We ate at Colby's tonight and I caught these precious pictures on camera while we were there. John and I laid our heads on the table and talk baby talk really loud to Julia while there. Her smile is worth a million bucks!



This morning, I pulled another "crazy mommy" stunt. The home economics teacher at Cross County High School asked me if I would come to her parenting class and be the guest speaker, and bring Julia! The students were learning how to bathe and take care of babies. She asked me to bring Julia's bath tub and give her a bath so the students could get a live demonstration. So we did. I talked a lot about how having a baby had changed my life in such drastic ways. I tried to scare them a little bit by telling them what a huge responsibility having another life in my hands was. I also told them how grateful I was for the time that John and I had together before she got here because we were able to travel and have no regrets on things we may have missed out on. This picture is of Julia being held by one the students. I am sure Julia will never forget this experience!

Other random cute pictures from the last few days or so.



Kristen calls herself the baby whisperer and I agree. Julia loves to her her Aunt Kris sing and talk about a can of goo. Aunt Jane knitted this "potato sack" for Julia and she looks precious in it. Kristen and I agreed that she looks like a Bohemian baby!

Too Busy of a Day

Today was my first day back at work and it seemed so long! I also taught a CPR class to a daycare after I got off work. Mom came and stayed with Julia while I was teaching and while John was at school. I felt like I didn't get near enough time with Julia today so I tried to keep her awake as long as possible when I got home. She is sleeping a lot lately. Sometimes I get worried that she is sleeping too much, but everyone says I am just lucky. Last night, she went to sleep around ten and woke up around 4:30 to eat. She went right back to sleep after she ate and John had to wake her up at 9 to eat again. Is this normal?
My aunt's house in Memphis was robbed today for the second time. I am so mad that someone would do that and so sorry for her! It is such a violation! We talked on the phone and called the robbers some choice names. Her sweet dog Sam was home and wasn't hurt. They took her computer and some change. Memphis is really getting a bad rap in my mind!

Girls Night In

Tonight, Julia and are having a girls night in party. John is playing at a bar in Trumann tonight. We went to another birthday party this morning. Ashley's daughter Amelia had her 5th birthday party at the Forrest City Methodist Church gym. There was a blow up jumpy thing and plenty of room for everyone to run and play. I am taking mental notes of fun birthday party ideas. Ashley and I went to graduate school together and have been friends since the first day I met her at my first job at the health department in 1997. I was in her wedding and was there the day Amelia was born. She lives in Marianna now and I don't see her near enough. Life gets really busy with kids and babies.

Sarah and her friend Deanna came over to visit tonight. I am going to try to get some sewing done in between working really hard to get Julia to smile. I am working on some drapery panels for a lady in town for her kitchen. Not a very challenging project, but it does take time to get 4 panels the exact same size.

Julia slept all night for the second time last night. I have been waking her up to feed her until now. She has always been a really good sleeper. Last night, she slept from about 10 until 6:45. It was REALLY nice. Hopefully, she will make this a habit for next week when I go back to work full time!

3 months old!

3 months ago today!

Julia is 3 months old today! I can't stand it. Today, someone asked me how she was and I told them she was 3 months old. The lady said, "Before you know it, she will be dating." I wanted to hit her, but I restrained myself. The point is that it does go by quickly. Julia is changing so much and I am starting to see what she might look like when she gets a little older. She has beautiful blue eyes and dark brown hair.

Today, I did my first Chamber meeting as President. It's hard to run a meeting because there is so much to remember to say. I asked for a motion and second to approve the minutes and financials from last month, but forgot to let the group vote (all in favor...any opposed). Oh well. The mayor had to point it out to me. I will get it right eventually. I have decided that they should have given me a practice run before putting me in charge!

Thumbsucker????

Hairlines, book clubs, etc.

Julia got to eat dinner last night at Colby's with the Book club girls. I haven't been reading near as much as I did before Julia, but I am going to try my best to read the book club book every month. This month's book is "The Senator's Wife" by Sue Miller and I am anxious to get into it.

John and Julia have been working on vowel sounds. John swears that Julia will imitate his mouth movements when he is making sounds. I guess that is one of the sad parts of one parent working.....the one at home gets to see all the fun stuff and I miss out sometimes. At least it's not a stranger getting to see it! It is so sweet to see the two of them bonding. John adores her and I think she thinks that he is pretty cool too. She doesn't seem to have to have a reason to smile at him. All he has to do is talk to her and he gets a smile. I, on the other hand, have to make obnoxious noises which I do all the time now. I am glad there is not a recorder in this house.

This is my last week of working 2 and half days a week and I am trying really hard not to go into a deep mourning. It has been great to work part time on a really flexible schedule. It has made breastfeeding much easier too. We have made it 3 months now, and that was my goal with breastfeeding from the start. If I make it until Friday, I will have surpassed my goal. My sweet baby girl will be a quarter of a year old this Thursday!

Lots of people are calling me about sewing projects lately and I am happy to do it in my spare time. We had a landscaping guy come by today to draw us up a master plan. I have a feeling that the extra sewing money will be much needed when we start the work. We haven't seen what he is proposing yet, but I know it will be a massive project with a new driveway and the whole works.

I love Julia's hairline in the back!

Julia always ends up slumping in her swing and falling asleep.

Our Day as a "Family Unit"

John cracked me up today when he said that "we should get out and do something today as a family unit." He played last night at the bar downtown and made some extra cash. He decided we should go celebrate Valentine's Day and eat sushi with his money that he made. This is coming from a man who swears that he doesn't like sushi, but always suggests that we go to great lengths to eat it. So, we loaded Julia up and took her to Memphis. We shopped a little and ate at Seikisui. It was delicious! Julia was a little sweetheart. Her smiles are getting more frequent and they are THE BEST! She smiles at both of us when we talk baby talk, make weird sounds, or just smile at her. This parenting business is getting better every day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! This has been the best ever, I think, with two sweethearts. Julia got a long-stem rose that I got yesterday at Rotary, 2 sweet Valentine cards (one from her Granny and Grandpa) and one from my Aunt Amy and Uncle Jim along with a personalized sticker book, a cute Valentine outfit and stuffed animal from her friend Emmy, a visit with Granny and Grandpa, and at least one thousand kisses from her mom and dad.
John and I watched a sappy movie called Evening, that John got from Netflix. It was just that, sappy. I got John a box of chocolates that the Cross County Friends of the Library made. I am really going to try my best to stay out of it! I also got a very cool apron that my Aunt Amy made that I will treasure (and wear!). It will always be a happy reminder of our first Valentine's Day together with Julia. Simple, but sweet.

Someone Else Can Do Her Nails

Tonight, I injured Julia. I was cutting her nails and cut some skin on her thumb instead. There was blood involved and some tears (from me). Someone else is going to have to do those nails, or we are going to have to come up with another method. The hand that I didn't get to has nails that are already starting to curl under. So, next time you see Julia and her nails are a couple of inches long, you will understand why.
It's been really tough to work 2 and half days a week. I am just staying ahead of the game and need to be putting in a whole lot more hours. I have this week and next week left. The boss told me today that I could continue on for as long as I could afford it and it is VERY tempting. However, we are emptying the savings account quickly and I am sure that John can handle five days a week. He has realized that staying home with Julia is a full time job. He hates to hear her cry and basically holds her all day long!

Sarah came over tonight to hang out and we took some pictures. Thought I would share.


Another Few Things That I Love About Julia........

Those fat creases on her sweet little leg!

That precious little face!

Lazy Sunday

Some of the best days are those days that we get to be lazy and don't leave the house ALL day! Today was one of those days and I loved every minute of it. My only complaint is how fast the time ticks away. Julia cried some real tears today and sucked her hand and thumb when she could find it. Bath time is still her favorite time of the day! I stole some pictures off of Tara's blog of yesterday's birthday party. What a sweet birthday girl!!!!!

A Big Day and a Big Night

Today, Julia got to go to her first birthday party! Emmy Ruth turned 1 and Tara went all out on her Emmy party! It was an incredibly festive time, with red carpet and lots of stars! Emmy was in such good spirits and she smiled and clapped while opening gifts. I think her favorite was a baby doll that she got, so I am making mental notes. Julia had a blast hanging out with Sol and making some new friends. And, oh yeah, sleeping through most of the fun!


When I got to the party in Memphis, I headed back to the car to get Julia's pacie and the camera and realized that I had left her entire diaper bag at home. So, that is why there are no pictures of all the fun! I cannot believe I got all the way there without one diaper. Sol loaned Julia his pacie since his Mom and Dad always have a surplus and can remember to get out of their door with the very important things! Aunt Jane saved the day too by going to Kroger to get diapers and wipes so we wouldn't have to get out of the car. I am so grateful!


Then, we went to Aunt Jane's to feed Julia and to get some down time after the birthday party. Aunt Jane tells me how beautiful and perfect Julia is and even though we already know it, it is nice to hear it from someone else.


Julia and I went to one store and had plans to go to some more places. However, after unloading and loading the stroller, we decided that one store was plenty. Julia has been really good for my shopping habit!


Tonight, John and I got a night out and we went to the Arts Council Valentine gala. We had a great steak dinner and saw lots of friends. Sarah stayed with Julia (this babysitting business is getting really expensive!) and they, once again, did fine. Even though we had a good time, John and I realized pretty quickly that we were ready to go home to our little star! When I told Kristen that we were leaving, she told me that I was turning into a geek. She forgot that I have always been a geek and now I am just a geek with a new focus. Before Julia, we would have stayed at the Gala until the end. It's funny how nothing else in the world matters near as much as her!

I love this pink dress that Julia's cousin Anna knitted for her! She looks so pretty in it!

Julia won the Best Supporting Actress emmy at Emmy's birthday party today.

My "Go" Baby

Julia went on her first overnight trip this week. Mom, Julia and I went to the Chamber Board training session in Little Rock and stayed downtown. Julia did great and LOVED her stroller. I should be ashamed for not putting her in it until now and pushing her around. The terrible weather was rolling through Arkansas the night that we were there. I had to go to a banquet on the 30th floor of a building a couple of blocks from our hotel and the room was surrounded in glass! Not exactly the safest place in the world, but thankfully they let us out early. I raced back to the hotel and we stayed on the ground floor for about an hour while the weather passed. I was so thankful to have Julia with me! I would have been worried sick if we were apart. Julia got to spend some quality time with her Granny Jean and I think they had a good time.....except when Julia missed her own bed during the night!
Shawnie and Keeli were both at the conference and I was not exactly a ball of fun to hang out with. I would run back to the room during every break to see Julia. It's funny how things change. Julia became the center of my universe!
Tonight, I took Julia to the Business After Hours at Handy Mini Storage that the Chamber sponsors. I think she and I were among the youngest there and Julia pretty much slept through it. I love to take her with me, my sweet "go" baby.

Yummy.....

I still just can't get enough of those toes!

Sweet Daddy....

It is one of my main goals is for Julia to see a good marriage between her Mom and Dad! I want her to pick a good man to spend her life with. This morning, and every morning we are home and don't have to rush off to work, John brings me breakfast in bed. I thought it would wear off after she was born, but he is continuing with the tradition. What a way to start the day! I can only hope that Julia will find a man who will bring her breakfast in bed.
We are getting ready for Julia's first overnight trip to Little Rock. I have a required training to go to so that I can learn how to be the Chamber President. Mom is going with us so that I can still breastfeed. I couldn't/wouldn't have gone if Julia couldn't go. I was thinking of all the things that we will need to pack. It was a whole lot easier to get out the door when I was packing for one!
Julia smiles when she wakes up for the morning or from a nap. We both race to get her to see who can talk to her and make her smile. I just won the race and got to see a big smile! What superbowl?

Losing Brain Cells

The Chamber of Commerce Banquet went well. I was happy to present this year's volunteer of the year, Mrs. Myrtle Bradshaw. She is such a sweet lady and deserved the honor! I also did the incoming President's talk. I kept it short and sweet and of course, had to show everyone (375 people) Julia's picture on the slideshow. I mentioned that I had a brand new motivation for doing all that I could do make Cross County a better place. I would love it if Julia would decide she likes it here and decides to live, work and raise her family in Cross County! Or, if she choose NYC, that would be okay too. :)

I went to Wal-Mart and to Dollie Ingles to get our pictures that we had made at Kim Murphy's framed yesterday. When I was leaving Wal-Mart, I realized that the pictures were not in the car. That must mean I left them on top of the car when I was putting Julia in her carseat. I frantically called John and he discovered our $300 pictures on the road and in the ditch close to our house. Thanks goodness the plastic saved them. I am LOSING my MIND!

Julia is discovering her hands and likes to put them in her mouth. Her smiles are also getting better and better!