Loving Pop-pa

It's been three years since my dad past away and anyone whoever said it gets easier with time lied.  Sure the day to day is better, but you find yourself at very special moments in your life wishing he was there to celebrate or share the joy with you.

Presley Ann sometime reminds me so much of him.  From the way her deep blue eye just shimmer when the light hits them just so, to the deep cupids bow above her upper lip.  I know that they would have been the best buddies ever and I just hope that for the rest of her life I will be able to show her all the experiences he would have.  I know one of the first things that I will do when she is really able to understand and take her to a Cardinal's game and buy her her first baseball hat!  Then, I will teach her to be a fish in water, I will have to drag her out of the pool.  I'll show her how to cook the biggest breakfast and appreciate classic rock music.  She may never really like football, but she will long for the smell of fallen leaves and cold air; a true indication that fall has arrived (my favorite season).  She will know how to wash and detail her own car, nothing makes your more proud than to drive your freshly washed car.  She will know to be kind to friends, do what is right, and be honorable. 

That'll be Pop-pa's girl!

Loving Pop-pa and missing him today.

Nine Divine Months

It's been a month full of snow days and I have enjoyed all the extra time with my lil' darling.  She is still a busy little girl.  She pulls up on anything and everything that she can, pulls out and down whatever is on the table or in a drawer, and talks all the time.  Todd caught her the other day saying "ball" and whenever she finds her dalmatian puppy she grabs it, gives him a big kiss, and says "dog."  The best might be at bath time when she grabs the duck and says "dddddddduck" She really likes the sound of "d."

We had my nephew's 2nd birthday this month and it was a ton of fun to see the babies together. It is extremely hard to believe that it has been two years since my mom, green grandma, and I blazed the trail to Kansas City in the middle of a rainstorm.  We all wanted to make certain that we were there for the precious arrival of Max!

We get to see each other about once a month, but I wish we could do it more often because the babies are more attuned to each other and love playing together.  It makes me look forward to the days when they can play together and maybe even cause a little trouble.

Presley is on the move and wants to walk, but is lacking the core strength to hold herself upright.  Recently there was a news report on the importance of tummy time, which as a teacher I am more than aware of the need for tummy time.  Therefore, I am perfectly content with her taking her sweet time and building up her upper body strength and leaving walking for when her body is really ready.

Presley had her 9 month check up and though her chubby lil' cheeks and thighs would make you think otherwise she came in at 19 lbs. 5 oz.  28.75 in.  The doctor was glad to hear that she was doing so well eating table food and encouraged us to keep doing what we are doing.  She is not big on meat (unless it is a chicken nugget and I don't want to start that habit) or many vegetables other than carrots, but she sure does l.o.v.e her fruit and waffles.  That girl has ate more waffles in the past month than I have in my entire life!

I am proud, I rejoice, and I am appreciative of the small things....she is the reason I am all these things!

She's Going to be a Beauty Queen

Happy Birthday Momma

Last year I trudged through the snow and ice to get to Garbo's to celebrate my 26th birthday, I was 27 weeks along and feeling great.  I remember being surrounded by friends and family and wondering if I would ever be able to do this again with a little one on the way?  Fast forward a year later and I was able to celebrate with just friends and family the weekend before my birthday thanks to Nana's generous babysitting offer.  Then on my birthday I woke up to a foot of snow and a blizzard in progress.  Not quite what I was hopping for on my birthday, but I was snowed in and I couldn't think of anyone else that I would want to be snowed in with other than Presley Ann.

I spent the day in my PJ's till noon, took a long peaceful shower, played and played some more with Presley and then rocked her quietly to sleep.  It was a blissful birthday!

She's a lot cutier on the outside!

Eight is Great

Presley Ann's eighth month has been an adventure, the only other thing that could add more to the month is if she cut more teeth (which wouldn't surprise me).  She was kinda crawling right after Christmas, but now she is full throttle.  That includes crawling into the kitchen to dump the doggie bowl, into the laundry room to turn over a basket, and into the office to get the dog bone.

After we mastered crawling we started to pull up.  It absolutely amazes me that it takes all of one afternoon for them to go from being on the floor to upright and moving around.  She loves pulling up on anything and in return we have had a lot of bumps and bruises on her forehead.  Here are some of my favorite pictures of her pulling up and what was on the other side.

I had a slightly unexpected snow day last week, so Presley and I spent the day just hanging out and doing chores.  She likes to help cook and clean, except she does more tasting that cooking and more exploring than cleaning.  When Todd got home we took Presley for a spin (or a slide) down the driveway courtesy of the twins down the street that let us borrow their saucers.  Presley likes the snow, but she doesn't like it when it touches her.

We even got invited to our first birthday party. Our friends the Willmeth's celebrate the 3rd birthday of their little girl Brooke Raeleigh at Springfield Gymnastic and it was a ton of fun for Presley.  She liked being able to crawl around everywhere and everyone and really enjoyed watching all the older kids.  We even got an adorable party favor (a little lady bug necklace with her name on it) and had strawberry cake--YUM!

We started eating our vegetables with our fingers these past few weeks.  Presley was getting really good at picking everything up with her fingers, so I thought it was time to put that new skill to good use.  The first few attempts was extremely messy, but she is getting much better and it makes dinner time fun and enjoyable again.  Todd and I get to eat dinner sitting down, talking, with Presley Ann there too.  No stop and go feeding, mom takes a bite, Presley takes a bit, dad picks up sippy cup, repeat.

It am in awe of how fast she is growing up.  I cannot believe next weekend she will be 9 months old!  How did this happen?  I thought I just brought home my pint size little love and now she is huge and smart, but she is still my little love.

Holy Cannoli

Today we are on day 6 of being sick, Momma and Dadda included, but I think I finally figured it out.  I was taking the dog toy out of Presley's mouth (a daily event in our house) and I saw somthing white.  "Oh great, paper!" I thought.  Nope, two MORE TEETH! That makes four teeth in the past two months.  She is going to be eating steak by her first birthday if she doesn't slow down.


The Christmas tree and decorations are down, the floors are moped and vaccumed of anything she could possibly put in her mouth (fingers crossed) and I am back to work tomorrow.  Looks like our little Momma-Baby vacation is over.  At least until March!

Lucky Number Seven

I don't know if it has been a lucky month or not.  We began the month with an assumed stomach bug, but it ended up being her two front teeth--just in time for Christmas!

Presley Ann celebrated Thanksgiving out at the Bennett family farm and was even allowed to have a little bit of mashed potatoes--YUM!  On Thanksgiving day she began this whole snorting thing whenever she laughedor smiles at someone.  It is absolutely hilarious and her cousin Chris can make her do it best.

We ventured out the day after Thanksgiving to pick up a video camera, best purchase ever.  I love pretending like we are part of a TLC film crew documenting all the small moments in Presley's life.  We have caught her crawling a few times, she will go about three to five crawls and the sprawls out on her belly to army crawl.  Nonetheless, if you put her down and walk away she's coming after you!

We had our family photos taken at the first part of December by a friend of mine Meg White (Matrone).  She recently moved back to Springfield from Alabama and has a small photography business.  We loved our experience with her and the way the photos turned out, I cry just about every time I look at them because they captured the essence of the whole day---a cuddly family (it was freezing outside that day).

 

Christmas was extremely special for Todd and I this year.  We celebrated for three whole days with family, but it was the best early Saturday morning with just the three of us.  Presley of course didn't know too much about what was going on, all she really knew was that there was lots of paper and string to play with.  I tried my best to soak it all up, I didn't want to forget the funny things that her and Max did at Nana's house, her adorable little Christmas outfits, and the way my heart sank just watching her with Todd.  I also got one of the greatest presents ever, a little blue box!  Yep a Tiffany's bracelet to commemorate my first Christmas as a momma.

After all the celebration we woke up on Monday with a 102* fever, oh my word!  She has never had a fever before and it has been horrible.  I feel so sad for her, she's uncomfortable, she is plugged up, and just wants to be held (which I am more than willing to get in extra cuddle time).  The doctor said the words that I hate to hear even for myself, "It's just a virus and it will have to run it course for 3-5 days."  That means no quick fixes.  Thank goodness I have this week off from work so that I can just be here with her, this would be even harder if I was trying to go to work. 

 

I am so emotional these days when I think about her and how amazing it is that she is even here, we are truly blessed to have such a spirited and healthy little girl.  I think a little bit of the emotion also stems from the fact that in four months my baby is going to be 1! How does that happen? 

Here she is fresh out of the bath with a dose of Motrin!  Doesn't act like she is sick at all, does she?