A room fit for EMMA ~

Jeb and I decided to surprise Emma with an all new "big girl" room when she gets home Saturday....after all, she's not a baby anymore! We got new bunk beds (which can be made into 2 twin beds when we move). Ella will have to use the bottom one when she grows out of her crib, but for now it will be a "loft" on top for Em to play, read, watch tv, etc. She can sleep on the bottom. She's growing up so fast! She'll be starting 2nd grade in a few weeks so we thought it was only appropriate for her to have her own desk and study area in her room! Jeb's mom gave us the desk. It was painted yellow when we got it so we had to make it look a little more "Emma" like. So we painted it white and added really pretty, "girly", glass knobs. I added her initials on top (which turned out great, if I do say so myself!) and ordered a piece of glass to go over it. Throw in some super soft, hot pink bedding and a lime green shag rug and there you have it....a room fit for no one other than Emma! She's been so wonderful since Ella arrived. She hasn't complained (too much) about not always being the center of attention. She helps out a ton! She means so much to Jeb and I, more than she'll ever really know! I'm so excited about being able to do something special, just for her. She'll be home Sat so I'll post more pictures of her after she sees it. I hope she likes it!

More Baby Shower Pics ~

I wanted to share a few more pictures of the Teen Moms baby shower. As you can see, we all had a great time! I made sure to ask all of the girls if they would mind if I posted their picture....they all said it was ok. I don't want anyone to think I posted them without asking!

Teen Moms Baby Shower ~

We had a baby shower, this evening, for 3 of our expecting teen moms! Victoria, Samantha, and Sherricka are all due around the same time (Sept/Oct) so we decided to do a joint shower. They all seemed to have a great time. A few of their family and friends came also. They each got several "baby necessities", not to mention some really cute clothes and toys! Thanks to all of the very generous donations from my wonderful friends and others, we were able to give them each a basket full of brand new things! All of the girls were very excited and very grateful for everything. Two of the other girls from the program came as well. Jaysha brought her baby with her and Alexa is newly pregnant. I'm sure we'll be doing another shower for her soon. These are some of the sweetest girls I've ever met! I'm so happy to have the privilege to be working with them. These are just a few of the pictures from the shower......I'll post the rest in slide show soon! By the way, aren't those cakes awesome!? Two of our new volunteers made them this afternoon! They were great!!

Emma's Home ~ For Now!

Emma finally came home today! We are ALL so happy to see her! Ella was so excited to see her walk through the door! Things quickly got back to normal with Emma picking her up and pulling on her until she screams! Emma's excuse is "but I just love her so much!". Even with all of that going on, El was still happy to see her big sis! However, she won't be here long! She's leaves tomorrow to go to Birmingham, and then She and Mimi will fly out Saturday morning to Texas! When she gets back Wednesday, she's here to stay! She and I have "girl's day" planned, full of pedicures and shopping for Hannah Montana school supplies! I can't wait!

Have You Seen My Sister?

Like I said before, El has gotten into a habit of crawling into Emma's room every night to play. Once again, Emma is out of town on a "mini vacation", in Augusta, GA, with Jeb's mom and sister. So tonight, Ella made her way back to sister's room, but when she got to the door and didn't see Emma she just sat in the doorway trying to figure out why she wasn't in there! She had the saddest little look on her face when she looked back at me! She misses her sister! And then, after she realized that Emma wasn't going to be popping up anywhere, she thought it might be a good time to play with all of her toys while she's gone! I'm so glad that Emma has the opportunity to go to all of these different places and spend time with family......but we sure do miss her when she's not here! She comes home tomorrow afternoon, only to be leaving AGAIN on Friday. She and my mom will be flying to Texas to visit Lolo, Branny, Ava, and Cakes! She's so excited. She will be home next Wednesday for good! I know Ella will be happy when she gets back.....so will Jeb and I! We miss our Emma!!

We Have a Winner ~

I've been trying to get Ella to drink out of a Sippy Cup for a while now. I kept buying different brands thinking that eventually she would find one she liked! After collecting 5 cups in the cabinet I finally just decided to give it up for a while. Then, Jeb's mom left some that she had bought, in my car Saturday (at least I think she's the one who left them) so I decided to give it one more try! She started out the same as before, giving me that look like "um....this is not my bottle....are you serious?" But once she got a little taste of juice, that's all it took! It does make me a little sad that we're already to the "sippy cup" stage.....but, still, I'm proud of her for giving it a try!

Hey Sister....Wanna Play?!

Ella frequently makes her way into Emma's room to play, these days! She loves it in there. It probably has something to do with all of the bright colors (and the fact that Emma's always in there, of course)! Emma doesn't seem to mind her playing in there, but she doesn't always want to play with her. Emma likes to have her alone time! The other night I heard El "talking" and Emma telling her to be quite (politely, of course). When I walked to the door, I found Ella pulled up to the side of the bed like she was saying "hey sister, wanna play with me?" I thought it was so funny because, as you can see, Emma really wasn't in the mood! Poor Ella! I'm sure there will be lots more moments like this to come! And, I have a feeling Emma might not be as "polite" as she was this time!

Kelli's Baby Shower ~

My sister-in-law, Kelli, is pregnant with twins.......so, of course, we had to throw a shower! I always get a little stressed when throwing a shower (did I make enough food, will everyone have a good time..those kind of things!) But everything turned out great! She got tons of beautiful clothes, blankets and gifts for Maddy and Thomas. I posted a few pictures from the big day! Like I said, I think everything turned out great and I think she really enjoyed it, also. So that makes the stress worth it! We are all very happy for them and can't wait to meet our new niece and nephew!

No More Baby Bathtub ~

She was actually too big for that tiny infant tub about 3 months ago! When you're born at 10+ lbs things just don't fit like they should! Bath time is El's favorite part of the day....especially now that she has the entire tub to herself! The towel in the bottom of the tub is just there for a little added security..more for me, I think, than her!

Emma's Summer Vacation ~

As soon as school lets out and summer vacation begins, Emma is on the go NONSTOP! She is very fortunate to have the grandparents, aunts and uncles that she has! She gets to go to Birmingham and spend a week or so with Mimi and Pop. That usually means trips to the McWain Center, the zoo, the nail salon (she and mimi always have to get their nails done) and hanging out in the shop helping Pop do some work! She spent a week with Noni and Justin, also. They went to the park, painted on canvas, and she got to go to work with Noni where she learned a little sign language and made tye-dye shirts with some of the deaf students! The pictures posted are from her beach trip with Nana and Poppy. Emma LOVES the beach and was so excited about getting to go! While they were there they went to Gulf World to see the dolphins. Emma got to pet one and shake it's hand! (I have a picture of it but our scanner isn't working so I can't post it.) Needless to say, she had a great time! Emma (and Jeb and myself) is so blessed to have so many people who love her and want to spend so much time with her! With Jeb starting rotations and all of the other stuff going on, we haven't been able to do as many things this summer as we usually do. But thanks to our families, Emma never knows the difference or feels deprived of anything. She's a very lucky girl! School starts back in 5 weeks, but Emma's summer isn't over yet! She's flying to Dallas with my mom in a couple of weeks to visit Lolo, Branny, Ava and Cakes! She loves visiting Lolo because she always has crafts for them to do (Emma calls her the "craf lady) and she always takes her to Libby Lu. I'm sure there will be an "Emma's Summer Vacation: Part 2" soon to come!!

So Happy ~

My best friend, Matt, called me this afternoon to tell me he finally got engaged! I'm so excited for both of them! Matt and I have been friends for a LONG time and have been through a lot together! I love him dearly and want nothing more than for him to be happy. And I absolutely love Elizabeth! She's just one of those people that can get along with anyone and from the first time you meet her you feel like you've known her forever! I know they have a great future ahead of them! Congratulations guys!!!

(By the way ~ this picture was the most recent one I had of all of us together. It was 4 weeks after Ella was born so I'm not looking my best!)

Really??!!

I typically don't take pictures while driving, but when I pulled up to the red light at Samford and Gay Street and glanced over at the gas station, I could not believe the price for regular gas! Granted, this is the most expensive gas station in the Auburn/Opelika area, but still, $4.15?! When I first moved to Auburn, after HS, I was driving a red Honda Civic that my parents gave me for graduation. I remember filling it up (from EMPTY) for $12 (and yes Daddy, I do wish we still had the civic)! The saddest part about the $4.15/gal gas is that there were actually people there getting gas!

Dinner for Two ~

After a full day of playing, Emma wanted her friend, Ashley, to stay for dinner! So we decided to play "restaurant", with me being the waitress, of course! They ordered hotdogs and black eyed peas.......yummy! Our "restaurant" was very fancy, as you can see from their glasses (I did opt to use paper plates......I didn't want to get too crazy)! Emma said it was delicious and she "just had to get the recipe!" They also had blueberry pound cake for dessert! It was a great dinner! I don't think I got a tip, though....hmmmm!?)

Good Food!!

Because Emma did such a great job "chucking" the corn, Ella had a great 4th of July dinner on Friday! She had corn (and most of the cob), baked beans, and bbq (minus the sauce)! At one point, she had beans in one hand and corn in the other and couldn't decide which to eat first! She figured it out, though! We had to go from the highchair, straight to the bath tub! We haven't discussed "manners" yet!

"Chuckin' " Corn!

Emma offered to help me "chuck" corn the other day, which was great seeing as how I had 6 dozen ears of corn to put up! She did a great job! She was a little disappointed that she didn't find a caterpillar in the ones that she did......that was a relief for me! I tried to tell her it was called "shucking" corn, not "chucking", but she never seemed to get it! It really doesn't matter, the corn got "chucked" either way!

More Pics of the Girls ~

Em and El have both had a virus over the past few days so, as you can imagine, it's been loads of fun around our house! Emma has just "been dying of boredom", so we went outside for a little while the other day to draw with the sidewalk chalk. It was also a good excuse to get the camera out (not that I ever need one)! Anyway, they enjoyed being outside for while, but tired out before too long. El's much better but big sis is still dragging! Hopefully it will be over soon!

Ella and Abbie!

Ella and I spent the night with my best friend, Alisha, and her baby, Abbie, Friday night before heading to see my parents on Saturday! Sadly, it was the first time we had seen each other in almost a year.....and we had only seen pictures of Abbie and El! Abbie is 6 weeks older than El......although you could never tell that by seeing them together. They were so sweet and played so good together......well, until the next morning when the ELLAtude came out! But it was a great night, nonetheless! We will definitely be getting them together again before another year goes by! Maybe they can come to Auburn for the next play date!!