Friday Randomness...

We have had a busy week in the Guthrie house!

Here are some updates and some pictures that I thought were lost from my time at home several weeks ago...

- We have decided on a daycare option for Annabelle. I was having some serious anxiety about our original selection (mostly due to distance). Every single time it was mentioned I would cry. We have been sitting on wait lists since February with no change. I decided to call a place that we originally ruled out because they said she had to start in August but now they will take her in November. They have a spot and it is just a huge answer to prayers. I feel so much better about leaving her now for a number of reasons. It feels really good to be able to think about it coming months without so much sadness!


- I have been really busy trying to get things ready for the sweet lady who will be subbing for me at school. I will be out for 3 months...lots of prep to do for her! Annabelle and I went up to school yesterday to try to work some...very unsuccessful! My mom is going to keep her on Monday so I can try again - thank you Mom!


- Miss Annabelle is teething! No teeth have broken through yet, but you can see that they are close. She is still her sweet self, but with a little more fussiness and a little fever.


- I am having a really hard time getting Annabelle to take a nap. She was only taking one before (still not enough for her little self), but now she is trying really hard to drop it!

Nana and her girls!

Bathtime with Uncle Jimmy!

Fried Green Tomatoes...

We made ourselves a treat from the garden this weekend. Jesse found a recipe from our Blue Willow Inn cookbook...and oh my goodness - the deliciousness.

The secret was soaking them in a buttermilk mixture.

Heaven on a plate!

Three Months!

Annabelle - You are 3 months today!

• You love to smile - but we have a hard time capturing it on camera...as soon as the camera comes out you get very serious!
  
• You weigh about 13 pounds now - your rolls are precious!
• You just moved up to a size 2 diaper, and you are wearing mostly 6 month clothes.
• You sleep from about 9:30p.m to 9:30a.m. only waking up once around 5am to eat.
• You will only nap in your swing now.
• You still have very little hair!
• You love, love your bath - you kick your little legs with excitement!
• Your eyes are definitely brown now - so pretty!
• The pacifier has been replaced - you prefer your hand now!
• You have started teething - tiny little white teeth are starting to show through your gums.
• The only time you really cry besides being hungry or hurting is when a loud voice startles you.
• You are really such a sweet, easy-going baby! I feel so incredibly lucky to have been home with you the past 3 months and to still have 3 more months to go!
  
  We just think that you hung the moon! We are so thankful to be your parents!

We love you, Annabelle!

Sunday morning...

Today we took Annabelle to church for the first time...

Getting ready before church.

She was pretty adorable in her church dress.

I wish I could say that it was a wonderful experience, but it wasn't the best morning. We decided to try leaving her in the nursery since they have pagers to buzz you during the service if you need to come get your baby. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it was so hard to hand her to strangers and walk away - even for just an hour. All during the service, I kept wishing the pager would go off so that I could slip out and go back to get her! When we went back to get her after church ended, I was mildly scolded by the nursery worker. Apparently, they have a rule that parents aren't allowed to go back behind the check-in counter to get their babies. All I was thinking was that she is my baby, and I wanted to hold her and change her before we left. Being publicly corrected always embarrasses me so much - so we left with me on the verge of tears. Oh well - I will know for next time...

This picture pretty much sums up how we all felt when we got home!

**Grandparents - I promise we didn't put her like this on purpose (and we just left her in the position long enough to laugh and take a picture), it was just how she was situated when Jesse carried her in from the car.

Happy Friday!

Miss Annabelle has been finding her thumb a lot lately. She is making eyes at her daddy while enjoying a little thumb snack! It is always her left thumb too - maybe she will be a lefty like her daddy, Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Sam.

Guilty...

How bold is that?!? The worst part is that they keep leaving half eaten tomatoes in my garden...seems like they should at least finish them if they are going to steal them!

How does your garden grow...

One of my favorite places to be when I am at home is in my garden. This is my third summer with a garden, and each year I am learning a little more.

We ("we" meaning Jesse) started by putting up a little picket fence to separate my garden from the rest of the yard. This was essential with our two energetic pups! Jesse even had to put chicken wire along the bottom of the fence because Gabbie kept wedging her head through the fence and pulling out my irises...what doggy fun!

Next "we" built raised beds, added lots of great soil, and mulched the walkways. Jesse even dug a water line to the garden so that I can have a hose out there. How handy is he?!?

I have planted roses, irises, blueberry bushes, and there is even a fig tree. The veggies are my favorite part - tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash, watermelon & herbs.

The cucumber vines are probably my favorite of all the veggie plants. I planted them a little too think this year, so it is a scavenger hunt to find the cucumbers.

Just a pretty rose!

My pride and joy this year! I have about 8 watermelons growing right now. If you are wondering what the paper plates are doing in the earlier pictures, I have them under each watermelon to try to keep the slugs away.

Garden mystery of the year... Something has been eating my huge tomatoes straight off the vine. Green and red - it's not picky! Jesse caught the culprit on camera...tune in tomorrow to see the guilty party.

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Just a little treat for all of you that are fans of The Office... for the rest of you (aka, the grandparents), just enjoy the cute pictures of your girl! Jesse ordered this after we found out we were having a baby - too funny!

Tour de Georgia!

Annabelle and I spent last week in Georgia visiting people we love! We spent the first 5 days with my parents and my Grandma. The pictures from those days have disappeared off my camera, but we had a wonderful time! It was special to be back at my childhood home with my daughter. This was my first long car trip alone with a baby...and it was not an experience I care to repeat any time soon! Annabelle is normally a pretty laidback, happy girl, but she does not appreciate being strapped down for long periods of time! It was also hard making stops to feed her & change her by myself - thank goodness for busy Cracker Barrel parking lots (although I am not sure I have ever felt quite so redneck as I did changing my baby in the Cracker Barrel parking lot)! I have a huge amount of respect for moms who have husbands that are deployed or travel a lot - it is not easy! My mom & dad were wonderful enough to make the return trip with us...a thousand times better!

Cheryl, Lacey & Annabelle, Tara, Laura & Susanna, Joy

We spent the last few days of our trip with my amazing college girlfriends at Laura's house. Her home is beautiful and she is always a great hostess! Laura & John's daughter, Susanna, was born exactly one week after Annabelle. It has been such a blessing to have someone to talk with about all of the new mama things. We hadn't seen each other since the babies had been born, and the babies also needed to meet their favorite aunts! It was such a sweet few days filled with lots of talking, loving on babies, eating & taking walks. Here are bunches of pictures from our fabulous 3 days!

Annabelle Joy with her gorgeous Aunt Joy!

Aunt Cheryl & Aunt Joy loving on Annabelle.

Annabelle's "don't mess with me look" after we moved her favorite toy!

Tara with beautiful baby Susanna.

Sweet baby girls!

Joy practicing for twins someday!

Proud mamas with our girls!

These girls just mean the world to me - I leave them feeling so refreshed! Time spent with them is like being with sisters. Besides Jesse & my family, no one knows & loves me like these girls do. Joy, Laura, Tara & I lived together for three years at Tech in the 8th Street Apartments, and Cheryl joined us our last year. We were each others family away from home, and we have shared so much together over the years. Thank you girls for loving me, Jesse, and baby Annbelle - we are so lucky to have you all!

Hello world...

Lacey has been asking me to post for a while. I don't know why I haven't posted earlier. Maybe it's because I spend so much time on Facebook.

I don't feel much like writing tonight since I haven't held my 'little lady' for almost a week. I miss both of my life's leading ladies, but I can at least talk to Lacey every night. I am continually amazed at how much love I have for our Annabelle. I mean, she spits up on me and almost always has a surprise for me when I'm changing her diaper. I would probably not even be friends with anyone else that treated me like that, but she's different. She's our little blessing.

I'd like to take this space to extend a very deserved 'Thank-you' to Lacey for setting this blog up. I think she's done a great job with it so far. Ill try to get better at posting every so often.

10 weeks!

We have had 10 amazing weeks with our girl. It hasn't all been easy, but it has been the best 10 weeks of my life. I looked back at our pictures from the hospital today - it seems like yesterday and forever ago at the same time.

Miss Annabelle at 10 weeks...

You love, love, love your daddy. He got your first smiles, and he can always calm you down by laying you on his knees and holding your hands.

You went to the doctor yesterday for your 2 month visit. You weight 12 lbs 5 1/2 ounces and are 22 inches long. You have just grown so much from that preemie sized baby we brought home You are wearing your 3 month clothes now and some of them are quickly getting too small!

You get so mad when you are in your car seat for more than 20 minutes or so. I have started to ride in the back with you to try and keep you calm. You are very dramatic with your displeasure!

You love to look out the kitchen window during your baths.

You have slept through the night several times now. It isn't consistent yet, but I am just amazed that you are doing it at all! You still sleep in our room, but I think you will be in your room in no time!

You absolutely adore your bouncy seat. It has a few animals that hang down, and you are mesmorized by the zebra. It also cracks you up - you will kick your chubby baby legs to make it move and then you just laugh.

You favorite thing is to lay on the bed and be talked/sang to.

Dad and I couldn't love you more! You have brought so much joy to both of us - we just can't believe we have you! We can't wait to watch you grow, but don't rush...

July 4th Weekend

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend in the mountains with my family! My grandma came from Texas too, so Annabelle got to meet her great-grandma! How special! We ate so well (my mom out did herself), played way too many games of Settlers, and got some much needed sleep! I don't think Annabelle got put down at all during the day...and she LOVED it!

Annabelle getting to know her great-grandma!

The paparrazi (a.k.a. Jesse & Nana) trying to get a few smiles of our girl!

Happy girls!

Sibling love!

Four generations of Sand, West & Guthrie women!

Thanks Mom & Dad for such a wonderful getaway!

Two Months!

Our baby girl is two months old already! I can't even put into words how much we love and adore her! The time has absolutely flown by, and I just want her to slow down. I can't wait to get to know her personality and watch her grow, but this tiny infant stage is just ending too quickly! Here are some pictures from the last several weeks.

Our first girl's lunch

Bath time

A little down time with dad and Gabbie. Please excuse our snowman throw - just pretend it's Christmas in July (it is a slight possibilty that I keep our house too cold)!

Relaxing and looking cute!

This is where you will find Jesse as soon as he walks in the door from work. I know he will be embarassed by me saying this - but y'all, he is an incredible dad! He cannot get enough of his daughter...she is a lucky little girl to have a father who loves her so much!

My Aunt Marlene came to meet Annabelle in June. We had the most wonderful visit - it was so special that she came the way from Texas to meet our little girl!


I ordered this dress for Annabelle as soon as we found out we were having a baby girl. We tried to put her in it last weekend for the first time and it is already too small. She has quickly become an adorably chunky baby! At least we could get a couple cute pictures before it gets packed away!

Jesse's parents came for a visit last weekend. We had a great visit and we are so lucky that they are willing to drive so far to see the three of us!

Family of 3

We are seeing lots of sweet smiles and laughs these days. She is the only person in the world who loves it when I sing (I will do anything for one of these smiles)!

Keep your eye out for Jesse to post soon! If you're lucky, he might even show you some pictures of his redneck trash can smoker project... I know you can't wait!

Our first few days...

Here are some of my favorites from Annabelle's first few days.

Jesse was amazing - he did everything (even changed every diaper)

during the first couple of days!

We can't get enough of her sweet face!

My heart!

Exhausted, but so happy!

During our 3 days at the hospital and our few days at home we were lucky enough to have our families meet their granddaughter/niece!

A little hand holding with Uncle Jimmy!


Getting some good loving from Nana! She was so wonderful to help us some much the week before while I was on bedrest and during our time at the hospital. We were so grateful!

Snuggling with Papa

Lola meeting Annabelle for the first time.

Don't Nana and Grandad look proud?