Merry Christmas!!

lil' Santa Claus

stocking stuffers!

she loved sitting in this basket with her stuffed animals!

Emma ate 2 whole brownies.. she was soooo hyper!

Look what I got from Santa!!

We have had a crazy 1st Christmas with Emma and our family!! It has been really fun with lots of games being played, but a whole lot of company in our home! We have had 5 dogs, 1 baby and 8 people trying to sleep under one small roof for a week! Whew!!


It was really special to watch Emma open her presents and look at the lights and be apart of it all! On Christmas Day Emma said "Mama" for the 1st time where it was clear as a bell! She was crawling towards me and it was sooo cute! She is also such a busy body- she crawls around the floor fast and then stops and flails, then does it all over again!


We also had a party for all of our family who live here.. We had a Mexican feast with various types of enchiladas, tamales, real hot hot sauce and too many desserts!! It was a full house, but really fun! We drank lots of eggnog, wine & whiskey!


We are hoping to catch up with the Tices this week and maybe have them over Friday..


Then Sam & Juliette are coming to hang out and celebrate the New Year with all of us!

I loved all my presents this year.. Daniel did a much better job compared to my White Diamonds and zip-off mesh pants I received last year.. no offense to those of you who like White Diamonds.. (I think it smells like an old lady perfume).

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and were able to celebrate it with family & friends!

9 months old &

not a baby anymore..

It is so sad

how did this happen so fast?

Nothing could bring a mom more mixed emotions than
your baby growing up

We want her to walk and talk and play games with us
but we also want her to stay small and innocent and sweet
I kindof dread those toddler years, but then again I can't wait to see her say 'I love you, daddy' and give him a big hug...
I kindof dread those teenage years, but then again I can't wait to see her get all giddy when she has a crush on a boy...

I guess that is why parents have more babies!
So enough of all that...
9 month old birthday- born 3/10

Emma had a wonderful doctor appointment..

waiting in the dr. office

She weighs 18.2 lbs (a gain of almost 2 lbs from 6 months) and 28 and a half inches (gain of 2 inches) She is still in the 50th percentile in weight and 75th for height... yea for Daniel's genes kicking in!! I always hoped his legs would get passed down to our daughters!!
She got her finger pricked and didn't even mind at all!! Just looked at the lady while she squeezed her little finger! She said the blood work is perfect, no vitamins or anything needed.. and the lead test came back negative, so good.. I was a little worried because our house is so old!
Well, here are some pics from the last week.. The Christmas cards are in the mail so you should get them by this weekend!!
getting ready for the big photo shoot!


Emma loves her new car seat from Grandma & Grandpa Gee


giving Gauge a hug!

beautiful December days

We are having great weather here in MS.. it is a little warm, but it is so nice to be able to play outside! Today, when Emma wasn't napping we were outside, at the park swinging or by the pond walking through the woods! This weekend we are getting our tree and taking Christmas pictures.. I hope that we can get Emma to smile at the camera.. it is hard when noone is there to make her laugh!!

On a different note, Gauge, our black male lab had a seizure yesterday.. It lasted about 5 minutes.. that is about the 3rd one that we can recall so far.. This isn't new to me because my yellow lab, Pooh Bear, used to have them a lot. The vet would give him phenobarbitol, but it didn't really do much.. so we will just have to wait and see what happens with Gauge.. If anyone knows of anything more about these, please let me know.. I have heard they are common in large dogs of this breed and that they don't cause any pain for the animals..they are just hard to watch! Well, needless to say, he didn't miss a beat and was back running wild today!!

Back in God's country...

aka Mississippi! as my dad likes to call it...

playing at the park today!

We had a great time in Texas and I already miss it!

I had been home no more than an hour and go in to the kitchen to find a dead mouse... I was not happy - to say the very least!!!!

Daniel is making dinner and I was so excited to see him and for Emma to see him... then I find out that he is making tuna... like the big slab of it.. not my favorite... and I look over and see the little dead mouse on the sticky pad.. he obviously tried to get away.. Daniel was so excited to see it worked! Happy homecoming to me! :(

Emma & Reese!! - their baby pictures look so much alike!!

Well, we got our Christmas things out and will get a tree this week and try and take some Christmas pics to send out soon!

our new fireplace heater!! It works REALLY good!

Dancin' Emma & dancin' Santa

Emma & Tai in the leaves

Pauline, Emma & Tai

Emma's new camo pajamas

F is for Thanksgiving!!

of course there will be pictures posted on my Snapfish link to the top right sidebar...soon!

I love this leather skirt... so sassy!! It was Reese Vivaldis!!

I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons:
the food


the family


the friends
Carrie, Rachel, Gene & Erica



the football


We have been in CS for a while now and having fun being extremely busy... the weather has been yucky for days now, but at least it feels like fall (or winter, really). Emma and I went to stay with Daniel's parents for a few days and I got a pedi/mani and a babysitter... so nice!! We cooked and baked and shopped!

Emma got early Christmas presents!!




We have been going out a lot here so that has been fun..tiring but it is great to have adult conversations in an adult atmosphere! Marigene came for Thanksgiving and the weekend and then drove Daniel back today! He will be in Florida for a work conference all week (poor guy) so Emma and I are sticking around here until Friday, then meeting him home for a restful weekend!!



Allison & Harms


Ry & Autumn

Those happy couples aren't really couples, just friends... it is funny that in all the pics I took, there are none of the actually married couples.. just random friends! Why is that??! And knowing how much of a picture craze I am, the entire week, I never got a picture of Daniel, Emma and I! Sorry Daniel.. you know this means we will be taking post-Thanksgiving family pics when we get home!! :)

We all 3 went to the Reed Pig Roast and saw a lot of friends and parents.. Emma showed off being sweet and it was nice to be able to take her with us!!

Brad, Josh & Brent


All or most of the guys at the Pig Roast!! It was tough getting them to agree to take this picture! If you want a copy just email me or send me a comment!!

We always say that Thanksgiving in CS is like our highschool reunion..so true.. we don't really need to have our 10 year reunion... it happens every year during the holidays!!!



Daniel, Jimmy & Michael



Lance, Sara, Daniel, Cullen & Chelsea
(The Menns and Daniel)


Kylee and Kayden Harms, Emma
Kylee stood up for the 1st time here!!


GIG 'EM AGGIES!!! BTHO tu! Whoop!

Avery & Emma

This zebra is what Emma wants for Christmas!!

We went to visit our friends Amy and Avery this past week.. it was a quick visit, but fun to watch the girls play and interact! Avery is almost 14 months and Emma is 8 months here..

We are now in Texas and having fun seeing everyone, going on walks with the twins and eating lunch with the grandparents and family! So excited about Thanksgiving!! YUM!! and we get to see a lot of old friends!! Gig 'em Ags!!

Emma's outfit is from Carrie.. so cute!!

I think they are tired of me taking pictures....

Happy girl loves her bath!!

Happy Birthday to Jeffrey!!

Me and Jeffrey, & lots of Cabbage Patch dolls



Today is my little brother, Jeffrey or Toodge's, 22nd birthday!! Happy Birthday, we love you and can't wait to hang out with you more over your break!! By the way, your present is in the mail!! Here are a few pics of him and our family!!

We are heading to CS either today or tomorrow, so hope to see you all there!

8 months old and rocking

Emma is 8 months old today (Saturday, the 10th)!!

She is such a little person, not even like a baby anymore :(
She crawls around following me from room to room

She cruises on anything she can find, including Gauge (loves it) and Dixie (much to her dismay)
She is saying all kinds of craziness that we can't understand..we think we hear Da-da, do (dog) and that's about it...
She is our angel and we are so happy she is here, healthy and helping us to remember to be thankful and take notice of the little things in life!!

Emma has taken over paying our bills

birds-eye view

merry-go rounding

standing up and spinning - whoa girl!

I love this one.. she looks so far off.. she was really just staring at the dogs!

relaxing by the pond

her favorite pasttime - watching those dogs!