9 Months Old!

Abigail is 9 months old today and FULL of personality!  It seems like each time I pack up the clothes she has outgrown and start looking back at her newborn pictures, she does something so cute and silly that I forget how sad I am that this year is flying by and laugh out loud with this sweet girl!

She is really starting to interact with us and her personality is hilarious!  This is her new favorite toy right now. 

I was cooking in the kitchen this week and I could hear the most adorable baby giggles coming from the living room.  Mike was on his hands and knees pushing her through the house on this puppy toy!  Her Doo Dah brought this by earlier in the week and she is loving it!  You can also feed the puppy little shapes through his mouth and reach in on the sides to get the toys out.  Once she is standing and walking, there is a handle that pops up so she can walk along with it too!  I think she will get a lot of use out of this one! 

Of course her other favorite toy is Miller.  She crawls all over the house now and Miller is the perfect jungle gym.  Miller is such a sweet dog and just lets Abigail climb all over her! 

Watch out Miller, here she comes!

Busy little lady!

Here's what Abigail is doing at 9 months:

* pulling up on the furniture and playing in tall kneeling.  She will try to stand if you help her but hasn't tried on her own yet
* laughing a lot! She seems to understand when things are funny and she gets so tickled 
* she loves the laundry basket and pulling all the clothes out.  She recently reached out of her crib to the near by basket and pulled her dirty clothes back in the crib!  Little stinker!
* lots of jibber jabber.  I love to see her get on a roll and talk to us or her books 
* working on her pincer grasp and finger foods.  She mostly picks up her food and drops it for Miller...

Look at this serious face as she tries to pick up her food!

So far she likes to hold her food, but no way is she going to put it in her mouth!  However, she is happy to eat anything that I give her on a spoon...

And Miller just camps out under her chair waiting for little puffs to fall from the sky. It's like Manna from Heaven! 

Mike and I have been really busy with house renovations and work days at the new church building, but we are trying to spend as much time outside as we can because middle Tennessee is gorgeous in the Fal!  Yesterday, we decided to celebrate Abigail's 9 months by taking a family trip out to Gentry Farm and getting a few pumpkins! It's hard to believe that next year she will be running around and picking out her own pumpkin.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

8 Months and on the move!

So much has changed in the last four weeks!  Abigail is officially mobile and does not sit still!  Last month, I mentioned how easy it was to place her on a blanket and take her picture.  Hope I appreciated that!  She is a little explorer now and on the move!

If our neighbors got a glimpse of our picture attempt, they were in for a treat!  With birds chirping and children playing, there was just too much going on for this sweet little girl to sit still and look at us!  

If we were lucky to get her attention for a second, we mostly got faces like this.  She will be so happy I shared this one day!

And she's off again...

Abigail started crawling a few weeks ago and she is one happy little girl now that she can follow me around and explore!  

Abigail at 8 months: 

* crawling EVERYWHERE 
* lurred to the vent covers and wall outlets- time to safe proof! 
* trying to pull up on our coffee table
* babbling a lot!  " ba ba ba"
* loves to scream and make the loudest noises she knows to make! 
* she figured out how to shake a rattle toy.  She raises both arms when she does this- cutest thing ever
* continues to enjoy when you read or sing to her.  she puts her hands on the books and talks back to them! 
* content as can be in the Ergo baby carrier.  I can shop or hike or do just about anything with her snugged up in the Ergo.  
* Peek a boo is the coolest game ever!  She even plays with her Grammy and Grampy on Skype!
* She loves to snuggle up with her Daddy!  Nothing makes me happier than watching Mike and Abigail together!  


I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed my life with this precious gift and I pray that He will teach me how to lead Abigail well.  I am reading This book right now and there are nights that I fall asleep praying for Abigail.  I wish I could forever see the sweet innocence in her eyes and hold on to a little girl that shakes rattles and laughs back at her books.  But, there is a scary world that awaits her.  If I let my mind wonder too far into the corruption that will chase after her heart one day, I can get completely overwhelmed.  I daily remind myself that she belongs to the Lord and He loved her first.  My desire is to model for her and teach her how to trust in the Lord as she navigates through this life.  This verse is always encouraging to me and a good reminder that the Lord is our counselor!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."  Psalm 32:8

Abigail 8 months old!

Fall Baptism 2012 ~ Green Hills Church

On Sunday, Mike and I celebrated with our church family as four dear friends from our small group got in the Little Harpeth River and publicly shared their faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ! It was a beautiful afternoon! 

Baptism is such a special moment in the life of a believer and a day they will always look back on with joy!  It was awesome to see so many friends and family come out to show their support!  

How cute are these two? They bring so much life to our small group and I think they are beautiful people both inside and out!! 

Abby and Jessie have a new little baby and I am so proud of the spiritual tone they are setting for their family!  Abby is one of my best friends and I have literally watched these two grow up together.  Seeing Jessie baptize his wife was incredible!

Green Hills Church Fall Baptism 2012!

Adventures in making baby food!

My Mother's Day gift this year was the super fabulous Beaba baby food maker. So far I am really enjoying making Abigail's food and since it's been pretty easy , I thought I would share my experience! 

Mike and I spend a lot of time together in the kitchen and we cook most of our meals at home, so making Abigail's food has not felt like a chore.  In fact, it's been so much fun! Here is a quick run down of how to make your own baby food.  

First, pick the fruit and vegetables for your little one and soak them for a few minutes in a mixture of vinegar and water.  This will help you remove any bacteria or pesticide residue that may be on the skins. I think it's helpful to know what the " Dirty Dozen" are so you can buy organic or clean them really well before feeding them to your baby.  

Next, you want to chop your produce.  Certain vegetables like sweet potatoes will retain more nutrients if you bake them, but most are easy to steam and then puree.  The Beaba actually has the ability to steam and puree so if you are making a small batch or a single meal, this is a wonderful food cooker!  When I want to make a larger batch of food, I will use my stackable steamer and pile it up with goodness!  

Here is a great website for baby food recipes and helpful tips for making your own baby food.  Abigail is eating pureed food right now, so I am transferring my steamed produce to a food processor.  One thing I really like about steaming her food is that you can retain the nutrients in the water and use this for your puree.  

There are lots of different options for storing your baby food.  Many people like the convenience of using ice trays to freeze food and then transferring the cubes to freezer bags.  I am trying to use glass when I can, so I found These glass jars for storage and they have worked great so far! Another fabulous feature of the Beaba is that you can place a frozen jar of baby food within the basket and turn the dial to steam and it will thaw your food in less than 5 minutes. 

Of course, making baby food wouldn't be as fun without my little helper!  She entertains herself while I am chopping and filling the jars.  

So if you have been wanting to give it a try, I promise it's easy and fun!  Bananas and avocados are also super easy foods to try because you just mash them!  No cooking needed!  

Happy adventures in baby bood making! 

Seven Months!

If I could freeze time and keep Abigail at this age just a little longer, I would do it!  She just turned seven months old today and this is by far my favorite stage.  She is perfectly content to sit in my lap or on a blanket and look around or play with a little book.  I know it's only a matter of time before she realizes that she has places to go!  

Every morning, I grab a book and a few toys and as I sip my coffee, Abigail sits in my lap entertaining herself.  It is by far my favorite part of the day and I know before long she is going to want to get down and chase Miller!  I'm hoping I have a few more months to enjoy this sweet morning time with her before she is completely mobile. 

Sweet baby girl!

Things Abigail is doing at 7 months: 

* getting up on into quadruped and rocking
* combat crawling and pulling herself around the house
* sitting in her chair at the table like a big girl
* eating lots of veggies
* starting to try to talk.  So far " ba ba ba"
* learning to use a sippy cup 

Happy 7 months sweet girl!

A little Summer Picnic

With every passing year, I come to love the Fall more and more!  Pumpkin spice lattes, boots, and harvest candles are a few of my favorite things!  But I have really enjoyed this summer with our little one.  We were able to take a few beach trips this year, but some of my favorite moments have also been random days at the pool and small weekend adventures.  

We took a quick trip out to Arrington Vineyard this weekend with the Baileys and had a fun little picnic!  I'm trying to take advantage of this age with Abigail because right now she just sits quietly on a blanket.  I am aware this will not last much longer...

I am so happy Abigail will get to play with the Bailey girls now that they live here because they are so sweet!  Anya really liked getting her picture taken.  She would say " take my picture" and then gaze away from the camera.  Love!

Brian and Aimee actually introduced Mike and I so we are forever grateful to them! One of our fist trips as a couple was to visit Brian and Aimee in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Aimee was pregnant with Eden at the time and it's crazy to believe this little girl started Kindergarden this year.  Check out her beautiful curls!!

With Fall on the way, I am looking forward to spending more time outdoors and enjoying the beauty of Middle Tennessee!  Hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer too!

" A picture is worth a thousand words"

We moved into our first home two years ago. I knew I didn't want to quickly buy art just to have something on the walls so I took my time deciding what would fit our room best.  This month, I finally decided it was time to decorate the wall in our family room!  I am a very sentimental person, so I decided to piece together photos for a "wall collage" of our favorite memories. It turned out to be such a fun project for me and was kind of like taking a trip down memory lane! 

I collected pictures that are special to me that probably wouldn't mean much to most people.  In fact, the quality in a few of the photos is pretty poor, but oh the memory!  If you are like me, then certain pictures are framed in your heart and mind forever.  A picture that can take you back to a special day or a specific emotion are priceless.  I chose a few from my childhood that captured moments I will forever hold on to.  Here are two of my favorites. 

In this first one, my dad is playing with me at the park.  I don't have very many pictures of my dad and I at this age and I love how happy I am in my daddy's arms.  

This next picture is so precious to me.  I remember seeing it years ago as Dee Dee and I looked through old boxes of pictures.  I sat and stared at this one for a while because it brought back so many memories of joy for me.  There were a lot of hard times when I was this age, but Dee Dee made sure there were times I could just be a child.  She took me to throw the frisbee and blow bubbles as often as she could!

It's funny how it all started out as my little "project"!  But before long, Mike was pretty excited about our wall!  We sat up one night thumbing through old albums and I loved watching his eyes light up as he remembered his childhood in Bogota.  Here is my favorite that we found of Mike and his father.  I love the sweet smile on Mike's face as he smells the flowers and the way his father is beaming with JOY over his son! 

I also included a few photos from places we've traveled together that mean so much to us.  In this picture, Mike is standing in the main plaza of Villa de Leyva, Colombia. This quaint little town is special to Mike because he spent many years vacationing there with his family.   A few years ago, Mike took me to visit Villa de Leyva while we were in South America.  I love this little plaza because during the day it is filled with laughter as children eat ice cream and play soccer.  Families fly kites and sit on the steps without a care in the world.  At night, the scene takes on a more romantic ambiance as couples sit under verandas sipping their wine and listening to Colombian music.  Such a beautiful little town!

These last two pictures are probably my favorites on the wall!  My grandmother is one of the most special ladies in my life and as I planned our wedding a few years ago, I sat with my grandmother Shirley looking through boxes of her old hats.  She told me stories of all the hats she owned and we searched til we found the perfect one for my wedding day. With a little bit of dye and new russian veiling, my grandmother's old hat became a treasure to me!  Here is a picture of Dee Dee putting it on for me.  

I didn't realize that my grandmother had a similar picture from her wedding day until this year when I looked through an album at her house.  When I saw it, I knew immediately that it had to go on my wall!  This is my sweet great grandmother Mildred putting my grandmother's wedding hat on.  Priceless! 

So needless to say, I am really happy with how our wall collage turned out! I collected all the frames from Goodwill so I could get a good eclectic mix of shapes, colors, and styles.  I also included a few random pieces or art and sketches to mix it up a bit.  A good friend recommended that I cut out shapes of the frames and tape them up for a few days so I could try out the new look before I made my collage permanent.  Excellent advice since I moved them around each day for a week before making up my mind!! Miller, our golden retriever, of course was involved in each step of the process...    

Here is how it turned out!  Each picture has a sweet story behind it and now I am reminded of all the joy and provision the Lord has extended to our family throughout the years.  I hope I continue to stop and thank God for all the blessings in my life each day as I walk by my wall of pictures.