The Rays

18 Months OLD!!!

2012-01-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Wow!! I havent done this kind of post in awhile but I figure it will be good to keep up with the milestone ages!! HAHA! We went to see Dr. Mathis last week and everything looked great with Vera Kate!! Two shots this time and guess what.... NO MORE SHOTS until she starts school!! WHOO HOO!!!!!! So glad to have those not so fun things over with!!! Actually Vera Kate cries more when Dr. Mathis examines her than with the shots!! But anyways, we love our little pediatrician!! While we were there we got baby brother registered in their system too!!! YAY!!

So here is what is new with our favorite 18 month old!!

Weight: 24.6 lbs (a little over 50th percentile)

Height: 31 inches (still in the 30th percentile:))

Diaper size: 4

Clothing size: 12-18 months

Shoe size: 4 or 5

Drinks milk and water in her sippy cup! She LOVES anything with a straw!

Eats whatever but favorite foods are Italian food, Mac-n-cheese, FRUIT, and she has started to love the idea of "dipping"! She loves to dip her food in ketchup, ranch, salsa, etc... pretty much any kind of dipping sauces!! She also LOVES applesauce. She will go to the pantry and say... applesauce!

Words: has a great vocabulary! Will pretty much repeat whatever we tell her too. She is a little parrot! We have to watch what we say! HA! Something really cute Vera Kate is doing... whenever you give her something she says THANKS! And also if you sneeze she says... BLESS YOU!

Vera Kate LOVES to play in her kitchen and play room! She will come and tap you and point to her play room! This means come play with me! We have LOTS of cooking parties! She also loves to have her music going while we are playing! The music has to always be on!! Sometimes we have a dance party here and there!!

Vera Kate loves to hold books and act like she is reading. She enjoys puzzles and has recently started to LOVE using her crayons and coloring books! Vera Kate has also developed a LOVE for stickers! Yes, friends these are a favorite! Stickers!!!!!

Vera Kate loves to sit on the couch. She will pat the couch and say couch and she also likes to pat the space beside her... that means you better sit down also! HA!

We like to say that Vera Kate has two speeds... going, going, going and asleep!!!

Vera Kate is still really easy going but has a little attitude also! She has a few faces and looks that could kill! She can give you quite a look when you are doing something she does not like! But on the other hand she has such a cute face when someone comes in a room or something happens. She does a little funny thing with her mouth. I need to get a picture! But this little girl does have a variety of expressions!!

I am not liking the discipline thing! But with her attitude sometimes we have to get a little stern! Oh dear!

Vera Kate still doesnt like the site of many men and she is very clinging and shy until she gets used to you!

Vera Kate really is a good baby and is happy most of the day! The time between about 4 and when daddy gets home is a little rough some days but we just make it!

Vera Kate really doesnt care much about TV but she does like Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Super Why! Pretty much anything with music also!

Vera Kate LOVES to be outside! She loves a good ole afternoon wagon ride!! We are loving these cold days with a few warm ones in between! HA! However the warm days make me want to get out and plant some flowers! I am sure Feb is going to be rough and cold! I am sooo ready for spring!! Anyways, we have lots of fun things to be thankful for and to look forward too!!!

Life is definitely busy around this house... but in a good way!!!!

Baby Love!

2012-01-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Time to show Baby BOY some LOVE on the blog!!! I have not been neglecting him just been trying to get caught up with life! HA! Anyways, so... like you read IT IS A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brian and I were both shocked and so excited when the ultrasound tech said... well guys do we want to find out what this baby is. We immediately said yes... both thinking girl! And there on the screen was his little man part and he was shining it ever so brightly and happily!! HAHA!! No shame in his game!! HAHA! Brian was proud!! I immediately started crying due to shock factor and excitement!!! I say shocked because the whole pregnancy I have been thinking girl (but I have always wanted at least one girl and one boy)! Just because I have been really sick and pretty much felt the same that I felt with Vera Kate. Also his little heart rate has been high. Brian thought girl also! Well throw out every old wives tail because this baby is a BOY!!!! We are soooooooo excited and over-JOYED!!!!!! Time to figure out the JOYS of parenting a little boy!!

Well, the story is only beginning! HA! This weekend has been quite the doozy! Let me explain so... on Friday at the ultrasound the tech is just moving right along and finding all the little things she needs to check off the list as healthy. And then she gets to BB (baby boy's) heart. She notices that yes there are four chambers but she cant seem to find his very important aortic arch. He was giving her a run for her money due to his positioning. After searching for what seemed like an eternity, she looked at me very seriously and said I cant find what I am looking for with his heart therefore I cant determine that everything is ok. I think you need to be referred to a specialist. By the way... words you NEVER want to hear. So she went and got my doctor and explained to her what was going on. At this point I am in shock/blur mode. Brian is handling the situation much better than me! Dr. Williams comes in and explains that since we were not able to determine and find the aorta(which is very important) it is necessary to be referred to a specialist. She said we will try to get you an appointment ASAP but we just cant determine that this baby's heart is normal until you see a specialist. And as we are walking out the door, she looks at me and says DONT LOOK ON THE INTERNET... Dr.'s orders! YEAH RIGHT! HA!

Anyways, as you can imagine I was scared, devastated, and every other emotion you would feel if you had just heard these words. So we left the doctor and of course I LOST it. Cried pretty much the whole entire day. Questioning, praying, and trying to wrap my mind around it! Brian on the other hand was fine and thought for sure she could not see it because of positioning but kinda got a little nervous because I was nervous. The nurse/worry wart in me came out and I just knew that ultrasound tech was certain she did not see what she was looking for and therefore we had a major problem on our hands.

Friday afternoon the nurse called to tell me that we had an appointment Monday at 1pm. This meant waiting a WHOLE weekend! Thanks to many prayers I began to feel a PEACE that is unexplainable. On Friday I was just in shock and kinda out of it. My sweet mom tried to distract me and we went to lunch and of course she and my dad encouraged me like none other. On Saturday, Amanda came up and hung out to help pass the time! Such a blessing! One I can never thank her enough for! But I tell you folks GOD is good! I got alone with HIM alot this weekend and HE provided me with PEACE like none other! I received an email from Mrs. Sharon with LOTS of verses that I just began to pray over and over. I saw a post on Facebook about trust using the example of Abraham and Sarah. Written just for me. I had never thought about it that way before. I had also just watched a live stream of Passion 2012 where John Piper talked about the supremacy of GOD! Also in a Bible study I was in this fall we discussed Believing GOD at HIS word. So once I collected myself this began to be my prayer... GOD I am BELIEVING YOU!! In the Bible study we talked about how we always say God I am Believing you but... When in reality we need to say GOD I AM BELIEVING YOU TO MOVE THIS MOUNTAIN and DO THIS THING!!!! I am Believing You and I am Believing that we are going to see that aortic arch LOUD AND PROUD! I am BELIEVING that BB's heart is just perfect! So that was my prayer! IT was very hard because YES, SATAN was having a hey-day with my thoughts. But I was trying to take every thought captive and fill my mind with verses! I am telling you HE equipped me with what I needed for this weekend! HE takes such good care of HIS children. A quote that is very popular but I love it... He brought you to it, He will bring you through it!
Of course I am not perfect and it was sooooooo hard to wait. Something I HATE to do! I am very impatient and want to know NOW! This morning before my appointment I had such a PEACE! Very unlike me! I am a huge worry wart! Brian and I both knew that we would be ok with whatever and that HE would see us through but we were BELIEVING HIM for our little man's heart!

So we get to the appointment and the ultrasound tech says I am going to look this baby over really good and then we will look at the heart in detail! So once again BB was showing his man parts LOUD AND PROUD! He would not show us his pretty heart but man oh man he was showing off his manhood! HAHA! Anyways, I had to turn from side to side for her to get all her shots and once she was done with everything else she started on the heart. And I want you to know the very first thing she saw was the AORTIC ARCH!!!!! Coincidence... I think not! She said well the thing they could not see the other day is right there clear as day!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it was amazing! I wish I could have gotten a pic of that so I could put it in my answered prayer journal. But never fear that image will be in my mind FOREVER!!! Such a beautiful arch!!! And because we were at the specialist she had to check out every nook and cranny of his heart!! ALL WAS GOOD!! Heart rate a strong 163!!!

So my friends GOD IS SOOO GOOD! I know HE was trying to teach me a lesson in Believing Him, trusting, and not doubting. Not to trust in some stupid ultrasound when I know the CREATOR! The one who has HIS hand in there fearfully and wonderfully creating a beautiful baby boy!

"For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139: 13-14.

Would we have been ok if everything had not been ok... well yes of course but that wasnt the point with this lesson! This lesson was about BELIEVING GOD to do what HE says HE can do and Believing HIM for who HE says HE is!!!!! A true testament to HIS FAITHFULNESS!! Our little miracle!!!

Sweet Annie and Papa John took care of Vera Kate lots during this time!! THANK YOU!! Having them live near is another HUGE answered prayer! Vera Kate is sooooooo excited about her baby brother and Bax is excited about having a rough and rumble/tumble little brother! Brian grins from ear to ear about his boy and this little boy has already stolen his momma's heart like none other!!!

WE CANT WAIT!!!
Vera Kate kept wanting me to take her pic with baby brother's sign! She kept saying CHEESE and reaching for the sign!! HAHA!! She is going to be a great BIG SIS!! Brian and I are very blessed to have a great relationship with our brother and sister! We pray that Vera Kate and BB have the same close relationship!! I just LOVED having a brother and Brian LOVEd having a sister!! I am excited for these two little Rays!!!

"Now all glory to God who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20-21

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

2012-01-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Jan 2 was Brian's 31st birthday!! On Sunday we had my parents over to celebrate the New year and Brian's birth!! We cooked out shish-kabobs and had yummy carrot cake! Yesterday we had a great day just hanging out. Brian had the day off so we were able to have a play day around the house!! And then last night we went to dinner at Kyoto! We were actually going to try an Italian restaurant here in town but it was closed! BOO! Brian really wanted Italian but he also really wanted to stay in Hernando for his birthday dinner so we opted for Kyoto (the local Japanese establishment)!! I was excited because this would be Vera Kate's first experience with hibachi!!! Well of course Miss Priss became a little frightened when our cook got to our table. He was a man of course and had a funny looking hat and was playing with fire... wouldn't you be scared too??? HAHA!! She calmed down but sat in my lap the entire dinner! Oh well, maybe hibachi will be a date night thing until she is a little older:)) But we did have fun and the food was good!! And Addison Lawrence, a MSU football player, sat at the table across from us with his mom. Too bad he wasn't at our table... we would have bugged him the whole dinner though so it was probably good he was at another table! I did tell Vera Kate there was a bulldog at the next table! She was excited and said BULLY!! HA!

I love this pic! Daddy and his sweet girl!!

Brian loves carrot cake! So this is my attempt... it was good!
Vera Kate was a little skiddish of the candle and singing thing! We need to have more birthday celebrations so that she will be used to it! HA! That means more CAKE! YUM! HAHA!!

Helping daddy open his birthday cards!

The "after-party" ! Vera Kate hosts a great "after-party"!

Happy Birthday Brian!! You are truly the best husband to me and father to Vera Kate, Bax, and baby #2 in the whole world!! I could write a whole book and even more about how wonderful you are! You love your girls and would do anything for us! Thank you for loving us like you do and providing for our sweet family!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Christmas Day!

2012-01-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

After church on Christmas day, we just hung out and then had Christmas with Papa John, Annie, Uncle Stu, Aunt Kacie, and Meme! After unwrapping the presents we grilled hamburgers and had yummy smores!! Thanks to Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie for making the hamburgers! Uncle Stu is famous for his hamburger skills so we let him create our hamburgers and they were delicious!! It was super fun having the Saulters clan over!!

The fam!

PJ and Annie got Vera Kate this cute little table and chairs! She loves them!! Lots of tea party fun in our future!! Daddy and Vera Kate were having an ice cream cone before gift unwrapping time!
Meme got a warm blanket! Poor Meme... notice her broken arm! But she is doing good managing it!!

Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie got Vera Kate a big magna doodle drawing thing! She loves it!!

Kacie made mom and I these fun burlap door hangers!! SOO fabulous!!

Papa John got satellite radio!!

Checking out her baby stroller from mommy and daddy!

Kacie got a fancy red jacket!!

Time for the HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS cake!!!

Riding on her little tricycle thing! Vera Kate's feet don't quite reach the pedals but we can still make it go!!

PJ and Annie got Brian(daddy) a fire pit for his birthday! They gave it to him a little early so we could use it Christmas night for some yummy smores!!

Uncle Stu is also a smores expert!! He gave us some great tips on how to make the most of the "smore experience"!!!

Enjoying the fire pit!

We were sad to see everyone go on Monday afternoon! But we had a fun and fabulous Christmas! Vera Kate had a blast and we had a blast enjoying her and all of our family!!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

2012-01-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve night we went to the Christmas Eve service at church and then came back to the house for some soup and appetizers! It was so fun! We were excited to have Papa John and Annie, Aunt Karen and Uncle Jake, and Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie all stay the night with us!! We had a fun-filled packed house!!!

Cookies for Santa!

Getting ready for Santa!!

SANTA CAME!!

Getting ready to see what the jolly ole man brought!!

EXCITEMENT!!

Already cooking in the kitchen!

Uncle Jake and Aunt Karen nibbling on a chicken leg!!

WHoo Hoo! Big girl chair!! Vera Kate LOVES this chair!

Going shopping!!

We had a great Christmas morning! We woke up and saw what Santa brought, ate a yummy breakfast and then headed to worship Jesus and celebrate HIS birthday!!

Christmas Eve FUN!

2012-01-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

We woke up Christmas Eve morning and had Christmas with Nonnie, Pops, Uncle Jake and Aunt Karen! It was super fun!! Vera Kate was really excited and she was a little unsure of all the presents and really what to do with them... but she quickly got the hang of it!!

Love that early am bed hair!!

Wow! Pretty!

Brian and Karen give each other really random presents sometimes! Since we have recently moved and kinda been cleaning out we had some great give-aways! Brian found these old presidential campaign buttons and gave them to Karen. Well of course Vera Kate wanted to wear them! Therefore she was campaigning during Christmas this year!!!

Oooooo a baby doll!!!

Brian's random present from the Bishops... and yes he does wear this in public! Lordy... help me!! Embarrassed!!!

Having a little tea party with Uncle Jake and baby!

Christmas Eve Eve

2012-01-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

On the Eve of Christmas Eve we went out to eat for a yummy fun dinner in downtown Memphis!! It was super fun!

Vera Kate was loving the bread!

However she was not into picture taking! HAHA! This is one of her many faces!! DRAMA!
The Rays

The Bishops

The Rays

Fam photo op on Main St.!

After eating at the Majestic Grille we headed down to one of our favorite downtown establishments... Cheesecake Corner!

CHEESE!! Vera Kate was VERY excited about cheesecake!!

Nonnie, Aunt Karen, and Vera Kate

DELICIOUSNESS!!!!

Dancing with Aunt Karen at the Cheesecake Corner! WE LOVE TO DANCE!!

Baking cookies with Annie

2012-01-02T09:04:00.001-08:00

A couple of days before Christmas we spent the day in the kitchen!! Vera Kate LOVED baking nativity cookies with Annie!!

Checking out the cookie cutters

Helping cut out the cookies

Almost ready for the oven!

In the oven they go!

Fun with Aunt Karen!

2011-12-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Whew! Vera Kate is getting spoiled by all her visitors!! But we sure LOVE it!!! This morning when she woke up I know she was sad that it was just her, me, and Bax in the house!! HAHA! Thankfully Annie came to the rescue and came to play while I had my doctors appointment! :) Anyways, this past weekend was action packed with lots of fun with Aunt Karen! There were countless hours of Lego time, dance parties in Vera Kate's play room, many many rides in Vera Kate's car around the house, bubbles blown, and lots more!!! Thanks Aunt Karen!!! Vera Kate HAD A BLAST and so did her mom and dad!!!
This morning when we walked into her play room she of course wanted her Christmas tree plugged in and she pointed to the radio and said DANCE! HAHAHA!! We had to turn on the music!! This girl loves some music!!

Aunt Karen let Vera Kate open a Christmas present early!!! WOW!!! A princess tent!! SOOO FUN! I know there will be endless hours played in there!!

YAY!!!!!

There is even a side window for Bax to look out!!

After bath time Saturday night we enjoyed some funny laughs from Vera Kate! She wanted to sit on the couch by Aunt Karen like a big girl! It was hilarious! She kept crossing her leg just like Karen! Oh my I cant even describe how funny it was! We were all laughing so hard we were in tears!!

Loving it!!!

A deep BIG girl conversation!! Notice Vera Kate's crossed legs!

HAHAHA!!

I mean she seriously would pick up her leg and cross it like a big girl! It was the funniest thing ever! She is A MESS! ALLLLLL GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And she wants to be just like the BIG GiRLS!!!

Reading a magazine in their PJs!

We had a great time! Come again soon Aunt Karen!

ZOO Lights!!

2011-12-19T18:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Aunt Karen came for a visit and we had soo much fun! Vera Kate is getting spoiled by all of her fun visitors!! HA! On Saturday night we decided to go to ZOO lights!! I was sooo excited about taking Vera Kate and I was happy that Karen was here to go with us!

You can barely see us! But it is Annie, mom, Aunt Karen, Papa John and Vera Kate posing in front of the poinsettia tree!

Brian joined us in this pic!

Vera Kate was a little stiff in all of her warm winter garb! It took her like 15 minutes to loosen up and enjoy herself! She had to get used to the thickness! HAHA!!

But once she was used to her winter garb she was excited.. looking around and pointing!! She LOVED the lights and fun Christmas sights!

Papa John and Vera Kate checking out the sights!
The ZOO crew!
The fam!

PJ and Annie with Vera Kate!!

We had soo much fun and LOVED the zoo lights!! Didn't see any animals but oh well we saw lots of fun Christmas lights!! We did see Claus but we only waved from a distance this time:))) Cant wait until next year to continue a new tradition!!

Fun, Fun at Christmas!!

2011-12-19T17:29:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying the last couple of weeks of Christmas fun!!! We have had a couple of super fun visitors and have enjoyed doing Christmasy things!!!

Vera Kate LOvES to visit Meme and see Claus!!

Last Monday night was the Hernando Christmas parade! It was amazing and long! Brian and I really didnt know what to expect since this was our first year to attend the parade! So we thought we will just go see the parade and then come home and eat and do whatever. Well as soon as we arrived we realized this was a little bigger deal than we thought. Every one in Hernando and the surrounding cities came out for the event and there were like a million parade entries! Well at least next year we will be more prepared! Thanks to the Dalys (Vance, Kim, and Aaron) for letting us sit with them and enjoy their chairs and hot cocoa they brought! They are Hernando experts! Thank goodness for friends that help us out!! HAHA!!!

Getting ready for the parade!

Waving to Claus!! Btw... Vera Kate calls Santa Claus... Claus!

On Tuesday we had a special visitor come!! Special K!!! We always LOVE when she get done with exams and can come stay and play with us!!! We had a blast and Vera Kate LOVED having a playmate!!

Getting ready to make our gingerbread house!!

Watching dad intently!!

Vera Kate did a great job of putting the little candies on the gingerbread house!! She was very precise and loved being able to do it herself!!

Our gingerbread house!!

Wednesday I needed to finish up some shopping so we ventured to Memphis! Thank goodness we got done and at the end of the day I told Kayla that we should go to Bass Pro and see how Vera Kate does with Santa aka Claus!

So we get to Bass Pro and all is well! We even get to where the line starts and tell Vera Kate that Claus is up there and ask her if she sees him! She of course does and kinda starts doing a little happy/excited to be here dance! I think to myself... hmmm.. this may go better than expected! Well.... the closer we got the more Vera Kate started backing up and reaching for us... UP... UP.. UP she kept saying! HA! Well you probably know how it turned out....

BEFORE

AFTER....

Hey! At least we have the memory!! We will look back at this pic and laugh in the future! Sweet Kayla took one for the team and will always be in our Santa Claus picture collection!!! Anyways, Claus obviously is more fun from a distance!!!

Trip to the Coast

2011-12-19T16:55:00.000-08:00

We had been planning a trip to the coast to attend a wedding for a long time! However I didnt think that I was going to be able to go but just for the weekend! But I got the house together and decorated and presentable in record time and therefore Vera Kate and I were able to join Annie for a visit to Memaw's the whole week before the wedding! It was super fun and Vera Kate LOVED visiting Memaw and our family! We got to see Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie lots too!!

Vera Kate and Memaw had lots of fun floor playtime! However I must tell you that Memaw no longer wants to be called Memaw. Yes after 30 years she has decided that she wants a new name! HAHA!! So we decided on JuJu(her name is Julia) and Vera Kate loved it!! She kept saying JuJu, JuJu!! So it stuck and Memaw (to Vera Kate at least) is now JuJu!!!

On Saturday we headed over to Gulfport for Meagan White's wedding. It was gorgeous!! We had a blast! Vera Kate was a dancing machine at the reception! I seriously dont know where she got her moves!!! I think it must be a recessive gene!!! HAHA!! Wish I could post a video because it it HILARIOUS!!!

Sorry the pic is a little dark! I was using my iphone! Forgot the big camera:(

The fam minus Brian and dad! They stayed up north!

It was a super fun week! I LOVE when Vera Kate and I get to visit our family on the coast! We ALWAYS have a blast!!!!

The Infamous Christmas card!

2011-12-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well as every one knows the Christmas card session can be quite the adventure!! Our photographers for this wonderful event were just so great and were quite humorous themselves! We had Papa John for lights and entertaining and Annie for camera and music!! HAHA!! I wish we would have had a video!! Anyways, after 400 attempts the very last pic was the one we chose!!

Merry Christmas from the Rays!!

Our fabulous photographers!
An outtake!! Vera Kate was DONE!
The star of the photo shoot!

On to Christmas and the PERFECT tree!

2011-12-17T08:48:00.000-08:00

We continued our tradition of visiting the Merry Christmas tree farm to find the perfect tree!! It did not disappoint and Vera Kate LOVED running around the farm to find the perfect tree!! We rode the tractor hayride out to the farm to pick our perfect tree!!

Excited about finding the tree!!

Hmmm... which one should we choose??

Found it!!!!

The little man cutting down our tree!!

YAY! Heading home to decorate our tree!!!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-17T08:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving this year was little different!! We moved the week of Thanksgiving so it was a little out of the ordinary Thanksgiving! But we had a great week! Brian was off all week and we had a great time moving and enjoying family and our new place! Thanksgiving day we headed over to Annie and Papa John's for a yummy Thanksgiving lunch!! Thanks Annie! It was super yummy!

The little turkey!

Uncle Stu came on the Friday after Thanksgiving and thankfully after 15 months of being a little unsure of Uncle Stu... Vera Kate now has a new best friend!! She loves saying STU! And thanks Uncle Stu for reading her Mad for Maroon and Joy to the World book to her 1000 times!! I am so glad she no longer cries at the sight of her fun loving uncle!

Oh and I must document that for the first time in our lives Brian and I braved the Black Friday crowds for a new TV! Yes, Vera Kate spent the night with PJ and Annie and Brian and I left the house at like 10:30 pm to stand in line for a store opening at midnight! It was quite the adventure and at first we didnt think we were going to get the TV we were there for. However thanks to the good Lord for intervening and we got the TV! So I will say that our black Friday experience was not awful but I will probably not do it again unless we are needing a huge appliance or electronic of some type!!

Finishing up FALL!

2011-12-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

We finished up FALL and football season with lots of trips to Starkville!! Like always we had tons of fun seeing our friends and family!

Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie were able to come to the Alabama game! We had fun hanging with them for the weekend!

Visiting Bully at the DG house!

Little football player!

Seeing our furry friend one last time before football season ends!!

Once again the weather for the EGG BOWL was a little not so inviting!! It never fails!! So Annie, Vera Kate, and I headed over to Kayla's while the boys braved the weather elements!!

Thankfully the BULLDOGS were not phased by the weather conditions and the EGG stays in Starkville!!! GO DAWGS!!! Now on to the Music City bowl the DAWGS go!!

Back to Blogging... LOTS TO UPDATE!

2011-12-12T09:33:00.000-08:00

Ok... so I FINALLY have Internet so YAY back to blogging!!!! I HAVE SOOOOO MUCH TO CATCH YALL UP ON!!! HA! But for starters... the two biggies!! We now live in our brand spankin new house!!! YAY!! We moved in the week of Thanksgiving!! We have been trying to get every thing set up and fixed... hence the no Internet until now thing! HA!! And... we are HAPPY and ECSTATIC to announce that BABY RAY #2 is coming soon in MAY 2012!!!! I will give lots of detailed updates in the days to follow! HA! It may take me like forever to get caught up but I am going to try!! Until then...

the BIG SISTER!!!!

I LOVE MY NEW BACKYARD!!!!! WHOO HOO!!

Piggies

2011-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Our first set of piggies!!! Just had to commemorate our first "updo" on the blog!!

Masterpiece!

2011-11-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

I dont know... I normally dont speak out on political issues! But this initiative 26 is making my blood boil!! Satan is attacking!!! People... WAKE UP!!! We are believing his LIES!
Anyways, this morning during my devotion time as I was praying about tomorrow and the vote this video came to mind! Just wanted to share! Please take time and watch video!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my UNFORMED BODY; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Ps 139: 13-16

Happy Homecoming!

2011-11-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy last week or so! Last Wednesday we headed down to Brookhaven and then on Thursday up to Madison! Then on Friday mom and I met Amanda and went to Mistletoe Marketplace!! YAY! It was sooo fun! Thanks to Nonnie and Pops for keeping Vera Kate! Friday night after shopping we headed back north to get ready to head to Starkville on Saturday! Whew! I am tired! HA!!

Playing with Murphy and Mary Reeves! No one wanted to pose for a picture! Oh well!

Next stop: BULLY!!!!! When Vera Kate got a glance of her favorite furry friend she went nuts! Almost jumped out of Brian's arms!!!

After our turn for a picture Vera Kate wanted more time with Bully! As you can see I am pulling her dress to keep her from interupting the next one in line's time with BULLY! Man... she loves BULLY!!
Next... Brian and I decided to go to the Dawg walk! Vera Kate went back to the tailgate with Annie!!
Go DAWGS!!

It was a little chilly after the game! Vera Kate was all bundled up and warm!!

Raggedy Anne!

2011-11-07T07:22:00.001-08:00

Our cute little Raggedy Anne had a blast at her first Fall Faith Festival at our church! She actually was a little of unsure of all that was going on but she did look super cute as Raggedy Anne!! On the Sunday before Halloween our church had a Faith festival! It was really fun but Vera Kate was a little unsure of all the people dressed up as Bible characters. In one of the rooms their was a David and Goliath skit. When David killed Goliath with "the stone" (which was a ping pong ball by the way), Goliath fell to the ground and it scared Vera Kate! She started wailing! HA! Later we have learned that Vera Kate was talked about in that room all night! HA! She was known as the little girl that lost it when Goliath died! OH well! HA!

Brian was a Roman guard in the skit our Connect group did! He played the part so well! I must say I think he felt super cool in that fabulous skirt with that mighty sword!

Papa John and Annie with little Raggedy Anne!

Funny Things!!

2011-10-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

So the other day when I was doing Vera Kate's 15 month post my mind came to a total blank about funny, interesting things she is doing! HA! So I decided to write a post about funny things Vera Kate does! And I am totally not trying to brag on her I just need to write these little things down so I can remember them one day! Seeing as I can barely remember my name these days!! HAHA!! Now we can look back at this post and remember her funny little ways!!

First of all (and I am not making this up)... when we go into Vera Kate's room to get her up from a nap or for the morning, she immediately pops her little head up and starts saying... bow, bow! HAHA!! She points to her bows on her wall and until we walk her over and let her pick one out to put in her hair she just keeps on saying bow, bow, bow!!! It is hilarious!! I guess we have trained her well!! Gotta love a BIG BOW in a little southern girls hair!!

So we pretty much go to the "house" every day to either see what they are working on or answer their questions! When we turn on our new street and Vera Kate sees the house she immediately starts saying... "House" "House"! She gets so excited! And if we are just riding by and not stopping she gets really upset because she wants to get out and see the "HOUSE"!! And when we leave the "house" we have to say "bye bye house"!! HA! Hopefully soon we will not be saying bye bye house!! "

Yesterday we were over at Papa John and Annie's apt! They have some little bookshelve things in their den area! They have a few pics in frames on the shelves! One of Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie, one of Vera Kate, and one of the whole fam! Vera Kate will go up to the pics and put her face right to them and say... "HEY" "HEY"!! It is cute!!

She has found her tongue and loves making little noises and moving her tongue around!

And you may think this is a little crazy and over the top but I love it!! Every time Vera Kate sees my phone she will grab it or point to it and say WHOO WHOO! Yes folks she wants to listen to the WHO WHO song aka WHO LET THE DAWGS OUT! HAHAHA! We listen to it about 500 times a day! She LOVES to dance and say WHO WHO!!

She is a JOY! WE are so blessed! Thank you Lord for the funny little things to make us smile throughout the day!!

And this is our lovie! We dont leave home without it!! HA!

Punkin' Patch!!

2011-10-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous day on the farm Saturday!! Papa John and Annie joined us for a fun-filled day at Cedar Hill farms! Brian and I went the fall after we got married and we decided that day that we would bring our future kiddos one day! So last year Vera Kate was a little young so we decided to save our money and go to Lowe's for our pumpkin patch experience! But not this year... it was time for Cedar Hill Farms!!

Seizing a wonderful photo opportunity!

How tall this fall!!!! Hopefully we are going to make this an annual trip so we will see how tall Vera Kate is!! This year Vera Kate was a little above the 2!Look at those chickens PJ! Yes some of the chickens were running loose and kids were chasing them! It was a tad bit nerve wracking!! HA!

Riding the train!

Vera Kate and her nnnnie and Papa! She has started saying their names! Annie is more like nnnie or E and Papa John is Papa! As soon as we pull up to their apt she starts saying... E,E,E and Papa! It is so cute!! She is definitely an Annie's girl!

So it is not every Saturday that you get to watch a Pigadega 500!! Yep you got it right folks!! Good ole pig races on the farm!!!

Hayride to the pumpkin patch!!

Showing Papa John through the corn maze!

Trying to find the perfect pumpkin! It was soo funny! Vera Kate found this tiny, itty bitty green pumpkin! She loved that thing! She didnt even want an orange one!

But she finally got rid of the green pumpkin and decided on this orange one!!

We found the perfect pumpkin!!

Vera Kate's Papa John was grinning ear to ear when we put her on the big ole red tractor!! You see PJ grew up riding tractors and Stu and I used to ride with him at Meme's house!! We have to get back down there and see if that ole tractor works so Vera Kate can ride!! But nevertheless she enjoyed pretending to ride this one!!

A true country girl!!

After a fun day on the farm we got to eat lunch with the Carson's at Buffalo Wild Wings! Super fun to see them!! And then we headed home for naps!! After naptime we got ready for the DEE pumpkin carve!! This year the carve was at our friends the Horton's house! They graciously volunteered so we would not have to cram everyone in the apt!! Anyways, it was super fun seeing the Hortons, Hesters, Duffys and Todd!! We didnt actually carve! HA! The girls went for a tour of our house because we have lights!! YAY! And the guys watched football and baseball!!

Vera Kate and Brecon! Soo cute!!

Weekend Fun!

2011-10-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

We spent a super fun weekend in Starkville this past weekend! The dawgs lost but we still had a load of fun!! On Friday night we went downtown to Pumpkinpalooza!! Papa John and Annie joined us and we met up with lots of fun folks!

We met up with the Gordon fam! Pebbles and Bam Bam were too cute for words!!!
Some of the crew at Pumpkinpalooza!

Murphy and Vera Kate playing in the pumpkin patch!
Fam photo opportunity!

Vera Kate and Special K!

After Pumpkinpalooza we grabbed some dinner at Peppers and then Annie, mommy, and Vera Kate headed to the hotel while Papa John and daddy made their way to maroon madness at the Hump!

On Saturday we were up bright and early! Ready to watch the DAWGS play!BULLY!

Sad about the loss but happy about a photo op!! HA! Vera Kate was looking serious in this pic! What you dont know is some crazy man was trying to make her smile while my mom was taking a pic!

Saturday night after tailgating for most of the day we headed to spend the night with the Gordon fam! It was super fun! We got to let the kids play and just hang out and talk!! It was super fun!!

I stole this pic from Mea's blog but I thought it was super cute! Wes was holding Mary Reeves up in a little cheerleader pose! Vera Kate thought it was so funny and super cool! So Brian held her up and she LOVED it!!

Thanks Gordon fam! We had a blast!!

Climbing a mountain in LR!

2011-10-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Working for Hilton definitely has its perks! We like to take advantage of the employee discount every once and awhile! This time we took advantage and took a little weekend trip to Little Rock, AR! Random, maybe... but super fun! Aunt Karen used to live in LR and once when we went to visit we climbed Pinnacle Mountain! Brian has been dying to go back and do it again so this was the perfect opportunity! We pulled into town and went to the downtown area of LR. It is super fun with lots of neat outdoor activities! They have done a fabulous job with their downtown area!

Mommy and Vera Kate chillin on a bench in downtown Little Rock!They have a fun bridge that you can walk across! Vera Kate loved running around and looking at the water! Mommy and daddy were a little anxious most of time! HA! Walking on a bridge with your 15 month old gives you a whole new perspective of getting too close to the edge!

On Sunday we got up and enjoyed the wonderful lovely breakfast that staying at an Embassy Suite offers! After filling our tummies it was off to hike Pinnacle Mountain!
Brian carried Vera Kate most of the way up but she wanted to do it on her own at times!
It was a long hard hike but once we got to the top we were able to enjoy God's beautiful creation!
We made it to the top!!

This girl LOVES to climb!

This sweet girl was exhausted. The hike wore her out!! I thought this was such a sweet picture! Safely resting in dad's arms trusting him to carry her down the mountain! When I turned around and saw Vera Kate resting in Brian's arms... it hit me! What a beautiful representation of the protection of a Father! Vera Kate was so confident in her dad carrying her down the mountain that she fell asleep! I pray that I would be that trusting in my Heavenly Father! To carry me up and down the mountains of life! Sometimes it is so neat how the Lord will teach you little lessons through the unexpected things!!

15 Months

2011-10-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Vera Kate is 15 months old!! She actually has been for about three weeks but I am a little behind! HA! Anyways we had our appointment with Dr. Mathis and this big girl checked out with a clean bill of health! We did get a few shots including a flu shot but she actually cried harder when Dr. Mathis walked in the room and started looking at her. HA! Keep in mind he hadnt even tried to touch her and examine her at this point!! HAHA! But nevertheless she did great!!

A few new things going on with Vera Kate:

Height: 28 1/4inches

Weight: 22lbs

Diaper size: 3

Shoe size: 3-5 (depends on the brand)

Clothing: 12-18 months

Drinks all milk in sippy cup and eats pretty much whatever we eat

Loves to walk and run everywhere!

New words: shoe, stink, Jesus, wa wa for water! This is actually really hard because she is really talking up a storm! She will repeat most words (within reason) that we ask her to! Her little personality is coming out BIG TIME!

Funny thing Vera Kate did the other day: Mom (Annie) was over at the apt. I noticed Vera Kate was pooping and started smelling her! Jokingly, I told Vera Kate to go tell Annie she was stinky! So Vera Kate walked to where Annie was and said... STInK!! HAHA!! Mom and I both died laughing!! It was hilarious!!!
Vera Kate LOVES spending time with her daddy at night! It is their time! He bathes and plays with her every night and they read her devotional every night! She normally doesnt have much to do with me, it is all about DADDY! But that is ok with me!! I love that she LOVES him that much!! He is such a great dad! Vera Kate and I are really blessed to have him!!

Vera Kate really loves animals! I think she may be a zoo keeper when she get older!! HA! I mean of course she loves Baxter, Mic and Ace but all other animals she goes crazy over also! It is pretty funny!

Vera Kate has also really started to play with her puzzles and books! She normally hates to sit in your lap but here recently she has actually been coming to me with a book and wants to sit in my lap and read!

There is sooo much more! I just am having difficulties remembering! I dont know why I dont write things down more often because when I get on here to write her monthly posts... my mind goes BLANK! Ughhhhh! Frustrating!

Reading her 15month old brochure while waiting on Dr. M!

Yogurt makes getting shots ALL BETTER!!

The ZOO!

2011-10-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

A few Fridays ago we loaded up and went to the zoo!!! It was a GREAT day! Beautiful day!!! Vera Kate was sooo much more into the animals and everything going on! This is the first time we have been since before summer! It is amazing how much she has grown up since then! She was LOVING the animals!!!

Showing Meme the Grizzly bears!!

It is soo absolutely cool... at 1pm they feed the grizzlies from atop this little house thing. You can stand underneath and watch the grizzlies eat in the water! They come right up to the windows! It is the coolest thing ever!!! You are sooo close!!!

Next... it was time for the giraffes! They were out and about also!! We were able to see them up close and personal!!Elephants!

Riding the cow with Annie!!

The FAIR!

2011-10-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night, we ventured out to the Mid-South FAIR!! It was super fun and practically in Papa John and Annie's backyard so we just had to go!!! The atmosphere was very fairish, the food was very heathly( HA!), and the people were as crazy as ever!!

Dont worry chicken on a stick was definitely eaten!!

Fam pic at the fair!

Vera Kate LOVED the petting zoo!! Cows, goats, camels, sheep, and lots of other fun and interesting animals!!

Vera Kate and Annie feeding the goats!

Papa John... where did those cows go?!?!?!

Papa John and Annie were very adventurous and rode the Ferris wheel and the crazy mouse roller coaster!

Vera Kate, Annie, and Mommy had fun riding the train! Vera Kate thought it was so funny when we would pass by daddy and Papa John!! We waved REALLY BIG every time we passed!!!

The fair did not disappoint and was super duper fun!! Cant wait until it comes back next year!!

Heart Attack!

2011-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is what the bulldogs gave me Saturday night when I thought we were going to lose to LA TECH! Seriously, DAWGS?!?!?! Someone PLEASE throw away those black uniforms!
Anyways, we had a blast tailgating and seeing all of our fun friends!! I just love football Saturdays! I mean lots of my favorite people in the whole world at my favorite place in the whole world! CAnt get much better than that:))

Vera Kate tailgates in-style with her very own chair:)

Quick pic with mommy!

YAY!! FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!! My very favorite thing about tailgating and football games!!

Vera Kate with some of her favorites... Murphy and Mary Reeves
And another favorite... Ella Kate!
More fabulous friends!! I just LOVE it!!!

After lots of tailgating and walking around we headed into the game! Vera Kate did great once again and made it ALL four quarters! What can I say... She is TRUE MAROON!!

FINALLY!! WE WON IN OT!!!! WOW! WHAT A GAME!!!

A PARTY

2011-09-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we headed to Grenada for a surprise birthday party for Sha Sha!! It was so fun!! She was SHOCKED!! I have never seen her so surprised! Josh and Nicole got to come from Florida so it was a super duper surprise party!!!

Birthday girl!

Enjoying the yummy food with Special K and Aunt T!

Sibling love! I cant believe these two are soo old! Riley is graduating from high school this year! YIKES!

Aunt T and Special K being their crazy selves!!

The girls!!! LOVE all these fab women!!

After most of the guests had left we went into the church gym for some b-ball action! Brian was so proud of Vera Kate and her b-ball skills!! She is a great slam dunker!!

Future basketball star?!?!?

Friday night we spent the night at the Carsons!! It was super fun!! We had a yummy breakfast before heading to Starkvillle!!

Meeting BULLY!!

2011-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am not joking when I say Vera Kate LOVES Bully!!! I mean it makes me soooo proud!! At this point I dont even care if she likes Santa Claus or not! HA! I mean this little girl knows what is important!! HAHA!!

Anyways, at the LSU game I kindly introduced Bully and Vera Kate and she did great! So the big test came this past weekend at the LA Tech game! Mom and I walked Vera Kate over to the fanfair in hopes that Bully would be there meeting peeps!! Well, we were in luck! So here goes nothing!! We say... Vera Kate look its BULLY!! She gets a HUGE grin on her face and starts reaching for him!! SUCCESS! We took her and placed her in his lap and she became estatic!!! The child LOVES her some BULLY!!!

We could not even get her to look at the camera because she was sooo enthralled by him!! Bully had to point at us so she would at least look!!

Mom.. LOOK it is BuLLY!!! And check out these teeth!!!

September 2011

What a difference a year makes!

September 2010!

Brian was not with us because he was touring the new basketball facilities!! I told him he had to go to the next meeting with Bully because it is sooo fun to see Vera Kate so excited! I mean this child will not even go to most men but dont worry she LOVES that big furry dawg!!!

MSU vs. LSU

2011-09-28T11:51:00.001-07:00

I am a little behind on updating so I am going to try and play catch up!!

The MSU vs. LSU game was on a Thursday night so we headed to Starkville after Brian got off work on that Thursday afternoon! We got to town just in time to check-in to the hotel and head to the game!!

Ready to go cheer on the Bulldogs!

Vera Kate and daddy heading to the game!

Well we all know how the game turned out! HA! No victory for the Bulldogs but we had a great time watching and enjoying the fun company of family and friends! Thankfully Brian was able to get us a hotel room for the night so we got to avoid that late night drive:)

On Friday we hung in Starkville all day!! It was sooo fun!! We got to play with Kayla the whole day!!

Grabbing a little lunch at Obys!!

After we ate lunch we headed to campus to let Vera Kate run around! We made our way to the drill field!!

Vera Kate had an absolute blast running ALL around!!!

Brian decided to take a little snooze!! HA!

After hanging out in Starkville for the day we headed to Grenada for grandmom's 80th birthday party! It was super fun!! I am sad I didnt take any pics but I will have to grab a few from everyone else and put them on here!!

14 months!

2011-09-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

So I figured I better update on our busy little 14 month old!!! She is growing so fast and is soooo fun!! Really this age is sooo fun!! I have enjoyed every stage but we are LOVING this age!! Vera Kate is sooo sweet and she is just soaking up life like a sponge! She LOVES learning and exploring new things every day!!

Here is what is going on with the cutey girl:

Not really sure about weight and height!

Shoe size: Finally wearing a 3!!! They are a little big but hopefully the new shoes we bought for fall will last the whole season!

Diaper size: 3

Clothing size: 9,12, 18 month! It totally varies!

Drinks all milk and juice and water in her sippy cups!

Food: Eats pretty much whatever. But I think she is part Italian! She LOVES Italian food! HA!

Teeth: Lord have mercy she has taken off in this category! At her first birthday she only had 4 teeth. She now has... I dont know.. I have lost count! Lets just say ALOT! She has a couple of molars also! I mean they ALL came in at once! Bless her! But she has been a trooper! She LOVES to brush her teeth with daddy every night!! We say.. Vera Kate lets go brush your teeth and she walks to the bathroom!!

Movement: She WALKS ALL OVER THE PLACE!! She LOVES to walk outside ALL BY HERSELF!! She no longer needs help and certainly doesnt want any help! Miss Independent! HA!

Toys: pretty much plays with whatever. Loves her cozy coupe and to read and LOVES BALLS!

Oh and dont forget her new friend BULLY!! I have a little wooden bulldog that we keep on a book shelf! We say Vera Kate.. where is bully... she walks over to the shelf and picks him up! She walks to us saying BULLY!! She loves him!

Words: mama, dada, Bax, Bully, ball, etc... we can pretty much tell her to say a word and she will repeat it in her own way! Her vocab is growing!! Vera Kate likes making ssss sounds! Everything is sss...ss.sss. It is funny too because sometimes she will just break out with these jabberish like sentences! HAHA! She is definitely trying to tell you something! She says HEYYYYYY when someone comes in the door and BYEEEE when it is time to leave!!

She LOVES to point!! She can spot an airplane from a mile away!!! HA! She can also point and identify... nose, ear, teeth and oh she loves to find a belly button!! She points to her belly and says BELLY and she loves to find our belly buttons! HAHA!

She definitely has an attitude and knows what she wants!! HA!

I really do LOVE this age! She is such a fun little girl! Oh and she is a great dancer!! She loves music and will bob her head do a few little moves whenever she hears a tune!!

We have been really busy the last two months! Building a house, starting fall activities, going to football games! It has been super fun!! We are still LOVING having PJ, Annie, and Meme around! We spend lots of time going on walks and to Bible studies with Annie! You could call us the three stooges because during the day we are always together! We are LOVING it!!
It has truly been a blessing for them to be here! For example, the past two days Brian and I have had a nasty stomach bug! Thanks to Annie for coming to the rescue and coming to get Vera Kate ASAP in hopes of keeping it away from her! Vera Kate enjoyed her mini vacay at PJ and Annies!! THANKS!!

This funny girl has changed sooo much in two months!! SLOW DOWN!! HAHA! No... just kidding!! It is fun watching her GROW!!

Brick, Shingles, Windows... OH MY!

2011-09-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

HA! The house is moving right along! At a VERY fast pace if I do say so myself! These pics are WAY old and we now have a fully bricked house and shingled roof!! Anyways, wanting to go in order with the pics, though!!

This pic was taken August 31, 2011

But mom... I dont want to take a bath right now!!

Hey!! These stairs look fun!! Hmmmm.... got get that baby gate!! HAHA!!

When we got back from our excursion down south we had a shingled roof, windows, and doors!!

Pic taken September 8, 2011

I will try and post more pics soon because the house does not even look like this anymore!! YAY!!

Vera Kate's first Tropical Storm!

2011-09-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, while most people were cancelling their trips to the coast because of Tropical Storm LEE... we headed right on into the storm! HA!! I mean Vera Kate had to put "witnessing a tropical storm" on her list of things done in life! HA!! Brian had never experienced one either! Well, check... DONE! HA!

We had been planning for a fun-filled weekend at Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie's! Lots of outdoor activities planned and also some beach time scheduled! Well thanks to LEE we pretty much stayed indoors the whole weekend! But it was fun and we had a great time just hanging out and enjoying family! It rained and rained and rained but that didnt stop the fun!! We played games, watched football, and laughed until it hurt! Balderdash is a great game by the way!!! Tropical Storm LEE didnt ruin our fun time!!

We of course didnt let the rain stop us from a shopping trip!! We helped Aunt Kacie pick the perfect suit to wear while she rocks her medical school residency interviews!!!

Annie and Vera Kate rode the carousel!! Vera Kate was a little unsure at first but she finally enjoyed the fun!!

We did alot of this... laying around and playing!!!

On Monday, Papa John and Brian headed back north while Vera Kate, Annie, Meme and I stayed on the coast to spend a little more time with Memaw and our fam down there!Tropical Storm LEE moved on out and left some beautiful cooler weather so we seized the opportunity and took Vera Kate to the park!!

We did get to put our bathing suit on at least once for a little fun in the splash pad!!

Vera Kate hanging with two of her great-grandmothers!! She is a BLESSED little girl!

Vera Kate learned to drive while on the coast!! WOW!! She is sooo advanced for her age! HAHA!

Bully came to town!!

2011-09-08T18:27:00.001-07:00

Bully came to Memphis!! It was super fun and super HOT!! And the BULLDOGS WON!!!

Vera Kate LOVED all of the fun activities!!

The ladies! Vera Kate wasnt into picture taking! There was too much going on to stop for a pic! HA!

Waiting with dad for the team to arrive! Brian was estatic! Dan the Man shook his hand!! It made Brian's night! HA!

It was so super hot! We had to stop for a little drink!!

The Dawgs!!

Well this would have been a good fam pic but Vera Kate was too busy watching every one around her and the ground apparently! She is a busy little 13 month old!

"Who let the Dawgs Out"... WHO WHO! Vera Kate LOVED cheering the Bulldogs to VICTORY!

Kayla (aka Special K) sat right behind us!! Such a fun surprise! Once again Vera Kate is more interested in the pom pom than picture taking! HA!

We had a great time kicking off football season!! We cant wait for more!!!!!!

It's a HOUSE!

2011-08-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

These pics were taken on Sunday August 28, 2011!! When you are building a house a week can make a big difference!!

The shingles and brick were ordered today so YAY!!

The back of the house!

On another note... after we got home from church Sunday, Vera Kate decided to take Bax for a walk!!! It was hilarious!! She was just a giggling!!

A Fun Day at Bully's House!

2011-08-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Vera Kate, Annie, Sha Sha, and I headed over to Starkville (aka God's country)!!! It was soooooooo fun!! We got to see lots of fun faces!!!

We started the day at the Pi Phi house and took a little tour with Kayla!! It is a great house and Kayla's room was super cute!!

After picking up Kayla we went to Restaurant Tyler where we enjoyed a FABULOUS meal with Meaghan, Ms Mitsy, and Mrs Betty Sue!! It was delicious!!!! I cant wait to take Brian there during football season!! After a wonderful lunch we began our "tour of homes"!! We started at Ms Mitsy's then went to the Gordons and then ended at the Wilsons!! The Wilsons are our tailgating and football buddies!! Everyone's home was gorgeous!!!! The reason we had our "tour of homes" is because all of these lovely peeps have recently moved into these homes in Starkville and we hadnt seen them!! So we enjoyed our tour and it was sooo fun!!!

After hanging at the Wilsons for a bit we went to do a little shopping BULLDOG style!!!

This huge BULLY was at Campus Bookmart and Vera Kate LOVED it!!!

We had to take a trip to campus!!! Cant wait until we are wearing our maroon and entering Davis Wade for our first football game!!! Only a couple more weeks until our first home game!!

After Meaghan got off work we caught back up with the Gordons for a yummy dinner at City Bagel!! Vera Kate had a blast playing with Murphy and Mary Reeves!! I cant wait to get these little peeps back together again!! It was sooo fun!!

It was the PERFECT day in Starkville!! But how could it not be...:))

More House and the Weekend!

2011-08-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is the house on Thursday, August 18, 2011!!

Daddy and Vera Kate checking out the window in her new room!

Mommy and Vera Kate hanging out in our future "family room"!

On Saturday, we had a relaxing, play around the house kinda day!! We(Brian for the most part) cleaned out our cars while Vera Kate and I supervised! We also had Meme over on Saturday night for some pizza! PJ and Annie had an engagement party in Grenada so we decided to invite Meme over for the evening and it was super fun!

Vera Kate loves putting her stacking rings on her arm and wearing them as bracelets!!

Thank the Lord we gave Vera Kate this car for her birthday!! She loves it! I mean ALL day long it is in and out of the car, putting toys in the car, getting toys out of the car, driving and turning the key in the car and I must say it helps out greatly when taking Bax out to use the potty! I just put Vera Kate in the car and push her with me while I take Bax out! Oh the joys of apt life:)

On Sunday, we went to the 8am service at church and then SS and then headed to see the house!

House on Sunday, August 21, 2011

After checking out the house we went with PJ and Annie to the local IHOP! Yes, I gave in and went! Brian has been wanting to go and well IHOP isnt my fav but well when dad suggested it I figured I would give in!!

They had a little man walking around making balloon animals! Vera Kate didnt like the man giving her the balloon animal (and she let the whole restaurant know about it) but she did enjoy the balloon flower he made her! HA!

We hope to be able to get in a little swimming action tonight after naptime!!!

Framing!

2011-08-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the house is moving right along! These pictures were taken last Friday, August 12! So lots has been done since these pics but I need to update the blog in order! Anyways, it is moving right along! So exciting!!

Front of house

Back of the house!

Anyways, in other news we have been super busy! Mommy went to the beach with friends and then met Vera Kate, Meme, and Annie for a quick trip to Brookhaven while daddy was in San Diego! This week we started our fall Bible study and volunteered for a local consignment sale that I LOVE! I finally got a MS driver's license so it is official! I am a Mississippian again! HA! Brian is still a Tennessean but he is working on getting that changed soon! Vera Kate is busy, busy, busy! WALKING EVERYWHERE! She no longer likes to be carried... she wants to walk! She also has started giving us this funny/serious face when she is upset with us or doesnt get her way! It is pretty cute but dangerous! HA! We are looking forward to fall weather and some FOOTBALL!! Vera Kate can signal touchdown, she can say Bully and locate him in a picture, also we are currently learning "Who Let the Dawgs the Out"! HA! It is the important things!!
HA! Anyways, that is pretty much our life around here!!

The Gordon fam!

2011-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to blog about this for forever and well I have been out of town and all!! But I have some FABULOUS news!!! So our sweet friends the Gordons are adopting a sweet little boy from Ethiopia!! I am sooo excited and pumped for them!! I cant wait to see how God blesses their precious family!! Meaghan and I were DGs together at State, lived together for several years, and well we are just pretty much the best BFFs in the whole world!! HA! Their little family means the world to Brian, Vera Kate and me! So please, please pray for them daily! And if you would like to help out... they are selling tshirts, having a HUGE sale, and much much more!!! Their blog is http://thewesgordonfamily.blogspot.com/!!! Keep up with everything that is going on!! It is soooooo exciting!!!!!

This is the only pic I have with Vera Kate and the Gordon children Mary Reeves and Murphy! I must admit that I am very sad that this is the only pic and we will fix that really soon!! We cant wait to see them lots and lots this fall!!!

Construction ZONE!!

2011-08-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, the building process has begun!!! YAY!!! Here is our future home!! HA!

My future bathroom!! I cant wait to soak in my big bathtub!! HA!

View from the back!

As you can see we have a LONG way to go but we are sooo excited that it has all finally begun! YAY!!

Sprinkler Park FUN!!

2011-07-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Annie, Vera Kate, and I joined our friends Allie and Julie at the sprinkler park in Collierville today and it was sooooo fun!! I have been wanting to take Vera Kate but was not really sure how she would do since she is just beginning to walk! But she took off and walked ALL OVER that place!! She had an absolute blast!! We will be returning very soon!!

Mom.. why havent we been here before???

Look at Vera Kate go!! Walking all around by herself!! Such a big girl!

Crawling toward Allie!

WE LOVE WATER!!

Doing a little dance in the sprinkler! HA!

Snack time!!

Such a fun day!!

Happy 3 YEARS!!

2011-07-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Three years ago today I married the man of my dreams!! The ONE the Lord prepared and created just for me!!! It has been the best three years of my life and I cant wait for many, many more!!! Love you Brian! Thank you for being the best dad and husband in the whole wide world!!!

Mississippi Weekend!!

2011-07-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well the Rays had a good ol' Mississippi weekend!!! We have been Mississippi residents for a couple of weeks now but this was our first real weekend without lots to do!! So we took full advantage and had a great time!!!

We started out Friday night with an evening at Papa John and Annie's! So we got a deep dish pizza from a local place... Wise Guys!! It was super yummy and then PJ and Annie gave Brian and me an early anniversary gift!! A little bike cart for Vera Kate!! It is sooo fun!!

The story goes like this... so Annie, Vera Kate, and I were at Target one day this week and we saw these things on the end of an aisle! Brian and I have been wanting to get one because we love riding bikes but when Vera Kate came along it was hard to do! So I thought these little things were expensive well Target had them for $25!! I said WHAT!!!! Anyways, I told mom I should get it for Brian for our anniversary and she said well I need to get yall something so there you have it! I put it together on Friday and then we tried it out on Friday night when Brian got off work!! Once Vera Kate warmed up to it she liked it!! So I see many, many bike rides in our future! We need to get her a little helmet!!!

On Saturday morning we headed to down to our future home, Hernando, for the local farmers market!!

It was so neat and we had a great time walking around and looking at the different things!! They have lots of fun items! One of the most popular is the "milk man"! Apparently you have to get there early because the milk is soo popular! It is straight off the farm milk! We may try it next time! Every one says that you have to try it! At first it kinda grossed me out but it is healthy with no pesticides and stuff so it will really be good for Vera Kate!

There also was a cute little boy selling dog treats for $1 so of course we had to get Bax a few!!

And then we decided to buy a bag of peas! When Brian went up to buy it the little man said... "I picked em on Tuesday, shelled em on Wednesday!!" He said... "you know how they say Folgers coffee is good to the last drop... well these peas are good to the last pea!!" HAHAHA!!
LOVE IT!!

Our stash!!

Saturday night we made a little trip down to our apt pool! Fun times were had by all!!
If you are riding around our apt complex at about 7pm every night you will see this little cutie in her pink car!! Our nightly ritual is a ride to the trash and mailbox!! HAHA!!

After swimming for awhile, we gave Vera Kate a bath and then while Brian was feeding her and getting her ready for bed Baxter and I went out to get a redbox movie!

We picked up what I thought was a good movie and stopped by the local Sonic for a double stuffed oreo blast!! YUM!!!

Well the movie was a TEAR-JERKER and I cried the WHOLE ENTIRE movie! Oh well, it was a definite chick-flick and it was good but SAD! Anyways, I felt like I needed to watch Dumb and Dumber after watching it to change my mood! HA!

Sunday afternoon we invited PJ, Annie and Meme over to help us eat our yummy veggies we had purchased!! I must say it was DELICIOUS!! We had squash, peas, turnip roots, cornbread, mashed potatoes, tomatoes, and corn!! And Annie made peach cobbler for dessert!! YUM-O!!! It was super duper fun!!

While I was making our veggie spread Sunday afternoon, Vera Kate and her dad were making loops around the apt!! She was loaded down! Toys, milk, a cell phone, a sweater, a banana, and lots more all in the cozy coupe with her! She travels prepared! HA!!

Anyways, we are loving MISSISSIPPI!!!!

12 months old!!

2011-07-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

This big girl is ONE!!!! What a fast, but wonderful year it has been!! This little precious girl is such a blessing to her dad and me!! It has been so fun!! I feel like it was just yesterday we were leaving the hospital with precious Vera Kate! Wondering what it would be like with a newborn around! HA! But every stage has been so wonderful. Of course it wasnt all roses and ice cream but we made it through!! We love you Vera Kate!! Cant wait to watch you grow and grow into the wonderful girl God created you to be!!

We had our 12 month appointment with Dr. Mathis yesterday!! Vera Kate is growing and everything was normal and healthy:))) Vera Kate did get three yucky shots but she survived with a few tears!! But for the good news... Vera Kate can ride in her car seat facing forward now!! We have not turned her around yet but we plan to soon!

Here is what's new:

Weight: 20.4 pounds

Height: 28 inches! Dr. Mathis said she hit a growth spurt on her height since her last appointment. She went from the 10th percentile to the 20th percentile for her age!! HAHA!!

Shoe size: 1! We are finally filling up our size one sandals!

Diaper size: 3

Clothing: 9-12 months

Bottles: Well, as of this week all milk and drinks are consumed through a sippy cup! Except for a nighttime bottle but this will hopefully be eliminated by this weekend! Also, Vera Kate is drinking organic whole milk!!! Vera Kate is drinking half formula/ half milk in her sippy. Only because I am trying to use up the last of the formula! No more formula= PAY RAISE!

Food: Eating like a champ. Vera Kate pretty much eats whatever mommy and daddy are eating! A few favorites... cheese, peas, blueberries, mac-n-cheese, ravioli, veggie straws, apple/cinnamon straws!

Teeth: two on top and two on bottom. Vera Kate has started brushing her teeth every night! With help from mommy and daddy of course!

Movement: crawling fast, fast, fast!! Also will stand on her own and cruise along furniture! And NEW just this week... Vera Kate is TAKING STEPS all by herself!! She will take about four or five steps and then get tickled and fall down! Will not be long and she will be walking full force!

She started doing this on Monday night. July 11, 2011! We were just hanging out after dinner and she stood up in the middle of floor and started walking toward Brian. I think she was actually going for Bax's ball but nevertheless she started walking!!!

Favorite toys: her pushy carts, her new cozy coupe, cooking pot of veggies, balls, puzzles

She loves to play with her toys and put them in something and then taking them out! We normally empty the toy basket and then put everything back in on a daily basis!

Words: dadadada, mamama, uuuupppp( she reaches her hands at us and says up), dog! She also has other little words she says that are her own little version. Like we will say thank you and she will say thank you (in her own way).

Vera Kate loves to clap her hands, wave bye bye, and loves to play patty cake with her Meme! She will also clap her hands when you sing.. "if your happy and you know it"! She is a dancer also! Turn on some music or really if any kind of music is going she will start bouncing her news and waving her arm! HAHA!

She LOVES riding on Meme's new walker! HAHA! I have got to post a pic but it is pretty cute!

Vera Kate has been testing the waters with the word NO and getting into things she knows she should not be! For example... Baxter's water bowl! Yes that is her favorite no, no toy! She has gotten her hand popped for this one! But she thinks it is funny sometimes and then others she gets her feelings hurt and will poke out her lip. Hum... discipline... I dont think I am ready!! HA!

Books: She LOVES all her books. Her hand puppet books are some of her favorites!

Vera Kate loves to swim and play in the pool! She loves her stroller and we take a walk with Annie about every day!

Vera Kate is VERY busy and there is never a dull moment!!

Happy 1st Birthday Vera Kate!!!

July 9, 2011

2011-07-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

We had sooo much fun celebrating Vera Kate's first birthday!! It was seriously such a fun day!!

GOOD MORNING birthday GIRL!! FYI... Vera Kate does not sleep in a bow however I placed one in her hair before the pic because without a bow you cant see her face because of hair! HAHA!

Blueberry muffin for breakfast! She was really trying figure out that candle on her muffin!
Yummy!!
Annie came over for early birthday hugs! And of course to help mommy get everything together!

Big girl ready to CELEBRATE!

Having fun with Aunt Karen before everyone arrived!

So glad Meme got to come celebrate! She is finally out of rehab and feeling soooo much better! It is fun getting to see her daily!!

Mommy and the birthday girl!

Grandmom got to come to the party too!!! So neat for Vera Kate to have two of her great-grandmothers at her party!

Getting ready for CAKE!

Baby Brecon was ready to sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Daddy has his hat on and is ready!!

Sorry Karen dont be mad at me for putting this on here! It was too cute not to post!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERA KATE!! Still not real sure what is going on at this point! HA!

We LOVE our one year old!

Finally digging in with a little help from mom and dad!

Vera Kate basically ate a hole out of her cake! HA!

Getting ready for presents!

Nonnie and Pops gave Vera Kate her very own tailgate chair! So cute! Cant wait to tailgate this fall!!

Nate was helping Vera Kate open her presents!! Such a sweet friend:)

Vera Kate with some of her great and bestest friends! Anne Marie and Nate!

Mommy and daddy gave Vera Kate a little Princess Cozy Coupe car!! SHE LOVES IT!!! Her friend Allie got one for her birthday and Vera Kate loved it so I knew that would be perfect for her birthday gift!!

Riding around in my automobile!

Birthday girl!! I am ONE today!!

Well, Vera Kate's first birthday party was a huge success!!! We had a blast and made lots of memories in our little two bedroom apt!! Thanks to everyone who came and helped make Vera Kate's day sooo special! I am sad that I didnt get pictures of most of the guests! But we did have a great time!!

Getting Ready for the PARTY!!

2011-07-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun planning and decorating for Vera Kate's birthday party! Once I found out we were definitely moving and the birthday party would not be at DEE I had to kick it into action to make a birthday party work in an apt!! We had a great time celebrating! I love doing crafty things so I had fun getting it all together!

Our door!

The patio!

Birthday girl's chair!

Pics of Vera Kate's first year!! I am really so glad that I did this!

The sweets table before cupcakes! I totally didnt get a pic of my little pom pom things hanging from the light with everything on the table! Bummer! Oh well!

The cupcake and sweets table!

The cupcakes and Vera Kate's smash cake! Thanks to my friend Haley for making the cupcakes and smash cake! They were delicious and sooooo cute!!

The infamous "smash cake"

It is not a party without birthday hats!!

The food! We had fruit and fruit dip, chocolate chip cheese ball with cookies, cheese and crackers, queso dip, salsa, apple annie's dip, and chips! Oh and dont forget the homemade ice cream!!

Drink table!!

Well that is about it! Had to work with very little space:))))

Independence Day Weekend!!

2011-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

We had a great July 4th weekend or Independence day if you are Brian! He prefers it to be called Independence day! HA! Anyways it was soooo fun and relaxing! Stu and Kacie came up and we had a great time with family all weekend!!

We started off the weekend with a little dip in the pool on Friday night! There may be alot of cons to living in an apt but a definite pro is a swimming pool!!

Vera Kate walked all around that little baby pool. In her float of course:)

On Saturday we headed over to Papa John and Annie's for a little lunch! We celebrated Vera Kate's birthday with Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie because they will not be able to attend her real party!
An early birthday cake that Annie got for Vera Kate!

The birthday girl with Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie! Vera Kate was a little unsure at first! HA! We will see how she reacts at her party!!

Oh, but when she got warmed up that cake was super yummy!!

On Saturday afternoon we headed downtown to the Redbirds game!! It was soo fun! We sat on the bluff and enjoyed the BBQ nachos, laughing, watching baseball, and then FIREWORKS!!

Vera Kate LOVES to stand on her own!!

Vera Kate and Annie sporting their super cool shades!

Hanging with Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie on the bluff! Thanks dad(Brian) for the Memphis Redbird cup placement! HA!

Fam photo! It was a little hot! Therefore I am sweaty looking in this pic!

FIREWORKS!! Vera Kate was mesmerized! She LOVED them!!

On Sunday after church and a little Chiptole(Uncle Stu's choice:)), we headed to Papa John and Annie for a little homemade ice cream and swimming! The Oswalt 6 joined us! It was fun and Vera Kate loved playing with the Oswalts!!

Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie gave Vera Kate this little cooking pot full of veggies!! She loves taking them out and putting them back in! Such a fun toy and she loves it!!

Thanks to Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie we are getting lots of practice on cooking and learning about healthy vegetables!!

One last pic of Vera Kate standing on her own! She loves to stand and she is soooo proud of herself! She will push her self up and stand on her own for a good little while. She has her little legs spread pretty wide for balance so as soon as she learns to put her little legs a little closer she will be off to the races!!! HA!

The MOVE!!

2011-06-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

Well, we did it! WE MOVED!! HA!! After a CRAZY month, we are now Mississippians once again!!! WHOO HOO!! Welcome home!! HA!! No, we really enjoyed our time in TN but Brian and I both knew that we wanted to get back to good ol Mississippi!! So here we are!!

I mentioned it a little in the last post but we went on vacation May 15-22. On May 22nd our realtor (who we LOVED by the way) had an open house. At this time we were driving home from Destin! On Monday I got a call that someone wanted to look at the house. On Tuesday I got another call that someone wanted to look at the house for a second time! The people that came to look on Monday and Tuesday had come to the open house and loved the house! By the next weekend (it was Memorial Day weekend to be exact) we had an offer on the house! We put the house on the market April 28 and we were signing a counter offer on May 28!! HA! The peeps buying the house lived in an apt and wanted to be in our house before July 1 so that meant they wanted to close June 23! SO, with the offer they gave us (we couldnt pass it up) so we got on the ball!! You see the only reason we went ahead and put the house on the market was because the market kinda stinks so we thought it would take awhile! HA! Little did we know God had other plans! We ultimately knew that we needed to move for Vera Kate and schools and such! And we both wanted to move to Mississippi and a little bit smaller community! So the Lord opened the door we had been praying for!! As soon as we had an offer we started looking at houses to go to. Clearly it became evident that we were not going to find something that fast so we knew the next step was an apt for a little while! SO we looked around and found the perfect place! We booked our POD and UHAUL and started packing up!! It has been a CRAZY month but we are sooo blessed and we cant wait to see what God has in store for us in this new adventure!!

SOLD!!!!

Our POD!! This is actually a pretty sweet deal! If you are moving... you should definitely look into it!!

Our wonderful DEE!

Our new HOME!! Such a fun little place! Two bedroom, two bath, a dog and a baby! HAHAHA!!

A BIG THANKS to Nonnie and Pops, Papa John and Annie for being such a wonderful help during the big move!! We could not have done it without yall!! THANKS!!!

Dear Dee,

2011-06-27T18:43:00.001-07:00

You will definitely be missed!! Actually you are already being missed! You were such a fun, first home!! SOOOOO many memories made!!! You were Brian's first house to purchase, the place where we spent most of the time while we were dating and falling in love, the home we came to after our wedding and honeymoon, the place we brought Baxter home to, and the place where we brought sweet Vera Kate home!! And much, much more!! Of course we will never forget the little things that made DEE... DEE!!! Some of the fun things we will always remember: the crazies across the street (which we never figured out), the DEE pumpkin carve (which by the way will live on), the fact that you could not use the microwave and have the air conditioner running, the wonderful man room, and all of the other fun joys of living in an old house!! OH, and dont forget those yellow countertops!!!!

Anyways, we loved our time at DEE and we will never forget our first little home!!! We hope that the new owners are blessed as much as we were in DEE!!!

11 months!

2011-06-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

11 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow!! We have had a really fun, crazy, fast-changing, big news kinda month!!! We are loving Vera Kate's little personality, which is really developing!! She is on the move and she is keeping us on our toes daily!!

Weight: 18.5 pounds

Height: ???

Shoe size: still barely fitting into her size 1 sandals! HA!

Diaper size: 3

Clothes: 9 and 12 month

Bottles: 4 6-7oz bottles daily, sometimes in a sippy cup. this is our last month of formula!! WHOO HOO!

Food: LOVES finger foods. Mac-n- cheese, ravioli, peaches, blueberries, bananas, cheese, waffles, chicken, noodles... the only thing she doesnt like... orange jello! HA! Funny story... mom and I went to eat Chinese. I was like what can Vera Kate have on this buffet... hum.. orange jello! So, I gave her some. You should have seen her face! Clearly she HATED it. And she spit it out!! HA!

Teeth: two bottom and new this month... TWO TOP teeth!

Crawling, pulling up and moving everywhere! Sometimes she will walk while holding our hands! It is crazy how much she has changed in this area! She crawls really fast and can be in the other room getting into something before I know it!!

She is soooo happy!! Really... she is! Always smiling! She was loving our 11 month photo shoot this am!

Loves Praise Baby (claps sooooo big when I put the DVD in) and Super WHY!

Loves to sing and loves to clap! Starting to bounce and dance when standing

Still talking (I guess that it what you call it) LOTS! Dadadadadada ALL the time! Sometimes when you say bye to her she will say her form of bye! And we have not been thinking that she is saying mamamama but the other day I walked out of the room and she crawled toward me saying her form of mamamama!!

I will say... LOVE mama... LOVE dada... LOVE ANNNIE... Vera Kate will hug into you! It is soo fun!

She loves to play the "where is Vera Kate" game! She will hold her hands over her eyes and wait for you to say.. where is Vera Kate!
Also if she is doing something she wants to make sure you are watching so she looks around to make sure everyone is watching her!

We are learning the word "NO" more and more!

SEE my TEETH!!

Toys: she loves most of her toys. She loves taking everything out of her toy basket and putting it back in! She also LOVES taking everything out of her diaper bag and my purse! She has also discovered the dog bowl full of food and water:)

Vera Kate loves Baxter and Mic! She thinks they are sooooooo funny! She just giggles when they tussle and she loves to crawl all over them and pet them! Also she is giving my parents cat, Ace, a run for his money! He does not like to see Vera Kate coming!! HAHA!!

She still has a phobia of men and guys! Takes a little while for her to warm up to the male species! Hey, I am not complaining!! SHE LOVES her dad and two grandfathers but most other men... well, she just isnt into them!!

I was really close to her in this pic.. no worries! But she does love to pull up on her knees! BIG GIRL!!

We had a first this month... So, Vera Kate started acting not like herself. Really fussy and not happy! So I took her temp. She really didnt feel warm so I was SHOCKED when I saw she had fever. Well, long story short... she kept running fever for a day and a half. So it was Memorial day weekend and on Sunday when she still had fever, we decided to take her to the minor med... BIG MISTAKE!! When the doc checked her out, she saw nothing. But Vera Kate did have fever so the doc said we need to find the source of the fever.I agree but maybe not how they went about it. So they did a blood draw to check her counts! Her white count was high which means infection somewhere. And then a blood culture... well, three sticks later (one which included a scalp vein, yes I was dying) they got a blood culture. Also they put a catheter in her for a urine culture because she was dehydrated and would not go in the bag. And then we had to get a Rocephin shot and the doc gave us an antibotic and said call your pediatician in the am! When we were through... she was crying and I was uncontrollably crying! It was HORRIBLE!!!!

Well, the next day our pediatrician's office was open so we went in. He took one look in her ear and said... EAR INFECTION!! I WAS FURIOUS!! Anyways, he said it obviously didnt present itself until after we had left the minor med but that is why her white count was high. Moral to this story... give tylenol and motrin until pediatrician's office is open! Thanks, lesson learned!!

Anyways, in other BIG news!! We put our house on the market on April 28. On May 28th, we got an offer, counter offered and a week later we accepted the offer, signed the papers, and we close on June 23!! HA! Do you think we know where we are going or have one box packed??? NOPE!! But God is faithful and we are trusting him!! I mean HE is totally ALL over this situation! I will post about all of this later and it will be more detailed! But let me just show you how good God is! So, we put our house on the market thinking it would take a while because of the housing market right now! Well, little did we know God was working fast!! And he provided buyers that made us a GREAT offer! Also in the meantime he moved Papa John and Annie up here! I cant even begin to describe how much of a BLESSING this has been!! We have been in and out of this house with showings, inspections, and this and that! And everytime PJ and Annie open up there apt for me, VK, and Bax! Also they have been a HUGE help in keeping Vera Kate while Brian and I have been looking for somewhere to take our family!! THANKS PJ and Annie! I know yall would have it no other way but it has been a tremendous BLESSING! So, we are moving to an apt in North MS and hoping to finally plant in Hernando!! We shall see!

Sorry this post has been forever LONG but I will probably not be blogging in the next couple of weeks! Seeing as I have to keep up with an 11 month old, pack up a whole house, move to a storage unit and an apt, and find a place to have a birthday party and plan a birthday party! HAHA!! But we are sooooo BLESSED and we are so HAPPY and we LOVE our little 11 month old!!!!!

Beach trip: Part 2

2011-05-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so on to part 2 of the trip!! The second half of the week was full of sunshine, ocean, and pool!!

I was soo pumped that Vera Kate loved the water, sun, and sand!!

Getting ready to head down to the beach for some fun! Please excuse my oily sunscreen face!

We LOVE Annie!! A BIG thanks to Annie for being such a wonderful help on the trip! She really was super grandma!!! She took care of Vera Kate and let Brian and I enjoy lots of beach time!! Of course Annie didnt care one bit about sitting in the condo with Vera Kate during naptime!! I know Annie loved all of the Vera Kate lovin' she received!!!!! THANKS ANNIE!!!
She even kept the Blair kids along with Vera Kate one night so all of the parents could have a night out!! So sweet!!
Heading back out for some fun!
Playing while everyone gets ready to go!

A little pool action

Crawling ALL in the sand

Time for some playtime in the ocean! Isnt the water gorgeous!!! This day it was really like a swimming pool!! So calm and clear!!

This is the LIFE!!

Before dinner at the Red Bar! So... I know Brian has a cheesy smile but this is a great fam pic and I was so upset when I looked at his crazy smile! HA! And of course we tried to get more but this one was the best! Oh well... sorry Brian!!! You will have to sacrifice the humiliation of your cheesy smile for your girls because it is a great pic of us:))!!!!! HAHAH!!

Playing with dad under the umbrella

SO this day it was super fun! The tide was high so there was a tide pool just Vera Kate's size! She could just sit and play in the water and sand! She LOVED it!! Crawling all around!!

So random, but some of our friends also took vacations with their families to Destin the same week we did! It was crazy! We were all talking about going on vacation in May and then we discovered that we had all planned it for the same week without knowing each other had planned it! But of course we seized the opportunity and got to hang out!!!

Great friends hanging out after dinner at the Lucky Snapper!

Vera Kate had her very own swimming pool right by the ocean!! Talk about the life! HA! Actually... in years past I have seen families do this. Bring a little blow-up swimming pool down to the beach for the kids to play in. So I knew that when I had kids this was a must!!! And it was PERFECT!!! She loved having her own little pool to play in!!

On Saturday (our last day), Brian's very best friend Matt Ruta and his wife, Natalie, joined us at the beach! We had a BLAST hanging with them!! We played on the beach until like 7:30! We even got to witness three weddings and the worst wedding dress I have ever seen! It was HORRIBLE!! Anyways, gotta love stalking a beach wedding!! HAHA! It was soo fun and we are sooo glad that we were able to play with them!!

We had such a FABULOUS time!! It really was great and we cant wait until next year!!!!!!

Beach Photo Shoot!

2011-05-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know all of you have done it... dressed in your white and khaki... you head down to the beach at sunset for a little photo-op! Yeah, you know you have! HA! Anyways, we decided to get dressed and head on down and see what we could get!! Not easy to get a good pic with a 10 month old that is NOSY!! HAHA! She was looking all around and then when we would sing... she would clap and then if she was looking at the camera and smiling either Brian or I were not looking! HA!

But we did get a few!

These flowers (Oleanders) were on our boardwalk to the beach! We seized the opportunity!

When all else fails... just have a little FUN!! HAHA!

The best one we got! HA!

DONE!

I just thought this was funny!

Beach trip: Part 1

2011-05-25T12:04:00.001-07:00

Ok, so here we go with an "all about the beach" post!!! We headed out on Saturday morning, picked up Papa John, and headed South!! We stopped through Memaw's Saturday night to take her to dinner and then headed on to Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie's!! We spent the night with them and spent most of Sunday hanging out!

Vera Kate and mommy hanging on the hammock while the burgers were on the grill!

We grabbed a little yogurt with Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie before heading to Sandestin!

YAY!! We made it! We stayed at the Topsl Tides resort in Sandestin!
Puttin' our toes in the ocean!

Getting used to everything!

SOOOOOO HAPPY to be at the beach!

YAY! Clapping again!! So happy to be at the beach with Annie and Papa John!

I LOVE this pic of Vera Kate looking up at Papa John:) So adorable:)

Day ONE: heading to the beach!

This is how Vera Kate rolls to the beach!! HAHA! She was the little princess!!

Loaded down!! So glad Papa John and Annie gave Vera Kate this early birthday wagon! It was SUPER useful and made traveling to the beach SUPER easy! We had a LOAD of stuff!!

Every one loaded down! HAHA! We took A LOT of stuff down to the beach! As the week went on the stuff dwindled but it is definitely different going to the beach with a 10 month old!!

Hanging with mommy and playing in the sand under the umbrella!!

Checking out the waves with Papa John

The first couple of days it was a little chilly! We were not able to get in the water and it was even a little cold just sitting on the beach! Brian HATES being cold... so he came prepared with a jacket!

We saw LOTS of sea life on this trip! This is one of the many dolphins we saw!!

A little family photo-op while waiting to eat at the Back Porch!

Vera Kate did not want to look at the camera... too many distractions! We sang and clapped and did whatever to get her to look. Oh well, she isnt looking in this pic but I liked this pic anyways!

Waiting with Annie at the Back Porch!

We were super sad because Papa John had to leave early in our trip to go home and take care of Meme:( She was admitted to the hospital. No fun. She has Shingles. BOO! She is feeling better and home with mom and dad but she is still in alot of pain! But Papa John did get to come back at the end of our trip!!

Stay tuned for more beach posts!

Beach Bums!

2011-05-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

We had sooooooo much fun on our little beach trip!! It was a much needed get-away!! I took over 300 pictures so it is going to take me a little while to download, edit, crop and get them blog ready:))) But we are back! We were so sad to leave yesterday but we had a fabulous trip! Vera Kate LOVED the beach, sand, water and everything about the beach!!! She just played and played and crawled all over the sand!! It was great!!! Here is a comparison pic from last year when we took her to the beach for the first time after Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie's wedding!!

July 2010-- 3 weeks old

May 2011-- 10 months old

What a difference a year makes:)

10 Months old!

2011-05-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I really cant believe that this baby girl is 10 months old! I mean I better get to planning a birthday party!! HAHA!! She is soooo much fun and we are loving every minute!!

We have accomplished some pretty big things this past month! Here are our 10 month fun facts:
Weight: dont know exact weight but heavier than last month! HA!

Height: dont know exactly but definitely a little taller!

Diaper size: 3

Shoe size: Newborn-Size 1! Yes, her size 1 sandals are WAY TOO big and mom and I bought her newborn shoes at Target today! And they fit! HA

Clothes: 6,9, 12 month

Bottles: 4 6-7oz bottles daily; starting to put one bottle in a sippy cup (afternoon one mostly)

Food: LOVING finger foods! Carrots, sweet peas, peaches, bananas, cheese(a new favorite), mac-n-cheese(another new fav), veggie chips, blueberry waffles! This girl likes it all! Vera Kate is actually eating most of her meals by finger food. We still eat a little baby food but mostly big people food!

Still only has two bottom teeth

AND FINALLY WE ARE CRAWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay Vera Kate!! WHOO HOO!! Bless her... she has been trying for the last month but actually this past week she took off! So cute!! She is trying to pull up but needs a little help but once she is standing she can stand alone for a little bit and loves it!

Vera Kate LOVES to sing and for us to sing to her! I mean it will make her mood change in a flash!! Her favorite... This is the Day!

She is sooo HAPPY!!! She loves to wave bye,bye and clap!! She has recently discovered her love for clapping!! We say... YAY, Vera Kate and she just smiles and claps:)

Vera Kate loves to talk... dadadada, mamamama(sometimes), and have yall seen that video on You tube of the babies talking to each other... well that is Vera Kate's language and she sounds just like them!

She loves her Praise Baby DVDs and has started loving Super Why!

She loves to stand behind her pushy toys and musical table.

Favorite toys: ball, beach toys, and anything that is Baxter's( balls, bones, etc...) Recently I found a small piece of Baxter's bone in her mouth! Oops! GROSS! I got it out thankfully!

Vera Kate has also started to pick up on the word... NO! HA! I will say NO, NO Vera Kate and she just looks at me and grins and then she will shake her head NO! HA!

Vera Kate has also developed a little attitude! Yes, if you take something away that she is playing with... well she doesnt like it and will get mad at you! HA!

She is holding her sunglasses to distract from the 10 month sign! HA!

Annie and Papa John moved and Vera Kate gets to see them LOTS!!!!!!!!

SOOO HAPPY!!!

First Mother's Day!

2011-05-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful first Mothers day!! Thanks to my wonderful husband and precious daughter!! And of course my first child, Baxter:))!! We had a great day!! Just being together and enjoying family!!

I am so blessed to be a mommy!! My whole life I dreamed of being a wife and mom! I also always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom!! God is soooo good!!! Thanks to my wonderful, amazing husband who works so hard and is loving and allows me to and wants me to stay at home! I am loving being a mommy to our precious Vera Kate! There is NO greater JOY!! I am so thankful to the Lord for giving me this great responsibility of motherhood!! I pray that I would be the Godly wife and mother He has called me to be!

And of course I hope and pray that I can be as great a mom as this woman in the picture below!!

My mom is truly a perfect example of what a Godly mother should be! I pray that I will learn from her example and raise my children like she and dad raised Stuart and I! She is truly the picture of what a sacrificial Godly mother looks like. She is ALWAYS praying and ALWAYS encouraging! Thank you mom for being my spiritual mentor and encourager! Thanks to you and dad for the spiritual heritage you have built for me! Thanks for always be sooo positive and for whenever I want to complain or grumble reminding me of how "BLESSED" I really am and ALWAYS pointing me in whatever situation to our Heavenly Father!

I hope that everyone had a BLESSED mother's day!!!!

A Visit to G-town!

2011-05-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

Vera Kate, Annie, and I headed to Grenada this week for a little visit with Vera Kate's Grenada grandmothers and aunt:) We had soooo much fun hanging with Sha Sha, Aunt T, and Special K! We were also able to visit the Oswalt bunch!! It was a blast!!

Vera Kate and Special K! Congrats on completing your sophomore year of college Special K!! We are proud of you!! We will miss you this summer but we know you will have fun at camp!! And we can catch up and swim LOTS in July:)

Vera Kate and a few of her favorite ladies!!:)

Oh, I forgot to post last week but Vera Kate successfully finished her swimming class!! Now we are BEACH BOUND!!! HERE WE COME!!! HA!

We got a certificate and a free kids meal at Chick-fil-a! YUM!

Oh, and we are sooooooo excited to have Papa John and Annie in their apt!!! We have been to see them about every day since they have been here:))) WE ARE LOVING IT!! Cant wait until their apt pool is warm so we can SWIM!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Mother's day came a little early at our house!! My sweet, fabulous, wonderful husband decided that it would be fun for Vera Kate and Baxter to give me an iPhone for Mother's day!! Such a great idea:)) On Saturday while I was in Nashville they made a trip to the At&t store. So when I got home on Sunday I discovered that I had left my phone charger in the hotel:( So instead of going to buy another charger Brian told me that he had been talking to Vera Kate and Baxter and they wanted to give me an iPhone. He said if you want go tomorrow and get it!! They were not going to give it to me until Sunday but since I lost my charger... he went ahead and said get it!! I was SHOCKED but estatic!!! I have been wanting one but knew we really didnt need to spend the money! But he worked it out and discovered it wouldnt be too much extra! So YAY!!!! I have an iPhone!! I am excited about downloading some fun apps!!

Thanks Vera Kate, Baxter, and Daddy!!!!! LOVE YALL!!!!

Girls Weekend/ Daddy-Daughter!

2011-05-02T19:09:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I went on a little girls trip to Nashville!! It was sooooooo fun!! I love hanging out with these girls and we really had a great time just relaxing, eating, shopping, and being girls!! It was so wonderful to just get-away and spend some time with sweet friends!! While I was gone Brian and Vera Kate had a little daddy/daughter weekend!! I am so thankful for a wonderful husband that is willing to let me go off for the weekend! I believe that Vera Kate and Daddy had loads of fun and had a great time bonding:))
I actually dont have any pictures of daddy and Vera Kate from the weekend but sources tell me that they made a trip to McDonald's, went on a few walks, went on a ride, and played lots! Brian got Vera Kate ready for Sunday school and church and he even worked the nursery!! HAHA! He is a SUPER DAD in my opinion!! Thank you Brian for being soooooooo wonderful!!!!!!
Here are a few pics I snapped of the weekend:

The girls splurged at lunch!! Red Velvet Cheesecake!! YUM!!! It was FABULOUS!

After doing a little shopping we went to Las Platetas for some yummy popsicles! After we got our popsicles we went to a local park for some people watching time! HAHA!!

It was such a great trip!!!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Easter weekend! We spent the weekend in Madison with Nonnie and Pops! Lots of family time with the Ray side!! It was lots of fun and we really enjoyed spending time with family and enjoying the beautiful weather! Saturday morning we were able to meet up with the Blair family for a little Easter egg hunting. We missed the egg hunt:( but we still enjoyed the festivities!
Vera Kate ready to go to her first Easter egg hunt!

Checking the Easter bunny out! HA! Of course she would not look at the camera... you know our child... she has to check everything out! HA! Very seriously studying this thing holding her! Hey, at least she didnt cry!:)

Family pic with the bunny! Notice Vera Kate... still checking the bunny out!HAHA!

Posing for a cute Easter pic with the Blair kiddos!! Anne Marie, Vera Kate, Sam!

We told Sam to give Vera Kate a hug and kiss! This is what we got!! HA!! So cute!

They had a petting zoo! Vera Kate and daddy were checking out the turkey!

After the Easter egg hunt we headed back to Madison to continue with the Easter festivities!
Brian's Aunt Margaret and Uncle Bubba came in from Shreveport! This was their first time to meet Vera Kate and she loved meeting them!

Dying Easter eggs with Aunt Karen and Nonnie! Also notice the bunny cake made by Nonnie! So cute!

Vera Kate loved playing with the eggs! She wanted to hold them, throw them, and eat them! Maybe I should just give her a couple of boiled eggs to play with instead of toys! HA!

Saturday night we cooked out and enjoyed being together! We had yummy chicken-kabobs! They were great!

Vera Kate's Easter basket!

Checking out what the bunny brought her! Loving the bed-head:)

What else is in here?? HA!

I love Easter! It is one of my very favorite holidays! Yeah, the candy is good and I LOVE all of the bright colors and spring weather! And lets not forget the fun Easter dresses! But the real reason I LOVE it soooo much is because the TOMB is EMPTY!!! Christ is Risen!
Now we can live eternally with our Holy Daddy!! Praise the Lord for the Resurrection!!! Oh Glorious day!!

Life with Miss Priss!

2011-04-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to post about random fun things in the life of Vera Kate!! HA!

A Sunday morning pic with dad!

This girl LOVES meal-time and her high chair!

SO... after her bath, Vera Kate's daddy dresses her in her PJ's and gets her ready for bed! Lately, she has been pulling EVERYTHING out of her little organizer on her changing table! Diapers are EVERYWHERE!! Makes it kinda hard on dear ole' dad to get her dressed but he is a trooper and she is always smelling fresh and looking good in her PJ's when they are done!

We got her a little musical table thing and she LOVES it! She loves to open and shut the computer! She will stand and play for a little bit! It is great fun!!

Mom and Vera Kate have enjoyed some BEAUTIFUL days at the zoo!! Check out how close we are to that Grizzly!! They were feeding them right in front of us!! SO COOL!!

Swimming with dad!

Brian was cracking up at how well Vera Kate "swims" and splashes in the water! I told him she was olympic material but he didnt believe me until he experienced it himself! HAHA! She cant wait to ride the waves in Florida with dad!! One month away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So... there is NEVER a dull moment in our house aka circus! HA! The other night we were folding clothes and Vera Kate was "helping"! I walked out of the room and when I came back... Brian had put one of my sports bras on her! HAHA! I laughed so hard I about wet my pants! It was hilarious!! Just a tad big... dont you think:)

Miss Priss has been having some rough nights lately! I think she is getting those top two teeth! They are boogers and I wish they would hurry it on up and pop through! Anyways, we normally let her "cry it out" when she wakes up in the middle of the night! But this particular night she wasnt having it. So we got her up, rocked, played, fed and she went back to sleep happy like nothing ever happened! Weird!! Also she is getting to where she will hang onto a lovie! She sucks her thumb and puts her lovie right near her face! So PRECIOUS!!

Dad took these early one morning when they were having Vera Kate/Daddy time!! She loves her little duck,duck Uncle Jake and Aunt Karen gave her.

Every morning after dad goes to work we have "reading time"! She LOVES her books!!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this ALL ABOUT Vera Kate post! HA! WEll, arent all the posts ALL ABOUT Vera Kate!! HAHAHA!!!

Answered Prayer!

2011-04-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to start this post by saying that GOD IS GOOD!! I mean as if you didnt already know that! But He has blessed us a with HUGE smile and an answered prayer!! PAPA JOHN AND ANNIE ARE MOVING TO MEMPHIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read that right!!!!!!!!!! WHOO HOO!!! It is kinda crazy and it really hasnt hit me yet but we are estatic and absolutely CANNOT WAIT to have them up here!! God is good and he opened a HUGE and OBVIOUS door for my dad to take a job here in the Memphis area. It really is an amazing story in how everything has worked out. They are probably going to live in the North MS area but hey 15--30 minutes is MUCH BETTER than 4 hours! HA:) We are just so happy to finally have family near us. It is going to be sooo fun and I am so glad that Vera Kate is going to have Papa John and Annie really, really close! Of course Papa John and Annie cant wait either! The other day when my mom was leaving to go home to Brookhaven she was like... you dont have to cry this time because I will be back in two weeks for good:) Yes, I cry when my mom leaves:) I know... I'm weird! But my sweet husband is so patient with me and he knows that my mom is my best friend (after him of course:)) and that I love spending time with my parents. So we have been praying for our next step in life:)And that the Lord would open doors to help us be close to them! And well He answered our prayers in a way I could not even imagine:))

Baxter is a little beside himself also! Mic, his brother and best friend, is going to be sooo close! I see many, many Shelby farms playdates in our future!

WE are soo pumped!! Thank you Lord for this blessing!!!!

Baby Dedication

2011-04-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 10, 2011 was Vera Kate's baby dedication at Kirby Woods Baptist Church in Memphis, TN! It was such a wonderful day! We are soo thankful for our little blessing! Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift and we promise to raise her in a Christian home where Christ is the center of all we do! Our prayer is that she will come to know our Savior Jesus at a young age and will grow to be an amazing woman of God.

We were so blessed to have our family here for this special day!

Her little dress and shoes! After church we had family and friends over for a little lunch! It was fun and the fellowship was great! SO thankful for everyone that was here! Saulters clan!

Ray clan!

Week and Weekend of FUN!

2011-04-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun week last week and we ended it with a bang with a BIG weekend of fun!! Lots of family in town for Vera Kate's baby dedication! Annie (my mom) got to town last Tuesday and we had a BLAST all week!! We cleaned our house top to bottom and worked in the yard. Brian and I were able to go out for a date night!! Thanks to Uncle Stu! He let us have his PF Changs gift card that he got for running the New Orleans marathon! Thanks Uncle Stu and we hope that you run the marathon next year also!! We took walks and did some shopping!! She was also able to come with us to swimming lessons! It was so super fun to have her here! We love when Annie visits!!

On Friday the rest of the fam started pulling into Memphis for the BIG weekend!!

Vera Kate swinging with Nonnie and Pops! We also blew bubbles this same night! Vera Kate didnt really know what was going on but Baxter... boy that dude LOVES some bubbles! HA!

Of course, Saturday morning we took Baxter on a trip to Shelby farms!! Annie and Vera Kate watching Bax fetch sticks!

Man... Bax, that stick is huge!!!

And then on Saturday night, we ate at none other than the one and only CHIPTOLE!!! We are soooo pumped that we now have one in Memphis!! This is Uncle Stu's favorite restaurant!! Brian and I are very fond of it also:) It definitely did not disappoint and was soooo yummy!

Brian and Uncle Stu's first bite of their yummy burrito!

The fam enjoying some beautiful weather and delicious food!

Nine Months Old

2011-04-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Vera Kate had a BIG weekend! It was baby dedication weekend and also her nine month birthday!

We had so much fun! She had her nine month appointment about a week ago! Everything looked great!! She still has that nasty blocked tear duct! We are working on a solution for that little problem! Here is what is new with Miss Vera Kate:

Weight: 18.3 lbs

Height: 26 inches. When I took Vera Kate to her nine month appointment Dr. Mathis said... Mom, I have some news... She is going to be short! HAHA! Well, we all know who she got that from:)

Diaper size: She wears either a 2-3 or a size 3 diaper

Shoe size: VERY SMALL! She can still wear newborn shoes. It has been rather difficult finding her a pair of cute summer sandals!

Clothes: 6, 9, 12 months... depends on the style and brand:)

Bottles: 4 6-7oz bottles daily

Foods: Vera Kate loves it all. We are starting some table/finger foods:)

She is loving her sippy cup.

Sleep: ALL night and two naps daily

We are ALMOST on the MOVE! She is rolling, rolling, rolling everywhere. Literally she can inch herself and roll herself across the room in 2seconds flat! HA! She is everywhere! She mostly goes for Baxter's toys! If she gets her eye on one... she is gone! HAHA! She will push up to hands and knees but not moving yet. She loves to go backwards! :)

Still has two bottom teeth. I think we are working on our top two!

Vera Kate started swimming lessons! SHE LOVES the WATER!!! We cant wait for summer!

She is still saying dadadada! Vera Kate now waves bye, bye, and can wave hello!

She LOVES her daddy! She lights up when he walks in the room!

She is busy, busy and very curious! Kinda nosey like her mother:) When we go to a restaurant or just out and about she checks it ALL out!

Still loves Praise Baby DVDs! She has started to really like her books!

She loves the remote control and cell phones.

She likes to play peek-a-boo and is quite hilarious when she tries to do it herself:)

She is sooo fun! We laugh at her little ways all the time!

Precious little nine month old! The months are going too fast!!

Our Little Fish!

2011-04-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Well Vera Kate started her little swimming lessons on Tuesday!! It was so fun!! We are going to a local YMCA every Tuesday and Thursday in April for a little swim time!! SHE LOVED IT!!!! Oh my!! She had the best time! We are going with our neighbors and friends Allie and Julie! Here are some fun pics of our little fish! I cant wait for the beach!! WHOO HOO!!

Vera Kate and Allie getting ready to swim!

Getting ready to jump in the water!

YAY! So fun!

Kick, Kick, Swim, Swim Stopping for a little play time

Back to swimming

We are loving our little swim class! We sing songs and swim like a little fish!

Crazy Monday!

2011-04-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

This picture pretty much sums up what the area where we live in Memphis looked like on Monday. Trees down EVERYWHERE! Across the roads, on houses, on power lines... it was crazy!

Let me tell you the story! So Vera Kate, Baxter, and I are in the back room of our house playing. I have Channel 5 news on because Brian told me that the weather may be a little rough that morning. So I was anticipating a little something. Well, the weather dudes were saying that the storm was going to hit but it looked like it had weakened some. YEAH RIGHT! Anyways, about that time our lights flicker and I hear this huge wind! I about freaked! Lights were out, tornado siren was going off and I could barely see out the window because of the wind and rain. So I grabbed Vera Kate fast and we rushed into the bathroom. Baxter falling right behind! Well you know me I could not stay in there long... I had to see what was going on. Also I am trying to call Brian and cant get through. I was freaking a little. I HATE BAD WEATHER! So anyways, next thing I know it has slacked off and wind is gone. Lights still off. I finally got Brian and he said Hilton had lost power also. Well I went ahead about my normal routine with no lights and I really could not see that much damage just a few limbs here and there. Well to make a long story short... Brian comes home because Hilton has no power and they cant work. And we still have no power at home. When he got home he was like... you should see all of the trees that are down. So we decided well since we have no power lets just drive around and go to shop or something. When we started driving down our street and it was crazy. Trees down all over our little neighborhood and the neighborhoods near us. Yeah apparently our little area of Memphis was the hardest hit. CRAZY!! I feel so blessed when I see what could have happened to our little house. The Lord was certainly protecting Vera Kate and I. Anyways, it was crazy. And we did not get power until 2:30 pm Tuesday afternoon! Yeah, nuts! We lost alot of our refrigerated items! But oh well we were safe and so was our humble abode! And actually it was kinda nice on Monday night. We went to bed at like 8:00! Brian had to listen to the national championship bball game on our Zune! HA! We enjoyed the simple life momentarily but by Tuesday afternoon I was Praising Jesus for electricity!! Thank you Lord for our blessings!!!

Reflection:)

2011-03-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

Well I normally only blog about things we are doing and pictures of Vera Kate. But today I thought I would mix things up a little! Yesterday I took Vera Kate to her 9 month doctors appointment(I will post about that on her nine month bday) and I was driving through the parking lot reminiscing(spelling?)! Weird, I know! But Vera Kate's pediatrician's office is in the same building as my doctor so I was having a look-back moment. You know the kind of moments that make you remember things from the past. Sometimes it is a song or maybe even a smell that reminds you of something! Well, I will move on but you know what I mean. Anyways, as I was driving through the parking garage looking for a place to park, I started thinking. This time last year I was driving in this same parking garage heading to a doctor's visit and absolutely could not wait to hear that little sweet heartbeat on the doppler. I would be so esctatic just to hear her little heartbeat. I mean I wouldnt even be having an ultrasound but just hearing her heartbeat was all I needed!! And now I am in this same parking garage with that same sweet heartbeat talking and babbling away in her carseat! OH MY! God is soo good and you know sometimes LIFE gets so busy that I just forget those simple sweet memories! Sweet memories of driving to a doctor's appointment and being so excited to hear her heartbeat and wondering what she will look like and when will she come and how will it be when she is here. And now one year later she is in her big girl carseat taking off her shoes and eating them!! HA! I am so thankful for little random, out of the blue reminders that God places in our everyday life of his blessings! My mom calls them sweet kisses from our Heavenly Father. So a simple nine month appointment turned into an emotional reminder of God's grace and goodness!

My sweet little heartbeat:)

Birthday party

2011-03-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Vera Kate attended her friend Nate's first birthday party on Saturday!! We had lots of fun helping Nate celebrate!!!

Vera Kate and the birthday boy!

Vera Kate and Anne Marie having fun at the party!

Anne Marie was having too much fun to stop for a pic!!

Nate opening all his presents!

This little one year old LOVED his smash cake!! He had it everywhere!! It was soo cute!!

Vera Kate wanted a bite of daddy's cake!! Only three and a half more months and she will have a cake of her very own!!

A Day at the Zoo!

2011-03-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to be able to spend a day at the zoo with the Blairs!! Too bad it was freezing and cloudy!! But we had a wonderful time and the animals were really out and about! Actually the animals were moving around and showing more action than I have ever seen! We only stayed for about two hours but we enjoyed every minute of it! Sam Blair ABSOLUTELY LOVED the zoo! I cant wait for them to come back and go again!!

The Blair fam heading in to the zoo!

It was sooo cool... this lion actually roared!! It was amazing! I have never heard that before and it was awesome!!!

Anne Marie and Vera Kate chilling out in their strollers!!

Hey Mom!! I love spending time at the zoo with friends:)

Hello Mr. Monkey man! Sam was checking out the monkeys!

Vera Kate and I had a blast with the Blairs! I am so glad they were able to spend the weekend with us! It was super fun!!

Weekend pics!

2011-03-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

We had a most fantastic, fun weekend!! It was really beautiful in Memphis so we enjoyed all of the outside time that we could get!!

On Friday night we went to the new Newks which is right by our house! WHOO HOO! We sat outside and it was so fun!! This is also a night and location that Brian and I will never forget! Vera Kate always gets attention from anyone that is eating around us. So, this particular night this lady and her husband were at the table next to us and were talking and smiling at Vera Kate. We got ready to leave and I said... Vera Kate tell them "Bye, Bye" and she waved bye, bye! OH MY! I wish we could have gotten a picture of mine and Brian's face! She has never done that before! I have been working with her and moving her arm up and down saying... bye, bye... bye,bye. Well just out of the blue to this random couple at Newks she waved bye, bye!! HAHA! So fun! It seriously is moment Brian and I will never forget:) I tested her after we left the restaurant to make sure it wasnt a fluke and she did it again! SO CUTE! Anyways, I didnt really think she was catching on all those times I moved her arm up and down and waved bye, bye! Well... I guess she was:)

Enjoying a Friday night dinner with dad

On Saturday morning we went to Shelby!! Bax was so super pumped! This little guy is LOVING this warm weather. He has been on a walk and to the park almost every night this week:) Karen and Cooper joined us at Shelby!! Cooper had the time of his life!! I know that he will want to go to Shelby every time he comes to Memphis now:)

Vera Kate and Aunt Karen were posing in their super cool shades! They decided to switch so Aunt Karen is sporting Vera Kate's shades! HA:)

We went to Jake's parents house on Saturday night for some basketball watching! Vera Kate was worn out from a busy fun day!

Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful church service and then played outside the rest of the afternoon!

Vera Kate is LOVING the warm weather. This child HATES to have on shoes and socks so she is loving that mom is letting her feet breathe and her toes wiggle more these days:))

I am loving Vera Kate in her little bubbles!! I love those chubby thighs!! HAHA!

Bax's new hairdo!

2011-03-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bax got his Spring haircut today! He looks soo good and I am so thankful that the dog hair in our house is going to slightly diminish!! I know we will still have dog hair but at least it will not be as much!! Anyways, we love our little man and as always he is the best and most fun dog ever!!!

8 months!

2011-03-13T19:16:00.001-07:00

HAPPY 8 MONTHS OLD!!!! Man, the months are flying by!!!!! It really is going sooo fast!! As you can see we are not sitting in our normal "picture chair"! We were at Memaw's on March 9 so we had to improvise with our 8 month photo shoot!! And it was Mardi Gras week and we were on the coast in the heart of it so we had to pose with our beads!!

What's new:

Weight: not sure... we will find out at the end of this month when we go to doc!

Diaper size: 2-3

Clothes: 6 month and 9 month

Bottles: 4 7oz bottles a day

Food: Lots of fun stuff. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Vera Kate has started eating meats and really hasnt had any problems. She LOVES her puffs so I am going to start some finger foods this week. She is getting the hang of using her sippy cup also! She LOVES water!

Sleeping: ALL night and naps at least twice a day with times varying

Still NOT crawling! She is rolling, rolling, rolling but not really acting like she is on the move yet. She will get up on her knees but doesnt go anywhere! Vera Kate has her very own time frame and has since birth:) so we are just waiting for her!!

New development: TWO bottom teeth!!!

Vera Kate has really started laughing and cracking up. She will squint her eyes and throw her head back when she thinks something is funny! IT IS HILARIOUS!! SO ADORABLE!!

This past week she has really started to babble, babble, babble.. I mean I guess this is what you call it. I mean she is really talking.:) Beginning to say dadadadada but doesnt really know that dada is Brian but she is saying it! She is really going to be a talker... hum, wonder where she gets it:)

Vera Kate is very NOSEY... She loves to look around and see what everyone is doing and if you are trying to give her a bottle when there is action going on... well, you can forget it. She has to be looking around and in the action... once again, wonder where she gets this....:)
She is reaching for us and gets teased easily when someone she really isnt familiar with talks to her. She really will go to anyone after she warms up but for some reason she has difficulty going to boys/men. She always sticks that little lip out... weird, but I am not complaining:) HA!
She LOVES to swing and go on walks so we are super, duper excited about Spring! And with the time change dad will get home when it is still day light!! WHOOHOO!!

Once again photo shoot not as easy as earlier months:))

These beads are yummy... yuck! We found these in Fairhope, AL. They were leftover from a Mardi Gras parade.

The sign was the first thing to go! HA!

Memaw got to be a part of our 8 month photo shoot! It was hard to get a good pic... trying to get Memaw, VK, and the sign was impossible! SO this was the best I got!! HAHA!

Last but not least... Vera Kate is in her big girl car seat!!!! YAY!! She is still rear facing! She is still a little small but she likes sitting up more and can see out the window!!

Week of fun at Memaw's!

2011-03-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

Vera Kate and I spent last week in Moss Point with Memaw, my grandmother and Vera Kate's great-grandmother!! We had sooo much fun and we were able to see lots of family!! Annie, Memaw, Vera Kate and I headed down to the coast last Monday! We were able to stop and see some sweet friends and we had dinner with family that night! Then on Tuesday we spent the day with Aunt Kacie and went shopping in Foley!! We wanted to go to the beach just to put our feet in the sand and water but it was windy and Vera Kate fell asleep on the way to the beach so we just rode by and ate TCBY! We will be back in May for some fabulous sun and sand:) When Uncle Stu got home we went to dinner!! It was so fun to hang out with Uncle Stu and Aunt Kacie! On Wednesday, it was really rainy so we hung out inside! Thursday... Annie and I cleaned out Memaw's storage unit! WOW! That was interesting. LOTS of junk! But we got it cleaned up and it looks fabulous! Vera Kate and Memaw hung out inside and played and played!! We were able to eat dinner with cousin Taris and Aunt Alexa! On Friday we headed home and stopped to visit Meme! We waited for Papa John to join us for dinner then we headed to Brookhaven! Saturday, Annie brought Vera Kate and me home!

Of course this was the short version of our week! HA!! We had a blast and loved every minute!!! I am soo glad that we were able to visit Memaw and I will always cherish those moments! Vera Kate LOVED playing with her!

The azeleas(spelling?) were blooming on the coast so we had a little photo op! This is Vera Kate's new laugh and smile! HA:)

Aunt Kacie is sooo fun!

I had to put this photo on here. Notice Mardi... Stu and Kacie's cat! She was keeping a close eye on Vera Kate:)

Playing with Memaw! Vera Kate and Memaw had lots of tea parties and fun times playing on the floor!

Memaw... would you like some more tea??

This girl loves her Annie!!

Sweet picture! Memaw adores Vera Kate! It is so sweet:)

We were very blessed to be able to spend this time with family we dont get to see often! Thanks to Brian and Baxter for living the bachelor life for a week and letting us girls go play!:)

Royally FAMOUS!!

2011-03-04T10:42:00.000-08:00

So my sis-n-law, Karen(Brian's sister), is FAMOUS!! She is going to be on BBC America's special... Royally Mad! We are sooo excited and cant wait to watch it!! I dont really know that much about it and I am super pumped to get to talk to her but... the story goes...

Karen LOVES the royal family. She loved Princess Diana. She kept magazines, newspaper clippings, she taped the funeral and all of the media coverage when the Princess died, and well she just knows it all when it comes to the ROYAL family!

So one of her friends lives in LA and found out about this show that BBC America was doing called Royally Mad. So Karen and her friend who also LOVES the royal family applied and got chosen!! I dont really know what all she did or really anything at this point but I know she flew to London for some filming! HAHA! I think it is just sooooo fun! Vera Kate cant wait to watch Aunt Karen on TV! The show airs April 12, I think. But I will keep you posted! Anyways, for further information and a little sneak peek at Karen's audition video click the link: http://blogs.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2011/03/03/meet-the-cast-of-bbc-americas-royally-mad-hosted-by-cat-deeley/

Brian and I always joke that we are so glad that his sister and my brother keep our families interesting!! HAHA! Brian and I are pretty much not very entertaining nor our lives very interesting! However, our siblings... well, they have it going on! Who knows where they and their spouses will end up one day!! HAHA! We love them and always love to take part in their adventures:))
Vera Kate is very BLESSED to have two super COOL aunts and two super COOL uncles!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears... OH MY!!!

2011-03-03T19:03:00.001-08:00

Vera Kate and I had a blast at the zoo today!! Another hidden gem here in Memphis!! I am sooo glad we went on this beautiful day! IT WAS FABULOUS!! And gorgeous:) Anyways, we purchased a zoo membership today so we are going to go lots and lots!! The zoo membership was a little happy early 8 month birthday to Vera Kate :)

We met up with Paislee and Kristen!! I am so glad we have these wonderful friends:) Paislee and Vera Kate are 5 days apart!!

There was WAY too much action going on for Vera Kate to even think of looking at the camera! HA!

Hello Mr. Ape!

Enjoying a mum mum during our snack break!

Once again not looking at camera... Giraffes are way much more important and cool than a pic with mom:)

Elephants!

Cat-nap!!

Mr. Grizzlie Bear taking a little dip!

Vera Kate with her friends Ellie Kate and Paislee!

We really did have a blast today! I cant wait until Brian can go with us! I know he will love it! Of course Vera Kate didnt really know the animals were there but she enjoyed being outside and all of the action going on! I am so excited about our ZOO membership and I feel like it will be used often:)

Just a few...

2011-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

Pics from the weekend!

Did a little swinging!

Tried on our sunglasses! We are getting ready for the beach! YAY! Booked our condo this week!! WHOO HOO!

Had an allergic reaction to something... dont know what? I am thinking she got something on her hand while we were outside and rubbed her face and eyes. If you look closely you will see Vera Kate's eye is red and puffy and around her lips she has a little red rash:( We dont know what it was. It is kinda going away but if it is still around tomorrow we will be going to the doc.

And just had a good, smiley time!!!

Love me some Consignments!!

2011-02-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

So I went to my favorite consignment sale in Memphis tonight!!! Sweet Repeats Memphis!! It is such a fabulous consignment!! I got Vera Kate lots of cute smocked dresses and bubbles:) Anyways, I found this little fun toy! I usually dont buy toys at the sales but this one was only 8 dollars and I had a weak moment! She needed it!! HAHA!!

She LOVES it!!!

What a FAB weekend!!

2011-02-21T09:01:00.001-08:00

We have had a fabulous, fun weekend!! And it still isnt over... well the weekend is over but dad is still home!! Thanks to President's day!! We have been busy playing, enjoying the outdoors, and getting things around the house organized and put up! So it has been fun and productive!! We kicked off our fun weekend with dinner Friday night with Ben, Lauren, and Nate!

On Saturday we played for a little bit! Brian and Vera Kate had a tea party!!

After the tea party, we took dinner to friends and then we went to Best Buy to look at cameras! I have been wanting a really nice camera that will take "fast" pictures. I feel like with my old camera I couldnt get Vera Kate's smiles and expressions because it took the camera too long. I have been talking to Brian about it and he decided it would be a great investment for our little family! So we got one!! I LOVE IT!! Thank you Brian!!! YOU ARE THE BOMB!!!!

After getting our camera, we headed to Shelby farms! Bax was beside himself! The poor little guy has been cooped up all winter and even before that. He has been very patient and well he deserved a trip to Shelby!!!

Bax was sooo pumped!! He COULD NOT wait!!! Once he figured out where we were going he whined and went crazy until time to park and get out! He is hilarious:)!

SWIMMING! It was so funny... Brian threw him a stick like normal and Bax went in to fetch it. Well he kept swimming and swimming... past the stick and kept going. We feel like he was just so excited he didnt want to stop so he swam to the other side and back! HAHA!

Baxter was showing Vera Kate the ropes and introducing her to his "Disney World" aka Shelby farms!! It was her first experience at Shelby!
Thanks Laura and Brandon! We have been getting lots of use out of the jogging stroller!

Bax the tour guide was in charge:)

So the next couple of pics are with my new camera. I didnt get to use it at Shelby because it needed to charge:)

One of the main reasons I wanted this camera!! I can now catch all of Vera Kate's faces!! Dont really know what this face means but it is cute!

Please excuse her messy face! She was trying to eat Puffs and well they went everywhere! She had them all over! Anyways, if look closely you can see our teeth!! Yay!!! Two little bottom teeth popped through last Tuesday!!! I knew she was teething because she was fussy and not sleeping or eating her bottle well. Tuesday morning I was putting her in her carseat and noticed two little teeth popping through!! YAY!! Such a big girl!

Just playing with our new camera!

On Sunday after church we went to the park near our house! We played, walked, did some swinging and went down the slide! We really are blessed to have a great park near our house!

Hanging with dad! It was really windy yesterday!

I am so thankful ShaSha (Mrs. Sharon) gave us this hat!! It is soo good to be able to just throw it on to protect her ears!! And it is very cute!

Baxter and Brian had a little photo shoot playing with the camera! Ha! Bax had been chasing sticks so he was tired therefore his tonge was hanging WAY out!

Fun times at Children's Museum!

2011-02-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

Some of the girls and kiddos from our Hope first-time moms group went to the Children's museum today! It was super neat! We had a fun time strolling the babes around and letting them play in the different areas!! The Children's museum is a definite hidden gem that we really did not know much about until today! I must say that it is fabulous and I see many more trips there in our future!!!
They have a "grocery store" that the kids can go shopping and then scan the items they bought! I secretly wanted to play in there myself:) Cant wait until Vera Kate is old enough and we will play lots in the Kroger!!

Hanging with friends on the fire truck!

Playtime

Sally, Vera Kate, Brooke, Beckam, Ashley, Ava, Nikki, and Preston!

She loved this little thing... hmmm... I see owning one of these in our future!

Vera Kate pretending to be the "Oz" from the Wizard of OZ!

Hanging out in the disco room!! There was a disco ball and loud rocking music! The music was Bye, Bye, Bye by NSYNC!!! HA!

Not real sure what to think of the lights and music! HA! I hope she doesnt get her mommy and daddy's dancing jeans!!

Such a fun time!!