Celebrate with Cake

Happy Birthday, Uncle Josh!

(This is an older picture.  I wasn't able to snag a photo of Josh last night!)

Waverly helped Mommy make a birthday cake for her uncle Josh.  She loves to help out in the kitchen!  We made a stacked round cake and lots of cupcakes!

Waverly loved playing with the egg shells, after Mommy had cracked the egg and moved the mixing bowl far away... 

She even helped clean up while the cakes were baking.  Sarah helped us ice all the cupcakes and decorate the big cake.  Here is a picture of our finished cake!

Then we went to Mamaw and Papaw's house to visit with everyone and have a big cookout!

While the big kids, Josh included, went off to play army in the fields, Waverly stayed with us nearby the house.  Papaw took her out to play on the swing set.  She loves to go really high and swing back down!

I love how she crosses her legs!  She's done that even before she was born... My little lady!

And then she rode the 4 wheeler with Papaw...

Waverly helped Mamaw water the flowers...

And later it was time for cake! 

Waverly enjoyed her cupcake! 

 

She wasn't so sure about the icing on her nose!

Happy Birthday, Josh!  Hope its a great one!

I feel pretty!

Special thanks to Samantha from Mommy to a Princess, who awarded us the One Lovely Blog Award.  Samantha is one of my dear friends, and mommy to Roxy, one Waverly's best friends!  Samantha also made our new blog header for us.  Thanks, friend, for making us feel pretty today!

To accept this award, I am supposed to spill the beans about myself!  The rules say to list 7 things about myself that no one in the blogger world knows.  Here I go...

1.  I only like even numbers.  They are just nicer. 

2.  When we have dinner, I eat whatever is on my plate working clockwise from noon.  Thankfully, Waverly does not (yet) have odd eating habits.

3.  I love being a Mommy, but that's common knowledge.  So I will say my favorite new thing Waverly does is say "Hug", always accompanied by big cuddles.

4.  I miss sleep...  zzz...

5.  I love living out in the country, where the noisiest sound is crickets and the lightening bugs play for hours.

6.  My middle name is Gail, after my mother. When I married, I dropped it to just a G. because my name became so long!

7.  I love my mom friends.  I am very lucky to have several close friends who are also moms to little ones.  Its truly a gift to find support when its needed.

Samantha, thanks again for the lovely blog award!  I would pass it back to you, but since you just received it, I will simply say that I love the new look of your blog!  Waverly is so excited to be on the computer with Mommy, and we always check your blog.  She loves to point to Roxy and try to say her name!

In true friendship fashion, I would like to pass this award on to the following bloggers:

Twice Blessed

Lola Miren

Smiles Awake You

These are just a few of many blogs I have found through Top Baby Blogs.  I love reading about little ones.  Miracles is now ranked #275!  We are moving up in rank at Top Baby Blogs, so click the link below and vote for us! 

 



Sweet 16

Where, oh where has my baby gone?

Who is this bright and shiny toddler running around, being cute all day long?

That's my Waverly!

Waverly is 16 months old! 

She's doing just as well as ever, meeting milestone after milestone and impressing her parents on a daily basis.  She has so many new words and new signs that its hard to keep up with!  She loves to play and sing and dance.  Her favorite toys right now are her baby dolls (and their accessories!) and her laptop, but she still loves to play ball.  She is constantly on the go!

Last night, Waverly and I stopped by Mamaw and Papaw's for dinner. Waverly thoroughly enjoyed Papaw feeding her cornbread and milk.  Reminds me of my great-grandmother, since this was her favorite treat!  She thought it was grand to eat part of her dinner while playing outside!

Of course, she finished up her veggies at the table like a big girl!  She likes to sit in her booster chair and eat with all the grown-ups.  She will feed everyone else at the table a "bite bite", too!  At least she shares!

Time is certainly not slowing down any.  16 months old...  My sweet, sweet baby is growing up!

When life gives you lemons...SMILE!

At 14 weeks, Baby Bean has grown to the size of a lemon!

Baby Bean has grown another half inch and almost doubled in weight over the last week.  Plus, Baby Bean is busy being adorable with thumb sucking and toe wiggling!  Baby is also staying warm with all that fuzzy hair growing. 

By the way, did you know that Lemon Jolly Ranchers were discontinued? 

 

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Hugs & Kisses

Sunday was all about family time. 

Nana Betty's sisters, neices, aunts and uncles had come to town for a visit.  Since they live far away, Nana Betty was very happy to see everyone. 

On Sunday, I took Waverly by there to meet new relatives and play for awhile.  It was nice to visit.

Waverly has happy to see Tanner, immediately wanting to play trucks with him.  He was great about sharing, too!  Most of all, these two cousins just love each other. 

Waverly wanted hug after hug!

They would play together for a little bit and then break for a hug.  Hugs are the best thing, too!  Since learning the word, Waverly is all about giving hugs. 

Tanner was happy to get hugs, too!

Those two kids...  They're great!

Story Time

Saturday afternoon, Waverly and I went to the library!

As promised, we have to start working on our list of 50 books to read. 

It had been quite awhile since our last trip, so Waverly was ecstatic to see the miles of books!

Waverly walked directly to the large bins and began pulling books out to read!
She really enjoyed reading the baby book about animals.

She even made all of her animal sounds, loud and clear!

Next time our lesson will be about inside voices...

Waverly was happy to choose books off of the shelves, too. 

She ran all over the library with this book or that. 

Never fear, she did put the books back on the appropriate shelf after prompting. 

I most enjoyed the time when we actually snuggled together in a big comfy chair and read Sandra Boynton books.  She is our favorite children's author for now, though we also adore Laura Numeroff's If you give a Mouse a Cookie series.

Waverly happily chose books to read to herself too.

I am so glad that she loves reading as much as I do!

I see many more library trips in our future.

Out on the Town

Does it look like I'm up to no good?

On Thursday night, Daddy went out of town for a truck pull.  Since it was just the two of us, Waverly and I decided we would visit some friends and then grab a bite to eat.                            

Waverly was all dolled up in her new dress Nana Pam made her.  She was just too adorable not to show off!  We went to see Mommy's friends, Tom & Phyllis.  It was great to see them for a bit!



Relax, folks, its just water with lemon!

After our visit, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner.  This made Baby Bean very happy, too!  Waverly colored Mommy a picture and then ate her chicken and rice. 

We had a great time, just us girls!

Bucketful of Beautiful

For some reason or other, Waverly thought that putting the bucket on her head would be great fun...

 She was right!  Mommy & Daddy both giggled uncontrollably at our silly girl!

 On... & off again! 

Well, it was a fun game of peek-a-boo nonetheless!

This morning, Waverly chose to wear her new dress to Nana's!

I let her choose between a couple of outfits, and of course, she picked out her new dress. 

As far as we're concerned, every day should be picture day!

More than a memory...

A few days ago, my step-sister Amy gave me a bag of miscellaneous items she had found while cleaning.  The bag was labeled "Samantha's toys from when she was a little girl" in very childish handwriting.  To my great delight, the bag was filled with little tidbits of magic I remember from when I was little. 

Amidst the broken birthday candles, lone earring and broken zipper, I was thrilled to find magnets that had once belonged on my grandmother's refrigerator.  Three little frogs, all perfectly posed in a funny laid back manner, just perfect to tack up on the fridge.  

Funny how you remember something so little like that.  I remember playing with them when I was little.  Of course, I couldn't wait to show them to Waverly. 

She liked them, too! 

We will add them to our collection of magnets on the fridge, and those three little frogs can stay right next to Waverly's butterflies and chicken. 

 In my bag of treasures was a puzzle, one of those slide-the-pieces around type games, of the United States.  I am fairly certain that this particular toy came from Perryville, during one of our long-ago family reunions. 

Also, there was a little frog that kicked his legs when you wound him up, a plastic toy hat that fit an action figure of some kind, a small piece of plastic fruit that must have come from a fake plant arrangement and a blue plastic ring.  There was a small owl magnet that I swear came from my great grandmother's originally. 

Its funny how things catch you off guard and remind you of loved ones.  My grandmother has been gone from us for several years, but I still think of her often and miss her more each day.  It was nice to find unexpected memories and share them with Waverly.

Waverly has also become very taken with this baby doll that was mine when I was little.  I'm sure all kids of the 80's remember water babies.  I had quite a collection! 

Waverly loves this baby doll in particular, so I let her keep it.  I remember it being a favorite of mine as well. 

Your presence I miss,

Your memory I treasure,

Loving you always,

Forgetting you never.

*Author Unknown

*If any family members have a picture of Mamaw Dorothy or Mamaw Rarely, please scan and email to me.  Thanks!

Just Peachy

Hello, Second Trimester!

That's right, folks!  I'm 13 weeks pregnant with Baby Bean and we've made it to the beginning of the 2nd trimester!

Baby Bean has grown to the size of a peach! 

Baby Bean is working hard to form teeth buds and vocal cords this week.  He/She is also looking more like a baby, and less like a little alien.  Baby Bean is really growing now, increasing in size to just shy of 3 inches and .81 ounces.  

How's Mom doing, you ask?  Well, just peachy, of course!  Everything has been going well.  I am a bit more tired than usual, even though most research says that the 2nd Trimester is the most comfortable and blissful stage (who wrote that?).  I also have some joint pain.  That makes sitting around and napping my current favorite hobbies. 

Looking forward for things to come... hearing baby's heartbeat again, feeling some kicks and only 7 more weeks before another ultrasound!

I Love My Daddy

Happy Father's Day!

(Wish I'd had a better picture from today of those two!  They had so much fun together!)

Waverly has the best daddy and she wanted him to have a great day!

We made cards with her new pictures on them for Daddy and each of her Papaw's.  Then we went to the grocery store together to buy everything we'd need to make a big homemade dinner.

 Waverly thought shopping was great!  She got a sticker at the door and then proceeded to say hi to anyone who had bananas in their cart!

That's a really really happy face - mid-shriek of hello!

After shopping, Waverly helped me make a cake for Father's Day. 

She helped me scrape the batter into the pans and then licked the spoon clean.  That's my girl!

We went to Papaw's house to cook.  We had chicken pot pie, chicken bow tie pasta and chicken and dumplings!  Everything was homemade and oh so yummy!

 Waverly playing with her juice box...

It was nice to eat, visit and just sit around on the porch talking with family.

 All dressed up for Daddy.

 Papaw was glad to see his little girl, too!

To all the wonderful dad's out there, we hope you have a Happy Father's Day!  

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I spy...Papaw

Saturday afternoon, Waverly and I went to Papaw Allen's to celebrate Father's Day a little early.  It was great fun to see Papaw and Nana.  Matt, Amy, Tanner and Dale were there too! 

Waverly and Tanner had an absolute blast playing on the deck.  It's set up like a kid's playground.  They did well taking turns and sharing toys. 

The best toy though?  The telescope on the jungle gym!

 What do you see? 

 I spy... My Papaw!

 Of course, the kiddos had to go up and down the slide many, many times! 

 Tanner is almost 20 months old!  He's such a big boy, he can climb up the slide all by himself!

Waverly enjoyed visiting with Papaw Allen and everyone.  We had dinner and lots of cupcakes to celebrate Father's Day.  It was great! 

Happy Father's Day, Papaw!