Watch Me Grow - 5 Months

If it seems like this is the only time I ever blog, that's because it is! Once a month is apparently all that I can handle at the present time. We work and play too much for blogging, but I do like to brag on my babies any chance that I get!

Last Saturday, Trek-man had his 5 month "birthday!" To say that my boy is getting big would be an understatement. I weighed him on Saturday, and he tipped the scales at a whopping 18.2 pounds! For those of you who are keeping up, that's just 3 pounds shy of tripling his birth weight, which is what most babies do by their first birthday. Check out these uber-sweet pictures of our handsome little dude!

Trek Hamilton, at 5 months, you:

• Weigh 18.2 pounds, and are wearing 6-12 month clothing
• are beginning to show your sweet personility! You are very smiley :)
• love to talk and squeel! Just last week you really found your voice. We think it is so funny!
• sleep very well at night. Occassionally we have to get up and soothe you back to sleep, but we have completely cut out all night time feedings.
• love your sister the most! She loves to talk to you and play with you, and you just laugh and laugh! We are very excited for the 2 of you to be friends. :)
• have made the adjustment to formula well. Your tummy seems to be responding just fine!
• love to eat your cereal at night! Since you've learned to blow bubbles, you think it's pretty funny to spit your cereal and watch Mommy laugh.
• are more schedule orriented than any of the rest of your family. You like your bedtime routine, and you very rarely let me leave out a step!
• finally started bearing weight on your legs this month! Mommy was beginning to be very concerned about this, even though everyone told us that you would do things slower because of your size. You're still pretty lazy about it, but that's ok with us!
• really love to snuggle. You're going to be attached to your blankets just like your sister is!
• are working on sitting up unassisted, but I think we still have a couple of months to go. You still need to build up those back and neck muscles to support all of that weight!
• do NOT like to miss your naps! You are usually only asleep for 2 hours at a time before you are ready to sleep again. That's okay with Mommy, because you still sleep so well at night.

I cannot believe that our kids are growing so quickly! Lorelai is changing so much, too. She is quite the chatter box. Just the other day, Jeremy and I were having a conversation in the car. We were discussing something pretty important, although I don't remember exactly what it was at the moment. Any time one of us would stop talking for even a second, Lorelai would start to repeat what we were saying! At one point, we both just looked at her and laughed. It was like she was so interested in what we were talking about! She is so funny to us!

Lorelai loves the Rangers. I know, we've raised her well! She knows when they're on the tv. And when she hasn't seen them in a while, she starts to ask about them. During the long stretch after they won their division and all of the other teams were playing, she would often bring us the remote control and say, "Rangers!" We would just laugh and say, "Sorry Lo! They're not playing tonight!" It may be a long off-season for us at the Mitchell house...

We wouldn't be able to do the things we do without our families. Everytime I sit and reflect on the fact that all of our grandparents, and nearly all of our great grandparents are in town, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my King. I am so very grateful that the Lord has allowed us to live in the same town with our families. I don't know how I would make it without them. They are so essential to my survival! :)

We are blessed. We are thankful. We desire to bring glory to the Father in all things.

Watch Me Grow - 4 Months

It's hard for me to believe that our Trek-man is already 4 months old! As insane as our life has been since school started, I knew I had to sit down and blog about my growing boy before it totally escapes me. It's funny the things that you think you'll remember but that totally escape you with time...but that's a post for a different time...

On September 15, Trek Hamilton was 4 months old. On the 17th, we headed to the Dr for his check-up. I know my boy is growing at an alarming rate, but it always shocks me to see the numbers! So, for your information, here are some fun facts about my Trek Hamilton. Trek, at 4 months old, you:

•  weigh a whopping 16 lbs, 12 oz! And you are 26.5 inches long. That's the 95th percentile, big guy!
• are very good at rolling over from your belly. Gramps says he has seen you roll from your back, but no one else has witnessed this just yet:)
• really enjoy tummy time! And you are getting to be very strong on your belly. Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you!
• are beginning to recognize your name...I think. Just the other day, you started to respond when Mommy comes in the room and says your name!
• are still very fascinated with your sister. You always respond to her better than anyone else, smiling and kicking when she talks to you.
• love to cuddle and snuggle! Mommy absolutely LOVES this about you! It may make getting chores done a little tough, but your sweet snuggles are totally worth it.
• drool...a LOT! Everybody always asks us about teeth, but I think you're just full of slobber!
• love your sleep, and you tend to be a bit cranky-pants when you don't get all of the rest that you need.

I am so excited to watch you grow, sweet boy! We are making so many memories with our sweet kiddos. It is a blast just watching them interact with eachother. Lorelai loves "Tick-mayan" so much! Her sweet face just lights up whenever she sees him, and she loves to share tummy time with him. It is our prayer that they will always be such good friends. Our Father has blessed us beyond anything we deserve. May we always bring him glory in everything that we do.

Watch Me Grow!

On August 15, our Trek-man turned 3 months old! He has changed so much in the last 90-ish days. Just check out these pictures!

Trek Hamilton at his first Dr appt at 1 week old. Check out that sweet yellow baby!

Trek-man at 1 month!

Such a huge change between June and July!

Happy chunky monkey!

Our blue-eyed boy is getting more fun every single day. He is grinning and talking and beginning to have a little personality of his own! He's not quite at talkative or social as his sister...yet :) I don't have any new stats on him. I don't keep a scale at home because I find it depressing, so I don't know how much he weighs at the moment! But I do have some fun facts about Trek at 3 months old.

Trek, at 3 months old, you:

• are adjusting well to your new schedule of babysitters. Mommy is so grateful for all of the people around here that love you so much!
• really like your sister. You always respond to her voice and her presence. And she takes good care of you most of the time :)
• are sleeping throught the night! With the help of a little cereal in your bottle at night, you are sleeping anywhere from 5 to 9 hours at a time! WOOHOO!
• are no longer nursing, but you are still on Mommy's milk. Bottles just seems to be a better solution for everyone involved.
• really enjoy bathtime. Even when you're fussy, it always calms you down. At least temporarily!
• are a little spoiled, but it's your Mommy's fault. She just couldn't seem to put you down all summer! This is proving to be somewhat challenging now that Mommy is back at work :)
• squirm and wiggle so much! The only time you are still is when you are sleeping. But this doesn't surprise Mommy...she was convinced you never EVER slept while you were cooking.

I have so much more to share about my sweet boy, but it would probably only be interesting to me! :)

In other news, Lorelai is SO MUCH FUN! Her vocabulary is outta control. Seriously, the girl speaks better than some of my school kiddos! She is such a sweet girl, and she loves her baby brother. Lorelai is definitely a little helper...most of the time. As long as she doesn't think he's getting too much attention, Big Sister will do whatever she can to help out with Baby Brother. It's a very rare occassion that I get any pictures of her, much less of the 2 of them together. This girl is one of the most busy kids I've ever been around. She literally NEVER STOPS! It absolutely wears me out, but I love it!

Never in a million years would I have imagined my life being this much fun. My heart is full! I am more than grateful.

Silly Sayings

My Lorelai Roxane is talking like crazy these days! She has a very strong personality, and it is certainly evident in her speech. When she wants something, she's quite demanding! And she doesn't forget, so there's no distracting her and getting away with not fulfilling a wish.

Some of Lorelai's favorite things to say are:

"Peeese!" - Please
"Tat-to" - Thank you
"Welcome"
"Ha-shu?!" - Hold you!
"Mommyyyyy!"
"Daddyyyy!"
"Shh...nigh nigh"
"Wuf ooo!" - Love you
"Gog" - Dog
"Mum on" - Come on
"GO!"
"Tek" - Trek
"Phong" - Phone
"Moo-wa" - More
"Dah Dawar" - DDar
"Ya Ya" - Lorelai
"Tiss It" - Kiss it
"Sah-ee" - Sorry
"Anges!" - Rangers!

She is such a motor mouth! I really want to try and capture the way she says things, because I know that all too soon she'll start to learn how to say them the right way. And while that will make me oh so proud, I just want to hold on to her cute little language for as long as I can!

Trek is 2 months old!

My sweet boy is already 2 months old! I can't believe how fast time is flying by us. We are having the time of our lives!

Trek, at 2 months old, you:

• Weigh 12 lbs 8 oz. Big boy!
• Are 23.5 inches long.
• Sleep well at night, usually only waking up once to nurse.
• Get swaddled tightly a lot of evenings because your mom thinks you have just a touch of colic :(
• Take very short naps during the day, which seems to make you want to nurse more often
• Are beginning to smile more and "talk" to Mommy and Daddy after you eat!
• Still haven't lost any hair! In fact, it's getting longer and thicker!
• Have a little bit of an issue with reflux, but nothing too major.
• Are such a beautiful blessing to all of us!

We love our baby boy so much! He is such a blessing, and we praise God for our sweet surprise.

Summer is almost over, which means I will be heading back to work soon. I am so excited to begin another school year at Columbia Christian, but my heart is already breaking at the thought of leaving my precious babies! Thankfully, I have the greatest support system on the planet, and they won't spend a day in childcare again this year. Every day I marvel at the blessings that have been thrown upon us; blessings that we are so unworthy of receiving. One of the greatest blessings is our family. Not only do they love us, but the love our children beyond anything we could ask for. God is so good!

Sweet Babies

I thought I would share some recent pictures of my sweet babies. This is the first time I've been able to get their picture together. It may not be the perfect composition or set-up, but I think it's sweet! Enjoy!

Wow...I'm one lucky girl!

Checkups

Since Trek will go for his 2 month checkup this week, I should probably update on the stats from his 1 month checkup!

My babies are growing like crazy! I absolutely cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by us. I'm so fortunate to have been able to spend the last few months getting to know my kiddos better. God has been good to us, and has blessed me with a job that allows me to spend summers with my sweet blessings!

When my Trek-man was born, he weighed 6lbs., 15.6 oz and was 21 inches long. Compared to his sister, he looked like a long, skinny baby. In all actuality, they were only a couple of ounces apart in weight. When Lorelai was born, she weighed 7lbs., 1.5 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. But just looking at him, you would guess that he was significantly smaller. That, however, did not last long! I knew Trek was gaining weight well, because we had been to the doctor more than usual in his first 2 weeks. Trek had a severe case of jaundice that required frequent bloodwork, accompanied by a few days attached to a bili-light. He and Mommy spent several nights sleeping in the living room, waking to an alarm every 2 hours so that he could eat. It was exhausting, but it was necessary to get him over that hump! Thankfully, after 5 days of lots of eating, bloodwork, and time attached to a light, Trek was given the "all clear" from Dr. Alexander, and we were able to begin a less-intense feeding and sleeping schedule. Because of all of this, Trek had to be weighed several times to make sure that he was thriving. But all you had to do was look at him, and there was no question the boy was putting on weight!

Even with all of the extra feeding, I didn't expect him to have grown as much as he did! Trek weighed a whopping 10 lbs., 4 oz. at his 1 month checkup! He was 23 inches long. I was amazed! I told Jeremy that he and I apparently make chunky babies. But that's ok...they're mega-cute!

A week after Trek's 1 month checkup, Lorelai and I headed to see Dr. Alexander for her 18 month checkup. (Even though I know it to be true, sometimes it still amazes me that I have 2 babies under the age of 2. But moving on...) I know my Lo is a big girl. It's obvious when I see her with her peers, and even more obvious when I hold her for any length of time. My big girl weighed in at 29 lbs, and she is 33 inches tall! She has a mouth full of teeth and chatters away like she's already grown. I am so proud to be her Mommy! We will be going to get her 18 month shots soon...I am not looking forward to fighting that battle.

I can't believe my babies are growing so quickly! It's easy for me to wish that time would stop. But when I really think about it, I'm excited for what tomorrow and forever is going to bring for us! As they change, they become the people that God created them to be. It's my prayer that, as they grow and change, Jeremy and I are able to equip them to know the Lord and give Him glory is every aspect of their lives.

Trek Hamilton Mitchell

On Sunday morning, May 15, we welcomed our precious baby boy into our family! He is the most beautiful little guy I've ever laid eyes on, and we are so incredibly thankful to finally have him here with us!

All day Saturday I had been quite uncomfortable. Truthfully, everything started the weekend before. After steady, painful contractions that led to little sleep on the previous Sunday night, I called in sick to work and headed to the doctor, certain that we would be having a baby by the middle of the week at the latest. My doctor even seemed convinced that I wouldn't make it until the next week, so we didn't even schedule another appointment. I got all of my bags packed and made necessary plans for Lorelai. By Tuesday afternoon, everything had all but stopped completely. Feeling incredibly disappointed, I decided I'd better get back to work. There was no use sitting at home and watching the clock. On Friday morning, I called my doctor and scheduled an appointment for the following Monday morning. Thank goodness I got to cancel that one!

Saturday proved to be the turning point. Friday night was when things kicked in again, and this time I made sure to stay on my feet and keep busy in attempts to encourage the contractions to continue. Around 3:30 Saturday afternoon, I decided to go ahead and go to the hospital. A quick phone call to Labor & Delivery gave me plenty of hope that I wouldn't be coming home without a baby. Things started off slowly, and around 11:00 p.m., the Pitocin drip was started. Labor went much like it had with Lorelai after this. For some reason, I tend to have less productive contractions as the Pit increases. That's not really how it's supposed to work, but apparently that's how I react to it. Thankfully, this labor was much shorter and less "dramatic" than Lorelai's. The only drama we experienced came when it was time for my epidural. Even though everything was done correctly, it just didn't work. After several minutes of waiting for the medicine to kick in, it was clear nothing was happening. So a spinal was my only other option. I welcomed the strange, other-worldly numbness with open arms! Anything to make the pain ease up! Although the medicine eventually wore off, and I began to feel very intense contractions again, the spinal worked perfectly exactly when and where I wanted it to. Just a short time after it all began, our sweet Trek graced us with his presence! His little cry was the most beautiful sound in the room!

Trek Hamilton was born on May 15, 2011 at 11:33 a.m. He weighed 6 lbs., 15.6 oz. and was 21.5 inches long. He's absolutely perfect, and we are MORE than thankful for him! To God be the glory!

Resurrection Sunday

We celebrate something that no other religion can claim. Today, we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior! Jesus is alive! I stand in awe of His glory.

We were blessed with AMAZING weather this Easter Sunday, which made the day that much sweeter. The sun, the trees, the wind, the grass...they all proclaimed the glory of God so loudly today! Praise His name!

I am so very thankful for my wonderful family. And days like these make me even more thankful that we are all right here together in the same town. (with the exception of my baby brother:(. ) We were fortunate enough to get to enjoy a delicious lunch with Pop, D-Dar, and Grandma Eva. After some play time outside in the sun, we headed over the Nanny and Pappy's house for a short visit.

Half-naked and opening her Easter basket. Nice...

I just love my little family!

She's not the least bit loved :)

Spoiled by Grandma Eva just like Mommy is!

She and Pop had lots of fun playing with the water hose

And she's out!

All that were missing were Ty & Ab...and TREK! I'm about 3 weeks from my due date, and I'm feeling more than ready! We have nothing ready for him at the house, but I don't even care at this point. I'm just ready for my little man to be here with all of us. But it's been requested that we wait until after Pop and D-Dar get back from Florida. We shall see!

Children are a gift from the Lord

We have received two very precious gifts in the last two days! I am so incredibly excited about the beautiful lives that God has blessed us with! Babies to love, nurture, and grow in the fear of the Lord. May he receive all of the glory!

On Monday, March 28, 2011 at 10:13 a.m., Miss Aria Marie Wisely finally graced us with her presence. We have been praying for you for a very long time, sweet girl! Mommy and Daddy Wisely are both doing well, and the new family of 3 were able to come home today. I absolutely cannot wait to watch her grow up!

On Tuesday, March 29, 2011 around 5:30 p.m., Miss Kendall Marie Welch decided that it was time to show her sweet face to the world! Lots of people have been waiting for you, baby girl! Jeff and Jennifer are both doing great. Although I haven't gotten to meet Kendall yet, I love her so much already!

Next up, Emory Grace Walker. She should be making her debut any day now. At least we hope so!

All of these sweet girls will be welcoming our Trek to the mix at some point. But for now, we will swoon over their perfect girl fingers and toes, and giggle over their cute squeeks and silly faces. Being a mommy is so much fun! And now 2 of my closest friends are getting to experience that precious gift first hand, for the first time. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Crazy Kid!

My Lorelai Roxane is one of the funniest kids I've ever been around. I realize I'm just a tad partial, but surely everyone would agree that she is quite the entertainer! I wish I was quick enough (and home enough) to capture pictures of her wild antics. But since I'm not, you'll just have to bear with my descriptions.

Just last week, she started making the craziest faces! Whenever she sees someone new enter a room, her eyes get SUPER big, and her little mouth rounds into a perfect "O", like she's never been so surprised in her life! Lo has also decided that it's hilarious to wrinkle her forehead and stare you down, like she's bound and determined to set you on fire with her eyes. I'm not gonna lie, occassionally it's a bit scarey! But usually it just makes us laugh. I'm sure our story will change when she's still making this same face as a teenager...

Lorelai is going to be a singer, just like Mommy and Daddy. She absolutely loves to sing along with the radio in the car! Her favorite songs from Sunday School are "Zacchaeus" and "Deep and Wide." I think it's the cutest thing when she tries to do the motions too:) And she doesn't only sing, she also is very animated when she does so! Music is in her blood, clearly. If a catchy commercial jingle begins to play on the tv, she immediately stops what she's doing a dances a little jig. We love it! And so does she!

I absolutely cannot wait for Trek to join our crazy adventures. If his activity in the womb is any indication, he will have no problem fitting right in with the crazy Mitchells!

Time for an Update

It's been a while...

I have lots of excuses lined out, but surely you don't have time to read them. I'll leave it open for you to imagine the chaos of the life of an 8-month-pregnant mom of a 15-month-old girl, who also gets to teach 4 and 5 year olds everyday!

My sweet Lorelai is all over the place lately. She's gone from walking to running, which is leading to several bumps and bruises! I have never laughed so much in my life! Just in the last week, she has come up with several very animated facial expressions. I'm starting to realize that I'm going to have a girl with an attitude on my hands! I'm not really sure if my attitude can handle it, but I've got faith that the Lord will equip us through everything! She really is a joy, and I absolutely love every second I get to spend with her. Lo is, by far, the most hilarious kid I've ever encountered.

Trek is growing perfectly on schedule! I went to the doctor today for my 32 week visit. I can't believe we're already so close to meeting our precious boy. I had a slight scare around the 28th week of my pregnancy. Trek decided that, instead of being hyper-active like he had been in the past, he would take a 2 day nap and freak his mommy out. I called my doctor, and we quickly found a heartbeat. Since then, he has made me pay heavily for that worry! If his activity in the womb is any indication of the kind of child he will be, then Jeremy and I will be quite thin, because we'll be chasing him everywhere! He is so much more active than Lorelai ever was. And his movements are never rhythmic. Instead, they are constantly changing. It's wonderful knowing that he is still growing strong! But he is certainly wearing me out!

God is so good. Jeremy and I are incredibly blessed! At this moment, we are sitting on go, ready to be with our friends as they welcome their sweet babies! Angela will be meeting Miss Aria on Monday, at the latest. And Julie will welcome Baby Emory any day now! I absolutely cannot wait to watch all of these babies together! Glory to God!

It's a...

BOY! This is definitely not news anymore, but I realized tonight that I haven't really shared my thoughts about this via blog just yet.

On December 28, Jeremy and I went in for our first ultrasound of this pregnancy. We were so anxious to find out the sex of our sweet baby! Up until that point, I hadn't given it nearly as much thought as I had when I was pregnant with Lorelai. Shock was still coursing through my veins! But on that day, I could hardly stand the anticipation!

Let me just say, the new hospital in Magnolia has some of the nicest facilities I've ever seen! And the staff was uber friendly. People tend to bash the local hospital a lot, but it really isn't so bad. It's just like any other hospital you will visit for your basic needs. No matter where you go, you'll have to wait in the ER (unless you're having heart trouble:)) And no matter where you go, it's will cost you an arm, and probably a leg, to get the care that you need. It's called life! Get over it, and be thankful that we have an updated hospital so close to us, with staff that, for the most part, is extremely dedicated to the wellness of the community.

Now that I'm off of THAT soapbox...! Jeremy and I were ushered in to a small, quiet room. It was just us, our technician, and the tv monitor above the bed. My heart was pounding! Would this baby be healthy? Would he/she have everything that they needed to survive? And of course I couldn't wait to know if Lorelai would have a little brother or a little sister! I thought I saw it once, while the tech was checking all of the things that she's required to check. But I kept my mouth shut. No one wants to sound like an idiot when they're in that position.

After a little conversation and looking at the heartbeat and such, she asked us the all-important question. "Are you interested in knowing the sex of your baby?" YES! And just like that, there he was for all to see! She paused the screen, and we were elated! I think Jeremy almost fell out of his chair. He really needed someone to high-five at the moment. All I could do was laugh. A boy...A BOY!! I was over the moon! I've wanted to be a Mommy to a little boy since Jeremy and I got married. I've longed to watch Jeremy be a Daddy to a little boy, teaching him things that only a Daddy can teach. And now we get to go on this wonderful adventure together!

Jeremy's mom was working at the hospital that day, so she was waiting outside of her office when we walked out of radiology. I told Jeremy not to say anything to her, just to hand her the picture. She quickly looked, and I believe her words were, "I don't even know how to read these things, and I KNOW that's a boy!" My mom's reaction was much the same when I drove out to show her. And my dad was thrilled! I think he's already planning his batting cages in the backyard.

You would think that with so much excitement, we would have a name picked out quickly. Not the case. It has taken us weeks to decide on a name! We thought we had a few options nailed down, but after trying to use them around the house, nothing seemed to fit. We want something unique. Obviously Lorelai isn't too common of a name, so I would like to stick with somethingn original, but not too weird. I like short, "tough" names for boys. Call me crazy, but I can't help but imagine what it'll sound like over the PA system at a sporting event...when he comes to the plate, or when me catches the toughdown pass. Maybe that's just me...

A few days ago, we FINALLY decided on a first name for our sweet baby boy! We're still tossing around middle names, but Lorelai's baby brother's name will be Trek. It's unique, it's fun, it's to the point, and it fits our personalities perfectly! It's so fun now to actually call him by name, instead of just #2, as he has so affectionately been called since we discovered his existance:) We have 2 middle names that we are considering at the moment, but for now he is simply Trek.

I can't wait to meet him! I can't wait to teach him things! I can't wait to take him to his first Texas Rangers baseball game. I can't wait to watch baseball with him this summer while we stay home and get to know each other. There are so many things that we will discover with our baby boy. We're praying for his health and happiness even now. New beginnings may be scary, but they're incredibly exciting as well!

New Adventures!

We are having the time of our lives with our sweet Lorelai Roxane! She has got to be the most fun I've ever had! I can't imagine the excitement that is to come. I know that, as she gets older and learns more, she'll only be more entertaining.

The day before Tyler went back to Fayetteville, he came over to hang out with Lo for the evening. In the middle of playing at our feet by the couch, Lorelai noticed that Daddy was eating a brownie in his chair across the room. Without being prompted, she stood up, and off she went! I was so so excited! We were all very calm and quiet as she made the journey across the room, but as soon as she hit Daddy's leg, I freaked! She looked at me and just laughed! Like she was saying, "All I needed was time, Mom! I got this!" Since then, she's been unstoppable. That was about 2 weeks ago. Now, she rarely crawls. If she does, she very quickly "corrects" herself. I'm absolutely LOVING chasing her around and playing with her!

Lately, Lorelai has discovered that she's the funniest, most entertaining person on the planet. I have no idea where she would get such an idea, but she is NOT shy about letting everyone know! She's still just a bit shy around some men, but for the most part, she makes sure she is the center of attention when she enters a room. It doesn't matter if we're in WalMart, a small shop, a restaurant, or our living room, she's a ham! She immediately waves and greets everyone and everything with a "Hi!" or "Hey!" as soon as she gets out of the car. She laughs and laughs at herself, showing off her big dimples and 2 tiny teeth! I find it incredibly entertaining!

As soon as I can sit and get them uploaded, I'll add videos of my girl walking and being goofy. We are having the time of our lives! I'm getting more and more excited everyday to meet our sweet baby boy! With any luck, he'll be just as sweet, loving, and silly as his big sister!

Happy New Year!

In keeping with tradition, we blew up the Mitchell Christmas tree again this year! Friday night, we headed out to the 101 for a yummy supper of finger foods. At exactly 8:00, everyone headed outside to get ready for the show! All of the neighbors are notified of the official start time, so everyone is in their yards or on their porches waiting for the excitement. It's quite funny to listen to Claudine stand outside and yell to all of the neighbors, making sure everyone is ready! This year was bigger and better than ever to help celebrate Lorelai's first birthday.

Here's the deal...every year that Jeremy and I have been married, he and his dad have been blowing up a Christmas tree. It started out as just a little tree. Mark gets a real tree that he decorates for his yard every year. It used to just be a small potted tree. Not anymore! Jeremy gave him the idea a few years back to fill his used tree with fireworks and set it ablaze. It's now become a tradition, and it keeps getting bigger every year! Check out pictures from this year's exciting show!

As cool as these are, they just can't do it justice! I'm already looking forward to next year!

Lorelai is One!

My sweet baby girl turned ONE on Friday, December 31! It's been a couple of weeks, but I haven't actually had time to sit and blog since then. She is absolutely a BLAST right now! Lo's new tricks include showing off her teeth, identifying her belly, nose, and ears, and even taking a few steps here and there! We are so proud to be Lorelai's Mommy and Daddy.

Her birthday was a lot of fun for us. We had a small party of just family and a few close friends. Everyone met at the Bus Barn for pizza and cake. Of course we had a blast! Lorelai hammed it up quite well! After way too much cake, we tried our best to have her help open gifts. She wasn't interested in the least, choosing instead to play with her friends and her new wagon. That was ok. As long as she was enjoying herself, we didn't mind.

We were suprised that she didn't have a horrible tummy ache after all of that sugar! Instead, a sugar coma ensued, and Lo, Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a good long nap after the party! Friday evening, we spent time at the Mitchell home, where we enjoyed our annual Christmas tree burning. It was spectacular! The best yet! Pictures of that coming soon. For now, enjoy some sweet shots from our precious girl's first birthday!

We loved the cake! Leslie Story did an awesome job!

I'm ready for the party, Dad!

Ahh...a little taste of heaven

She ate nearly half of this cake!

Sadly, we didn't get any sort of family picture during the day. Everything seemed to go so fast that we never got a chance to stop and have anyone take our picture! Thankfully, Christmas was just the week before:)

Last week, Lorelai had her 12 month check up. My big girl weighed 23 pounds! She was 29.5 inches long. We've got a chunk on our hands! Her big girl carseat finally came in today, so she is officially forward facing now. So many changes! I'm loving every minute of this!