shoes, among other things

Aren't these shoes just adorable? Miss Presley got them yesterday when we went to Target. She said she needed some cute summer sandals to make her feel better! And Mommy just can't say no to any accessory! Presley was so funny trying them on. She kept flexing her toes and moving her ankles around....I guess they felt weird on her feet!

Presley is feeling a little bit better, I think. She is still tossing and turning and waking up a bit at night. But overall, she's less fussy during the day and eating better! I am really glad that this didn't last as long as it could have.

And lastly, Presley has started doing the cutest thing at bath time. She stands up at the edge of the tub while I run the water. When I turn the water off, I guess she knows it's time to get in. She starts picking at her clothes, pulling them up. It's like she is trying to pull them off! And then when her clothes are off, she starts pulling at her diaper! Ha ha! I'm sure that she really knows what she's doing. It's just hard to remember sometimes that my baby is growing up and is smart enough to know what's going on around her. ;)

Sorry I haven't posted a lot in the past week. We've had a lot going on. My parents moved closer to us. Yay! =) So we've tried to help out with that as much as possible. And we've just had a lot of personal things going on as a family. So I'll use that statement as a request for prayer for us.

Poor Presley has a stomach bug :( On Monday she had a fever of 101.8 but no other symptoms. Then on Friday, she had a bit of tummy troubles. Today, well today.....it hit hard! Poor baby is all I can say! Her stomach was so sick today! The only things I could get her to eat were a banana and some saltines. She doesn't like juice, so I figured that she wouldn't like flavored pedialyte. We got unflavored pedialyte, but she still didn't like it. Guess we should have gotten some flavor! Presley did drink 3 bottles, so I was grateful that she got some fluids in. I'm not sure where she picked this up from. The only thing I can think of is the nursery at church. Oh well, I know kids get sick, but it is not fun to see your baby sick!

pool fun

The eyes say it ALL! She generally loved the water, but it was so cold that we only stayed in a little while. This was toward the end, when she was like ok this is enough!

And these next 4 pictures are what happens when you try to get four children, excuse me 3 children and a pre-teen, to take a quick picture. Quick, that's a funny word!

Presley walking! (well, with a walker)

Here is Miss Presley's newest trick, as of last night! She has been much braver in the standing on her own and cruising/taking steps category. So, I just had a hunch that she might be able to walk with this now. Before she would push it out as fast as she could, and that would promptly land her face right into the carpet! But now Presley is a big girl and knows how to coordinate those feet! =)

Presley at Eleven Months!

I can't believe I just typed that! How can it be that this is possible? My baby is almost a toddler!

Not really much has changed in the food department. We still do some fruit and veggie purees. But mostly she eats all big people food and loves it! She is still drinking 4 6oz bottles a day. Although sometimes she will leave 1 or 2 oz in the afternoon bottle. Presley only drinks water from her sippy cup and she has become a pro at it....finally! And of course we have a TOOTH now.

Presley is a mover and a shaker! She is cruising everything, including the walls. She will pull up on your legs and sometimes she'll just stand there and sometimes she'll dance up and down! She loves to hold onto the coffee table and then let go and stand on her own. She is fearless and such a little daredevil! Which makes my heart stop sometimes! She'll nose dive off of whatever toy she's crawling on and hit the ground hard. Then she gets up and laughs about it!

Presley is still only saying a few words. Like ma ma, da da, and ba ba (which is bye bye!). She babbles almost constantly. She knows what she's talking about, but we don't yet!

I feel like this month, probably more than any other, that Presley has changed the most. Maybe it's because I'm living it right now. It's so easy to forget the newborn stage or even the 9 mo. stage because those are gone. I have absolutely LOVED watching this precious baby grow up before my eyes. No doubt about, Presley has made being a mother incredibly easy. I can't wait to see what the future holds for her (and us!).

Beach Baby!

Presley LOVES the beach! Literally the second we got her out of the car she had the biggest smile on her face. She loved crawling around in the sand (which gave me a minor heart attack, but she did clean up pretty easy!) She didn't try and eat it, which surprised me. We went around 5 pm, which was perfect....not too hot and not too much sun! We didn't stay long this time because dinner time was right around the corner. I was pretty surprised at myself too. I'm not really much of a beach-type. Don't get me wrong....it's breathtakingly beautiful and I count myself blessed that it's just a short car ride away. BUT, I loathe the sand. I was down there playing with Presley and taking pictures practically laying in the sand. Funny how having kids can make you change some things huh? I can't wait to take Presley back with her cousins. I think she'll have a better time with other little kids playing in the sand and such. 'Cause ya know, going with your parents anywhere is lamer than with friends! ;)

I edited the colors in this picture and it came out so cute. At least I think so!

Such a Daddy's girl =)

This is when we first put her down in the sand. She kept looking at her legs and rubbing them! She eventually got used to it and started crawling like she was on a normal floor!

I just love this picture. I edited it to make it have this effect...pretty cool, huh?

Sandy cheeks! ha ha! =)

The prettiest beach on the gulf coast. Navarre Beach. swoon!

(almost) 11 months in the making

A TOOTH! We finally have a tooth! After what seems like an eternity of crazy drooling, gnawing on everything and loads of tylenol and orajel.....Presley cut her first tooth! I can't get a picture of the elusive little thing, but I'm trying. I need someone to hold her down and her mouth open while I snap the camera. It's on the bottom center and it is just a little above the surface of her gums. She really is the best tempered baby, because through all of this craziness, she has only been a little more fussy. Honestly I would have ripped a house apart if I was cutting teeth! I think God knew what he was doing when he made us cut teeth when we were too young to remember it! ;)

Presley loves Krystal....like Pappaw!

I must say, she gets it honestly! I pink puffy heart Krystal burgers! And so does Presley's Pappaw! Jeremiah detests them....so we don't eat there much! Thank goodness, because Presley and I both would probably weigh about 10 extra pounds! =)

I feel like a TON of things have been happening lately! I just haven't had to time to post about them! I have a lot of cute pictures of Miss Presley, which are now on the computer. It takes some time to edit them and watermark them before I can post them on the blog. So that process also slows me down from blogging as frequently as I'd like too. And it also doesn't help that for the last two days, until sundown, my Dad and I have been building a fence around our backyard! Yay for Presley finally having a confined area to play.....boo for me doing physical labor! ha ha! But my Dad is taking it pretty easy on me! I'm just mostly holding boards up and such! Thanks Dad! =) So.....I promise I have a lot of good things for the blog and I'll post them soon!

First Mother's Day

Have you ever had something planned in your mind....so perfectly....that when it happens it can't possibly live up to the expectation that was created? Well, this happens to me more than I would care to admit. It's not anyone's fault but my own. I have always, since the beginning of my memories, played out days, events, situations in my mind and I expect them to go a certain way. And when they don't, I get disappointed. *I know what you're thinking...but bear with me.* It's my own fault. Have I not learned in 25 years of living that NOTHING goes according to plan, especially made-up things in my own head!

My "first" Mother's Day was not full of the pampering and things I had desperately wanted. Although I got a card from my husband, I expected a sentimental gift. You know a keepsake piece of jewelry, a tree or plant that we could watch grow over the years, a handmade something from Presley, etc. My husband said he didn't know that he was supposed to get me anything. I guess because I'm not his mother! But I was super disappointed. Anyway, I'm sure this sounds completely selfish and materialistic to most of you. And you're right, it is. But I'm laying it all on the line and being completely honest.

So after crying about it and wallowing in my emotions for long enough, I decided to make the end of my first Mother's Day the best it could be. I looked at some precious pictures of Presley, read a blog about a Mom who just lost her baby 2 weeks ago (boy that made me feel like crap for being selfish) and made a gratitude list. I know how incredibly blessed I am to have healthy, beautiful daughter. I see critically ill children every week at my job (some of which never recover) so, I know how bad things could really be. And in the end, none of this stuff matters...not even that Presley and I didn't get a picture together to commemorate the day. So that's it......I'm done. Being a mommy has been the most incredible experience of my life. I should feel like everyday is my Mother's Day!

Oh, and I think I'll buy myself a keepsake piece of jewelry....but it'll be from Presley of course! ;)

growing up is HARD on Mommy

...not so much physically or financially, but emotionally! Good grief! I could just cry when I look at these two photos. This big girl cannot be the baby we brought home last June! It is flying by way too fast! It's not fair that babyhood is over in the blink of an eye. :(

The only way that Presley will still let me cuddle with her is by feeding her a bottle. I'm quite sure that she could hold it on her own, but Mommy can't let go of that "together" time just yet. But now she downs the bottle in about a minute flat and then wiggles to be let down. So that time is dwindling anyway. She used to let us rock her to sleep before bed. Not any more. Just within the last few weeks, she wants to be burped after her bottle, hugged/rocked for just a minute, then promptly placed in her bed so she can go to sleep on her own. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that she can put herself to sleep and that she is a great little sleeper. I'm just sad that she doesn't need me for that anymore.

Presley's first ride in her car seat. Look how little! We even had to roll a blanket up and place it between her bottom and the strap!

We took this picture right before we threw the car seat away. (had to because of the wreck) Hard to believe how much she's grown! These pictures really show it!

Zoo!

We took Presley to the zoo for the first time last Friday. I think she had a better time people watching than animal watching! There were many school field trips going on, so Presley had a lot of little people to look at! She only really showed interest in a few animals like the peacock (who can blame her with all of those gorgeous colors!) and the monkeys. Which is funny, because she loves to watch the cats roam and play at my parents' house. Go figure!

I always love feeding the giraffes. Presley, on the other hand, did not. I held her while I was giving one of them food and she puckered those little lips out and started bawling! I wish Jeremiah could have gotten a picture of it, but we were a little preoccupied with getting the screaming baby out of the crowd surrounding the giraffes! Presley's Pap Paw and Mam Maw were visiting last week and it was such a treat to have them go to the zoo with us! Unfortunately I'm such a blonde sometimes, make that most of the time, and didn't even take any pics of them with her. BUT she loves them so much and we all enjoyed their visit and wished they lived next door! Love you guys! =)

Here is our big girl looking very much un-babyish! :(

Mr. Peacock

Looking at some of the monkeys! I love this pic!

My love, Presley's enemy!!!

Daddy's girl!

Presley didn't want to get up close and personal with the goats either!

Presley waving hello!

you can't buy this kind of entertainment!

Presley, you are the funniest kid EVER! I swear! Here you are at 10 1/2 months old making me laugh so hard I could cry! I hope you keep this fantastic quality.
I love you! =)