-08-09T22:11:00.004-04:00

We went to Aiken for the day on Saturday. Marcus has been doing some work down there and was telling me what a nice downtown they had, so we decided to go!! We had fun, though it was very hot outside!! Sara Grace had a great time just strolling around. Here a few pictures from our trip.

I'm One!!!!

2009-07-30T21:18:00.004-04:00

Last weekend we celebrated Sara Grace's first birthday. We had a pink party at our house and had some friends and family over. Here are some pictures:

Here is the cake

Her little cake and birthday hat

Not too sure of her cake or what she is supposed to do with it

Her cake when she was finished....not too messy!

We hung a picture of her from each month on the mantle....so neat to see how much she has changed

Standing in front of the jump castle

Marcus and Sara Grace playing in the jump castle

Cousins Anna and Jenne playing in the balls

Anna, Jenne, and Sadie jumping

Darby enjoying the party!

Sara Grace and her cousins!

Sara Grace playing with her presents

It is so hard to believe that our little girl is already one!!! She has such a cute little personality and everyday seems to do or say something new. We feel truly blessed to have her.

Peach Festival

2009-07-09T22:15:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, we took Sara Grace to the SC Peach Festival in Gilbert. It was a great way to spend the fourth! Sara Grace really enjoyed the parade and even got her first taste of peach ice cream, she loved it!

Sara Grace was very excited about all of the peaches!

Cousin Jenne always makes Sara Grace laugh!

Beach Trip #2

2009-07-07T22:46:00.004-04:00

Last week, we went down to Garden City Beach with Marcus' family. The weather was beautiful! While we were there, we did some shopping, saw a movie together for the first time since SGT was born (thanks Ms. Cindy!), played putt-putt, ate Japanese food, and lots and lots of ice cream!

Here is Sara Grace with her cousins, Anna and Sadie before going out to eat seafood

Sara Grace enjoyed riding on the golf cart

Sara Grace went on her first boat ride, thanks Bryan and Kristin for taking us!

She enjoyed playing on the beach at Sandy Island

We even saw some baby alligators chillin' on the bank. So glad we didn't see their mama and daddy!

Sara Grace catching a snooze on the way back to the dock - don't you love her pink life jacket!

Father's Day

2009-06-24T22:57:00.002-04:00

Father's Day was so special since it was Marcus' first! Marcus is so great with Sara Grace and she loves her daddy so much! We started out by going to the Father's Day breakfast at our church. We then met my parents for lunch at California Dreaming. It was so nice to be able to spend time with my dad and be with Marcus and Sara Grace.

Marcus and Sara Grace enjoying their pancakes!!!

My parents with Sara Grace

Sara Grace helping her daddy open his presents

She gave him two Carolina hats and a bow tie

Beach Week

2009-06-24T22:29:00.005-04:00

We went to Surfside Beach with my family for our annual vacation. We had such a great time and it was Sara Grace's first trip to the "actual" beach. She liked the beach until she either got sand in her eyes or got close to the water. She did like the pool much better!

She was not happy being this close to the water!

She was ready to get out of the baby pool... and into the big pool!

Much better!

One morning Marcus and I took Sara Grace to the Murrells Inlet marina.

Chillin on the bench

Riding in the bike trailer was one of Sara Grace's favorite things to do during the day - it would almost always put her to sleep. Her cousin Darby enjoyed riding as well - they were just precious in there together. We would even catch them holding hands during the ride!

My parents with the three grandkids and their matching outfits.

Trip to Asheville

2009-05-17T22:46:00.004-04:00

Last week, Marcus, Sara Grace and I went to Asheville for a few days. We always like to go on a trip after Marcus’ busy season, so we chose Asheville this year. We had such a great time and the weather was beautiful!! Sara Grace did great on her first overnight trip (besides trips to see the grandparents.) She had such a good time being outside and, surprisingly, she did well on the tour through the Biltmore house.
Our first stop was in Spartanburg for lunch on the way up there. Of course, we had to stop at Wades , since that is one of Marcus’ favorite restaurants. I think Sara Grace must be following in his footsteps because she really liked the food too!!

When we arrived in Asheville, we went downtown and shopped around. We found a great shoe store, and Marcus bought me a new pair of shoes!! I saw so many cute pairs for Sara Grace, but they didn’t have any small enough to fit her feet. We stayed downtown a while and ate dinner and then we decided to go check into our hotel. They had an indoor pool, so we decided to give Sara Grace a try in the “big bath tub.” It was her first time in a pool. It was a little chilly and she wasn’t too sure about it at first, but after a few minutes….she LOVED it!!!

The next day, we got up and headed to the Biltmore house. We toured the house, the gardens, the winery and the Inn at Biltmore. It was all so beautiful. Afterwards, we went to Biltmore village to do some shopping. There was this wonderful children’s store called William and Grace. They had such cute things so of course I had to buy Sara Grace a little something.

Sara Grace does not like sitting in grass or getting dirty!

Much better!

The mountains were so beautiful!

In the gardens

In the winery

Inn at Biltmore

On the deck at the Inn

Sara Grace did not like the waterfalls at Grove Park Inn

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-15T22:28:00.002-04:00

We had such a great day last Sunday. It was so special since it was my first real Mother’s Day. Having Sara Grace is such a blessing and I am so thankful for her. We went to Lake City and spent the weekend with my parents. Sara Grace gave me a plate with her footprints on it, and I absolutely LOVE it!! Marcus kept Sara Grace the Thursday night before Mother’s Day for me to go to Wisteria Salon and get a pedicure. It was soooo nice! Here are some pictures from our day.

First Easter

2009-04-15T21:54:00.004-04:00

We had such a great Easter with Sara Grace this year. We went to a Easter Egg Hunt and then visited with both of our families. Needless to say, we were very tired when we got back to Columbia on Sunday night! Here are a few pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt that our church had at Heathewood Park.

Sara Grace with her Easter basket. She didn't really care about the eggs in front of her, nor did she want to hold them

Here are some of her friends: Mary Grace, Sallie, Anna, and Sara Grace. I couldn't get them all to look at the camera.

Sara Grace amazed at all of the kids running around trying to find eggs!

She decided that she liked playing with the Easter eggs after all.

Here are a few pictures of us in Florence after we went on a long walk/stroll.

Easter Morning in my parent's back yard

Sara Grace had enough pictures for the day!

Happy 8 Months!

2009-03-29T20:56:00.002-04:00

Dear my sweet Sara Grace,

It is so hard to believe that you are 8 months old already! You are growing up so much, and I feel like with each day that goes by, you learn how to do something different. You are so fun at this age and you keep your daddy and me laughing. We can tell that you are getting a little bit taller. We finally got to adjust your jumperoo to the second level, and I was able to move you up a size in your little monogrammed shoes. Your hair has really thickened up, and you can wear a hair-bow nicely now. Some other things you are doing:

You are going through a serious mommy stage. Anytime I put you down or leave the room, you cry.

You like all of your baby food for the most part. Sometimes you will spit at me as soon as I put it in your mouth…and that makes a huge mess!! You also like to put your hands in your mouth, and that too gets food everywhere!!

You have learned how to reach for me when you want me to pick you up….it is so sweet!

You LOVE to be outside and stroll and swing. I really think that you would stay outside all day if I let you.

You have learned how to say bah bah and da da

You have started getting your first tooth in. It is on the bottom and it is driving you crazy!!! It is pretty sharp because when you bite my finger, it definitely hurts!

You are not crawling yet, but you are on all fours acting like you are going to take off. You know how to scoot backwards a little bit, but you are perfectly content just rolling where you want to go.

I love you so much sweet girl!
Mommy

First Baseball Game!

2009-03-23T22:22:00.011-04:00

On Sunday afternoon, Marcus, Sara Grace and I went to the Carolina baseball game. Marcus has been to a few games already, but it was the first time for Sara Grace and me. The weather was great and we had such a good time. Of course, Sara Grace just loved being outside! The only bad thing was that the Gamecocks did not win…..maybe next time. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Fun Day in Charleston

2009-02-15T22:23:00.005-05:00

On Friday, Marcus, Sara Grace and I went to Charleston for the day. It was Sara Grace’s first trip to downtown Charleston. The weather was just beautiful, and she LOVED being outside. We went and ate at Hyman’s Seafood (Marcus was really craving seafood!), shopped a little bit, strolled around the battery, and even went to the cupcake store (my favorite)! We headed back to Columbia and went to the open house for the new baseball stadium. We met up with my sister and her family. The stadium is so nice, and once again, Sara Grace loved being outside looking at everything. Then we all went to Rockaways and ate dinner. Such a fun day, but we were ALL very tired! Here are a few pictures from our day.

Charleston Place

Rainbow Row

Our little shopper on King Street

At the battery

Fun in the grass

Happy Six Months!

2009-01-25T22:10:00.005-05:00

fun day at the Horseshoe with daddy

tummy time

my princess outfit

my first snow day

fun in the jumper

Our Sweet Sara Grace,

It is so hard to believe that you are already six months old. You are really growing up and your little personality is so much fun! We are truly blessed to have you. Here are some things that you can do right now:

Sit by yourself for short periods of time
Reach for all your favorite toys
Move toys from one hand to another
You know your name and recognize our voices
You are eating squash and you love it!!!
You are smiling so much more these days
You laugh when tickled and when you see and hear a dog barking
You babble and make such cute noises
You love your jumper
You love your bath…we give you one every night even when you don’t really need it, but we hate to rob you of that joy!!
Your face lights up whenever one of us walks in the room and it melts our hearts

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Getting Started

2009-01-06T22:20:00.000-05:00

Well….I have finally caught up with the times and started a blog. All of you “experienced bloggers” seem to really enjoy yours, so I am going to give it a try!! My hope is to keep you all informed on our life with our sweet little Sara Grace. So, keep checking for more updates. I hope you all enjoy reading as we journey through this life.