We bought a house!

So you may have noticed I have been on quite the struggle bus with the blog lately.. and that's because we bought a house! Holy cow this home buying process has been absolutely insane, and definitely not something I want to do again anyyyytime soon. But we did it! Thank goodness we had an amazing realtor by our side, because some insanely hard and complicated things came up. (My sweet cousin Becky was our realtor - if you need a realtor in ATL, please let me know! She will go to bat for you and get the job DONE.)

You may be thinking... wait, didn't they JUST move!? And the answer is yes, yes we did. We moved into our cute house in Woodstock, GA about 6 months ago. And I decorated it exactly to my liking and we were falling in love with that cute little town north west of Atlanta. But then AJ got an amazing job offer down in the city. He has been leaving around 4am every day so he can spend some amount of time with MJ before bed. And well that kind of life just can't last forever.. SO we are now first time homeowners in Dunwoody! (Right at the perimeter of the city for those of you not familiar with Atlanta.) We closed yesterday and move today!

But let me tell you.. this week has been a whirlwind. Maddie Jane got the stomach virus on Sunday, I got it on Monday, tried taking her back to school on Tuesday and then I got the dreaded call from daycare that she had a 102 fever. We spent 4 hours in urgent care.. respiratory infection, double ear infection, fifth disease, and talks of pneumonia. We were sent home with breathing treatments, steroids, and antibiotics. With orders she would have to be admitted if her fever didn't go down in two days. All while AJ and I were trying to still do our full time jobs and close on this house. THANK THE LORD my mother in law took an impromptu flight from Louisiana, because I'm not sure how I would still be above water right now. 

And this morning we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow. Perfect moving conditions right!? At this point, all we can do is laugh at what life has thrown us this week. What's that saying.. when it rains, it snows? ha! But we are almost to the finish line! Can't wait to show you the gorgeous inside of our house and tell you all the other things that have been happening lately.
UPDATE: Our movers just tried to quit because the roads are so slushy. I can't make this stuff up guys. This week has been something else.

Have a great weekend! 

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Restoring Grace

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Friday Favorites :: MJ Birthday Edition

Hey y'all! I am linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea for another week of Friday Favorites. This week alllll my favorites are about our sweet birthday girl! 

On Sunday at church she finally got to visit that oh so tempting table for birthday kids! She picked out a few bracelets and got s birthday sticker :) 

We have also been breaking in her birthday gift from us, her pretty red wagon. 

She thinks its QUITE the upgrade from a stinky stroller and loves that she can change seats and bring along as many stuffed animals as she pleases! 

Daddy was home on the morning of her birthday and she squealed in excitement when he woke her up. (This was post meltdown because I wouldn't let her wear that Santa outfit in the background..)

AJ and I also got to take "happy cakes" as she calls them to her class. Those sweet kiddos were precious but not many made it past that mound of icing!

And we busted her out of school early for a fun little afternoon with just the three of us. (We had plans to go to hibachi, but AJ had a meeting.. so Maddie's FIRST experience with the fried rice happy face and onion volcano will be TONIGHT!)

Auntie Paige and Uncle Cody sent her an edible arrangement with balloons! (That we had to tie to the dog leash so she would stop letting them float to the ceiling, haha!)

Look at that cutie bouquet with a pineapple two!

And they sent us chocolate covered strawberries for keeping our kiddo alive for two years! ha!

Shout out to Auntie Paige for feeding MJ dinner since hibachi fell through..

And my sweet mother in law sent ME flowers on Maddie Jane's birthday. She's a GEM. She is a big proponent of sending love to Mamas on their children's birthdays, and I couldn't agree more :)

Maddie Jane is meeting the big man in the red suit this weekend for the first time. Fingers crossed that goes well :) Y'all have a great weekend and GO DAWGS.

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Maddie Jane is TWO!!

Today is a very, very special day in the Pryor house - Maddie Jane is TWO! I cannot even begin to explain how incredibly fast these two years have flown by. I swear I was just at the UCLA hospital yesterday welcoming this sweet ball of energy into the world. She has thankfully been our easy going child and has adapted to all the crazy changes we have thrown at her. She has changed homes (and states!), changed schools, been on over 30 plane rides, slept in a bajillion different homes, beds, and hotel rooms. We are so so proud of her and her resilient self!

Birthday Questions
(This year I answered them for her, but next year I will let her do it on her own :))
My favorite TV show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
My favorite color: Pink
My favorite toy: Her stuffed animal, Ping
When I grow up I want to be: the boss, ha!
My favorite book: Love You Forever
My favorite movie: The Grinch
My favorite food: ice cream
My favorite animal: Elephants!!
My best friend: Maggie

She is very strong willed and definitely will let you know when her mind is made up. We are working around that by making her think the things we need to do are totally HER idea! She loves having Molly to boss around, and tries to keep up with the big kids in her life too. She is starting to form some pretty strong opinions about her clothes and hair.. if it was up to her she would wear her Minnie Mouse dress, her red polka dot shoes, and her ginormous white bow every single day. (And NO jacket Mom! Are you crazy!?) She plays HARD and never slows down, and I guess that's why sleeps 7pm to 7am solid, pretty much every night.

Maddie Jane's Stats

Height: 33.7 inches (50th percentile)

Weight: 24.7 pounds (46th percentile) 

Head: 19 inches (78th percentile)

Sorry for giving you that melon baby girl! 

Diapers: Size 5

Shoes: Size 6 

Clothes: 18-24 months and some 2t

The first year of her life, Maddie Jane was not a "hold me" baby and now she gives alllll the snuggles. Her favorite place is cuddled up beside me in the mornings with her milk. She loves giving hugs and kisses (even to complete strangers, ha!) When we are at the grocery store or a restaurant she is going to say hey to every single person we walk by. We always tell her she should be a greeter at Wal Mart, ha! She loves her baby doll from Gigi and will pat her on the back saying "Shh, shh baby.." She could "rock, rock" for hours if you just keep reading her books. She loves being outside and exploring. She will sprint out the door if you turn your head -- straight to her tiny tikes car saying BBYYYEEE and blowing kisses.

Maddie Jane is the life of the party. She is a dancing, twirling, singing fool. She is finally starting to string words together and every single little sentence makes my heart beam with pride. "Tank you Mama" "Dada,  you all done? more?" "Maaeeee NO NO, go ou-side!" Her favorite food is by far ice cream, would eat every single day if we let her. (And sometimes we do, oops!) She knows where everything is in our pantry (and other peoples' too!) and will happily help herself. She loves a good condiment like her Mama and will request to "dip dip!" I'd say she is a Mama's girl but definitely notices if AJ has been on a trip, or missed a couple mornings getting ready because he's at work and then she will CRAVE her Dada time.

Oh Maddie Jane we love you SO MUCH. We are so incredibly proud to be your parents. We love your free spirit and how things run in your own little world. With every little tiny word that comes out of your mouth I fall more in love with you sweet child. Keep being you baby girl, the world needs a little more spunk :)

And here is a big ole photo drop of some of my favorite pictures from the last year with our sweet girl! Man oh man the ones I chose capture her personality to a tee! 

And it all started right here... On Monday, November 30, 2015 at 6:36am PST in Los Angeles, CA. She weighed 5 lbs, 11 oz and was 18 inches long. You can read all about her birth story HERE.

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