5 Months

Yep, Little Miss Priss is 5 months old. I know before I blink my eyes twice she'll be getting married. Time is just going by too fast. If I could use a PAUSE button I would push it right now. Olivia is such a good, laid back baby (most of the time). She is constantly smiling and laughing at us. That little laugh is like music to our ears, such a beautiful sound. She's got the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes that will follow you all around a room. She likes to sit in her bumbo seat so she can see everything that is going on (she's a tad nosy). She is still "growling" and talking up a storm. She is also drooling and chewing on her hands like they're candy. Maybe we'll see a tooth in the next month or so. She still loves to be rocked and cuddeled before bed time and this mommy is not complaining about that. We thank God every night for this precious gift and her first 5 months of life.

Beach With Friends

Last weekend we made our annual trip to the beach with our friends, the Glovers. Henry is one of Hays' good friends from high school and they now have a little girl, Laurie, that is 5 weeks younger than Olivia. So I really don't need to give an explanation as to why these two pictures are pretty much the only ones we took all weekend. We had a great time catching up with them but the beach is a different kind of trip with two babies. It used to be very relaxing for us, now, not so much. Good bye laying out days and getting a good tan. :)

BIG Accomplishment

So, as many of you know Hays is a very talented photographer. It started out as a hobby and has turned into something a little more. He is a very accomplished outdoor photographer and also captures sporting events and some weddings. He has been hired by the Mississippi magazine and his picture is featured on the cover of the July/August issue. Go here http://www.mismag.com/ to take a peak of the issue. I am so proud of him and how talented he is.

Bathroom Update

So we decided to do a little updating in the guest bathroom. Really, it's more like Olivia's bathroom now than a guest bathroom and it needed to be a little more child friendly. I found the shower curtain at Pottery Barn Kids and had a great idea to have one of my very talented college friends, KeithAnn, come and paint a mural on the wall. She did a fantastic job and I am sure Olivia will enjoy her bathroom for many years to come.

Answered Prayers

My friend that had the twins early was released from the hospital today. Praise be to God! She was able to go see both of her babies in person for the first time. The babies still have a long road ahead so please continue to pray for them and the entire family. It's so awesome to see how God hears our cries and answers our prayers.

Olivia's Prince Charming Paid A Visit

One of my best friends growing up, Holly, came to spend a few days with us and brought her little munchkin, Cole. Holly and I have been friends since 7th grade and never thought we would see the day when we were both running after kids. Cole is 3 months older than Olivia and ever since we found out we were having a girl we have joked that Cole would be her boyfriend (not for another 30 years though, according to Hays). It would be pretty funny if they found interest in eachother later in life. Their mommas would be okay with that. We had a blast while they were here and already miss them so much. Too bad Memphis isn't about 3 hours closer.

Olivia has a pretty handsome BF if you ask me.

The pretty lady.

Pretty In My P.J.'s

What A Cute Little Helper....

For some reason Olivia has been very needy lately and we cannot leave a room without her getting upset. So she helped me do laundry today. She didn't seem to mind too much.

We also got her 4 month pictures taken with Allison Muirhead. You can go to allimphoto.com, order online, then go to Olivia C and the password is Brooke. They are just darling. The white dress is her baptism dress that was also Hays'. It's hard to decide which ones we are going to order. Happy Monday to all!

Happy Daddy's Day to Hays!

Happy Daddy's Day to Hays. He truly has been such a great new daddy to Olivia (or as he would say, Tater). I cannot even list the many things he has done to help take care of Olivia in these early months of her life. Olivia is one lucky little girl to have a daddy love her so unconditionally. It melts my heart to see the two of them together. Poor Hays just has no idea what he is in store for. Before he will know it Olivia will have him wrapped around her little finger. I think he is completely okay with that too. No one can love a little girl quite like her daddy.

First picture of Hays and Olivia

This is how Hays started the day off. His girls made him breakfast in bed. Olivia got him a salt water fish tank for Father's Day. They love looking at it together.

Just giving some "daddy" kisses

Playing

Happy Father's Day to our dad's too. We would not be the people we are today without them. We are so blessed to have grown up in Christian homes where they showed us daily how they loved our Lord and strived to assist us in our walk with Him.

Happy Pops Day!

Happy Papa Day!

Happy 6 Year Anniversary To Us!

Well, Hays and I have been married for 6 years today. I remember that day like yesterday because it feels like it WAS just yesterday. Where is the PAUSE button? I remember growing up and wanting time to fly by and now it is doing just that and all I want now is for it to slow down. Every year of our marriage has been such a blessing and I can truly say that I love him more and more everyday. This year has hit the top of the chart though. Exactly a year ago we found out we were going to have a little munchkin joining our family. What a great anniversary gift that was. We were scared to death and thought what have we done? Our marriage has become so much stronger this past year, we have learned so much about each other and the One that provides everything for us. What a blessed year we have had and I look forward to 50+ more.

Sidenote: We went to dinner tonight and left Olivia with a babysitter (Hays' cousin, but totally still counts) for the first time. I was a little (okay, A LOT) worried the whole time but she did great and we had a nice dinner without looking at a monitor the entire time. Glad that milestone is behind us.

Happy Friday!!!

We are so GLAD it's Friday in this household!

Almost Finished Product

Well, the two weeks of the Habitat project are over. The house is being dedicated tomorrow morning, finishing touches will be completed and the family will move into the house in about 6 weeks. It's amazing that two Saturdays ago we started working on this house with just a foundation to begin with. We put in a lot of sweat and long hours and in return, built friendships and learned new skills. Now another family can own their own home. What a blessing for the volunteers and homeowner.

Our God Can Move Mountains

PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Prayer is so powerful and God is so good to us. The mother of the babies is now responsive and answering some questions. She is also able to hold hands and has seen a video of her precious babies. The babies are also on the lowest oxygen level. Praise be to God for He hears our needs and prayers. Please continue to pray for this family in need.

Prayer Warriors Are Being Called

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!

A friend from college had baby twins today 16 weeks early. The little girl weighed in at 1 pound 2 ounces and the little boy 1 pound and 7 ounces. The mother had a pulmonary embolism during the c-section and is not responding to pain stimuli and was transferred to a different hospital. As I rocked Olivia to sleep tonight I thought, how was I chosen to have a healthy baby and other people are not. Her family is so heavy on my heart. I know God is in control and he will wrap his arms around those babies and momma and give strength to the daddy. PLEASE pray for this family. Prayer is so powerful and God hears our needs.

Olivia's New Best Friend

We got this teddy bear in Las Vegas at F.A.O. Schwartz last fall before Olivia was born. It talks and sings lullabies while swaying back and forth. Olivia LOVES it! She will not take her eyes off of it. I think the sounds and movements intrigue her.

Seperation Anxiety.......Already???

Can we say, drama queen??

"Mommy, I just know what I want"

So as many of you know, we have had some very minor issues in the church nursery. I thought we had gotten over those issues because we have had many good Sundays with no problems. We dropped her off this morning and she was perfectly fine. About 15 minutes after the service started we got a page. Hays had the pager so he went to tend to the little lady. She was screaming when he got there so he took her from the worker and she immediately stopped crying and then proceeded to give the worker a little grin. Hays stayed in the nursery the rest of the service after trying to give Olivia back and a repeat occurred. Surely she is not having separation anxiety already?? I think she may just be a tad dramatic. Little does she know she will continue to go to the nursery every Sunday.

Wow! It Actually Looks Like A House....

Most of you know from an earlier post that I am spending this week and next week helping build a house with Habitat of Humanity. It has been some amazing days with a lot of hard work. We showed up on Saturday morning and there was only a foundation for the house. So in 6 short days we have put up walls, insulation, a roof, windows and siding. It's hard to believe that in 2 weeks a whole house can be built from ground up. It has been such an amazing experience to see the whole process. I know the homeowner is so grateful for all the hard work from each volunteer and is so excited to be able to own her very own home.

BIG News

We found out today that Olivia will be having a BOY cousin joining us in November. Daniel, Amie (my sister) and Kai found out they will be welcoming a baby brother this fall. Olivia will have to learn to hold her own with all these boys around. I guess they could always learn to play baby dolls with her too. We are so excited to have a new baby joining the family. What a blessing!! God is so good to us and blesses us beyond measure.

Crazy Hair

For some odd reason Olivia's hair seems to only be growing in the middle to make her look like she has a mohawk. Poor thing, this too I am sure she will grow out of (not fast enough I am afraid).

I try combing it to the side but all it wants to do is stand straight up.

So, we put a bow in it. I mean, she was already adorable but I could just eat her up in this picture. What a cutie pie!

Two Little Peas In A Pod

This is what I find most days before I leave the house in the mornings for Habitat. Makes me jealous and want to stay home and join them. I gotta say, I think she might just be a daddy's girl.

Just Some New Tricks

Olivia loves her lovie so much she decided to chew on its nose (I think she was a tad bored in the car coming home from the beach).

She also LOVES to cuddle with her lovie.

Do you see that flower in Olivia's hand? It was hanging above her head from which she had been trying her hardest to get it for quite some time. You can tell how proud she was of herself. She would not let go of the darn thing so we had to take it with us to run errands that day.

Beautiful smile

She also got a hold of the butterfly. She gets a hold of these toys and hangs on for dear life!

Fun In The Sun

Hays, Olivia and Lilly went for a small dip in the TINY pool on Memorial Day. Looks like everyone was having a pretty good time (including the dog). Olivia has a ways to go but I think eventually, she will be a water baby. She is mighty adorable in her bathing suits though.

It's the WEEKEND!!

Check Off The Bucket List

Before Hays and I got married we made a bucket list (things we would like to do before we die). Most of the things on that list are traveling (places in the U.S. and other countries), attending major sporting events (Superbowl and the Olympics) and training for and competing in different bike and road races to raise money for different charities. We are very thankful that we have been able to mark a few things off our list (still have QUITE a few left). This summer I will be able to mark one more thing off my list.

I have always wanted to help build a Habitat house. Many people were able to do this in college and I was never able to participate due to summer school. I am a member of the Junior League of Jackson and my project this year is to build a house with Habitat for Humanity (from ground up). Habitat builds houses for underprivileged families that would otherwise never own their own home. How cool is that? We will start building the house this saturday and work on it everyday for 2 weeks (I will be working everyday from 8-12). After the 2 weeks is over, the house will be ready for the family to move into. I am so excited. I have never done anything like this and I know it will be hard work but very rewarding at the same time. Pray that Olivia does okay at her Gigi's during this time and that the heat doesn't just kill us.

4 Month Check-Up

Today we went to Olivia's 4 month doctor's visit. I am not really sure what these visits are for other than a weight check and to get shots. The doctor barely did anything else. The visit assured us that our little princess is a skinny minny (no chunky monkeys for this household). She weighs 11lb. 15oz. and is 23.5 inches long which are both in the 5th percentiles. Kinda shocked me to see that she hasn't gained anymore weight than that. The doctor assured us that she is healthy and doing great.

You can't see in these pictures but she does have some battle wounds to show for her visit today. Poor thing got one oral vaccine and 3 shots, 2 in one leg and one in the other. She was NOT a happy camper. She is doped up on children's tylenol and is napping now. Hurt this mommy's heart to see her baby get shots. Time for us to call it a day!

I Rolled Over Today!!!

Today Olivia rolled from her back to her stomach. She has been rolling to her side quite a bit and usually sleeps on her side. I really thought it would be quite some time before she actually rolled all the way over. I think she surprised herself when she ended up on her belly. The smallest things make this mommy so proud.