Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I am sitting here about to watch the Georgia Tech vs. UGA game, and I thought it might be a good time to post some Thanksgiving pictures. Jimmy & Jesse are at the game... I am on the couch at the mountain house with my mom, dad & grandma. I have to admit, while it is nice to be warm & cozy, I am really wishing I was there too! I have followed my normal pattern of getting sick everytime we travel anywhere, so I decided that 4 hours of frigid night air would probably not be the smartest decision.

So, here are some Thanksgiving weekend highlights...

Annabelle had a fantastic holiday weekend being loved on by our families! We loved having so many days off with her!

Brothers acting much more mature and serious than they really are!

Getting reacquainted with her Uncle Jimmy!

Relaxing with Lola.

Papa and Grandad giving their girl some attention. She really didn't get much of that this weekend...can you tell?

Showing off her precious Thanksgiving dress.

Spending some quality time with Grandad!

Laughing with Nana!

Eating her first waffles - she loved them!

She made "mmmmm" sounds the entire time and kept begging for more. This was her first finger food - she did so well with it that I think it is time to start adding more!

Working the room in her walker.

Hope y'all had a wonderful holiday, too!

Seven Months!

How has another month flown by so quickly? Annabelle, You are 7 months old today!

- You have started "talking" to us more and more! Lots of new sounds and raspberries!

- In the last few days, you have started holding your little arms out and reaching for your mama (which I love) and you have also started whining/crying when I am somewhere that you can't see me (not quite as cute).

- You started crawling today! You have made it all the way across a big blanket to get to your toys several times now!

- You are eating three meals a day and still nurse/bottle five times each day.

- You weight 19 lbs, 2 ounces and are wearing 12 month clothes.

- You laugh and smile all of the time...especially when you are feeling comfortable or being held by mom and dad.

- You have had your first ear infections/colds this month - you have been such a little trooper!

- You adore bright colors and sparkles...we were in a store with a brightly decorated Christmas tree last week, and you just laughed and laughed at it! Everyone in the store was just tickled at your excitement!

- You are waking up really early every morning, so your daddy plays and talks with you in our bed while I get ready for work. Listening to you two together is one of the best parts of my day!

You have filled our lives with such joy...we couldn't be more thankful for you!

A belated celebration!

We were about three weeks late starting our newest family tradition since things have been so crazy around here, but we decided to go ahead with our plans.

The 1/2 birthday!

We are hoping this will be a time in the coming years that we can celebrate our child ( and hopefully, children) in a fun and creative way. I have ideas in the future of doing some fun 1/2 decorations, 1/2 plates, etc...but this year we just did a 1/2 cake. Jesse said he was going to take our kids "halfway to the park or halfway to the toy store." The man makes me laugh - and for that I am so thankful!

This girl had no trouble figuring out that this was something she should be interesting in eating!

Tasting the tiniest bit of pink icing.

Definitely a success!

I have been thinking a lot lately about making sure that we are not just "getting by" each day. That we don't get so caught up in the busy routine that we let this time slip by without being truly present in each moment. That we are making a point to treasure this phase of life with quality time together and lots of special traditions...and cake - everything is better with a little pink icing!

A Day with My Daughter

Today was my first solo day with Annabelle. We had some hang-ups, sure, but I think things went pretty well. We even stayed within 45 minutes of our schedule. I blame this on Annabelle. I was ready for her to eat, but she insisted on napping for an extra hour...curled up looking all cute...on my chest. I did nothing to discourage this because I am treasuring the little one that still wants to cuddle.

Annabelle and Lacey have had a hard couple of weeks since Annabelle's entrance in to daycare. Within 4 days, Lacey and I had our very own sick kid. Lacey and I were sick a couple of days later. We've managed to get better, but Annabelle's nose has not stopped running. During these trying times, we have learned that our little bundle of germs despises only one thing about being sick. Nemesis, thy name is boogersucker, or technically, the bulb syringe:

On a different subject entirely, Annabelle and I ran some errands today. If our errands were going to take us to Milan, Paris, or even the mall, I probably would have considered changing Annabelle's clothes. Luckily for Annabelle, my resident fashionista caught us before we left the house. I learned that the overall cuteness of this little thing...

...would be shattered by the hideous ensemble that I had chosen. Observe:

Looking back at the pictures, I see a color scheme that becomes a not-so-well-adjusted comic book prankster. This was not apparent to me when I made the above wardrobe choice. I now see the error of my ways. The valuable lessons learned are:

1. Tops and bottoms that are sold together are the most likely bet for a match.
2. It is possible to be too daring with colors.
3. If using cartoon characters as templates for attire, stay in the realm of Strawberry Shortcake. Raggedy Ann is a stretch.
   

Would it make anyone feel better to know that I wore a green long sleeve T-shirt and a pair of jeans with roofing tar stains all over the thighs? I didn't think so.

Today...

...Annabelle did a little of this...

...Jesse did some of this...

...and we all three did a lot of this...

One week down...

It has been a hard week. The non-essentials - cleaning, cooking, blogging, - were neglected in order to drag ourselves through the transition of going back to work. We made it, but just barely. There were a lot of tears, too little sleep, very early mornings that resulted in frusterated conversations, a great deal of grace towards me on Jesse's part, and one seemingly unavoidable "daycare cold".

Five hours of awake time with our child is not enough for me - it will never be enough yet it is twice as much as Jesse gets. The hours slip quickly by as they are filled with the morning routine, dinner, bathtime, and nursing. It has been a mourning process for me. I am not yet to the acceptance stage...but I know, for the sake of my personal happiness and the health of my marriage, I am going to have to get there soon. Our sweet girl is just thriving - each day has been easier on her, and I am already confident in the fabulous care she is receiving each day.

I read this in a blog that I really enjoy...it just made me weep, as it is exactly my prayer and my comfort during this new stage of our family's life...

I cling to the Father’s reassurance that my few hours of intense parenting will make up for the many more we spend apart; that I am called to these early mornings and my daily work as an act of sacrifice for my family.

We have spent this weekend reconnecting with each other and refilling our sweet baby's love tank with some uninterrupted quality time together. We pray that it is enough.

A little something to make you smile...

I found the camera in time to capture the very end of her playtime...we just can't resist her laugh! I might just have to watch this at work tomorrow when I start missing her too badly!