Thank you

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me. I am feeling so much better!! Although we're still not 100% sure what all was going on, it looks to be heading out. Thank goodness! Besides the time I had mono, I can't remember being sick for so long. It was no fun & I am happy to be done with it!! So, thank you for your prayers!! They worked...not that I was doubting!

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While I was in Paducah a couple of weekends ago, my parents and I got in a conversation about how self-centered our country is getting. We were out at the mall & were commenting on some of the drivers out there. It is funny. When people have to stand in a line for a long time or sit at a light for a long time suddenly they are now more important than others. They have the right to turn in front of you because they have been waiting a long time. Or they will block the intersection because they deserve to get through that light instead of waiting for the next green light. I want to look at them and say, "Really? You're REALLY that important?" What is this country coming to? We have decided that because we have the "right" to do something we can. Our rights are bleeding over into other's rights, but it doesn't matter because WE have the right to do ___.

I pray that I can teach my daughter that she is not the most important person in the world. Sure, she's special to us, but no she does not get to have her way all the time. The world most definitely does not revolve around her. I hope that she will put others first and think about their feelings before she thinks about hers. I pray that she will be a humble person who does not expect to be the center of attention or have people to cater to her every whim. I also pray that there are other parents out there who are teaching their children the same. Otherwise, we will not be doing our children justice.

OK, I'm off my soapbox now. Sorry. Just needed to vent.

Opryland Hotel

If you know me at all, you know that I can be quite stubborn. So, although I didn't really feel up to going to the Opryland Hotel on Saturday, we went anyway. I'm not sure anyone was really jumping up and down to go, but thankfully they love me enough to endure the weather & boredom of a 4 hour car ride. We had a good time. The lights were pretty. It seemed like there weren't as many up this year as there have been in years past, but it could be my memory making more of it than there actually was.

It was really nice having everyone together. By everyone, I mean: my parents, my little family, and Nathan. Sydney LOVES her uncle Nathan!!! It is so cute to see her with him. She just can't get enough of him. And...I think he's a little fond of her as well. It was nice to have an evening with the family all together.

As far as my health goes, I'm still battling. I do not hurt near as much as I did the beginning of last week, but I am still exhausted. I'm hoping it's just the medicine that is making me this tired. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

Clearer skies

I am feeling better!!!!!!! :-) I'm still not 100%, but I'm feeling much better than I have in days past. So, thanks for your prayers. I'll keep you posted.

No unique title for this one

OK, I'm sure by now you're tired of hearing me complain about my illness. Frankly, I'm tired of blogging about it! I wish I could tell you the cute things that Sydney has done. Although I'm sure she's done a ton of cute stuff, nothing at the moment comes to mind. She's been great most days to be quarantined in the living room & play on her own. She protests at first, but then makes peace & finds a toy to play with. She can keep herself entertained. Hopefully today will be one of those days!!

This morning when I got up I felt quite a bit better. I had a little more energy than yesterday & no pain! Yay! Now, 3 hours later, I'm exhausted & have pain. My excitement was definitely short lived! Granted, it's not the kind of pain that I was feeling Tuesday night. For that I am quite thankful! I'm hoping that Sydney will keep herself entertained & will take a long nap so that I can keep my behind plopped in this recliner & get a nap, too.

This weekend we are planning on going to the Opryland Hotel to see the lights. I really think Sydney will get a kick out of it. She LOVES lights. So, I have been looking forward to it for weeks. Now that the day we are planning on going is 2 days away, I'm starting to get doubtful. I REALLY want to go & have agreed to be wheeled around instead of walking. That has been my motivation for being good this week & trying to do everything possible to get better. I've obviously wanted to get better, this just gave me a deadline. I'm now praying with everything in me to make that deadline!! We'll see, I guess.

As I sit her & watch my daughter go through her toy basket pulling out EVERYTHING in it and think about Opryland, I am also thinking about the different Christmas presents I have yet to buy. Christmas is coming too fast!!! Since I haven't yet decided on what I want to get the people who are left on my list, I can't send Ryan out to get them for me. So, I guess that will be today's task: look on the computer & figure out what to get everyone...then send hubby out to get it. Thanks, Ryan, in advance!!

Last little note, my family has been AMAZING throughout all this. My parents have picked up the slack with Sydney. Ryan's parents have taken a couple of days & cleared their schedules to keep her. My grandmother has come by & helped when others had to work. And, my hubby has gone all week without me so that I could be here to get the support for Sydney. So, thanks to you all for your help!! I don't know what I would have done without you!!

One more update

The doctor's vertict yesterday was to refill my steroid pack. My hopes, obviously, are that I will be feeling much better soon. We'll see. Sorry such a short blog, but I'm exhausted & headed back to bed.

New one Stephanie! It's another health update.

Well, it's Monday & I"m not much better. I felt pretty good on Friday & OK on Saturday. Sunday & today have gotten worse. To be honest, I'm getting quite frustrated with all this. I am not in intense pain. It just hurts. The fact that I can't pick up my daughter & really take care of her the way a mommy should is no fun either. In my heart of hearts, I really believed this medicine would work & I would be blogging today saying that I am back to my normal self. That isn't the case.

I have called the doctor and reported in as I was told to do. The nurse said she would call me back after finding out what the doctor wants me to do. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully it won't mean that I have to go back to E-town today. That will be a long day if I have to drive there & back in one day. We'll see. I'll let you know what I hear.

In other news, Ryan just called from Chattanooga, TN. He was sent there for work this morning, leaving at 4 AM from Paducah. He is now headed back to Paducah! He got there to find out that the job he was going to do was taken care of on Saturday! That means he'll be driving a total of 8 hours today for nothing! Gotta love miscommunication!

Another update

I'm in Paducah for the weekend. I'm thankful to now be closer to family so they can help when I need them. It has been GREAT having the help with Sydney. Ryan has been amazing at helping this week since I haven't felt very well. But this weekend he is the Navy's. I knew I wouldn't be able to have help from him during the days, so we headed here.

I was hoping to report that I was feeling a ton better. Friday, I would have said that. Today, not so much. I am hoping that the next few days will be much better. We'll have to wait and see. Please keep praying & I will keep up the reports. Sorry my blogs aren't very interesting these days. :-(

Health update

I am just getting back from the doctor...again! This week I have had 2 EKGs, a chest x-ray, CAT scan, and an ultrasound!! Not been my best week, that's for sure! Anyway, the diagnosis: costochondritis. Basically, it is inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone...technical, I know. Anyway, it isn't much fun & is making the muscles in my chest and back go crazy. I'm now on a steroid medicine as well as a muscle relaxer. We'll see how those two work together! It is a good diagnosis considering what they could have told me. Hopefully by Monday I'll be feeling much better. Thanks to all who've been praying & concerned. Love ya!

Doctor's appointment

Well, yesterday's doctor's appointment didn't really resolve anything. I can't say he wasn't trying! He did another EKG & a CAT Scan. The EKG came back normal. He said that my heart rate was elevated, but that it was probably due to nerves. I haven't heard back from the CAT Scan. I'm assuming everything is fine since he said that if they found some sort of clot, it would buy me a 2 day stay in the hospital. I'm sure they would have called me already if that were the case. The doctor's conclusion if everything was OK with the CAT Scan is that it is a virus that they have not seen yet. Fun! My doctor doesn't even know what's going on with me. That is not a fun thing...to stump a doctor. Hopefully he's right & it is just a virus & I'll be back to normal soon...whatever normal is! I'll keep ya posted.

Sickness & Christmas shopping

Sorry for the blog silence to you 3 people who read. (haha) Anyway, I have been dealing with some health issues that have put me out of commission to some degree. I spent Sunday morning at our Acute Care. I was having chest pains & decided not to toy with it & go on to the doctor. They determined my heart was fine...thank goodness. They put me on some meds for what they believe is wrong (I can't pronounce it much less spell it!). The meds are not working and I'm headed back to the doctor today.

Saturday when all the health stuff was beginning, we were out in Louisville Christmas shopping. It was quite fun & exhausting. We didn't get out and about early, but we did hit many places. We got Sydney's big gift from us. It is already in her room, but with a blanket over it. I know that's probably silly, but I want to get pictures of her seeing it for the first time. I'm sure we'll give it to her the day or so before we head to Paducah for Christmas. I'll post pics then.

Well, I'm heading back to the couch. Hope you all are having a good day!!

Christmas tree

Thanks to my mom and Katie Glisson, I have a full tree up in my living room. Yay! My mom suggested the placement of the tree. It is where little hands can admire, but not touch. Katie told me about the shatterproof ornaments that now adorn the tree. We have our own ornaments up as well, but most are not breakable.

Sydney was watching me put it up last night. She would walk up to it wide-eyed, point, and say "ooh ohh!" In that moment, all the fuss was worth it. She has loved lights ever since she was tiny. I have given her a few ornaments to play with hoping that would satisfy her. For the time being, it has. Hopefully it will last!!

I am happy to have my tree up. To me, it is one of the best things about Christmas. I guess Sydney comes by it naturally. I love lights, too! One of my favorite things at Christmas time is to sit with the house lights out, a cup of hot chocolate or wassail in hand, Christmas music playing softly, and admire the tree. I've always figured it was my reward for the time spent putting it up. Plus, what's the point of putting one up if you don't pay any attention to it!!

So, thanks Mom & Katie for helping me make this Christmas special, too!!

Heading home

After a full week of visits with family, we are heading back to E-town today. I have really enjoyed our visits!! We have packed each day full of things to do & wonderful friends and family to see. Today has been my first day to catch up and do laundry. Feels weird for a stay-at-home-mom! It has been such a refreshing time with family.

Yesterday I got more of my shopping done with my grandmother. We got all of her shopping done except for 2 people!! She knows what she's getting them. So, all she has to do is go get it. How awesome would that be? It's not even December yet!! Mine is coming along, but not quite as well as hers.

I think I've decided to put up our Christmas tree. I had convinced myself that I wasn't going to do it. Little hands will be all over it & will make things much more complicated on my day-to-day chores. But I have seen her face light up at the stores when she looks at their tree. I LOVE Christmas trees, so I guess I'll give in & put it up. I am compromising though, I'm going to put the tree up with the lights & garland but no ornaments. I don't think she could handle staying away from all the pretty ornaments. Next year we'll have a whole tree...maybe.

Ryan has been in Memphis the past few days & I have missed him like crazy!! We've obviously done much longer separations before, but I still miss him...whether 2 days or 9 months with out him, I'm still sad. So, I'll be happy to have us all together again!

Thanksgiving & Santa

This Thanksgiving has been a good one...and it's not over yet!! We found out after getting to Paducah that Ryan has to be in Memphis, TN Monday-Wednesday. So, Sydney and I are staying in Paducah while he heads to Memphis. That just means more family time for us.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were able to visit with family on my mother's side that we rarely get to see. It was a fun-filled day & we ate WAY too much!! Sydney got to play with 5 of her cousins! She was exhausted by the end of the day!! We also got to visit with Ryan's aunt & cousins that we don't get to see very often. It was a good day!

Friday, we went shopping!! If you know anything about me you will know this had me in heaven. What could be better than shopping?! Seeing Bret & Summer!!!! Summer called that morning to see if we could get together. I didn't get the message until after noon. It turns out that we were both at the mall at the same time! Weird! Anyway, we were able to visit with them for an hour or so. It was nice to see them! I miss them so much!

Today, we went shopping again! Yay! I have now crossed off 2 people on my list! Many more to go, but at least 2 are done! We also got to see Santa. He has a little house downtown. He was such a sweet Santa! Below is Sydney's reaction. I just hope he doesn't cross her off his good list because of this reaction. :-/

Tomorrow afternoon we will head to my parents' house where we will yet again stuff our faces! I'm going to have to starve myself until Christmas!!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!! Love to all...

Date weekend recap

This weekend has been awesome!! I drove Sydney to Beaver Dam, where I met my parents. Then I headed to Louisville where I met Ryan. We hung out & lazied (Is that a word?) in the room before getting ready. I took a LONG hot shower that ended up setting off the smoke alarm in our room...oops. I said a prayer asking God to make it stop. The second I ended my prayer, it went of! How awesome is that?! I finished getting ready without incident, thank goodness. Here are a few pics of the Navy party. It was a ton of fun!! I won a $50 gift certificate to Victoria's Secret!! I never win anything!! I was stoked!
Today, I woke up, came home & cleaned a little, took a nap, & went shopping all before Ryan got home from the Reserves!! What you can do without a little one around! Once Ryan got home, we dressed up in our "date" clothes & headed to Fergie's (one of our favorite without the little one restaurants). We went from there to Barnes & Noble for a Starbucks fix. Yum! After that, we came home to veg on the couch.

Tomorrow morning I head back to Beaver Dam to pick up the kiddo. I'm looking forward to having her home, but have enjoyed my time with my hubby!!! I love days when it's just the two of us.

Thanksgiving weekend

Last night, Ryan turned to me and said, "How much do you love me?" That is always a tell that he did something good that he wants credit for. ;-) He ended up telling me that he is getting Wednesday-Friday off next week!!!!! Whoohoo! Yes, Baby, I love you...and not just 'cause of that.

Anyway, I'm really excited. We were afraid that he would only get Thursday off. That would not be good. It would mean that we would have to visit 2 families in one day & drive 2 1/2 hours one way to get to there in the first place. I was not looking forward to that kind of day. Thankfully, we will have half of a week to visit both families!! Plus, it means that I get Ryan all weekend. He'll work 2 days. Then I'll have him again!! I know Sydney will be really excited to play with her daddy that many days in a row. Now, I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving!!

Only two more days until the Navy's Christmas Party! I can't wait for that either. Can you tell?

Pop Quiz!!

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On the Mend

Sydney, Ryan, and I are all on the mend!!! Yay! I thought this day would never come! It feels like we have been sick forever. If it wasn't one thing, it was something else. Although we aren't 100%, I feel we have definitely made the turn. We are over the worst! Thank goodness.

We went out & about some this weekend. We (Sydney & I) have been in the house for too many days & needed some fresh air. So, Saturday we headed to Half Price Books to sell a few books. We hoped to get some good finds, but came up empty handed & not much cash for our sells. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Next, we headed to the mall to find Ryan a new shirt & tie for our date this coming weekend. There we had success!!

I can't wait for this week to go by so we can have our date night!!! Saturday night we're going to Ryan's Navy Christmas Party!! We get to dress up & have an evening to ourselves. My wonderful dad (heehee...there ya go, Dad) and mom are keeping Sydney overnight. So we will have 24 hours just the 2 of us!!! Whoohoo! Although I HATE being in groups & around new people, I am looking forward to the evening because I get to spend it with my hubby...and he's going to be dressed up to boot! You just can't get any better than that!

Thanks to my wonderful dad (That's twice in one post!!) & mom for agreeing to keep Sydney. I know you all will have fun. I'll apologize in advance for the lack of sleep you'll be getting! :-/

Kiddo still sickly

We went to the doctor today to get Sydney seen. Turns out she has a sinus infection. She's on some new meds now. We hope this will make her feel better soon. She's been sick for a week now. It is NO fun seeing your baby sick!! I hope for all our sakes that she gets better soooooon!

That's all that's new in the Hughes household.

Cold weather, happy home, sickly child

It is raining outside. That combined with the forecast over the next few days has me very anxious. I have been looking forward to a REAL fall & winter (meaning it actually gets down to the temperature it's supposed to during these months). Now that I am getting the REAL fall & winter, I'm not sure I'm happy about it!! :-/ We have been quite spoiled over the last 4 years in TX. Sure, we had cold days but we didn't have 4 months of cold weather. For instance, we wore short sleeves & even shorts sometimes during Thanksgiving. And I typically put up the Christmas tree in a t-shirt & jeans. This year will be much different. I'm happy about that. I can't wait to see pics of my little one playing in the snow with her daddy. I guess it is just the realization that I am getting a cold winter. Even if it's not that cold to others, it will be to us. I do have to say, though, I'm happy to be acclimating back to Kentucky weather. That means I'm back home.

It has taken a while (8 months to be exact) for Elizabethtown to feel like home. It is starting to. I think it is because we are meeting more people in church. The people we have met have really made us feel at home. I'm very thankful. Although it has been a HUGE adjustment, I am at peace & happy with where we're at...just in case you were wondering. ;-)

Well, the little one seems to be feeling better. She's still not well & able to socialize with others, but she seems to be drying up. As for Ryan and me, we're doing much better. We enjoyed our lazy weekend. Ryan was the only one that left all weekend. He ran to the grocery to get a few needed items. It was very nice for us to have a lazy weekend together. Even though none of us felt great, I think we were able to enjoy it a little anyway.

Sick, sick, sick...

It started out on Tuesday with Sydney having a stuffy nose & coughing a little bit & has spread to both of us. Ryan is still trucking along with only a little bit of a sore throat. I am however high on medication...no, not really. Any sinus, cold, or allergy medicine makes me drowsy. Even the "day" or "non-drowsy" stuff knocks me out. In order to function & take Benedryl for allergies, I have to take a fourth of a dose to not be sleepy. What good does that do?! None! Anyway, it is good that Ryan is feeling good. At least we have one person who is capable of looking after the kiddo. (After rereading this paragraph, I realized that I am rambling. I guess the small dose of sinus medicine I took is kicking in more than I thought!)

I thought Sydney was feeling better & was over the worst part, but she just woke up from a mini-nap a minute ago & is just as stuffy as she was last night. It is sad to see your baby sick. She and her daddy are hanging out on the couch right now...I think I might join them. Looks to be quite the lazy weekend...wish I wasn't feeling like this & could enjoy a good lazy weekend. Oh well. At least we're all together!! I hope all my blog friends are healthy & happy & have a GREAT weekend!! Happy November!

Pumpkin Patch, Lincoln Birthplace, & Fall Leaves

Sunday the sun finally decided to make an appearance! After 6 days of not seeing the sun, we decided we had to get out & enjoy this great fall weather. So, after church we went to a local farm. They had a small pumpkin patch & maze. Sydney had a blast! There were several kids playing in the maze. She laughed each time any of them would run next to her. Then she wanted to walk the maze, too. It was cute.

After the farm, we headed to Lincoln's Birthplace. Ryan's been wanting to check it out & the day was perfect for it. It was neat, but I have to say that I was disappointed. A lot of what you read says that in that place sits the log cabin that Lincoln was born in. That is not true. It is a replica of what the cabin he was born in would look like. It didn't seem to bother Ryan, but I was disappointed. That area was gorgeous. The air was crisp. So, I can't really complain.

The last pictures are of trees that I took yesterday. You'll see a church in some of them. That is First Christian Church...the church we've been attending. The trees next to the church are some of the prettiest in the area. Hope you enjoy.

My Favorite Time of the Year

I absolutely adore autumn. While living in Texas the last 4 years, I would ache during this time of year because I knew the trees in Kentucky would be turning beautiful colors & I wouldn't be able to see them. I would close my eyes & picture a tree in my front yard growing up. It turned the most beautiful yellow with a dark bark. I would smile every time I came home & saw it when I was growing up. It was gorgeous. So, over the last 4 years I have been pining to see these beautiful trees.

This year I was so disappointed because I thought with the dry summer that we had the leaves would surely fall & not turn the amazing colors they were meant to turn. Luckily, I was wrong! The trees around us are turning magnificent colors. Although it has been raining for what feels like forever, I can look out our sliding door & see the trees out back & smile. I have waited 4 years for this moment & I am loving every minute of it!!

This weekend I hope to get out & about to take some pictures of this area. If I get some good ones, I'll post them.

Sydney's birthday weekend

The weekend started Friday night with Nathan coming in from Nashville. He played with Sydney & watched TV with me until it was time to go pick up a friend, Tricia, at the airport. I expected that he wouldn't want to go (not sure why), but was thrilled to have some sibling time in the car on the way to Louisville.

Tricia was coming for a wedding in Louisville, but I convinced her to stay with us & use our car. She thanked me for letting her do that, but what she didn't realize was that it was purely selfish. It just gave me more time with her. :-) Anyway, her plane ended up coming in late & then it took forever for her bags to come out. Once we finally got home, it was after 1 AM. We all ended up staying up until 2 talking. Sydney decided to join in the action, so although everyone else went to sleep at 2, Ryan and I were up until 3 trying to get Sydney back to sleep.

Saturday morning we visited until the grandparents arrived. I'm still not 100% sure why our 12 o'clock eating time ended up being after 2, but the food was worth waiting for. After eating lunch we sat around & talked before letting Sydney open her presents. She was a good sport even though she didn't really understand what was going on. After presents came CAKE! I was curious how she would react to the cake. She LOVED it!! Mostly, she loved the icing. She couldn't get it in her mouth fast enough. It was cute.

All in all her birthday was a huge success. Although I was a little sad to see my baby days gone, I am excited for this new stage. I see other children who are just a little older than her & am excited to see her get to that stage. I'm not rushing it by any means. I'm still trying to enjoy where she's at right now, but when the time arrives, I will be happy then, too.

Sunday we went to early service so that we could get lunch & get Tricia to the airport on time. After dropping Tricia off, we came back & watched movies while trying not to doze off. My family traditionally took naps on Sunday afternoon...that's a hard habit to break!! Nathan headed back to Nashville late afternoon & I took a nap! How many times can a mom say that she got a nap?! It was nice. Sydney woke up 30-45 minutes after I got good & asleep, so my nap wasn't long, but I got one!

It was a great weekend. I am so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful family & friends. Thanks to all for coming & being apart of this day with us. We love you all!

Happy 1st Birthday, Sydney!

Where to start?! One year ago today (ok, tomorrow) was one of the happiest days of my life! At 3:56 PM, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!! She was absolutely perfect. With a wonderful crowd filled with friends & family, we welcomed her to the world. It was special, so special that I am having a hard time putting it into words. The first few moments when it was just Sydney, Ryan, and me were no short of magical.

Over the next few months, we watched her grow & started to see her happy personality develop. From being scared about her breathing the first few days, physical therapy for her neck, holding her head up on her own, sitting up, crawling, and now trying to walk, this year has been so amazing. God has given us this wonderful new way to love. He has pulled us out of the scary moments & brought us into some really joyful ones.

Tomorrow we celebrate her first birthday & it will be a happy day. We will have both sets of grandparents here as well as her great-grandma, and uncle. Although she will not remember this day, we will be celebrating the new addition that has been given to this family & the wonderful year that we have had with her.

She took steps!

Yesterday afternoon Sydney took 5 steps!! She walked from me to Ryan. Today she's been taking a few & will when we get her to walk back & forth to us. It won't be long until she's running around!! I'm excite. I've been a little slow in coming around to wanting her to walk, but now I think I'm ready. Well..."ready" might not be the right word to use. I am excited. I'll post pictures soon.

Ryan's blog

Ryan finally posted a couple of things on his blog. Check them out.

Disclaimer: some things may not be suitable for children's eyes.

Sydney's stages

Sydney can now officially say: mama, dada, and...no no. Ah...I knew this day would come. I just didn't think it would come before she was 1! I don't think she knows what it means yet, thank goodness, but she says it all the time! In her gibbergabber she'll say "no no mama, no no dada". Although it is a lost cause I'm sure, I'm trying not to say it as much in hopes to delay the meaning of the word. Ha! I know it won't work, but what else can I do?

She talks ALL THE TIME! It's cute. She talks to me, to her food, to her toys, to the tv (whether it's on or off), and to air...I think. It is neat to see her interacting with nothing. I wish she had more interaction with other people...I'm working on that one.

Another thing she's been doing recently is standing. I was convinced she'd be a slow one to walk since she's taken her time on everything else. She's always been content in whichever stage she's in. Should be a reality check to me! It's amazing how much you can learn from a baby! Anyway, she's been pushing herself off of something on the floor & then standing for quite a while. She hasn't taken a step yet, but since she's got her balance already, I'm sure it isn't too far away. I was so anxious for her to start crawling. I think it was because it was the first time that I could watch what was going on in that little brain of hers--see what she thought was interesting. It has been cool seeing things through her eyes. Now on to the subject of walking, I can wait on that one. I have an idea of how complicated my daily chores are going to be once she masters the art of walking!! I'm just now getting use to getting things done in this stage! Do you ever get past the catch-up stage as parents? I feel like as soon as I get close to comfortable, she changes! It definitely keeps me on my toes!

Well, that's the latest on the little one. I welcome any suggestions for the "no no" stage. :-)

Arts Show

This past weekend we went to the St. James Court Art Show in Louisville. It was really cool. If you would have asked me when I was in high school if I would like going to art shows 10 years later, I would have laughed! Now, I really enjoy it. Even with Sydney this year, it felt like a really cool date. We even came home with a few things. We don't have hundreds and hundreds of dollars to get some of the really cool things that we would like to get, of course, but we try to come home with a few inexpensive items. I would much rather spend $20 for an item from the actual artist than $20 at Target for just a decoration for our home. Gradually, we're decorating our home with originals. It's nice.

While we were there, we saw an artist that we bought something from at the Fort Worth Arts Festival! I told him that we have gotten so many compliments on the piece that we bought from him. It really is one of my favorites! He asked which show we got it from & we told him Fort Worth. He told us that is one of the 2 top shows in the country! We felt kind of proud that we had actually gotten the chance to experience one of the best! :-) I do regret not asking him what the other top show was. Oh well.

Overall, this weekend goes up there as one of my favorites! Hope you all enjoyed yours!

Weight issues

My baby girl is almost a year old & I still have not lost the weight I set out to lose. That has me very disappointed in myself. For a while, I kept telling myself that it took me 9 months to put on the weight & now it will take time to get it off. I can't say that anymore. The biggest reason that I am so disappointed in myself is because I have not actively done anything but whine & complain. I have not watched what I have eaten...well, I watched it, I just didn't make sure it was healthy! No, I'm not insanely overweight. I weigh about the same I did when I came home from the hospital--a year later! So, I'm posting this blog to tell the world of my shortcomings in hopes that it will spark me to do something about this failure. I will keep you posted as to whether I develop the discipline that it will take to get my predetermined amount of weight off. Stay tuned...

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Today is Ryan's and my 6 year anniversary. To this day, I'm still amazed of the happenings of our wedding day. The fact that I could tell my mother that I was going to get married in 2 days & expect her to be happy about it is crazy! I constantly strive to make my parents happy. It is something that is just instilled in me. I was going to get married two days later & hopefully they would support me. I guess the crazier thing is that they did!! No, it's not crazy. They could see what an amazing man Ryan is, and our wedding came together perfectly.

Now, six years later. We have a beautiful baby girl & are happier than we've ever been. Life is good! I am the luckiest girl in the world & I'm thankful that Ryan wanted to marry me that day. On September 28, 2001, I got my other half in every sense of the words. He is the one who has slowed me down & made me realize that things aren't as big of a deal as I tend to make them out to be. He's my shoulder to fall on when things go wrong & he's the one jumping up and down when things go right. He's what I need when I need it, and I honestly didn't think that existed anymore. To say that he means everything to me doesn't even begin to cover it. He is the love of my life & I am truly thankful that God allowed him to be with me.

I love you, Ryan. I can't imagine my life without you. I look forward to the many, many years ahead of us.

I MISS DALLAS!

No, not the traffic or having to work & take my baby to daycare. Minus those things & being away from family, I miss it so much. I miss worshipping at PRCC!! Besides one time at PBC (camp), PRCC is the only place that I have ever been able to really worship. After I got over the issues that you deal with when working for a church, I was able to let go & worship God each & every Sunday. I was moved. There would be mornings that I would be so down & empty then would leave the worship so full & refreshed. There were moments that moved me to tears while singing. I can't describe it exactly. Actually, I'm noticing that I'm not doing a very good job of relaying my feelings. Just know, I felt closer to God in some of my moments in the PRCC building than I have felt in my whole life. So, seeing pictures today on a friend's blog got me teary.

Then seeing the friend's husband standing on PRCC's stage, I lost it. I miss my Dallas friends SO much! I knew leaving would be hard. I just didn't realize that 6 months later would be just as hard as the day I left. There's a void where friends once were. Sure, we're still friends, but being 13 hours away doesn't allow us to have a close friendship like we once had. And...Grey's Anatomy is getting ready to come back on. I miss my Grey's Anatomy buddy. :-( I guess it is several things happening at once that make me remember how good we had it there. Go girls...I'm missin' ya tonight. LOVE YOU!

Disclaimer: I'm ok. I'm not depressed. So, don't worry. I'm just having a moment & missing some friends.

No More Bold Statements

You won't be hearing me make any more bold statements about what I am going to do childrearing-wise. Sydney is 11 months old today & still has her paci. At first, I was saying that I would take it away after Florida, then we planned to go to CT. So, we decided it would be in the best interest of our parents not to take it away until after we came back. Then I decided that we would let things settle & then take it. While that part is technically still true, it won't be today. She hasn't been sleeping hardly at all at night. She takes AMAZING naps, but won't sleep at night. I'm exhausted. The only thing that is helping me get some sleep is that sweet little paci. (Which is that is the only time she gets it--when she's sleeping.) I'm pretty sure she has at least 6 teeth moving right now...all under the surface. I can't blame her for being fussy. I would be too!! We've been giving her teething tablets, Tylenol (when it gets it's worst), and Orajel. Sometimes that doesn't even help. So the vertict...the paci is staying for a little while longer.

While I realize that there are children much, much older than Sydney with their paci, I still wanted her off hers before she was 1. That gives me a month from today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep that goal.

On another note, I can't believe she'll be 1 year old in a month!!!! AH! Where did this year go? We've already been here in KY for 6 months! It is crazy how fast time is flying. I keep making that comment, but time just keeps speeding up. Anyone have any ideas on how to make it slow down? I would love to find the secret!!

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

Today is my honey's 32nd birthday!!! I am blessed having this man in my life. He is an amazing husband & father. I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life. I've heard that one of the reasons we marry is to have someone else experience our life with us so that we don't go unnoticed. Well, I'm not sure that's the major reason, but I'm thankful to be experiencing my life with Ryan by my side. I'm thankful that he has picked me to share in his life.

I love you, Baby. I hope you have an awesome birthday!!

Rest of trip

On my last blog I left off on Tuesday. Wednesday & Thursday were sightseeing days mostly. I walked the base in the afternoon to get some fresh air & exercise. Wednesday night we went down to the USS Pittsburgh. There I was able to meet Joe, one of Ryan's friends. Joe & Ryan were on the USS Philadelphia together when Ryan was on active duty. It was neat to put a face to the name that I've heard all of these years. Joe is a super nice guy & it was great to meet him. Hopefully one of these days I'll get to meet his wife & daughter, too. It just didn't work out this time. Friday Ryan got out early & we headed back to Providence for one last look before we left. I had such a good time on this trip. I can't even put it in to words how much I loved seeing that area & Ryan's old stomping grounds! It was very special.

Now, I'm happy to be back home. I got to Paducah on Saturday to see my girl! My mom kind of laughed, but I really think she's grown!! She's now shaking her head no & crawling correctly. She wasn't doing either of those when we left. It's great to be back with her & now to be home. Hopefully we'll get back in the swing of things quickly.

I'm thankful for these beautiful cool days!! I can't wait to get out to the parks with Sydney. Keep watching my blog for those types of pictures!! I'm sure we'll be taking tons!

New England

We are having a GREAT time & from what I hear, Sydney is too. I knew she would. There was no doubt about that!! We've done so much stuff since coming on Saturday!! We were in Providence, RI on Saturday & Sunday. We also went to Newport, RI. GORGEOUS!! We rented a Mustang Convertible for Saturday. It was so much fun!! I told Ryan that we definitely NEEDED one of those! Haha! It's not very practical for a family of 3, but oh what fun it was!! We had a great time & I long to go back one day when we can spend more time. Saturday night we went back to downtown Providence. There we were able to experience Waterfire. It was awesome!!! We had a very romantic evening. We walked & sat--just taking in the beautiful sight & sounds.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Groton to the base to get Ryan checked-in & us settled in our hotel room. We lucked out & got a room at the hotel on base. Since I can't drive the rental car, it allows me to get out & do a few things & not be stuck in the room. After we got settled we walked around base. We went down to the pier & were able to tour the USS Providence which just came back in from sea a few days ago. There were several men on board performing their duties. It was really, really cool!!!! Just knowing that type of boat is what Ryan was attached to for 4 years is crazy!! I can't imagine being underway for 6 months & having that little bunk be my bed & that shower be my shower! Ah...what our sailors do for us. It was pretty awesome seeing these heroes in action...and being with my hero at the same time! After getting the tour, we headed to Mystic, CT. There we ate at Mystic Pizza. Some of you will remember the movie Mystic Pizza. It was one of Julia Roberts first movies. Anyway, I thought it was cool to eat there. After our meal, we walked around Mystic. It was really cool. We saw one of the biggest sailboats I've ever seen. We also got to see a drawbridge in action. It was one neat day!

Monday I hung out at the room most of the day. Then we went to the Submarine Museum & went on board the USS Nautilus. They have it set up as a museum now. It was neat. It wasn't as cool as seeing the one still in use, but it was still fun. After that, we got cleaned up & went to Foxwoods Casino. There we gambled a little--no more than we would spend on going to a movie. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe there. It was one of the coolest Hard Rock restaurants I've ever been to.

Today I was lazy & stayed in the room most of the day. I read my book & waited for Ryan to get out of his school. We went to the local mall since it was pouring down outside. Then we came back so Ryan could do some work. Now, I'm off to bed.
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Today being September 11. I just want to say a special thanks to the men & women who still work to protect us. Being on this base, it has raised my awareness of how much these individuals give up just to be in the military. It is not just when they are away from family that they are sacrificing. So, thank you. Thank you for protecting me & my family. Thank you for loving our country more than you love yourself...and probably more than we do. (All of this goes for you, too, Ryan & Jon. Love you both!)

Headed out...again

This should be the last "trip" for a while. We'll still have the Paducah visits, but this should be the last vacation until next year. Today I'm headed to pass Sydney off to some AMAZING grandparents! Both sets are splitting the week next week so that Ryan and I can go to Groton, CT--just the two of us. Ryan has a Navy school that he's going to & I'm going for the vacation. We found a cheap flight for me & since his hotel is paid for we'll only have to pay for my food. I'm excited to get a chance to see his old stomping ground. I've wanted to go for so long, but it has been too expensive of a trip so we've gone & done other things. I'm excited that this has all worked out!!

Thank you grandparents for taking care of the kiddo so that we can have a trip just the two of us. It means a lot to both of us!!

We're home

Our trip was awesome!! We spent the first night with Kit & Laura and had a great time. We have decided that we are definitely going to have to go back to Atlanta for a much longer visit soon.

The next morning, we hit the road for Ormond Beach, Fl. With construction, horrible traffic, and thunderstorms it took us 8 hours instead of 6 1/2. No fun! But, we did get there at a decent time & were able relax and enjoy the night.

The next day, we went to the beach in the morning & to the lighthouse just south of the area that afternoon. To get to the top of the lighthouse, you have to climb 203 stairs. It was 175 feet tall & gave a magnificent view once at the top. Since I am a little afraid of heights, coming down the lighthouse was a bit scary. The view from the top was definitely worth it, though.
Monday, we spent the whole day at the beach! It was so much fun. I have been longing for a beach vacation & I was relishing every moment of that day. We rented an umbrella so that we could keep Sydney out of the sun most of the day. Later that morning we also rented a body board. That ended up being much more fun than I had expected. By the end of the day, Ryan was burned and I was completely exhausted!!
Tuesday we headed to Jacksonville, FL. There we went to the Navy base. I had been wanting to get Sydney a Navy shirt, but since there isn't a Navy base close to E-town I haven't been able to. So, we took off that day in hopes of success. After checking out the beach on base (where I had a sand crab walk straight by my foot!!! AH!) and searching for the exchange, we finally found out that the Exchange & Commissary (mini-Walmart & grocery) were off-base. We finally found it & had great success. We got a very cute shirt for Sydney & I even got an amazingly soft sweatshirt for me! :-)

Wednesday we drove around, but basically spent most of the morning in the room. We slept in and were 100% lazy! Yay!! After being lazy, we headed out to the pool. Ryan worked on our website at one of the tables under an umbrella while Sydney and I played in the pool. So, it was win-win for everyone!

Thursday we went shopping in St. Augustine at one of their outlet malls. Yes, they have 2 outlet malls!! We walked away with some steals for all of us!!! On the way to St. Augustine we took A1A up the coast instead of interstate 95. We had no idea how long it would take us, but decided the drive might be worth the extra time. We were right!! It was a gorgeous drive.

Friday got up before the crack of dawn so that we could see the sunrise over the ocean. Ryan went to Starbucks and got us drinks for the occasion. I was highly thankful since I am not a morning person. The sunrise was magical. After the sun made her debut, we combed the sand for seashells & were quite lucky. Once we made it back to our resort, we sat at the pool deck & enjoyed the calmness of the morning. Although it was quite cloudy, I noticed that I was getting some sun, so I went in and changed into my bathing suit. That act had me wanting to stay by the pool all day! It was SO relaxing. So, we ended up deciding to hang out by the pool most of the day. Since our A/C wasn't working in our room, we ended up being forced out anyway. Don't worry, though, they did get it fixed before the day was over. Actually, they got it fixed just as a thunderstorm popped up & forced us indoors!! Perfect timing!
That night we went for a walk along the populated Daytona stretch in search for t-shirts marking our trip. Since Ryan and I don't have very many t-shirts (literally) we decided this would be a good time to get one that isn't just another Old Navy t-shirt.

Saturday we headed back home thankful of the time we were given just to concentrate on being a family. It was some of the most special moments we have ever had. Thanks, Ryan, for letting us go & for being such an amazing husband. Thanks, Dad, for giving us the week!!! It definitely was more than we could have imagined!!

Off again!

Tomorrow morning we begin our vacation!! Florida here we come. We will stay with Kit & Laura (Ryan's brother & sister-in-law) tomorrow night to break up the drive. Since we don't get to see them very often, we are really excited!! I think we'd be excited even if we got to see them all the time! They're awesome siblings to us & role models for Sydney. Saturday we'll head to Florida, Ormond Beach to be exact. I have been looking forward to this trip ever since we began thinking of it!! I LOVE the beach. Since I believe Ryan is ADHD, he has never been very eager to take a beach vacation. This one just kind of happened & I have been thankful for it!

The three of us need some much needed time away. You say, but you live in a city without anyone around you. "Time away" doesn't mean from people this time. It means from Ryan's work & school. He's been working so hard that we all feel we need some serious play time!

I've been looking forward to the sunrises & sunsets seen from the beach. The days being lazy by the pool & beach and then I see...weather.com had forecast rain EVERY DAY we're there!! Ah...hurricanes! It seems that we will be there just in time for the hurricane to make it's mark on Florida. No, the hurricane won't hit Florida, but it looks to bring plenty of rain. So, now I'm praying for some sunshine!! PLEEEAAASSSSEEE!!! I'll give the full report when I get back.

Laundry fun

Last night I was getting caught up on our laundry from our trip so that I can begin packing for the next trip--FLORIDA!! When I pulled the clothes out of the dryer, I noticed there was something on the inside of the dryer. It looked like tons of black marks...then realized there must have been an ink pen in there some where. Sure enough! I found a very nice black gel pen that was now empty. I then franticly started looking at all of our clothes. Yes, the full pen was now emptied all over our favorite clothes. Normally we would have that many of our favorites in one load, but since I was doing laundry from our trip & we always take our favorites on trips, they were all in there. I was really upset. I called my mom to see if there was any way to get ink out of clothes. She didn't know, but gladly got online while I was hanging up my wet clothes outside to dry. I get a call back. The verdict: dab rubbing alcohol on the clothes with a white towel under them. If that doesn't work, use fingernail polish remover & rinse thoroughly. So, I began work on the clothes. After a several minutes, I realized that this process is going to take a very, very long time. So, I told Ryan to begin looking online to see how to get the dryer clean. Shortly after asking Ryan to do that task for me, my mom called back with the verdict. It was the same as the clothes only using a cotton ball with the fingernail polish remover. My advice to you: use the fingernail polish remover first. It works much better than the alcohol. Now my dryer is clean, except for the felt feeling part that lines the back of the dryer. That is still coated in ink. I need to work on it some more. Although I'm completely saddened by our clothes being ruined--some maybe salvaged, yes, but mostly ruined-- I am realizing that they are material objects. Perhaps they were some of my favorites, because I didn't feel fat or look pregnant in them. However, they are still material objects and can be replaced. No, definitely not all at one time! But they can be replaced. This morning I am not as upset or saddened. I am just seeing the task at hand...FINISH CLEANING THE DRYER SO THAT I CAN PACK AGAIN!!! Now I'm off...

This weekend was an awesome weekend!! We left Friday evening for Paducah. Saturday morning we headed to Lincoln, Il. My grandmother's sister (Billie) and her husband (Mac) were expecting us by 12-12:30. We arrived in Lincoln by 12:30. Quite shocking for the Anderson clan!! We did plan to leave much earlier so that when we did actually leave we wouldn't be late. Anyway, our trip was planned to visit family. Plus, we were going to my aunt & uncle's surprise 50th anniversary party. They were genuinely surprised!! It was so much fun seeing their faces & how happy they were that day. My cousin's wife, Lisa, planned the whole thing & did an amazing job!!! After the party Saturday afternoon, we all headed back to Billie & Mac's where we ate dinner & reminisced. I LOVE hearing old stories. Since my mother's mother died when she was a teenager, I never got to meet her. It is neat to see pictures and hear stories of those who came before me. I could sit & listen for hours! We did not have many hours though. We went to church with them on Sunday morning. I always love attending church with blood family. Church family is awesome, don't get me wrong. But, it is neat having a whole family there together to worship God! Not many people can get to do that, so it is a huge blessing to me when I get the chance. After church, we went to Cracker Barrel for some good country eatin'. We did eat good this weekend!! Anyway, that is my weekend in a nutshell. I will post pictures as soon as I get some in.

It was so neat getting to see Sydney interact with cousins. All of the cousins she's met have been older. She hasn't had any that she could sit in the floor and play with. She had a blast!! I think they did, too. Hopefully this weekend will help us keep our ties strong & not let so much time go by before another visit!

On the way home from this trip, I was driving while the other two in my little family were sleeping. I began thinking about how lucky I am. The ladies in my family commented on how lucky I am to have Ryan. They could see how amazing of a husband he is! I completely agree with them!!! I went from thinking about my blessings with Ryan to thinking about my parents and brother. Then from them to my extended family on both my mother & my father's side. I am truly blessed to have such amazing people around me. It isn't common these days to have most of your family be Christian. Mine are & I am so thankful. I have people around me that love me despite my flaws. I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Family weekend

In just a few hours we will be heading to Paducah to begin our family weekend. Tomorrow morning my parents, Nathan, Ryan, Sydney, and I are heading to Lincoln, Il to visit some of our extended relatives. Most of the time when I'm talking about my extended family I am talking about my father's family. This weekend is all about my mom's family. I haven't seen them in 8 years!!! Since my wedding was a quick wedding (For those of you who don't know, Ryan was called up shortly after 9-11 and we married before he shipped out. I planned my wedding in 36 hours!), my family was not able to come to it. We all have been horrible about keeping in touch! Recently though, we have started trying and have pulled together for one weekend. They have not met Ryan or Sydney, so it should be a lot of fun. Plus, one of my cousins has had 2 kids that I have never met. This weekend is just what we all need! I'll be sure to post when we get back on Sunday!

Only 7 more days until our vacation!!!!!! Whoohoo!!!

Daddy's sailor girl

I don't even have to blog on this one! The pictures say it all. They're just adorable!!!!!

Disclaimer: I LOVE being a stay-at-home-mom!!!!

Staying at home has come as a challenge to me in one way. You don't get the job approval that you do in a paying job. In a paying job, there are certain tasks that you must perform. At least once a year you have a review in which someone tells you how you are doing at your job. Being a stay at home mom, you don't have that luxury. You just do what you think is right and keep your fingers crossed.

Well, this past Tuesday was Sydney's 9 month check-up with the doctor. She is weighing 19 lbs 1 oz and is 28 1/4 inches. Both are exactly average. The doctor commented on that and asked her if she's been reading the books and knew that's where she should be. That made me feel good. Then he told me that she is performing above her age and said "You must be working with her. It really shows." YES! I never get any confirmation of what I am doing! I was so excited!! Now, I'm not really saying this bragging on her or me. I haven't really been working with her. I just encourage what she starts. I have seen some moms who really work and come up with things to help their kids learn. I hate to say it, but I really haven't been doing anything like that. But it was good to hear that what I have been doing has at least not been hurting her!! My goal is to not screw her up too much!!! If I can accomplish that, I will consider it a job well done!! :-) Anyway, I thought I would share my sigh of relief with you.

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We (Sydney and I) just got back from Paducah. We had a great visit with Nini & Papaw and Gran & Pops. We even got to spend an entire afternoon with Grandma! It was a great few days. Tonight Daddy comes home! Yay!! I know we're both excited about it. Sydney has even learned to say "Hi Dada!" Now, it's not always when you want her to, but she can say it!! I just hope she'll say it for him tonight when we pick him up at the airport. I'm sure she won't. She never does anything on que. I guess another example that she's mine! :-) Babe, we can't wait for you to be back. We've missed you!!

Off the bottle

Here she's almost 3 months old.

Well, it happened. Sydney has now been off the bottle for two days. She really did it herself. I gave her a cup instead of the bottle Friday night & she did fine. So, Saturday morning we decided that would be her last bottle. :-( I didn't realize how sad it was going to make me. I felt silly for being so sad & Ryan made fun of me a little. But I was sad. My baby is growing up. I have always heard that they grow up fast, but I didn't realize just how fast. I'm sure there are some of you who are laughing a little. That's ok. And don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to the new things that she will be doing. I am just sad that this stage is over. I really enjoyed this stage more than I thought I would. Although there were nights of no sleep, it was neat.



After our trip to Florida at the end of this month, the pacifier is going away, too. I've heard stories of how hard it can be if they still have it after they turn 12 months. So, we are giving ourselves a break & not taking it away before the 12 1/2 hour trip to and from Florida. As soon as we are back though, it is going bye-bye. I don't look forward to breaking that habit. It is going to be a hard one. Although she is only 9 1/2 months old, she is very attached to it. So, I'm sure yet again there will be sleepless nights. That's ok. We can always make up sleep.



Last night I noticed that we have another tooth that has broken through the surface!! That makes three! And the forth is on the way. I can see it just under the gums. That means that we will have two breaking through at the same time, while the other two (the bottom ones) are continuing to get into place. FOUR teeth moving at the same time!! Yikes!! I am very impressed with her. She has been in a relatively good mood with all that going on. I wouldn't be!



Well, that's the latest news! Hope you're all doing well!!

Getting better

Sydney's crawl is getting much better. I don't say that being critical only to say that it is coming much easier for her. Since she is becoming more advanced, she has begun to explore. It is so funny the things that keep her attention--the bottom of her high chair, the bottom of the table, the remotes in the basket beside the TV, the hardwood floor, and the tile floor. It is quite amusing & interesting to see things through her eyes. It makes perfect sense. She's never really seen the bottom of the high chair. It would make sense that she would want to touch it and see what it is like.

I often wonder if how I watch Sydney learn & understand new things that is how God is watching me...with amusement at times. Honestly, I really don't know. I'm still the kid in that relationship. I only hope that he has more amusement as he watches me and less frustration. As mentioned in many blogs before, I have a tendancy to be a slow learner.

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This weekend was a great weekend. We didn't really do anything, but we were together. It seems that there are so many times that we are physically together but for whatever reason we aren't mentally or emotionally together. Does that make sense? With so much going on in our lives and add a 9 month old to it, it is hard to keep connected to each other. But this weekend I feel we actually did that. It was great!! It SO makes me look forward to our vacation that is coming up at the end of this month. We will have 9 days of just us!!! Plus, we'll be at the beach--BONUS! Well, that's a bonus for me. Hopefully Ryan will learn to love it!! :-/ We'll see. I'm just looking forward to spending some time as a family with no other obligations! Whoohoo!

She crawled!!

Granted, it was the weirdest looking crawl I've ever seen. It was a combination between crawling with her feet and with her knees. But she got where she wanted. Since then, the toys have gotten a little further away to encourage her to keep crawling. And she is. She won't go very far--maybe a couple of feet or so. She is well on her way to getting into all of the things that I can see on the floor that need to be picked up!!

Things to do: put cabinet door safety locks on the doors, pick up crap off the floor, finish putting outlet plugs in, and figure out the rest as she gets into it! :-/ Oh how I wish I could anticipate it all, but I know that I will only be following her around going, "I didn't think of that. No, Sydney." Ha!

On a different note, she is definitely my daughter! My mother would say that there is no denying it. Last Saturday she learned how to pick up food & get it to her mouth. She's had the picking up part, but has been missing her mouth for quite a while. When she would miss, she would go on with something else. Now she keeps trying. She's got it down, too. AND she does not want mommy's help. If I try to put the piece in her mouth. She frowns, puts her head down, and shakes her head. If I put that very same piece in my hand, she'll pick it up and eat it. It makes me laugh inside and think, "Yep! That's definitely my kid."

Update on the little one

Although my little one cannot yet crawl (she's so close I can't stand it!), she can definitely get around. I am realizing that my world is getting ready to get so much more complicated! In just the past 30 minutes she has gotten to explore the bottom of her highchair, the kitchen table and chairs, buttons on the DVD player and all the other gadgets and lights under the TV, and the sofa. Granted, they are all in the living room, but she went from one end of the living room to the other all by herself. She has mastered the scoot. She can scoot herself while sitting up to get where ever she wants. She only stops when she gets tired. She also rolls over several times to get to where she wants.

The cutest thing lately is going into her room just after she's woken up from her nap or first thing in the morning. She positions herself in her crib so that she is holding onto the slats looking out. It looks like she's saying "Get me out of here!!". It's so cute!!

We are having trying days though. She's getting 4 teeth in at once. Her bottom two are halfway up. The top two are just swollen gums. You can see the teeth, but they aren't breaking the surface yet. I feel for her!! Having 4 teeth moving at the same time can't be fun! She's normally an incredibly happy baby. For the most part, she still is. She is just having her moments now. After I put the Orajel on her, she's fine. You can definitely tell when it's wearing off though.

Oh today she said "mama" for the first time!!! I do wish it was under different circumstances, but she said it none the less. She had been sitting in the floor playing and decided she wanted to be picked up. I was paying some bills and was trying to get finished when she started fussing. After a few minutes of fussing and me not responding she yelled "MAMA". I laughed and turned to her and repeated it. She smiled, but didn't say it again. And for those of you wondering, no I did not pick her up after saying mama. I gave her attention and she went back to playing. We have a hard time with her wanting to be held a lot, so I was not going to encourage a habit. It was neat to hear the word that I've been waiting to hear though. :-)

Weekend in the Woods

This weekend has been an awesome weekend!!! Besides the cool temperatures & beautiful skies, we were able to be out in nature yesterday a little bit & a lot today!! Yesterday on our way to Louisville, we decided to take a different route. It turned out to be quite a wonderful decision! On the way, we came across Fort Duffield. It is just off the side of the road, and if you aren't paying attention to the road signs you would miss it. Luckily we didn't miss it!! Since we weren't planning on finding this awesome treasure, we weren't properly dressed to hike. We made a pact to go back this afternoon. It was a great hike (parts of the time--the going up part--wasn't that great). It was VERY peaceful and quite scenic. We are just now getting in from our refreshingly relaxing day. Here are a few pictures.

P.S. Happy late 9 month birthday to my baby girl!! Can you believe she's 9 months old already?? I can't.

God is good

all the time. All the time, God is good. It is so easy to make that statement when things are going our way, isn't it?! Over the last month or so our family has been in the midst of a health scare for one of our family members. To say that it was on our minds constantly is probably an understatement. We found out last night that she is 100% OK!!! Yay!!!! So, today we are praising God with one LOUD voice!! Thank you, God.

Update

We're (Sydney and I) are still in Paducah. We've had a ton of fun over the last several days. Saturday night we got to see family that we haven't seen in years!! It was really neat seeing how Ryan's little cousins have grown. They aren't so little anymore. Sunday we had some special time with Ryan's brother & sister-in-law, aunt, and parents. It was great being with all of them. Above is a picture of Uncle Kit (Ryan's brother) and Sydney. He was posing for the camera!! Sydney is so lucky to have such awesome aunts and uncles!!!

Family time & date night

This weekend we are heading to Paducah. Many of you will say, "Surprise, surprise!" But to our defense, we haven't been in a few weeks. This weekend is extra special! We are getting a date night Saturday night. Whoohoo!! We haven't been out, just the two of us, in quite a while. So, I am looking forward to some special alone time with my hubby.

We were originally hoping to go to see Bill Envall (our all-time favorite comedian) in Metropolis that night, but the tickets were sold out before we could get them. :-( Oh well. Since my parents had already agreed to keep Sydney that night, we decided we would still go in & have a night to ourselves. Hopefully we'll laugh as much at the movie as we would have laughed with Bill.

So babe, I'm looking forward to this weekend & I'm looking forward to some time with you. LOVE YOU!!

Also this weekend, Ryan's aunt and uncle will be in. We're hoping to get to see them as well. I've been trying to think the last time we saw them. It might have been before we moved to TX!!! So, we look forward to introducing them to Sydney & getting some time with them.

Of course, we look forward to seeing everyone else. We are so lucky to be so close to family! See you all this weekend!!

Gran's visit

Sunday afternoon Ryan's mom (aka Gran) came for a visit. She stayed until yesterday afternoon. We had a great visit! Sunday night we watched Blue Comedy Tour and saw fireworks from our front deck. The local mega-church did fireworks. It isn't far from our apartment. So when we heard pops during our movie, Ryan went to check out the noise. We could see the fireworks from our place! How cool!! That meant all of us could enjoy it. I really wanted to see fireworks this year, but wasn't sure that Sydney would enjoy it since she doesn't like loud noises. She did watch these & seemed to like them.

On Saturday we met Ryan in Louisville for lunch & Gran initiated me in to Value City. I had heard of the stores before & even seen one, but had never been it. It was pretty cool...kind of like a big Big Lots. Sydney came out with a few things.

We had a great time together & look forward to many more visits! :-)

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

Today we worked on the house. It has been the first Saturday we have taken to really clean in quite a while. Our place wasn't that dirty, but we still had boxes from our move that we had to decide what to do with. We were spoiled in our last place with big closets. Unfortunately, this place isn't so spacious in the closet department. Anyway, we worked on it today & got the final things hung that needed to be hung. Why did we work on it today? Ryan's mom is coming to visit tomorrow. My mom came and we worked on the house some, but not as hard as for Ryan's mom. I kept asking myself all day what the difference is. I think I figured it out. My mom saw my room as a teenager. Nothing really would surprise her after that!! I am happy with our progress! It looks great. Our hard work has definitely paid off. So, that's how I spent my day!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

P.S. Ryan got to play with an iPhone today...of course, the highlight of his day!! He thought it was very cool, but not worth $600!

Paul McCartney fan

The funniest thing happened a couple of weeks ago. We were in Nashville. Nathan came over to the hotel to get Sydney and I for the day while Ryan worked. While I was getting ready Nathan noticed that everytime a commercial for Paul McCartney's new CD came out, Sydney would stop what she was doing and turn to the TV. She would watch the TV until the commercial was over. We laughed about it and didn't think anymore of it. A week or so later, the same thing happened at home. Then Ryan decided to download the song from ITunes. Everytime my daughter hears Dance Tonight by Paul McCartney it gets her undivided attention. If she is crying, she hushes. If she is playing, she stops. It is the craziest thing--especially since neither Ryan nor I have ever played Paul McCartney to her! Anyway, I figured this was definitely blogworthy. He has a fan...8 months old, but she is definitely a fan!

Not a zoo this time...technically

As you have all noticed I'm sure, we have been frequenting many zoos in the area. It has been so much fun. Although Sydney can't really focus on them & pay attention yet, we have all had wonderful days out. Today we went to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY (across the river from Cincinnati). So, technically it is not a zoo although we did see many of the same type things. It was COOL!! I highly recommend this place if you are in and around Cincinnati!! This occassion will definitely not be our only time to go! I can't say enough good things about. It is very well done! Anyway, Sydney also enjoyed the aquarium. She would look at the fish and wave her hands and kick her feet with excitement. It was so cute. We all had a really, really good time. Hope you all are having a great weekend, too!!

The best sound in the world...

Is hearing your baby laugh. As I sit and type this blog, my husband is rhyming to my daughter and making her laugh. The best part about it, he's having more fun than she is. I love you, Ryan. I love the way you love me. I love the way you love her.

We're back!

We left E-town Friday evening for Paducah, where we spent the Father's Day weekend. It was a fairly laid back weekend. We did a few things, but didn't feel the need to pack everything in one day. My dad and Ryan went to KY Dam to see the new bridge that is being built with a guy that is in charge of it. They both said it was really neat. Saturday night we went to Bob's Drive-In (YUM!) and then on to After Dinner downtown. Sunday we had a delicious meal made mostly by Gma. Nathan was in that day, too. :-)


We found out on Friday that Ryan would be working Monday & Tuesday in Nashville. We thought about Sydney and me staying in Paducah while he worked Monday & Tuesday, but once we realized that he would be working in Louisville on Wednesday that idea was ruled out. BUT, when Nathan said he had Monday off plans changed. Although we had only packed enough clothes for the weekend, we decided to wash the clothes at Mom & Dad's and have all three of us go to Nashville Sunday night & stay in a hotel through today. Ryan worked on Monday while Sydney and I got to hang out with Uncle Nathan. It was a lot of fun. We went to Opry Mills since it was raining and most everything else could be rulled out. When the rain gave way in the afternoon we put our newly purchased bathing suits on and went down to his pool! It was so great getting to hang out with Nathan. Although we only live 2 hours away from each other, it feels like we never get to see each other.



So, it is 6 o'clock on Tuesday night and we are just now getting in town. Quite a fun weekend!! Well...for Sydney & me anyway! ;-) Ryan got to have fun, too. He only worked until 2 on Monday & was done by 11 today!

I hope you all had a very happy Father's Day, too!

Happy Father's Day (early)

Since I will be away from the computer this weekend, I decided to post this early.

Happy 1st Father's Day, Ryan!

A year ago we were anticipating the little beauty that would come. You are so precious with her! She loves you so much. It is the highlight of my day to see her reaction to you walking in the door in the afternoon. It is absolutely adorable. Thank you for loving her as you do. You are an amazing father & she is blessed to have you in her life. Thank you for loving me and loving God. To say that we are the luckiest girls in the world is a huge understatement. I love you! I hope this Father's Day is an extra special one for you!!! Remember, I'm on diaper duty that day, so the day can't be all bad, right?! LOVE YOU!