I don’t think many people look at this blog so maybe I’ll be a little more transparent with this than I was with Facebook’s “25 things about me”….

1. After doing Facebook’s “25 things about me” I have realized that 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have recognized myself the way I am today. I have TOTALLY changed since becoming a wife and mother and wish I had done it sooner!

2. I no longer worry about the future like I used to. I love my husband dearly but sometimes even he fails to say the right thing. Humans are well, human. The Lord is always there to talk to and always says the right thing even if it’s nothing at all. What a tremendous blessing to know that no matter what happens, and I mean no matter what, I will always be taken care of by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That is a future to looks forward to!

3. I absolutely love to exercise. I feel that it puts me in my best physical and mental state so that I can be the best mom and wife I know how to be.

4. I have a wonderful husband who works hard and allows me to own my own business, working part-time, dictating my own hours, and giving me the freedom to do things like work out every day.

5. I love to cook. I discovered this trait about a year ago after Elizabeth Garrett gave me my Southern Living cookbook and cookbook stand. I won’t quit until I’ve mastered every recipe in there! It’s hard for me to cook the same thing twice because every recipe looks so yummy!

6. I married an Alabama fan. This is very strange for me but I am learning to deal with it. Nan doesn’t wear Auburn gear because that gives Russell the right to put her in Alabama gear. And I WILL NOT stand for that. Nan has some really cute Saints onesies (and will be precious in that Auburn cheerleader uniform when she’s old enough to tell Dad War Eagle!).

7. I don’t think I am very smart. This causes me to second guess everything I say to people.

8. I have a really terrible time remembering peoples names when I meet them. This is because I have terrible short-term memory, but great long-term memory. I can recall just about anything from my childhood.

9. I multi-task to a fault. Doing to many things at once means that not everything is done well.
I wish that had more of a green thumb. As soon as Nan gets a little older I’m going to get out in that yard. Among other things.

I am tagging....Caroline Wade and Megan Moore. Y'all do this!

Well, Christmas has come and gone and I am very sad...but I'm looking forward to a fabulous new year of watching Nan grow! It is so amazing to watch her. Literally every day I can see her grasping objects a little tighter, making more deliberate movements, smiling brighter, and staring at me with a deeper curiousity, among other things. Nan has eaten sweet potatos, green beans, sweet peas, squash carrots, bananas, pears, and peaches and can't get enough! No surprises. She has parents who don't have any trouble scarfing down some grub. It makes me sad to see her getting teeth and eating with a spoon! She'll be driving before we know it! We spent Christmas Eve day with the Kellys before heading over to Seagrove to spend the rest of the week with my family. I have found it hard to give each family equal time during the holidays. It's difficult to rush off to see the other family, especially when grandparents just want to hold Nancy Mae as much as possible. I'ts something about being married that I just can't get used to. Anyway, we had the best Christmas of MY entire life (Nan's too! hahaha...). For those of you without kids, have one just for Christmas. I got a little uncomfortable playing Santa but it's so much fun. Gena and Ford are becoming wonderful parents and little Samantha is a doll. Ford's mom and sister came from Houston to spend Christmas with our family. They are such nice people. Now we're back in Mobile just trying to get back into the swing of things! Happy New Year!

Sorry it's been so long! We've been very busy with the holidays. Nan will be 17 weeks on Friday. We went to her 4 month check-up last week and she was much bigger than I expected. 15 lbs, 5 oz! Dr. McDonough told us to go ahead and start feeding with a spoon. We are currently doing cereal twice a day. Some feedings are better than others. Every feeding leaves us both and the countertop covered in rice cereal stickiness. Still it's so cute to see it all over her face! Next week we'll start fruits and vegetables! Big news this month; drumroll...we're sleeping through the night! I knew this day would finally come and I'm so glad it's here! Life is finally getting a little easier. The biggest news is that cousin Samantha has arrived! She came on Sunday, December 14th weighing in at 7.7 and 20.5 inches. Gena had an easy delivery just like I did. I'm beginning to think it's a genetic thing! We're so blessed to have two wonderful little bundles. Christmas is going to be so much fun in Seagrove! Grandaddy can hardly contain himself with his two granddaughters! Nan seems so big compared to Samantha. It really makes me feel secure seeing how much Nan has thrived these first four months of her life. She has come so far compared to those first few days. She'll be driving before I know it! Enjoy the pics and I'll post more after the holidays. Merry Christmas!

War Eagle!

The world just keeps getting bigger and bigger for little Nancy Mae! we just got back from our first trip to the Plains! Nancy Mae got to go to the Georgia game. What a trooper! When we first walked into the stadium I was feeling like the worst mom in the world because every time the crowd cheered (especially during that first Auburn touchdown! War Eagle!) she was just terrified. But she got used to it quickly. Gotta start em early! She was great for most of the first half and started getting a little fussy at halftime. We left and she was out before we even got to the car. We're gonna shoot for the 3rd quarter next time! Traveling gets easier every trip we take. Just takes a little extra preparation on mom and dad's part! Nan got to meet cousin John who flew in from Houston and some of my friends from high school at Gena and Ford's party Friday night. We had so much fun! She loved being passed around from person to person all weekend. Our new favorite spot is the bumbo chair. Gena got three of them for Samantha so she gave us one. Nan loved sitting up with everyone all afternoon and night on Saturday watching football! She really doesn't like missing out when there's a party going on!

2 months!

Well, we went in for our 2 month check-up on Monday; 12.5 oz! Chugging right along! All of this constant, and I mean constant eating is starting to wear me out, especially since life has gotten back to semi-normal and there's not really time for naps anymore. When Dr. Little asked me how often she eats, I told him (with no makeup on and through blood-shot eyes) every 2 hours sometimes and he said "oh that's wonderful!" I was a little disappointed as his response. I was expecting a "oh you poor thing, here's some suggestions on how to stretch those feeding out a little more." I know that I should just be thankful that we have a healthy Nancy Mae who is in the 90th percentile for weight gain and who has never been sick. I left out the part about the cereal we've been giving her. That's not supposed to be introduced for another couple of months. There is a cold front moving in right now so I've had to lay off on the pretty little smocked dresses she wears since they're not very warm. Hopefully we'll get our Mobile weather back soon so we can continue playing dress up every day!

Tuscaloosa

First of all, for all of you who are

wondering, let me set the record straight: just because her first tailgate was an Alabama game does NOT mean that she is destined to wear crimson and white. She has a ticket to the Auburn/Georgia game on November 15th and there will plenty of indoctrination at that time. We had a wonderful time in Tuscaloosa though! As you can see, Nan loves her older cousins! She was passed around all Friday night at Gena and Ford's party and all Saturday at Uncle Jim and Aunt Nancy's tailgate and all Sunday at Fletcher's christening and loved every bit of it! The only part that was a little dicey was when the F16's flew over the stadium Saturday. You could see her little face squinch up before they got loud. Grandaddy said he wishes he could've shot them out of the air! By the way Grandaddy is officially a baby hog! He won't let anyone else hold her! It's so cute to watch those two. She met so many new people this weekend. All of the family plus some of mine and Russell's friends in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The microtel was truly micro, not even big enough for the pack and play. So we loaded up a baby bath tub that Gena got for Samantha with towels and it worked perfectly as a bed! It's been a chore this week getting her back on schedule. I was just thinking this morning though about what a blessing it is to be able to spend my days with this precious little girl who doesn't care about the economy or college football or anything but smiling back up at me. It's like Nana says, a smile from Nancy Mae will absolutely make you melt and forget about everything else!

First Beach Trip

Well, it's official, Nan LOVES the beach, just like we all knew she would. When she started to cry, all I had to do was to walk out onto the porch. We spent 5 days down in Seagrove with my parents, Gena, Ford, Harry, and Erin, and had fabulous weather. Grandaddy really enjoyed carrying his little grandaugther up and down the beach when someone came up to us and said "you must be the proud papa!" Yeah right. He probably would have said yes if I wasn't standing there! Nan is so blessed to have 4 young, healthy grandparents. I got a little sick on Friday from the Village Market so my dad had to step in and take care of little one. My dad really enjoyed all of the QT he got with Nan. We put the cradle on the porch one night...the ultimate hammock! Nan is such a good little passenger in the car. She never cried on the way over or on the way back during the 3 1/2 hour car ride. On the downside, Russell did not know just how much he was going to miss his little girl. He was in San Francisco at a lumbermen's convention and it tore him up the whole time to be away. We can't wait to back to the beach!