Nashville, Tennessee....with a side of Clarksville.

I pause....for a little bit of personal.....January 19-21st I flew up to Nashville, TN to see my pal Regan and my goddaughter, Micah.  Regan's husband was recently given orders to move (closer to me, yay!).  While he is finishing up his third tour in Afghanistan since I've know him (6 years-Regan and I have been fridnds almost 25) we decided to explore a little bit of Nashville before it becomes a place they lived once upon a time.  I flew in Saturday morning to try to work around Micah's nap, and we drove straight to the downtown area.  It was co-old, but we still managed to walk up and down Broadway.  The famous bars were opened up just enough that we could hear the artist displaying their skills via guitars and microphones.  

We ate at the Hard Rock, in honor of her uncle, a man we both adored (her godfather) who loved the restaurant and we had many a conversation about our travels and stops by Hard Rock before he moved to heaven, waiting for the rest of our stories to join his someday.  Micah is 13+ months now, and when I saw her at 10 months, she wasn't so sure about me.  This time, after a few hours she was willing to play with me, and even reached up to be held.  Mama's still #1, but I consider it a pretty big honor she warmed up so quickly because she has stranger danger.....and she got quickly the kind of danger I can offer is all fun.  Case in point, we make that girl sit through many a photo shoot....but she'll have some pretty spectacular pictures some day so she can explain to her friends she was stinking adorable.  She was a little less cooperative at some points.....note Regan holding on to the shoes she refused to be a part of....

We wanted one in the wedding dress, but we could only get her to stay still for a nanosecond by handing her the bow....

We wanted to grab a few for Father's Day....what you can't see is her absolutely refusing to sit still and probably screaming as she ripped the hat off, but we got a few cute ones in his jacket etc...

She was willing to do the pink Christmas tree on her pink, glitter car.....Do they make this in my size?

All three little wiggle worms wouldn't sit still for this one....Odie's screaming dog face says it all...

We pretty much spent the weekend taking a few pics and  hanging out in our pjs.  Micah and I played, and I learned why everything, including the toilets are child proof in about 2 minutes when I found her toys floating in the toilet, and my personal objects exiting my purse, suit case, and any drawer that would open.  

I also spent the weekend petting Regan's first baby, Sophia.  She was diagnosed with bone cancer and the news was really grim before Christmas, but she is still doing well with a slight limp.  I hugged on her and groomed any loose hair out of her with hours of petting.  I love this dog.  

...and then, we figured out the trick to photographing this little fairy.  She will wear anything, bows etc, but she won't sit still, so I took a page out of a blog I have seen and put a bunch of foam hearts on the deck.  I held her back like a race horse, dropped her on the deck and started snapping while she went to mess up the heart design.  Letting her think she is destructive is the key....

I die.

Please look at this precious child.  Her laugh steals my heart.

Phun with Photoshop.

I'm so grateful for the little moments, getting to hear her 'hi' in person....and her version of E-I-E-I-O.  She can only do the EIEI portion, but she gets super excited when you sing it and sings along.  I die.  Multiple times a day.  Reaching up to be held.  I'm blogging from heaven.  She still has an octave in her scream, which she pulls out for all occasions good and bad that neighborhood dogs respond too.  She is totally fine playing with me now, as long as Mom is nearby, and the dogs are not fans of the pinching, though the Cheerio Trail she leaves makes up for it, but these are the memories I will cherish foreva'.....and I have the pictures to prove it.  Watch out world, she's about to be within weekend driving distance!