Christmas Eve & the day before

We had a busy busy Christmas week. On Wednesday the 23rd, daddy & Irene came to the house. We ate chicken spaghetti, salad & bread. We then opened gifts. Natalee got a bunch of new clothes, a pull along dog, & a bus that has a dog, cat & frog on it that sing "The Puppy on the Bus". Terry got some grilling sauces, a grilling cookbook & a couple of shirts, I got some movies & a cookbook & Brandi got some bath & body stuff, candles & a cookbook.

Terry, Natalee & I got up kind of early Christmas Eve. We went to Stewart to celebrate Christmas with his family. Natalee still had some birthday presents at their house, so she got to open them as soon as we got there. They were more clothes!! She really needed clothes, so I'm not complaining by any means! We went to Mamaw Boatman's for lunch & visited with Terry's aunts & cousins. Natalee got a lot of cute toys! She loves her farm animal fridge magnets (Thanks Lee!) She carries them everywhere! We went back to The Mitchell's & opened our gifts. Natalee got a Lee Middleton doll, a caterpillar thing that has rings on it, the CUTEST pea coat!, a pink vest with fur on the hood (too cute!!) & a few other clothes & toys. Terry & I both got a North Face coat & a bag of goodies. Terry also got a knife & I got some jewelry. We then enjoyed each others company & let Natalee play with her toys, even though she liked Mr. Roger's foam ball better than anything!
When we left there, we went by mom's to make our plans for the next morning. Deadra & her family & granny was there. While we were talking, Santa stopped by to see Natalee & Madison. He brought Natalee a book & Madison a doll & they both got oreo cakesters.
Natalee does not like Santa at all but Madison didn't mind him as long as he had something for her!

Later that night, Terry & I exchanged gifts. He got me the open heart ring to match the necklace & earrings he had already gotten me, & a couple of Nintendo DS games. I got him House - Season 5, bath & body stuff (which I forgot to wrap), & Guitar Hero 5 for the Wii. We waited to let Natalee open her gifts Christmas morning. Terry & I had also bought a new camera as a family Christmas gift. We got it early so we could use it for Natalee's birthday party. I made cookies for Santa but Natalee went to bed before they were done so I set them out for her.

Pics from Natalee's Birthday

As promised, these are pictures from Natalee's first birthday party & some from her actual b-day at home. Hope you enjoy!

Guess Who's.....

turning ONE!!! Happy Birthday Natalee!! One year ago today, our lives changed! We welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world. We celebrated her birthday on Saturday, December 12. We had mostly family & a few friends show up, to help us celebrate. Natalee received lots of nice toys & clothes. Mamaw & Papaw Mitchell gave her a red wagon to ride in. She loves riding in it! When you put her in she doesn't want to get out! She got 2 Christmas dresses, several Christmas movies, some bath toys, brown shoes, brown hooded pea coat, 2 phones, and many many more items. I will post pics of her successful party & of all her goodies later. I will also post pics from her birth & a year later too!

At the moment Natalee is sick. She has RSV, a touch of pneumonia & a severe ear infection! She is feeling better now. We took her to the ER Sunday night and they gave her a rocephin shot. We went back to the doctor yesterday to get her second rocephin shot & she has to go back today to get the third. I pray she is better by Christmas Eve!

What are you thankful for?

We had a great Thanksgiving. Terry had to work, so we celebrated with his family the Saturday before. For lunch on Thursday, Natalee & I went to Deadra's with mom & Callaway. We had a big meal, sat around & talked and enjoyed each other's company. Natalee played with Madison. They chased each other around a wall in the dining room. It was so cute. Too bad Madison lives so far away, I think they would love growing up together! We had supper with granny, as always. Every year she cooks supper and I go to her house around 4 to help her with all the last minute stuff. We had a great time. We drew names for Christmas presents (adults only, we buy for all kids). Of course, as always I drew mom's & Callaway's name...again! Shane traded one with me though so now I have mom's & Henry's.

Friday morning, I was up at 3:00, ready to hit the stores! Debbie & Brandi picked me up about 3:30 & we headed to town. Wal-Mart was the worst experience ever. It has never been as bad as it was this year. It was so unorganized & no one knew where anything was. I just wanted one thing & they sent me to 3 different places for it. First it was in photo...then it was in automotive...then it was in jewelry. They only had 30 of what I needed in jewelry, & luckily I got one! While I was in line however, MY BUGGY GOT STOLEN!!! Good thing I only had a few things in it that they still had in stock! If I would have had something in it that they were out of...someone was going to hear it from me! Boy was I furious! We then went to J C Penney, Walgreens, Bath & Body Works, Freds, Big Lots & The Sweet Pea. We met Mom, Deadra, Dustin, Carol, Madison, Morgan, Kyle & Olivia at Pizza Inn for lunch. Believe it or not, we were the first ones there for the buffet! We then went to The Western Store to find something for Katie Lauren then we went home!! Boy was I glad to be home. I picked up Natalee from granny's & we went to the house & took a 2 hour nap! Terry got home from work about 6:30 & we went to Debbie's to eat with them & her friend Tina & her family. Overall, we had a great day. Good times with friends & family, good food, a nap and got finished with gifts for a few people.

So to answer the question...what am I thankful for? I am thankful for all the wonderful things God has given me. A great family, wonderful friends, a wonderful husband & beautiful daughter. This year, I am also thankful Terry & I both have good jobs! Hope everyone has a safe & blessed holiday season!!!

Cake Smash

Last Tuesday night, we did Natalee's cake smash shoot. I have seen this done & always thought it was a cute idea before the first birthday. I wanted a cute & updated pic for her birthday invites, so I thought this would be a good one. I bought her a small cake at Wal-Mart. I used our brown curtains & an old brown sheet as the backdrop. Brandi & mom came over to help keep her entertained. She really wasn't into doing this but we got a few cute pictures. We got a few of her just in her tutu before we gave her the cake. At first she wasn't sure about the cake. She would only eat it or play in it if someone was holding it up for her. After she got a couple of tastes, she was ready. I don't think we will have a problem at her party next week! Hope you enjoy the pics!

Recent Pics

I am attaching some recent pics. Some are from when Natalee had surgery, some from when she was in the hospital & others are just random pics. Hope you enjoy!

Halloween 2009

The night before Halloween, Terry & I took Natalee to Stewart to visit with his family, since he would have to work on Halloween, and we wanted everyone to see her in her Halloween costume. Natalee was a tiger! And a very cute tiger at that! We went to Mamaw Boatman's house for a little while & a couple of Terry's aunts stopped by to see Natalee. We went back to the Mitchell's & enjoyed dinner and visiting. Saturday, Brandi kept Natalee for a few hours while I cleaned the house & got everything ready to go to town. We met Debbie when she got off work to get Natalee & Katie Lauren dressed. Katie Lauren was a zombie cheerleader. We went to visit with Aunt Bell for a few minutes then with Mrs. Dimple. We walked down one street so Katie Lauren could get some candy. There just wasn't very many people participating in trick or treating this year. The street is usually packed but there may have been about 50 people walking down it. We then went to Immanuel Baptist for their harvest fest. We did the cake walk & won a lot of cupcakes! They also had a sweet shop. I bought Natalee some cotton candy and cookies. Needless to say she did not like the cotton candy, but loved the cookies! Afterwards, they had trunk or treating. It was fun...crowded but fun! I'll post pics as soon as I can. I'm going to try to tonight.

Catching up...

I promise I have not forgotten about you all out there! We rearranged the living room, so we moved the computer & we haven't put it back up yet. I will try my best to get caught up on pics & everything within the next week or so.

I have been busy trying to plan Natalee's birthday party & trying to get ideas for her for Christmas! I think I just about got it all figured out though! We are doing a polka dot theme for her birthday. I have designed the invites & just need to take one more picture so I can get them printed & in the mail. I hope to get them in the mail next week.

After Natalee's little stint in the hospital, we have just been busy with different things. On October 24, Terry & I went with Callaway & Dustin to watch the Arkansas Razorbacks play against Ole Miss in Oxford. Of course we were all dressed in our Arkansas gear. We sat under the jumbotron (sp?) and were surrounded by mostly Rebel fans. There were a few Razorback fans behind us & in front of us though. Needless to say Ole Miss won. Natalee stayed with my mom & Brandi. We always work the bingo at the CA harvest fest, so they worked on that. Luckily, we got back in time to go. Well I did, Terry went home to watch the MSU/Alabama game.

Of course, Oct. 31 was Natalee's first Halloween. I will write a separate post about all of that & post pics. Natalee went back to the doctor on Nov. 9. She had a runny nose & a bad cough. Luckily, she only had a sinus infection! On Nov. 7, we had Katie Lauren's 9th birthday party. It was at Roller World in Grenada. Of course Natalee can't skate, but she had fun watching the other kids. She loved the lights too! Terry's birthday was on Nov. 4. We didn't do anything big. I arranged for all of the parents to meet in Carrollton at Peppercorn Grill at 6:30. Terry didn't know anything about it & was surprised when we arrived. Brandi had bought an ice cream cake for him, & he was surprised to see it too! The next weekend, we had a secret Christmas project, we had to do. All of you parents & grandparents will find out later!! And last weekend....we were just lazy!! We did have our Thanksgiving dinner with Mrs. Delma & Mr. Roger. Mrs. Delma also asked Mamaw Boatman to join us. After dinner, we went to visit with Papaw Mitchell. Natalee wanted to play with his cat, but she was a mean kitty so we wouldn't let her. We really need to visit with everyone more often but our schedules are just hectic!

Oh...Natalee is WALKING!!! Well only when she wants to! We can put her down & she will take off sometimes, then other times, she will curl her legs up & refuse to stand! I hope she will be walking really good within the next couple of weeks...or at least by Christmas!

Well we hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! Stay safe...especially if you go shopping Friday!

Still Alive!

Yes we are still alive! We have just had so much going on I haven't had time to update. Natalee had her tubes put in a week ago last Thursday. Everything went great but she did have a slight case tonsilitis, but it wasn't too bad. We were still able to leave the hospital at 10:00. We then went to every pharmacy in Greenwood to get her medicine filled. Walgreens didn't have it & neither did any pharmacy in town. We finally had to call the doctor's office to get a different medicine. We finally made it home around 12. That afternoon Natalee was running a fever. At 4:00 it was 101.8. I gave her Tylenol, but 2 hours later it has spiked. It was then 103.3! I called Dr. Lambdin & he said he suspected it was from her tonsilitis. I stayed home with her Friday & she ran a little fever, but it never got as high as it did Thursday night. Saturday, we stayed home all day & was lazy. Her fever hit 103.1 at about 5:45. A few minutes later she threw up all over me, her, & the blanket! Terry & I decided it was time to take her to the ER. We got to the ER about 7:15. We finally got to see the doctor a little after 10. They did blood work & a chest x-ray. Everything was fine. They finally decided it was probably a blood infection. They got a urine sample & it was okay too. They said since she wasn't eating/drinking very much & wasn't having as many wet diapers, it would be best we stayed overnight. We finally got in a room about 1:30 Sunday morning. Doc came in that morning & said we would at least be there until Tuesday! Her fever never got over 102 the whole time we were there so that was a good thing! Monday night, she had a slight fever of 100.4 & they said it would be at least 24 hours after that dose of Motrin before we could go home. Doc came in Tuesday morning & said he believed she was better and we could go home. If her fever started going back up then we would have to go back to the ER. Luckily we have been home for almost a week & she hasn't had any more fever! Well, except for teething fever!
Speaking of teeth...Natalee now has 4! The top two came in over that weekend. Mom seems to think she is getting her next two teeth but I haven't felt them. Although it is kinda hard when she won't let you get your fingers in her mouth unless she decides she wants to bite them! She loves to bite! I don't know what we are going to do with her!
Friday was Natalee's last day at The Learning Tree. I never really had any problem with them so I'm actually going to miss them, but I didn't want to leave Natalee there & then have problems later down the road like everyone else has been. She started her new daycare today. She is staying in an at home daycare. The lady that is keeping her has a grandson that is best friends with my brother, so I feel safe with her there. I took her in this morning & she got down & started playing right away. Mrs. King called about 9:30/9:45 & said she was having a hard time getting her to take her bottle. She wanted to be sure she was doing things correctly to get her to take a nap because she was so sleepy. I told her to just rock her & she would eventually take her bottle. I hope she didn't have any more problems!
Saturday night, we had an engagement party for one of my sister's friends & her fiance. They got engaged on the beach while playing putt-putt back in July and will be getting married next June or July (can't remember the date!). We had a great turnout and everyone had lots of fun! I just love throwing parties! I love the decorating & food planning & making! I can't wait for Natalee's first birthday!
Speaking of birthday...I already have her theme picked, invites made (did them myself), & cake picked out! I also have the location & time planned. I just need to finish the guest list & get the invites sent. Oh, and the menu! I'm not sure what to do about food, but I'll figure it out soon enough. Right now I'm trying to find her a Halloween costume.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Well, not really, just haven't had much to blog about. Last time, we were waiting to go to the ENT to see about Natalee's ears. Well, she will be getting tubes Thursday morning! Terry went back to his old schedule working 48 hours & off for 96 hours. He has been trying to work a lot of overtime so we can have the extra money for Christmas.

I received a call Friday afternoon from the lady that was keeping Natalee at her daycare. The owner had fired her early this past week because two other women were telling lies about her, saying she was mean to the kids and never in the infant room. I know for a fact she was never mean to those kids. If she had been mean, Natalee wouldn't have loved her the way she did! She was the only lady Natalee would go to and the only one she wanted anything to do with. She also told me a bunch of other stories about that place. Needless to say, Natalee will go to daycare Monday, 1/2 day Tuesday & all day Wednesday. After that, she will be some place else. I am going to call around Monday to see if I can find her a place. If not, Ms. Pat said she would keep her in her home until we can find a place.

It has been raining horribly here for about a month. We did get a break over the past week, but it started back today. It has rained, literally non-stop today! The wind is also blowing like crazy! We still have this week for it to rain and hopefully it will be gone the next week! Well that's all I can think of to blog about today!