Monday, July 26, 2010

Two Years Ago Today...





...I married my best friend! July 26, 2008 was, by far, the best day of my life (tied with February 3, 2010 of course! Love my baby girl!). The ceremony was at the beautiful Peachtree Road United Methodist Church at 2 o'clock. It was such a beautiful and special ceremony! My grandfather was even able to sing at the wedding which was such a blessing. Not a lot of girls can have their grandfather sing at their weddings! My childhood preacher was able to take part in the ceremony as well, which was so special. He even writes us a letter each year around our anniversary. He's such a sweet man! Luckily, we were inside most of the day, because I heard it was a hot one. Even though we took some pictures outside, I never felt hot, just excited and happy! The reception was at the Atlanta Athletic club and was so much fun! It was the one time in our life that everyone that we love and care about were in one place together with us! I keep asking my dad if we can throw another party like that, but he just doesn't go for the idea! 




Today is our two-year anniversary, and the traditional present is supposed to be cotton or straw, so I'm guessing we need to go shopping for some clothes, even though we always just end up buying Lila clothes instead of clothes for ourselves. Her outfits are just so darn cute to resist! Our day this year falls on a Monday, which isn't all that exciting, and since Josh has to work today, we are just going to go out to dinner (no cruise planned for this year...bummer!). Josh wants to bring Lila along with us to dinner since he didn't see her all day Sunday or while he was at work today. They are so obsessed with each other, it's just the cutest thing!




I am so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive husband, who is also an amazing father! We have such a great time together, and I cherish everyday we spend with each other! Happy Anniversary, Josh! Love you!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Life in Texas so far



We've been in Texas now for a month now, and, to tell you the truth, it feels just like Florida. It's hot, humid, and rainy on most afternoons. If you don't like the weather here (or in Florida), just wait 30 minutes, and you will have something different! The heat hasn't been quite as intense as I'd prepared myself for; however, I don't have to work outside in it like Josh does! I also think that living in Florida prepared me for the heat. 


Lila's new roommate...didn't have to deal with these creatures in Florida!


We've been enjoying ourselves, getting the final touches finished on our house (Josh is glad that all the pictures are finally hung), meeting new friends, and trying to find a church home. Josh is getting used to his new job in the Coast Guard cutter, Skipjack and is getting all of his qualifications signed off on so that he doesn't have to stand duty on the boat every third day anymore. When they are in port he currently has to work a normal 8am-4pm workday in addition to standing duty (which is staying the night on the boat to make sure it doesn't sink) every three days. After he is "broken in," he only has to stand duty every 6 days, which will be so much nicer! I feel like he has had to work so much in the last three weeks! They also have to get underway one-two weeks out of the month and are on a recall status, which means if they get home after being at work for 8 hours, they might be recalled back to the boat to go off-shore again. When he first told me this, I thought, "yeah right, how often is that going to happen??" Well, let me tell you, A LOT! The first week that he started work, he got recalled at 10 o'clock at night! UGH! Try planning anything when your husband's schedule is like that! 


I'm sorry, I'm finished complaining about my husband's job! I know every wife and mother gets frustrated with her husband's job. If I had it my way, he would only work 2-3 hours per week and still get paid the same! Doesn't work like that though :-( 


Ready for a day at the beach

After being home alone with Lila for two weeks with a husband who has to work all the time, I decided to join several different mom's groups to meet some new moms in the area. So far, I'm younger than most of the moms, but I could care less. They are adults, and can actually converse with me using real words (not that I don't love Lila's "googoo's", "gaagaa's", "daadaa's," etc)! 


With the mom's group, Lila and I went to Moody Gardens in Galveston. It is a really neat place with different attractions located in the same area. There is a water park, aquarium, IMAX theatre, and a beach/splash pad area. I met a couple moms at the Palm Beach area which has a pool designed to look like a beach, as well as sand, beach chair, and fountains.  Lila had so much fun watching the big kids dig in the sand and make sandcastles. She also had a great time playing in the sand herself. She would pick up big clumps and throw it or drop it, and she even tried to eat it. She is such a beach baby and loves every minute of being in the water or playing with the sand. 
Loving life at Moody Gardens


Josh finally has a whole weekend off (even though its Friday-Saturday, and has duty again on Sunday) so we are excited to spend time as a family. We are going over to one of his new co-workers houses for a cookout on Saturday. Their family just had a baby girl a few weeks ago, so I'm excited to meet them! 


Silly face to leave you with

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Sunday Thoughts

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.


Ephesians 2:10


This was the verse used as the basis for the sermon today in church, and it really spoke to me. Josh and I moved to Texas about three weeks ago and have been struggling to find a church home. We came from an AWESOME church, Niceville United Methodist, and it has been really hard finding something that even remotely compares to it. The first two churches we attended were very small and didn't have many young people our age. And sadly, Josh had to work this morning, so I had to attend church, League City United Methodist, this morning alone, which I don't mind doing. It's just that I really enjoyed this church, and I wish that Josh was able to worship with me here this morning. 


We had driven by this church when we first moved to the area, and it looked really old so we were hesitant to try it (I know that's ridiculous, but we're products of the mega-church generation). Anyways, I decided to try it this morning, and I'm so glad I did. 


The pastor is a young guy, probably in his 40's, and is full of energy! He just got there in June, so he is new to the rest of the congregation as well, and everyone really seems to like him. But, going back to the verse at the top, the first phrase, "For we are God's masterpiece," spoke to me in two different ways. First, because I was putting all of the pictures that we took of Lila in the hospital when she was born in an album yesterday.  I was reminiscing of her birth and what a wonderful experience and blessing that day was. Every time I look at her I am amazed at how awesome God is and how He can create such perfect humans in His image. She truly is a masterpiece, as we all are! The second way it spoke to me was also the central them in the pastor's message today: none of us are perfect, and none of us see ourselves as perfect. But, "God doesn't make junk!" Of course there are many things about ourselves that we want to change, but we need not compare ourselves to others. We ,instead, should compare ourselves to God. Magazines (I do love my US Weekly, People, and In Touch) and television create a "perfect" image that many people strive to be, which in reality, God wants us to look more like him (by the things we do, not in our physical appearance), not an actor or actress on the screen or in a magazine! We are His masterpieces, and we should aim to be closer like Him by doing good deeds and serving Him as He has mapped out for us. 


Love yourselves, for you are God's masterpiece! And remember, God doesn't make junk! :-) Have a great Sunday!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Videos of our life lately

Daddy and Lila taking a nap together one afternoon:


Lila discovering her wrist rattle:


Lila's First Time Eating Peas (I don't think we can add them to the list of her favorite foods):


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Lila and her puppy, Chevy

I got a new camera yesterday!!! I'm SO excited! It's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i, and it takes such great pictures!!! I had a great point-and-shoot camera before, but I'm really excited to have a DSLR so that I can use different lenses and take more creative pictures. 


I really got to enjoy my camera this morning when I had Lila and Chevy in the bed with me. Lila loves to pet Chevy and feel his fur, and he loves to lick her face, feet, hands, head, and pretty much whatever he can get his tongue on. I used my new toy to take pictures of these cute little interactions!




Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Some fun videos

Now that we are unpacked and have the internet up, here are some videos that we've taken over the past couple weeks:

Daddy/Daughter time jammin' out to the Dave Matthews Band:



Lila's First taste of Bananas:



Lila playing in her pink GT walker:

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Five Months Old



3 posts in one day!!! I've had so much to share on this blog but had no time to do it until today thanks to all of our boxes (except about 5 with some random things I can do without for a few more days in them) being unpacked!

My little baby girl is five months old today. I don't know why five months feels so much older to me than the rest of her milestones, but for some reason it just does! She has changed so much in the last month and is able to do so many new things!

She weighs a little over 14 1/2 pounds and is 25 inches long. She is eating rice cereal mixed with some sort of fruit (bananas, apples, or pears) once a day in addition to the 5-7 ounces of breastmilk every 2 1/2-3 hours. She loves to hold the bottle or spoon when feeding her, which makes for a VERY messy solid food feeding because instead of grabbing the handle everytime, she usually is able to get a hold of the spoon and gets food all over her hands, and then whatever else she touches-which makes her dog Chevy very happy!

She is sleeping through the night on most nights (anywhere between 6 1/2- 9 1/2 hours at a time). However, she still wakes up on occasion after 4 or 5 hours, which we're still working on letting her cry it out at these times so she can put herself back to sleep (even though this doesn't always help...).

Her personality is starting to shine through, and she loves to laugh and smile. She belly laughs when people sneeze which is really funny! She also loves to be called a "big girl" and gives us the biggest grin when we do. She loves the water: the pool, the ocean, and her baths.
She loves her pink car walker, and walks all over the place while playing the music and honking the horn. I'm so glad our new house is mostly tile and hardwoods so she can roam free! She also loves to roll. We have to strap her down so tight in her swing and bouncy seat because she wants to roll right out of them. Also, no more sitting her in her boppy pillow on the couch! She rolls all around on the couch. We even tried surrounding her with tons of pillows, but she breaks free! She is definitely mobile, and we have to always watch her so carefully!!
She is starting to be able to sit up by herself for longer periods of time. She loves to feel things and is always trying to feel the floors or the couch or whatever she is sitting on as well as clothes, blankets, mirrors, and pictures. She also loves her feet! She entertains herself for at least 30 minutes at a time while she plays with them and puts them in her mouth (so gross and so cute at the same time!).



She still loves to grab at objects, but she is able to make contact with them everytime now. She loves to pull on her animals in her playyard as well as the bugs that hang from her infant seat. She is also able to pull the tabs on her animals in her bouncy seat to make them play, and loves to hear the music over...and over...and over!
We are still having the time of our lives with our little angel and I thank God for such an amazing blessing!!!



Lila's New Nursery

Here are some pictures of Lila's nursery in the new house. I'm still waiting on a chandelier that I ordered from Pottery Barn Kids to complete her room:

Her side of the Jack-and-Jill bathroom



Crib and changing table


Top of her bookshelf

Side of her room by the door

Close up of the table by the door

Her packed closet

The shelves above the glider

We're Home!!!

I feel like it's been forever since my last post! Since then we've had quite a few eventful and busy days! We packed up the car from the Destin condo early Wednesday morning and headed out on our 10-hour car ride to League City, Texas. Josh had Chevy in the car with him while my mom drove Lila and me in my car. Surprisingly, we only had to stop four times, one being solely because Lila had a diaper that desperately needed to be changed! I thought that we would have to stop more often to use the restroom and to eat...I mean, 10 hours is a LoooooNG time! I really hate to be in a car for a long period of time, and I used to dread our 6-hour drive from Florida to Atlanta, but this drive wasn't so bad. I think the fact that I knew I only had to do it once helped a bit. We drove over 500 miles on I-10 alone which was pretty neat because we got to see a ton of little bayous in Lousianna. I-10 was mainly bridges the whole way through Lousianna which my mom and I were discussing must have cost a fortune!

We got to the hotel at around seven o' clock and met my dad who had flown from Atlanta to meet us for the house closing. Of course we had to eat some Tex-Mex for dinner! I definitely have to join a gym asap because of all these delicious restaurants around here! We closed on the house Thursday morning, and later that afternoon, Robert (my mom's handy man/mover) brought over a truck full of some furniture from my parent's house that we are using in our house as well as my First Grade teacher supplies and materials. I know my mom was thrilled for me to finally have everything in my house rather than her garage. We were able to get two rooms set up before the moving truck with all of our other things showed up on Monday. We didn't have any moving to do Saturday and Sunday so we were able to enjoy the area with my dad before he had to fly back to Atlanta. We drove around Galveston Island, ate at Kemah Boardwalk, and showed my dad all of the ball fields around town (he puts family-centered shopping centers near ball fields).

The movers came with all of our things from the Florida house on Monday, and everything was unloaded from the truck within a couple of hours before the rain started. The next three days were an unpacking blur! Finally, today, five days later, we are somewhat settled in! There are just a few things left to organize in the nursery and playroom (I'm waiting on a chandelier for the nursery for it to be complete), Josh has to install three of our tvs, we have to take five huge boxes to Goodwill, Christmas boxes need to be put in the attic, and there are about 5 more boxes of random things to unpack in the garage. I'm so ready to be DONE with everything, but as my mom says, "moving is a marathon, not a sprint." Wise words!

Here are a few pics of rooms that are mostly finished:
Breakfast room
 
The study
 
The Playroom
 
Guest bedroom

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...