It's Over Already??

Well, once again the weekend is over. It is always too short. We had a very productive weekend...we got lots of cleaning done on Saturday, and went to the park yesterday. Alexa had a great time. Here are some pictures from our trip and a few others. I hope everyone had a great weekend...a happy Monday today...have a great week!

Alexa playing peek-a-boo with mommy

Mommy helping Alexa on the slide

Alexa having fun on the slide

She loved the park!!

Alexa going into the tube...

Alexa coming out the other end!!

Alexa and Mimi feeding the fish!!

Alexa and mommy by the fish ponds

Thursday Thirteen

This Thursday I want to list 13 things I am thankful for

1. I am thankful that I am a child of God
2. I am thankful that I have Christian parents
3. I am thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful daughter
4. I am thankful that I live in America
5. I am thankful that I have a good job
6. I am thankful that I am going to school so I won't have to stay in this job forever!
7. I am thankful for the wonderful family I have that supports me
8. I am thankful for the troops in Iraq and other places that are protecting me and my family (I wish they would all come home soon...especially Severyn!)
9. I am thankful for the health of my family members, especially Alexa
10. I am thankful that Alexa has a heavenly Father who loves her more than any of us could
11. I am thankful that Alexa has a wonderful earthly father who loves her very much
12. I am thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful life...that I have the things that I need, and that I am able to provide for my daughter
13. I am thankful that I truly am blessed in so many ways it's impossible to count or name them all...it's nice to reflect on them and give thanks to my Maker for the wonderful things He has done in and around me. Thank You God for all of your many blessings! Thank You for giving us this Thursday to write about being thankful...and thank You for the blessings You are going to give us in the future. What a truly awesome day!

Happy Thursday everyone...don't forget to give Him all the praise for the wonderful things in your life!

BIRTHDAY PICS!!

Finally some pics from the big event! Jodi sent my SD card home with Mimi and Pop after they spent the night at her house to celebrate Walker's birthday which was actually today. She also sent some cricut samples to me too...so exciting!! I can't wait to play with it! :)

Alexa playing on Walker's caterpillar

Alexa and Walker playing with their books

Alexa helping me read her card

These two are pretty much self-explanatory...I don't know if you can tell from the picture or not, but Alexa has red icing on the left side of her face because Walker wanted to share his with her!! :) LOL!! They were both so cute covered in icing!

Weekend Pics

Ok, here are a few pics from this weekend...unfortunately Jodi still has my SD card, so there aren't any from the birthday party. There are a few of Alexa in her birthday dress because she wore it to church on Sunday too...had to show off the adorable outfit her Mimi made her and Aunt Jodi appliqued a cupcake and embroidered her name on it. So cute!!

Alexa enjoying the french toast Pop made her

This is Alexa eating breakfast on Sunday after her big party!!

This is Alexa playing with her new laugh and learn piggy bank

Isn't that just the sweetest smile! :)

Such a sweet happy baby!

Such a sweet smile!

Daddy giving Lexa some sugar

Alexa in her new pink crocks...a present from Mimi and Pop

My newest scrapbook spread...I call it The Faces of Alexa. Linds I'm not sure if you can tell from this picture or not, but in all but one of the pictures her mouth is open...how funny! The only exception to the rule is when she has her paci in. She loves you and misses you. Hope we get to see you soon!

So Exciting!!

We had a great time at the party on Saturday...sorry I haven't gotten any pictures posted yet. I gave my SD card to Jodi so she could download all of my pics to her computer and it took too long so I had to leave it.

They were both so cute playing in their cakes, it was so funny! It was almost like they didn't know what to do with it...or maybe they were just scared to tear it apart because we don't let them do that normally. Great fun was had by all, our cousin's children came and they had a great time playing with all of the toys. They both got some nice stuff...lots of noise makers! My dad absolutely hates the little driver toy we got for Alexa...she presses one button over and over. He said "it sounds like a broken record" LOL! :) I think we are going to exchange it for something else that isn't quite as irritating!

We really had a great weekend all around! We spent Friday night at One Scrappy Chick, and we all got a lot done. Steph, Mere, and Jackie, it was great getting to spend some time with you all...hopefully we can do it again sometime soon! Jodi, don't think I'm leaving you out...I had a great time with you too, and hopefully it won't be a one time thing! Lindsey I will post my newest spread for you ASAP!! I can't wait to get some pictures of the birthday party printed so I can work on it next weekend. Danna talked about having another all day crop on Saturday, so if she does that then I won't go on Friday night. I hope I have the pictures by then, I just can't do a spread without the pictures there! I have plans for some other cute spreads...we are going to take the babies to a pumpkin patch and get pictures of them picking out a pumpkin, so that should be cute...especially with the pumpkin cutouts from the cricut. Then I'm also going to try and take Alexa to the park one day this week and get some pictures of her on the slide and stuff like that. It's funny...all of my ideas about pictures now revolve around what kind of cute scrapbook spread it will make. LOL!

Saturday we had the party and all was well there. Then yesterday we went to church and then rested...I took a much needed nap! :) I was supposed to go to Jodi's to play with the cricut, but I was just too tired. I hope I get to go over for a while tonight and play.

Alexa had her 1 year check up today...and she had to get 4 shots. :( She was such a big girl! She didn't cry when they stuck her finger, and then she only cried for a minute while the girl was giving her the shots...as soon as she finished she quit crying. It still made me sad though! I just love her so much and hate to see her in pain. I know Jodi feels the same way about Walker's appointment on Wednesday. She was 19lbs 3oz and was 29 inches long. It's crazy to think of how much she has grown. She as 7lbs 1oz and 20 inches when she was born. They grow up too fast!

On a brighter note...I won Meredith's contest!! Thanks Keith for pulling my name out of the hat! :) Thank you also to Meredith for having the contest in the first place. I can't wait to see my goodies!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and I hope you have a great week! I'll try to post some pics as soon as possible.

Happy Birthday ALEXA!!

Today is my sweet Alexa's first birthday!! Isn't that exciting? We woke her up with a wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday, and she loved it! She is taking a little nap now, and then we are headed to Jodi's house for the party. I can't wait to see them both covered in cake! :) I will try to post some pics later of the event. It's been a great year, and I'm looking forward to celebrating it and starting a new one! Happy Birthday Alexa Lynn, mommy and daddy love you so much!!

Fabulous Friday!!

I am a firm believer in the fact that nothing can ruin a Friday...why? Well, for the simple reason that it's FRIDAY!! That means no more work for 2 days, and what could be better than that? The answer this weekend would be that my sweet little angel is turning ONE! I can't believe it's been a year since I had her. That means this time last year I was still just waiting on her to arrive. I wouldn't go back to that moment for anything...in fact I would skip right up to after delivery! :) Next time I'll think more seriously about having an epidural! Oh well...I can say it's been an amazing year. Thankfully I'm about 50 pounds lighter than I was the day I had her (before delivery of course!)...I'm pretty sure the only thing better than new clothes are clothes that you couldn't fit into anymore. I so love being able to wear all of my old clothes again! :) I also love everything that has happened in the past year. Alexa can walk...she started at about 9 1/2 months. She has a vocabulary that includes: hey, hi, bye, no, uh oh, mama, dada, baba, ball, baby...I think that might be it, but I have to say for 1 I think it's pretty impressive! :) I'm looking forward to the times to come...I know it only gets better!

Just wanted to get a quick entry to say HAPPY FRIDAY!! I'm so glad I'm getting off early today, and can't wait for the crop tonight. See you girls there!

13 things I'm excited about!!

13. Alexa will be ONE on Saturday!! :)

12. It's Thursday, which means tomorrow is Friday!!

11. I'm only working a half day tomorrow!

10. Alexa is feeling much better

9. I get to work on her scrapbook tomorrow

8. Stephanie, Meredith, and Jackie are coming to the crop as well

7. Jodi bought a cricut and I can't wait to use it

6. We are going shopping for baby birthday presents tomorrow

5. I'm getting my hair cut next week!! (it is so desperately needed)

4. I am through pumping, so no more carrying that stupid thing EVERYWHERE!

3. Getting my new tote that's pink and green! :) Thank you Jodi

2. Alexa & Walker's birthday part on Saturday and all the great pictures we will take!

1. ALEXA WILL BE ONE ON SATURDAY!! It's such a big milestone, I think it's worth mentioning again! :)

Just like taking a car to the mechanic!

So, anytime your car is making a funny noise and you decide to take it to the mechanic, it never fails that when you get there it WILL NOT make the noise for anything. Same thing happened to me today! I waited all weekend to see if Alexa was going to get better, and then she formed a rash on Monday, so today we went to the doctor. By the time we got there the rash was almost completely gone! The doctor said it was probably a virus, that for whatever reason it starts with a fever and then after the fever breaks a rash forms. He also said she has a slight ear infection probably from all the sinus drainage. She is now on antibiotics and able to return to daycare tomorrow. So, all is well. Thank you for your prayers!

I have to say I think it is a great thing that she is 3 days short of being a year old and this is her first antibiotic! I attribute this to breastfeeding! I'm glad the year is up so I no longer have to drag my pump everywhere, but I am so glad I have been able to provide a healthy beginning for her. It was worth every minute of it! :)

Prayer Request

Hello all...just a quick post to say please pray for Alexa. As indicated in my entry from Friday, she was sent home from daycare with a fever. She seemed to be fine otherwise so we decided to monitor her over the weekend because we thought she was teething. Well, her fever broke on Sunday and never returned so we assumed everything was fine. She did still seem to be a bit wobbly, but nothing serious. Monday night she started developing a rash, and yesterday at daycare it escalated, so she has an appointment with her doctor today, and hopefully we will have an answer after that. Her appointment is at 12, so just send up a quick prayer for her. She is a trooper as always! I'll let you know how it goes!

Beach scrapbook pages!!

Last night was so much fun at One Scrappy Chick!! I got two double spreads done to show our beach trip. I had a great time and got a bunch done, I can't wait to go next Friday...and then for the all day crop the Saturday after the baby birthdays!! I am just loving my new hobby, and come to think of it...I don't know why it's taken me this long to get into it. Oh well, I'm making up for lost time now! :) Here are the pages I got done last night. I know they aren't great pictures, but at least you will get an idea Lou Lou! I hope you're having a good weekend!

I thought they turned out very well. I'm so excited about the upcoming spreads. First we have Alexa and Walker's FIRST birthday!! :) YEAH! The party is next weekend, so I will have lots to work on after that. Then we are going to take them to a pumpkin patch and let them pick out a pumpkin, how cute is that? I can't wait...it seems like now I think in terms of how something will look on a scrapbook page! LOL!

Jodi, are you jealous you didn't come now? Just kidding...seriously though, for the orange and blue spread I bought a pack of vacation rub ons, so if you want to use the rest of them you are welcome to. Love ya...maybe next time you can come!

Steph and Mere...can't wait for next weekend and the crop, we will have to much fun! :) See you then!

Fun filled Friday

Ok, so not really! Today I was working away as usual when the daycare called about 10:30 and said Alexa had a fever of 101 degrees. So, I went and got her and took her to the doctor's office. We waited for 30 minutes for them to tell me they could see her at 2:15...not a happy mama! I used to work in a doctor's office so I know how stuff like that is, and I really got the feeling that because it was almost lunch time and she wasn't extremely sick that they thought it could wait. Anyway, I took her to her daddy and came back to work. He called me about 1 and said she was fine that she was up eating, drinking, and playing. So we are going to play it by ear this weekend and hopefully she was just teething.

On a different subject that means I might not get to crop tonight :( and since I was really looking forward to that it makes me sad. Depending on how she feels I still might go. Stephanie, it would still be fun for you to come!! :) If you want to come I'll make sure I can be there for at least a little while!! No pressure though :) just an invite!

Oh well, I was supposed to get off early today because I've worked over all week...but since I missed 2 hours earlier that won't be happening. Nothing can really be that bad...why? Because it's FRIDAY!! Everybody have a great weekend! I'll try to post some new scrapbook pages tonight or tomorrow.

Time for reflection (but not too much)

As I look back on the past year, it's amazing to stand where I am now and think this time last year I was just waiting on my precious Alexa to be born. I was still working at Applebee's (rather unhappily I might add) and just counting the days or minutes until her arrival. Standing on this side I think WOW, if I had it to do over, there are probably some things I would do differently. For instance, I look back and regret not having pictures taken in the delivery room (after she was born of course), but with no epidural I was exhausted, looked awful, and my face was so swollen and all of the blood vessels had burst so I really just looked a mess. Even with all of that I regret that I don't have a picture of our first moment together. I still remember how sweet it was, even though I was ready to pass out, and I wish I had a picture to immortalize that.

Oh well, there are always things we can't change. There are even more things that I'm glad happened just the way they did. Like the moment I walked into my room the day we left the hospital and saw the absolutely gorgeous cradle my daddy made from scratch for us. What could be more special? How about the quilt my mama hand stitched? Not to mention the rest of Alexa's bedding and diaper bag that she also made. These are the things I hold dear to my heart. We were looking at a picture of the quilt yesterday and mama said something about Alexa not using it and that maybe she would get to this winter. I told her that to me it's not about her using it, it's about her loving it because her Mimi made it for her, and using it when she has a baby and then giving it to her daughter. That makes me smile. I know that when she dies (God willing a long time from now) that Alexa will be able to look at that quilt and say my Mimi loved me and she made this for me.

All of this to say that as I sit here reflecting on the last year of her life, well our lives, I realize that while it's good to spend some time reflecting we also can't focus on the past and what we did or didn't do. We have to focus on today because it's really all we have. God didn't promise any of us tomorrow. So, I'm going to enjoy today, and tomorrow God willing. I'm going to remember all of the joy that Alexa has brought into my life so far, and thank God for giving her to me. I'm going to enjoy every minute of the time we have together and I will look forward to the good times to come. I'm going to live life to the fullest and not worry too much about toys in the floor, or dishes in the sink. Some things will wait until tomorrow, but my sweet little girl growing up isn't one of them, and I don't want to miss it!

She and Walker both are forming the best personalites, and it's so sweet. It's also amazing to know that in some way you helped form who they are becoming. I can't imagine life without them, and hopefully will never have to. Life is such a gift. We have so much to be thankful for.

Friday Night Crop

Tomorrow night we are going to One Scrappy Chick in Landrum for one of their Friday night crops. I say we, and that might be a stretch. I'm going, and I hope Jodi is going to get to go, but at this point we don't know for sure if she will or not. I can't wait to post some new scrapbook pages...I finally got my beach pictures yesterday!!

I ordered the pictures online at winkflash and they turned out very nicely. Until now I have been printing all of my pictures at Sams, but I think I will use winkflash from now on. For starters they have a deal going on where your first 50 4x6 prints are free and you only pay shipping. Another great thing...you can ship as many 4x6 prints and there is a flat shipping rate of $0.99!! I mean you can't beat that, and when you go over the 50 it's only $0.12 per picture...it's $0.17 at Sams, and you have to drive down there and take the time to upload them to their computer and then go back to get them. With winkflash you upload the pictures from your computer and print them automatically...mine shipped in 6 days. I thought that was pretty good, and the quality was great.

Anyway, I digress, the crop starts at 6pm tomorrow night and lasts until 11pm. It would be great to have some others join us...Stephanie (it's never too early to start on the scrapbook for Perrin if you haven't already!) I'm sure Grammy would watch him so you could come! :) No pressure, just wanted to invite you and anyone else who would like to come. It's a lot of fun, and you can get lots done!!

I should be able to post some new scrapbook pages tomorrow...I can't wait! :) If I don't get another post done before the weekend, everybody have a great weekend!

Here is one of the pictures I got yesterday...this is Alexa at 6 months and 3 days having her first taste of real food (rice cereal). Does she look hungry or what? I have to say, I'm so glad we waited, it was painful some days, but she was ready when the time came! :)

New scrapbook pages...

Ok, just a quick post to get these on here so Lindsey can see them...I really should be in bed. I had so much fun at One Scrappy Chick tonight working on them. Let me know what you think!

This is the Mimi and Pop spread...so cute!

And then this is a double page that is the Mommy & Me spread...isn't that sweet. I know you can't tell, but below the picture in the middle the orange dots on the black flowers spell out her name...cute huh?? I wish I had been able to get more done...but I was there until almost 12, so I had to leave it at this for tonight. Maybe some more progress tomorrow.

What a great feeling!

As a mother there are so many things that we look forward to and rejoice in when they happen. The first of which was giving birth to our little miracle, and then most of the time the next big thing is sleeping through the night. Alexa is almost a year, so she has been sleeping through the night for some time now, and it was very exciting the first time it happened. Although, I woke up in the middle of the night and thought WHAT IS WRONG??!! That thought quickly faded and it became the normal thing.

The next thing you realize as a mother is that you can't rock your baby to sleep every night for the rest of their life, so you begin trying to form a routine at bedtime that establishes a good sleep pattern. This includes putting the baby to bed while they are still awake, and for some point in time you deal with crying because the baby does not want to go to sleep (even though they are TIRED!). Then after a few nights it's not as bad...and before you know it, you walk into their room and put them in the crib and that's it!!

Alexa has now gone down without a fuss for the past 3 nights...YEAH!!! It's so exciting, and for the past three nights I have left her room thinking WOW, I can't believe this is real! :) Don't get me wrong, there are still times when I want to hold and rock her, but it's a great feeling to know that I have helped her develop a routine that is establishing her sleep patterns for the rest of her life. Being a mother is so AWESOME! I just love it!

Beach Bums!

I am finally getting around to posting some of our pictures from our trip to the beach. I have to say that in most of them Alexa looks rather unhappy, but it's mostly because she is more interested in the camera than she is smiling. Walker loved the beach...well mostly the sand, but you will see that for yourself. All in all it was a great trip, and I think everybody had a great time. I know I did. Hopefully next year will produce better pictures...only time will tell! :)

Alexa studying the sand?

While Walker enjoys a few bites of it! :) LOL!

Isn't he cute!!

Alexa showing how pleased she was with the towel Jodi embroidered for her...it is just precious! It has 4 sets of flip flops with an A above that and her name embroidered over the A. TOO CUTE...thank you Aunt Jodi for all of my cute embroidered things!

I mean is a smile too much to ask? She just looks so serious!

Alexa getting washed away...she didn't like that too much!

Age Appropriate

Ok, so as you know...Alexa's first birthday is just around the corner, and as her mother I want it to be a great one. I also want to get her something for her birthday that she will love, and that will be useful. I know that she is still very young, and won't remember her birthday, so I'm not trying to go overboard, but I'm looking for suggestions. I want to find something age appropriate that isn't too expensive, that will not only be fun for her to play with, but also will help expand her mind and challenge her. Any ideas? Here are a few things I have been thinking about...let me know what you think!
The Leap Frog Little Touch LeapPad. It is a great learning tool that is versatile, so you can purchase new books to go with it and your child won't get as easily bored with it.

This is the VTech Sing and Discover Piano. It does various things and plays music while helping the child learn rhythm, and counting...that sort of thing. I think Walker has something similar and she seemed to like it.

This is the VSmile Baby Infant Development System. It connects to the TV and is supposed to be a good way for the parent to bond with the child while giving you an opportunity to help them grow mentally.

This is the LeapFrog Brightlings Stackers...Walker has a stacking star similar to this one, and she loved playing with it at the beach. This one is a little different and I think it will grow with her a little more.

Those are just a few of the ideas I have, please feel free to offer up other suggestions...I'm running out of time!! :)

Alexa's first scrapbook pages

Hey Lou Lou...here are the first two pages I have. I may get another one or two done tonight, but if not I will post them as soon as I do. Let me know what you think. We miss you! :) It was good talking to you today. Love ya!

This is the one you started for me...I added the ultrasound pictures and then both pieces of ribbon on it.

Then this one is of her first appearance. I will probably add some other stuff when I take it to Danna's. I'll send you the final pics when I finish.

Obviously this is one from today...isn't she the cutest Clemson cheerleader you've ever seen??

And then this one is from my shower. I wanted another picture, but didn't have one that worked so maybe I will be able to get another one printed sometime soon and add it, if not, then that's ok too. So, now she has 4 pages in her scrapbook. I'm going to try and go by Danna's tomorrow depending on what time she closes, so they may improve then.

My Little Tiger!

GO TIGERS!!

This is not Alexa's first football season, it is however, the first football season she will be awake for. So, today is her first appearance as a Tiger cheerleader! Tonight Clemson is playing FSU, and we are cheering them on! Anthony says he is a FSU fan, but it won't be long before we take him over...he will be a Tiger yet. I love my Tigers, and I know Alexa is going to have blood just as orange as mine! :)

My sweet little Tiger!!

Doesn't she look like a natural

How cute is that?

Mommy and the the little Tiger!! :)