2008 memories

Addie and Ali in one of their wagons from Gingy and Popie

Addie dancing to the music on her zebra

Addie opening presents at Papa John's

Our pic of Addie with Santa

Addie and Daddy making cookies

It seems that the older I get the faster the years go by. It seems like just yesterday I was huge with Addie in my belly, stressed from working, stressed from getting everything ready for Addie to come...........pretty much just stressed out! 2008 was a GREAT year for us. It started out alittle shaky with me being sick as the ball dropped and the 3rd week of January I was put on bedrest, which was HORRIBLE!!! I had to lay in bed all day and Graham would move me to the couch when he got home. I was only supposed to be on my feet for 2 spans of 20 minutes a day! Trust me IT SUCKS!!!! Anyways, In February we got our little bundle of joy. It was one of the hardest times in our lives but so worth it. It's very scary when you bring this tiny baby home and you don't have your mom or the nurses to take care of it. We were so scared that first week. Over this year we have watched Addie grow into a little person. She has gone from doing nothing to being into EVERYTHING! SHe dances anytime she hears music, screams to the top of her lungs, and totally has an attitude! We love watching her grow and learn everyday and she is the best thing that has happened to us this year. Another big thing we did this year, besides taking care of Addie, is we got to go to Jackson Hole, WY and into Yellowstone and the Tetons. It was a beautiful trip. Things we will remember forever. It was a great time for us to get away and remember "us" again. When you have a baby you have everything consumed into him or her and those first few months Addie was all we had time for. We did everything for her and went to sleep, we were so tired, too tired to have time for "us". So that trip was great to spend time together as a couple.

This year has be the best yet! I'm sure next year will be even better. Addie will be one in less than 2 months and she is on the verge of walking. We can't wait for that, we will be able to go outside and play alot better then! From my family to yours we hope you have a wonderful 2009!

updating of Pictures!

Playing in the leaves

Look at those Eyes

Which reindeer do you think I am???

All cozy waiting on the Christmas parade to start

My sweet Little girl infront of the tree.

Family pic at the Christmas Parade downtown

Look at that curly hair!

Addie being goofy

My loves!

Addie First Christmas

Adam still has our Laptop so I can't put pics up yet (he fixed it WOOHOO and we should be getting it back soon) I will add Christmas pics later.

Wow........Addie has been So good this past week. Monday was pretty normal. Tuesday we went to Gingy's house to make cookies and were there until Addie's nap time. She was so funny when no one was looking (or so she thought) she would try to get a handful of cookie dough and stick it in her mouth. I can't tell you how many times Gingy fished it out of her mouth! I swear that child is into EVERYTHING all the time! Mom says she is just like I was when I was little, but I don't think I could have ever been that bad ;) Wednesday Addie and I spent alot of the day cooking and trying to get daddy out of the kitchen, he would have to "sample" all the goodies. But who could blame him??? his wife has become an awesome baker (haha). Wednesday evening we started at my Papa John's house with dinner then open presents with my mom's side of the family. Addie got alittle overwhelmed with all the kids and toys so we had to come home and chill out a few minutes before we went to Graham's aunt's house. We got over to Terri's and opened presents from that side of the family. Addie got a fire truck riding/pushing toy that OF COURSE plays music, a baby doll, some blocks and a dress (so cute I'll make sure and get a picture). She LOVES the fire truck, she figured out the whole pushing it thing on Christmas day (when she had more time to play with it) and she pushes it all over the house. Within the same day of learning how to push and walk with it she took her first 2 steps! She has done it a few times here and there since then but crawling is faster. I bet we will have a walker before she is 11 mths old (jan 16). Santa visited our house that night and left Addie, mommie and daddy all kinds of goodies! We ended up having to wake Addie up about 10 Christmas morning (that child would sleep all the time if you would let her!). We decided to go ahead and feed her first, figuring if she opened presents first she would not want to eat and just play. So we had breakfast and opened presents, let me tell you she had figured it our by then and she was ripping through those presents so fast. Santa brought her a bouncing zebra that plays music, a table that has buttons and music on it, another baby doll, and several other things (Santa may have gotten in trouble by higher authority for buying too much stuff) but Addie favorite came in her stocking.....................she got her very own measuring cups! She loves them and carrys them everywhere. Just like her mommie she is going to be a cook!
We played all day and MeeMee, Papaw , Uncle Sam and Aunt Nikki came over that night to do dinner and presents. Yes I cooked AGAIN! I feel like that's all I have done for the past month and half! Addie got SEVERAL more toys that night but her favs are a train that you put balls in and it spits them out from Sam and Nikki and a Kitty pillow and blanket that MeeMee and Papaw got her. And the big thing was a blow up house thing that had those plastic balls in it, Addie has tasted EVERY ball and just crawls in and out, in and out, in and out!
Friday.....................I know Christmas went on FOREVER for us this year!
Miranda, Manny and Ali came in town Friday so that night we did dinner and presents with them. I tell you I thought I, I mean Santa went overboard but my mom is another story! She got Addie books, and dolls, and push toys and clothes, and other small toys then she got her and Ali matching wagons. They both were so excited! Addie crawled into it herself and sat down (there is one in the baby class at church and she loves going for rides). We had to put it in the garage so Addie will leave it alone.
All in all we had a great Christmas, not because of the things we got but because we got to spend time with family and it was so much fun to see Addie get so excited! It was like we were kids again. Christmas with your kids is AWESOME! Maybe some of our Friends out there can start having some kiddos so Addie will have friends to play with.................HINT HINT.......you know who you are! LOL! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a Happy New Year!!

Its been awhile!

Yeah, I know I'm sorry! I have just been SO BUSY! I feel like I have baked or cooked something extravagant everyday for the past month! I usually cook dinner every night, and a big dessert at least once a week, but WOW you wouldn't believe what has come out of my kitchen lately! Graham is getting very spoiled, I have tried several new dinner recipes. Hopefully that will slow down after next week!
Let's see, since my last post Addie has started standing pretty good on her own, played in the potty (pics to come), got two more teeth and went to see Santa. Oh yeah, our laptop crashed and that's why I am never on here. I HATE the color in our guestroom/computer room so I don't like to come in here. Over Christmas break Graham and I plan on cleaning it out and making it more of an office, I hope to get him to paint it too :) Hopefully Adam will be able to get our pictures, itunes music, videos etc off of that computer and then we can reboot it and start all over. What a mess! I recommend everyone buying an external hard drive and backing up their pictures today! You never know what is going to happen.
We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and Addie cried the first time she saw it. She really hasn't messed with it as much as we thought she would. Tink on the other hand..........................I'll just say she has had her fair share of spankings! Addie now has 5 teeth and she smiles alot to show them off. We took her to see Santa last Thursday and she did awesome! She never cried, she pulled his beard and she smiled for the picture........I couldn't ask for a better little girl! She is so full of life these days. She is into EVERYTHING! I used to spend my days on the couch while she played.............NOT ANYMORE! We crawl around, make tents, bake, cook, clean then NAP! Thank the Lord she naps, and I get to too!! :) We are so excited about her first Christmas, I think she will have the best time playing with the wrapping paper and bows. Hopefully she will like her presents too!
Graham has been very busy at work these past couple of weeks. He works so hard I am so proud of him. His company treats him so well because they know what an awesome, smart man they have working for them and they don't ever want to loose him. I never get to talk about how thankful and proud of him I am. But he really is the most wonderful husband and daddy! I love you!! (not that he ever reads this!)
And me................let's see........I weighed myself today and I weighed almost 40 pounds less than this time last year(I know I know I had a baby BUT I only gained 16 pounds total with Addie) so I am very proud of myself. Lately, when Addie is napping, I have really been busting my B*** in the kitchen and I love every bit of it! I have always liked cooking but it is slowly becoming a passion. And it really should, see Graham and I have a new dream of moving to Wyoming. He wants a ranch and I want a Bed and Breakfast. This is our "when we retire" dream. If you have never been out to the Jackson Hole, Yellowstone part of the country you should pack your bags and go now. Well......wait till we have our B & B and you can stay with us! It really is a beautiful place! I sit around and draw up house plans for when we are ready to move :) I know.......weirdo! Well I am off to make me and Addie poodle skirts for a party Saturday. I will post some Xmas pics as soon as I can get them off the computer! Have a MERRY Christmas..........I'm betting I don't have another chance to post before then!

My Papa Buff

My Papa Buff passed away last Thursday 2 days before his and Granny's 50 year anniversary. We buried him on Monday, and I'll just say it was a very hard day. My Papa had been on hospice care for about 3 years, sometimes he was so great and then the next day we would think it would be our last day with him. I am so glad he stuck around to see Addie and Ali. He LOVED those girls. He didn't always remember Graham and Manny's name but he ALWAYS remembered Addie and Ali.
When I was younger Papa Buff was the coolest! We would go over there on Friday nights and he would let us drive the tractors in the field, he would sneak us junk food, and he would play with us the whole time. Miranda and I would climb all over him and we would ALWAYS watch TGIF together. He seemed as interested as we were. Alot of the time we would get to spend the night out there and on Saturday mornings while Granny was making breakfast Papa and I would go out walking and looking for rocks on their property. We found so many rocks and we named them all, usually 'nugene' to make Granny mad (he always called her that, but I really don't know why). I remember one time they were coming to our house for dinner and I decided that I needed to display all the rocks Papa and I had collected. I had this really pretty shelf in my room that Daddy built for my books and stuffed animals, I decided that would be the best place for everyone to see them. When my mom came in my room and saw all these dirty rocks on this pretty white shelf she was infuriated. Luckily, Papa and Granny walked in about that time so she didn't have a chance to yell at me. I got Papa and brought him upstairs to see our collection, he laughed and said that was a perfect place for them. Papa always understood me, I always was able to talk to him about things. When Graham asked me to marry him (finally) I went to Papa and asked him what he thought of Graham. He approved, he said he thought Graham was a good man that would take care of me ( FYI- he is a good man that takes care of me and Addie, I am so lucky!). My Papa Buff was a good man, he was kind and had a way of making everyone feel welcome in his house.
I feel so lucky to have had him as my grandfather. I love you Papa so much and I will think of you every day.

Usborne Books

So I just got home from an AWESOME Usborne book party. When I was first invited to this I thought, what in the world??? But after some research became VERY excited. This company sells children's books and I must say they are the coolest! They are not anymore expensive than you would pay in a store and the quality is great! I decided, with so many family and friends being teachers and moms, I would have a party in December. So be on the lookout for an invite! It will be December 4 at 6:00. And YES we will have food! So mark your calendars for a girls night buying the coolest books for your kidos! When my party gets set up, I will post the link so ya'll can be looking. And if anyone can't make it there will be a place that you can go ahead and order what you want.

Cheerios

So I was making coffee this morning and when I walked back into the living room this is what I found.......................

Addie got her bag of cheerios off the couch opened them and spilled them on the floor. As I was trying to pick them up she kept cramming them into her mouth! Like she had to get what she could then because I wouldn't give them to her. ( I give her cheerios all the time!)

Oh my Goodness!

I swear, I have 3 kids! I know you are thinking...........WHAT? when did you get two more? Well, as soon as Addie was born I became a mommie, and I LOVE IT! Then as Addie has gotten older I totally understand what my poor mother had to go through. I am CONSTANTLY picking up after her ( I know she is only 8 1/2 months old) but still, does she HAVE to pull out EVERy blame toy in the house??? Anyways, I don't mind that as much because she doesn't know better and hey, it's my job now. But my 25 year old husband is worse than my 8 1/2 month old daughter! It's as if he just suddenly can't take care of himself anymore. He is CONSTANTLY leaving glasses out (which Tink knocks over but I will get to that later), the paper spread everywhere, mail from MONTHS ago laying everywhere, and for the life of me I cannot figure out what in the world he does in his bathroom to make it so dirty! Lately he has had a BAD habit of asking me where something is, lets say socks, and I ask if he looked (where socks have been for 2 years now) and he says yes. So I go look and they miraculously have appeared in the sock drawer! Wow! He does this with EVERYTHING, especially with Addie stuff like bibs, blankets, clothes, all the stuff we use Every day and is always in the same spot! I really don't think he would make it if it wasn't for me. Finally, there is Tink, my kitty who insist on knocking over every blame cup Graham leaves out. She never knocks mine over just his, as if she trying to get him in trouble. Also Addie is in love with Tink, she thinks the "kitty" as she calls her is SO COOL. The only problem is Addie is bigger now so when she tries to pet Tink, Tink thinks she wants to play and swats at her. So now my days are filled with picking up all of Addie's toys, playing with her, picking up all of Graham's crap he leaves everywhere, preforming miracles for him (haha, Just kidding), and trying to keep Tink away from Addie. No wonder I am beat by 9:00 every evening! Don't get me wrong, I love my family with my entire self, they just drive me crazy sometimes. Come on You understand!

Election Day

Please everyone don't forget to vote! Hundreds of people died so you would have to right to vote, don't disappoint them!

Lost posts!!

There are 3 post that I just posted that got put in order of when I started them so scroll down and check them out. They are titled..

Mommie and Addie
Wyoming and Montana
and Addie and Tanner!

Halloween

Her bug bump was so big she couldn't sit in her carseat very well. We were tightening straps all night!

Ladybug in action.

Addie with Mi-mi and Papaw! (Graham's parents)

Addie with Gingy and Popie (my parents)

With the pumpkin!

Mommie and her sweet little ladybug!

A back shot!

She Looks SO GROWN UP here! (tear)

I NEVER get pics of her smiling or laughing so this is one of a very few.

Daddy and his sweetheart.

Halloween was so much fun, well for me at least. Addie got alittle tired of getting in and out of the car seat and the fact that she only took an hour nap she wasn't the happiest baby out for Halloween. We did good though, she got alot of candy for her loving parents! lol. And look at that costume..........I MADE IT! I really wanted to make her costume but WOW some of those patterns are HARD! I finally found a how-to on ladybug costume and I used it as a guide. I think it turned out pretty good! Most people probably think I'm a weirdo, why don't I just go buy a costume and be done with it? Yeah I understand but I always remember a story my mom told me a long time ago.......

She was in like elementary school and Grannie Nell ( her mom) made ALOT of their clothes. (Grannie was so good at making things) Anyways, there was a rich girl in mom's class that made fun of her for Grannie making her clothes. One day the girl said, "Your poor and that's why your mom has to make your clothes." Mom had had enough and she said," Your just jealous that my mom loves me enough to make clothes for me." That has ALWAYS stuck with me. I make clothes, costume etc for Addie not because we can't afford to buy her things (not that we are rich but for goodness sake we could have bought her a Halloween costume) but because I love her and I do have time to put some sweat and tears into things for her. I know she doesn't care now but maybe one day she will. I know I am thankful for all the time my mom spend making us Christmas and Easter dresses etc. I love you mom!!

PUMPKIN CARVING!

We had to carve our pumpkin on Tuesday night because Graham flew to Detroit on Wednesday and didn't get back home till late afternoon on Friday. Addie looked at us as if we were crazy! Mom said she probably was thinking, " that's a big apple!". When we gave her a piece to feel she stuck her finger in it and made a face like, that feels too weird I'm not touching it anymore!

Mommie and Addie

We were matching for church one Sunday and we had to have a photo session when we got home! We can't get her to look at the camera when we are outside, she has so much to look at!

Addie and Tanner

Last Saturday we kept Tanner so Bethany and Chris could go to the Tennessee game. We had so much fun, but also learned a good lesson..............we are NOT repeat NOT ready for a second child! Tanner was GREAT, no problem at all, but wow having to worry about 2........that's alot! Addie really enjoyed having him here to play with!

Pigtails!

LOOK ADDIE HAS ENOUGH HAIR FOR pigtails!!! I'm so excited! I pull her hair up everyday now. She HATES it, I'm sure the neighbors can hear her yelling outside. She has a LOUD mouth like her mommie! HAHA!

Wyoming,and Montana

The Tetons

Me and Graham at Jenny Lake in WY (the Tetons are behind us)

What a cool picture of Jackson Lake and the Tetons

Yes, That is a road that we drove! There was about 2 or 3 inches of ice and snow that we drove on!

Jackson Hole, WY, Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National park were AWESOME. Although I STILL love the northeast coast better this is a part of the country I had always wanted to see. I have never seen mountains that big and so much wildlife (which Graham got too close to most of the time). This is definitely a place we will go back to (in the summer season though).

Outraged!

So I was reading the November edition of Babytalk magazine and there is an article in there worth reading for every mother, soon to be mom, or woman for that matter! Entitled, "Don't get cheated!" the article is easy ways to fight for the maternity leave you deserve. It starts with some startling facts:

"Give birth to a baby in France and you can count on at least 16 weeks of paid leave to cuddle and bond. Have a child in Norway and you get 42 weeks at full pay. Sweden promises 390 days at 80 percent of your salary."

Seriously, we are the richest and most powerful country in the world and all Uncle Sam promises is employers have to offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave and that rule only applies to companies with more that 50 employees (Family and Medical Leave Act)! I guess I never really thought about this but it really is a problem. Studies show that the more time mom can bond with baby the lower the chance that child will have emotional and psychological problems. And of course the longer the mom can breastfeed the lower the risk of all kinds of things like infections. But how can a single mom just stay at home with her baby when there is no one else supporting her financially? I have heard people criticize the moms that HAVE to go back to work after 6 weeks, and I just wonder what in the world they are supposed to do? I have been VERY fortunate to be able to stay at home with Addie and I thank God and Graham for that everyday, but I think we need to rally together to get a solution to this problem from our government. I believe there are too many people in this country that aren't even aware of this problem, I was one of them. We need to get this out there and make it one of the strong political issues. Here are a few ways the article suggests that you can do to help make the presidential candidates, congressmen, state reps, etc aware that this is a problem and we are not going to stop till something is done!

Email the presidential candidates-
Just go to momsrising.org and click on the "campaigns" link, then click on "momsvote'08: e-mail the Candidates"
They provide a sample letter you can make your own or just send.

Email your state reps-
Babytalk.com also posted a sample letter along with a list of Democratic and Republican state party websites.

I know you are all busy, but this only takes mere minutes. So please take a minute and send these emails and tell everyone you can to do the same. Together we can make a difference!

LOOK HOW FALL-ISH!

I Finally figured it out! I'm really bad not taking the time to read and figure out how to do something when it comes to blogs, myspace etc. Well I FINALLY DID! And isn't it just so pretty! I know I promised to talk about my trip and I will probably next Wednesday and Thursday while Graham is gone to Detroit and I have nothing to do at night! So hang on and I will get some of the best pics up and the several stories I have to tell about our trip. Including seeing bears, moose, elks, and bison galore! Have a great week!

TETON PASS

Well, lets see........I'm sure this will take several posts to get all I want to say about this WONDERFUL part of our country but for tonight I will start with the absolutely SCARIEST thing I have ever done!
We left Chattanooga around 3 headed for Nashville. We got to the airport alot earlier than we meant to so we had to wait for our plane for about an hour and half. We finally got on the plane and headed out west. We have to connect in Minneapolis then on to Idaho Falls. We arrived in Idaho Falls at 11:00 pm MOUNTAIN TIME (that's 1:00 AM here) with SEVERAL inches of snow on the ground and pouring snow! The gate thing was messed up so we had to get off the plane on the stairs and walk inside, we were in t-shirts with no jackets (they were packed). IT WAS FREEZING! When we boarded the plane in Nashville it was 80 degrees and Idaho Falls was 23 degrees! ANYWAYS, we got our bags and waited on our rental car. After getting the rental we headed for Jackson Hole which should have been about an hour and half trip........BOY were we wrong! As we start to leave Idaho Falls we think maybe this is a bad idea but as we progress the roads get better and we quickly get onto a road that has be salted. We drive for about and hour and everything seems okay, the roads are pretty good but it was snowing very hard! We see that Jackson is 40 miles away and figure we are home free...................WRONG! We make our final turn onto Wyoming 22 or the Teton Pass and see a BLINKING sign that says Chain Law in effect. We figured we made it this far we would be fine for the 30 miles now. Mind you we are in a Chevy Malibu 2 -wheel drive! We start up A MOUNTAIN with 4 or 5 inches of snow on the road and I'm sure if it wasn't so dark we would have seen that if we slid we would have gone thousands of feet down into the unknown! I have never prayed so much. Graham was awesome, he took it very slow and didn't seem nervous at all. We slipped a few times trying to get up and when we made it to the top Graham sighed with relief. Needless to say it took us about 2 hours to go 20 miles! We FINALLY made it to our Cabin in the WEEE hours of the morning. All thanks to our AWESOME God! I'll write more about the most wonderful place on this earth later! And add some pics soon, Although, there is NO WAY to capture in a picture how BEAUTIFUL this place is! EVERYONE needs to go see it for themselves. Graham and I are going to buy a ranch out there so ya'll can just come stay with us! Talk with you soon!

I'm so EXCITED!

I am so excited about our trip to Jackson Hole! I just sit here at night looking a pictures and hiking trails! It's going to be so awesome! I just hope I am okay without Addie, I found myself crying several times today because I didn't want to leave her. She will be fine and will be having fun without me, that's what I have to tell myself in order to get OKAy again! Graham and I need this, we need to be a couple again and not just Addie's parents. The first couple of months being parents you do whatever you can to survive! I went a few days without showers, but that's how it goes. We made it through that, now Addie is older and ALOT more fun! She actually plays with us and that is the best. I LOVE that she wants me all the time, Graham can be playing with her and when I walk in the room she reaches for ME! She may have said Da-Da first but she always wants her mommie. My poor baby was running a fever tonight and did not feel well, I hope those teeth come in soon. It's no fun to have a baby who doesn't feel good! Well I just wanted to share how excited I am about our trip! We leave on Saturday and return the next Thursday, I'm sure there will be tons and tons of pics! Say a prayer that we make it there okay and that Addie doesn't miss us too much!!

I've been tagged

I've Been Tagged
I was tagged by my Anna today, so here goes. Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.
10 years ago I:
1. was in middle school
2. Was SKINNY and thought I was fat! Oh how I wish to be that size!
3. was totally involved with my youth group at church and went on several trips and mission trips. GREAT TIMES! (chased alot of boys!)
4. Was IN LOVE with Nathan Copeland from Montgomery. I would have married him right then.........GLAD I DIDN"T! God had a better man picked out for me!
5. Was paying my sister $30 (along with Heather) to drive her car around the circle! She made alot of money off of us!

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Play with Addie! My FAVORITE THING TO DO!
2. Start packing for JACKSON HOLE! and Addie to go to the Grandparents house!
3. Clean.............yeah this doesn't happen because it's more important to play with Addie!
4. Cook dinner...............MMMM Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots! (almost done!)
5. Take a long bath (while Graham gets Addie ready for bed, I get to do this once a week!!) and crawl into bed early with Graham to watch a movie! Our weekly mini date night is Thursday nights!

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Townhouse crackers
2. Whatever sweet treat I have made for the week.
3. Snowman poop! (although I don't get it that much!)
4. Fruits! Me and Addie sit down and have fruit everyday together! It's our time!
5. A glass of GOOD wine!

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. pay off the house, and cars. And be DEBT FREE!
2. Buy land on the river and built our dream home.
3. Give money to church and mission efforts.
4. INVEST for our future and Addie's future. We only have small amounts in these accounts and they desperately need to grow!
5. We would take trips to Ireland, a long road trip in the west, and Alaska!

5 places I have lived:
1. Lookout Valley, TN
2. Montgomery, AL
3. Lookout Valley, TN
4. Lookout Valley, TN
5. Lookout Valley, TN

5 jobs I have had:
1. Tour Guide at Raccoon Mountain Caverns
2. Afternoon teacher at a daycare in Montgomery, IT WAS AWFUL! I had 10 3-4 year olds!
3. Receptionist at Dr. Wray's office.
4. Don't know a title but I did all kinds of things, from taking care of patients, paperwork, casting at an Orthopaedic office.
5. Mommy! The best job yet!
The rules say I have to tag 5 people. I don't read many bogs (no time), so I can't tag anyone that hasn't sent this to me!

2nd Anniversary Trip!

I know Crazy, two posts in one day!

So Graham and I have been planning to go on a trip for our 2nd anniversary (October 14) for awhile we just couldn't decide where to go. Well last night we booked our trip to Jackson Hole, WY! I am so excited! We are flying out on Saturday the 11th and returning that Thursday. We have read alot and it says that this is the best time of the year to see wildlife. Everything is coming down from the mountains. It's alittle scary though, one word..........BEARS! Most bear attacks happen this time of year. WOW! I have no idea what to do if a bear comes at me....any ideas???? So if everyone could please keep us in your prayers that week that would be AWESOME!!
Before Addie Graham and I went on trips at least once a month. Since Addie has come along we have only been one place! Well minus 2 trips to Montgomery to see Miranda, Ali and Manny. Anyways, this trip is LONG overdue but we will miss Addie BUNCHES AND BUNCHES! She will be in good hands, she will spend Saturday through Tuesday with Gingy (my mom) and Tuesday night through Friday morning with Mi-Mi (Graham's mom). I think it is so important to make sure Graham and my marriage stays strong through these raising children years. For us that means getting away and being just us awhile. Please don't get me wrong, we LOVE Addie and LOVE being with her but we also like to revisit the before kids couple we were. Thanks to our wonderful parents being down the road we are able to go on dates and get out of town like this. THanks GUYS!! We love you!!

What a BEAUTIFUL DAY!

So a couple of days ago it was so pretty outside Addie and I decided to take some pictures. I dressed her in my favorite dress and outside we went! I played photographer and snapped well over 60 pictures. I found some "props" in the house and tried to use them. As we were taking pictures Tink came up and started playing with the props, she REALLY wanted her pic taken too! What a sweet kitty! Anyways, here are some of my favorite pictures!

Awesome Resturant!

So I was just thinking about some of my favorite places to eat in Chatttanooga and one comes to mind that most people don't know about, The Big Table. We know about it because the owners are friends of Dottie and Bobby. It is by far my favorite restaurant! The place is so neat, it is a small house turned restaurant at the foot of signal mountain. There is a BIG TABLE that they used as they grew up and it has name plates in it from the brothers and sisters. The owners are so cool as soon as you walk in you feel like you are at a family members' for dinner. The owners come out and talk to their guest and really make you feel at home. They do catering also and have a HUGE list of carry out items. We used them for our rehearsal dinner and it was a big hit! Every time we eat there I HAVE to get the Grilled Fajita Marinated Chicken Alfredo, OH MY GOODNESS the best EVER! They always have different soups and I haven't tried one yet that wasn't awesome. Anyways if you ever are looking for a place to eat in Chattanooga got visit The Big Table, you won't be disappointed. Here is a link to their website: http://www.bigtable.net/

SAD DAY

WOW, what an afternoon! I got a call from Jon this afternoon that one of our dear friends had lost their precious 3 month old. Dustin and Rachel Creswell are great friends of ours and I had the joy of being pregnant a couple of months with Rachel. We talked about the joys (the few there are. haha) and the rough times of being pregnant. We had several of the same problems, as most women do. The CONSTANT heartburn, the feeling like the baby is going to kick through your tummy and the wonderful sound of your baby's heartbeat for the first time. Today, sweet Dylan was with his babysitter and she laid him down to go make his bottle. When she came back he was not breathing, she tried CPR till the paramedics got there and they took over. They tried to get him back all the way to the hospital but failed.
Tears are streaming down my face as I write this. I can't imagine how these great parents feel. One day they have a perfectly healthy baby and the next he is gone. Addie was at my mom's when I heard this devastating news so I rushed over to get her, I had to hold her and kiss her. Sometimes I take her for granted, like when she wakes up in the middle of the night and I go in there, so tired, and she is sitting up like, "hey mom, are you ready to PLAY?". I sometimes find myself irritated at her for waking up, but I always smile, tell her I love her and gently rock her back to sleep. How awful of me to be upset when my baby wakes up in the middle of the night. I'm sure Rachel and Dustin would give anything for that. I hate that this happened to them. I just don't understand why God lets things like this happen to people like them and then the 14 year old or the woman with 15 kids who can't support another one have healthy babies everyday. WHY?? It really isn't fair. I know that God has a plan and everything happens for a reason but Man, I wish he could just let us know why sometimes. I guess this is one of those times where we really have to trust him and have faith that everything is going to be okay. Dylan is really in a better place.
We can't understand things like this. But we also can't question God. We can use this as a way to build our faith, it isn't easy, but we can. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13, which I'm sure you all have heard before but it really relates to almost everything in life. Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, " I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength." And we can, we have to trust God with everything we have and he will get us through the hardest of times. Please keep the Creswell's in your prayers.

(I started this on August 26th)

Well.....It's been awhile! There are a few things that have happened this past month! We went to Lake Lure, NC to surprise Graham's parents (they were on vacation there). We left on Wednesday when Graham got home from work and we didn't make it there till midnight! Wow that was a bad night, Addie woke up when we got there and was up until 2 and then back up at 7:30. It was fun though we spent Thursday and Friday with them and came back on Saturday. Addie got to take her first trip on a boat and she loved it! There isn't much to do there so it was nice and relaxing. We also got Addie a swing to hang in the tree a couple of weeks ago and she would probably swing 24 hours a day 7 days a week if we would let her! She LOVES it.

Addie spent her first night away from me a couple of weeks ago and I am proud to announce that we both did GREAT! No tears! She spent the night with my parents because Graham was given some tickets to a party at the Walden Club and we figured we would be late getting home. Mom said she didn't cry at all, she is so good she will stay with anyone! Graham and I had a great night out, it was like old times! We had a wonderful dinner with some very interesting people (we didn't know anyone there even at our table!) and then we saw a late movie!

Let's see.............oh Addie got her first tooth! Last Wednesday we went to Walmart after church and on our way home I sat in the back with Addie. She grabbed my finger and put it in her mouth, chomped down and smiled, as to say " look! I have a tooth now!" It was so cute! She has been working on that for awhile.

Addie also started crawling at the end of August. One day Tink came and sat down in the floor and Addie got VERY excited and just got up on all fours and crawled over to her! What a smart little girl.

She is so much fun these days, she crawls around behind me during the day and laughs when she catches up. She LOVES to pull all the clothes out of the laundry basket as I'm trying to fold. Her favorite toy is any magazine she can shake and it make noise (she never even tries to eat it). And forget getting her a jungle gym she just climbs on the boppy pillow! She can do that for hours and hours! She has gotten better at eating her baby foods she likes everything BUT green beans, and who can blame her? They SMELL AWFUL! We tried to give her chicken in chicken broth baby food the other day and she threw up after the first bite! I almost threw up when I opened the durn jar! She is so wonderful, but TOTALLY keeps me busy from 8:30 to 9:00 with the exception of the nap she SOMETIMES takes from 2 to 5. I love her so much and I am just cherishing these days!

FINALLY!

ADDIE FINALLY SLEPT IN HER BED IN HER ROOM LAST NIGHT! It all started when we went to see Miranda, Addie slept in the cradle my daddy built for Ali and the bedding in it is VERY soft. When we got back Wednesday night we put Addie to bed in her bassinet as usual, she flipped and flopped all night! I started thinking that maybe it was because her bassinet is pretty firm, maybe she isn't comfortable.

Okay, now Addie has taken naps in HER crib since she was 3 weeks old and she sleeps so good! About 2 1/2 hours after I put her down for her nap I heard her in there moving around so I went in to check on her...............WOW...........she was sitting up holding onto the railing! Lately she has gotten pretty good at sitting up but only when you sit her up, she can't get from a laying position to a sitting position by herself. That's when I decided she was ready to move to her room, she would be more comfortable after all! Graham put her to bed and I checked on her before I went to bed and that was it! I woke up once and was about to go in there but she moved around and I knew she was okay so I didn't. This morning she laid in her bed and played for like half an hour! It is so great to have my room back! When she was in there I was constantly having to tell Graham to be quiet so he wouldn't wake her up. Anyways, here is a picture of Addie sitting in her bed, SUCH A BIG GIRL!!