Dadda Inauguration

Last night, Clay was on his own with Lilliana, which is typical for a Friday night since I work weekends. The only difference was, Lilliana got sick. I was still driving into work when he called to ask me where the laundry detergent was because he needed to wash the couch cushions? I proceeded to ask him why he was washing them, since just 10 minutes before there wasn't a reason to go through so much trouble. He told me that as he and Lilliana were reading she all of a sudden got sick. Multiple times but then said she felt better. I asked him if she had a fever and we both were hoping her dinner had not settled well with her. Unfortunately, that was not the case as she continued to get sick through the night while I just helplessly would check on them while "helping the sick babies" as Lilliana says.

I hated not being at home to help my OWN sick baby, but I was so glad that she was with her Dadda. Today when I got home, she told me all about it and let me know that her Dadda took good care of her. She said her rocked her and got her juicey when her belly was hurting. I am so thankful to have a hands-on life partner and to know that I can really rely on him. Not that I questioned his motives before, but typically when I leave for work Lilliana has already eaten, received her bath and is essentially ready for bed minus a few snuggles and brushing of the teeth.

Unfortunately that meant our plans to attend one of my best friends from college's baby shower today was nixed but, I know they all understood. Clay had some things to take care of for school and I had intended to take Lilliana with me as 2 other girls were bringing their daughters. I was really looking forward to spending time with old friends and allowing our daughters to play. But, I sure didn't want to spread our germs, especially since L was febrile when I got home this morning and I know how annoying that can be when people expose their not well children to others. A huge pet peeve of mine.

We are just hoping and praying that it will stay confined to her and maybe Clay and I can avoid the dreaded bug, but I also know, sometimes it can take days for symptoms to show in others so only time will tell.

New BFF

Zofran! I have been pretty nauseous this go around. I was sick with L but didn't let it bother me or maybe it didn't bother me as much as it is this go around. I am blaming it on the fact that I am chasing around a toddler this time but anyways, I caved and filled the script Dr. W gave me on Monday. Hopefully it will start to help me feel better. I feel the worst at night which makes things difficult with working nights but either way, I know it will pass and I know it is a sign of a healthy pregnancy so I can't really complain :)

8 month's and counting

Are you kidding me? Lilliana has a spot on her arm that was an old mosquito bite from LAST SUMMER, that is officially infected. I am sure you have seen it in most of my posts because it has been there so long. I have tried to keep band aids and cream on it but they are no longer working. Although I have kept a close eye on it for the last 8 months, it doesn't matter because she is such a picker, just like her Dadda, and it now has become infected, and fairly bad at that. I noticed it looking much worse when I got off work Monday morning and then today it wasn't any better. I decided I better go ahead and make her an appointment with Dr. K. and I am so glad I did. He seemed pretty concerned about it and gave me and oral antibiotic, topical antibiotic and steroid cream. Let's just pray this will clear it up.

On another note, she was really cute at the office today. When they called her name she said, "that's me, E-anna" and we headed back to get weighed. She weighed in at 22 lb. 3 oz (with her clothes and shoes on). Then while waiting in the exam room we sang a few renditions of "5 Little Monkey's Swinging from the Tree", "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", and much more. When Dr. K came in, Liilliana said hey there Dr. K. I was surprised she remembered his name from when I told her after we arrived. Then she sat on the table and told him she picked with her boo boo and showed him her arm. He told her she looked like a princess with her big pink hairbow in her hair and he asked her who her favorite princess was. She answered him in her most Southern slang and said "Snow White". Then when he went out to get some meds for her he came back with a letter from "Snow White" that had her name on it and said that she had missed seeing Lilliana. The look on her face was priceless!! She was so excited and gave me just a hint of what joy a trip to Disney would bring for her. Hopefully soon :)

A HUGE shocker!!!

I am beginning to think this is one of the biggest surprises of my adult life ....

We are expecting again!!!

Yes! I am thrilled, anxious, nervous, scared, a whole gamut of emotions at this point and the fact that Clay is the only one that know is killing me. My Mom has asked me twice in the last week about when we are going to try again and then once she said that Lilliana told her I was going to have a baby. Mind you, she sent me an email with that last statement in it BEFORE I even knew I was pregnant!! I don't know how she, (as in my Mom) always knows without me saying a word.

No, this was not planned, we originally wanted to wait until around October to try but it looks like we will have a newborn around that time. I have been nauseous off and on so far and have other typical symptoms but otherwise I'm feeling ok.

There isn't an exciting story about how I told Clay because although I hate to admit it, I was crying and just came out and told him. I had all these cute ideas in my head for the 3rd time around but I just couldn't do it. I needed him to be there and to tell me everything was going to be ok. I needed to hear that, "God's not going to give me more than I can handle". If you recall, I am the only one working right now. Clay is still job searching, going to school and preparing to take the LSAT in order to go back for more schooling. I am stressing to say the least but I know we will be just fine. I am just praying so feverishly that I can work a lot longer this go around. I pray that I can carry this baby to term and be off over Christmas with my family. I just want a healthy baby and would LOVE a FULL_TERM BABY!!! I WANT A TAKE HOME BABY, is that too much to ask for?? Just please pray for us, that we will make wise financial decisions in the coming months and that God will just allow his Grace to envelope me and allow me to be at peace.

Happy Birthday Amelia!

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Amelia!
Happy Birthday to You!

Lilliana is getting her share of girly times lately. On Saturday we dressed up in our makeshift Princess attire and headed to the Summy Castle for a great princess themed birthday party. The birthday girl was turning 4 and, had a great birthday filled with crown decorating, wands to play with, watching Cinderella while enjoying popcorn and juice, along with lunch topped off with a Princess castle birthday cake. It was so much fun and I think Lilliana enjoyed being a big girl for the day.

Chick Fil A Nights

On Monday nights, our Chick-Fil-A just started buy 1 get 1 free night. It includes anything on the menu and couldn't come at a better time. Monday nights for me = sheer exhaustion. I am wrapping up my weekend of working and going on only about 3 hours sleep since I typically tend to get some things done after a short nap while Lilliana is still in school.

We all love Chick-Fil-A and free food combined with great family fun just makes my night!

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

After a short nap Saturday morning, Lilliana and I headed to Davis Kidd for the Fancy Nancy Valentine's Tea Party. It was so much fun and one of the first Mother / Daughter girly things we have done. I know there will be much more in the future, but this was so much fun. Lilliana thoroughly enjoyed herself and was so cute. We went with our friends, The Jones' and The Summy's. Lilliana loves her friends and was really excited to see them when we arrived. Miss Marjorie had been talking about this event on Thursday's when we go to storytime so we were really looking forward to it.

Lilliana enjoyed dressing in her homemade Fancy Nancy attire, making cookies, Valentine cards, and doing the princess walk around the bookstore. Amelia was sweet and held her hand while they walked in line and waved their little hands to all the Momma's that were there. Miss Marjorie also read them a Fancy Nancy story and the girls were so good. They were all just starting at her in awe and repeating all the fun words Fancy Nancy uses.

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Our Family to Yours :)

Valentine's 2010

Since I had to work on Sunday, Clay and I decided to celebrate Valentine's by going out to eat on Saturday night. We headed to one of our old favorite restaurants in Overton Square, Le Chardonney. I was really yummy and nice to get out by ourselves while Nana watched L. We enjoyed our dinner then headed to Republic Coffee to catch some of the Memphis game, and enjoy coffee and dessert. From there we headed to the bookstore to look around for a while and then back to the house, as it was way past my bedtime for a Saturday night!

Earlier in the day, we gave Lilliana her Valentine treats and as usual, I went a little overboard. I had been collecting things for a while and placing them in the closet and didn't realize how much I had until I put it all together. I probably should have saved some of it for Easter, but it's too late for that :) L got a couple new DVD's, some new books, a puzzle, some new jammies that included a tutu, and I think that was it.

She seemed to enjoy everything and Clay and I just got each other something small. All I wanted was some cupcakes from Muddy's, so he got me 6 of those, (and I am not going to even say how many are left, if any!!) Then I got him a new scrabble card game that I thought we would enjoy playing and some new workout shorts. He is going to play basketball and volleyball with our small group at church starting next month so I thought he could use some new one's.

Overall, it was a great day. When my mom came over to watch L, she gave me some fun stuff including The Pioneer Woman's cookbook! I was so excited and have already planned some new menu options for the coming weeks. We are so thankful to live so close to family and for their unending love for all of us.


Lilliana's basket of goodies!


Dadda was excited about his gift :)


looking at her new Angel jammies with a tutu


pretty excited about them :)


reading her new Einstein's book :)

Baby Dedication

On Sunday, our best friends dedicated the 2 children that God has blessed them with. Dorothy is 6 month's and Wilson is 3 but when he was born they were at another church and Amanda was finishing her residency so they never had him dedicated. I am glad that our church does baby dedication at any age. I know that as a Christian family, we decide to raise our children in the Lord even before they are conceived but a dedication is just more of a way for the church to get behind you.








I remember a time, not that long ago, when Baby Dedication Sunday was a hard day for me. Each time it rolls around, I am reminded how blessed I am and how much I love my little love. I can't imagine a single minute without her and will never forget what a gift she is to me.

Yes, we have our bad days around here, there are times when she drives me crazy, and times, like yesterday when I put her down for a nap at 5:30 pm even after she'd had her nap at school. Obviously it wasn't long enough! :) But, overall she is the light of my life and the joy in my heart. I love her more than I could ever put into words and I cherish our quiet times we have together. They are fewer and further between these days and I know there will be a time when I'm not cool anymore. For now though, I just want to hold her while she's still little and still wants me too. :)

Snow Surprise!

Last night just before 4:00 am it started snowing in Memphis. This was such a pleasant and unexpected surprise since it wasn't predicted at all. I was at work so that is how I knew about it so early and I just couldn't get enough of the glorious white fluff that was coming down. I was so excited to head to the house since I knew Lilliana would be itching to get outside and enjoy it! And enjoy it we did!! We ended up getting about 4-5 inches and it was just beautiful. I don't even remember the last time we had snow like that here. We typically get by-passed completely, or only get ice so it was so much fun. We had a great day playing the in snow by building a snow man, making snow angels and throwing snow balls at Daddy. We also made some snow cream after nap time and enjoyed sharing that while watching an episode of Mickey Mouse. Such a fun day!!


so excited about a day in the snow!


helping Dadda make a snowman


my little love :)


even Maggie came out to play :)


sitting on the bottom of her snowman! she LOVES to play outside in the snow, wish we had more of it!!


making snow angels with Momma :)


the final product, with some extra touches courtesy of Dadda!


enjoying her snow cream we made while watching Minnie :)

Family Night

On Saturday nights, we typically stay at home and either order pizza or have Daddy make us something for dinner. I am usually so tired from working the night before and refusing to sleep much, that cooking isn't really what I want to do. Last weekend with the snow and cold weather, we ordered in Pizza and had a fun night with each other. We decided to let Lilliana eat her pizza in the living room and have a little picnic while we watched her first princess movie. We started out with Princess Diaries, because sadly, that is the only Princess type movie I have on DVD since when I was little we watched VHS tapes! Wow, that statement makes me feel really old!! Anyways, that movie didn't last but about 10 minutes or so and then L was asking to watch Minnie. We chose to switch the TV to watching Mickey Mouse Choo Choo, which was something I had taped over Christmas and it was so cute. It had lot's of snow in it so L kept referring to the snow on TV versus the snow we had outside at that time. After dinner we drank hot chocolate and painted our fingernails. Even Daddy joined in when his little princess asked in the sweetest little voice if she could paint his nails. I never would have seen this one coming but I guess this just proves how much she is wrapped around his finger!!

Love my little family and all the time we spend together. :)


drinking from a big girl cup


you can see the remains of her hot chocolate on her jammies :)


enjoying our pizza picnic!

It's beginning to look girly ....

I've been working on getting Lilliana's room together since switching her to a toddler bed back in November. It's sad to admit, but I haven't changed out L's curtains since we moved here but after this transition, I just couldn't live with the sheer white curtains any longer!

On Monday, while L was in school I went by the Pottery Barn outlet and found these shower curtain panels that were only $7.99 each! I decided that I could make them into some fabulous curtains with just a little seamstress work. After a trip to Broomcorn, I was convinced it would so much easier than I ever thought and was so excited to get started.

So on Wednesday while L was in school I went back by Broomcorn to pick up the fabric I had chosen. After running a few more errands, I headed home and was also able to get 2 of the 4 panels made before having to pick her up and then were able to get the other 2 done before bed. I think they look really great and make it so much darker in there. I really wish I had done it a while ago. We'll see if it makes a difference and how long L sleeps in the mornings. :)



This is when you walk in the door and look to the left. This is a fabulous bookshelf that Clay found for $12.00 at an antique store. We were really needing somewhere else for all of her books and this has worked great. When he initially brought it home, it was a pale color of green, so he sanded and painted it to match her little toddler bed.



I was trying to get a picture of the whole room here. Maggie decided she wanted in on this pic :)



My little love was posing on her bed before bedtime. I think she likes her new curtains!



Posing next to her curtains. Let's hope my little monkey doesn't try to climb these curtains, I sure wouldn't put it past her!!



Another pic of her bookshelf, Dadda worked hard to fix up for her.



Her little toddler bed, or as she calls it "Lilliana's Bobby's bed", with her quilt from Pottery Barn Kids. I was so thankful that Nana had one in her old stash from the outlet, so it didn't cost me a penny! I do need to purchase the pillow sham that matches.



This is another antique store find from Clay. I can't remember how much this one cost but I know it was a little more than the bookshelf. I really needed something else with drawers in it. After removing her changing table when we got the toddler bed, which had most of our storage space in it. Still trying to decide what color to have Clay paint this. Any suggestions?

On top of it sits, L's bibles and her "Tooper Bear" Cooper bear. It was given to us at his graveside service and I have always kept it in her room.



This is our other storage and this has been in there from the beginning. It was an old piece of furniture that my mom bought me when I moved out in college. I loved this piece, so Clay sanded and painted it when we were setting up furniture before Lilliana was born.

On top of this chest is where I keep my shadow box with Cooper's things in it. Since this would have originally been his room, (if we had been at this house that is) I feel like this is where it should be.

School Days!