Things that make you smile

I don't know about you but every once in awhile I just have days where I get down. There's no real reason...it just happens. I have many things I do to get out of these moods, look at my precious daughter, hug my husband, love on my doggies, watch a favorite movie, fix a delicious snack...I could go on!! If I had a pool I'd plump my booty out there so fast it would make your head spin! Nothing heals my blues better than the crystal blue water of a pool!! (One day I'll have one...one day...)

Anyway...one of the best things I can do is look at pictures. I take too many pictures (words from my husband...not me) I LOVE looking through pictures. Pictures of Kenley, pictures of my husband and me, pictures of friends, etc. Here are a couple of recent pictures of Kenley that really brightened my day


It's a rare thing to see this little girl with anything on her head. She is snacking on some birthday cake and I just love this little mischievous look!!


I love it when she hugs and cuddles with her daddy. It absolutely melts my heart!


She LOVES her new riding toy! I think this smile says it all!!


I know I'm biased...but I think my baby is gorgeous!!!


Kenley is NOT a back sleeper...so when we caught her sleeping like this, we HAD to get a picture!

If you're having a blue day...I hope these made you smile too.

These photos are my property. They are not to be used in any way without my permission.

Our Doodle Bug is ONE!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe a whole year has passed since our precious daughter came into our lives. I praised the Lord then and I praise Him even more now! She is such a joy and a blessing. She is the perfect addition to our family and has enriched our lives in ways we never imagined possible!!

This has been such an amazing year, filled with excitement, challenges, new lessons, firsts and so much love. I've loved each milestone...laughing, clapping, rolling over, sleeping in her crib on her own, saying "da-da" and "ma-ma", crawling and of course, WALKING! We've had our struggles with sleepless nights, issues with breastfeeding, ear infections and so on. With each struggle, we learned and grew as parents and individuals.

It's still hard to think that just a year ago today...she was a brand new baby, weighing in at 10 lbs, 2 oz and now she is walking around and weighing 21 lbs. I cannot wait to see what this next year holds and I cannot wait to get to know her even more.

Happy Birthday Doodle Bug!!!!!

Watch Kenley grow...

A trip to the park!

Kenley and I went with my friend and her son to the park yesterday. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we all had such a great time. Kenley just sat in the grass trying to figure out what it was! She got to try out the swing for the first time and she just loved it! I think we're going to have to make this a daily trip!!

Mum Mums

I found out about baby Mum Mums thanks to some dear friends (much love Nesties!!). I have to say, Mum Mums might just be one of the best "must haves" for any mom.

What are Mum Mums? I'm so glad you asked. They are rice husks made for babys to chew on. I'm sure most people are familiar with zwieback toast. Kenley likes it but it makes one heck of a mess. With 4 dogs, a husband, myself and a baby, the last thing I need is more mess. Mum Mums, however, are virtually mess free. Here are a few reasons why Mum Mums rock my socks! (and Kenley's too!)

* Great Taste, No Mess
* Dissolves Easily
* No Artificial Colours or Flavours
* No Preservatives
* Each Serving Individually Wrapped For Convenience
(I think they're pretty tasty myself!!)

I just can't say enough about them! When I pull out the Mum Mum package, Kenley's eyes light up! She knows exactly what they are.

Moms, if you haven't let your little one try Mum Mums...do yourself a favor and get some. I have found mine at Wal-Mart (ugh, I know) but the Mum Mum website has a list of retail partners where you can find yours.

Here are some pics of Kenley enjoying her Mum Mums

Let it SNOW!!!!

Sunday, March 1, we had our first (and I'm sure only) snow of the season. I'm so glad Kenley got to see snow...not that she'll remember it, but I will.

She woke up that morning just before 7. Before I went to get her, I peeked out the window to see if the weathermen were right about the white stuff and they were!!!! Everything was white (at least 2-3 inches) and the snow was really coming down!

We were bad a skipped church that morning but had a lovely time sitting in bed watching the snow. After Kenley's morning nap we got her all bundled up and went out for some pictures. Being in Alabama, we don't have snow gear so we had to improvise. She had on thick cotton tights, a onesie, 2 pairs of fleece pants, socks, baby ugg boots, a fleece shirt, a hat, mittens, and two fleece coats. I knew my ears would be cold but I didn't have a hat or earmuffs so I tied a scarf around my head. We made it work! :o)

Sadly by early afternoon the snow was gone and the forecast was predicting 70* temps not even a week later. Last weekend we had snow and this weekend we'll be in flip-flops!!You gotta love crazy Southern weather!!

Kenley has pigtails!!!!!

Kenley has had a head full of hair since day 1 and it's been pretty long for awhile now. So I finally bought some little rubber bands and fixed her some pigtails! Oh my goodness she's so stinking cute! I hope to get some better pics soon but I just HAD to post this!

We have new floors!!!!

I'm so excited to FINALLY say that we have our new hardwood floors in the living room. And they aren't just any hardwood, they're bamboo!! My inner 'tropical girl' loves that!!! We've been saving for this for quite some time and they're so beautiful and worth the wait!

Backstory...when we moved into the house, the carpet in the living room was ok but our 4 dogs quickly changed that. During a trip to a wholesale building supply warehouse we found an amazing deal on some tile carpet. Yep, you read that right. Tile carpet. We quickly bought the 2'x 2' carpet tiles and ripped up the old carpet. We knew we wanted to eventually put in hardwoods so the tiles were going to be a temporary fix until we saved up. That was winter of 2007.

That tile carpet was great at first. If the dogs had an accident, no problem! Just simply replace said tile with a new one. Since it took significantly longer to get our hardwoods than we anticipated, we ran out of tile. That carpet did not hold up well to the pressures of our family. It got to the point where it disgusted me.

Our next step in the living room is a difficult one for me. Finding an area rug. I really LOVE the color Turquoise (robins egg) and I love bold damask patterns for drapes, pillows, etc but I'm having trouble finding what I like. That makes finding an area rug really difficult. The rug is a big purchase and one that will be with us for awhile. Talk and pressure and stress. (I stress over the weirdest things!)

Anywho...here's a few pics of the floors!!

Before - pardon my naked walls and my fireplace mantel. I haven't decided what to do for either and all red pillows are outta here

Let the demo begin!!!

After - we still have to put down shoe molding

Another shot

Kenley Updates

Kenley turned 7 months old on Saturday. It's so hard to believe she is 7 months old. She's learning so many new things and just growing way too fast!!! She is extremely close to crawling. She's got the motions, now she just needs to perfect them. (I'm hoping she'll wait 2 more weeks...that's when we'll have our new bamboo floors and get rid of the terrible living room carpet! I don't want her crawling on that nasty carpet!!!) She is FINALLY (after months of chewing, drooling, and crying) getting her FIRST tooth!!! Saturday she woke up screaming and during said screaming, I caught an actual glimpse of the tooth!! It's sooooo close to the surface and should be here any day now! I sure hope my poor baby gets some relief...she's been in so much pain.

Her newest accomplishment is pulling herself to a STAND! She likes to practice this in her crib. She learned how to do this yesterday (Sunday) and is already a pro. I've got some video I need to get uploaded. She's so proud of herself!!!!

So far so good on the nursing. Just 5 months shy of our 1 year goal. I sure hope we make it!! She's enjoying her solids and REALLY loves pears! Her recent teething pain has made her cutback some though. Hopefully once this tooth cuts she'll be back to my good little eater.

Here are a couple of pictures of her showing off her new skills in her crib. (The crib has been lowered now)

Christmas Recap

This Christmas was the most amazing Christmas I've ever had, to date. It was the first Christmas we got to spend with our precious daughter. This was our first Christmas as parents...and let me tell you...being a parent at Christmas adds a whole new level of excitement!! It also made me appreciate Jesus' birth even more...I didn't know that was even possible!!!

Coming down the stairs with Kenley on Christmas morning was such a special and exciting time! Jonathan got us on video and I showed Kenley the crumbs that Santa had left. (I had soooo much fun with that!!) We each opened our stockings and Kenley played with the toys Santa brought her. Jonathan prepared an amazing breakfast: baked french toast, bacon with maple syrup and eggs! It was literally a perfect Christmas!!!

Later on family came over and we visited the whole day. We had Christmas dinner and everyone brought a dish to contribute and man o man was it good!!!! It was so much fun to spend that time with family. The day after Christmas we packed up and headed over to visit my family in Hot-lanta! I love watching my niece and nephews play with Kenley. They're all so sweet with her!!

I just can't put into words how precious and special this Christmas was. Our first Christmas as a little family. I can't wait until Kenley is a little older and can enjoy the excitement with us!!

Six Months!!!!!

Doodlebug turned 6 months old yesterday. We knew by Christmas time she would be 6 months but it's still so surreal that she's growing so fast. She's such a big girl already...she's eating solids, sitting up on her own, well on her way to crawling (much to mommy's dismay), drinking juice and soon to use a sippy cup. She's such a beautiful girl and I absolutely love watching her personality develop.

Yesterday marked another big milestone for us. I've been breastfeeding for 6 months!!! Now to some, that may not seem like a lot but it's HUGE for me. It's been a difficult journey from the start when I had to pump and supplement to get her weight back up, to taking Fenugreek to help boost my supply and most recently Reglan due to low supply issues again. In the beginning I would chart how much I pumped then once her weight was back up I'd chart how much she nursed...for every feeding.

Being able to breastfeed was a big deal and a big goal for me. I prayed about it all during the pregnancy and have continued to ask for God's assistance. I tried to be realistic with my goals. First to make it to 3 months as a mini goal and then 6 months as my big goal. Looks like we're shooting for a year now!!!

I'm just still in shock and so excited that we've made it this far. I knew in the beginning this would be a big commitment, although I didn't realize how big at the time. I also didn't realize the bond that my daughter and I would share. The thought of quitting brings me to tears...but hopefully we won't have to worry about that for another 6 months!!!

5 months

Five months. That's how old Kenley is today. That just doesn't seem possible. My little baby is growing up so fast. She can roll, she's found her toes, she smiles, laughs, sticks out her tongue and she's very close to sitting up! We're fast approaching solids, but I think we'll wait one more month :o)

I cannot believe that she is one month shy of 6 months. It's going too fast. I wish I could slow down time...as I'm sure all parents do! It's been an amazing 5 months and I have loved it all. There have definitely been difficult moments. Moments of tears and uncertainty. Moments where I doubted my ability to be a mother. By God's grace and the support of friends and family we've made it. She's pushed me and challenged me and I hope that I'm a stronger person now because of her.

We 'celebrated' this evening by taking a mother/daughter nap in the recliner. Does life get better than this?!?! ;p

LOLZ

So the new thing is to add funny caption to pictures called LOLz. I was bored one night and had a little fun with some pictures of Kenley. Enjoy!! :o)

































































Click here to make your own LOLz