Christmas - Friday before

We've had a very busy, but blessed Christmas! I hope you all did too! I'd like to do a recap, but there are many pictures & things we did, so I think I'll go by the day. It all started the Friday before Christmas...

Nanny came home from work early, so after Emma got her 9 month shots & a blood draw (things we aren't talking about), we headed over to play.




Then Atchie, Robbie, Chris, Ashley, & Taylor met up with all of us & we went to California Dreaming for dinner & then back to my parents' for our gift exchange.











We all got wonderful gifts & of course Miss Emma was totally spoiled!

Time to update!

Our days are just flying by!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving & hope you did too. This mommy was lazy & didn't take any pictures :( So sorry. Nanny & Papa took a bunch, though, so I'll get some eventually.

I had a job interview last week. I survived, but it was hard. I'm just glad it's over. It sounds like I won't hear anything back until after the holidays.

My baby is wild. She runs (crawls fast!) around all day & eats books & toys & whatever she can get to her mouth. Yesterday she tried to eat the sock I was wearing - yuck! She likes pull all the books out of her toy "box" in the living room & then pulls out all the toys too. Yesterday she figured out how to actually get in the box! She did it once, but then the second time bumped her head. She pulls up like a pro & sometimes can stay balanced for a little while after letting go. Usually though, she sits back down pretty quickly, but it's generally because she's found something else to play with.

She pulls all the lower ornaments off the bottom of the tree (yes they are baby safe) & likes to play with the branches. She tries to pull herself up a little on the lower branches, but hasn't been very successful. She also likes the presents & took a ribbon off & starting opening one of Uncle Cory's presents. Needless to say, she keeps me on my toes.

She likes Puffs & is starting to like Cheerios (they are more bland). We've been through most of the baby food jars (purees), so I'll ask the Dr on Friday what we should try next. We've done all the stage 1s & 2s. Oh and she eats yogurt & has had turkey, chicken, & beef baby food. So yeah, foodwise, we are moving right along. She seems to really have the chewing action going, so we can probably try something more solid soon. I also bought mesh feeders, so she'll probably like that. She's finally learned how to hold her bottle herself & feed herself & does SO well. She has totally been holding out on us all this time. This morning I actually finished getting ready while she fed herself a bottle. It was wonderful.

Today we went to Target & Babies R Us with Shelly to help her register. We really enjoyed helping her pick out all the cute baby stuff & I picked up a few things for Emma's stocking. I officially only have 3 more gifts to buy, which I should finish up tomorrow & Friday. Tomorrow we're going to Nanny's work to have lunch & for Nanny to show off Emma & Friday Emma has her 9 month Drs appointment. I'm acutally going by myself to that, so I'm not looking forward to it.

This weekend is looking pretty busy! We have Christmas with Atchie, Robbie, & kids on Friday night. Saturday morning we'll head up to Ball Ground & have Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Brent, Aunt Leslie, William, & Thompson, & Aunt Sharon & Aunt Susan. Saturday afternoon we'll have Christmas lunch with all the (extended) Ganns & then Sunday afternoon we'll have Christmas lunch with all the (extended) Hughes'. Then I think we'll take a long nap!

Then we'll have a couple days break & then Christmas is here! I can't wait to see how Emma will react to all the new toys (not to mention all the awesome paper!) Over that weekend, David's family will be in from out of town, so we'll be busy enjoying them. We are definitely looking forward to it!

Now, a few pictures for the road...





I'm sure next time you hear from me I will have TONS of pictures to share! Get excited!
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Haha, yeah I know. I suck.

Emma's now 8 months old! EIGHT. I can't believe it. She's so stinkin big. She's so busy too. She sits up, she crawls, she pulls up, she cruises. She thinks she can stand totally on her own, but thank goodness, she can't yet. Needless to say, we will have a very fun (busy!) Christmas!

I've started shopping for her. Santa is bringing her a laugh & learn kitchen, as of last night. It should arrive next week. It looks so cute, I hope she likes it! Also, I bought her (early) the little people's nativity, so she's getting that as soon as it arrives. That way she can play with it all the Christmas season. I know she won't get it this year, but maybe next year she'll get it a little more. I still have lots of shopping to do, mostly for family. I think David & I are just going to get a shared big present this year & then maybe a few small things. That's good though, we don't need much.

Thanksgiving is coming up next week! It's hard to believe! Emma is going to have turkey next Thursday too (but baby food!) I'll get her to start trying it this weekend. We'll be staying home this year & going to my Aunt & Uncle's for dinner with my family. It should be fun!

Santa....already?

My mom was off work today to take Nene to the Dr (she had a cataract removed yesterday). Em & I met them for lunch & then we had planned to go to Belk because Nene wanted to. She was too tired, so we took her home & Mom, Emma, & I went by ourselves.

We shopped awhile in Belk & Macy's. Mom got Emma the cutest dress with that is pink with white polka dots & a big snowman on it. She can wear it all winter. Mom was then like, let's check & see if Santa is here yet, Emma could get her picture made. We really didn't expect to see him, but walked to check anyway.

Well, Santa was there! I guess he's been there all week. So we quickly changed Emma into her new snowman dress & she got her picture with Santa without waiting in a line AT ALL. And oh my goodness, was she adorable! She was SO good & smiled & didn't cry or anything. And Santa was super nice & asked her to leave him cookies :)

And now we have a super cute 1st picture of Emma with Santa. And I've talked David into taking me to Zaxby's for dinner.

President Obama

No, I didn't vote for him. But he's now our president-elect. And guess what? I'm proud of America for electing a black man as our president. Although I disagree with some of his views & didn't vote for him, God knows the bigger picture & He's in control, not me, not even President Obama.

I think it really shows how far our country has come in the past 50 years. Back then, I bet many believed a black person would never become president. I think it really shows that our country as a whole is changing for the better & is becoming more accepting of all people regardless of their background or race. And honestly, that's a very good thing. I really want my daughter to grow up in a world where race doesn't matter. That's really the way it should be & it's a shame that it's taken this long.

So although there's a good chance I will disagree with President Obama in the future, I'm proud of what this election means to all of Americans. I think we're finally moving in the right direction.

Busy busy!

Busy weekend! I was in a wedding on Saturday, so my weekend was filled with rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, getting my nails & hair done, & then the actual wedding.




Plus, it was Emma's first Halloween Friday! She dressed up as a bumble bee & hung out with my parents since we were at the rehearsal. She was so good & I have to admit, so adorably cute!

My baby is crawling. CRAWLING. Don't only old babies do that? MY baby is NOT old. She CAN'T be crawling.
But she is. And it makes me sad/happy/proud/mostly sad. I can't believe she's getting SO OLD. 7 & 1/2 months almost. She's so big & smart & cute.

We've been busy. Real busy! I've been very productive the last couple of weeks & it's resulted in not much computer time, but lots of productiveness. I've organized a closet, a kitchen cabinet, done TONS of laundry, changed sheets, & my house is cleaner than it's been in ages. Not to mention the other million things I've been working on, like Emma's baby book for instance.

We're also getting ready for a wedding. No, not ours! We've been married over 3 years! My friend Elizabeth is getting married to Michael next weekend (November 1st) & is coming up from Orlando where they live to get married here in Atlanta. So I've been getting my dress altered, going to showers, ordering gifts, shopping for shoes, etc. And we are all SO excited to see our friends who live out of town, but will be in town for the wedding! Plus, we have a good excuse to get our hair & nails done & what's not to like about that?

Oh, and I'm getting my hair highlighted tomorrow. I'm very excited. Plus I'm getting it trimmed. Unfortunately, it's still going to stay long until after the wedding. After that, it's getting chopped off. Shoulder-length at the max. Hopefully shorter. I'm very excited because I hate my hair right now. It's just lame.

Oh yeah, Emma was dedicated at church on the 12th. Don't we look cute?



Oh and soon I'll make another video of our star, one of her crawling. Stay tuned until next time :)
Much love.

Emma is a monkey!

I hope this works! Sorry the quality isn't very good, but I think you can get the point.

So yeah

I've been busy. Lots has been going on. My girl now has 2 teeth & is 7 months old (Sunday). She was dedicated at church Sunday & was a perfect angel.

I was trying to upload a video the other day & it never worked out. It wouldn't let me load it onto blogger. Not sure why, but it would time out or something. I'll try to do it in youtube or something sometime & maybe that'll work. I'll keep you posted. You really do wanna see it, promise.

And I really will do a longer post (with pictures!!) soon!
Much love.

Baby bee!

6 Month Professional Pics!

We had 6 month pro pics done last weekend & got the CD this Sunday. We were very happy with how they turned out, so I made a "scrapblog" of a few pictures of my girl. It's my first one, so be nice to me :)







I've gotta feed & bathe the baby & talk David into cooking dinner.

Naps

I have a sweet baby napping next to me. There's really nothing better
than that...

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Big pumpkin!

A big pumpkin for my little pumpkin!

FYI

My baby is so stinkin cute when she's asleep.

Fall!!!

I LOVE the weather! Fall is seriously my favorite season & we're having a sneak peak this week in the ATL. It's in the 70s all week & I couldn't be happier! Emma loves it too - she's wearing pants!! today! Go Emma! Oh, and she's wearing fuzzy socks & David just informed me that she's eating them. She's such a silly girl.

Six Months Old

Emma turned 6 months old on Friday. You realize that is half a year.



She has gotten so old, but so fun. I fall in love with her even more every day. She is such a huge source of JOY in our lives & we are so BLESSED that God picked her out especially for us.



The past couple weeks have been very exciting for her. She's learned so many new tricks! When I sit her up, she can stay up (no hands!) for a period of time until she decides she wants to do something else & she falls over. Sometimes this "period of time" is a couple seconds, but seriously, she can stay up for quite a long time if she wants to (10 mins+). She can't sit up on her own yet, but she still tries & is getting better & stronger. We call it doing her "baby crunches."



Emma has started solids. She's been eating cereal & oatmeal for a month, but last week we started veggies. She's had sweet potatoes, peas, & carrots. And guess what?? She likes it all! In a few days we'll start fruit, which I know she'll love!



Emma has learned to blow raspberries. I guess I taught her that without meaning to. She likes me to make all sorts of noises out of my mouth, so of course, raspberries are one of them. She finally figured out how to do it herself & it's adorable & so funny! She produces a huge mess of slobber, but I love it. It's only bad when she's eating (bottle or veggies/cereal) & then it makes a mess. She'll learn though.



And the biggest thing: She's mobile. Ok, so she isn't moving fast or far, but girlfriend is On-The-Move! The past few weeks she's been trying to get up on all fours. She had trouble for awhile getting both parts of her body up at the same time, but she finally figured it out last week. And now that they're up, there's nothing stopping her! She's rocking, which means she will crawl before we know it! With the rocking, she does move, but it's very slow & has actually been backwards, which I think is so funny. She tries to go one direction, but she ends up the opposite. Poor Em. But now she can move to the opposite end of her crib, she can get to her toys on the floor easier, & she's trying to get in trouble! We bought a baby gate today at Babies R Us, so she won't end up going down the steps. And we're about to start some serious baby-proofing in the house. It's really so fun & we're so excited!



Of course, it's not fair to talk about all her tricks, but not talk about what a precious, good natured baby we have! She is usually in such a good mood & is so smiley all the time. She loves her jumperoo & she loves to snuggle with her mommy & daddy (& her nanny, papa, grandma, & grandpa, plus her aunts & uncles & her aunt atchie. Oh, and Nene too). She likes to play (& eat) her toys & she likes to read (& eat) books. She likes to watch TV & tries to "help" us on our computers & with our iPhones. She was at the doctor today & they were mean to her (shots! pokes! mean!) & she smiled & was just so pleasant & she talked a lot to them! She was just so good & even recovered from the shots almost immediately & was smiling again before we walked out of the room. She's just easy going & so so lovable.



I really can't even say how blessed we are to have such a wonderful baby. We love her so much & we've really enjoyed her these last 6 months! Here's to many many more!



I love you, Emma.
Love,
Mommy

Goals

My goal for the week has been to get Emma to take a nap somewhere other than next to me. I've been trying since Tuesday & although we've made some progress, it still totally sucks. However, a small victory - she hasn't had a nap right next to me all week!

The problem is, she fights naps so bad that she doesn't want to nap anywhere else. So getting her to sleep in her crib or pack n play is the hugest ordeal. I can rock her & get her to sleep, but if she wakes up when I put her down, it's terrible. She won't go back to sleep & she cries & it's awful. And I know she's tired because she is so weepy - she's usually not like that unless she's real tired. So yeah. It sucks. But we're making progress. And she's currently napping in the Pack n Play.

And I think I have a job interview next week. It's a good thing, money is good. It's a bad thing, I will miss my girl. I've been home with her for 6 months as of tomorrow (MY BABY TURNS 6 MONTHS OLD TOMORROW! i don't wanna talk about it...) But I know I need to work. It will help us out so much. Oh, and this interview is with David's company, so we'll be working together (really weird), but we can also ride together & have lunch together most days. So, we'll see. Hopefully it'll go ok.

Asleep

She was so tired, she fell asleep sitting up.

Playing with dad

Emma's on the computer with her daddy. Earlier, she grabbed his hand &
was sucking on it. He pushed her away & wiped his hand off on her pjs.

Now she keeps trying to touch his keyboard with her wet fingers, but
he won't let her. And she's blowing bubbles, which makes me laugh.

Emma's busy...

Talking' on the phone

The election

Am I allowed to say that I'm sick of this stupid election already? Good, because I am.

I do care about voting. I think it's important because so many men and women have fought and died for our country to give us this freedom. I also think it's important to make an educated decision. I do not, however, think that it's all I need to hear about until the next president is inaugurated next January. Unfortunately, that's totally what's going to happen. It's all that ever happens. And really, I think it's lame.

I'd feel better about it if some decent candidates were running for office. I stick by my statement that I think Colin Powell should be the next president. Unfortunately, I don't believe he's interested. But what do I know (just that he'd make a much better president than I've ever seen in office).

Ok, that's about as political as I get.

My two favorite people

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potato pie & I shut my mouth....
Does anyone know that old country song? It's called Song of the South, but I don't remember who it's by.

Anyways, Emma started veggies today & guess what she ate? Sweet Potatoes! She actually liked them! She ate her rice cereal too! Good girl! She made the HUGEST mess ever & I put her straight in the bath. It was all down her onesie & everything. Gross. I didn't put a bib on her, because it's becoming a lost cause. It still goes down her shirt. Whatever. She's just a messy eater. Plus, she's constantly trying to eat her bib, so I'm holding it down, while trying to shove the spoon in her mouth. It sucks.

Oh, and added to my last update. Not only did I not get to use 2 coupons at my friendly neighborhood Publix, I also paid $4.50 for bottle nipples that did NOT come home with me! Yes, I even checked the car. They are no where. When I figured it out these evening as I was loading the dishwasher, it made me really mad. Anyway, I will not be visiting that Publix again for a long time. And to think, I always liked Publix. NOT ANY MORE. MAD.

Publix sucks

I had coupons for baby things- a $5 off a can of formula (of a certain size) & a buy a big pack (box) of diapers, get a big refill pack of wipes free. Oh, and these are Publix-only coupons. They sent them to me through their baby club.

I clip my coupons & head to our neighborhood Publix. I start with the formula. They no longer sell a can that big, they have this new thing that's not a can (it's a weird plastic container). It's totally fine, but the size is smaller than what I needed to get to use my coupon. Fab. Head to the diapers. Surely they have my diapers.

They don't have a big box of diapers in her size. They only have the smaller sizes and the larger sizes. Apparently every baby in my area wears diapers that are size 2. So I buy the jumbo pack of size 2s (this is smaller than the box) & go ahead & get the wipes too anyway because we *get this* actually NEED them.

So yeah, I got everything I needed at Publix. But in reality, I didn't save anything from shopping there. I should have just gone to Walmart & forgot it. Publix, you're on my bad list.

Fixers

I feel frustrated when I try to help other people but they are unwilling to help themselves. I know what's right for them to do & honestly, they do too. I care about them & want what's best for them, but they are unwilling to change or take the actions necessary to fix the situation.

It's frustrating when people won't help themselves. Granted, sometimes David feels this way about me. However, when I talk to him about something, I'm not expecting him to fix it, I'm expecting him to listen. When someone is talking to me about something, I do try to listen too, but maybe I offer advice too much? I don't know. Maybe I get that way once the situation goes on a long time & I don't really feel like listening is helping & I'm ready for the situation to be resolved? I don't really get it. I do not beat a dead horse around David, that I do know. But I think he tries to fix EVERYTHING without listening because he's a guy. That's just how guys are, fixers.

Could I be any more vague?

Happy Post Labor Day!

So first, I must apologize for the spacing in my previous post. Apparently, when I type long posts on my phone & submit them, the lines are all weird. I realize it's still readable, but definitely annoying to look at. My apologizes. I'll keep that in mind in the future.

The rest of the weekend was busy. Yesterday was spent hanging out with the in-laws & letting Emma play with her cousins, in between naps. She napped a lot yesterday, she was totally worn out! We played games (cards for me, both cards & video games for David). Watched some TV. Waited for homemade ice cream to freeze, unfortunately it never did. We did enjoy homemade chocolate milk shakes though! Also, breakfast casserole, boneless bbq ribs, green beans, potato salad, etc. It was all very yummy!

Last night, David & I (& Em) went to see Traitor at the Drive-In movie. It was actually really good. It was nice to have some time to ourselves at the end of our weekend.

This week, since it's a holiday week, David gets to go in an hour later & leave an hour earlier! So instead of getting home at 7:30, he'll get home at 6:30. That'll be so nice. (David works a 4 day work week, but it's an hour away. Thus instead of getting off work at 6:30 this week, he gets off at 5:30. This only happens weeks with a holiday).

Also, my bratty friend Valerie got a new car. I'm way jealous. She needs to get her butt over here this week & let me see it (HINT HINT).

That's probably enough.

David & I had a pretty fun "date" last night. We went to see
Transiberrian at an early show (4:35) & then had a fancy dinner at
Subway before picking up our baby. Transiberrian was pretty good, but
the last 30 minutes was a little intense for me. We enjoyed our
evening out & come to find out, still even like each other.

The main road by our house is closed due to a labor day run/walk
tomorrow morning. We headed up to David's parents & younger sister's
for the night, since we were planning to head over tomorrow morning.
We've enjoyed our evening with them & watched Eragon & ate chocolate
ice cream. Tomorrow we will spend the day with his sister, brother,
sister in law, & two nephews, as well as his parents & younger sister.
Emma can't wait to play with her cousins!

I'm feeding her her last bottle, then heading to bed. Enjoy your day
off tomorrow! Happy Labor Day!

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Date!

David & I are on our first date since our anniversary (mid July).
We're at the movies, in an actual theater! Whoo-hoo!

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Thankfully

Emma does not seem sick from our brown water scare. Thank goodness!!

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Brown Water

I make Emma a bottle of formula (powdered w/water) & put it in fridge. Make her oatmeal cereal (w/formula) & feed it to her. She's made a huge mess, so I wipe her down as best I can, give her a wet washcloth to chew on (she loves it) & take her up to give her a bath.

I start the bath so the water can warm up & go get towels laid out, a clean outfit & diaper, etc. I go to check it & plug up the water. Realize the water looks kind of brown. Toilet is still clear, so I flush it - brown. CRAP!

I wipe her down with wipes, get her dressed. Run outside to see if there are any workers - there aren't. Call David to take care of it because I am absolutely LIVID by this point. He acts like its no big deal & that "dirt" won't hurt her.

I made her a fresh bottle with bottled water & when she's done, I will pour the other bottle down the drain.

I am seriously worried that she's going to get sick over this. David still doesn't think it's a big deal. Whatever. I'm still mad.

I did it!

I shaved my legs for the first time in a week (yes, gross, I know.
I've been wearing pants all week since they've gotten especially bad.
Poor David.)

It only took me 4 tries to get them done this morning! Go me! I ended
up doing them in stages on the edge of the tub in between checking on
Ems. Someone was a bad napper this morning!!

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Tomorrow

I've totally got to shave my legs.

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Prilosec and Fried Chicken

My baby & I went to clean my parents' house today. We cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. She got mad at me & then I realized it was because she had been sitting in a stinky diaper awhile. Then I felt bad.

We saw Uncle Cory. He's still afraid of her a little bit, as he's not used to them, but he's starting to get more used to her. I made him hold her some. It's good for him. Builds character.

Emma slobbered on my parents' bed. I don't think they'll really care though. Nothing's as sweet as baby slobber.

Came home & she jumped awhile.



She likes it. It was a good investment, for sure.

Also, my crazy BFF decided to have panic attacks because of stress today. She had chest pain & a headache & felt like she was dying, but she wouldn't go to the school nurse (she's a teacher) to have her blood pressure taken until after the kids had all gone home. And wouldn't you know, it was 141/110. Like basically, she could have had a stroke. And then she went to a stupid staff meeting instead of to the dr like I & the nurse told her to. So basically, some stupid 2 hour meeting about ethics is worth risking your life over.

Oh, and get this, she finally goes to the Minute Clinic & her blood pressure is normal. So the stupid lady tells her it's just indigestion & to get prilosec. I'm sorry, lady, but you are an idiot. Anyway, I hope my BFF doesn't die because of the Minute Clinic lady & the fact she didn't send her down to the ER. Anyway, she seems to be fine now, I made her lay on her left side & rest. I had to do that when I was on bed rest at the end of my pregnancy for high blood pressure.

Zaxby's for dinner, gotta love the Zax sauce! That reminds me, today I had Chick-Fil-A for lunch (yes, I kind of have a thing for chicken, thankyouverymuch) & I got the new-style chicken strips. But last time we were there, we noticed as we were pulling out that they had a new sauce called "Chick-Fil-A Sauce." And we were really disappointed because we both wanted to try it. We had high hopes for this new sauce, for goodness sake! And really, I wanted it to be like Zaxby's sauce because that would make me love Chick-Fil-A all the more. But guess what. It wasn't. It was like honey mustard stuff. And I was very unimpressed and very disappointed. So, Chick-Fil-A, if you're reading: steal the recipe for Zax sauce. You'll thank me later. I told David & he was disappointed too. He already hates the Chick-Fil-A, so really this is probably the final straw.

So now that this post has really turned out about my crazy BFF & sauce for my fried chicken, I better quit while I'm ahead.

Night y'all.

Forget the oatmeal....

I just want the bib!

My girl this weekend

Baby-talk

I love baby-talk. I absolutely love it.

I'm sitting next to Emma on the couch (well, ok, she's really next to her daddy & I'm on the other end, but still) & she's just a coo-ing & a smilin' & basically I just think it's the greatest thing in the world. And yes, she was doing the coo-ing & smilin at me because Daddy is ignoring her & is on his computer.

I liked her back when all the noises she made were cries, fusses, & farts, but this is great! She's actually tries to talk! She tries to mimic what I say to her & she talks back to me when I talk to her, like we're having an in-depth conversation. My baby is so smart.

When I put our faces together, she just giggles & squeals like it's the greatest thing in the world. And in my world, it's pretty close. She then grabs my hair & it stops being so cute.

I can't believe my baby will be 6 months next month.