I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas! I will post pics soon. It has been a GREAT Christmas! Hope you have had a happy day!

Did I loose my mind?

First of all, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a great birthday. Josh & Hannah gave me a digital picture frame. It was just what I wanted!

Today I decided that I was going to take Hannah to get her picture made with Santa. I thought if I could get there as soon as the mall opened, then it wouldn't be that bad. We got up this morning and I decided that I was going to make a pit stop at Goody's. David & Susan bought a gift card for my birthday and I was anxious to spend it. (Thanks David & Susan! I appreciate it more than you know!) Once we left Goody's, I went to put Hannah in her seat and realized that she had soaked her very cute outfit! I didn't think to bring another Christmas outfit. The only other clothes she had in the car was a sleeper. So we made another pit stop at Babies R' Us. She had a red shirt on, so all I had to do was find some blue jeans. I found some Valentine jeans that had red hearts on them, figured it would work, threw in a Santa hat, and we were back in business.

Off to the Galleria we went. Of course, by this time it was lunch time and it was crazy! The line had about 40 people in it and did not appear to be moving very fast. I decided that I would run in Children's Place to get the pj's I had spied out earlier for Billy & Mary's house. Big surprise - they were sold out! Not wanting to waste the trip over there, Hannah & I rode the carousel. Hannah was not sure about it at first but by the end she was giggling.

I then decided that I would run to the Summit to the Children's Place. It was crazy there, as well. Luckily they had the pj's and sweater I wanted to buy. Still haven't seen Santa, so off to Brookwood Village we went. The parking lot was crazy so I skipped the elevator parking and went with a few stairs. I figured I would just carry Hannah and pull her stroller. Then I would put her in it as soon as we got inside. That worked out great on the way in.

We saw Santa and Hannah screamed and cried. I am sure you have already looked at the picture. She was pitiful. The picture they took of her is not as sad as the one I took. Oh well, maybe next year she will not be scared. We grabbed something to eat and headed for the car.

Once we got back to the parking deck. I put everything I had in the little bag that is attached to Hannah's stroller. I put my cup in there to get Hannah out of the stroller. When I tried to pick the cup up, the top fell off. I tried and tried to pick it up but it just kept spilling. So I stuck my finger in the cup and picked it up. Good idea and it worked until a piece of the cup broke. It spilled on Hannah and me. Hannah said "Ohhh mommy!" It was cold! Then I couldn't get the stroller folded up. I am sure people were wondering why anyone left me alone with a child, but no one offered to help me either! I finally just drug the stroller behind me since I wasn't that far away from my car. A lady was waiting on my parking spot. I told her it would be a while. I finally got us both in the car. Of course the lady didn't leave me that much room to get out & traffic was backed up. As I am squeezing out of the parking place, my lap was filled with coke from the hole in the top of the cup. I reach for a napkin and realize that they are in the stroller bag in the trunk. It was raining hard and people were everywhere. So, when I got to the light, I poured some of the drink out and found Hannah's shopping cart cover to clean myself up! It was time to go home!!!

Isn't Christmas wonderful!? Can you believe that Hannah was so tired all day (think about all the places she had been) and she did not cry except for when she was sitting in Santa's lap! What a sweet little baby!

The Weekend Update

Christmas is in full swing around our house. Friday night we had the Sr. High party at our house. Josh teaches their class. I think they all had a good time. They sat around and talked, ate, and opened gifts. They also made cookies. I think they enjoyed it as much as the little kids. They seemed to have a good time. They are all such great "kids." They really aren't kids but I guess they are to me. I did feel a little old! LOL! (Sometimes I forget that I am 2 days away from being 28 and not 16 anymore!)

Saturday, I spent most of my day at my mom's house. We did a little shopping. Josh came home early from hunting because of the rain! There must have been a flood at the hunting property! :0) We spent Saturday night at home. It was nice to just be home.

Sunday, mom and dad came to church with us. Afterward we went to Red Lobster for my birthday! It was really good. Hannah greeted everyone with a "Hello" if they were being seated and a "bye-bye" to everyone leaving. She is such a sweet little hostess. She looked offended if they did not speak to her. We thought she was funny, which fueled the fire!

Sunday night was the annual church get together at the Courington's! It was a lot of fun! Of course, there was a lot of food, singing, and fellowship - three of my favorite things.

Today Hannah and I went to shop for Josh's present. I am still not finished with him, but he is the only one on my list that is not complete. I am tired of shopping and ready for everyone to open their gifts we have bought them. That is my favorite part of Christmas. I am so excited and counting down the days - only 8 more to go! Yippee! Hope everyone has a great week and happy shopping!

Saturday we had the 6th grade and under party for the kids at church. We let them play several games, make cookies, open presents, and eat lunch. I was exhausted after it was over, but the kids had a lot of fun! Below are some pictures from the day. Hannah had a great time! She ran around there like she was as big as the other kids!

Sunday night was interesting. I missed most of the lesson because Hannah was not being quiet. I took her to the nursery and was trying to make her sit in my lap. (It is my idea that I make her sit in my lap so she doesn't learn that going out means playtime and not your in trouble. Will it work? I have no clue. Any ideas from parents who have been there?) Anyway, I was trying to keep her in my lap and apparently I didn't put her diaper on very well. All of a sudden I felt warm. She had tee-teed all over me! So, we had to go home to change clothes. We were eating after services and by the time I got back almost everyone had their plates. Oh well, the joys of parenting. :0)

Monday, Hannah and I hung out around the house. She had an exciting day and used the potty!!! I just happen to catch her before she went in her diaper and I sat her on the potty. She thought it was funny and really had no clue what was going on. However, it is a start!

Update

So much has happened in just one week! We went last Thursday night and got our Christmas tree! I love having a real tree. It smells so good. Hannah ran around and had a great time. She was so excited when I was decorating the tree and tried so hard to help. I think it is beautiful. It is leaning a bit but I am hopeful it will stay upright! :)





Friday night we went to Addi's b'day party. She is now 5 years old! Wow, she is such a big girl! I hope she had a great birthday!

Saturday night we went to the Gill's for Christmas on the River. We were an hour late because we got lost! That was not a pleasant experience, but once we got there it was a lot of fun. Hannah ran around with two suckers in her hand the whole night. Santa made an appearance and Hannah was not impressed. She was scared and cried. I was surprised. I love her face in the first picture. It looks like she is thinking "if I ignore him he will go away."




Sunday night the girls or the "fabulous five" (I think Kim called us that in her blog and I LOVE it!) came over for dinner and we watched the movie Hairspray. We had a good time like we always do.

Monday I kept Addi and Levi so Kim could do some Christmas shopping. We had a good day. They are sweet kids and Hannah was so excited when she woke up and they were here.

Tuesday I woke up fine but around 8:30 I was sick! I guess I had a stomach bug. Gail had to come and get Bayley. I stayed on the couch all day long.

Wednesday I was much better and spent the day disinfecting the house! Last night was church.

I think that catches you up on what is going on in our house. We are just enjoying the Christmas season. Hannah loves all the lights and will say "look at that." She also says Santa, snowmen, and lights very well! I can't wait to see her reaction to Christmas morning! It is going to be fun!

One more thing I need to mention - please pray for Josh's grandparents. They are having health problems and both are in need of our prayers!

Ho, Ho, Ho, Six in a row! The victory over Alabama on Saturday was the best Christmas present I will get this year! Hoping for #7 next year! WAR EAGLE!!!

In other news, I have all of my Christmas stuff out except for my tree. We get a real tree, so I will have to wait until Josh has a day he can help me. Hopefully we will get it on Friday. I will post some pictures as soon as we get it up and I get a chance. More later - Bayley is not happy and Hannah got quiet - not a good combination!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! I love Thanksgiving - mainly because I know the next day will be the biggest shopping day of the year. I also love it because it is a time for family and lots and lots of food! This year was no exception. I started my Thanksgiving Day the way I always do - out of bed, throw on some clothes, brush my teeth and hair and off to get a newspaper. Yesterday morning I had a surprise. When I walked out the door to get the paper, I realized that one was already in my driveway. We get the Sat/Sun paper but I guess this one was a freebie! Thank you, Birmingham News!

Anyway, we went to eat lunch with the Shadix family. I loved getting to visit with my grandparents, aunt, and cousin. We do not get to see them that often and it is nice to be able to spend most of the day with them. Time passed by so quickly. Hannah showed out and everyone oohed and aahed over her. (Big surprise, I know). We left the Shadix's and went to the Courington's. We ate AGAIN. I was stuffed. We all just sat around and talked. Some played the Wii. Some taught Addi how to trash talk and others almost killed everyone in the room trying to play tennis! It was a lot of fun.

We left Hannah to spend the night with Billy & Mary. When I got home I almost cried because I missed her. It is funny to me that sometimes I feel that I need a break so bad, but the second she is not around my heart aches for her. Breaks are good for mommies as long as it is not too long! Thank you, Billy, Mary, Jazz, & Alex for keeping Hannah last night and today!

Today was the big shopping day. I was up at 3:30 am and out of the house by 4:00 am. I met my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin. We shopped until about 12:00, came back to unload, and took off again. We were through around 5:00. We had so much fun and I am almost finished with my shopping. It is wonderful to have such a close family. We laughed a lot today, but I couldn't wait to get home to see my baby!

Billy and Mary bought Hannah a snowman costume. She is so cute in it! She has been running around the house wearing it proudly. I will have to take a picture and post it soon. Anyway, I have rambled on enough. I hope everyone had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Now let the Christmas season begin!

I've got the spirit! :0)

I am in the Christmas spirit! I would decorate today if I didn't think it would be a little tacky. I always try to wait until the day after Thanksgiving, but I am really in the mood this year! I will wait though.

I got a new camera! YEA! Target had a good sale on one yesterday and I couldn't resist. Gone are the days of having to hold the batteries in to take a picture! That is exciting to me.

Hannah has been a handful lately! :0) She has been into everything. You may have noticed my "I love my toddler tornado" blinkie. I thought it fit perfectly. The other night I got the George Foreman grill out of the cabinet to make hamburgers. Hannah walked over to the cabinet and got in! It was funny. She played in the cabinet the whole time I cooked dinner. I know she is mine, but I think she is too cute!



Poor Bayley! Do you see her face? Hannah wants to be sweet, but she is not that gentle. LOL! They are going to be good friends one day - along with Lila. I find it humorous that Hannah talks to Bayley like we talk to her - in a high pitched voice. She will say "Hey Boo-boo." Tina always says that to Bayley and apparently Hannah picked it up. Now I find myself saying it too.



Hannah loves to sit on the chaise now and watch television. I think she likes the chaise because she can climb up there by herself. She looks like such a big girl!



Look at my little Auburn Tiger! I think she looks just like Clay in the picture. She helped me cheer for Auburn, but we must have not cheered loud enough Saturday! All of you know we got stomped, but maybe that will make us hungry for elephant meat!



There is not much happening around our house. Hunting season starts this week and Josh is excited. Hannah has to go Saturday to get her flu shot and then we are taking Hannah, Addi, Levi, and Lila to have their Christmas picture made. That should be interesting. Getting all of them to smile at the same time will probably be a challenge. It should be fun - as long as it is better than last time! Anyway, I am waiting on Bayley to get here and I need to put a roast in the crock pot. Hope everyone has a good week!

Happy Tuesday!

It is Tuesday and Bayley is here. However, I am still finding time to blog! Bayley is peacefully sleeping and Hannah is eating breakfast. So, I thought I would get on the computer and let all of my girls know that I saw something exciting on television last night! October Road is coming back on!!! It will be on in three weeks on Monday night. I thought it had been canceled but apparently not. Yippee!

Anyway, I did forget to mention several important things in my last post. I just had so much to say that I forgot to say "Happy Late Anniversary" to my husband. We have been married three years on October 23rd. He is the best husband and daddy!

Also, I forgot to tell everyone that my best friend, Brandi is going to have a baby. I had to keep it quiet for a while, but now she is telling everyone. (I hope she doesn't mind me blogging about it) I am so excited for her and Jason. They are going to be GREAT parents! Congratulations!

In "Hannah news"..... The other morning she got up early and I was laying on the couch under my blanket. She was sitting on top of my stomach. I had my eyes closed and I hear "one, two, three." I opened my eyes and sweet little Hannah is smiling and looking at me. So, I am thinking I didn't hear that right. I say "one.." and she finishes "two, three!" She is such a smart baby. I can't believe how much she has changed. She is also learning how to climb on everything! She can get on the chaise now without any help. She also LOVES the caterpillar rocker Michelle and Justin gave her for her birthday. She has learned how to rock on it very well. She gets a little wild sometimes. I see a bruise in the future from it, but she loves it. That bruise will just match all of the other ones she has lately!

I'M BACK!!

Did you miss me?? I am so excited that we have our computer back. Thank you to Daniel and Brian for helping us get back on track! It has been a month since I last posted and a lot has happened. We spent a few days in Gatlinburg for our first official family vacation since Hannah was born. We had a GREAT trip. Unfortunately, I lost the camera and do not have any pictures. :0( I have been having to use the old camera that I have dropped several times. I have to hold the batteries in to take a picture. It is sad but I must take pictures!

Anyway, I have lots of pics to share but I will try to catch everyone up as quickly as possible!

My niece, Lila Victoria was born on the 12th of October. She is SO sweet. Hannah can say Lila very well. She tries to take care of her, but poor baby she ends up in trouble because she is a little too rough. Lila is an angel. See the pictures. The one of her in the green blanket is a more recent picture, but she is already changing! I could just squeeze her and love on her all day! She has joined Hannah & I in Bible Class. She slept the whole time - I guess I am boring! :0)






Hannah is trying her best to learn how to eat with a spoon. These are the pictures of the first time she tried. She ended up holding the spoon in one hand and picking up the food in the other. She also likes to turn the bowl over onto her tray. Oh well, she will learn!





On the 27th, Josh, David, Alex, & I went to the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game. It was a lot of fun! We were in the nose bleeds and I thought I would pass out before we got to our seats but once we were up there it was GREAT! We were two rows from the top of the stadium. Auburn won, so that made it even more exciting. Auburn has ended up having a decent season so far. I was worried after the two loses but we have made a come back and look like a better team! We will see how the Georgia game goes this week!




Bradley, Emily, & Clay came over last week and carved pumpkins for Halloween. Clay didn't understand the pumpkin carving and refused to clean out his pumpkin. So, we let Bradley carve his when he got home from school. Emily did the skeleton face, I did the bat (I went the easy route this year), and Bradley did the haunted house. Bradley's was the best! He is very talented. It had a lot of detail and he did it in no time at all! I was impressed.



These pictures are of Hannah eating a Dum-Dum sucker. She LOVES suckers. I thought these were cute and wanted to share them with everyone. What a sweetie!




Hannah was a lady bug for Halloween! Isn't she cute?!! We had Trunk-or-Treat at church. Hannah had no idea what was going on but she loved running around the parking lot and holding on to pieces of candy. By the time, we got in the truck to come home she was asleep. She wore herself out and me too!




I think I have caught everyone up on the major details of the last month! I am glad to be back in the blogging world again. I missed you guys!

This and That

Well, our internet is still not working. Daniel got the virus off our computer. A BIG THANK YOU to Daniel. Now we are working on our internet problems. Hopefully it will be fixed soon and I will not have to leave the house to get on the internet.

I am walking in the Race For The Cure on October 13th. I tried to set up a link to the page to donate but I can't figure it out. So if you would like to donate look under "Blog Friends" then click on Kim or Rachel's page. My name is not on the list because I waited to the last minute to register, but click on Addi Kelsey's name and donate. Please just donate something even if it is $5. It is a good cause! If you don't want to donate on the internet, let me know and I will try to get the money from you.

Anyway, not much is happening around our house. We are EXCITED that Auburn beat Florida!! WAR EAGLE! I am happy to see that Auburn played a GREAT game. All of you Auburn fans that booed (sp?) Brandon Cox should be ashamed of yourself. I am optimistic that they will have a good season. I was worried for a second but they looked great Saturday night. I hope they can keep it up.

A cute story about Hannah - Saturday night we were at my sister, Amy's house to watch the game. Hannah went to Emily's play kitchen and put her hand under the faucet and rubbed them together like she was washing them. It was too cute!

Well I hope you all have a Happy Monday! Don't forget to donate!!

I am still alive...

Daniel is working hard on our computer but it has a virus. So, it may be a while before we have one again. It is hard not to miss it! Anyway, so much has happened. I won't be able to tell everything but here is a tidbit of info about what is going on around our house. Last Thursday was Josh's b'day. It was a low key birthday but I hope he had a GREAT one. We did have our picture made and below are some pictures that were taken. Also, I posted some pictures from Build-a-Bear and the toy box Granna & Gramps bought Hannah's birthday.

Hannah is now running everywhere. She can stand up without holding on to anything and she is gone. She is so fast. The other day she spilled some Cheez-It Grips in the floor. She stood by me while I swept them up. I walked across the room to the garbage can and when I turned around, she was gone. She had her hand in the toilet once again. She loves water and she knows the toilet has plenty of it! I need to buy a toilet lock. She has been saying a few more words and her latest and favorite is "dog." She calls every animal that flashes across tv a dog. It is cute. Although I hope she learns that not all animals are dogs! :)

I have also been keeping little Bayley on Tuesday and Wednesday's. She is so sweet! Hannah is fascinated with her and tries to touch her every chance she gets. That wouldn't be so bad except she hasn't learned the meaning of gentle. Maybe it will get her ready to see her little cousin Lila! She will be here in a few short weeks and I am EXCITED!

Well I better go. We are having girl's night and I need to be ready to go when they get here. Have a good weekend. Oh, one more thing - WAR EAGLE! Yes, I know we are not looking great offensively, but I have faith that they will get better. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

Are You Ready For Some Football??!!!

As I type, I am at David & Susan's house. We still do not have Internet (very frustrating - don't know what the problem is but I am not liking it at all!) and we came to their house to watch the LSU vs. MS State game. I can't believe football season is here. It is so hot outside it doesn't seem like it should be that time of year, but I am EXCITED about this football season. This Saturday is Auburn's first game. I can't wait. We will be watching at my parent's house while doing a pre-celebration of Labor Day. It is the only day we can all get together. All I have to say is WAR EAGLE!

Hannah has become very good at walking - almost running. She is even standing up without having to pull herself up on something. She has cut one of her front teeth and the other one will be coming in any day now. She also has not had a bottle in two days and has been drinking real milk! YEAH!!! NO MORE FORMULA!!! We feel like we got a raise! Sunday we moved her into the "big girl" car seat. She went to the doctor on Friday and weighed 20 lbs, 11 oz. She was 31 1/4 inch long. She was 50% of weight and 97% in height. Her head circumference was also above average - which means she is a smart girl. I already knew that but it is good to have a doctor confirm how brilliant your child is! :0) Wow, she is becoming a big girl right before my eyes.

We are having our pictures made tomorrow. We have never had a family picture made - isn't that crazy? Earlier today Hannah was walking around the kitchen. I went to get some hangers out of the closet, came in the living room, heard some paper rattling, and as soon as I rounded the corner to check on her I saw the camera fall into the floor. Hannah started screaming and I thought it just scared her, but after looking at her face it smacked her right on her cheek-bone. She has a nice little black eye just in time for the pictures. :( Poor Baby! Well I have rambled on enough. I am going to watch a little football!

Computer Issues

We are having internet problems. Whenever we try to connect the internet it tells us that there is not a dial tone, but our phone is working. We are not sure what is causing the problem, but I am ready to have a computer at home again. I am at the church as we speak and Josh is at home with Hannah.

Anyway, I just wanted to hop on here and read everyone's blogs. I have been having withdrawals! :0) I want to post some pictures from Hannah's big day but I didn't put them on a cd before I came. So I will have to post them later. She had a great birthday. She turned very mischievous on me that day! Kim told her Wed. night she could do anything she wanted on her birthday and I think Hannah understood what she said. Here are eight things she did on her birthday...

1. She got up at 3:00 in the morning and was ready to play. She played until 5:30 and FINALLY went back to sleep. Although she would not sleep in her bed. Every time I put her down she would scream. So, she sleep on me until 8:30.

2. She ate a fly. Well, really just the wing. I found it before she ate the whole thing.

3. She got a special delivery by FedEx. The toy box Granna & Gramps bought her came that day. I will post some pictures when I get a chance of her opening the box.

4. She got one hand in the toilet before I stopped her and splashed it all over herself. One of her favorite things to do these days.

5. She peeled a piece of wood including paint off the closet door in the computer room.

6. We met Granna, Gramps, and Mamaw Courington for dinner at Dale's.

7. She went to Build-A-Bear and made a very cute puppy named Cuddles. She loves to hug her and has been dragging her around everywhere. Thanks Billy & Mary for the gift card! Stayed tuned for pictures at Build-A-Bear!

8. She stayed up until a little after 10:00. I guess she wanted to make it until 10:27 pm, which was the time she was born. She almost made it but finally gave it up!

Well, I hope everyone has a great day! I better get home to finish dinner!

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Hannah is one year old today! I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday that I was as big as a cow waiting on her to get here. Now she is walking, cutting teeth, and saying Mama, DaDa, & Bye. Wow! What a difference a year makes!

Since I did not have a blog last year, I will fill you in on how the day went. I got up and decided that I was tired of being pregnant and was going to "walk" until I went into labor. I also needed to get some things that we would need when we got home from the hospital. So I went to Dollar Tree, Big Lots, and Walmart. I walked around for a good 3 hours. Big as a house, feet swollen, and hot as could be, but I was determined. After I left Walmart, I started having random contractions. I came home, ate lunch, and went to my doctor's appointment.

My doctor told me that I had not made much progress. She told me to go home, take it easy, and if nothing happened by the next week, she would induce me. I was still having random contractions.

Anyhoo, I was disappointed because I was really hoping that she would keep me. So I call everyone and tell them it is going to be a while. Then went home to watch Dr. Phil. My contractions were starting to hurt a little and they were coming more often. I laid on the couch to watch Dr. Phil and decided maybe I should time the contractions. However, I kept loosing track of when I had the last one. As I was about to get up to get some paper to write it down, my water broke. I called Josh, the doctor, and my mom. I put all of the stuff in the car and waited on Josh to get home to get me.

After waiting on the doctor for 20 minutes, he finally came in and said "yes your water broke." DUH!! I could have told you that. Anyway, he admitted me and the rest is history. Sweet little Hannah was born into this world at 10:27 pm, weighing 8 lbs, 4 oz, and was 21 inches long. The moment they put that crying angel on my chest, my life changed forever. She has been such a joy to our lives. This has been a great year. I have enjoyed watching her grow and feel so blessed that I can stay at home with her. If I was working outside the home, I would have missed so much of her first year of life and no amount of money is worth the precious moments that we have together. So, Happy Birthday to my sweet Hannah bug! I hope you have many, many more happy years of life! I LOVE YOU!

Birthday Party

I wanted to blog last week but our phone was out from Wed - Sat night. Apparently some idiots decided to steal all of the copper from the phone lines. So we were out of phone service for 3 days. I almost had blog withdrawals. That is one of the downfalls to dial-up. Oh well, I am back and still addicted.

Hannah's 1st birthday is on Thursday. We had her party on Saturday at the park in Gardendale. She had a great Sesame Street (mainly Elmo) birthday party! We ate hot dogs and just enjoyed being outside. The yellow jackets were a little annoying and made us nervous but we had a great time. Hannah LOVED her cake. She had it up her nose, in her ears, all over her hair. She enjoyed herself. She also got lots of presents. She has played with all of her toys and I can't wait to dress her in the cute outfits everyone got her. She got a new Auburn outfit. She will be sporting that new outfit on September 1st! Hannah is such a loved little girl. I hope she always knows how much everyone in her life loves her. I got lots of pictures of her eating the cake but I didn't get any of her opening her presents. I had to help her and Josh was video taping the whole thing. Mary took the pictures of her opening the presents on her camera. So for now, enjoy the cake pictures! You can see how much she loved it. Maybe I will get some pictures of her opening her presents later and post them. Hope everyone has a great Monday!