newly acquired manners

recently, lucy neal has started using very good manners in everyday dialogue. it's so cute!

all none peasth! (all done please)
nack peasth! (snack please)
baby peasth, nalm peasth! (baby please, immediately followed by lamb please..kyle says we should sew them together)

anything she asks for she says please and once given to her immediately says "thank you" it's the sweetest thing ever! also, everynight when we take off her socks and every morning when we take off her pj's she exclaims "hey toes!" same for when we cover them up, "bye bye toes!" she's learned how to ask to watch one of her dvd's..."moobie?" or "bb" (tv) she's also learned how to give great kisses.

she know 2 colors, purple and yellow and says them both very clearly and appropriately when pointing to something purple or yellow. she can say other colors, but doesn't know what they are. she can count to 3 (mostly helps me when i am counting for her to come here)

but the latest, most precious words that i have been waiting to hear since she starting talking are....are you ready...


I WUVU! (I LOVE YOU!!!!!)

Hawaiian Halloween

Well, as holidays go for this little hula girl, Halloween is her fav so far. She has been obsessed with all of the decorations...skulls, pumpkins you name it. Our Kroger had a wonderful display of "haween" in the middle of the store, so everytime we went we had to spend at least 10 minutes in that aisle. She was hilarious...growling at all of the decorations and loving on some (mostly skulls). She wasn't hardly scared of any of them. We took her to the farmer's market near our house and let her pick out her very own "pump pump". What a treat! We also had these two decorative pumpkins on the floor in front of the fireplace that she had a fine time playing with...I can only imagine what christmas will be like! Oh so speaking of christmas, the week after halloween (early i know, right?) they were doing christmas pics at her school. With a professional photographer. So I got her all decked out in a beautiful dress, she looked about as angelic as they get (everyone said so, it's not just me). What a perfect opportunity for a picture right? Would have look great in a frame for christmas and then in the baby book. Well so we get in line and she sees Santa Claus through the door and starts pointing at him. Keep in mind she hasn't been introduced to him yet. So me, trying to think of a way that she could relate to how much fun he is, said "look there's santa claus..he's kind of like halloween!" Meaning he's SUPER FUN just like halloween. Her response?...she growled at him. Hilarious. So after begging to go see him, it was finally our turn. We went in, Santa was talking her, let her "pet" his furry costume which i compared to the kitty kat so she wouldn't be scared, all that jazz. She handled all of that great. So I say, "Do you want to sit with him?" and she very matter of factly shook her head and said..."NO". And that was that. So I was told a few minutes later her teacher (whom I LOVE) tried the same thing, with the exact same response. Oh well, no pic with Santa Claus. Maybe later in the season after she gets to know him a little better.

fun times at the fair

so we took the little one to the state fair (2 times) and i think it's safe to say that...SHE LOVED IT!! rides...not so much. petting zoo..could have stayed for hours. she also loved watching people ride the scary rides and imitating their screams. hilarious! picking up ducks was a big hit as well and she even got to pick out her own prize (like we need another stuffed animal at our house, but oh well it was fun for her)! in addition to the petting zoo, she got to pet a few snakes (ssss) and a baby alligator (opening and closing her mouth really big). anyway, scroll down for lots of fair footage!

3 month blog vacation

after a long span of blogging procrastination, i have decided to sit down and try to remember enough about the past 3 months to give a few updates. it was such a fun summer with the little one, and we are looking foward to halloween and the holiday season, as these will be her true "firsts" since she is now mobile and more aware of her surroundings than last year. well, here goes (scroll down for a recap of the past few months).

september

how to even begin to describe september...crazy, busy, fun! i went on a fabulous trip to chicago with 3 of my best friends to run in the chicago half marathon (clarification: they ran. i cheered.) they all 3 finished in record time in record rainfall for chigago! we got to tour the city a little and it is amazing...can't wait to go back! we got back on monday night and kyle and i took off tuesday morning for our anniversary trip to the beach. on the way down, we dropped lucy neal off with her ami (kyle's mom) in daphne and she spent the week with her. i didn't want to leave her after being in chigago, but we managed to have fun and so did she. we came back through daphne on friday, planning to spend the night and drive home saturday, but brandon was there and we had so much fun we spent saturday night too. during the trip lucy neal named dennis "poppy". so sweet!

after all of our travels, we were ready to be still for awhile. but as soon as we got back, lucy neal got tubes. everything went great, no fussiness, and had a quick recovery. we went for our first trip to the park with friends amy and byron and their little one, louisa who is 1 month older than lucy neal. she loved the park and was covered in dirt when we left. her favorite: the slide, of course!

august

let's see...august was a big month for us. lucy neal moved to a new room at school where she started to go outside to play, read books and sing songs. we were so excited for so much new stimulation! mollie moved up with her so at least she had a familiar face. we tried to let her feed herself with a spoon..not quite ready for that task yet! (see pics below) she was also a huge help cleaning out the garage. it was hilarious, she was black from head to toe! we went to philadelphia to visit kyle's fam and she said "ami" (kyle's mom's grandmother name) for the first time...it was precious!

july

a very eventful month for us...Lucy Neal loved the fireworks on the 4th (wasn't scared at all, just loved watching them). then, as i had hoped (and hoped and hoped) almost 2 months after her first step, she (finally) started officially walking on July 27th! just in time for the Neshoba County Fair, which if you've never been, is nice to have a walking child vs. a non-walking child. she was a huge trooper for the whole week of the fair, slept pretty good (despite having a cabin full of 30-60 people depending on the night) and got to spend lots of quality time with family. we put plenty of miles on her red wagon and met her cousin mary logan (no doubt her fair buddy for years to come). she went to her first concert (she loved it), saw some horse races, and did a whole lot of playing...fun times!

catching up

well, after a very long blogging break, we're back. i have felt so overwhelmed by all of the things i had to catch up on that it was easier for me just not to blog. my usual blogging time is sunday night, and considering we were out of town every weekend in may, that didn't leave much time to blog. then i decided, i don't have to do a new post for everything that has happened since last time, i will just do a recap. so here goes...
*on may 9th we celebrated lucy neal's 1 yr. birthday with cake, a few friends,and lots of family mexican fiesta style! she got so many toys, including a red wagon, a car, and a little mermaid riding toy. we opened a few each day so she wouldn't be overwhelmed and she has been enjoying them ever since.
*the following weekend we went to a wedding for a friend from high school,where she got to meet a bunch of people for the first time and was such a trooper!
*for memorial day weekend we went to gulf shores with kyle's family and had so much fun! she got to model her swimsuits, play in the sand, got in the ocean for a bit, and went swimming in the pool (her favorite) her ami got her a super cute bean bag that she enjoyed lounging in
*the following weekend we did 1 yr old pics at mynelle gardens (so much fun, and so beautiful) she loved all of the flowers and didn't get fussy til the very end

a few of her new things are saying some new words ("meow","boof boof", "kkkk" (kittycat), "thank you", "uh uh" (uh oh), "hey" (and waves). she also shakes her head yes and no, but not appropriately...it's hilarious!

1st step!

today when i picked the little one up from daycare she took a step to me! so exciting! then when we got home she took 2 and 3 at a time...more to come but just wanted to proclaim the good news!

fun weekend in daphne

we went to daphne, al this weekend to visit kyle's family. his brother flew in from miami and we had a fun, relaxing weekend. Lucy Neal enjoyed spending time with everyone, and even got to taste some cool whip, which she loved!

Lucy Neal and her friend Mollie in their matching strawberry outfits I made them

We have a tooth!

Finally at 11 months old, Lucy Neal's first tooth broke through this weekend! We thought it would never happen. Until now, it hasn't slowed her down eating...she eats more table food than any of the kids in her class, and they all have a mouthful of teeth. It's no telling what she will eat now!

11 months old

A few new things at 11 months...laughing a lot more, saying "dog" everytime she hears one bark, saying 'baby' when she wants her baby and she carries it everywhere! Don't think she will let you hold it for one second...she will crawl as fast as she can and snatch the baby out of your hand. She absolutely LOVES to play on the bed...here is some footage.

tagged by adelle

i was tagged by adelle to play a “who are you?” game. so here goes--the rules of the game get posted at the beginning. each player answers the questions about themselves. at the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people, posts their names, and then leaves a comment on their blogs, letting them know they've been tagged.

what was i doing 10 years ago?

i was in my jr. year of high school, getting in lots of trouble, and wanting SO badly to be grown! if only i could go back. let's see, right now would be the time for tennis season, cheerleader tryouts, and starting today...the infamous countdown to my birthday (which has dwindled over the years, but for the record it's 27 days)

5 things on my to-do-list

1) finish kitchen backsplash
2) sew lucy neal's clothes
3) finish kitchen table and chairs (painting and distressing)
4) start lucy neal's baby book
5) finish planting flowers

5 snacks I enjoy

1)goldfish
2)snack mix (nancy rie's trash)
3)bon ami sugar cookies
4)chocolate
5)fresh cherries

5 things i would do if i were a billionaire

1)pay off all debt
2)build an antebellum house on a huge piece of land (with an oak tree lined driveway)
3)travel (fiji, st. barts, new york, italy)
4)send my children to private school
5)give to charity, my parents, etc...

5 bad habits

1)procrastinating
2)getting started on too many projects at a time (hence the to-do-list)
3)not exercising enough
4)buying lucy neal clothes (but i get such great deals!)
5)being indecisive

5 places i have lived

1)port gibson, ms
2)new york (for 1 year in 2nd grade)
3)hattiesburg
4)clinton
5)brandon

5 jobs i've had

1)southern lumber company
2)applebee's
3)hampton inn
4)footaction
5)UMC ER

5 people i want to know more about (tag, you're it)

1)kendy kosko
2)katie bumgarner
3)julie brown
4)meredith mclemore
5)erin schwant

Happy Easter!

Another first has passed and this sweet little one is getting closer and closer to being a year old! I can't believe in only 2 months she will be 1. Easter day wasn't great for her considering she missed her morning nap for church (made for a mad baby), then crawled off the bed and landed on the floor (made for an even madder baby). But the weekend was fun and she got to hunt for eggs...next year will be more exciting for her.

newest trick

Just this week, Lucy Neal has started standing by herself for a few seconds at a time. She will start off holding on to something, then just let go and stand there. After awhile she will realize what's going on and fall down. This must be one of the first signs of walking (scary!), though she has no desire to walk just yet.

roadtrip to daphne

This weekend, Lucy Neal and I went to visit Kyle's parents in Daphne, AL. We went to an arts and crafts festival in Fairhope, where she enjoyed riding in her stroller and people watching. She charmed everyone everywhere we went they all thought she was adorable. A fun trip...but taking a 10 month old on a trip by yourself is easier said than done!

sick little monkey

so lucy neal had been waking up in the middle of the night all weekend crying with a low grade fever. we figured it was teething but just to be safe kyle took her to the dr. yesterday. turns out she has a terrible ear infection. she got a rocephin shot and i wasn't even able to be there to comfort her! she seems to be feeling better and she played last night. here is the outfit i made her out of some cute monkey fabric.

Catching Up

It's been a few weeks since I've had a chance to post, so here is a recap. 2 weekends ago Lucy Neal had the stomach virus...not fun for anyone involved. The good news is she recovered quickly and we have had a fun few weeks. She has learned how to wave, though not at the appropriate times. She's eating just about any table food you give her, and refuses baby food. Her favorite is YoBaby yogurt. She is crawling all over the place, and pulling up like a champ but still no teeth. She also has learned how to give kisses...and what sweet kisses they are! Here is some footage of the past few weeks.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here is a picture of the bay bay in her Valentine's outfit that I made for her. It's not a great picture of her, but I was having to pull her fingers out of her mouth really quick, then try to shoot the picture before she put them back in her mouth...anyway you get the idea. All in all it was a fun Valentine's day for her. She got a very soft little teddy bear with a pink bow and some church panties with lace and her initials. We also found out that Monday she will be moving up to the next room at daycare. We will miss our teachers so much! But this room is much better suited for crawling and pulling up...her two favorite things! They also have structured nap times (yay). She is almost completely on table foods now. Her favorites?...cheese and cheerios. This sweet baby girl is growing up before my eyes and I can't believe how much she can do now. Dr. Smith said she will definitely keep her beautiful blue eyes...still don't know where those came from but we're not complainin'!

lovin' bath time

Lucy Neal can be in the worst mood ever but put her in the tub and the following two things happen: her face lights up and she starts kicking as hard as she can. It is so much fun watching her take her bath. There is no such thing as being still anymore. It's more like chasing her around the tub the whole time, washing what parts you can when you can get to them, and trying not to let her stand up. It's quite an adventure, but one I wouldn't trade for anything (except maybe a nice bubble bath of my own :)

9 months old!

Today is Lucy Neal's 9 month birthday...I can't believe it! It's moving way too fast. We had a fun day with her. We went to have her 9 month pictures done, went to the mall and had her first kids meal (Chick Fil A nuggets and fruit), and then went to the park. She seemed to enjoy the day. Her newest tricks include crawling all over the place and pulling up. She stands up in her bed in the morning and she can take a few assisted steps. She also says mama,daddy,and kicat (kitty cat). She still doesn't have any teeth, but can somehow mangage to eat an insane amount of Cheerios. We have been taking swimming lessons and she loves it! She has gone under water a few times and she handles it like a champ! Here are a few pictures of the activities from today (along with a few of some of her latest activities).

playdate with mollie

Sunday we had a playdate with Mollie, Lucy Neal's best friend from daycare. Her mom, Mary, works at daycare and we became fast friends. We figured out the first day that they were born only 2 hours apart, so Mary calls them the twins! Hilarious because they look so different. Mollie is a really funny kid, so Mary and I have decided she will be the class clown. The baby's didn't really "play" with each other, just crawled all over each other and sometimes stole toys. Mary is already expecting another...she is so brave! Mollie will be only 13 months older than her brother or sister. We have had so much fun watching these girls grow up together and they really do love each other.

She finally did it!

After many, many months of practice she finally crawled! For a while now Lucy Neal has been scooting along the floor on her belly, but this morning when it was just the 2 of us playing she got on her hands and knees and went for 3 steps! She has also gotten really good at pulling up. Here are a few pics of her in action, along with a few of her in the snow (forgive me I was by myself trying to take pictures of her).