LeLe's Big Girl Room

We have finally completed the majority of LeLe's big girl room. While her crib still stands in place of a chest of drawers, her bedding and curtains are finally up. She LOVES it as you can see! Her bathroom is almost complete too...just missing a couple of monograms and pictures. For some reason, the pink looks a little orange but you guys get the idea.

Still getting ready!

We are still waiting on Baby Brother to make his big debut. As the days go by, we continue to get things done around the house. LeLe still has several new tricks including singing several new songs. She also knows all of her shapes (even if they are an object). Here are some cute shots of her and BJ. She still loves Barney and all of his characters. In the picture, she is trying to make BJ smile for the camera! You can kind of see how "busy" she is these days with all of her "children".

Figure Skating 101

LeLe and I have been watching the pre-Olympic trials on television. One of her favorite things has been to watch the ballerinas ice skate. LeLe tries to copy them and spins and kicks her leg out. Tonight, I found her with one leg on the couch and the other on the ground. The one on the couch she had a hold of her foot. I couldn't get her to do it again but here is a close shot. According to her, she was skating.

Happy Birthday Pops!

Buddy, Pops and PawPaw came over to celebrate Pops birthday. LeLe had a great time playing with them and of course, singing Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday Pops!

2 Year Check-Up

After school on Friday, I took LeLe to see Dr. Huie at Mayfair Medical for her 2 year checkup. She wasn't real sure about the doctor considering we haven't been since she was around 18 months old. On the way to the doctor, we had a long talk about what the doctor would do. It went something like this...

LeLe, when we get to the doctor's office, they are going to look at your ears, push on your belly and look at your teeth. Her response...okay, mommy, and look at my eyes, and my pretty princess hair....and I sing for them.

So, in a way, I guess she understood.

We walked right back to get her weighed and measured. She weighed in at 28 lbs (60 percentile) and was 34 1/4 inches tall (50 percentile). She sang Jesus Loves Me to the nurses while she stood on the happy faces that were on the scale.

Next up...Dr. Huie. We sat in the room and waited for Doctor Huie. Luckily, I brought a few crayons and they had paper so we were in luck for our entertainment. LeLe sat patiently and colored on the paper until Dr. Huie entered the room. The conversation went like this.

LeLe - Hey Dr. Huie, you look in my ears and my long princess hair.
Dr. Huie - Hi LeLe, yes, i am going to look in your ears.

So far so good....Dr. Huie examined her and then she started singing....Jesus Loves Me. About half way through, she stops and says...

LeLe - Dr. Huie, you know that song?
Dr. Huie, "Yes, I love that song."
LeLe - "You know the Barney song."
Dr. Huie - "No LeLe, I don't know the Barney song."
LeLe - then begins singing the Barney song.

We continued this process through the alphabet song and then the pumpernickel bread song.

Did I mention that poor Dr. Huie is still trying to examine her and verify that she is healthy. Dr. Huie and I have a conversation about LeLe's vocabulary and proceed to talk about Baby Brother and the transition.

Before he left, he normally writes down LeLe's measurements for her. So, out comes the pen and LeLe says...."Can you draw an airplane?" So, here goes poor Dr. Huie trying to draw an airplane. Let's just say...he isn't an artist but LeLe didn't care. She told him that his airplane was "very good Dr. Huie".

To say the least, we weren't traumatized by the doctor's appointment today. While LeLe did have to get a couple of shots, I was prepared with "pacifiers" or ring pops and it quickly dried the tears.

Random Shots

Just some random pictures of LeLe. She is chewing gum in one of them...unfortately, she swallowed it!

New Trick...the splits!

LeLe has a new trick...the splits! I believe that she can go about as far as I can in the splits. It is rather funny. She will be playing full force and then all of the sudden yell..."look...its the spits"!

Today, LeLe and I met Carys and Paige Chambers at the library for their weekly program. It was very nice. LeLe had a great time watching the other children sing and dance but never really warmed up. Carys didn't either.
I had planned on doing some last minute items in preparation for my doctor's appointment at 3:15. LeLe and I ran around town trying to find brother some socks to wear and some other last minute items.

It is common practice for LeLe to remove her shoes while sitting in the carseat. I am not sure if it is because she is bored or just prefers her shoes off. Regardless, today, she wore her pink and white saddle oxfords or rather...her "Tennis shoes". We were heading back on 31 when I notice she is starting to take her shoes off. I say..."LeLe, don't take off your shoes. We are almost home." A few seconds later, I hear a grunt followed by "these shoes make me nervous". I am about fell out in the floor laughing! I am sure that I tell her that she is making me nervous or she has heard it from Bobo. Regardless, she used it correctly and I thought it was too funny.

I had my follow-up appointment with the doctor. While he wasn't impressed with the 4pounds that I gained in one week, my blood pressure was PERFECT! He did check everything and said that little man probably won't make an appearance for a few more weeks...which is FINE with me!

Trip to Arab

We had planned on visiting our family in Arab the weekend after Christmas. However, due to Pappy's health, we were unable to go. So, we went on Sunday instead. We had a fantastic time catching up with the cousins and the children had a wonderful time playing with each other. LeLe enjoyed the newest addition to the family, Laura Landers. She even gave her a big ole kiss. After lunch, we went to see the minature horses. LeLe gave it a kiss too!

Lunch at The Club

Aunt Lisa and Emily invited Bobo, Laura, Anne Reaves and me to enjoy lunch at The Club in celebration of Little Man! We had a wonderful delicious meal and I was showered with many gifts from everyone. We enjoyed hearing stories of Lisa/Emily's trip to Pasadena. Thank you Aunt Lisa for such a special day!

Hair Cut #2

First off, ROLL TIDE!! I cannot believe that Alabama won! LeLe had gone to Bobo and Pappy's house to watch the game but we got kicked out before the game even started. I don't think that they were prepared for LeLe to be running through the house the entire pregame. However, we did get our bellies full on Pappy's beef stew before we got the boot. When we got home, LeLe played while I tried to remain calm during the game. It turned out to be a wonderful game but I wish that Matt was back to watch it with me.

Snow?....not! While there wasn't any snow, LeLe's school was delayed a couple of hours today. I had planned on going by Thimbles and finishing little man's coming home outfit. So, I still went but wasn't able to complete the gown.

I have been debating for a couple of days on whether or not to get LeLe's hair cut again. Well, this morning, I couldn't stand it anymore. I was tired of trying to put a pony tail in there for it to quickly be pulled out. So, I made an appointment for her to get her hair cut right after school. She loved her hair cut experience! They did a great job at Sweet and Sassy and even put glitter in her hair and on her face!

Boomer Boy

Matt left this morning for Scottsdale, Arizona for his yearly National Sales Meeting. While I have a TON of stuff to do, I am going to enjoy a little time "off". As you know, he is the cleaner in the family. So, that means, I can demolish the house until he comes home on Friday. Okay, that may be a little harsh but it is so true. I am still making last minute preparations for little man. Not that he really needs anything, just that I am OCD about different things.

4 years ago in December, Sadie had a litter of puppies. This was her first litter of puppies and Matt and I had planned on keeping one of them. We couldn't decide if we wanted to keep one from this first litter or whether we wanted to wait until the second litter. Regardless, we named all of them and played and played with them and taught them many tricks. At the puppies 6 weeks check-up, Dr. Fuller informed me that one of the male puppies "Boomer" had a heart condition. Of course, I freaked out and quickly made a followup appointment with a Cardiac specialist (on 280) for us to get him "fixed". The doctor there informed me that it was not something that could be fixed and rather would be fatal. So, in my crying state, I went back to Dr. Fuller's to make the decision on what we needed to do with this precious little puppy. He convinced me to keep Boomer and that he could live a very successful life. I will say...this was some of the best advice that I would ever receive.

When Boomer turned about 12 weeks old, we took him back to get a follow up appointment. This time, they did an echocardiogram and determined that he indeed had medium grade aortic stenosis which is where one of the valves in his heart was too little. Therefore, the blood came shooting out really fast and would eventually cause scar tissue on the opposite side of the heart. Again, I left in tears. I spoke to the doctor about sending Boomer to Auburn and other places in the country but she said that the surgery is really too risky and I would be better off just keeping him confined.

So, off I go again to Dr. Fuller's. He gave me another pep talk on how we should just love Boomer and play with him like he was a healthy dog. He said that there was a good chance that Boomer could live to be about 3 to 5 years old. He said that Boomer would eventually either die suddenly with a heart attack or he would live a slow painful death. Regardless, when the time came, it would be his time and playing with him wouldn't really make that much difference.

So, we played....and played and played and rubbed and rubbed that sweet little face every night and every day. He LOVED playing fetch with Matt. I often would get on to Matt that he was playing too hard with Boomer. Boomer, however, would jump as high as he could to catch any ball. He enjoyed it so much, even the neighbors started commenting and throwing the ball for him. I would find myself at night praying that he wouldn't ever die while playing fetch because the person throwing the ball would never forgive themselves.

He also loved being rubbed. He would get so jealous when we pet Sadie so he would come butt his head in and be sure that we pet him instead. He wouldn't let you sit on the couch or on the bed without having a furry head in your lap. When it was time to go to bed, he would come jump in bed and then fall directly on top of you so you could be sure to pet every part of him! He also loved wrestling with Sadie. They would always be wrestling in the back yard or chasing each other.

Tonight after work, I ran by Target and picked up some ground beef before heading home. I had been craving Vegetable soup all day. When I got home, Bobo had LeLe asleep so I began making soup. I realized that the dogs weren't crying at the door as normal so I decided since it was about 15 degrees outside that I would let them in. Sadie came waddling into the house but Boomer never showed up. After much searching, I found him in the backyard. I quickly got the neighbor and I took him to the vet. There was nothing that they could do.

While I am very very upset about my little Boomer, I am SO very thankful for Dr. Fuller talking me into keeping him. He WAS the best dog ever and will be missed by many!

Getting Ready for Baby Brother!

We are continuing to get ready for Little Man! LeLe has successfully been sleeping upstairs in her "big girl" room for about a week. She had problems at night in the beginning but then we determined that she just needed a night light. Since we have added the night light, she has done fantastic. She is in Laura's crib upstairs until we can get her fully adjusted to all of the new and upcoming changes.

I started my weekly appointments to the doctor on Monday, January 4th. Unfortunately, my blood pressure is high again. He is going to watch me for another week before determining whether to put me on bed rest.

Several of you have asked about the blog. I know that we need to rename it but...I am not sure how just yet. So stay tuned. In the meantime, it will remain the same.

Happy New Years!

Bobo and Pappy came to the house and we had our traditional New Year's lunch. This year, Matt picked up stuffed pork chops from Mr. P's. He got 2 different types and they were actually pretty yummy. Bobo and Pappy brought over turnip greens, black-eyed peas and corn bread. We filled up and then all took afternoon naps.

Before Bobo and Pappy got to the house, LeLe decided to read herself a book. I got tickled at her holding out her leg (to hold up the book). Pretty smart...huh?

Pappy is feeling much better! Praise the Lord!

We are having some issues with her crazy hair...while I am not in love with the look of a pony tail, it is the only thing that will keep the crazy hair out of her eyes (without her pulling it out immediately). Notice all of the jewelry that she has on too!