Loving Life with two Sweet Girls

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2011-04-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

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Allie's six month pictures

2010-08-19T07:42:00.000-04:00

Allie Noel

2010-08-18T11:35:00.001-04:00

My sweet little Allie-bug.

You are growing so fast! Too fast! You are almost 8 months old, and I simply cannot believe it!

I cannot leave you alone in your swing because you decide to sit straight up.

I can no longer leave you unattended in your bouncer seat - because you literally try to turn and twist until you are falling out - only left because your legs cannot escape the buckles on the strap ... yet.

I now cannot leave you alone for very long in your Bumbo seat - you literally will flip out of it.

You do not crawl yet, but you roll, and roll, and roll. You will try to climb up the entertainment center, or the legs of the coffee table, using your little legs. You like to get into Abby's princesses. And you LOVE paper. We've had to scrape it out of your mouth - oh, and stickers too! :)

First 4th of July

We went to Stone Mountain with Uncle Daniel and Aunt Ashley. A lot of people from church were there too, like Patty and Jon, the Raines, and Matt, Alisha, and Cassy.

You were not scared of the fireworks, but toward the end, you would put your hands over your ears each time one went off. You never cried during the laser show either. Finally you fell asleep on my shoulder.

You are soo pretty! Just as pretty as your big sister. You get into things more than she did. You don't cooperate very well when we change your diaper or clothes..., you don't like it when I put a headband/bow on your head - you try to pull it off. You will laugh at the silliest little things, but it is the sweetest sound in the world. You like to "love" on us - you give big, open mouth kisses and say aaahhhh....

First time sitting in your high chair - which you don't care to do very much, unless there are fruit puffs on the tray (which you love) - by the way - you like to eat - esp. orange veggies - carrots, squash, sweet potatoes are your favorite. Bananas are your favorite fruit right now. All others, we have to fight with you a little to get you to eat them.

You play peek-a-boo all by yourself, and it is the CUTEST thing when you take down the cloth or blanket - and you look up with those big blue eyes, and smile...

You LOVE your big sister, Abby. And she really loves you too.

Abby Grace

2010-08-18T10:44:00.001-04:00

My sweet Abby Gracie. :)

She is so funny and so full of joy. She makes us laugh every single day, and sometimes scream, and sometimes even cry...

She will not cooperate for pictures lately, which of course drives me nuts! You know me and pictures...

She went to her very first Braves Game with Daddy and Uncle Daniel, and Grandpa.

She LOVED it - came home tommahawk choppin.

Ben said she did good, other than having to use the bathroom 4 times, (which I told him, she was just bored, and wanted to get up and walk around).

She LOVES to watch "go dawgs" football, baseball, and hunting with her daddy.

She is definately a Daddy's girl right now.

She is also allllll about dance and gymnastics lately. She started Dance at Kidz In Step this summer, and just a couple of weeks ago, we added gymnastics as well. She still has her best friend Kailey in her class so they have the BEST time together. :)

See them below holding hands running around the group - Kailey didn't want to do it by herself, so Abby offered to run with her...

Abby, giving me one of those looks, with Kailey sitting right in front of her

And here is Miss Priss - shaking her thang - totally checking herself out in the mirror....

I havent' been allowed to take pictures in gymnastics yet, but of course I will - one day. :)

Words from a three and a half year old...

2010-06-28T23:22:00.000-04:00

So...busy as usual. Can't ever seem to catch up. Clean one room really well, walk into another one, and it's as if I just threw everything from one room to another. (and NO, i don't do that anymore! There's no "room" for anything much else...) I used to get sooo mad at my mama, well, not mad, but just like any other kid, other than my hubby, and my littlest brother, I didn't like to clean. I'm still that way. Now, I LIKE for things to BE clean, just don't like doing it. When I was in high school, and my brothers were I guess in elementary or middle school? ... I found a quote, and gave it to my mom on a stick it. To this day it hangs on the refridgerator at my mom's house. "Cleaning a house while children are growing is like shovleing snow while it is snowing." It's the truth, though, right?? I'm saying all of this to tell my sweet Abby I'm sorry for telling her to clean up all the time, an to tell mama, that I'm sorry for not cleaning up more.

So Abby is still taking her dance class, and she loves it! She is so funny and her and Kailey (the other little girl I talked about before) are definatly the best of friends.

Abby fell out of her bed last night, and she was crying, and Ben was already in there, so I ask her "well, did you hit anything?" (meaning, did you hit the rail, or the table, or anything like that..) Her response: "yeaaaahhhh, ...sob, sob,..... I hit the flooooooorrrr!!!!"

I couldn't help but laugh. :)

Lately Abby has been swimming a good bit, so, of course, she's walking barefoot around the pool, which has, in turn, made her feet peel a little. Well, tonight we were sitting on the couch, and she kept rubbing my leg with her feet, and I finally just couldn't take it - I said "Abby, quit rubbing my legs - your feet feel all crusty and stuff." She said "Yeah, it's because I eat pizza and watermelon everyday!"

Allie is six months old now. We have fed her rice cereal for the first time the other night and she doesn't seem to like it much. Can't tell if it's the texture or just the taste, but she gets all excited about eating it, then cries because she doesn't want it. Also, she has been sitting on her own a lot more, and its sooo sweet! She'll eventually fall over and cry, but as long as we put her back into the sitting position, she's fine.

Big girl, sitting up on her own!

She plays peek-a-boo alll the time now, too. She'll actually pull the blanket or whatever over her head, and wait until we say something, like "where's allie??" then she'll slowly pull it down until she can see us, then she seems to jerk it really quick with a HUGE smile on her face. :) Love it! She seems to be doing a little better as far as fussiness goes. YAY!!! We go back to the GI specialist tomorrow, so we'll see what he says about her little belly, and we'll see how big she is now. Both of my girls are sooo sweet, and I love them sooo much!

Oh, did I mention she LOVES to suck on her toes?!?! :)

Ready to eat!!!

First bites at cereal. Like it??

Yeah, not so much.

Busy, busy...

2010-06-09T10:15:00.006-04:00

We have been sooo busy lately! Lots of stuff going on - most importantly, we are SO BLESSED!! Both the girls LOVE each other sooo much. Melts my heart. :)

Allie is a fussy baby :( But we love her none the less. We found out that she has a milk protein allergy and so we've been trying to get that fixed - getting formulas straightened out... Then they put her on reflux medicine - and since then it seems like she has spit up more than she has her entire life! And now, because of the formula, she is constipated. Just lots of tummy troubles... POOR BABY!!!

Abby is such a daddy's girl lately. She has started dance (ballet, tap, and tumbling). She looks so cute. We got to stand in her first class and all of us moms just laughed our heads off! She was sooo funny!!! She made a friend, Kailey, and now her mom and I are friends. I'll have to post pictures of both the girls later.

Some things about Abby Gracie:
- Anytime she introduces herself, it's not just Abby, it's "Abby Grace Malcom".
- She knows how to spell her first name, and can almost write it.
- She is either really loud and outgoing or bashful and "mean" ... for example, many times while we are out, she will say "Mama! I just said hey to that lady, but she didn't say anything back! Why is she in a bad mood?" (I have to remind her to keep it quiet...) Then other times, someone will say hello to her and comment on how cute she is or her little glasses, and she'll look away and give them mean looks.
- This past Sunday at church, she told me she has a "new friend. and he's a boy, momma". Then she told me that she told him her phone number (which was her spelling of her name) and when I told her that wasn't her number, that was how you spell her name, she said "well, can you go tell my new friend what my phone number is so he can call me?" Then we got home and she asked Ben if "her new friend can come over to play." FUNNY
- She is all about disney and princesses right now (what little girl isn't!)
- ...Abby's asleep on the couch, Allie's in the floor playing. Every time Allie makes a noise, Abby yells "HOoold ON!" .... Totally Asleep. It's funny. :)
- Anytime she sees a flag, she calls it an "Obama flag." (She def. knows who our president is...)
- VBS was this past week, also. Abby went into the pre-K class and did just fine. Their little program at the end of the week was cute. She isn't scared of performing...

Some things about Allie:
- at 5 months she weighed 13lbs. 6oz. and was 25inches long
- she can sit up supported, stand supported, and can only sit unsupported for a couple of seconds
- she can roll from her belly to her back, and tries sooo hard to do it the other way
- she is eating Soy formula (after trying many others)
- she still hasn't eaten any baby food yet. (they wont let her)
- I can tell she's interested in eating, though - because she watches me and everyone eat and you can tell she wants some...
- she acts like she is teething - drooling constantly and chewing on EVERYTHING, but no teeth yet - no buds, no swollen gums...
- Memorial day she got into the pool for the first time and screamed like crazy. DID NOT LIKE IT

My girls are great. I love being a mommy to two sweet girls!

Allie Noel at three months

2010-04-20T22:22:00.002-04:00

2010-04-03T21:47:00.001-04:00

Love this.

Sleepy Cheerleader

2010-03-21T01:21:00.005-04:00

So this is an old video of Abby - it was a Sunday afternoon and I was trying to wake her up from her nap, where she had fallen asleep on the couch. If you didn't know, we are big UGA fans, and Ben was playing with the computer. He turned on the GA fight song on i-tunes, and she started moving her arms...I told him to wait and grabbed my blackberry and started recording, hoping she would still do it! This is what we got. HILARIOUS!!!!

** Make sure the volume is turned up so you can hear the music - it gets a little louder when I talk...**

Looking Back

2010-03-20T23:02:00.000-04:00

So...I'm just looking back at pictures on this computer and I come across these...a year ago yesterday. What happened to my first born baby girl? Where did the time go? How did she get sooooo grown???

We had to take her to the doctor Thursday (she's got strept throat) and she weighed 38 pounds!!!! That is with shoes on, but oh my! She's soo big now! And not just in size...she knows things that I don't know where she has learned them...she asks questions about things....she talks 90 miles an hour about EVERYTHING....she has such an imagination, too. She has pulled out her little hair clips and rubber bands ... she loves playing with them and before Allie was born, I had them organized and put up and told her she couldn't play with them, because she didn't pick them up very well...well, this morning I wake up and watch her, as she is playing with them again, and she has gotten all the little medicine cups out of the drawer that have collected there over the years, and she has her hairbows in them - completely organized by size and color. She repeats things DAYS later after watching something or hearing something just one time. It amazes me...everything she does or says amazes me these days. She entertains me. I love it. She is still my sweet baby girl even though she puts her hands on her hips and says, "but, I'm not a baby anymore, I'm a big girl." And that just breaks my heart. Oh I love my Abby Gracie.

Allie is doing fine, and growing also. She weighs 11lbs. 9 oz. as of Thursday and her diagnosis was colic. Fun. :) She's sweet though. She'll be three months old on Monday, and I can't believe she's grown so fast also! She laughed out loud at Ben Thursday night - I think that is one of the sweetest sounds in the world - a baby laughing - esp. when it's your own. :)

I love my life right now, and absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a Mommy to two sweet girls...

What's New?

2010-03-02T19:28:00.001-05:00

So...where have we been? We've been busy! We have had a new addition to the family - just a few days before Christmas - December 22, 2009 - Allie Noel Malcom - 7lbs. 4oz. 18 1/2 inches long.

Simply Perfect and Beautiful

So, how's big sister Abby Grace doing with the new baby?? She has been absolutely wonderful! She wants to help, to hold, to kiss, to play with, to talk to, and to kiss Allie. She has done better than expected when we came home with Allie.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a mommy to two sweet girls. I love all the pink and frill and bows. I have gone back to work now - only two to three days a week, and it's going fine. One office is close, so I actually get to come home at lunchtime, the other is only 30 mins. away. I miss my girls when I'm gone, but it's okay. We've got to make a living!

Before Allie was born, I got on a sewing kick. Ben's grandmother gave me one of her old sewing machines, and taught me how to work it and I've had fun playing around with it. I've made a couple of little pillowcase dresses, a potholder, and a burpcloth. :) Ben got me some patterns for little dresses to make, but I haven't quite figured out how those work yet. I am truely enjoying my life at this point. Allie has started sleeping through the nights, which is a big help. I will try to be better about keeping this updated with pictures of the girls and my crafts....Until Then.....

Walt Disney World

2009-07-04T13:20:00.002-04:00

Beach Babe

2009-07-04T13:03:00.003-04:00

This year we went to St. Pete's Beach, FL, which is south of Tampa. We had never been to this beach before, but we'd been to Clearwater Beach for our honeymoon, which is about 15 min. away from St. Pete's Beach. This beach is where the famous "Don Cesar's Beach Resort" is...oh, how BEAUTIFUL! It truly is PINK. (of course, we didn't have the mulah to stay there...) The sand was beautiful, and Abby just loved it.

Hope Everyone Had a Happy Easter!

2009-04-17T09:31:00.001-04:00

I'll post more later...

Just a Pretty Picture

2009-03-10T20:09:00.002-04:00

This picture is of Abby and Megan, my niece.

It was actually Halloween day. Rachel and I dressed the girls alike, then surprised Ben's mom with a large framed picture of this for Christmas. I should've posted it a long time ago, just never thought about it.

SNOW!

2009-03-10T19:59:00.003-04:00

We had snow last weekend in Covington! - Almost 6 inches! Abby loved it!

I told Ben, I didn't think we'd see snow again for another year - just coming back from Jackson Hole....

Dr. Abby

2009-03-10T19:54:00.002-04:00

So, Abby has decided she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. (fine by me!)
This past weekend, Ben bought Abby a Barbie fishing pole - so my dad was asking Abby if she was gonna be a fisherman when she grows up? Abby said NO.... My dad asked her what she wants to be? Abby said "a doctor". My dad was like okay, well what kind of doctor? She said .... "an exercising doctor".

What??

It was pretty funny.

Then today, Bobbie (Ben's mom) said she woke up from her nap, and came into the kitchen where her, Parker, and Megan were, and said "Hey Parker, I'm doctor Abby!" just out of nowhere.

If she becomes a doctor, Great. We'll be proud of her no matter what, though. (Hey, my little brother Nick used to say he wanted to be a gas station man when he grew up - that was a long time ago - he was like 3 or 4?? We were proud of him them, and we're still proud of him - 18 years later - he's a credit manager for a furniture store!)

Knock Knock

2009-03-10T19:31:00.002-04:00

The other night I was in the bathroom, and Abby came knocking on the door.
knocking....."Knock, Knock"
"What baby?"
"Mama, are you in there?"
"Yeeesssss....."
"Mama, can me come in?"
"Yes, Abby"
"Mama, open the door!"
"I can't Abby, mommy's in the tub."
"Can me come in and watch?"
"Yes, Abby. Just open the door."
"Mama, knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Abbygrace Malcom" (she says her first and middle names really fast as if it's one name)
"Okay"
"Mama, me can't get in."
"Yes, you can, just open the door"
"Mama, can me fit through the door?"
"No, baby, you cannot fit under the door"
"Me gonna try."
"Okay."

She is so funny lately. She seems to be saying something new every day. A lot of these posts are just for me to remember what she's saying at age two...

Perfect Prayer by Abby :)

2009-03-10T19:25:00.005-04:00

This is Abby saying her bedtime prayer. This was the first time she said them all alone. At first you'll hear her talking...she wanted her pacci's. Half way through the prayer you can hear her get stumbled, and she repeats herself a few times. We were very proud of her. Hope you can understand her.

(Also, it was recorded with my cellphone, so the quality isn't the best...)

This is where we got to go....

2009-02-28T08:52:00.005-05:00

We went to Jackson Hole, WY! It was so beautiful. The pictures do it NO justice. I so want to go back. It was very cold, but just soooo amazing. We left Abby with our parents while we were gone (it would have been way too cold for her there). I miss it. :)

The above picture - I just thought the sky looked so neat this morning.

This is Jackson Hole townsquare. The arches are made of elk horns, and obviously they light up at night. Very pretty.

One of the many times we were awed at the beauty. These are part of the Grand Tetons Mountain Range.

So pretty.

We were just riding down the road one day, and there was a buffalo. Beautiful in front of the mountains.

This little church has no electricity. It's TINY. And beautiful. They actually have service there during the warm months. We could go inside, and there is this huge window and it looks out at this view of the mountains. Amazing!

Just showing all the snow in some areas!

A big horn sheep on the side of the mountain.

We went snowmobiling into Yellowstone. That was a lot of fun!

We got to see Old Faithful erupt. It was pretty neat.

The only bad thing about the day we went into Yellowstone, was that it was snowing so much. Blizard like conditions, so everything was dark, and hard to see because of the snow.

We got to go on a sleighride into the National Elk Refuge.

We had so much fun. It was very pretty that day.

On the last day, we went snow tubing. That was fun. I felt like a little kid again...You could FLY down that mountain.

We didn't want to leave! We missed Abby too much to stay longer though.

Ben ate Buffalo, (not recommended - it was awful), and Elk, (he said it was really good). It was absolutely an amazing experience, and so beautiful. We were so blessed to be able to experience it.

Another reason why...

2009-01-07T10:46:00.002-05:00

....my daughter is a "mess."

Monday night Abby and I talked Daddy into going to Kroger with us. :) (Yay for me - i get help watching Abby while I shopped). Abby had on a pull up instead of her big girl panties - just in case - (she's been having more accidents lately for some reason) - but we got home, I put up the groceries and Ben took some to his mom's house (so I wouldn't have to drop them off the next day when I took Abby) - so I start making Abby's bath water - and go to get her - she's sitting on the couch and when I walk in the room, she says: "UH Oh, Mommy, I tee-teed." She got off the couch and I said it's okay - (the pullup) - and she's walking as if her legs are soaking wet - kind of like she just got off a horse - but anyways, she takes a bath - Ben comes home while she's still playing in the tub - he's on the phone and sitting on the couch. Abby gets out of the tub and on the way to her room, she see's Ben sitting on the couch, and says: "Uh, Daddy, I tee-teed there! I pottied on the couch!" Ben looked up at me kind of funny, I just smiled and kept walking - Abby keeps telling us she had tee-teed on the couch on the way to her room. Ben asked me if it was wet or something, I just laughed and said No, because she had had a pull-up on - It's just funny, the things she is saying these days! It's something new EVERYDAY! Oh, but I love it.

Another picture

2009-01-07T10:44:00.001-05:00

Just because my little girl is a "MESS". I love her. :)

Glasses

2009-01-07T10:40:00.001-05:00

Here is a more proper - and cuter picture of Abby in her glasses. This is RIGHT after we got home from picking them up. She doesn't look like she just turned two, does she??

DRAMA!

2009-01-05T09:56:00.002-05:00

So I never knew having a girl would bring so much DRAMA! and at two!!!

A couple of nights ago, Ben and I were both at my parents house (and Abby too) but we were in two cars. When it was time to leave, Abby said she wanted to ride with "daddy". So he put her in his ("Go Dawgs Truck") - Ben's truck and she decided then that she wanted to ride with me instead. He said no, so she started crying until we put her in my car (Yes, she is a LITTLE spoiled...) :)

Well Ben pulls out, I'm right behind him and without a single tear running down her face, the conversation follows:

A: "Mommy, Me not feel good".
M: "What's wrong Abby?"
A: "Me upset."

The ENTIRE time she's telling me this - she is totally sniffing and huffing, like she's sobbing! And it was all just an act (just because she had been upset!) My child!

Then the same night we got home, she had to go potty, so Ben took her to the bathroom and let her go potty - Then she proceeds to tell Ben "No, Daddy, don't come in here. Don't come in here!" Ben leaves the bathroom and is laughing and comes to tell me what she's saying. I go back with him to hear, and plain as day, he walks in and she says again "Daddy, don't come in here....don't come in here!" Then she sees me and says "Mommy, come see me, Daddy don't come in here!"

DRAMA at TWO!!!! :)

Memories

2008-12-31T11:15:00.011-05:00

Okay, it's been a while, and I just want to "record" a few of the things Abby is saying and doing right now. She's two years old.

Last night she wandered into our bedroom so we put her in the bed with us and she was very play-full. I rolled over so my back was to her (trying to discourage her from playing) and she continued to kind-of jump on me and play and try to tickle me. Well, she stuck her little foot under my bottom, and then proceeded to yell - "no, no, no...don't sit on me! Mama, don't sit on my foot!" I laughed out loud and told her I wasn't sitting on her! She yelled again "Mama, don't sit on my foot!" I told her that I wasn't and to just move her foot. Her voice then lowered to almost a whisper and said "Mama, don't sit on me again." I laughed again and just said okay.

She thinks it's funny when she lays on someone else's bed and she says that she's on _____'s side. She has actually "made" my parents switch sides of the bed when she has stayed the night the last few times. (Don't ask me why a 2 year old can "make" a pair of 50-something year olds do something....) :)

She will sing for you.

- Deep and Wide
"Deep and Wide, Deep and Wide, Deep and Wide, Deep and Wide..." She also does the hand signs for it (she's been doing this one for a while now)

- Away in the Manger
"Sing way in the mager, sing way in the mager, sing way in the mager..." She sings this as she is swaying back in forth.

- Jingle Bells
"jen-gal bells, jen-gal bells, jen-gal bells - don't know." At which point she stops singing and looks at you.

Things she's saying:

- Happy Birp-bay
- Merry Chris-mas
- Happy New Wear
- Happy Holly-days
- Santi Claus
- Piwow (Pillow)
- Meman (Megan)
- Tinker-pot (Stinker-pot is what Grandma calls Megan)
- Magin-movers (Imagination Movers - a show on Disney)
- Nanny (is how she still pronounces Granny)
- Mam-maw (is how she still pronounces Grandma)
- Header (She actually calls my name occasionally)
- BEN! (She yells ben a lot, or she'll say "Hey Ben")
- Come see me
- Show me som-tin
- Com-mere (Come Here)
- Pull-it (pull up)
- wittle (Little)
- miss tata head (Mrs. Potatoe Head - she got for Christmas)
- sket-os (spegettioes)
- poopie (you get the picture...)
- Obert (Robert)
- Purdy (Pretty) - and many, many, people and things are "Purdy" (me, Daddy, Matt, "Isha", Nanny, Pawpaw, our house, our mailbox, etc..........)
-Isha - (Alisha)
-Bew - wa (Isabella)

She counts - sort of: "One, Two, Six, Three, Four, Five!" (she's almost got it!)
She knows her birthday: "Junevember seven-teeth" (November 17th)
She can say her full name: "Abby Grace Malnom" (Malcom)

She is saying a lot of sentances - but some of them are "broken". This morning she asked me to pick up something she dropped and she said "pick up me" (meaning pick up for me).

She will "fuss" with you - mostly with her grandpa's....

Pawpaw: "Go Bama!"

Abby: "No, Go Dawgs!" (That's our girl....)

As a black crow flies over head...

Papa (Malcom): "Abby look up there - it's a crow."

Abby: "Nah-uh, it's a bird."

Papa: "No, it's a crow!"

Abby: "No, it's a bird!"

And they did that for a while....

This Christmas, she's been all about "Baby Jesus" and when she says it is sounds so sweet. It's the sweetest thing you've ever heard! She has a "Baby Jesus" CD that stays in my car, and she'll ask to listen to it often. She loves to look at the Christmas lights and esp. any manger scenes. She likes snowmen too.

She got glasses on Dec. 15th. We noticed a couple of months ago that her eyes were crossing randomly, so we were sent to a pediatric opthamologist. We thought she just had a "lazy" eye but the doctor said that Abby was having a hard time seeing up close - so when she tried to focus on things, her eyes crossed, so she now has cute TINY little glasses (I think there are a couple of pics from my last post). But she's doing good. She only messes with them when she's bored (like esp. in the car). Her eyes seem normal when she's got them on, but as soon as you take them off we notice her eyes crossing again.

She's truely a joy to have around and seems to be the center of attention wherever we go.

I'm sure there are many, many other things she's doing and saying right now, I just can't remember what....If you have anything that I should add, just leave a comment! Wishing ALL a happy new year!

UPDATED: So "Aunt" Ashley reminded me about Blainey. Blainey is a beagle puppy. Ashley got her ummm.... a month and a half ago or so?? So, yeah, Blainey was TINY. And Abby was TERRIFIED of her. She would cry and run and jump into anyone's arms, or jump onto the couch, chair, etc...whenever Blainey was around.... Well that all changed Christmas night. She decided she like Blainey and runs through the house saying "Blainey, come chase me.... Blainey, Chase me." And she won't keep her hands off of her! We have to MAKE her leave Blainey alone! Blainey is probably like "please get this kid away from me!!!" Oh, and I forgot to mention that for days and days she'd call Blainey "muffin" which is the name of Ashley's other dog - that she's had for a while....

Pictures

2008-12-23T10:17:00.003-05:00

It's been such a long time since I posted anything - here's just a few pictures from the past 2 months!

Abby looking at Ben funny because her candles went out at her birthday party.

Abby sitting pretty on the bench at the park.

Thanksgiving Day - playing in the leaves at mama's house.

Abby got new glasses - she's really NOT this unhappy about them....

This is more like it. :)

And Finally, trying to get Christmas Card pictures....

Abby making her "silly face".

Happy Abby!

This is the one we used for the cards. Merry Christmas!

I pray that the new year is blessed for all!

Go Dawgs!!

2008-11-02T16:00:00.003-05:00

Georgia's newest cheerleader!

Have you ever seen a more beautiful Georgia Girl??

Big Girl Bed

2008-11-02T15:39:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, I mentioned that we had moved Abby into a big girl bed. We hadn't bought bedding and stuff yet, so she was using just a random quilt that fit on her bed. Well, we finally got her some bedding and she LOVES it. She says "OOOh, Abby's New Bed!!!" "There's polka-dots!" "Flowers!"

Can't you tell she LOVES her "new bed"??

Abby Grace - Fall

2008-10-24T10:05:00.002-04:00

Today

2008-10-15T09:20:00.001-04:00

Today is National Day of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss.

I know way toooo many people (including me, of course) that have lost their babies. Pray for all of those.

Unspoken Ramblings

2008-09-19T22:09:00.004-04:00

Something I haven't been able to express easily.

Some days are great. Others are good. All days are blessed. But some days are just harder than others. It's been 3 weeks since I found out my baby had died. Most days I cope VERY well, no sadness, no emptiness, etc...but others, it is all I can do to keep from breaking down into tears. Women's church bible group dinner tonight - things are great. Fellowshiping (if that's even the correct way to use that word) with other GODLY women. Fun. Food. God. And then for whatever reason my mind starts rolling. I can't seem to stop thinking about that baby. Why I lost it. Why again? Will it happen AGAIN? Will there even be a "next time"? I have been blessed beyond words with Abby Grace. But it hurts no less. I've been pregnant three times, and really, I have lost three babies. (Abby was a twin).

I will be better, but please do not become upset with me when I am just having a hard time dealing one evening. The pain and hurt - I'm not sure if it will ever go away. Just because I seem fine, and do for days, does not mean that I'm "over" it.

There's a good post here. Please read it. Pray for me and my family and all the people who are there that support us. Also please pray for all the others out there that are struggling with this too. Thanks.

Photos...

2008-09-06T10:10:00.005-04:00

A while back, I was asked to take some pictures of the children of close friends of ours. Here's a few...

This family means a lot to us, and we are so happy and lucky to have them in our lives.

UGH.

2008-09-02T22:08:00.003-04:00

Okay, so after finding out Thursday that the baby I was carrying had passed away, Saturday Ben and I went to the UGA game! I had the BEST, BEST time EVER!!! It was awsome. Loved it. Can't wait to go back. It was HOT (literally)...but oh so fun.

The new UGA. UGA VII's Debut!Sunday after Abby and Ben went to church (I stayed home) Abby started throwing up. Yuck. If you know me, that's just something I cannot handle. I did okay - the first 5 times it happened - then Mama came over to calm me down/help me out. Needless to say, by 8 pm, I was a nervous wreck. Mama stayed the night so Ben and I could get some sleep - well Ben, I layed in bed, tossing and turning, getting up every so often to check on abby, even though I knew my mom was FULLY CAPABLE of handeling her. I felt guilty, but I so wanted to run away! Terrible feeling - wanting to be there to hold and cuddle and make my little one all better, but shaking, stomach in knots, worried SICK, praying for her to get better, all at the same time wasn't working. Anyways, my mom left the next morning (yesterday) and we did okay with Abby the rest of the day - the vomiting was mostly over - then today. Surgery scheduled at 2:30 - i had to be at the hospital by 12:30. Abby was still a little yucky, but better, so Ben's mom has her for the night. My mom, dad, and Ben were all at the hospital with me for the surgery. We came home around 7PM tonight. I though maybe "breakfast" from waffle house would be good for my stomach, (considering I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight last night, and I was so worried sick since Sunday, i hadn't eaten anything since breakfast sun. morning. Well, ben ate, and guess what I'm doing? Locked away in Abby's room (she's still with Ben's mom) the house all sanitized, trying to stay calm and not over-do myself (I mean I just got out of surgery) and trying not to hear Ben getting sick on the other end of the house. Yuck. Now Ben's sick. And I'm not any better about dealing with him either. I want to make sure he's okay and make him feel better, but all I can do is shake, my stomach in knots, pray even harder now. I hope he's okay, and doing better. And I hope and pray that I don't get it too. I'm supposed to be "off duty" and "off my feet" and etc..... Will it ever end. Please say a prayer. Please?!

By the way, the surgery went okay. It took a little longer than last time. I lost a lot of blood, so the tested me and found out I am pretty anemic, so I had to stay longer tonight and make sure I was going to be okay before they let me go home. The baby is big enough this time that they are gonna check it and see if there was anything wrong with the baby (like genetic, or Down's syndrome, or other stuff) - which I don't think was the case, but it might make me feel a little more at ease about it. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers....continue to pray for my little family. Let me know that it will all be okay.........

Numb

2008-09-01T10:12:00.002-04:00

God has plans for all of us, and we don't always know what those plans are. Thursday, I found out the baby had no heartbeat. 12 weeks 2 days. The risk of miscarriage decreases significantly after the 12th week of pregnancy. This baby looked so perfect in every way up until that heart no longer was beating.

Things I want to remember at this stage in Abby's life

2008-08-20T11:05:00.002-04:00

Abby just is 21 months old now - she'll be two in November, and I just want to remember things she's saying and doing now...

"Dor-Da" (Dora - Her Absolute FAVORITE)
"Buuusssee" (Boots - from Dora)
"Pass" (Pacci)
"Hold-Shu" (Hold you - when she wants us to hold her)
"P-V" (TV - only when we're in the car will she say this)
"Nigh-Nigh" (Night Night)
"Of-ya" (Love you)
"Futt-Fie" (Butterfly)
"Fow-wer" (Flower)
"Ma-Mow" (Grandma)
"Ma-Paw" (Grandpa)
"Nanny" (Granny) - she says Pawpaw perfect
"Bi-Bir-d" (Big Bird)
"El-mo" (Elmo)
"Baff" (Bath)
"Teese" (Teeth)
"Manties" (Panties)
"Acc-souse" (Applesauce)
"Me-han" (Megan)
"Ash" (Ashley)
"Dad-dial" (Daniel)
"Maf-few" (Matthew)
"Geor-gial" (Rachel)
"Nyan" (Bryan)
"Esh-Esh" (Alisha)
"Op-opps" (Flip-flops) - the girl LOVES shoes...
"Mimmin" (Swimming)
"Osh" (Ocean)
"Staw" (Straw)
"Mo" (More)
"Neen-beans" (Green Beans)
"Harse" (Horse)
"Key-Kat" (Kitty Cat)
"Moos" (Cows)
"Dow- Dogs" (Go Dawgs) - anytime she sees anything Georgia related: red, G, Uga, etc...

She says "juice, cup, apples, Mommy, Daddy, Pawpaw, Papa, Nana, Nick, Sydney, Cassie, Cheese, Purse, and Church " Perfect. Just like they are spelled or close to it.

She tells EVERYONE to "SIT" and she'll pat the floor, chair, step, wherever she is sitting.
She will use ANYONE's cellphone - look at you, and hold it up, and say cheese - she thinks all cellphone take pictures.
She loves ring around the rosies - and she'll turn in circles herself and say "Posey, Posey, Ash, Ash" then she'll fall down and just laugh...
She LOVES purses, bags, etc...she'll carry around two of my old vera purses, a gift bag full of toys, a bag from a store (like walmart or whatever) usually with shoes in them, and a bag that her float came in (while unflated) - she'll carry them around - she looks like a little bag lady, and then climb onto her fourwheeler and say bye bye and take off until she runs into something. It's so funny. She still doesn't do well with turning the wheels, or getting off and moving or turning around when she runs into something, instead she sits there and pushes the button and moves herself, as if to give a little nudge to the fourwheeler.

I'm sure there are tons of other things she says and does, but I can't remember them all now.

Exciting and Frustrated Ramblings..

2008-08-20T09:52:00.002-04:00

This one may be a looonnnggg one.

There's been a lot of stuff going on lately. I'll have to post pictures later of everything too. First, some exciting news...we found out july 1st that we are expecting again! We were VERY hesitant to tell people for a while, because of what happened back in the winter (miscarriage). We went for my first ultrasound the day before we went to the beach - and the little peanut measured 7weeks! The heart rate was like 135bpm. GOOD NEWS!!! YAY! We were so happy. Things have been going well since - Lot's of morning, day, night, middle of the night sickness, tired, etc...which, although I am miserable most of the time, I am feeling it is a blessing because that means those pregnancy hormones are there!!! I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (which is early to be diagnosed in pregnancy) - but that has been okay too. I just have to watch what I eat, take my meds (insulin in a pill), and see a specialist. The specialist part is kinda neat, b/c every time I go there, no matter how far along I am, I will have an ultrasound (not that I couldn't do them on my self) and I'm not gonna refuse that perk! I'm hoping the sickness gets better (I thought it FINALLY was, then yesterday, as soon as my feet hit the floor from the bed - I started.... YUCK.) Anyways. I am due March 11, 2009. Abby keeps saying baby and looks under my shirt and will kiss my belly - it's sweet, although, I don't know just how much she understands yet.

More exciting news - After we came back from the beach, Ben's mom asked if I would like to try to start potty training Abby? OF COURSE! I was scared and happy. She's used the potty many times before, but only randomly... So, this is the third week (she's excited because she's wearing big girl panties) - and she is doing FABULOUS! She has gotten so much better - maybe only one accident a day now, she still won't tell you she needs to go, unless it's after an accident, but she'll sometimes say yes if you ask her if she needs to, and this weekend, she has started just taking off to the potty and we'll follow her in there and she's trying to pull her panties down to go potty! How awsome. She's doing far better than I thought, and she's getting better and better each day! Hopefully soon she'll be 100% trained! Thanks to all who've helped me out - Bobbie (she has her most days of the week), Ben (because even though he's not crazy about helping - when he's had her alone without me, he'll still take her), Mama, because she's helped so much lately also, and Matthew and Nick (the wonderful Uncles that Abby loves so much that don't mind helping out while playing with her). Thanks again.

Bed time news: A few weeks ago (when we started with potty training) - we got Abby a "big girl bed". We're using Ben's frame from childhood - it's a twin. We let Abby come with us to buy her matresses. She's very excited about this too. For right now, we've left her in her room and just moved the crib out and the big girl bed in. The first night, I was a nervous wreck - stayed up past midnight, just so I would be prepared in case of a fall (we did not buy rails - we decided to try it without first - but I did put pillows on the floors on either side of the bed). She did wonderful the first night - we did our usual routine that night - brush teeth, say prayers, give kisses, and just layed her down - she would sit up for a while and talk to her babies, then off she went to sleep! About 30 mins. past the time we finally went to bed, we heard a flop....both of us up and ran into her room. She wasn't in the bed, she wasn't on the pillows. Where was she? She was completely OFF the pillows, near the end of the bed, on the floor, balled up in a tiny ball on her belly, sound asleep! She didn't even wake up! WOW. We picked her up and went back to bed. Woohoo. She didn't fall off any more that night. The second night, (I'm still a little nervous) - we went to bed, then about 4:00 in the morning, Ben wakes me from a SOUND sleep and says really quick "Heather, we've got a visitor!" It scared me to death! I thought someone had came into the house!!! Then I saw little Abby running into our room. Oh, how sweet. Ben said he could hear her little footsteps running down the hall. She was so happy that morning. We asked her if she fell off or did she scoot-scoot (my daddy taught her how to back off of chairs and couches and he says scoot-scoot to her) and she responded "scoot-scoot". Okay! We just put her in our bed and after she played for about 10-15 mins. she was back asleep. The third night she fell off, and somehow hit her head on the rail that the mattresses sit on, (so we think she went head first) - but anyways, she cried, and cried, and cried. Finally she stopped and she slept with us the rest of the night. The next two nights went pretty much okay - no falling off, got up once...then she fell again and hit her head. The next day we decided to move her bed, so one side was up against the wall, and I rolled up a heavy quilt and put it on the other side, so at least if she felt it there when she rolled, she would remember to go the other way. She hasnt fallen off since. YAY! I haven't bought her any bedding yet for the new bed - I am going to wait until we move her out of the nursery (for the new baby), and into another bedroom so we can paint and it'll be all cute...so for now, we've been just using a quilt Ben's grandmother made for him. She doesnt' mind, but I can't wait until she's back in a girly-girl room that matches!

The FRUSTRATIONS - the PACCI! Back in the spring one morning, I asked her about breakfast and after she told me what she wanted, I told her okay, put your pacci in the trash, and she did it! Nap time that day was a little rough, but she went without it for about 3-4 days. Then she got a TERRIBLE Ear infection, and she was so pittiful, we gave it back. (Sanity for us at the time - now BIG mistake.) She's now more attached than ever! We don't let her have a pacci during the day, only at night, so in the crib, the multiple pacci's would stay. Well, now that she's got a big girl bed, she knows they are there, and she would tell me "night-night" in the middle of the day, or afternoon, just so she thinks she could have her pacci. Well of course, I wouldn't give in. Well she decided she would find a way to get them - first it was pulling the sheets to the side just so she could reach, and now, (just since Friday) she has learnt ?? how to climb up on the bed and get them herself. So now, we have to make sure we leave them on the dresser out of reach and out of sight. I am more of a pushover than Ben - I can't stand to hear my baby sobbing, so occassionally, I have given in just to make her stop crying (maybe it's the pregnancy, that I feel like I don't have as much patience)..but Ben will NOT give in, and the past few days, she's gotten a little better about the paccis. (she doesn't break down when we take them from her, but only if for a second and she doesn't ask for them constantly.). Last night she was in a really good mood, and after her bath and playing for a while longer, Ben asked her " do you want to try to sleep without your pacci tonight?" She says "uh huh" and shakes her head yes. I am sure all she heard was "do you want your pacci tonight"... Anyways after the usual routine, he lays her down, and she says "want pass" (pacci) - and Ben says "I thought we were going to try without it tonight." She said "want baby" - so ben gave her a baby doll, then she says "nother" (another)- and he gives her another baby, ... and her duck, and her rabbit, then says night night and walks out and shuts the door. We turn down the tv, and can hear her playing and talking to her babies and animals! She's not crying! We laugh for a while, then ben starts feeling bad. She's now saying "Daddy,....Daddddyyyyy, .... Daaaaaddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" We laugh, he frowns at me and i tell him - she's not crying, lets give it some time. I figured it may take her longer to fall asleep but so what? Well, he wants to go check on her - but instead of being quiet and opening the door discretely, she hears him and starts whining. "Want Passssss!" - Ben tries to lay down with her and the millions of babies and animals on the bed. She DID NOT want that...."Daddy, Up. Daddy, UP." So ben gets up and asks do you want me to lay in the floor beside the bed? She says yes. He lays down (the multiple pillows are still on the floor incase she falls off). Then she WONT lay down, b/c she wants to see him. He leaves the room, she cries, and we eventually give in. We tried rocking her (which we havent' done in prob. a year!, we tried everything...he tells me to give her a pacci - so I do - she laughs excitedly, lays her head down on Ben's shoulder, and is gone. Completely asleep. From the time ben walks two feet from the kitchen to her room. She's still my baby, even though she's growing up, but I am so ready for the pacci's to be gone! We'll try again in a couple of nights...

Either way, we are so proud of her and excited. She is doing SO good with all the transitions and "big girl" stuff. Other than her getting in the terrible or trying twos- she's doing good...that would be a totally different post. Until then - Later! (I'll post pics eventually).

I told you this one would be a long one, but I dont' want to forget all of what's going.

Panama City Beach, FL

2008-08-01T20:00:00.001-04:00

Helen, Georgia

2008-07-19T10:56:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, my family went up to Helen to see my little brother Matthew. He's been up there all summer, so nobody has seen him. He's a youth counselor for a Christian camp there. He should be home mid-August, so we're excited about that, but anyways, we all decided to go up and visit. Me, Ben, Abby, my mom and dad, and my aunt and uncle all went up last Saturday. My other brother Nick, and their friend Robert also came up late Saturday night. It was really good to see Matthew again, and I know Abby was excited. We walked up and down the river, got our feet wet (Abby sat down in it), shopped around Helen, and even took Abby to the Cabbage Patch Babyland General in Cleveland. (I'll have to post pics of that later - they were on my mom's camera.)

The water was FREEZING! Abby didn't seem to mind, though.

This is when she acidentally fell down, you can see the surpise on her face - but then, she didn't want to get up.

This is my Uncle Ricky. He's a very entertaining person, if you can't tell from the picture...

Sunflower Festival

2008-07-19T09:59:00.003-04:00

A few weekends ago we took Abby to the sunflower festival in Rutledge, GA. She loved the flowers, they were so pretty! We got her face painted. She sat so still, and didn't move, didn't fight the painter, and she didn't cry.

She also got to ride a pony. She really liked that too. She was such a big girl. She sees these pictures and points out the pony even today... She seems to really like horses....

Who's that pretty baby looking at me?

2008-06-30T14:37:00.000-04:00

Abby and her babies

2008-06-27T10:38:00.002-04:00

She rocks her babies.

She kisses both of her babies.

Then she loves them both equally. (at the same time).

How sweet.

(I just love being Mommy to a girly-girl! So fun!!)

Abby's First Stone Mountain Laser Show Trip!

2008-06-27T10:20:00.002-04:00

CHEEEESSSEE!!
FUNNY FACE
Do I have to sit here for ANOTHER picture??
Waiting on the Choo-Choo Train...(so is the little kid standing behind her)
Daddy's Girl

She loves her Daddy.

Abby didn't have a nap all day on Saturday. We went to stone mountain - ate on the lawn with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Daniel. Abby ate an ENTIRE piece of pizza! She never fell asleep. She didn't fuss. She had fun. When the laser show came on, she sat and watched. She didn't scream during the fireworks. She did absolutely WONDERFUL. We were so proud of her!

Oh, did you notice her pigtails?? (We thought they were so cute).

This is my Life....

2008-06-12T21:04:00.002-04:00

She is such a joy and a blessing to us.

Sweet Girl

2008-05-30T11:21:00.004-04:00

I was watching Abby from the couch on Sunday, and thought the lighting was neat.

Abby was watching her Daddy cut the grass. She still had on her RED dress from church that morning, but she was SO proud - she got her PINK crocks out of her room and put them on - all by herself, and the right feet at that! She's becoming such a big girl.

UGA vs. Ole Miss

2008-05-10T12:07:00.003-04:00

So LAST Friday, Finally, after Abby was over her sickness, and the day before mine started, we took Abby to her first baseball game! Instead of spending a lot of money and a lot more time going to a Braves game, we decided we would go see UGA play. It really was nice, and only 6 $ a ticket for me and Ben! We didn't get to stay the entire game because it was getting past little miss Abby Grace's bedtime, but UGA won! Here's a few pictures of the game.

Bad Times

2008-05-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

So a few weeks ago, our computer got a virus, and so we've been without internet access since then. Then Ben got Shingles. The next week Abby got a bad "fever" virus and cold. And then this week I have been in the hospital 3 different times. I have pneumonia! So many things. When will we ever get better?? Please pray. This has been awful. And let me tell you, this pneumonia is PAINFUL....and then the pain meds make me sick.... ugh.

MEM

2008-03-29T20:01:00.003-04:00

Introducing....

Megan Elizabeth McElhaney

Born: Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 2:35am

Weight: 6lbs. 10oz. Length: 18 inches

Just a sign of God's great work.

(I am finally an aunt! and Ben is "Uncle Ben" ... hehehe.....)

Mommy and Daddy and Baby are all very tired, but seem to doing okay.

Easter Pictures

2008-03-26T18:45:00.003-04:00

She actually started getting sick on Sunday.

We went to the doctor on Monday, and today again - (you can almost tell from the picture, ) but she's got an ear infection. Blah...

Here she looks pretty happy...

This is one of my favorites from the day - Abby trying to give Cam kisses.

Happy Early Easter

2008-03-22T13:41:00.003-04:00

We had an Easter Egg hunt at our church this morning.

This was Abby's FIRST time hunting eggs, and she actually got a basket full herself!

Have you EVER......

2008-03-22T13:33:00.002-04:00

seen a baby like DEAD animals so much???

(Daddy's first turkey of the season - 2008)

Country Girl

2008-02-25T16:12:00.003-05:00

These are a few pictures Ben and I took of Abby Grace at his papa's pasture. We took about 250 between two days!!!! Good thing I have a digital camera instead of a film camera, right?!?! We think she's adorable....don't you?

Abby Gracie...

2008-02-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

Here's Abby's first PIGTAILS!!! From last weekend.

Okay - this picture is actually from over a month ago - Abby's first ponytail! Isn't she cute?

And she LOVES her potty! She has actually used it three times now - 2 #1s - and 1 #2!!!!! And she's only 14 months old!!! I hope it's this easy the rest of the time.

Different Plans

2008-02-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

God has different plans for us.

Some of you already know that I went to the doctor last week, and there was this perfect little baby in the perfect gestational sac, and a perfect little yolk sac. The problem was that there was no cardiac activity. That means the baby's heart had stopped beating. Now, doing what I do everyday as my career - I see this all the time. I know that it happens. I know there is nothing I did to cause it and nothing I could do to prevent it. Either way - when it's you and your own body and this baby that you created, it hurts. I have been getting better and better as days go by... and although I am still sad, I know it has happened for a reason.

God has other ways of taking care of us too.

Yesterday I had another check up to see how things were going and planned on scheduling surgery for next week to speed up the recovery process and the agonizing wait.... Well.... Evidentally, I had a fever when I arrived yesterday - I felt completely fine. No sickness symptoms or anything. Well, I was told that I would be having surgery that day - no excuses, no questions asked. I had a fever. That is very dangerous. My body was becoming infected from the non-living baby inside of me. What would have happened if I had waited until next week? Anyways, so I had the surgery - did fine, and now am just recovering - very very sore - but feel okay and my spirits are high! I am doing good.

Thanks for all the prayers and concerns over the past week or so. We appriciate it!

Sweet Pictures

2008-01-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

Update

2008-01-21T14:33:00.000-05:00

Okay - as for the previous post - We are expecting again! You read the shirt correctly. I am still VERY early, so all prayers are welcome... I don't go to the doctor for a few more weeks, but if my dates are correct, I'm just over 6 weeks - due in mid September. We are excited, and alreay worried about where this new little one will fit into this family and how sweet Abby will react. Lots have been going on since the new year! Two weeks ago - Abby came down with a high fever - we thought it was just a "fever" type virus - I took her in just in case (I was worried about her ears again) - and the news was VERY unexpected. She had the FLU. THE FULL BLOWN FLU. HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS (I had just found out I was pregnant - so the worry of me getting sick wasn't fun). Well, we suffered for a couple days/nights - then on the third night she started wheezing during the night. She has NEVER done this before - It scared me bad enough, I ALMOST called the doctor - in the middle of the night - but I calmed myself and waited until the next morning. We went in again and because of the flu she also now had Bronchitis and a Right Ear Infection! UGH! It seemed to be neverending. Finally on the 6th morning she woke up without a fever!!!! She still ran some during the day - but she seemed to be getting better, and better. FINALLY! And now she's been fine other than we can tell she's definately trying our patience - she's getting into things she knows she's not supposed to and "pitching fits" occassionally....terrible two's already?? I hope not... But for now....bye bye!

Abby's BIG Announcement

2008-01-21T14:28:00.001-05:00

She looks thrilled, huh?? :)

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T11:38:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a long while since I've posted. We've been busy as usual. Working, shopping, dinner parties, Christmas parties, etc.. Christmas 2007 was just a BUSY as usual - (not quite my ideal choice) - but anywyas, the evening of the 23rd - we went to Ben's aunt's house and had dinner and gifts with Ben's Dad's side of the family - aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc... Then Christmas Eve we went to MY aunts house for my mom's side of the family.... Then Christmas morning - after opening our gifts between the three of us - Ben, me and Abby, we get ready and off we go again. To Ben's grandmother's house - this is his Mom's family.... For breakfast. Then we went to my mom's house to have lunch with my parents and brothers. From there we go to Ben's parents house for dinner with his parents and brother and sister and their "families". Busy, busy, busy. After a long day and barely any naps for Abby - she's cranky, and so tired, she doesn't sleep well at all that night. UGH! But all the fun makes up for it. Here's some pics of each night....

Before we left - she totes around one of my empty purses and you ask her is she's going shopping, she nods her little head yes - many, many times...

I don't know why she like shoes so much...

She's soooo tired ---- pooped out with Matthew

Jackson and Parker trying to get her up to dance You think they succeeded? - They were so cute and having so much fun! Christmas Eve at my aunts house

Our little family of three

Christmas morning - Santa Claus Came!

Abby and Kenneth in the wagon Nanny got for Abby.I don't think she's ever seen a TV this low and this close - she was kissing Micky Mouse on it...Looking for Daddy out the front door.Opening a gift Christmas night - it's been a long day....I always like to put all of her stuff together that she got for Christmas and take a picture - WOW! - I have NO idea where all of this is going to go.

So, busy Christmas Season. I hope everyone had a wonderful time spent with friends and family. I hope you all remembered to keep CHRIST in Christmas this year also. On another note, (I know this has been a long one..) a Very Good friend of mine, had a baby back at the end of July - he was born at only 4 lbs. and 2 oz. and has spent about 3 1/2 months in the NICU at Egelston. He has a genetic disorder. He FINALLY came home a few weeks ago. Such a wonderful Christmas for him and his family. I can't even begin to understand the feelings my friend has been having, as she had another baby boy last August, that never made it home from the NICU. We are so happy and excited for them! Just keep them in your prayers.... (The Eanes Family).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2007-12-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

I know, its been a very long time since I've posted. A lot has been going on. Last weekend, I had an office party at the Gwinett County Courthouse - it was pretty nice. Then that night we took Abby to see Santa at SS EMC - needless to say she liked to "see" him, just not be near him! She screamed the entire time!

After working all week, Friday night, we had another one of my office parties - in McDonough - at Redz - a very fancy, high class resturaunt, where we didn't even order our dinner until 10:30 pm!!! That was a very intersting night - seeing some of my coworkers, and ahem, other people (like the docs) getting so drunk, their husbands were having to watch out for them!!! Things I wished I sometimes didn't know! :) Otherwise, we've just been busy getting things done for Christmas. Hope everyone's having a good holiday season so far!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

Hope it's a great one! Gobble-Gobble-Gobble....

Happy First Birthday, Sweet Baby

2007-11-18T20:46:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Abby. Yesterday, ONE year ago, you were brought into this world, and our lives have never been the same. You are just as precious as you were then. We love you more and more each day. You amaze us with your little personality, smiles, kisses, expressions, and more. You were born pretty small - at only 6lbs. 7oz. You're still not too big either - 19lbs. 7 oz. But you have a big heart. I hope you stay as sweet and smart and beautiful as you are now. You are Mommy's baby girl, and the apple of your Daddy's eye - you light up our lives and we wouldn't give you up for anything. We love you so much! Love, Mommy and Daddy.

Yesterday we had a birthday party for the birthday girl. We still can't believe she's already ONE! Ben was in Alaska from the 10th of November, and just got back home on Friday, the 16th. Abby decided to wait until then to take her first steps!!! She still, at ONE, has only her two bottom front teeth. We are finishing up on her last can of formula (I am not wasting that 25$ a can stinky stuff) - before we start her on whole milk. I guess we are pretty lucky because she nursed so well for 7 months - we saved a lot of money that way. She was very good about digging into her cake yesterday. She definately wasn't shy about it. The icing, for some reason, broke her face out where she had it all over it. Flavored pedialyte and generic gas drops used to the same thing - go figure.?? She got lots of good toys and tons of clothes too. (Starting to wonder where it's all going to go?). I was so worried about her being so shy with everyone around - but she did so good, considering our "house full" - and I mean that literally. There was standing room only, and that included in the hall way, outside, and the kitchen! Here's a picture from when she was first born, and then maybe I'll try to post a few from throughout the years so you can see how much she's grown..then I'll post some from yesterday. Hope you enjoy!

Here she is at only a day old - how sweet.

And here we all are - at Christmas - which she was 6 weeks old.

Here's Abby at 6 months old

Abby's party was "ladybug" themed - so I can say, Our little baby is becoming a little lady - bug...hehe...

Cake, Anyone? (She actually did feed anyone who asked for "a bite"). So sweet.

We love you, ABBY!!!!

Another Monday and Memories

2007-11-12T20:46:00.000-05:00

So, I had to take Abby back to the doctor again today. After 2 rounds of antibiotics, she still has a double ear infection and now also a sinus infection. She had to get an "antibiotic" shot today, and then another one tomorrow AND Wednesday. Maybe that'll kick the illness in the rear. Abby's birthday party is Saturday - I hope she feels better fast. On that note, also, I can't believe how time has flown...I was just thinking about this time last year - I was here sorting, and putting up all the great gifts I got from my church family and friends - the shower was "today" (a year ago) - and I remember someone telling me that they went into labor the night after their church shower a few years ago....I remember being like yeah, right - I've still got a little more than a month to go. Little did I know that she would be here within the week. WOW. Everything happened so fast and so unexpected - I can't remember everything. I do remember certain things. I know Ben took me out on that Tuesday night - for my "last meal" (our schedule was going to be booked up until due date) - we went to Longhorns, and then as a special treat for me - because I absolutely LOVE the store - we went to Babies R Us and bought some things that we didn't get at showers that we thought we needed. We got Bruster's Icecream afterwards on the way home. It was THE most perfect date. :) I know later that night, I had a hard time sleeping - not feeling well due to acid reflux. Wednesday, I felt really nauseated all day - I went to work even though I felt really bad. Even my co-workers noticed that I was looking a little sickly - they made me sit down at one point and check my blood pressure and also pee in a cup to check my urine for signs of preeclampsia. It was all totally FINE. We had Thanksgiving dinner that night at church, and I remember it was absolutely FREEZING - and I didn't feel good still but I got by. I didn't sleep much that night either . Thursday, though I felt really back to as normal as I could - went to work. I had a regular check up that afternoon. I went straight to the doctor's office right after work - knowing my cervix had already started dilating from the two weeks before- I was already a 3 at this visit. Well, from there I never made it home. I was sent straight to the hospital. So I "waddled" over to the Birth Care Center in my scrubs thinking I was going home within 30 minutes (according to my midwife) - but within 15 mins. of being there - I was shocked to learn that I was NOT going home. I was going to be induced, because I was, in fact, preeclampsic. YAY - I don't think so. I couldn't sit up. I wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom. I was too nervous to eat OR sleep. But the next day, at 4:00 PM I gave birth to Abby Grace. All 6lbs 7oz. and 18 inches of her. She was perfect. She was beautiful. I was elated. Thinking about all of this makes me sad that my little baby is growing up. But I am happy to think of all the fun stuff that awaits us. I'll write more later in the week. Here's a quick picture from this weekend when she was feeling okay.

First Monday at Home

2007-11-05T16:32:00.000-05:00

Boy, did we have a weekend! Saturday, we went to Parker's First Birthday Party - it was outside and pretty chilly....Saturday night, Abby started acting like she felt bad again. We got MAYBE about 2 hours of sleep - that's all the 5 min naps throughout the night - it was THE longest night EVER, (b/c the time fell back) - and I was SO looking foward to be able to sleep an hour longer! Anyways, I guess getting a little cold on Saturday caused a little BAD cold for Abby because she now has snot running down her face, she's keeping a fever - (low grade) - and she's cranky. On top of an ear infection that she's still battling. She's a little better today - not quite as fussy. Not as much yucky snot. (I know - gross). So went out for a little while - and after we got back home, I was looking at these adorable little dresses and I noticed I didn't hear Abby playing - so I go to her room to find her and she is standing with a box of diapers - pulling them out of the wrapper! She's a mess. It's my fault for not putting them up to begin with I guess - I was just in a hurry earlier, and needed one, so I grabbed one from there. Oh well. I am going to see if I am capable of making a little dress for Abby like I mentioned above....Until Later...

Happy Halloween!!!

2007-11-02T16:52:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know - I'm late. We DID take Abby Grace Trick-or-Treating Wednesday night. We only visited family though. Here she is before we left...

She was watching and waiting for her Daddy so we could go.

And here she is with her cousin Walker - the SCARRY Lion - Don't you see how upset she was!

She actually shed more than just a few tears that night. She is still trying to fight an ear infection - we've had to start on another stronger antibiotic. Fun stuff - she hates it.

Work Schedule Changing!!!

2007-10-25T19:09:00.001-04:00

HI! Guess what?!?! Starting November 5th - I will be off on MONDAYS!!! SO, YAY - I finally will get to be home with Abby at least one day! It's still not my ideal perfect schedule, but ONE day off is better than NONE!!!...

2007-10-23T08:37:00.000-04:00

Here's Abby with her Daddy on Saturday, when she just wasn't feeling too good. Poor Abby.
And here's Abby late last night - like 10:15pm - she did NOT want to go to bed. Isn't she just too cute reading her book though?

Oooooh, the earaches...

2007-10-20T15:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday morning I noticed Abby had kind of a "cruddy" cough. Not much. She was playing well, wasn't fussy, and seemed to be fine. Abby and I met my mom for lunch at Stalvey's and Abby was fine there. The MINUTE I put Abby back in the car to go run some errands, she starts wailing....I try talking to her - she is inconsolable. So I get to the next stop - and actually get her out and visit with a friend there for a while. She was a little pouty, but okay. Again, back in the car - wailing again. I still have about uh, 999 places to go, but realize that something, is in fact, wrong. She's "okay" - I just know she didn't feel so good. We get home and she cries, for at least 20 minutes afterward (which is SO NOT like her) - she even wimpered in her sleep. So, she took about an hour nap, and from which she awoke, still upset. She felt feverish, but checked it 3 different times, and each time, it was okay. So I try to play with her. She will not stand up, she will not sit up, she doesn't want to play, she doesn't want anything to eat or drink, she wouldn't blow kisses or even smile. I knew something was wrong. I call the doctor they say to come NOW. We get there and have to wait 2 hours! (Although, I was patient - I understand we were being worked in on a Friday afternoon at 4:00). So we finally see the doc at about 5:45. She listens to Abby's chest - she's a little concerned, but thinks her chest is clear. She then looks in her mouth - uh oh - she's VERY congested. Then come the ears. Both EARS. INFECTED. GREAT. So my poor little baby girl has got a double ear infection and a bad cold at the same time. NO WONDER she wasn't acting right. Abby's a little over 11 months now, and I think we've all done good with being healthy - this is the first "sick" visit to the doctor's office. (Other than the NICU and the clogged tear duct - which is cleared up now - thank God.) So she's sick. I'm sad. I didn't get much accomplished yesterday, but at least I was at home and able to be with my sick baby girl and not someone else. :) She already is starting to feel better now, although because we were both up last night, I think I may need a nap soon - as she is sleeping now.

Happy Fall!

2007-10-13T09:34:00.000-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. Mostly for the amazing colors, and also because it begins to cool off. Here's some pics of Abby. (10 months old).

Hay anyone?

Abby and Daddy looking at horses.

Doesn't she look like such a big girl?

HELP!

2007-10-10T17:22:00.000-04:00

I DESPARATELY want to be a Stay-At-Home-Most-Of-The-Time-Mommy. That way, I won't miss moments like this with my sweet baby girl.

Car Trouble

2007-10-10T16:47:00.000-04:00

Okay. So Sunday I went to visit a close friend of mine and her sweet baby boy Caleb. He's at Egeslton, Children's Hospital. He is sooo beautiful and of course, soo soo sweet. It was good to see them again. So my parents were keeping Abby Grace and after I picked her up, we were on the way home and GUESS WHAT HAPPENED?!?! I got in a wreck! AH! I rear-ended someone. No, Believe it or not, I was NOT following too close, I was NOT on the phone, the radio wasn't even on - Me and Abby were just "chatting". I noticed the cars ahead of me slowing down, so I started too. Then before I knew it - they were all slamming on their brakes. I put my foot on the FLOOR and still couldn't stop. I tried again. No such luck, so I started swerving off into the grass to the right, but still did NOT miss the car in front of me. Abby was fine the whole time, Thank God. I was only sore a little for a couple of days, but I feel pretty much fine now. They had to tow my car - even though it wasn't all that much damage. I'm driving a rental - which is actually kinda nice. Bad news - I still got a ticket. :( I still have to pay 500 $$$ deductible. AND, my insurance is now going to go up. UGH.

Here's some pictures of Abby Grace Saturday during the Georgia/Tenn. Game. Even though we lost - BAD.

Working Mommy

2007-10-03T11:05:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting at work today. Kind of slow. If any of you know me, you know that I do not mind working AT ALL, I would just rather be at home with Abby. I miss her so much and I feel like I'm not even a mommy until the 2 days on the weekend when I get to see her. That's sad, huh. I wish we were financially okay enough for me to just work my ONE wednesday a week - and I could fill in at Dr. Larrimore's when needed. Maybe one day. I take Abby to my mother-in-law's - she tells me - "oh, we're going to so and so, or we're going here and there." I'm MAD, JEALOUS, and So So SAD! It's not that I mind my mother-in-law. I am so appriciative for what she does for us by keeping Abby. I'm just upset that she gets to spend EACH day with Abby and I don't. When I pick up Abby-she's cranky. She's sleepy, so she fusses the only time we have together until she goes to bed. I can't stand that. I don't know what to do. My house is a wreck. I haven't cooked dinner in many days. I am NEVER home. I may get off at 5pm, but I dont make it home until after 615. Some days it's as late as 645! UGH. I need prayer I think. I pray and have prayed - other "worries" have been taken away from me, and I am grateful for that. This one subject seems to never leave. I would like to work from home - doing something productive. Like I LOVE making invitations or announcements. Any ideas about how I could join a company doing that from home? You all know my passion for photography. I am counting on that solving my problems, but the problem is that - that may be several years from now before I am a productive, sucessful photographer. ANY IDEAS or SUGGESTIONS?

I have yet to watch all the sesaon premiere's even from last week! That's how behind I am. I did watch Grey's Anatomy and was a little "frazzeled" for a moment. Disappointed at times, but glad it's back on air. I still have to watch: Ugly Betty, ER, NCIS, House, Desperate Housewives, and Private Practice. Maybe one day I'll get to them. I'll blog more later - just got a patient.

Monday....

2007-09-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

Back to work today after a pretty nice weekend. Abby's still a little snotty, but otherwise, she's okay. I honestly believe we have the sweetest baby in the whole wide world! (No offense to all the other babies!) She's so smart. We can ask her what does Cheyenne say or what does UGA say and she responds in almost a little wisper - "oofff, offfff" - It's So sweet. Long story - my mom, always says "Bless her little heart" - and I laughingly tell her each time, you shouldn't bless her heart because nothings wrong with her! She laughs and I tell her to say AWWW, or something like that - well, now, mama you can say "bless her little heart" - she goes to the front door and stands up and starts yelling at the door - "Daddy, Daddy, DaaaaaaaDDDDEEEEEEE" (Ben's at work). Then she goes to our bedroom door and pushes it open and sits there looking into the dark - "Daddy.....Daddy". Now, again, mama, I think you can "bless her heart"

Okay - I've put up "some sites I like to visit often" - these are other peoples' pages. Some of these people I know, or used to know. Others - I have no idea of whom they are: I just really like to read up on their latest happenings. I don't know proper etiquette about looking at other blogs, and I guess I really don't know how to ask permission - so If I've done wrong, please someone let me know.

To make this page a little more fun, here's a picture of Abby in her ladybug costume - for Halloween. We had the little hood on that has attached antenae, but decided it was sooo much cuter without the hood and just a bow! So here she is.....

2007-09-21T09:58:00.000-04:00

Well, Abby has a cold. It's true - it's pretty snotty. :) We thought maybe at first it because of her teething, but we are pretty sure now it's a cold - I guess just the change of weather. Poor baby. She's still playing a lot, but you can just look at her and tell. If you ask her "what does Cheyenne say?" - she says in this TINY little voice "wuff, wuff". It's so sweet.

I have to go to work this afternoon. It's just one patient - BLAH. Good side - I won't be gone from Abby for too long. I AM thinking of getting my massage that I got from "abby" for Christmas! It'll expire soon, so I want to make sure I get it before then. I also can't begin to tell you how excited I am that the season premiere week starts this next week - Greys Anatomy, Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives, ER, Ugly Betty, I am assuming NCIS and CSI are also starting back up (not for sure though).

New to this...

2007-09-19T02:35:00.000-04:00

Hi to all. I am new to this blogging stuff, but it has quickly become a little addictive. I hope I can convince some of my closest friends that this is way better than myspace or facebook - no harm intended.

Abby news: She's now 10 months old and we can't believe it! She's so sweet and funny. She crawls everywhere and is into EVERYTHING right now. She pulls up on everything and decides to throw whatever is there off and into the floor - ie: from the coffee table this morning, she decided to pull off all her books, a parenting magazine, and a candle...I prob. should move the laptop pretty soon.

I am working so much lately that I have little time for much else - I work m, tue, thurs, and e/o fri at Maternal Gynerations in Lawrenceville - only half days. I work every Wed. at Dr. Gordon's office in Conyers, and then the "other" fridays - I work at Dr. Larrimore's office here in Covington. We just accepted/hired a new pastor at our church and we can't be more excited. This past Sunday was the first time most of the congregation heard him preach, and it was really amazing. I can't tell you the last time I saw soo many people just go down to the alter even to pray. We also had two people saved at invitation time. WOW. This was before he had "won" the votes of the church. That pretty much speaks for itself. He and his wife come from a huge church in Tennesse. We are just so happy and excited!

Oh and just for a little more excitement... we found out Friday that my sister-in-law, Rachel is preggo and is due April 9 - so Abby will have a little cousin in the spring. YAY!