It's been a while!

I can't believe that it's been so long since I updated the blog!! Ella is doing really well. She's walking all over the place and she just keeps getting faster and faster. She's cutting 4 jaw teeth right now, so she's kinda miserable. Hopefully they will be through her gums soon and she can get back to her normal happy self. She is jabbering non-stop and is so funny. We recently went to the beach with the family and she had such a good time playing with her cousins. She loved the ocean and the pool.

We're taking her next week to see Veggietales Live here in Huntsville with Wendy and Braeden. I know she's going to love it. I can't wait. I'll post pictures on Wednesday.

I'll leave with you some pictures of the monkey. She is so much fun!!

Emarie's Website

This is my aunt's website that Jon has been working on. If you have a second check it out! Cute stuff!!

Finally some relief!!

I'm having my epidural shots done Wednesday at 8:30 am at Crestwood Medical Center. YIPPEEE!! I am so excited! Is is weird to be this excited about someone sticking something in your spine? Oh well, call me weird then. I hope this helps as much as I think it's going to. I'm just ready to stop hurting all the time. We'll see...

MRI Results

MRI results came back yesterday. I have degenerative disc disease and my L5-S1 disc is herniated. We're going to schedule the epidural shots today and hopefully have them done next week. I'm just ready for some relief!!

Patience

I feel like the worst mommy in the world this morning.

My back has been hurting a lot lately and my attitude has been less than desirable. I took a muscle relaxer last night before I went to bed so I was extra sleepy when I got up this morning. Ella woke up while Jon was getting ready so he put her in bed with me. Usually she snuggles up with me and goes right back to sleep. Well, not this morning. She wanted to play. She poked my nose, pulled on my lip, pulled my eyelashes....you get the picture. I was aggrivated that she wasn't letting me go back to sleep so I fussed at her and she eventually settled down, but she never went back to sleep. When the alarm went off for us to get up I got Ella ready (gumbling the whole time) and put her in her play pen while I got ready and packed the diaper back. She was whining and crying so I fixed her breakfast and she continued to cry. I got very put out with her and I raised my voice louder than I meant to. Blah....that little bottom lip came out and she started crying, saying "Mama" over and over again. I felt like the biggest jerk...and rightly so, I was being a big jerk. My patience has been so thin with everyone lately. I'm sure it's because I haven't felt well, but that's still no excuse. I could tell I really hurt Ella's feelings, and it broke my heart. Luckily, she forgives easily and quickly.

A blog that I frequent had the most amazing post on this type of thing just the other day. If you can check it out, it is so worth the time (http://www.audreycaroline.blogpot.com/). The image of one day handing Jesus the scrapbook of my days motivates me and terrifies me at the same time. There are so many "photographs" of my life that I am ashamed of, deeply ashamed. I wish I could tear them out and burn them so he never has to see them. One of those snapshots was taken this morning when I raised my voice to my precious baby. Since I read her post I have been so much more aware of how my acts and words must look to God. I know that there are many, many times a day that He probably looks at me and shakes his head, disappointed in his daughter's actions. All I can do is try to make these pictures pleasing to him, but most of the time I will admit...I fail miserably. The thing that is so frustrating about this is that He has blessed me so much that I shouldn't be as quick to snip at my family as I am. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and has been at my side through good times and bad for 9 years and we have the most beautiful baby girl who is just the sweetest thing. I've been very prayful about my attitude lately, because I need an adjustment BIG TIME!!!!

On a brighter note, dad's heart cath went well yesterday. He had 70% blockage in one of the main arteries and they were able to put a stint in. We also found out that he has Epstein-Barr so that's what's been making him so exhausted and sick lately. Now he just has to get to feeling better before we all go to the beach!!!!

I'm going to try to get some pictures of Ella up soon. I've been pretty bad about updating and posting pics lately.

Now I'm going to go and do some work before Ella wakes up from her nap!

Ella is ONE!

Can you believe it? I can't. I have been a Mommy for a year. Jon has been a Daddy for a year. We have been parents for a year. Wow. Time flies and all that jazz.....

Ella had a wonderful first birthday party. Most of the family was able to come and celebrate Unfortunately Jon's parents weren't able to come and we missed them greatly. She had cupcakes and pizza (which she loved) and received lots of love from her family and friends. It was a great day. Kelley made her the MOST beautiful outfit for her to wear. It has fairies hand embroidered on it and ruffles on her booty. So cute. She was the belle of the ball.

Then we went to Kelley's house and spent the week. She had lots of fun with her cousins and they did a very good job of spoiling her rotten.

Here are a couple of pictures from her first birthday party!

The Family We Choose

I always thought that the old saying that "friends are the family we choose" was sort of cheesy but the older I get the more I realize how true that is.

When Jon and I got married and moved to Huntsville we knew NO ONE!! Not a soul. Jon moved here first and he just knew the people that he worked with, but no one that he would hang out with or considered close friends. Then a few months later Jason moved down her and a few months after that Charlie and Amy moved to Huntsville. We joked that we didn't want to make new friends, we would just import ours from out of town. A couple of years later Andy and Wendy moved here. We have our own little family down here and it's so nice to know that you have people you can count on when you need them. We're all together almost every Saturday night. Jason lives so close that we're together for supper and to hang out usually 2 or 3 times a week. Now Amber has moved closer, which has been such a blessing and so much fun, so we hang out more too.

Tonight was Jason's birthday and we all went over to Andy and Wendy's house. I was going to have his b'day party here, but I just felt too bad so Wendy volunteered to have it at their house so I wouldn't have to do anything , which was super nice of her. Jason is such a special guy. I feel sorry for people that don't have a friend like him. He is one of the most caring, considerate, and genuine people I have ever met. He has been so good to our family. There have been so many times that he has dropped whatever he was doing to come and help us if we needed him. He has taken me to get ice cream when I was pregnant and couldn't drive and I was craving one from Sonic and JOn wasn't home, so he came and got me and drove me down there. Just this week I forgot my wallet at home and he (on his day off) came over to our house and found my wallet and drove it all the way to Madison so I could have my insurance card to go to the doctor. How many people would do that? Not many. And he has never complained, not once....well, at least not to my face....hehehe. I have one older sister, but I truly feel like I have an older brother in Jason.

So here's to you Jason...Happy Birthday and thank you for being such an amazing friend. Never did I think on the day we met that we would be as close as we are now. I consider you one of my very best friends and I'm thankful that Ella has you in her life. Thank you for being such a great friend to Jon and I hope that you guys are able to work together again soon!!

Hope your day was great!! YOU DESERVE IT!!!!!


We Love You Uncle Jason!!!!!

Blessed

I just put Ella down for her nap and while I sat with her on the couch rocking her to sleep I just watched her face for a while. I talked to her and told her how much I love her and how very grateful I am for the past year I have spent with her. In 2 weeks and 2 days I will have been her Mommy for one year. It feels like a lifetime and a split second at the same time. She has grown and changed so fast that sometimes when I'm holding her (usually as she's trying to wiggle away from me) I wonder where my tiny, fuzzy headed baby went. In the same token I feel as though I have been her mother for years. I've actually been her mother forever, it just took a while for her to show up to the party! The love for her over the past year has grown exponentially as I have gotten to know her. Everyday I am more amazed at the capacity my heart has to grow and love her. I knew I would love her, but I had no idea the depth & ferocity that love would reach.

I think this post was spurred on by another blog I was reading today. I found the blog last month but revisited it today. It's posted in my "blog roll". It's called Bring the Rain and it is the story of Mother's love and loss of her daughter that was born a few months ago. I usually shy away from reading things about the death of children, especially since Ella was born, because I tend to dwell on it. I began to read her entries and I had to tear myself away when Jon came home for lunch. What struck me the most about her entries was her amazing and undeniable love for the Lord. I can't describe it, you'll have to read it yourself..but it almost pours out of the computer screen onto your lap. I sat and read and cried. With the raw pain that you see in her posts you also see an amazing strength and peace. It's unlike anything I've ever read before.

While I was reading about her life I asked myself what I would do if something like this happened to me. Could I continue on with life? Could I praise God in the midst of complete and all consuming despair? Could I continue on in a way that would bring glory to Him? Could I trust that he had a plan to prosper me and not to harm me when the sinner in me would want to rage against him? I don't know, I truly don't. I hope and pray that I could. I know that when we pray for faithfulness or to be closer to Him that he doesn't just give us those things but instead he gives us the opportunity to display the traits we ask of him. He gives us the oppotunity to draw closer and depend on him fully. I know that as I read her words I cried and as the tears ran down my face I prayed for her...her husband....her family...her girls..that they can get through today..and then tomorrow. I can imagine that it would have to be a day to day thing, probably even hour to hour. I also prayed for myself. I want to have that type of faith. I want Ella to grow up in a home that she can see the Lord oozing out of me, that his word is always on my lips and in my heart. I pray that the Lord guards my tounge that I am more respectful to my husband. I don't want Ella to ever think that anything but respectful words are acceptable in our home. I have a lot to work on....but you gotta start somewhere. Most of all I pray that Ella will have faith in Him. That she will allow Him to work in her life so that she can have all the wonderful things God has in store for her.

Here is a picture of me and my girl.


I. AM. BLESSED.

Ella's First Steps!

Ella took her first steps today!!! She took 2 steps at once and then she took another one a little later. She also stood by herself in her pack-n-play without holding on to the sides!! So exciting!!

Ella will be 11 months old on Thursday. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. This time last year I was so big that I was waddleing...I was 34 weeks pregnant. It was also this time last year that I ended up in the hospital for gallstones and a 9mm kidney stone. Whew, boy was that fun!!

On another note, I think that Jon and I may join the YMCA gym. Our friend Jason joined and said that it's really nice. Jon and I both need to get in shape, me more than him. He's thin, but he wants to build more muscle and I really really need to lose some weight and strengthen my core before we have another baby. Because when I get pregnant again, not only will I be carrying the weight of the baby around but I'll also be toting Ella as well. We're going to the beach in the middle of November and I would love to lose a little weight before we go and tone my arms up some.

My best friend Amy and I have been talking about opening a little online boutique to sell some cloth diaper covers, hairbow, and some other crafts that we like to make. Nothing big, just something we can mainly do for fun and to get to spend more time together. We made the girls some hairbows the other night and we had so much fun. It's nice to get together because Ella and Hannah adore each other. Ella is completely mezmerized by everything that Hannah does. It's so cute! It's so much fun to watch them together. I hope that they are always good friends.

We went to Mom and Dad's for the family reunion last weekend. It was nice to see the family and everyone got to see Ella. She fell asleep not long after we got there and slept the rest of the time that we were there. Mom and Dad's new house is beautiful. They have done an amazing job decorating and fixing up the yard. It was nice to see them and for them to get to spend time with Ella.

Here are a few pictures of Ella that I've taken recently.

It's been a while.....

I can't believe it's been as long as it has since I've updated my blog. Things have been busy and I've just put it off. Well, I'm back and I'm not going to neglect it anymore.

So much has happened since I updated. Ella has 4 teeth now and she's crawling all over the place. She's started pulling up on the edge of whatever she can grab ahold of. We're getting a crib thing to go over the rails so she doesn't chew on them tomorrow. She's so much fun and she's into everything. She claps when you say, "Yay Ella" and she's all smiles and laughs.

I wanted to post about a recent loss of a dear friend. His name is Pat McAdams and he is probably the coolest person I have ever known. He was talented, incredibly smart, hilarious, generous, and extremely caring. I met him when I was working at Zero Gravity and we stayed friends. He moved to Florida last year and I didn't get to see him as much, but when I did it was like he never left. We talked on the phone, through the internet, and he would send me funny text messages. He was an amazing friend and we will always have a hole in our hearts that no one can fill. There has never been anyone like Pat and there never will be. He was the definition of unique. He will be greatly missed and my heart is broken at this loss. Someone at his memorial said something that rang very true with me. As sorry as we feel about his loss, I feel sorrier for the people who never knew him at all. We love you Pat!

I'll put some pictures of the Ella Boo up tomorrow.

The Perfect Day

Wow, it's been a while. I can't believe it's been so long since I updated the blog. To bring things up to date, Ella is sitting up and she is saying "Dada" all the time. It is the sweetest thing I've ever heard. She is the funniest, sweetest, and silliest baby ever.

Today was the most perfect day ever. Jon, Ella, and I slept in until about 10:30. Then we got up and got ready and went and ate brunch at Main Street Cafe. We went to Babies-R-Us and looked at car seats and then went to Rack Room Shoes and Jon got a pair of really nice brown shoes for his new job. Then we went to Bridgestreet and walked around. Jon found another pair of really nice more casual shoes. Ella got to ride in the big girl part of the stroller for the first time. She LOVED it!! She had so much fun looking around at everyone. It was a beautiful sunny day. Then we went home and Jon and I got cleaned up. We took Ella to Auntie Ambers house at about 5:15 and went to Carraba's to eat. While we were waiting for a table Jon and I went in the Gap and got him several shirts on sale. Then we ate and it was so yummy! We even ordered Tirimisu to bring home for later! Then we went to Ross to look around and then we went to the book store and looked at magazines and books for a while. We went and picked Ella up, loved on her for a while, and then put her to bed. We sat on the couch and watched Saturday Night LIve and ate our dessert then went to bed. It was a wonderful family day. Jon and I had a wonderful date and Ella had a great time with Auntie Amber, Auntie Regina, and Uncle Tom.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and such a precious daughter. Spending the day together, just the 3 of us, was so great. Jon and I are going to try to do the "date night" thing once a month. Even if it's just to go to the bookstore and have a cup of coffee together. It was really fun!!!

I'll post some pics of Ella Boo tomorrow.

Ella's Sitting Up!!!

Ella starting sitting up on her own this weekend while we were in TN. She's pretty good at it as long as she doesn't get to much to one side or the other or too much to the back. She's very proud of herself. She's a monkey. Here's a little video of her sitting up tonight after her bath. She's does pretty well and she's enjoying chewing on her brush. It looks like she's propped up against the pillow, but she's not. She's sitting up on her own. Hope you enjoy.

6 Months Old!!

So I'm a terrible mother. I didn't post on her 6 month birthday. I think I'm in denial that she's 6 months old. Half a year has gone by since she came into our lives and I can barely remember what it was like before she was here. She can roll over both ways now and is trying to sit up on her own. She eating baby food now and her favorite is carrots and sweet potatoes. She's the light of our lives. I'll post some pictures at the end of the post.


We're going to TN next weekend to see Jon's parents. We were going to go this weekend, but the threat of snow and dangerous weather scared us away. They were supposed to get about 6 inches.....they got 1/4 of an inch. Isn't that always the way!! I'm excited to go. It's always nice to get up there to see everyone.


Here are some pictures of the bug!! Happy Half Birthday Baby Girl!!!


Ella 1 Hour Old


Ella 6 Months Old

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I posted. Lots of stuff going on. We went to Kelley's for Christmas. We had so much fun. Ella's Christmas was wonderful and we all really enjoyed being together. Right now I'm sick. Thankfully Jon and Ella haven't contracted whatever virus I have and I hope that they don't because I feel terrible. Ella is growing like a weed. She's getting bigger every day. She's rolling over all the time, just from her back to her stomach. She's only gone from her belly to her back once. Now when she gets on her stomach she gets really mad. Whenever you lay her down on her back she immediantly flips over. It's so cute.

When I put her down for her nap today I layed her on her tummy for the first time to sleep. It made me a nervous wreck and I checked on her every 5 minutes, but she seemed to really like it. She slept for about 3 1/2 hours straight for her nap. Amazing! We may be doing the tummy sleeping for every nap.

I'm going to try to get better about posting more regularly. Things have just been so hectic. I don't even know if anyone reads this. That's ok if no one does. I really do this more for me, so I can remember what goes on in our lives. If you read the blog, leave a comment for me so I know you're reading. It's nice to know if someone's out there.