Nyla's Future Career

Meteorologist?  :-)

Have a great weekend!

-D

Old Video Just Found

I found this video on the computer Friday. It's from March 7, 2011. And if you don't smile after seeing it, I don't know what to tell you.

-D

On Comfy Chairs and Love

Last night my Hubby wrote the sweetest blog about our baby girl. Yes, it brought me to tears as most of his blogs about our life together usually do. Read on and be reminded of our loving God's great love for us.

Here's the post:

From the Mind of Daniel:

Every once in a while we need reminders and perspective on the preciousness and value of love. Tonight was my reminder.

You see, our sweet daughter has been undergoing a barrage of teething the last few months. Not just any teething mind you, but the dreaded molars - the big ones - have been popping through. For whatever reason, the last one-year molar is soooooo close to erupting, which, by the way, might be the worst term ever for a tooth coming in, but has yet to break the surface.

Click her to finish reading this post...

Stylin' in My Shades

Hehe. She's so much fun.

-D

Fun at the pool

It's been a hot one in Memphis this year, blech! It's not ideal for a pregnant woman like myself but I manage. I'm so thankful for air conditioner and the fact that I don't have to get out in the heat unless I want to. Ny and I like getting out but we run our errands first thing in the morning if we can help it. This way we can rest from the heat in the afternoon.

How do we cool off you ask? Thankfully my MIL has a pool that we can go to anytime we want. It's pretty hard going by myself so I usually reserve it for Saturday mornings or early afternoon so Daniel can go and help.

Here are some pictures of Nyla by the pool!

Nyla riding the float while Dada pushes

Bucket head!

Queen Bee loves her float!

Playing away

Stay cool friends!

Money in the Drawer

I go to open one of my kitchen drawers yesterday and what do I see? Nyla's money from her play purse. I laughed when I saw it! Who wouldn't? Her new thing lately is putting her toys in drawers, bags, whatever is open and she can reach.

So for her money she stood on her tip toes and dropped this in, I guess anyways. I didn't see her do it, but I've been finding her toys in my drawers. She loves playing in my cabinets and I think it's funny. Our kitchen isn't baby proofed; I just took all the chemicals that were under the sink and moved them into our bathroom closet and the hall closet, up high so she couldn't get to them. I didn't feel like I needed to baby proof and there's nothing really I mind her playing with. She usually goes for the plastic storage container cabinet and proceeds to dump its belongings all over the floor. But that's how it goes with a toddler in the house.

Thought I'd share this picture with you. It just made me laugh. Oh the joys of motherhood!

Professional Family Pictures

Back in late May we got some family pictures taken by the photographer who did our wedding. It was such a great experience! He just does such an amazing job! Check out his site for details. www.scottypenny.com

Anyways, we went to Memphis Memorial Gardens on Poplar at 1-240. I had never been there and thought it odd to take pictures at a cemetery, but it's a really beautiful place. It has so many places to take great pictures and even better Nyla did great. She wasn't quite walking yet but pulling up and walking holding onto things. Scott said it was the youngest child he'd ever taken pictures of, but she's such a good baby! We took pictures for about an hour and thankfully it wasn't brutally hot out (this pregnant woman was thankful). I think it helped Nyla also to have had a 4 oz bottle and a nap on the way there. I'm glad she did otherwise she may have not done as well, but she did so no problem.

Okay, enough talking. Here's a few pictures from our picture day. Enjoy!

It's Been a Year...

On this date, one year ago, we welcomed the biggest blessing into our lives, as our sweet (and giant) baby was born. As I think about that day and how amazingly special it was, there is one moment that I think about most often.

The doctor had just extricated our 9 lbs, 8 oz baby from G's belly, and the nurses brought her over to the station where they clean her and do all that they do. And having spent the last 39 weeks inside a nice, warm, mostly dark cave, being thrust into a cold, brightly-lit room with all of these strange sounds was not the most ideal scenario for our girl. She began to fuss and cry, as newborns are prone to do. Standing there, looking at her, and just itching to hold her, I simply said, "Hi, Nyla."

Immediately. And I do mean immediately... she stopped crying. And turned her head. And looked at me. At that moment, if she had asked me for a private island, it would have been hers. As if "Dada" wasn't wrapped around her little finger enough, she took it to the next level. After they swaddled her up, they passed her to me. To me. It's hard to describe, but that's when everything became real. That I had a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

Since that day one year ago, we have been on a roller coaster ride, with ups, downs, and loop-the-loops - but mostly ups. Watching Ny grow and develop is amazing. I remember her first smile, her first giggles, and, most importantly, the first time she said, "Dada." I've said it before, and I'll say it again, there is no greater responsibility than bringing and then raising up new life into this world, BUT there is no greater blessing and joy as well. The closest thing to God's unconditional love is the love parents have for children. I have learned that this year.

And when I get home today from work and walk in that door, that little girl that turned her head at the sound of my voice one year ago will walk over to me, want me to pick her up, and give me the sweetest open-mouthed, wet kiss in the world.

And I plan on treasuring it today, just like I do every day.

-D

An Assortment of Pictures

Happy girl!

She looks grown up in this picture.

Last month. At the beach. Sweet picture.

We had some professional pictures taken a few weeks ago.   Will post more of these later.

Have a great weekend!

-D

There's a Ghost in the Window



-D

Some Random Pictures

It's a lazy Saturday morning, so that means time to post some pictures!

Birdface!

9 months, and a rare moment of relaxation for her!

With "Dada" on Easter Sunday. I don't see the resemblance at all.

Bikini girl by the pool in Florida

Fresh off a bath in Florida, Momma decides to play with her hairstyle.

The beach can wear a girl out. Daddy's chest makes a comfy bed.

Happy Saturday!

-D

We are Still Here

A good Tuesday morning to everyone.  I hope you are all doing well.

I realize we have not updated this blog as much as we have in the past.  That's in part our fault and part N's fault.  Our fault because we have not taken the time to update it.  N's fault because she doesn't give us much time to update it.  Since I am updating this from a super-secret location, here are a few things...

Our little big bundle of fun is crawling everywhere and then immediately pulling up on any object bigger than she.  Her least favorite word is "No" at this point, and she will voice yell scream her displeasure when you either tell her no or physically move her from where she was trying to pull up/get stuff from/anything that she thinks she needs to do.

On the plus side, she has become a little chatterbox recently.  We awoke Sunday morning to her babbling on and on about "dadada gagaga".  She is also walking well while holding onto something/someone.  I believe that it won't be too much before she'll be taking steps on her own.

Maybe G will be along later with pictures (and by later I mean maybe next week - haha), but we just returned this past Saturday from a week at the beach.  Big Girl wasn't the world's biggest fan of the beach and sand, but she loved splashing around in the pool - when Daddy had the bravery to enter the chilly water.  What Mom and Dad loved were her big afternoon naps and going to be almost right at 7 every night.  Sun and fun make for a tired baby!

Anyway, that's all for now.  Oh yeah, one more thing, if you don't follow us on facebook or twitter (shame on you for not), then you probably missed the big announcement.  Baby #2 is due in November.  Yep, you read that right.  Another little blessing is on the way.  Hey, G wanted our children to be close in age, and 16 months is about as close as you can get. 

I promise we'll make a concerted effort to update this with more pictures.

Adios!

-D

Gimme That Penguin!



Sorry for the complete lack of updates. I promise we'll try harder.

-D

Updates

The weather in Memphis the last couple of weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster. We had more snow Feb 10-11, and by the next week the highs were in the 70's. Momma and Daddy are having a tough time with this up-and-down weather - with sinus issues and sore throats. Thankfully, Nyla seems unaffected by this weather and keeps plodding along as cute as ever.

Nyla has her two bottom teeth starting to pop through. For the most part, she has been a trooper with all of this. There are days where she is clingy and fussy and refuses to play independently for more than 5 minutes, but alas, it is all ok, since we love to snuggle with our girl. She is still waking up once a night - between 3 and 5 - and will take a 6 oz bottle. We're not exactly sure if she really is hungry (because I have seen her sleep acrobatics firsthand - the girl moves a lot!) or if she is being super smart and realizing, "Hey, if I start talking and being noisy, I can get some food." Of course, as my mom told us this weekend, I slept through the night at 6 weeks, did it for a couple of months, and did not do it again... much like our sweet girl. (Ginny scowled at me when my mom told us this.)

Anyway, here are a couple of cell phone pictures from this weekend...

Feet on the table after eating...

Snuggle time with Daddy after her morning nap Saturday

-D

Who's that baby?

How much is that baby in the window? Oh wait, wrong song!

I love my sweet girl and it's obvious I can't get enough of her. She's fresh from the bath in these few pictures!

50+ year old dress

The dress Nyla has on is special. It's special because it was made for my mom, over 50 years ago. It's also special because all the girls in my family have had their picture taken in it. And of course we had to continue the tradition with Nyla posing for a few pictures in it. They turned out really sweet and I took probably 30, but I picked the best for you to see. So enjoy!

Visiting Daddy at Work

Last week for Valentine's we went downtown to visit Daniel. We sat in the back of the car (since it was sunny and warm), had a picnic lunch and enjoyed an hour together. It was fun times. Here are a couple of pictures from that day!

Sweet baby posing with sweet Daddy!

31 Weeks Old

31 weeks old last Tuesday and I'm late again with the pictures. These were taken the day after Valentine's Day, that's why she's in the sweet red dress. She's so pretty!

7 Months Old

It's hard to believe she's 7 months already! Growing like a weed!!!

29 and 30 Weeks

I'm a little late, but here are Nyla's 29 and 30 week pictures. Enjoy!

She wants the camera!

Sweet face!

My girl looks so grown up in her leopard print!

30 weeks old, yay!!!