Sneak Peak to Rag Bag

Ok I know y'all are all dying to see what I've been working on the past couple of days right?? ha....

Well I can't finish it until I go to the fabric store tomorrow to get some bias tape, but I thought I'd give you a little peak to my newest obsession.....

And I had to include a picture of my AWESOME sewing machine. My grandmother gave this to me a few years ago. She'd had it for a looooong time, so I felt honored that she wanted to give it to me! It works like a charm!

Get better soon baby

I can't believe it's only been two days since I've posted something.....I feel like it's been forever. Blogging has been a great way for me to just share my feelings and get them out...even if no one reads it! ha!

Friday was a long day for us. We spent four hours at the hospital with WC. She got some xray's and breathing treatments and was diagnosed with RSV and an ear infection.  I feel a little worn down. This whole month has just been one thing after another. I am so thankful for wonderful family and friends who talk me through the day while I deal with a sick cranky baby.  Our days are long and tempers can flare, but we make it to the end of the day and it's such a relief when she goes to bed!!

So for the next week or so, I have to stay home with WC and we can't go anywhere. That feels just like the rest of the month so I don't know why I'm complaining. :)  I know that this will pass and things will get back to normal. I just can't see the end of the tunnel.

I'm looking forward to family coming for WC's bday. Aunt Moriah will be here on the 7th and she's staying a few days. YAY! Then my parents, Chris' parents, and his sister, Angee will be here for WC's bday. That will be good times. It's the first time since our wedding that both sides of the family is going to be together!

I am looking forward to church in the morning. Worshiping Jesus always brightens my day and I can't wait to hear a wonderful message and to see my friends.

She did what??

 

Whitley Claire has had this toy since Christmas and never liked me putting her on it to play. She loves to just stand by it, shake it, and dance to the little tunes.  

I was getting dinner ready and I walked into the living room and she was sitting on it.....and Chris never moved. I was so surprised that she climbed on here herself. She played with this toy the rest of the night just enjoying bouncing up and down!  I made a huge deal out of it...letting her know that that was good! She just looked at me like this....the look in the picture. She's such a weirdo :)

I know this might not seem like a big milestone for anyone else, but for me, climbing on and off is just something else that my baby does that shows me she's growing up!

Upward Basketball

This year, Chris and I were given the opportunity to coach 3rd and 4th grade boys in basketball. Upward is an awesome ministry. It teaches children that "winning is so much more than the final score".

Chris is the head coach. He is so talented when it comes to kids and sports. I am excited for him to find a way to volunteer his time with something he loves to do. He is so passionate about kids and if you know him, he's a sports fanatic. He has coached a few seasons at the YMCA, but this is our first experience with Upward.

I am the "assistant coach" and I put that in quotations because I haven't done much coaching. So far Whitley Claire has had something going on with her the day of a game or practice. I seriously need to find a sitter for the games so I can get in on the fun! I am the one that has organized snacks for games and called all the parents about any information regarding the team.  I also have a passion for sports and have never had the opportunity to coach a team before. I LOVE LOVE LOVE basketball and hope to be able to "coach" soon! I will be singing the national anthem with a friend and her daughter at the 2:15 and 3:15 games on Saturday! It's been since high school since I've sane the national anthem in public...so I have to start practicing!

The games and practices are held at our church which is real nice for us because we know the ropes and feel comfortable there.

Please pray for this incredible opportunity that Chris and I have to be able to teach about Jesus' unconditional love. We hope that we will be able to impact someone's lives...of course we are leaving that all up to Him!

Click HERE to read more about the awesome ministry!

Date Night. WAAA HOO!

That's right. Chris and I went on our second date ever without Whitley Claire. Let me remind you that she is almost one. We never think about going out by ourselves, mainly because WC is so much fun to take out. She is so good in public...total 180 from her personality at home :) But....we never get to go to the movies.

So tonight we dropped off WC at the Pike's up the street and headed to Abuelo's. I had a yummy steak with mushrooms and fiesta shrimp on top. This came with a side of Mexican mashed potatoes (can't remember the real name for them) and some delicious beans. I'm surprised Chris didn't order something more original. He went with the enchiladas! It was nice to be able to eat first and not have to worry about cutting up food!

Then we headed over to the movies and saw The Blind Side. One word: AMAZING. I cried....and cried...and cried.....I told Chris that I wanted to adopt a 7', 350 pound homeless black boy. I want one to put through college, clothe, feed, and love. It was such a wonderful story! It was exciting for Chris to see for one because it's a true story and because he remembers this particular football player graduating high school and being recruited by Ole Miss. Sandra Bullock did a GREAT job and it was just weird to see Tim McGraw without a beard and cowboy hat. He didn't look like his usual hot self in this movie.

We arrived home and WC was bathed, fed, and fast asleep in her bed : ) What a wonderful thing to come home to!

THANKS DAN AND HOLLY!!!!!

Great day for walking

Today was a great day for a walk. For the past couple of months, it's been too cold to walk! But with it being in the low 40's this morning, I decided to take the little girl with us. I've been walking Rosie just about every evening freezing my tail off. It's supposed to snow later next week, so I wanted to take advantage of this!

I've been working with Rosie on the leash...she pulls... a lot. Today I can finally see that it has paid off because it was so much easier to walk Rosie while pushing the stoller!

Friday Night with Friends

Tonight I watched my friend's kiddos. Holly has Ally, who is 11 months, and Cam, who is almost 2 1/2. WC had so much fun with her friends and you could tell by all the toys on the floor!! We watched a little bit of Cinderella while we had Cheerios then it was off to take a bath.

They are all looking at Rosie!

 

 

Great picture of Cam! I was asking him if he liked to go under and he wasn't a fan of that idea...

 

The girls were about to have a cow to get in right when I started the water!

 

Such a good big brother!!!!

Bath time with all 3 was a really fun time.  Cam was so nice to the girls and they loved him putting bubbles on their heads.

Whitley Claire went to bed really early, so I had a nice time spending some quality time with them without WC getting jealous! Ally is such a cuddle but and that was nice because WC is NOT a cuddler!!!

What a fun night!

Frustration!

My dear little Boo Boo has decided to become a picky eater all of a sudden. After talking with a few of my other momma friends, they reassured me that this is just a stage. I HATE wasting food so this has been a challenge for me not to A) eat her left overs and B) not freak out by throwing food away. Lately all she wants to eat is grilled cheese, french toast, and graham crackers. Cheerios don't excite her as much and sometimes she'll eat some hot dog! I'm sure the next time we eat Mexican she'll gobble it up. I am thinking about steaming some veggies and putting that in her grilled cheeses :). Sneaky momma!

I am looking forward to her 1-year well baby because at her 9 month appointment, the doc was concerned about her weight gain...or lack there of. I am pretty sure she's the same weight as when she was 6 months...the only thing getting bigger on that kid is her belly! She's eating and nursing all the time, so I think she is fine. Just can't wait to see what the doc says! Too bad I have to wait a month!

11 Months Old?? Already?

Ahhh!! Y'all.... my baby is 11 months today. One more month and she'll be one! Can't believe how fast time has gone! I have loved the past 11 months, but I'm excited about moving forward! It's been a long 11 months at that!

2 Days Old

4 Months Old

 

 11 Months

We are so blessed to have this wonderful little girl. She is challenging but strong, feisty yet loving, independent and funny! We are amazed each day at what she discovers and the new games she likes to play. Thank you Jesus for this miracle!

Blog help!!!

I think something happened to my blog.....anyone that can help me find it...I would appreciate it! I was trying to edit my layout and I can't find any of my posts....

The 7th Day

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested  from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."

Today I took the time to actually rest. The past week and a half have been the hardest so far in motherhood. First with the burn, then ending the week with Roseola, it's been a trying week. I made a promise to myself that today after my busy morning at church, I would take the time out for me and take a nap....which is something I rarely do because my brain just won't let me rest! Exhaustion had set in and I woke up this morning with a HUGE priority! I am glad I took the time to rest...after all..isn't that what Sunday's are for?

And I must say....it was a good dream. Since Kurt Warner wanted to hang out with me! ha! It was such a deep sleep that I woke up confused and wondering what time it was!

If you are tired, and haven't rested, DO IT! I'm glad I did :) My family really benefited from me napping too!

Poor little Boo Boo

I feel out of the loop on things....I haven't blogged or read anyone's blog in two days. It feels like forever, but seriously, I sound pathetic! ha!

So WC's hand is doing AWESOME! We are just going to apply cream throughout the day for the next couple of months to help her skin. But now we have a new issue going on: Now WC has Sixth's Disease, also known as Roseola, which is a viral illness. She had a fever a few days this week and then this horrible rash popped up. I feel terrible for her. It is literally from head to toe. Even around her bum :( She is tugging at her clothes and pulling her hair all day. I know that poor baby has got to be so itchy! So I went to buy some calamine lotion and we are going to start that regimen tomorrow. I hope that she gets better so! We've had to cancel a few play dates because it is highly contagious.

Please pray for a speedy recovery for her and that no more illnesses strike our family!! I'm ready for all this to be over with!

Baby Booties and Beanie

I have to brag for a moment.....  I NEVER thought I could make anything like this, so I was very proud of myself this afternoon when I finished this beanie hat and booties.  I tweaked some things to make them my own. I made this for a baby shower coming up, and I hate to give them away! ha!  Maybe soon I can make my own pair. No I'm not pregnant.

 

Messy Mess

This is what my house looks like at the end of everyday.....sometimes worse.

Chris is blocking the other half of the mess......

and in our office, WC usually gets to the bookcase and all the books, but not today!!

"Ohh-ee"??

For the past week, Whitley Claire has been saying this phrase over...and over...and over. I couldn't figure out where she got it from or what she was trying to say. So last night I was cross-stitching and sitting at our dinning room table and WC and Rosie were playing under me. I heard her saying that word again so I looked under the table and saw Rosie laying down and WC laying beside her playing with blocks. So sweet :)  Then it finally dawned on me. She has been saying Rosie!!! At least that's what I think she's saying :) And she says it in the tone that I saw Rosie. Kind of like, "Rooooo-sie". If you can get anything from that.

WC's Follow Up

Today we had a follow up appointment with Pediatric Surgery so they could take a look at Whitley Claire's hand and to redress it. 

Poor baby is all I gotta say....She recognized the doctors that saw her in the ER. When they came in, she was holding on to my shirt real tight :(  She started crying when they unwrapped her hand. I wasn't going to look, but I thought that I should to see what it looked like and to try and sympathize with her. Well I shouldn't have because I wanted to throw up in the garbage can next to me. Her poor little palm was bright red where you could see the exposed flesh. It was all wrinkly..the skin I mean. I just thought it was from being all wrapped up. WRONG. Those were more blisters that they had to break open, then cut the skin off. She was screaming bloody murder and it took me and then nurse to hold her down while the doctors did their magic. They went ahead and cut the blisters off her finger tips. We go back on Monday morning so they can unwrap it to look at it further. There are no infections, which is really good, and it looks like she will heal just fine. Which I knew would happen anyway...I just had that bad thought tucked deep inside. You know...that terrible conscience of yours that asks the "what if's?".

I took a picture of it....gross. I don't know why.  And I won't post it :)

She really was such a trooper. Although those poor doctors were trying to perk WC up after the wrapping and she just wasn't having it. She didn't want any of them touching her. And I wouldn't either. 

I have been very pleased so far with Children's. Even when we were there for WC's hip dysplasia evals, they were so nice. I am so grateful to live near a wonderful hospital!!!

Finished Hat

Here is the finished product! Now I'm making one for my mom :)

My first time sledding

Now this is what I'm talking about........loads of fun!! After Chris shoveled the driveway, I put WC down for a nap and Chris, Rosie, and I went out past the fence in our backyard to do a little sledding. Or I was anyway.....Chris hurt his leg a few months ago and he didn't want to injure it!

The reason why I am obsessed with getting to do this is because last year at this time, when we got 1.5 ft of snow, I was 9 months pregnant and I had to watch everyone have fun. I couldn't wait to get out there!!! And don't make fun of my make-do sled. It's the top to on of our 35 thirty gallon tubs. It worked alright...I mean I wouldn't know the difference anyway since it was my first time. Everyone else was shoveling and I was squealing with delight as I was sledding on down the hill. Rosie wanted to get in on the action by chasing me. Before the snow season is over, I want to do to the park which is down the street and they have some MAJOR hills. Can't wait!

Oh and here's a tip....be sure to sled down the same spot a couple of times to get the snow nice and packed on in there. I sled in a few different spots the first couple of times and I wasn't getting any speed and lots of snow was going down my clothes. Yikes! So Chris came up with that grand idea. After we had that figure out, I was going so fast!!! Well....not really....but fast enough for it to be fun!!!

Then I finished up my fun late afternoon with this:

Boo Boo burnt her hand

Just let me tell you how hot a gas fireplace glass cover can be....well I can't tell you, and it WC could talk, she would tell you!!!  It happened so fast......

We were visiting with a friends and I just finished with her diaper change. As I was wrapping up the diaper, she made a mad dash to the fireplace and right before I could grab her, she touched the glass pane for .5 seconds.  I have never heard such a scream come from a child. It was the scariest sound.  I am glad that I had a friend with me to tell me what to do because panic mode set it.  After 20 minutes of screaming and her hand was turning really red, we both agreed that I should take WC to the ER. So we made the short drive to Children's where we were immediately taken to triage. It makes me sound important, but really they just weren't that busy.

The nurses agreed that it looked pretty bad. The outside of her palm was a bright red and the middle of her palm and fingertips were blistered with a purple tint to them.  They gave her some pain meds and then she fell asleep on me. It didn't help that this happened right when we were about to leave because it was nap time.

The doctor called down the hand surgeon and they numbed her hand then clipped the dead skin off. That was disgusting.  WC was brave....she didn't start crying until they were wrapping her hand in a cute pink bandage. 

We had a great experience at Children's. All the doctors and nurses were very nice and also made sure that I was comfortable and asking me if I needed anything. They obviously saw I was distressed....

So now we will go visit the Pediatric Surgeon at Children's tomorrow at one so he can look at her hand more to see if she'll need a hand graft.  She probably won't, and that's what we hope won't happen!!!

WC's first snow day

This morning I woke up to about 3 inches of snow in the yard. We've gotten a few snow showers here and there, but not enough to go play in. 

Whitley Claire doesn't have a snow suit, so I layered her up. Tights, pants, another pair of pants, 2 pairs of socks over the tights, boots, long sleeved onesie, long sleeved shirt, sweater, big coat, hat, then the hoodie. WHEW! Then I got myself dressed which took about .5 seconds. 

15 minutes later, we were finally outside and we only lasted for about 30 seconds. Enough time for me to get a few pictures...which is all I really wanted anyway! She didn't like the snow being cold....and she won't keep the gloves on so...in we went!

I can't wait for it to REALLY snow....last year around this time we had about a foot and a half. It was SO fun...but tortured me a little because I wanted to sled at the park down the street and I couldn't because I was 9 months pregnant. So this year I will be sledding in my backyard...along with all the other neighborhood kids!

My new hobby

Crocheting is AWESOME! My neighbor, Danielle, taught me a few days ago, and I can't stop. It's so therapeutic and it's better than just sitting and staring at the TV! I've been wanting to find something to do while we watch TV in the evenings and this is just what I needed! The first time I learned I sat for about 3 hours and at the end of that time, I had nothing to show for it. I had to start over a hundred times. But I finally found a pattern that was easy enough to follow and what I didn't know how to do, I watched it on YouTube!

So I made this shawl:

I only had to go back to Micheal's twice because I didn't have enough yarn.  I learned my lesson! And I can't just sit and wait until I need something else from Micheal's, so they saw me a lot in a couple of days :)

Here is the pretty shell stitch edging. This was really fun to do! I like not knowing what it's going to look like and then when you are finished with the row, you hold it back, and just admire what you've made!

I am always thinking of ways to make money. So I hope I can get really good at this and then try and sell some stuff :)

My newest project is a hat!  Here is what it's going to look like but just in different colors of green instead!

Little Miss Sassafrass

Well folks...I see lots of time-outs in the future for Miss WC. She has quite the attitude!! If you haven't witnessed any of her melt downs yet (which I must add she's not quiet 11 months old) you are in for a real treat!

I always thought I would have a sweet natured child.  Little did I know what I had in store for me! ha! Lately, Whitley Claire has started to understand the words "no-no" which DO NOT make her a happy camper. I know that children will be mischievous and get in to things...and that's ok! It's what follows the "no-no" that makes me laugh...for now at least. Whenever I tell WC "no-no" she starts squealing and flailing her arms and twisting her back around. Then she goes right back to what I took her away from...until the mean ole' bad mommy comes to remove her from the situation! Then she kicks her legs and arches her back...sometimes hitting her head on the floor. Well....she shouldn't do that!

I wish that "out of sight, out of mind" were true for Whitley Claire. That would cut down on HALF of our battles. I have to eventually just put something up high where she can't get it if I really don't want her to have it. A lot of the times I just let her play with whatever because I don't feel like fighting. The exceptions are remote controls, cell phones, laptops...well any electronics are big time off limits. Also, her new favorite thing to do, besides eat dog food, is to climb the stairs. We have to make sure to have the baby gate up at all times because WC has mastered the stairs. She can go up half the flight in under 10 seconds. She is on the go!

I think she may grow up to become an engineer. She studies everything and twists the object around in her fingers. Picture that with the furrowed eyebrows and the bottom lip stuck out. She gets very frustrated when she can't figure out how to do something...like flaps on a book or getting the nesting blocks out of each other. And she LOVES to knock down towers. We have these wonderful Garanimals blocks and Nursery Rhymes nesting blocks. I can usually only get a 3 or 4 block tower built before WC knocks it down. She is mighty proud of herself when she does that!

Walking will be in our future....she has already taken a few steps on her own.  She is cruising all over the place and is SO much fun to play with.

Having a sassy attitude is mostly fun....except on those days when I don't feel good or she has been cranky all day. I know that having a strong willed child will pay off in the future and she will be a very independent child!