Month Nine

Oh Little Bit,

You're just determined to keep growing, huh? You have officially been out longer than you were in and my life will never be the same.



Everywhere we go, people can't get over how happy you are. That's what I hear all the time, "She's so happy." Except for the few times I don't dress you in all pink and then it's, "He's so happy." Either way, you are one happy baby. As long as no one else is holding you, that is. :)



Month nine has been crazy, crazy. Your brothers were on winter break, you got two more teeth at the same time (making that five), you started pulling up/cruising, and you had a cold. Sleep was not your friend, nor mine, and then you weren't so happy.



Thankfully, I think we have moved mostly past that for now and the past few nights, you have been sleeping well again. Of course, now you are trying to stand all on your own, so I'm sure things will get hairy again in a couple of weeks. In fact, during our photo shoot, you tried to stand upright from the ground. No taking it easy for you, like slowly letting go of the couch, nope, you just want to stand up on your own.



My time is up. Your brother just woke you. I love you, sweet baby. Now and Always.



Mama

Month Eight

Dear On The Go,

Busy, busy, busy all day long pretty much sums up our lives this month. You are on the move all day and with both your brothers playing soccer, I am on the move almost every night. Not wanting to sit still conflicted with my idea for a photo shoot, but I guess this is a more accurate portrayal of life right now.





And when you're not moving, there's the funny faces you love to make us laugh with.





And let's not forget when you need to take a break and chew on something, anything, just get it in my mouth!



Ok, mom, here's one cute face for you.



Now, that's enough. Go away.



I love you, baby girl. You keep me on my toes.

Mama

Courage

Sometimes God whispers to you. Sometimes you think He's not there at all. Sometimes though, you get a big ole' "HELLO! HEAR ME!" Oh boy, did I get one of those last night.

I guess the past year or so, I've been making a conscious effort to be more verbal about my faith. I'm definitely not out preaching on the streets, but I'll try to work little things into a conversation, mainly it circles around whatever series is going on at church. That's easy though, Church by the Glades stickers are all over Coral Springs and in an area where people generally prefer to party rather than pray, our church has seemed to become the "cool" place to be in our little city.

I'll be honest though, I don't sport a Church by the Glades sticker on my car. I try to justify it by saying that Larry doesn't like things like that on our cars, and he doesn't, but it goes deeper than that. If I have something on my car declaring I go to church, then there's that added accountability when I may be acting in ways "unbecoming a Christian." (Isn't that a phrase from our past!)

Maybe I cut someone off going down the street. Maybe I was driving a little too fast. Or maybe I had a beer at a restaurant and someone will see me get into my car. All of these things normal people do, but I say I don't want to set a bad example, so I chose to be no example at all.

What's worse though than a simple sticker for my car is I don't actively share my beliefs with those I love most. Obviously, Larry knows I go to church, but it's not something we talk about often. Oh, I'll try to bring it up now and again, but it makes him uncomfortable, so mostly I let it go. Or my in-laws, I invited them to Elizabeth's dedication and they came, but I haven't extended the offer again. Even with some of my closest friends, I'm mute. Funny, how I can be so open with people I barely know and so tight lipped with those that matter most to me.

Of course, it's easy to play the part with people who don't know the you who's not always "perfect."

So, anyway, back to the big, blaring "How do you do" from God. Last night, I was listening to Casting Crowns new song, "Courageous" and I was thinking how true it is. We were made to be courageous, but we're standing on the sidelines. After the kids went to bed, I hopped on my new favorite addiction, Pinterest and on the front page, Kristin had posted the following verse from Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I mean, seriously? How much clearer could it be? So obviously, I need to do some serious soul searching and I have got to start being the person I should and want to be.

My first step is to commission by BFF,
Crazy Mama to create me a Courage necklace as a constant reminder of this lesson I so needed to hear. My next step is to pray, pray, pray and open my mouth a little more. It's scary. I'm even nervous to write this post and put it "out there" on Facebook, but if I can't even do that, well, that's just sad.

So, here we go. Pastor David always says, if you feel excited but also so scared you might just pee your pants, then you are probably right where God wants you to be. I may just be joining Whoopi and buying my some Poise. oh, ha, ha, ha.

Ribbons and Bows

I'm still adjusting to buying and displaying girlie clothes and accessories, so when I bought Elizabeth's first hair bows, I really didn't know what to do with them. I'm trying to use my new obsession with Pinterest to motivate my own creativity and I decided to try and make my own holding place for the cute little hair ribbons.

I took the top of a mayonnaise jar, some scrapbook paper I had at the house, ribbon and Mod Podge to come up with the following.



I used cardstock for the top and alternating designed papers for the sides. I cut out an E with my Silhouette and mod podged the whole thing. When it was dry, I covered it with another coat of sparkle Mod Podge. I glued a ribbon to the back and then just stuck it in the wall with a push pin.




I think it turned out pretty cute.

Month Seven

My Baby Girl,

Oh my, this was a busy month! First you learned to sit up all on your own.



And then as soon as you mastered that, you decided it wasn't enough, so you started to crawl!





And now you won't stay still. What happened to the supposed time where I could put you down with some toys and actually get things done around the house without you following after me or heading for the computer cord? I should have known you would be an early mover. You are fascinated with your brothers and no one makes you laugh or holds your attention like they do.



The time change and learning all this new stuff has really done a number on your napping schedule, so we're suffering through some nights as well, but I think we'll get it worked out soon. You're eating more too and I may try to add a couple of finger foods this month to hold your attention. You sure do eye our food all the time.



You've taught me so much, baby girl, in these seven short months. To slow down, enjoy the little day to day things and to be a better mother for you and your brothers. I enjoy every day with you, my sweet.

Love, Mama

Winners

Ha, As only three people left me a comment, they all get 25 cards. I've contacted Rebecca and Carrie, but I don't have a contact for Melissa. Leave me a comment with your email and I'll send you the code.

Thanks for reading.

Sleigh Bells Ring

Well, maybe not in Florida, but the current cold front has me excited about the upcoming holidays. I love checking the mail everyday during December and seeing how my friends' children have grown over the past year. Shutterfly offers beautiful choices for holiday cards, as well as many other photo gifts. A great gift is the photo calender or the photo book.



This card is a great choice and gives you plenty of space to post your photos from throughout the year.

Shutterfly also offers great choices of greeting cards for your needs throughout the year. The quality is always great and it's such a personal touch.

So whether you want Christmas cards, thank you cards, or just a card to say hello, think Shutterfly.

As a special thank you, Shutterfly has given me THREE codes for 25 cards for my friends. You only need to pay for shipping. Leave me a comment by Tuesday, the 25th and I will draw three random names for a chance to win.