She never stops......

Wordless Wednesday...

THANK YOU!!

I am so thankful for my husband,who served a year in the Persian Gulf, and 2 brother in laws who served 2 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan!! I am thankful to have them home!! Thank you all for you sacrifices so that we may have a better life!

Our little Souvenir...

Looks like we have ourselves a permanent souvenir from our visit down to see Jacob in Mississippi! I must say that we were shocked when we found out we were going to have another baby but not surprised! We are sooo excited!! We honestly knew it could happened but really didn't think it would. We tried so long for LA before we finally got pregnant with her we figured the same thing would happen this time...But we were wrong! I had noticed that my sense of smell was off the charts and was starting to get really tired and I thought to myself...(Self you better take a test just to make sure your not pregnant because you have a Christmas party to go to next weekend and you will be having a few cocktails)..So Emily and I went to Wal-Mart to do some shopping after LA went to bed and I had mentioned it to her on the way. She was soo excited and I told her "Emily I really doubt I am but I want to make sure" and she kept saying "Erin you are soo pregnant" and I kept telling her no!! LOL!! We came back to my parents house and I snuck in the bathroom with the test. I didn't want my Mom to know what I was doing because I didn't want to get any hoped up! So I peed away on the little stick and it came back negative right away but the instructions said to wait 3 minutes for the result.. So I waited and then looked back down and the minus sign had turned into a plus sign.. I about fell off the toilet...LOL!! When I came out Emily looked at me and started crying and my Mom asked what was wrong.. And I said "uummm Looks like we have a little souvenir from Mississippi!" Then she stared crying while I still stood in shock!! HAHAHA!! We had decided to just tell family until LA got her pictures taken the next week!! Next step was to tell Jacob...

It was so hard when I found out because Jacob was underway and the only communication we had was email. I couldn't wait for another week when I talked to him to tell him. He had been on me about emailing him pictures of me and LA so I sent him this email:

Hey babe I'm so glad that you got your email to work finally!! We have had a really good weekend.. Friday night stayed home as I have been working endlessly on LA's stocking.. Sat. we went out to dinner and then took all the kiddos to look at Christmas Lights.. WE took them to Van Buren to watch the house with the music and LA was in Heaven..She loved it.. I'm waiting on Emily to send me the pictures so I can email them to you..I do have one picture for you that LA and I took tonight.. It's kindda neat..Let me know what you think!?!


Yes that's right.. Look's like LA and I brought home a permanent souvenir from our visit to Mississippi!! Congrats DADDY!! I haven't told anyone yet except Mom and sisters.. God I wish I could call you and talk to you!! I'm still in shock!! LOL!! I'm REALLY in shock!! HAHAHA!! I hope this makes your day!! I love you soo much and can't wait to talk to you!! Kisses from LA,Me, and Baby B!!
Love you lots!!

To which he replied:

R U Kiddin me did you just take that yesterday. Well better sooner than later. I'm in shock but I guess we shouldn't be surprised. Yes it definitely made my day can't wait to tell everyone. I wrote ma and pa an e-mail I told them you were gonna try and get over there sometime this week they will be so happy. Love you and miss you both tell everyone hi. I'll try and call you if I get a chance love you both. daddy

Lily Ann's early Christmas Present...

Yes... Mommy and Daddy couldn't wait until Christmas so LA got her present early this year... This is the most expensive Christmas present she will ever get..LOL!! We are sooo excited and it has been hard keeping our mouths shut for the past week!! I will share the story in the next post!!

I've been slacking...

Oh my it has not been a month since I blogged!?! Really!?!.. Wow so much has gone on in the past month I don't even know where to begin. Emily came for a visit to California over Halloween and LA and I decided to go ahead and come back to Arkansas for the holidays a little early. We made the drive half way across country in 3 VERY LONG days.. LA did great! We also decided to come back early because we would be that much closer to Jacob as he is still in Mississippi. LA and I drove down(10 hours) to Mississippi all by ourselves to visit him for 10 days. We had a good time and were sad to leave but we will get to see him again in a month when he is home for 4 days for Christmas. I must say that I am loving being back in Arkansas with my family.. I didn't realize how much helped I really needed with LA until we got back here.. It is nice to Nana feed LA so I can sit and relax for a little bit.. Or have Emily or Erika play with LA so I can get some laundry done or even sneak in a little nap..HA! I am very thankful for my family and all the help they have given us!! Not to mention all the "EXTRA" attention LA has been getting..She's in heaven and loving every minute of it! Thank you to Nana, PawPaw, Pippee(LA's name for Emily..It's supposed to be Mimi but LA was calling her Peepee so we decided on Pippee..LOL) and Erika aka Eika for all the love and support you have given me and LA while Jacob is gone.. I could not ask for anything more!

WOW.. Now to the good stuff..LA is a spitfire.. She has grown into her personality over the past month and needless to say we laugh all day long.. She is such a happy little girl and lets everyone know it.. Here's whats she's been doing lately:
* Loves loves to talk.. from the time she gets up in the morning til she goes to bed..talk talk talk.. She says about 20 words and most of the time it's her own language..LOL!! With the occasional scream..
*Walking like crazy.. All over the place..
* Loves to find a way to break out of her play yard.
*Is a singing dancing baby.. Loves for Mommy to put on music so she can dance.
*Eating everything..Now we know this has never been an issue.. I was joking with Jacob when we were visiting him that we should enter her into a food eating contest because she would so win hands down..LOL!
*Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.. Goes around all day saying "Hot Dog"
*She is now a lover.. When she was younger she didn't want to be rocked or would cuddle but now she's all about giving the love.. She loves to sit in my lap and just cuddle and give me kisses and then will just give the most amazing hugs ever..
*Loves calling the Hogs.. Every week for the games we dress her up in one of the many Razorback outfits and will watch the game.. The whole time we call the Hogs..She can't get enough..

There is so much more that she is doing that I'm sure I'm leaving out.. I promise to keep up with my blog from now on or at least attempt to.. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!! Sorry I don't have pictures right now. Someone went off and left there camera in California..LOL!!

This is why I heart her face!!!

So I had to take diapers out of LA's diaper pale and as I went to go replace the trash bag this is what I got... Yes, she is still in her PJ's we decided to have a lazy day today!!

It's been a long time....

Oh my I'm horrible.. I haven't updated in a long while. Jacob has been gone now for over a month and we are just really getting used to him being gone. LA and I talk with him everyday on Skype which is great!! He gets to see his little girl grow up even though it's through the computer.. They play peek a boo and call the hogs the whole time..It makes me sad and Jacob too but at least we have this which makes it a little easier..

LA is growing sooo much! She's talking like crazy!(In her own language!) LOL!! She doesn't stop from the time she wakes up.. She really keeps me entertained.. I just love that happy baby sooo much!! She is also getting 4 upper teeth which she has been handleing well. She also starting to walk a little.. She will walk and then realize what she is doing then she will sit down!! So we have been super duper busy lately with guests visiting us. My parents and Jacob's parents where here for LA's first birthday! We had an almost week long celebration. Thursday both sets of Grandparents flew in. My parents stayed here while Jacob's parents stayed in San Fransicso. On Friday we had LA's doctor appointment to meet her new doctor! And let me say that I LOVE HIM!! It's about time we get a good one. We then all packed up and headed to the Oakland Zoo and spent the afternoon there. LA had a ball! On Sat Sept. 12 was LA's First Bday. We took her to the little amusement park across the street. She rode the Carolisel, Train, and the Teacups. She had a blast and so did we! We came home opened presents and ate cake.. Again! On Sunday we headed into San Francisco and met up with Jacob's parents and went to Peir 39 and spent the afternoon there. Jacob's parents left on Monday and Mom and Dad stayed another week and a half..My BFF Stephanie is here now for a week and we are having a blast. Emily (My sister) is coming to visit for 2 weeks 2 days after Steph leaves. LA and I will have 2 weeks and then we are headed back to Arkansas for the month of December. Jacob will get to spend 4 days with us over Christmas so we are sooo excited to finally get to see him even if it is such a short time! We miss him sooo much!!
Well as you can imagine there were a lot of pictures taken while our family was in town so instead of having picture overload I made a video.. Hope you enjoy! And I will try to update more often..Oh and if you notice LA still has no hair!! LOL!!

LA calling the HOGS!!

LA loves to call the Hogs now!! We do it at least 20 times a day! When we Skype with Jacob everytime she sees him she starts calling the hogs... This little girl melts my heart!!

Silly Videos....

Ahhhh.... I have been slacking on my blog lately.. Sorry.. We have had a lot going on the past couple of weeks. Jacob was gone for a week and I was trying to get in the groove of being home alone with LA and trying to keep up on house work.. Man was it hard. Jacob is leaving on Wednesday until mid January so he will be gone for a long time... We have been trying to get as much family time in as possible! Jacob will be missing LA's first birthday(which is next Sat. Can you believe it!?!) so we are going to have a little party for her on Monday with her Godparents, Scott and Michelle. Jacob doesn't want to miss out on anything so we decided this was the best. Then her big party will be next weekend with our family. Both sets of Grandparents are coming in on Thursday which we are soooo excited for!! Please keep us in your prayers as we go through these next few months!

Sooo to the good stuff.. We have taken a few videos of LA.. They are too funny!! Hope you enjoy!!


Michelle came down last week to stay the night while Jacob was gone and we took LA out to play with the kids in the neighborhood.. She took this video of LA in her walker.. She only goes backwards.. it's tooo funny!!

I took these videos of LA last night after she finished her dinner.. Apparently she wanted more..LOL!! This little girl keeps us laughing!!

We are finally moved in!!

Well we have finally settled in to our new home!! It is a bit smaller than our houses in the past! (Let's say it's a whole lot smaller!! :)) The movers came last Thursday and the house was covered in boxes. LA did great I put her in the kitchen with me while I unloaded all the boxes and she was just playing and laughing. Michelle and Scott kept Amber which was great because I don't think I could have handled her and the baby while trying to unpack. We got the whole house unpacked, except for our clothes, by Thursday night.. It was a long day but I'm glad we finished so quickly. We love it here! The weather is absolutely beautiful! In the mornings and at when the sun sets the weather is nice and cool.. Not like the muggy Florida weather.. We have had to actually update LA's wardrobe a little because all she had was summer Florida clothes! The only downfall, so far, is the traffic.. I have never seen anything like it before.. We decided to go to Farfield the other day to eat lunch and go to the Jelly Belly Factory. Now mind you it's only 12 miles away.. We sat in traffic for over an hour! I couldn't believe it! But we made it and had fun!! Here's a video of LA with me unpacking the kitchen!!

Lily Ann at Chili's

Jacob, LA, and I went out to Chili's for dinner last night.. LA had mac and cheese and fruit.. Jacob and I decided to order the Molten Lava Cake and LA wanted some but she couldn't have it.. She threw the biggest fit and I just had to take a video of it.. Here it is... Oh how she is getting this down to a T!! LOL!!

Thanks to the man who saved my daughters life!!

Well we finally made it to California on Wednesday afternoon! WOW!! What a drive I would like to think that we would never have to drive that again but the possibility is very slim..LOL!! LA did as good as could be expected, especially since we have our first tooth coming in! LA and I rode in the back and watch Baby Einstein the WHOLE TIME!! As long as she was happy We all were happy! We stopped in Arkansas for a couple of weeks to spend time with family and friends before heading out here! We had a great time. LA was very spoiled in every way!!

I am also writing this to the man who saved my daughters life! Brian Beckham from Station 8 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. LA went to lunch with her Mimi(Aunt Emily) while I had a hair appointment. They were sitting eating lunch and Emily had giving LA a Biter Biscuit. She loves those things and we usually give her one while we eat so she won't feel left out! Emily did just as we have always done. Some how LA bit off a big piece and the little girl who was with Emily saw her do it. Emily didn't realize that is was that big of a piece until she saw LA try and swallow it. Emily immediately raised up her arms and said "She's choking". As she raised her arms the piece got lodged farther in her throat. There just happened to be some firefighters sitting right next to them and Brian heard Emily and jumped up and ran over pulled LA up from her seat, turned her upside down hit her on the back and a little piece fell out and then hit her again and the rest came out! It amazes me how God works in weird ways. The guys had actually been called out and left for something and then came back and sat down just about the time that she choked! We did not get by to thank him in person as we headed out to California the next day. We plan on sending him something but haven't figured out what just yet!! I do not know how to thank this man enough for saving our baby's life. If any of you know him or happen to run into them please give him a big hug and a thank you from us! Needless to say the Biter Bars are in the trash!! LA is great and we are so thankful and thank God everyday for Brian!!

Okay so now I know that I missed putting LA's 10 months posting..She's doing soooo much now crawling all over the place, dancing, pulling up and cruising on everything! She has been great through this whole transition. She has stayed on her schedule the whole time even with the time difference. This was the one thing that I thought that we would struggle with but she has proved us wrong!! LA also has her first tooth coming through and is doing great!! I will post pictures later. We won't be moving into our house until Aug. 6 or 7th so I won't have access to pictures until then!!

Tummy-Tickler Tuesday...

So I had to take my truck into the shop today to get the airbag switch fixed and find out why my check engine light was coming on.. Lily Ann and I got up early this morning and had the truck there by 8:30!(Which is very early for us!) Jacob was on duty and had called and said that it should only take an hour or so so I figured LA and I would hang out there until it was done. Well when we got there it was going to be a couple of hours and I knew better than to wait with her so they offered to bring us home and we could come back later to pick it up.. (Great because I really needed to get the house cleaned before Erika and her friends arrive tomorrow!) This nice gentleman took out her car seat and put it in the van.. I watched him as he latched it in and I put her in and away we went..

So as we get in the van I'm telling him how to get to the house, which was about 2 miles down the road! (Thank goodness!) We start beebopping through the parking lot and all of a sudden he accelerates as he's turning and I hear a "Woooo" and I look behind and LA is leaned over to the side.. I about died.. I was trying not to laugh as the guy was telling me how he had worked for the dealership for over 35 years and he was going on and on and as I'm holding the car seat up..(She wasn't going to tip all the way over she was just sliding along the back seat!) "Okay", I'm thinking," it's a straight shot to the house from here we can make it!" Well every time we hit a stop light and as we would start to go he would gun it so no one would get in front of him.. and every time he gunned it you would hear a "Wooooooo" coming from the back seat.. I thought I was going to pee my pants from holding in my laughter.. He would say "Wow, that baby sure is talkative and loves to ride in the car!" I'm thinking you are making her tummy tickle silly!! If I had a video of it I'm sure we would have won $10,000!!

Have I told you...

How much I love this baby!!!! Just look at those blue eyes!!

We are moving!!!

Yes we finally heard on Friday(Sorry I'm just now getting around to posting!) that we will be moving next month to California! I can't believe we are moving to California. Jacob and I have always said that we could never imagine ourselves living there. Never say never right!?! We are excited though. Lily Ann's Godparents are going to be less than 45 minutes away from us and Jacob's old boss is going to be his boss again..(Which we are excited about!) I'm starting to freak out a little because that is a very long way to California with a dog and a baby! No worries though we are going to make 2 trips out of it.. We will be leaving Florida and driving to Arkansas for a couple of weeks then we will head out to California. This next station is going to be very different from this one. Jacob is going to actually be on the new Homeland Security Cutter out of Alameda. At this station he stands duty 2 on and 2 off with duty every other weekend . Going out to California he can be gone as long as 4 months at a time! It is going to be very hard on him having to leave LA behind and I am not looking forward to this. We are going to miss him so much but we will make it through! I know God has a plan for us and this is what He wanted for our family! I mean seriously who can say that they lived in Florida and California..Not too many people! Please keep our family in your prayers as we start this new transition in our lives!!

We took a video of LA earlier Jacob was asking her if she wanted to be a California baby and here is her response..HAHAHA!! (I think we may be in trouble!!) She did say no to the boat and ended up loving every minute of it!!

My baby is growing up too fast!!

Look Who is 9 Months Old!!

I know I'm about a week late for this post but better late than never right!?! WOW!! I know I say this every month, but seriously our baby is growing up way to fast.. Every month I get a little more sad that LA is growing up so fast but am also very happy because she is doing new things everyday! This week has definitely had it's ups and downs! Thank you guys so much for the comments and phone calls I have received since my last post!! I am feeling a lot better now after talking with you all and we are going to try our hardest to make sure that our baby is healthy and happy! Good news is that today we found out that we will be moving in the next month or so which means new doctor for LA!!! YAY!! This could not have come at a better time..It's funny how things end up working out in the end!! Hopefully we will find out by Monday when and where we are moving. We are praying for California so keep your fingers crossed that we get this boat!! Okay now to the good stuff! Lily Ann here is what you have been doing:

*You weigh 23lbs. 7oz.


*You are 27.5 inches tall


*You are getting 3-7oz. bottles and 1-5oz. bottle a day!

*You are eating 1/3 jar of fruit, veggies and meat, for lunch and dinner!(The doctor has you on a "diet"!!) :)

*You eat 2 tbs. of cereal for breakfast in the morning..(Also part of your "diet"!)

*You are sleeping from 7pm-8:15am!! You are such a good sleeper

*You have a 45 minute nap in the morning and lately(Keep your fingers crossed!) 2 hrs. in the afternoon!

*You love to read books, especially Hello Big Red!! You just scream with excitement while we read it to you and then you cry when we put it away!! (It's never to early to start teaching your children how important the Arkansas Razorbacks are!!) ;)

* You are a roly poly..You roll everywhere and you can clear the living room in less than a minute!

* You love to say Mama and Dada

*You also love giving kisses. You will grab my face with your little hands and sneak in a big slobbery kiss!!

*You are still screaming like crazy at everything..Especially when Daddy comes home from duty. As soon as he walks in the door you start screaming and don't stop until he comes to pick you up and give you kisses!!(Jacob's on duty anywhere from 2-4days at a time!)

*You love, love, love to swim! You are a true water baby!!

*You are now in a big girl car seat and love it!! You just watch everything go by!

*You love music..You are starting to dance when you hear any kind of music..You are also try to sing when Mommy sings to you..Either that or Mommy's voice is so bad you cant stand to hear it so you sing to block me out!! HAHA!!

*You are starting to take baby steps when your Daddy or I hold your hands..

*You love to play with your toys in the floor.You could sit there all day playing if we would let you!

*You are going to be crawling soon..You are scooting backwards on your belly now and we are still working on moving forward.


*You do "laps" in your crib! You love to roll over and scoot down the bed to where your crib toys are!

*You are a very happy baby and are always laughing at anything and everything!

*You love to watch Mickey Mouse and Baby Einstein DVD's.

*You are now testing your boundaries with your Daddy and I. When you really want something you have come up with the cutest little cry where you try and stick our your bottom lip and act like you are going to cry.. Don't worry baby girl,Mommy and Daddy have you all figured out!! Everyone else seems to fall for it every time..What a clever little girl you are!! ;)

Lily Ann, we love you so much and are so thankful that you are our daughter. You are learning new things everyday and we are always amazed by you. You are truly a gift from God and there is not a day that goes by that we do not thank Him for bringing you into our lives. Happy 9 months little girl!!

Mommy and Daddy

I usually don't do this.......

I must say that I am rather upset today, actually if I were to tell you exactly the words for how I feel my Mom would probably yell at me!! HAHAHA!! Today was supposed to be an exciting day. Lily Ann had her 9 month appointment this morning with her doctor and I couldn't wait to see how much she weighed! We were told at her 6 month appointment that we had to maintain her weight because she was off the charts for her weight(19lbs. 14.0oz. and 25inches!)So we were told that she is to get no more than 26 oz. of formula a day and only 1/2 jar(4oz. baby jars) of each fruit, meat, and vegetables for lunch and dinner and to keep her on her 2 tbs of rice cereal in the mornings! Done yay I thought now we will really get control of this because this is what we were told to do!! Well we were doing this at first and then I decided to lower it just a bit so what we ended up doing was she was getting 1/2jar of mixed veggies&meat combined(turkey and vegetables, chicken and apples,..etc) along with 1/2 jar of fruit! Here I am thinking "well technically this is actually 1/2 jar less per meal when the 2 are already combined there is no way that she will be over her weight when we take her back at 9 months!"

LA and I head to the doctor this morning.(Jacob was called out on a case so he wasn't able to meet us, and to tell you the truth it was probably better off that way!) I'm so excited I can't stand it because I just know that we have been on the right track these past few months, or so I thought!! WRONG!! LA weighed in at a whopping 23 lbs.7oz and is 27.5 inches tall!! I was so let down that she had gained about 3 1/2 lbs. over the past few months when we were supposed to maintain her weight! I thought I was going to cry and I knew that the doctor was not going to be happy and I was right!! I just about broke down when he said that "she is off the charts again!" I told him that I don't know how that I was doing everything he was telling me to do actually that I was feeding her less than he had said and yet she still gained the weight!! His response was "This is the time when babies fat cells start to develop. It is very important that you start portion control. I(meaning the doctor) was overweight all my life and what I went through no child should ever have to go through! I wish that someone had told my mom and dad about portion control when I was a child!" With tears in my eyes I said "I do not want this for my child or anyone Else's. I could not live with myself knowing that I have done this to my child!" I just wanted to break down and cry because today for the first time since having Lily Ann I have felt like an inadequate mother. Like I am doing something wrong that is going to hurt my child! As I'm sitting here wiping the tears from my eyes I keep saying to myself that she is a baby and babies do get fat and once they really start crawling and walking then that's when they shed the pounds! I'm not a mother who lets her child eat whatever she wants when ever she wants. I understand (according to her doctor) that she apparently has a slow metabolism and that it may take her longer to get rid of weight than it will others. I just don't know if I understand the whole portion thing at this age! I understand that she has been gaining weight and I understand that it is up to me, her mother, to make sure that she fed and taken care of. This really just stresses me out because growing up I was lucky enough to not have any weight problems and let me tell you how big I was as a baby..Way bigger than LA!! Weight was something that I almost never or ever really worried about.. Now I feel like I'm constantly feeling like I need to put my baby on a diet because I do not want her to have weight problems and I feel that I feel this way because of the way her doctor tells us that we should really slow down on her eating.. Isn't this going to give my baby a weight complex teaching her this at this age!?! I'm stuck in between a crossroad. I will do what her doctor tells me to do because he is a doctor and he has seen this many times before... I also feel that he presses this issue because of the way he was growing up and I think that he blames his parents for it and wants to educate other parents of what happens when you let your child eat what they want and when they want and to learn portion control..I can not tell you how many times during our conversation this morning that "portion size" came up!! I am willing to do whatever it takes that make sure that my daughter is healthy and happy! I would never compromise my daughters health because I feel that she needs to eat more or less. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has run across this problem with their child? How much does your baby eat? Etc..I'm all ears!!

I know that I am a good mother.. I know that LA is a very healthy, happy baby girl! I try not to let things get under my skin but this has just rocked me to the core! I know that God will lead me in the right direction I just have to give him time to get his message to me..Because apparently I missed it!! LOL!! WHEW...I had to get that off my chest and man do I feel better!! On a better note.. I will be taking Lily Ann to get her pictures made today to surprise Daddy for father's day!! Awww I have some really cute ideas in my head and I hope they play out in the studio!! I will post the pictures soon and do a 9 month posting for Lily Ann!!

Oh my I almost forgot to inform you! As many of you know we live in Government Housing here in Florida..Basically the Government bought 8 houses in a community and lease them out for people who are stationed here! Nice housing I must add!! Anyways this community that we live in is a deed restricted community..Since we are owned by the government we are not part of the deed restrictions and the older people in the neighborhood absolutely hate us!! Literally they hate us.. They will call the station if there is grass in the cracks of our driveways, we've been called before because Jacob will sometimes take his motorcycle out for an evening ride 8 o'clock or even sometimes take it to work.(Which he leaves at 625am and apparently it's too early to start a motorcycle!!) Well it seems as if one of our lovely neighbors decided to send a letter, yes a letter one of Florida's Congressman telling how the houses are trashed, no one ever mows there lawns and basically that these 8 Coast Guard houses are bringing down the community! It couldn't be the 25 houses in this neighborhood that have been foreclosed on, where the grass is up to the roofs!! No it's not those houses it's our the one's with grass in the cracks of our driveways!! HAHAHA!! I just had to add that in because I think that it is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard!! Had to end this post on a funny note!!

Wonderful Wednesdays!!!

LA is still trying to learn to crawl.. I have a feeling it will be a while before we accomplish this as she has taken up on rolling everywhere now!! LOL!! It's sooo funny to watch her just roll everywhere!! We have a roller!!

WOW...7years....

Yesterday was our 7 year anniversary!! I can't believe it has already been 7 years since we tied the knot! We had a great day laying around the house and playing with our little princess! Last night Bonny came over to watch LA while Jacob and I went to dinner and a movie..It's been so long since we have been out on a "date" and we enjoyed every minute of it (Even though all we talked about was LA!) I thank God everyday for Jacob. He is truly the best husband/father ever. I love you so much and am looking forward to see what more God has planned out for us!!

Funny Fridays....

*Don't mind my annoying "beep beep" voice in the background.. I just can't get enough of this happy baby!!

WOW!! Busy busy busy...

Sorry it's been a while! We have had a very busy last couple of weeks.. Jacob's family came down for a week long visit..Georgia, Kennie, Ben, Becky, and Matthew all came down..(All that was missing was Luke who is still in Iraq!) They arrived on Friday before Memorial Day.. Lily Ann was in heaven with all the attention and let me tell you she didn't miss a beat! Friday we just relaxed. Saturday we got up headed towards the beach had a great lunch and then we all headed over to the Station so they could check it out and take a nice ride on one of the new 33's.. We headed back home for LA to take a nap then spent the rest of the evening relaxing. Sunday we decided to get LA's pool out so we could take a swim and let her entertain us.. Which she did as always.. Monday(Memorial Day) we got up and headed down to Stephanie and Brian's for their going away party at the pool...Once again LA was great and swam for a long time! She was soooo worn out by the time we got home that night! Tuesday we ended up renting a boat and once again there was a lot of swimming going on!! LA had a blast!! Wednesday we got up and headed to Orlando. We stayed at a wonderful place that had 3 bedrooms 2 balconies, and a huge big screen TV..LA loved that it was all tile floor and was all over the place in her walker! We went out had a nice lunch came back and LA and I took a little nap then it was off to the pool for yet another day in the water.. Man we are sooo lucky that she loves the water!! She stole the show at the pool everyone just loved her.. She was being little "Hollywood" (as we call her) looking at everyone smiling laughing and her oh so wonderful screams!! You could hear her from a mile away and people were coming to see what was going on..Everyone loved it!! Thursday we took LA to Sea World for her first time.. She LOVED IT!! She was such a good baby! Her Grandpa Bouxsein took her to see the penguins and she just smiled and stared.. Jacob and I got to ride the rides too it was awesome! Once again we had a crowd around us looking and laughing at little "Hollywood".. Jacob and I were sitting with her under the shade while his parents, Ben, Becky, and Matt were on the water ride.. There is a big drop and you can see everyone on the ride..Well they always scream when they are coming down so what do you think LA was doing EVERYTIME one came down!?! Yep that's right she was screaming her little heart out with them..It was the funniest thing I have ever seen..People once again were crowded around us just to watch her.. We headed home shortly after.. It was a 3 hour car ride and guess who was awake the whole time!! Just playing and laughing oh yeah and screaming!! LOL!! Friday morning the Bouxsein's got up and left and lets just say that LA was completely exhausted and sooo off her schedule so she was fussy baby all day!! We had a very good time and are still trying to get caught back up on our sleep and schedules..

Wonderful Wednesdays...

We got Lily Ann a walker last week and she loves it!! She loves to go backwards and get stuck.. I took this video of her in the kitchen helping Mommy clean yesterday.. We have been working on her saying Dada but she won't..LOL!! You will notice her little big scream as well..Oh I can't get enough of this baby!!

I also cleaned out her closet yesterday to make room for all of her clothes that she is wearing now.. I've been in denial about my baby girl growing up and it absolutely broke my heart when I was going through her close and putting them away.. Our baby girl is no longer a baby, she is becoming more and more independent everyday and although I am so happy for her it also pulls on my heart a little that she is growing up so fast! As I was looking through all of her clothes, trying to hold back the tears, it just amazed me at how little she was.. She couldn't even fit comfortably in her size newborn clothing until 4 weeks and still they were a little big.. Things have changed now.. She's in a size 18 months in shorts..LOL!! God love those chunky thighs!! Talk about melt your heart, this morning when I got her up I was hugging her and telling her how much I loved her and then she turned to me and planted a big wet slobbery licking kiss on my cheek and then let out her infamous scream as if to say "Mommy I love you too!!" God has truly blessed me with the most wonderful gift of all and I am forever grateful!!

Lily Ann playing in her walker...

Jacob and I were in the computer room looking up something online when all of a sudden I said "Why is it so quiet?" when we walked into the living room here was Lily Ann sleeping in her Jumparoo! She was out cold..She gets soo excited when Jacob comes home that she tries to fight her sleep but this was not the case today!! If you look closely at the second picture you can see that she does have hair it's just really really blond!! :)

Ohhhh the screams!! You gotta love em!!

Here's a little of LA screaming.. You can see that she has got it down!! LOL!! This is what it sounds like in our house while LA is awake..Don't you just want to eat her up!!

Happy 8 Months Lily Ann!!

WOW!! Eight months already!?! Where has the time gone.. I know I say this every month but our baby girl is growing up so fast and discovering new things everyday!! Lily Ann here are some things that you are doing now:
*You are still a GREAT sleeper.. You sleep from 7pm-8:45am. You have a 45 minute nap in the morning and about 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon!!
*You love to eat your food.. We have not come across anything that you have not liked!
* You still get 4 bottles a day. 3-7oz and 1-4-oz.
*You have picked up on screaming.. You LOVE to scream and do it oh so well!! Sometimes it's ear piercing but you have a great set of lungs..You only scream when you are happy so you scream all day long.. I'm sure the neighbors are wondering what's going on in this house.. You love to scream the whole time we are in the grocery store and shopping..Everyone thinks it's the cutest thing!! LOL!!
*You have just learned to wave Hello and Bye Bye..
* Your first word was Mama a couple of weeks ago and your Daddy is really trying hard to get you to say Dada!! (We practice everyday!)
*You love to sit and play with your toys!
*You also love to read books.. Your favorite book is Water Water Everywhere!(This is the book that is in all of her pictures!) You scream with excitement every time Mommy or Daddy read it to you!!
*You want to crawl but hate being on you belly! You are very close!
*You now hold your own bottle and have almost mastered the sippy cup. You put it in your mouth but instead of sucking you chew!
*You still don't have any teeth yet but are chewing non stop!
*You love to go for walks around the neighborhood!
*You love to jump in your jumparoo and watch Baby Mozart.. How do I know that you LOVE these things..Because you SCREAM with excitement the whole time doing them..LOL!!

You are such a bright, fun loving, happy little girl and you Daddy and I are so thankful to be your parents.. There is never a dull moment with you! We find ourselves laughing with you all day long.. You are such a blessing and we couldn't imagine life without you!! We love you so much and look forward to all the new things to come in the upcoming months!!

P.S. We are going to work on our "inside voices" over the next few weeks!! Wish us luck!!

(Jacob and I were sitting on the couch talking last night talking about when we went to dinner a couple of months ago and our waitress was talking about how good LA was and how quiet she was! She proceeded to tell us that her grandson, who was a few weeks older than LA, was a screamer.. He screamed all day long! Jacob and I were laughing, picturing a screaming baby all day long, and at the fact that this Grandmother must be over exaggerating! Well let's just say that we are eating our words now!! We now know what she is talking about! LOL!!)


Here's a video of LA waving Hello!!(You will notice she gets both hands going!!)

Happy Mother's Day!

WOW!! I can't believe it's my first actual Mother's Day!! I have waited so long for this day and it couldn't have been better.(Well actually it could have if Jacob wasn't on Duty all weekend down in Marco Island!) I have always wondered what it was like to actually be a Mommy on Mother's Day and let me tell you there were a few tears shed today, all happy tears of course, I was a little sad that Jacob didn't get to spend the day with us but I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my day than with my closest girlfriends!! (Our friend Kayleen is having a baby in August and they, along with everyone else, are transferring out at the end of the month.. So we planned a surprise baby shower for her!! I made a wonderful sausage and egg casserole, Kelsie brought a fruit tray, and Bonny and Stephanie got her a red velvet cake!!(YUMYUM!)) Bonny brought me some beautiful flowers and a card which made me cry!! So sweet!! Then when Kayleen and her husband walked in the door and she saw what we were actually doing she started to tear up and so did I! I can't wait for her to finally become a Mommy.. I can't wait for her to feel the way I feel about Lily Ann when Tucker finally makes his debut! To know that you have tried for years to have a baby of your own and when they finally arrive the overwhelming joy that fills your heart is indescribable. Jacob and I waited so long for God to bless us with this perfect little girl that is our daughter. She is definitely worth all of the let downs that have led us to today!

As I fed Lily Ann tonight I was thanking God, thanking Him for my beautiful baby girl, the one thing that I have waited all my life for! I let her fall asleep in my arms tonight instead of putting her to bed. Right before she fell asleep she put her hand to my check smiled (as if to say, Mommy I love you!) then she shut her big beautiful blue eyes. I held her for about 10 minutes just watching her sleep and thinking "how did I get so lucky?" So lucky to have a wonderful, caring loving husband whom together we have created this perfect little life(I may not be saying she's perfect when she's 2!..LOL!!) I could not ask for more as a Mother!

To My Mom:

Thank you so much for everything that you have done for me, Jacob, and Lily Ann! I am very proud to call you my Mom! You are the most generous, loving, devoted woman I know. I can only hope that Lily Ann will look up to me the way I look up to you! I am truly blessed to have you as my Mother!! Happy Mother's Day!! I love you!!

To My Mother in Law:

I am so lucky to have your son as my husband! I could not ask for a better caring, more loving, and wonderful husband/father. He is truly a wonderful husband and father! The reason he is that wonderful man is because of you. The values that you have taught him throughout his life. Thank you for everything that you have done for us we are truely thankful! Happy Mother's Day.. I love you!!

It's moments like these that melt my heart....

I was cleaning (putting away all 999 items of clothing) in Lily Ann's room today. I put her in her crib to play while I was putting everything away. She was starting to get a little antsy so I gave her a squeaky toy to play with.. She played around with it for a little while then she got it to squeak and I heard this cute little laugh under her breath.. A few minutes later I heard it again.. So I grabbed my phone and started recording and this is what I got...Talk about melt my heart!!

Sorry it's sideways I couldn't figure out how to turn it back!!

Lily Ann's first word.....

It's been a while...

So I haven't updated in a while and I finally got time to sit and update! Sorry there are going to be a lot of pictures!! LOL!! We have had a very busy last week and a half! Emily was down here for a whole week and we were busy everyday! I wish she could have stayed longer but it didn't work out! Lily Ann had so much fun with her Meme!! She just loves her to death..She would just sit and talk to her all day long! It was too cute and I know Emily enjoyed every minute of it!! Meme spoiled her rotten while she was down.. LA got all kinds of new clothes and toys.. Erika told Emily to stop buying things for her that LA was going to start expecting things from her every time she sees her and that LA needs to work for her toys..HAHAHA!! Those two crack me up! We took LA to the beach for the first time while Emily was here! She loved it! The water was a little cool so she didn't last long! Jacob and I bought a tent for the beach to keep LA in and out of the sun! It's the best thing ever! So if you have little ones and are going to the beach I recommend it! It keeps the sun out and is also supposed to be up to 10 degrees cooler inside! We bought it at Bed Bath&Beyond!

Jacob was on duty all weekend so we had a girls weekend! Last night I had all the girls over for cocktails and we sat out on the patio and did girl stuff..aka gossiped! LOL!! We went out to lunch today then headed over to the station to see Jacob for a minute! After we left the station we headed home and set up the pool while LA took a very short nap! We hung out in the pool for the better part of the afternoon! LA loved it! It was just big enough for her to be in her boat floaty and she was moving all over the pool!! Bless her heart she wore herself out moving all about! Oh I almost forgot to add that LA has started saying Mama!! I know she is just babbling and doesn't really know what she is saying but my heart skips a beat every time I hear it!! I could just eat her alive!!

LA just woke up from her nap and I brought her straight out to the pool!

Still trying to wake up!

Slowly but surely!!

These were pictures taken at the beach last weekend!

Here she is with her favorite book!! It goes everywhere with us!

Meme and Lily Ann in the tent!!

Daddy taking LA out in the ocean for the first time!!

She loved the waves!!

I just love this picture!!

She loves to stand! (Don't mind the spit up on her pants! LOL)

Silly Lily!!!

So we have decided to rent a boat for a day with our friends in a couple of weeks! Steph and I made the final plans while LA was taking a nap! When she woke up Steph was holding her and telling her all about our upcoming adventure and every time she would ask her if she wanted to go this was her response every time!! We just laughed and then I had to catch a video of this!! If she doesn't like boats she will learn to like them!! LOL!!

Guess Who's 7 Months old today?

Happy 7 months Lily Ann!! You are getting so big and are discovering new things everyday! Your new favorite thing to do is when no one is paying attention to you, you used to scream until they would pay attention to you, now you love to have little cough attacks! You pretend that you have to cough and then you get so tickled at yourself and will start laughing! You also love to go to the grocery store with Mommy and sit in the cart like such a big girl! People are always coming up to you and saying how beautiful you are! You just smile and laugh and then start your little coughing episodes when they walk away! You always have your Daddy and me laughing. You are also trying to teach yourself how to throw a fit. You want to get mad but it just doesn't happen. You will start to get red in the face, squinch your nose, and frow your brow, then try to cry but you end up laughing instead! You are such a happy baby. You also love to sit in the floor and play with your toys. You love to watch Amber run around the house and when she gets close to you, you stick out your tongue for her to come and lick you. (Mommy doesn't let that happen!) The only thing that you don't like is to be on your belly! Daddy will put you on your belly and you will play for a minute or so and then you are done. You stiffen your body and won't roll back over all the time! You are so silly! Last night I gave you a spoon and you took it from me and put it in your mouth all by yourself. I think you were a little disappointed that there was nothing on the spoon but you still loved doing it over and over again! We love you so much and are very proud of you! Happy 7 months little princess you truly are the light in our lives!

Today was also your first Easter! Daddy had duty so me, you, and Ms. Kayleen went to the station to have Easter Lunch! You had so much fun!!We told your Meme (Aunt Emily) that we got you a chocolate bunny for Easter and let you eat a little piece of his ear! Mommy had fed you some prunes and sent a picture to her saying that you ate your first chocolate bunny! Your Meme was so mad at me because she actually thought that I fed you chocolate..It was really funny but she didn't think that it was that funny!!

Funny Friday!!

I was feeding Lily Ann a bottle and turned my head to sneeze and she started laughing uncontrollably.. So I kept turning my head and she would just laugh.. I tried to catch it on video but as you will see I didn't do such a good job as she wanted the phone for herself.. Needless to say the things we do to make our babies happy!! I wanted to eat her alive she was sooo cute!!

Easter Bunny

We took LA today to see the Easter Bunny! We were worried because she has started this whole thing with being very clingy to Jacob and I when we are around new people and I didn't know how she would react with a bunny! LOL!! I walked her over to the bunny and her eyes were so big and she wasn't sure at first but I put her right down because I knew if I hesitated it wouldn't happen.. As I placed her in his lap she turned around and looked right up at him and I thought "Oh no this isn't going to work. She is going to freak out!" Then to our surprise she turned her head right back around and was smiling from ear to ear!! She loved him! They took a couple of cute shots and then Jacob went to go and pick her up and as he did she turned to the Easter Bunny and grabbed a hold of his glasses and was just laughing! Everyone waiting was enjoying the show and laughing along with her!! Jacob and trying to hold her and trying to get her to let go of the glasses along with the Easter Bunny!! It was so funny!! Needless to say the picture came out so cute and we were happy!! I told Jacob that it won't be this easy next year!

Pots and Pans!

I just took this video of LA playing in the floor! Yes it is after 4 in the afternoon and yes we are still in PJ's.. What can I say! We will change shortly as we are going to the beach with friends for dinner and it will be LA's first time at the beach!! YAY !! Will post pictures later!!

Video

So Lily Ann's new favorite thing is to be thrown in the air! She just laughs and screams the whole time so I took this video the other day!! Please excuse my laughing in the background!

Fun in the Sun!

WOW!! What a long and fun day we have had today! We decided to take Miss Hollywood to the pool today since it was so nice outside! She had an absolute ball! We spent a few hours out at the pool then came home showered and went out to dinner with all of our friends.. LA did great seeing as she only slept for about 30 minutes at the pool..Needless to say that by the time we got home from our almost 2 1/2 hour dinner she was pooped!! She just loves the water..Let's hope it stays that way!

She was ready for a nap at this point!

She loves it when her Daddy throws her in the air!!

Splashing around!

Swimming in her boat!

This is my favorite! Story time!!

"I'm ready to go swimming now!!"

Out cold after swimming!!(Don't you just love the onesie!!)