Kindermusik

We had our last Kindermusik class of 2008 this Tuesday. This has become a morning each week that Mary Lindsey and I really look forward to. She absolutely LOVES the music and dancing and instruments and other babies that attend the class. I have also loved the interaction I have with her as well as the other moms who come to the class. As you can see from the picture above...she loves the drum! I have figured out she really likes anything that makes noise!

Here is Mary Lindsey being pulled around the room by her Nana. She really likes this activity and it is something that she and I even do around our home some days!

I think this picture is too cute! It looks like she is really paying attention and listening to the instructions being given by Ms. Janice. The little boy in the picture is Jack. He is 18 months old and Mary Lindsey thinks he is so cool because he can run and do things she can't quite do yet. She really watches him every class!

Here is Mary Lindsey with her Nana. She joined us this week since it was our last class. We have really enjoyed Tuesday's this fall and we thank Nana for being so generous each week.

Okay, is this not the cutest picture you have ever seen?! Look at those cheeks...don't you want to just squeeze them and kiss them! I love that little girl!

First Visit with Santa!

Well, Mary Lindsey met Santa for the first time on Friday of last week! We went to the mall here in McComb to have her picture taken and tell the big guy what she wanted for Christmas. The woman taking the pictures warned us when we got to the front of the line that most children Mary Lindsey's age do NOT like Santa. So she had Larry distract Mary Lindsey by making noises and holding up a stuffed animal while the woman held Mary Lindsey and backed up toward Santa so she could not see where she was going. The woman put Mary Lindsey in Santa's lap and it took about a minute for ML to realize where she was...she was so wrapped up in how crazy Larry was acting! Eventually, Mary Lindsey turned her head and took a good long look at Santa. She gave his beard one good tug and then laughed a little. She never turned around and looked at him again. She was too busy laughing at Larry! So, hopefully, Mary Lindsey will not be afraid of Santa in the coming years. I can remember being terrified of him, and my family has plenty of funny stories of me SCREAMING in the mall when I caught a glimpse of him. Oh, Christmas memories!

A Mississppi White Christmas!

Can you believe we woke up at 6:00 this morning to this?! It is hard to believe that we have gotten snow in South Mississippi two years in a row. And we didn't just get a little snow. It literally snowed all morning long. From 5:00 am until noon. It has now turned into icy rain. I would say we have every bit of 3 inches in our yard right now. And it is absolutely beautiful! We were only able to take Mary Lindsey out on our back deck that is covered for a small amount of time to take a few pictures. It has been coming down so hard all day I just didn't want to get her out in it. She has sat at the back window this morning and just watched it snow. It has been precious. She seems more excited that Lucy , our chocolate lab, is inside than she is about the snow. She has chased Lucy around the den and kitchen all morning. Too cute!

Here is Mary Lindsey with her Daddy!

Here she is touching snow for the first time. She made a sound with her lips as if to say, "cold!"

Kisses from Daddy in the snow! She is our little snow angel!

You can see all the snow piled up in our backyard and deck. It is cold!!!!

How fun!!! A white Christmas in south Mississppi! Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Ooohhh....Christmas Tree!

Well, this is how our day began. Here we are in the Tahoe driving home and Larry and I all of a sudden hear something...the tree has rolled off the roof of the car. Hilarious! Look at this tree! It looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree...pitiful. Larry has attached it to the roof of the car with one small cord. He jumps out of the car and fixes the problem.

Here my manly man is saving the day. Mary Lindsey is laughing in the back seat even though she doesn't know why she is laughing.

Here is one of Mary Lindsey's first attempts to acquaint herself with the tree. She also wanted to put the lights in her mouth. We are slowly learning to leave the tree alone...yeah right!

Here she is having so much fun with plastic bags and paper. She really sat here for over an hour while I decorated the tree and played with the bags. She loves them!

Later on in the evening. Her first ornament she successfully got off the tree without breaking. One of my Santa ornaments ended the day without a leg and an arm...but, it will be cute memories for years to come.

Here she is going in for the kill. Soon after this picture she threw a major fit because I told her no and took the ornament away from her. What a mean mommy I am!

Look at how innocent she looks...however, she is not. She is fast and capable of much damage. Beware!

I love this picture. It looks like she is saying, "what, I didn't do it. It's not my fault!"

You know it has certainly been a fun week. Mary Lindsey learned how to officially crawl the weekend the Christmas Tree went up. I think seeing a big lighted tree in her den was a lot of motivation to get up and go. And you know, I don't blame her. It seems sort of cruel to expect a 9 month old to leave something so beautiful and bright alone. She I just laugh at her...except when she is throwing one of those fits! Thanks mom and dad for wishing those on me!

Happy December!

Merry Christmas everybody! It is so hard to believe that December is here! 2008 has certainly been a WONDERFUL year and we praise GOd for all His many blessings throughout the past 12 months...especially our sweet Mary Lindsey. It has been so much fun to watch her grow and see her experience sights, and sounds, and tastes for the first time. She LOVES Christmas lights. She will just sit and stare at them for the longest time and then look at us and smile as if to say, " wow, mom, isn't that amazing!" And you know, the lights do look prettier to me this year than they ever have. I think she makes me stop to really appreciate them. Her laugh these days is so contagious! She giggles and bounces and waves her arms in the air over absolutely nothing. She can entertain herself which is wonderful for me during the day when I am trying to get things done. Although, I find myself playing with her constantly because she is so much fun! I have tried to do better about taking pictures this weekend. Sorry, I got a little slack for a while. We have been busy, busy! But, never fear, here are a few of my favorites from the past few days.

I love these precious "Baby's First Christmas" pajamas. She looks so sweet in them!

This one is my favorite! Larry is feeding her some of MeMaw's Red Velvet Cake. Let's just say that Mary Lindsey is a fan! She really is so much like me, because of course her favorite part was the icing...yummm! The only bad part was the diaper that followed...I have never seen that color before.

Mary Lindsey's First Thanksgiving!

Here is our precious Mary Lindsey on her first Thanksgiving. I really wanted to get a picture that would capture her smile at this point in her life. I think it is hilarious! Everytime you get her to smile, she wrinkles her nose and shows you her only two front teeth. Her cheeks look so chubby you just want to pinch them. I could just eat her up!

Here she is with her Dolly and Marty the Monkey. She is having a conversation with them and it was hilarious. She got frustrated with Marty the Monkey and knocked her down. Apparently she wasn't listening properly to what Mary Lindsey was saying!

Here is Bit Bit with her Mommy. (Notice the smile...too cute! She loves the necklace I had on. It was wet when she got done.

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without MeMaw's delicious Red Velvet Cake. YUM-O!

And here is Bit Bit having her first experience with Turkey and Dressing. She Loved it! She also loved the sweet potato casserole. After a big lunch she went down for a good nap!

You can see in her eye's she was worn out after the big lunch. I thought she was going to just lay her head down on her tray.

What a good looking crew! MeMaw, Nana, and Bobo! I think this picture is so funny because Paulette has really been working hard over the past few months to lose close to 20 pounds, and Larry cute her a piece of Red Velvet Cake the size of her face. But, hey its Thanksgiving...who's counting calories!

Mary Lindsey and her her grandmother and Great-grandmother. She is loved by so many people...and believe me, she knows it! Look at that smile and how she is clasping her hands. Too funny!

Bit Bit with Daddy enjoying some adult conversation. She is so tired here! Notice the socks. These were an early Christmas present from her Aunt Michele. Thanks Michele! But sorry to tell you the balls sewn on the socks for the reindeers nose didn't make it. HA!

So that is our day in pictures! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We love you and are thankful for your love and friendship!

Cute as a Button!

Isn't this little outfit so cute! We went to eat dinner at a couple's home who have just joined our church tonight. I gave Mary Lindsey a bath and put on her night clothes before we left so it would be an easy transition to bedtime when we got home. I thought she looked so cute in the little hat, I just had to take some pictures! The process was not an easy one getting this cute picture. She was not in the mood to smile when I wanted her to. You will see what I mean by looking at these pictures. Too funny!

Another cute picture...I think this smile might be fake though. I think she was probably thinking, "maybe if I smile for this crazy lady she will leave me alone and take this stupid camera out of my face!"

And it begins going down hill...

Daddy...please come save me! Mommy is wearing me out!

Thats it... I'm out of here. My nerves are shot...

Oh, wait, my piano toy. I might stay for a while longer.

One last smile. Isn't she just beautiful!

Lap Chaps Graduate!

Boy time flies! It seems like only yesterday that Mary Lindsey was born...and today we celebrated her graduation! Yes, our little girl graduated from "Lap Chaps"! That is the music and story time we attend at the public library on Wednesday mornings. Larry joined us for the little ceremony this morning and got to participate with the singing and fun!

Here is Mary Lindsey receiving her diploma!

Here is Mary Lindsey singing one of her favorite little songs. She loves Ms. Mattie and the music she plays!

Here is a picture of ML and her proud Daddy!

And here is a picture of the fam! ML is more worried about her friend sitting next to her than the picture being taken.

Here we are with Ms. Mattie and our friends Nicole and her little girl Regan.

Mary Lindsey really wants to touch Ms. Mattie's earring!

It really was a fun morning and a precious memory for us all. We will start story time again in January, and that will include preschool children as well. Mary Lindsey will LOVE that!

Carolina Girl!

Mary Lindsey has had such a fun weekend in Spartanburg with Gigi and Pops and Holli. Our visits here are unfortunately not as frequent as we would like, so our days here are filled to the brim with activities and hugs and kisses. ML has gotten to see so many people on our trip. Thankfully she is such a good baby and she lets us haul her from place to place with such a sweet smile on her face and a warm hug for everyone. My mom, her Gigi, is excited beyond words to have her here. Here they are before the Dorman football game on Friday night. Larry and I made the trip to SC this weekend for my 10 year high school class reunion. I got to see so many old faces on Friday night and catch up on old times. It was a lot of fun! I will post pictures of that as soon as I get some. (My camera ran out of batteries at the game!) Below are some pictures from the past few days. Enjoy!

Mary Lindsey was so excited when she woke up yesterday morning. Holli had been playing with her on the bed and her laugh was so big. She has started to have the biggest giggle!

We made a trip to the park on Saturday. Here is Mary Lindsey with Gigi looking at all the ducks. ML loved them! She wanted to get down on the ground with them, but we decided that probably wasn't such a good idea!

Mary Lindsey with her Gigi and Pops.

Aunt Holli feeding ML her bottle.

Aunt Holli's boyfriend Brown drove from Columbia on Thursday night to spend some time with Mary Lindsey. We really enjoyed seeing you Brown!

The three girls at the park. The leaves were gorgeous and ML had so much fun!

Mom and Holli and me with ML.

The only person I didn't get a picture of on the trip is Larry! Sorry honey! We love you and miss you!