Memorial Day Fun!

We spent the day yesterday at my parents house to celebrate Memorial Day. We did a little bit of everything while we were there. We played, ate, visited some farm animals, and even fished! It was a great day!!! Below are some pictures...

My mom pulled out some old toys of mine for Myla to play with. She liked sitting in this push toy. Mimi pushed her all over the house in it.

Don't you love how I wrote my name on it when I was younger??

Myla wasn't so sure about the rocking horse!

Mimi read me lots of books, and she even bought me some new ones. Thanks, Mimi!!

Myla wanted NOTHING to do with these hats...

but it didn't keep us from trying to get them on her!

Myla was so excited to see Henry. She kept giving him hugs!!

Peyton and Henry fishing...

Henry reeling one in...

Good catch, Henry!!

I can't post on Memorial Day without taking a moment to thank all of the brave men and women who have given their lives to protect our country. I am so thankful to live in America, and I never want to take for granted the great sacrifice so many have made to give us freedom. Thank you to military families for your strength and sacrifice as well.

God Bless America!

Dinner With Friends...and Pets...

Tonight a couple friend of ours graciously invited us over for dinner, and man was it delicious! Thanks Jamie and HeatherLea for your hospitality. Myla had lots of fun playing with one of their dogs, Gent. Their female, Lady, just delivered 10 puppies, so she was out of commission tonight while she tended to her little ones.

Below is a conversation between Myla and Gent...Myla tried her best to get him to play with her toys...

Myla: "I am going to get all my toys out and find the perfect one for Gent."

Myla: "Okay, Gent, so here are my toys that my mom brought over. Let's see if we can find one you like..."

Myla: "What about one of my stackable stars? No? Okay, let's move on."

Myla: "What about this little lion that used to hang down from my carseat? Okay, still not good for you..."

Myla: "Surely you will like this little thing that winds up and plays music!! Alright...you are hard to please Mr. Gent."

Gent: "Poor child, she has some boring toys. I can't believe that she has to play with these all day. I need something that tastes like steak or something that I can chew on."

Myla and Gent: "Enough of trying to work this out...We will agree to disagree."

Thanks again, y'all, for the great dinner and fellowship!!!

Please Pray for the Chapman Family...

The family of Stephen Curtis Chapman has been on mind and heart so much today as soon as I heard about the tragic loss of their five year old daughter, Maria. I'm sure many of you have heard of Stephen Curtis Chapman, the multi-award winning contemporary Christian singer/songwriter. Obviously I don't know this family personally, but a tragedy like this crosses boundaries of "knowing" someone personally and being connected with them through Christ. Please pray for comfort for the family. Only God can provide what this family needs right now. For more details, you can simply do a Google search for Stephen Curtis Chapman.

Below are the lyrics to Stephen Curtis Chapman's new song, Cinderella. I bawl every single time I hear it. Now knowing that he has lost a daughter gives it a whole new perspective. He also has an older daughter who just got engaged, so that even gives it a whole deeper meaning. This song is on my playlist at the bottom of the page. Please listen to it if you have never heard it.....and have your Kleenex handy.

Cinderella

She spins and she sways

To whatever song plays

Without a care in the world

And I'm sitting here wearing

The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day

And there's still work to do

She's pulling at me

Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle

And I've been invited

And I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed

She wants to know if I approve of the dress

She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away

And I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand

Just glowing and telling us all they had planned

She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away

But I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone

She's Growing Up So Fast...

WOW! How time is flying!! It seems like this week Myla is doing so many new things! It is so fun to watch her "grow up" and change so quickly! Here are a few of her adventures this week...

At play group on Tuesday Laurel brought cupcakes for her little girl, Pharis', birthday. Saying that Myla loved cupcake icing is an understatement. She attacked the thing and wouldn't stop! When I wouldn't give her anymore, she found the box they were in and starting beating on the top of it. So, needless to say, I think the girl is going to like sweets!!!

We went to visit our friend Mitzi and her little girl Mia Grace today. Mia is such a beautiful baby!! I was so glad to get to see her and Mitzi, who by the way, looks GREAT!! She is making this motherhood thing look effortless. I remember people saying when they came to visit Myla when she was born that they couldn't remember their children being that small. Now, I can relate...I cannot believe how tiny Mia is, and she weighed more than Myla at birth! Myla looks like a monster next to her!! Thanks for letting us come to visit...we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Yes, we did it...we turned Myla forward in the car. I know that it is a little soon, but she hated her carrier. First of all, she was busting out of it and she did not like being turned around where she could not see us in the front. She definitely prefers sitting forward where she can be in the action! Thank you to a precious couple in our church that GAVE us this car seat...what a BLESSING!! God is so good in his perfect provisions for us.

These last two pictures show Myla playing with her now seatless exersaucer. The beauty of this exersaucer is that the seat comes off and she can play with it as an activity table. She loves to pull up on it and thinks she now has a new toy. Once she learned to move that seat around and around, the toys were of no concern to her...she just wanted to move, SO now she is "rediscovering" the toys. Thanks again to Amanda and Brandon for this great gift!!!

Lots to Post...

Weekend to Remember...

As I mentioned in my last post, Michael and I went to Birmingham to attend a marriage enrichment conference called "Weekend to Remember". We had a wonderful time at the conference as well as spending time with our friends, Brian and Susan Fortenberry, Brandon and Amanda Beckett, and Joseph and Mechelle Parker. God has richly blessed us with wonderful Christian couple friends. We had SO much fun with them, especially playing games on Saturday night. Michael said his cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much. Thanks guys...we had a ball!! "Yankee go house!"

The conference was so great for Michael and me, and for me, it came at just the right time. It was definitely time for a break for me from stay at home mom responsibilities! I was able to renew my mind and energy as well as spend quality time with Michael! I would highly recommend the weekend to remember for any couple that is looking to enrich their marriage! It is a Christian based conference that simply helps you to re-learn that our spouses are God's provision and gift for us. In the day to day mundane things of life, it can be easy to loose sight of that, but I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband that loves God, loves me, loves our family and provides for us. Unfortunately, I did not take one picture all weekend, which is completely unlike me! But, take my word for it...we had a great time!!!

Needless to say, Myla had a great weekend spending time with her grandparents!!! Michael's mom and sister took care of her on Friday, and from all accounts they had a WONDERFUL time! From what I hear, they played and played and played some more. Thank y'all so much for taking care of her! My mom and Frank kept her the rest of the time. They spent the day in Tupelo visiting family and cooking out. Myla did fine considering she got plenty of attention and love!!

New Shoes....

While my mom and Frank had Myla in Tupelo, they visitied the Corner Shoe Store and got Myla two new pairs of shoes!!! My mom said she was so funny when they put the shoes on her. She said it was like she knew she had something new on as she kicked and kicked her new shoes! Myla says "THANKS!" to Mimi and Bodie for her new kicks!!! Pictures of this are at the top because I couldn't get them at the bottom!

As for Myla these days, she is ALL over the place and getting into everthing!!! She is so funny and curious! She makes me laugh everyday, and I am so thankful for each smile and laugh!

Ode to Oskie...

As I have mentioned before, Myla and Oskie have always been best buddies here around the house. Well, I guess in honor of him, she decided that her first "real" word would be Oskie. Yes, she says it all the time, and believe it or not generally uses it in context. For instance, we will ask her where Oskie is, and she will go to the backdoor, pull back the shade and say "Okkie" over and over. She doesn't use the "s" sound. She started saying it on Friday and hasn't stopped! I had to put some pictures in honor of Oskie since he is the special one that Myla has spoken of! Don't get me wrong...Myla has been babbling da da, ma ma, ba ba, etc. for a couple of months, but this is, I think, her first real word. I will try to get it on video when I get some batteries on my camera.

We really haven't had much going on lately, but we have a busy weekend ahead. Michael and I are headed to Birmingham to a Weekend to Remember marriage conference. We are meeting 3 couple friends of ours, so we are SO excited about it. My parents are keeping Myla here at our house, so be in prayer for them that things would go smoothly!!!

New Designs on Sign of Life Blog

Check out the new designs on the Signs of Life blog....just posted some tonight!

1-800-POISON CONTROL

Well, today we experienced a first. I made my first call to Poison Control. Yes, you heard it right...poison control! On the way home from town, Myla, was getting very fussy. I keep a stash of toys in the front seat so I can hand them back to her and try to occupy her for at least a few seconds. (Note: She no longer likes to be in her carseat unless she is sleepy) Well, I had run out of toys, and the only thing I had left was her sunscreen bottle. She has chewed on it before with no problems, so we were about 1 mile from home, so I thought, what could it hurt? Well, she got really quiet, which is sometimes not a good sign, and when I looked back I saw little fingers covered in sunscreen. I very quickly pulled off the road on the shoulder, got in the back seat with baby wipes and wiped her down as quickly as I could. I did notice that her tongue had some white on it, so I knew she had gotten some in her mouth....of course. I called the pediatrician and then poison control. They told me that I probably had nothing to worry about, but just to make sure she didn't act out of the ordinary.

Note to self and lesson learned.....don't give my child a bottle to chew on that contains potentially hazardous materials!!! I know I should know that already, but sometimes I'm desperate!

Weekend Recap...

This weekend ended up pretty well considering Friday was a very tough day! Myla is definitely teething, and she was not our normally happy girl on Friday. However, Friday morning she was enjoying her new found freedom of crawling, and she crawled right over to the open window. I guess to get a better look outside, she decided to pull up on the window seal. I can't believe all of these new things she is doing! It is fun to watch. After I had looked away for a minute, I turned back and found her like this.

As I mentioned above, Myla is working on some teeth. These next pictures were during her worse moments on Friday. I feel bad taking pictures of her while she is in pain, but I had to document the moment. This is just to show those who believe otherwise, she is NOT happy ALL of the time. I guess I have to take the good moments with the bad!!! Pray for these teeth to break through!!

Saturday, we had our church directory pictures made. Myla did really well!! The photographer was very complimentary on how well she smiled for the camera. I told him she was used to it considering we have almost 700 pictures of her on our computer. Here are a few that they took. The first one is the one that will be in the directory, I think...they all look alike to me, but I think this is the one.

Myla is a very independent eater, and does not like for us to feed her baby food anymore....that is a whole other story, but Sunday I bought her some Biter Biscuits. As you can see by the pictures below, she thoroughly enjoyed it. She chewed on that thing for at least 20 minutes. Thank goodness that when she finished, it was bathtime. I could not find my camera at the moment, so I had to walk next door and get my sweet neighbors, Susan and Ethan, to take a picture for me. The moment was too funny not to capture on camera. I have since found my camera, thank goodness!




Well, that is our weekend recap. I hope everyone had a great weekend and has a great week ahead!!!

9 Month Check-Up & Other Exciting Things

Myla is really finding her way around these days. It seems like as soon as she learned to crawl, she took off and hasn't stopped yet!! She is finding new things to do, such as look out at Oskie and Tanner through the back door and climb up in the end table after she pulls all of her books out. She got really quiet the other day when I was painting in the dining room, so I came into the den and didn't see her, I continued to her room, the guest room, guest bath, back through the kitchen and into my room, and she was NOWHERE to be found. I began to panic, but I came back into the den and saw her in the end table. She was not making a peep, just sitting there. I figured this was just my first of many times that she will get herself in crazy places and make me laugh!!

We went for Myla's nine month check up today, and Dr. Molly said she looks great!!! Praise the Lord! I am SO thankful for a healthy baby! She weighs 18 lbs 3 oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. For weight and head she is in the 25 to 50th percentile and for height, she is in the 95th percentile...go figure. My friend said that she is "tall and skinny"! They did have to prick her finger to check her iron (which turned out to be perfectly normal), but the pricking was a bit traumatizing for Myla until Nurse Lindy put the Tweety Bird bandaid on her little finger. That provided great entertainment for the next several minutes. I hated that I didnt' have my camera to document the situation. She shook her hand trying to get it off, then she would, of course, put in her mouth and try to bite it off. It was quite funny!

Michael and I love watching Myla grow and change on what seems like is on a weekly basis now! We sometimes look at her and still can't believe that she is our little girl. How great is our God!