Ticker Change Saturday - Merry Christmas!

Happy Sunday, ladies! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Kevin and I had a great time with our families. Saturday morning we woke up to five inches of snow at my parents' house. I was so excited! We were all so excited to see how Emma acted once she woke up and saw her presents from Santa! She didn't disappoint. The look on her face and the way her little eyes lit up was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Santa brought her a Barbie Jeep and when she saw it she went "oooooooohhhh" and just circled around it. She ended up opening all of her gifts while sitting in it! haha! Kevin and I got her a keyboard that looks like a cat and makes all kinds of noise. She absolutely loved the thing and wouldn't part with it during the day. My family told me I'd be getting paid back next year! ;)

On Christmas Day, I hit the 12 week mark. Just one week and three days left of 1st Trimester! I know anything can happen at any point, but if/when we make it to 13 weeks and 4 days, I will be so relieved.

According to Parents Connect, this week the bebes eyes and ears will move into place, making them look "more human". Their finger and toe nails are forming and they can now swallow. They have now doubled in size and are the length of your pinky finger. And by The Bump's ticker, they are the size of plums.

Here is a picture of what the bebes look like this week:

12 Weeks Pregnant

And for your viewing pleasure:


December 11, 2010 - 10 Weeks


December 25, 2010 - 12 Weeks

Now, I'm off to relax before bedtime! I hope you ladies are having a wonderful Sunday!

My whole world, so far!

It is no secret that I am head over in heels in love and just absolutely adore my baby sister's 16 month old daughter. I talk about her non-stop and I always have a picture to show off. She's just something else, that's for sure. I've thought she was gorgeous from the very first moment I laid my eyes on her the night she was born, but this little girl truly is beautiful! No matter where she is, she gets so many compliments. People are always telling Whitney she needs to be put in some type of baby contest. On top of being beautiful, the child has such a big personality! It's almost daily that I get a phone call from her! She'll scream "TeeTee" into the phone and just start jibber jabbering! She tells me about her whole day and just laughs. My family says she knows my ringtone and as soon as she hears yet, she screams "TeeTee". I love it! She "talks" to anyone who will listen and never meets a stranger. This weekend, my whole family came down for a visit and we went to a local steakhouse. Emma is at the point to where she wants to walk every where and not be carried. So, as we were walking from the bathroom to our table, she was strutting her stuff! It was hilarious! She waved at every table she passed and when they'd wave back, she'd clap and laugh so loud! One man said "Now, that's Christmas spirit right there!" It makes me such a proud auntie to know that everywhere she goes, people just fall in love with her. I never imagined I could love something as much as I do this little girl, until we found out we were pregnant. I can't imagine the love I'll feel when my babies get here. It's amazing how much a heart can hold!

I also want to talk about our other nieces and nephews! I have two older sisters, who I talk about in this post. Between the two of them I have a 16 year old  and 4 year old niece, as well as a 13 year old and a 2 year old nephew. I've yet to meet any of them, but I love them like crazy! I talk to the two oldest ones quite a bit and they definitely make me feel old! haha! Kevin's sister also has two children, a 5 year old girl and a 2 year old son. They're hilarious and just so sweet!

It makes my heart happy that my babies are already starting out with so many cousins! All of my sisters are done having children and so is Kevin's sister, so it seems like our children will be the babies. I see this as a blessing and a curse! haha!

What about you ladies? Any other lucky aunties out there?

If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor. - E.R

Happy Sunday, lovlies! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. It seems they go way too fast these days!

Friday was a big day for me. First, and most importantly, it was little Miss Emma Jade's first birthday! I can't believe my little niece is a year old. It just seems like yesterday my sister was giving us the good news! I had some things I needed to get done, so it seemed fitting to take the whole day off. After I finished my errands, I headed back to my hometown to spend the day with her. She slept the whole day away. It's hard being the birthday girl! Her party went great! It made me happy to see that so many people love her!

Now, on to some big, exciting news! Friday morning I met with one of my professors from my Master's program. There is a Women's Studies course that I'm very interested in taking, but it doesn't really help me out in the long run. So, the program director mentioned me taking an Independent Study course on the FDR years. Those of you who know me, should know how excited this made me. WWII is one of my favorite eras in History and FDR is a very interesting person to study! So, I met with the professor and he decided to make my topic Eleanor Roosevelt. At first, I felt a flicker of disappointment. I love ER, and I love all that she stood for, but I wanted to study FDR. However, the more we talked, the more excited I became. Unfortunately, with that excitement came a huge case of anxiety. I've never taken an independent study course and I'm not really sure how well I'll do with the lack of a set schedule. He told me that I'm to make my own Bibliography for the course and I just about lost it. I know this is something I shouldn't be nervous over, but OMG, really? It isn't that I can't find my own books, but it's the fear that my books won't be good enough...that my professor will think I'm not cut out for this...that I'm just going fail at this completely. And to add to my anxiety? He also informed me that if my paper is good enough (which he expects it to be, his words), that I will present it at the Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference this Spring. He also wants me to come present the paper to the regular class one day this Fall. No pressure, right?? As someone who longs to be a teacher, I should be able to present something like this with no problems. However, my peers make me so nervous. I can speak in front of students in high school with no problem. I fear I will pronounce something wrong, get my facts mixed up and, once again, be looked at as someone who cannot do this. It's enough to make me want to back out of this before I even get started.

I'm sure as the semester goes on, you guys will hear me complain about this, but I also hope to share my findings with you. I hope it doesn't bore you! Now, I will leave you with two pictures of Emma. One from the day after she was born and one from her One Year Pictures that an awesome local photographer took. Enjoy!

One day old, but I already loved her so much!

I may be a bit biased, but is she not the most precious thing you've ever seen?

Never too young for pearls!

Hello, Monday!

Good morning y'all! How was your weekend?

My weekend didn't consist of much. Saturday the hubby and I went out and about to run some errands and then later that night I went home to my parents' house for a bit. Mom, Whit, Emma and I just had the best time. Mom doesn't like to get out much, but she actually went out with us that night. We went by to see Pops and ran around Wal-Mart for a bit. It was 11:00 when we got home that night, but Whit and I were craving taco salads. So, what does my mom do? She makes us taco salads at 11:00. Whit and I were shocked, but we loved it! It was one of the best nights I've had in such a long time. I've decided that no matter how old I get, I will always love being babied by mom. A co-worker and I were talking about this the other day. She's exactly five years older than I am (go Birthday Twins!) and she got sick at work. So, her mom came to get her. We laughed about it because both of us still want our moms when we get sick. I also got some quality time in with Emma, who is growing so fast. Friday is her first birthday and I just can't believe it. Whit is having her a party at a local park and I'm excited to see how she does with her birthday cake! I will definitely update about that this weekend.

I've become obsessed with reading Emily Giffin books. I'm currently on her fourth one, Love The One You're With, and I love it. Her first two books, Something Borrowed and Something Blue were really good, as well! I skipped the third, Baby Proof, but I plan on going back to it this week. Are you guys reading anything good? Any suggestions for me once I finish Emily Giffin? I highly recommend reading her books, if you're looking for something to read!

Well, that's all for now! I hope you ladies have an awesome Monday!

Excitement!

Hey ladies!

I apologize, once again, for my lack of updating. Do you ever just get in a funk where you don't want to write anything? Many times I've brought up the template to type something, but I end up closing out of it. I still log in to read what's going on your lives, whether I comment or not!

Not much has been going on with me, aside from Pampered Chef. I've been working hard on it, just getting organized. I've only had one party and one catalog order. It's all overwhelming, but exciting at the same time! My first thirty days will be up on June 1st and, as of right now, I'm the top seller in my cluster! I was really excited about that. They set three goals for you to achieve in your first 30 and 90 days. So far, I've reached one and I'm on my way to another (if all goes well). The third I won't get because I choose not to. If you recruit someone to sell underneath you, you receive what they call PC Bucks. I just feel that while I'm still learning, I shouldn't be teaching someone else. Does that make sense? I'm pretty excited about the goals I have reached though. I will earn anywhere from $400-$500 in free products. I have no clue where I will keep them! I have set up a "fan page" on Facebook and it already has 74 fans! I was pretty excited to see that. Hopefully, that'll help me get some bookings!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend! I love Memorial Day! I come from a family of veterans, so this weekend and Veterans Day are always special days to me. Plus, it's the first weekend my parents have their pool open! We're all very excited about putting Miss Emma in the pool for the first time. My mom tells us we shouldn't because she could drown, but we all just tell her that it isn't like we're going to let go off her or anything! Now that it's getting closer, I'm worried about it, too! haha! She should be sight to see in the water though!

Do you ladies have anything fun planned??

My Best Friends: My Baby Sister

My baby sister, Whitney, is one of the people that I love the most in the world. I do believe if anything ever happened to her, I would have to be locked away somewhere. I'm just not sure that is something I could ever handle. She is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Mom and I often talk about how no matter what she wears or how she fixes her hair, she's beautiful! Her make up is always perfect and her hair always just falls into perfect place.

Me & Whit @ her high school graduation in 2006.

However, we weren't always so close! We were the textbook example of the phrase "sibling rivalry". We couldn't be in the same room with one another without being at one another's throats. I always look back at those times and wish we could've been those sisters that shared everything without any problem and always went to one another if something was wrong. I'm really glad that we're like that now though!

Me & Whit when I graduated college in 2008. Dad told us to be our true selves! :)

In August 2009, she gave me the greatest present ever: Little Miss Emma Jade. Whit is a wonderful, wonderful mother. She works full time, goes to school full time and still manages to keep up with her housework (her hubby is one of those guys who think the women should do everything!). There have been times I'm talking to her at 10:30 at night and she's just starting laundry and cleaning the house because she's had school, work and had to put Emma to sleep. I can only hope that when I have children, I will be just as good of a mother as she is! :)

Me, Whit and Emma (in her Halloween Costume) at my household shower! :)

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That!

I really don't have anything specific to update about, I just wanted to update.

First, I was out of creamer for my coffee at work, so I went to get some yesterday. I decided to get the chocolate flavored one. I mean, how could you go wrong? Coffee AND chocolate? I tried it this morning and I'm hooked. It's 60 calories for four tablespoons, but I only used a little more than one. I couldn't imagine using four tablespoons of regular creamer, let alone chocolate!

Second, more baby talk! :) One of my nearest and dearest friends and his wife are expecting their first child together! I'm so happy for CJ and Kristy! They were married a few weeks before we were, so this was quite a shock to me! Kristy has an 8-year old daughter, so I know she's a great mom! I just know CJ will be a great father. He's one of the nicest, funniest, just all around great people I know. This child is definitely blessed!

And as far as baby talk goes, concerning me? I started taking a prenatal vitamin! :) My doctor told me in October that I should start taking them, so I've had them for a few months. I was afraid to take them. I hate feeling sick, so I kept putting it off. So far, so good. No sickness! :) Friday was a long day here at work, so I browsed baby sites all day long. I picked out furniture and bedding! Haha! All I need is the baby now! I can't wait!

Third, Little Miss Emma Jade is 8 months old today! She's growing so fast! Friday she said her first word: "da da". Now that she's got that out of the way, I'm gonna start teaching her "TeeTee". haha! Whit said she also said "uh oh" when she dropped her toy. She hasn't started crawling or anything yet. She hates to lay on her stomach, so that's hindering her when it comes to crawling. Maybe she'll be one of those babies that skips crawling and goes straight to walking!

Finally, I'm definitely feeling a lot better about the whole not having a teaching job thing. I was feeling sorry for myself and it was just getting out of hand. I talked to a friend of mine who is in the same exact boat I am. She and I have been friends since 6th grade and went all the way through college together. We're both certified to be History teachers, but neither of us can get a job. After talking to her, I definitely feel a bit better. But, hopefully something will change soon.

Well, that's all for today! Its nice and sunny here today...hope you're having great weather wherever you are! :)

Freshly Cut Grass

Today, while on my lunch break, I drove by the city workers who were mowing the grass. I knew what they were doing before I even got near them because I could smell the freshly cut grass. Its totally cliche to say I love that smell, but I do.

Once again, I instantly thought of my mamaw and the summer days my sister, my cousin Aaron and I would spend at her house while our parents worked. Her house is on a small slope and the yard is at the bottom of that slope. So, we call the yard "the bottom". Pretty clever, huh? We'd play in "the bottom" for hours. We'd roll around until we were covered in dirt and grass stains, but it was always so much fun! And I loved the smell of the grass as my Uncle Jackie mowed while we were out there.

Her house is back in the woods, so there are a ton of trees everywhere! Behind the house is a hill that has three huge apple trees. We didn't spend much time under them because of snakes, but we loved laying underneath those trees! I can remember riding on the riding lawn mower with my older cousin Kevin under those trees. Mamaw was so upset he took us on that thing! Then there was peach tree beside her house and two chestnut trees that stood between her house and the bottom. I hated when those stupid chestnuts fell onto the ground. I can't think of how many times I was running barefoot and stepped on them. Those thorny things hurt! If you aren't sure what I'm talking about google it, you'll see why! haha! She also had a snowball tree that was absolutely gorgeous. I loved playing with the petals when they fell to the ground. They were so soft!

When I was nine, my parents cleared off some land next to mamaw's. I loved living next to her! And what makes it even more special, is now my (future) children and Emma will get to play in the same yard I have so many memories in while playing at their mamaw and papaw's.

You Are My Sunshine #2

Emma Jade is 6 months old today!

I thought I'd share my current favorite picture of her.

As my dad likes to say, she's the "cat's pajamas"! 

We all love you so much, Emma! :)

God's Little Miracles

Wednesday evening around 7:00, one of my closest and sweetest friends had her first baby. My "honorary niece", Alyssa, was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 18.5 inches long (I'm not 100% sure about how long she was). And she is absolutely precious. I went to the hospital last night to see her and I just could not get over her. She is so beautiful and a good mix between her mommy & daddy. Although she looks a bit more like her daddy! She's so tiny! I felt like I was going to break her. I do believe she's the smallest thing I've ever laid my eyes on. Any newborn I've ever been around was at least a pound or two heavier than she is! Except for my friend's daughter, Tanzi. She was also 6 lbs, 9 oz but I don't remember her being that tiny!

It made me all the more excited for when Kevin and I start trying to have a baby. We've always said we want four! haha! Being a mother is the one thing in life that I've always wanted the most. I can't wait to experience all the emotions, good and bad, that come with being pregnant. Or feeling my baby kick my belly because he/she can't seem to get comfortable. Or have them kick their daddy in the back like I used to my daddy!

Last night, looking at Alyssa, and watching Emma as well, I couldn't help but think babies truly are little miracles! Just everything about them is so special. I don't see how anyone could ever be mean to or physically harm them!

In others news, its Friday, which means our area is under a Winter Weather Advisory. Spring, where are you?! This seems to be a pattern the last month or two. I don't think we'll get anything big this time. Its on a different path and will probably hit our friends in Northern Va. They're calling for 20+ inches where one of my friends live. I just hope they don't lose power and stay safe!

Sunday's the Super Bowl and we're heading to The Cobbs, weather permitting, to watch it. Kevin and I are pulling for the Colts. What about you guys?

I hope you all have a safe and fun Super Bowl weekend!

Happy MLK, Jr Day! :)

This three day weekend has flown by! And I slept practically this whole day away. Its beautiful out, too! But, I haven't been out yet, so I don't know exactly how warm it is.

And, braces yourselves, but this snow-cold-weather-loving girl is ready for Spring! I'm over the cold and I'm definitely over the snow. I'm ready for sun, tank tops and flip flops! Plus, hopefully, I will have lost 40 pounds by then! Hellooooo, bikini! :)

Whit let me keep Emma Saturday evening and take her to a b-day party. Well, it didn't go so well. Poor Emma is teething and she had a crazy belly ache. She cried, literally, the whole evening. It broke my heart b/c no matter what I did for her, it didn't help. I ended up crying just as much as she did! haha! She was absolutely pitiful. She fell asleep twice, for about fifteen minutes each, and thru both naps, she kept sighing and trying to catch her breath. I do believe she's feeling much better today! :)

Everyone enjoy the rest of their day! :)

You Are My Sunshine

Friday is finally here! I never thought it would get here. I've realized that I am just flat out homesick. Not living at home with my parents homesick, but I hate being an hour away from them, my sister and my little niece. They send me pics of Emma everday, but I still feel like I'm missing out. My little niece is my favorite person (aside from Kevin, of course) in the whole world and she always puts a smile on my face. In the  four short months she's been here, she's wrapped everyone in our family around her little fingers. Including Uncle Kevin. And, she sure does love her papaw. Dad babysits her while Whitney & Nathan work, so he's around her more than any of us. When dad walks into the room, as soon as Emma sees him, her little eyes light up!

I never imagined I could love something so much, so quickly. Before Emma was born, I loved her so much I couldn't stand it. She was the joy our little family needed. Whit had been pregnant once and lost it. We were all devastated. But, a month later, God decided to grace Whitney and Nathan with a positive pregnancy test! She told us all on Christmas through a letter from "baby Carpenter". Kevin said it must be a smart baby if it could already type! He's a nut.  Dad knew it was a boy. He just knew. He has only ever had daughters, so he knew it was his turn to have a boy in the family. But, the day we found out Emma was a girl, well, he was instantly won over.

I can't believe she's here. The night she was born, I cried and cried. I couldn't even speak. She was so beautiful. For the first few weeks, everytime I saw her, I'd cry. I was just so happy she was here! I'm looking forward to watching her grow and learn new things. I can't wait to tell her all kinds of mean things on her mommy and give her lots of candy, just to send her home to her mommy. haha! I worry about her when she's sick. One night she stayed w/ me, and the whole night I was awake because I was afraid she'd get under the covers somehow. I worry what life will be like for her once she's older. And the thought of anything happening to her absolutely scares me to death. Its so overwhelming! I just can't imagine how I'll feel once I have my own!

I mean, how could you not love this little face?

Ready to go to Mamaw and Papaw's!

This really made me laugh. The doctor told her to put Emma on her belly more. So, she did.