I love fall!

Fall is my favorite season! It is cool not hot and it is cool not cold (if that makes any since). The leaves change colors - reds and oranges! Both very comforting and warm colors. I love to pick out pumpkins with MaKieley and I cannot wait until Marley is big enough to pick out her own pumpkin (maybe next year).

I took my girls out the other day and took their pictures with their pumpkins. They did so good! I have posted a few of the pictures! They smiled so pretty. You can even see exactly how much they look alike in some of the pictures. Happy Fall Everyone!

10 weeks

Marley is 10 weeks old today! How time flies! We are re-experiencing a lot of firsts! The first smile, the first giggle, the first time she pats you while you are patting her, and so on and so forth! I had forgotten exactly how fun it was! I thank God everyday that I am able to experience them all again with Marley and to experience new ones as MaKieley learns how to help with her baby sister.
God has blessed me greatly with parents who love and support me and my family more than we deserve, a wonderful husband who is loving, supportive, caring, helpful (and so much more that there are not words to describe!) and two wonderful girls who are so beautiful and smart! As well as all the other family and friends. But his greatest blessing was his son and the great sacrifice he made!

Am I seeing pink?

What a funny name! The Bumbo chair! It is the best thing since sliced bread right now! Grammie actually got this chair as one of Marley's Christmas presents but since she likes to sit up and stand up and look at everything around her we pulled it out a little early (we will wrap it up at Christmas ;) )! Today Marley sat in her pink chair while wearing her pink clothes and watched me put away dishes and prepare dinner. We had a great conversation and she was able to be a part of what was going on! She loved that! If you have a young child or have one on the way I suggest that you get one of these chairs if possible! You can find them online at target.com and sometimes you can find them in Target. You can also get them here in Lubbock at Kid Space. The Bumbo website is www.bumboseat.com .

Happy Marley Monday!

Happy Marley Monday Everyone! Marley and I were sitting here in our robes looking out the window (one of her favorite things to do!) and she was so happy I just had to take a few pictures to share with everyone!

Marley is becoming so expressive! She loves to talk and smile! She will even gripe at you:)!

Marley and I decided to take it easy first thing this morning since we had a very eventful weekend!

First Tech beat Baylor on Saturday morning! YEA!!

Then on Sunday we celebrated Mom's birthday! YEA!!

You will have to ask her (or MaKieley who tells everyone ;) ) how old she is! I will never tell!

Then we were able to arrange for the Washington Redskins to beat Dallas for Mom's birthday! ;) What a great game! John was holding Marley, who was finally taking a nap, and trying not to wake her up while trying not to jump up and down and trying not to yell! You get the picture! It was funny! He did a great job! She stayed asleep right through all the excitement! Ok Ok! If I do not tell you this John will get me! MaKieley and I were showing just as much excitement if not more!

Well we hope everyone is having a great Monday like us! We are off to get ready to have lunch with Grammie for her birthday!

The Grammie Look

See me try to raise my eyebrow like my Grammie does? Mommy does it too! I guess it is just genetics.:)

My Mom

Today is the birthday of an amazing woman! Her name is Mom!

She is the one who carried my brother and I in her womb for 9 months. She fed us and made sure we were clean and had clothes! She drove us to and from school, soccer, gymnastics, band, and countless other activities as well as being there to support us during performances! She got on to us and gave us "the look" when we got out of line. She even went as far as grounding me from the phone! She helped me pick out my wedding dress and do oh so many other things for our wedding. She talked to me on the phone almost every day when I moved away and she sent me cards to make me smile (or cry). She supported me through pregnancies and was there each time one of my beautiful girls was born! She is still there to listen and laugh and to tell me "You're paying for your raising". Most of all she has prayed for my brother and I as well as our mates everyday since before we were born.

What a wonderful woman, magnificent mom, and most of all a fabulous friend!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Marley is 2 months!

Marley is two months old! She now weighs 7 lbs. 6 oz. and is 22 inches tall! Her head is 14 3/4 inches around! She is now 3/4 of an inch taller than Emma, the practice baby but her head is still 1/4 of an inch smaller than Emma's. Marley is a happy baby! She loves to "talk" and smile! She loves the outdoors and windows! She still loves the water and now she is learning to sit up! She does a form of sitting that is called tripodding by most people I know! I will try to get a picture of her sitting up soon. She also likes tummy time! Aunt Lyric, Uncle Andy and cousin Oliver sent her a really cool floor mat that she absolutely loves!

She is still sleeping through the night! Somewhere around 7 to 8 hours normally! Tomorrow I will post pictures from last night! You really must check out her Halloween picture (she was a glow worm!)

MaKieley is 6!

On Friday night we all got "Fancied Up" and went out to a "Fancy" Dinner at a "Fancy" Restaurant for MaKieley's Birthday. MaKieley invited her best buddy Sunny to come with her. They had so much fun! John dressed up in his tux and was their escort! We did all this because of a book Grammie bought MaKieley for her birthday. Fancy Nancy

It is a story about a little girl who is Fancy and her family is not! SO she gives them Fancy Lessons. Then they all go out to eat a Fancy dinner! At the end of the dinner Nancy ends up falling while carrying the family's desserts. It ended up all over her and she did not feel Fancy anymore.

What she learns is that there is no Fancy way to say I love you!

On Sunday at lunch we had birthday lunch! Grammie made MaKieley a Money Cake! She used to make those for us when we were kids! There are coins wrapped in foil all in the cake! The birthday kid gets all the quarters! We all gave MaKieley all the money! Grammie got her the Little Mermaid! She was so excited!

She had no trouble blowing out 6 candles! This is a relight! Meaning I said light those again! She was so fast I did not get the picture! I told her to slow down the second time!

Today John, Marley and I took MaKieley lunch at school! In the cafeteria they have a huge birthday cake on the wall and on each candle they list each person with a birthday that month and their birthdates!

Extreme Makeover: Swing Edition

Ok! Maybe it is not the extreme swing makeover! But it was definitely a makeover! We kept MaKieley's swing! We took very good care of it when we were using it with her and when we were done I very carefully boxed it up so that it would still be in good condition so that we could use it with our next child! What we did not realize was that it would be almost exactly 6 years before that next child would come along! None the less we kept it. Before Marley was born we pulled it out and set it back up and washed the seat cover! I was so proud that I still had the swing and would not have to spend the money to get a new one! Was I wrong! Lets all say Yes together! Marley did not like the swing at first but when she finally did we knew we were in trouble! The swing sounded like it was skipping gears which was ok because it would still swing (we just were not sure for how long). Well....it stopped swinging one day! We were so sad! The swing looked great - no scratches and all the pieces still there - as close to new as you could get! Marley had finally decided she liked the swing and it QUIT! I would push it and keep pushing it until she fell deep enough asleep that it did not matter if she was still moving or not. Sometimes however I did not get another push in quick enough and she would grip. Not cry - but it just sounded like she was giving you the what for! If for some reason she did not get pushed soon after the griping started she would move into a full out screaming cry! Then I decided I could take it apart and fix it! SO - that is exactly what I did! I made it work! Can you believe it? I thought it was great until Marley said she did not think it was so great (she said this through screaming!). The swing was so loud that she was not very happy and not able to go to sleep very easily! So I broke down and went to buy her a new swing! She is much happier now! Her new swing is absolutely quiet! Some of you may have some knowledge of the shows Overhaulin' or Pimp my Ride where the take a car and put a lot of special things on it! Well we decided Marley's new swing had been to one of the shows! The swing has a moving mobile and a mirror and it swings from side to side as well as front to back! It also has nature sound (which Marley loves - especially the water sounds!) and plays songs! I think it looks like a baby cereal bowl! When it is in it's fully reclined position it like a bowl or cup! Marley loves her swing!

TECH WINS!!

Finally, after 2 losses Tech beat Iowa State 42 to 26!

YEA!!

The girls wore their Tech gear in hopes that they would

win! Maybe it helped ;) !

At least we know that daddy's work place will

be a happier place on Monday!

Now if we could just get a Redskin's WIN ON Sunday!

I Love Cereal!

Marley loves her cereal! She thinks she can feed herself! Marley gets really mad if you do not get the next bite in quick enough! (MaKieley was the same way.) She also gets upset when she gets her empty spoon and not mine that has rice cereal on it!

She sits up in her high chair pretty well but it makes things easier to put a rolled up towel on either side of her.
Marley Loves Rice Cereal!

7 Weeks Old

Today Marley is 7 weeks old. This morning before school, MaKieley sat down, held Marley and read her a couple of books. Marley loves for her sister to read to her (especially when she is calm like she was today!)!

If you catch Marley at the right time she will have a nice little conversation with you! She is becoming very expressive and she loves windows (just like her mommy)!

Size

SIZE! Size really does not matter as long as she is healthy -- but it is really neat to document.

Here is Marley's hand holding a quarter at 6 weeks old. Her palm is just bigger than the quarter.

I decided to do this after looking at some of the pictures we have taken of Marley make her look so chubby (and she is not)! If there is not something to compare her to then someday we will not be able to remember exactly!

So much for my ramblings! Marley and I are going to start our stay home and do nothing day now! We hope you all have a great day!

Cooking a Berry Cobbler

Today Marley and I made a Berry Cobbler! She was very alert and talkative so I told her she could help me! You see this is my very favorite dessert and someday it might be hers too (it is MaKieley's too)! Unfortunately we will not have any of this one though! But that is ok! We made it for someone else! :) I'm sure they are going to love it! I think Marley is going to be a great Berry Cobbler Maker someday but for now she is great company while doing almost anything!

The Many Faces of Marley!

Just wanted to share these so that everyone could share in the joy we have everyday!