Family Fun Day!

James finally had a weekend off and we were so excited to spend it together!  We decided to go to Oak Mountain State Park, which is a mere 15 min drive from our home.  We woke up Saturday morning at 6:30am, which is NUTS!  We wanted to get there before it got too crowded and when the weather was cooler.  I would probably say it was actually too cold and from now on, I will probably wait until 8am or so to head that way!  Momma needs her sleep!  :)

We went on a shorter hike up to 'Maggie's Glen', which was a rather unimpressive creek bed.  We wanted to test Georgia's stamina and take it easy for me since I am just now 6 weeks out from my surgery.  I have a doctor's appt tomorrow (prayers please!) and, hopefully, he'll clear me to exercise and do other activities.  :)

Our hike was really fun and quiet.  Georgia did great until it was time for her nap at the very end.  She fussed for a bit, but then fell asleep in my arms.  It was a great 'trial run' for longer hikes in the future and we know a lot more of what to bring with us and such.  We are researching different baby hiking packs, which will help our backs not break!

We look forward to many more hikes at the 10,000 acre park in the future.  Maybe even busting out our pre-baby splurge-- mountain bikes!  It makes us so sad that they are just sitting on our porch only having been ridden twice!  If only we had known I was pregnant at the time we were making that purchase!!  ahhh... C'est la vie!

Where are you taking me and why don't I have any socks on?!

I sooo wish this wasn't blurry!  :(  I love her baby blues!

I love nature!  So thankful for a creative Creator!

"I'm loving this, Mom!"

Family Self Portrait!

Sleepy Baby! 

My sweet bundle.

Double Oak Lake-- beautiful!

7 months!

7 month stats:

oops!  Forgot to take them!

Goodness, goodness!  You are growing and changing so much, I can hardly keep up!  Each day, it seems, brings a new sound, facial expression, skill, or delight with it!  I am so thankful and excited to soak up each moment with you and watch you grow.

If I were to give you an occupation that sums up this month (which is kinda bizarre, but just roll with me..), it would be a talk show host explorer!  Ok, so that's technically TWO professions, but still.  With your love of crawling and new-found voice, you are unstoppable!   

This past month, you went 11 days in a row (yes, I kept track and you would, too!!!) of sleeping 7pm to 7am without waking up!  I was nervous at first, but quickly adjusted. ;)  Then, came teething and your first bout with a virus.  Gone were my nights of slumber for a couple weeks, but now you are back to sleeping through the night!  Oh, how thankful I am for a great sleeper!

You now have a sippy cup and you enjoy holding it and chewing on it, even if you don't really use it to quench your thirst at this point.  A new item on your menu is rice rusks.  They dissolve quickly, have a mild taste and I can let you eat it all by yourself (under my supervision).  You enjoy getting to hold your food and feed yourself.

You love trying to 'catch' the sunlight as it comes through the blinds onto the floor in your room.  You also try to grab the shadow of your spoon on the bumbo when we feed you at night (see video).  It's so cute seeing you noticing new things in life and trying to understand them. 

Right on your 7 mos birthday, I found you standing for the first time in your crib when I came to get you up from your nap!  I couldn't believe it!  But, now you are pulling up on anything and everything you can... another fun thing to monitor!  :)

You do so well in the nursery at church on Sundays and now Tuesdays when mommy has bible study!  I am so thankful for that and hope it continues.  Your caregivers really love you.  Each time Miss Martha sees you coming on Sundays, she likes to say, "Here comes my sunshine!"  

Last month, I stated some items as 'areas of improvement'-- teeth and talking.  Well, you have 1 little tooth prominently displayed this month with one on the way and you LOVE talking and babbling!  You make all sorts of new sounds and faces, but still haven't taken to saying 'mama' and 'dada'.  You've improved much faster than I anticipated in these areas and so I guess you've gone back to being 'practically perfect in every way'... ;)

Thanks for listening to my ramblings... here are GK's 7 month pictures:

Chasing Shadows

So cute!  :)

Standing Tall!

On her 7 mos birthday, I found her standing in her crib!  Now, she pulls up on chairs, the couch, window sill, and coffee table...It's out of control!

I wanted to capture her in action and the safest place is in the crib.  She's had a couple close calls with falling on our hard surface floors and I have to be really careful while letting her continue to explore and learn.

Here she is in the video--standing tall! :)

Back of the suit. Isn't it precious?!?

We will try again next week!

Splish Splash!

We had to cancel our Splashpad plans due to a cold front and rain clouds. :(. But, mommy said I looked too cute in my suit not to take a picture!

Daddy!

We got to visit Daddy at work for a bit today! We love him. :)

Mom Time

This song was sung before our "Mom Time" Brunch started yesterday and it got me choked up!  It is such a beautiful song (can't beat Nichole Nordeman's voice or lyrics!) and a great reminder to call out to God in all those moments--good or bad-- in life and the great I AM will be there.

I met several wonderful ladies and am SO thrilled to start the Bible Study next Tuesday!

Heading to the Splash Pad tomorrow with some mommies and kiddos from our SS class.  I had to go buy GK a swimming suit!  She loves bath time, so I'm sure she'll love the water!  :)

Georgia Kate turns SEVEN months old TODAY!  A longer post on that later and, of course, a photo shoot is in order... ;)

What is it about the back of a baby's head that makes it so darn sweet?!

Praise and Thanksgiving

"O My God,
Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
   my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
   for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
   and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

I bless thee for the soul thou has created,
                  for preserving its strength and vigour,
                  for providing senses to enjoy delights,
                  for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
                  for social joys of relatives and friends,
                  for ability to serve others,
                  for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
                  for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
                  for loved ones in the joys of heaven. (miss you, Grandmommy and Granddaddy)
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
    for what thou art to thy creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity."-- The Valley of Vision

My heart is full of thanksgiving and praise this morning as I thank God for another glorious Sunday time of rest and worship.  Despite James getting off a 17 hour night shift, he faithfully met Georgia and me at church-- scrubs and all!  We had a great time of learning and fellowship with our Sunday School class and went out to lunch with everyone afterwards.  I already feel like I've known some of them for months!  It's such a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere-- we feel so loved after just 2 meetings.  Last night, some of the girls and our wonderful leader's wife, Ginger, met for some 'girl time'.  It was 2 hours of sweet fellowship, laughter, and encouragement.  I walked out feeling refreshed and renewed.  I am just seeing prayers answered left and right!

This week will be exciting as several things are starting up-- a weekly 'Mom Time' bible study starts tomorrow morning at church and Thursday I am attending 'Mommy Time' story time at our local library.  I hope both are opportunities to reach out and meet other mommies!  I look forward to encouraging others and being encouraged!

I promise my next few posts will mainly be pictures of GK and not such wordy monologues from myself!!!

Thanks for caring, my friends!

Crazy Week!

This week I've seen it all!

~A great visit last weekend from James' parents (pics to be uploaded),
~5 dreary days of rain and coooold temperatures (not trying to rub it in Texas!),
~TWO new teeth in baby G's mouth,
~Emergency trip to the pediatrician with GK having a high temp of 102.7, followed by 3 days and nights of a sick baby (a virus we had to just wait out--- most likely caught in the church nursery)
~"Cousin Patty", or whatever you call it, making her 2nd visit in 18 months (TMI?)
~James working nights this weekend
~10th anniversary of September 11th

My emotions have been off their rocker!  Georgia hasn't had a fever since yesterday morning, so no more medicine and she seems to be in great spirits!  It's heartbreaking to see your child 'suffering'!  Despite her fever and obviously not feeling well, she's been very sweet and only wanted to cuddle in my arms and sleep on my chest-- day and night.  It was EXHAUSTING and I felt like I had a newborn all over again waking every 2 hours at night and just letting her sleep in my arms on the couch or in the guest bed, but it was a really precious time, also.  It reminded me anew what a blessing she is and how I just can't imagine my life without her sweet presence.

She's typically so active these days crawling, climbing, and exploring that she doesn't often want to just rest in my lap, so I savored the cuddles!  As I mentioned above, we had a little 'mommy freakout' moment.  Wed. she woke up from her afternoon nap much warmer than the previous two days (when I thought her low-grade fever could be attributed to the teething).  I fed her a bottle and when I went to set her in the playpen while I did a couple things in the kitchen, she just sat there with clenched fists shivering!  It was awful!  I immediately picked her up and went to change her diaper and take her temperature.  When I took off her pants, her little feet and clenched fists were both purple and freezing while her head was burning hot.  She had a lot of drainage and seemed to be having trouble breathing-- all the while still shaking.  I became really alarmed and tried to remain calm, but I instantly buckled her in her car seat and ran to gather my phone/purse.  I couldn't find my phone (it had slipped into a torn pocket of fabric on our couch), so I just grabbed my purse and keys and headed to the Pedi's office.  I, also, tried to email James, but the internet was temporarily down-- you can only imagine my frustration!!!!

I sang songs to her in the car (when I was emotionally able to) and kept telling her "Mommy loves Georgia".  I didn't feel it was a dire situation or else I would have gone to the emergency room, but I thought maybe she could have pneumonia or a bad ear infection or something.  Anyway, I briskly walked into the Dr.'s office, thankful that I was the only one in the waiting room seeing as how I ran out of the house in my workout clothes of spandex capris, no makeup, tshirt, and bun on top of my head.  As I explained to the receptionist that I didn't have an appt and she asked me what was wrong-- I got so choked up all I could manage to eek out was she has a fever and trouble breathing.  Ugh!  I felt concerned for GK, but also like some silly, overreacting mother at the same time.  Bottom line is this, though:  I'd ALWAYS rather be safe than sorry!!!!!

I felt much better about going to the Dr, though, when they took her temp and it was 102.7 (it had only been 100.5 that morning).  After being checked out, it seems she just had a virus, probably acquired in the nursery on Sunday and we would just have to wait it out, giving her some Motrin or Tylenol for the fever.

As I said, she's great now and is resting peacefully. 

How sad is this little face??  Taken 2 nights ago when she was not feeling well. :(

As far as September 11th tomorrow, it was definitely a day I will never forget.  I stayed up all night watching coverage as the nation tried to make sense of it all and rescue workers worked feverishly to find survivors in the rubble.  One of the things that sticks with me most on that night was hearing this weird, eery noise during the live coverage of that dark, hazy scene of twisted metal.  The commentator then explained to the viewers that the noise was the sound of the alarms placed in firefighters' uniforms-- set to go off when the firefighter remains still for more than 2 minutes.  It broke my heart.

But, what we must remember is what Pastor Gregg Matte said in his email this week:

While so much changed in the wake of that day, at least one thing remained the same: God is sovereign and unwavering.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
               but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
          They are brought to their knees and fall,
               but we rise up and stand firm.  Psalm 20:7-8

Amen.

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...

First time in the big girl seat!