We have a fence people!

The fence is finally done!!!  Ryan started the fence back in the summer, but as always, due to lack of time, not effort, it took forever for us, well him, to find time to finish it ;)  Ryan did an awesome job!  He did everything himself and without a nail gun I might add.  I did help hold up about 7 boards, but tired very quickly of the slow process.  I didn't think it would ever be done!  But after two days of work we can finally go out in our backyard and not have construction workers looking at us! Garrison was a big help ;) he walked around and touched everything and held his little hammer while Ryan hammered the boards. It was too cute!  He also somehow got ahold of Ryan's hammer and fell on it and gave himself a black eye- the day would not be complete without an injury! 

What are you thankful for?

A condensed version of the list of things that I am thankful for:

* A husband who is truly my best friend- who doesn't try to change or understand my quirks, just laughs at them.

* The precious, pure, and innocent smile of a toddler- who is always excited to see me, no matter   how early it is :)

* The feeling of a baby dancing around inside of me and the sound of her beautifully strong      

heartbeat.

* Friends and family that I can count on for anything, even if most of them live way too far away

from me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Garrison's Birthday Party- 1 month later :)

We had Garrisons birthday party at Medal of Honor park on November 2.  His theme was "duckies" so they were pretty much everywhere!   All in all it went pretty good.  I tried my very best to remain calm- usually in situations like these I tend to flip out and my type A personality really shines ;) 

It was fun to see family and friends and of course, Garrison loved all the attention!

Garrison received tons of great new toys (thanks again to everyone) and I think he really had a lot of fun!  

Thanksgiving Day is a Happy Day...

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house this Sunday.  It was Garrison's second Thanksgiving, But his first Thanksgiving that he was awake during.  It was so nice being able to have Thanksgiving in our own home with just us and in pj's :)  Garrison ate his weight in ham and mac and cheese and so did me and Ryan.  Along with the ham, mac and cheese, we had green beans, cranberry sauce, dressing, and apple pie.  Everything was home made and I must say I am pretty impressed with myself!  Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dear Garrison,

This is a letter that I wrote to Garrison on his birthday.  I thought of posting the video from right after my c section, but didn't know if anyone would truly enjoy that ;)

My sweet Garrison,

It is hard to believe that a year ago today we were just getting to know each other.  I will never forget seeing you being held over the curtain, your hands and legs going everywhere! You were perfect.  It wasn't much longer and I was able to hold you.  Me and your dad were just in awe of you.  I could not believe I had such a perfect little person for a son.  Ever since that day I have been constantly trying to file away every little moment that we have spent together.

The few weeks after you were born are hard to remember!  No one around our house was sleeping very much and I was still trying to recover from your birth.  It was a hard time for me.  I wanted to be your sole comforter, provider, everything, but my body was making me feel crazy!  You also were having major tummy aches.  There were many days and nights that we spent rocking.  I can remember rocking you, playing with your beautiful hair, staring at your sweet little nose, and praying that my emotions would get back to normal soon.  Oh the tears that fell during those times that your sweet little head absorbed.  But finally the dark cloud lifted, we started to bond, and you started growing so fast!  In no time at all you were smiling, laughing, rolling everywhere, and now, walking and RUNNING!

For your first year you have been mine (I am so blessed to have a husband (your Daddy) who works hard so I can stay home with you).  The majority of our days and sometimes nights have been spent together.  But I am afraid that you are quickly turning into a Daddy's boy.  It is ok- I knew it would happen, but why so soon?!?!?

You and your Daddy share a bond that Mommy's just can't understand.  You are so much like Ryan- you can never just give up on something!  I have watched you try to climb onto the couch, only to fall a million times.  You would cry a little bit, get frustrated, then try again until you got up there! I am sure your determination will help you to accomplish so many great things. Your fearless spirit and love of life reminds me daily of why I love your Dad.  You have also started recognizing more of your family.  You and your Aunt Celeste share a special bond.  She is always able to comfort you.  Aunt Allison is always good for a funny dance- and she can usually have you cracking up in minutes.  And even though you don't get to see her all the time, you always immediately go to her!  You love your Gigi.  She is always quick to brag on you (I secretly think that you love it).  She also loves to play and be silly and feeds you lots of yummy treats :) And then there is your Popey and Meme.  You love to hug your Meme, and you always try to get her glasses and you think Popey is just hilarious!  And in a couple of short months you will be a big brother to Allie Parker.  You will do great!  You are already very protective of me- so I am sure you will be perfect at fulfilling big brother "duties"  So, while it is a little sad that I am losing my spot, I love watching you bond and become closer to our wonderful family.

Well I guess this is enough.  Thank you for such a wonderful year. We had a rough start, but I think we did ok!  Thank you for your sweet smile.  Thank you for your laugh that makes my heart so happy.   Thank you for letting me teach you and thank you for teaching me so much. Thank you for loving me so unconditionally.  You are such a perfect gift to your Momma!  I hope you have a wonderful first birthday! You may be growing up- but you will always be my Gar Bear :) 

  

It's a GIRL!

Last Wednesday we went to the doctor to find out the sex of the baby.  I had been feeling like it was going to be a girl- but tried not to get too set on that so I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't turn out that way!  Well after a 45 minute ultrasound, (so different than Garrisons ultrasound- he has always been more than proud to show the world that he is a boy :) they told us that "bug" is a girl!  The ultrasound tech kept saying "I don't see anything boyish".  So after rolling from side to side and the tech pushing on my stomach (which made me want to hit her) she announced that it was a girl!

It was very exciting to say the least!  I wish you could of seen Ryan's face when she told us.  He just put his hands on his head and had this huge smile.  Don't get me wrong- he is super excited about a girl- we are both just a little scared.

The baby looked great though.  She was already 6 1/2 in long from her head to her bottom- which they said was super big for 18 weeks (Gar at that time was only 4 in).  She has really long legs and she played the whole time we saw her.  Her heartbeat sounded nice and strong.  It was weird seeing a baby on the screen that didn't look like Garrison.  It was funny to me that even though you can't really tell anything about facial features etc.  she looked so different than Gar.  Anyways, the whole experience was amazing- seeing and hearing your baby never gets old!  We already have her name picked out- Allie Parker.  Allie for my sister Allison and Parker is my mom's maiden name.  We are still trying to decide if we want to add another name- Ryan thinks its too much, I am not so sure!  If we were to add a "middle" name her name would be Allie Parker Elise Little. Either way our c-section is scheduled for March 19, so unless she comes earlier that will be her day!

So much to blog about, so little time...

So last week was super busy! We found out we are for sure having a GIRL!!! Ah- its still crazy to me.  We also celebrated Garrison's first birthday, had his party, and Garrison had his first Halloween that wasn't spent in the hospital!  Ryan has a late night tonight so hopefully after Gar goes down I can post some of the pictures.

Baby vs. A Box

While I was in the kitchen cleaning today Garrison decided that it would be fun to climb on top of a box.  Well, Garrison isn't known for being a light weight, so you can guess what happened.  I thought it was funny, Garrison did not.

Apple Butter= Sweet Deliciousness

So it is official- I am a grandma!  Last night I made and canned home made apple butter- and LOVED every minute of it!  We literally wanted to eat the air in our house!  If you haven't ever canned anything you need not be intimidated by it.  

I had never done it either and everything actually turned out! 

To make the apple butter I just peeled and cored 13 apples, chopped em up and threw them in my slow cooker.  

Then you add the good stuff :

1 1/2 C white sugar

1 C light brown sugar

2 T cinnamon

1/2t ground cloves

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/2 t kosher salt

Stir apples until they are all coated.  Then you just cook on high for 1 hour.  Then reduce the heat to low. I cooked the apples for 6 hours because it was already 10 o clock p.m. by this time, but the recipe calls for you to cook for 8 to 10 hours.  Make sure you stir the apples every now and then.  

After they are done cooking you just scoop bit by bit into your blender and whirl them up! If you didn't want to can the "butter" you could freeze it.  If you want the directions to canning let me know- I am too lazy/tired to write it all now!  But I assure you it is real easy!  It was exciting to hear the lids "pop" and seal as they cooled.  Ok, now its official I am old, I just sad it was exciting to hear the lids pop...

Why Garrison LOVES his Grandparents!

Friday night Popey and Meme (my mom and dad) came over to keep me company while Ryan was at the game.  Well Popey brought Garrison a sweet treat- an "early Halloween treat" is how he justified it.  I say "justified" because I am very picky about what Garrison eats and really the only sweets he has ever eaten have been given to him by his Grandparents!!! I'm talking to you Momma and Miss Polly ;)  

But on Friday I gave in.   As you can see from the pictures Garrison LOVED the lollipop.  It was really cute to see him eat it!  Funny, he knew exactly what to do... does someone need to tell me something ?!?!?!?

Nothing New

Not too much went on this week!  We were busy with the beginning of basketball season, well Ryan was busy with it, me and Garrison just waited on him to get home!  We are planning Garrison's birthday party - it's coming up next weekend.  I can't believe he is 1!  I know everyone says this, but it really flew by.  On the other hand, this new pregnancy is not flying by :( I am 18 weeks today and still feel like poop.  The other day I had a few contractions, luckily they stopped, other than that I am still just sick sick all the time!  This baby is so different than Gar though.  Funny how you get to know them so much just while they are in your tummy.  This baby is ALWAYS on the move, which is fun! Garrison was a lazy baby- but he is def making up for it now!  Here are some pics of Garrison I took this morning before we went on our walk.  He had the cutest outfit on so I couldn't resist.  Oh yea- also there is a picture of our fall wreath that I made.  Nothing fancy, I just hot glued a couple of things together, but that is easier said than done when you have a one year old running around!  They are a little blurry- but what are you going to do!?!?!?

I am in love with Ryan Little

That is all for today!  Have a great weekend and Roll Tide :)

GOOOO VIKINGS!

I know everyone is just dying to know how Ryan's game turned out on Monday.  They played Murphy, who was undefeated and had only been scored on once all season.  Oh no worries- WE WON!!!! YAY!  I really don't think I have ever jumped up and down and yelled so much at a game all while feeling like I was going to "be sick"!  This is not the best picture of either of my men- but Ryan was soaking wet (they poured the water cooler on him after) and Garrison wanted the softball girls to be holding him not Daddy.  

It was so much fun!  Their last game is next Monday, so hopefully they will keep their record of only loosing once all season!  Not bad for your first year as a head coach! I am so proud of him!

Pumpkin Patch

We had such a fun weekend this past Saturday!  We went to Connor (my cousins baby) 1st birthday and then we went to the pumpkin patch.  Ryan was able to come with us- which was a surprise!  I was so glad he got to come!  Also, sister Allison came to be our photographer!  We went to get our family of pumpkins.  On mine and Ryan's first fall married we got two pumpkins.  Last fall I wanted to get our family of three, but we were a little busy in October having a baby and all.  So this year we got our FOUR pumpkins- still very odd to me that we are a soon to be family of four.

We weren't sure how Garrison would take to walking around in the dirt (he tends to be a little girlie when it comes to stuff like that, I don't know why ;)  But he LOVED IT!  He had to touch EVERY pumpkin, esp the bumpy ones. And I promise he told all 8 million of the pumpkins "hey".  Here are some of our favorite pictures from the day- it was very hard to narrow them down!

Why do customer service people hate customers?

K- so my purse got stolen about a month ago- but things are still going crazy from it.  We sent off our check for the water bill I guess about two days before the piece of trash took my purse out of my car.  So A MONTH LATER we get a letter in the mail saying that the check was sent back and we have to come and pay for the previous bill.  Not a problem.  It says to use cash or money order. Again not a problem.  Then it hits me, the bill says it is due by the 13th (TODAY- we got the thing in the mail on Saturday) and its Columbus day so no banks are open.  Still I'm thinking no big deal-  I'll just get a money order.  So I try two different places to get a money order- DUH they wont take a check and they wont take a debit card run as credit (still haven't gotten our pin numbers in for new cards).  So I frantically gather some things to buy to get cash back.  What does that lady tell me after buying the needless items "oh you can't get cash back when it is ran as credit- and I am going to need to see your id".  AHHHHHHH!!!  So I am out of luck.  SOOO- I call the water board. Here is the conversation I had with a lovely woman:

Emily: I was wondering if I could come in in the morning and pay the 25 dollars that we owe without having our service interrupted.

Water Board: No it is due today

Emily : Yes ma'am (I still have my cool at this point) I understand but my purse was stolen several weeks ago and I have no way of getting any money out unless I write the bank a check.

WB:  Well, you can come up here with a credit card and a valid ID and pay for it.

Emily: Again, my purse was stolen- I have no valid credit card(I didn't have a credit card before my purse was stolen) and I don't have an id, still waiting for that to come in.

WB: Well, you can pay in cash.

Emily: Again, lady, no cash.  I could run up to my husbands work and get his card and his ID.

WB: Is your name on it and do you have an ID (I'm not making this up she really said that!)

Emily: NOOOOOO IT WAS STOLEN- I have the police report number if you want it to verify- is my phone breaking up?!?!

WB: Well it is showing that your service will be shut off today at 3...

This is were I proceed to tell the woman (that was rude the whole time don't feel sorry for her) that I think it is absolutely stupid that I should be penalized (it cost $100 bucks to get the water turned back on) because some "piece of trash" (ugly I know) took my purse and that she can look it up and see we have never missed a payment.  I think I also told her that it wasn't like we owed hundreds of dollars- its $24. 55 for crying out loud!  Well then she hung up on me. No worries I called back.  But it did not help.  Then Ryan called back and that def didn't help;)  So Ryan had to "dip out" of part of his work day and go down there.  So I am sure they are just loving dealing with my husband- especially on a game day when he should just be totally focused on winning! All I can say, is sorry water company I tried :)

Thourough Thursday

Gosh- is the week really almost over- but my house isn't even clean yet?!?!?!

Anyway- this week has been very busy.  On Monday, of course, me and Garrison ventured out to Semmes to watch Ryan's Vikings kick Blount's booties.  Ms. Polly, Paul, Celeste, and Ryan's Pawpaw and Nana all were there- so I was not short of helpers!!!  After the game Celeste, Jamie, and the great grandparents came over for dinner- let's just sum up Monday by saying it was exhausting ;)

Oh yea- and before the game I took Garrison to his pediatrician to get his legs looked at.  He has had a bad dry spot on his foot for some time now- but over the weekend it became severe and spread all over his legs and lower body.  It seemed like it was beginning to bother him- he was real fussy and trying to scratch his legs.  Anyway, so we went and he said that he does in fact have eczema.  It wasn't too much of a shocker to me- I was just relieved to know what was going on.  So we have two lotions to put on him the over the counter twice a day and prescription once a day.  Garrison is now the most moisturized person I know!  The lotions seem to be helping it has just been difficult to remember to fit it into our daily schedule.

Tuesday Celeste came over and kept Garrison while I got my haircut and had baby Bug's third OB appointment.  When Celeste got here Garrison walked right up to her and gave her a hug.  It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen.  She did have food in her hands though... so it was either out of pure love for Celeste or for the love of McDonalds.  Anyways the haircut went great until I pulled out onto Cottage Hill.  Somewhere between Cottage Hill and Schillenger a random tennis shoe got stuck to the bottom of my dear corolla (there is a piece of my lovely car hanging down from the bottom  that tends to collect things).  Anyways, I drug it all the way to Hobby Lobby- I wanted to DIE!!!!! GRRRRR- I hate my darn car, but it seems to love me, it refuses to give up.  The Toyota mechanic at the last tune up made sure to say right in front of Ryan "this cars got another good 200,000 miles in it"- I wanted to kick him.

After I got the shoe to come off of my car I headed to Dr. Dawkins.  This appointment was just a tummy check.  The baby sounded good and I could actually hear the heartbeat really clearly this time- so that helped to settle my always present nerves.  I also only gained ONE POUND!!! I was so excited the thought of hugging Mrs. Denise (the nurse) actually went through my mind. 

The rest of the week will pretty much be the same old same old, thank goodness!  We had Wednesday night dinner with Mom and Dad while Ryan was at class.  Tonight Ryan will get home earlier (well 6:00) and we will all actually get to hang out! Friday night is football night, and Pawpaw Chuck (Ryan's Dad) is coming to the game and staying with us to help Ryan finish the fence on Saturday.  We have a busy, but fun weekend planned- but I will post pictures of the weekend instead of going on and on about it!  Well this turned out to be really long... I am off to go wash my last load of clothes for the week! WOO HOO!

***Congrats to the Bolerjacks- they found out today they are having another baby girl!  We can't wait to meet Penelope Mae in January***

Garrison and his Aunt Allison

So I meant to post this on Monday- but this week has just been nuts!  We visited Allison at Southern Miss this weekend and had a blast.  We mainly just ate the whole entire time, perfect mini vacation as far as I am concerned!  This trip went much better than Garrison's first trip to Southern- I don't know what possesed me to take a 2 and a half month old on a road trip ;)  The drive over went much more smoothly, both Garrison and Ryan got some much needed sleep.

But anyway, Al took some great pictures with Garrison, especially with "his" watch on.  He was getting fussy so she just put her watch on him and it entertained him for about 3 hours!  While he had it on he held up his arm every time she tried to take a picture as if to say- "Do you see how cool I am?!?!?"

Which one of these is not like the other?

So, I might be the only one who finds this funny.  But all summer long I have been so excited about getting 3 scare crows for our front yard, one for Ryan, me, and a baby one for Garrison.  So I waited and waited until they were on sale at Hobby Lobby and honestly, had a great time picking them out, pitiful what makes some people happy!  Any way, it wasn't until about a month later that I realized something about the "Daddy" scare crow.  Do you see any resemblance in him to Ryan? HAHAHA- the Daddy one is darker than the momma and the baby!  It is not as obvious in the picture as in real life.  This just cracks me up because all of Ryan's friends constantly pick on him about being so dark, and now so is his scare crow! Ah hahahah.  Oh my, I'm laughing out loud while typing this... hehehehe.  I thought about  taking it back- but it just makes me smile every time I pull up and see it!  Sweet Ryan is such a good sport.

Daddy, where are you?

Ryan had to get up in the attic yesterday to get down our fall decorations.  Garrison could not understand what was going on! He would laugh for a minute then he would cry- it was too cute so I couldn't resist taking some pictures!

**No worries Garrison did not touch the insulation that fell on the floor**

Garrison update!

Garrison will be 11 months tomorrow!!!! He is def a big boy now! He is walking EVERYWHERE and today he mastered standing up without having to pull up on something. He loves to talk and I think he thinks he is saying actual words but it just comes out as "ohhhh". He is very curious now. When I got outside to check the mail or something he will stand by the cracked open door, open it when I walk up, and with a little coaching close it when I come in.   It is probably the cutest thing I have ever seen!  He is also wearing "big boy pjs" to bed now.  After a wild diaper incident, we no longer put him to bed in a t-shirt (you can imagine what happened ;)  His new pj's make him look so much like a toddler, I really don't like it!  Enjoy the new pictures, they are all close ups of Garrison, because as soon as I pull out the camera he runs to me to try to grab it!

Garrisons 10 month pictures

We just got the proofs back from Garrisons 10 month pics- and it just confirmed that he is the cutest! I can't help but smile when I look at them- and I have oh about 83 times. We got them taken at Lighthouse studio and I would recomend Mrs. Leslie to anyone! She took Celeste's senior portriats and Trail pics so she came highly recommended. She was so sweet and patient- she even let us come back a second day because Gar wasn't the sweetest or patient the first try! She also printed out all of the images so we could see what they would look like, instead of just looking at the "raw images" online. No worries- I spent about 3 hours at her studio trying to decide. In a couple of months we are headed back to get some family portriats done- this will truly test Mrs. Leslie's skills as a photographer- sure she can make Celeste and Garrison look good (prob two of the most beautiful people I know) but what about pregnant me?!?!?!
So here is the link- enjoy!
http://lhactionshots.com/OnlineViewing/

The password is : Garrison (make sure to capitolize his name or it wont work!)

Have a good weekend and ROLL TIDE!!!

My fairy tale life- Loving and supporting my prince from the home

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There was something on the news this morning about how more and more women are choosing to "opt out" (bull) of working to stay at home with their kids.  They had two women on: one who chose to stay at home and one who is all about women in the workforce- pretty much all about women being men in my opinion.  I felt so bad for the woman that chose to not only stay at home- but RAISE HER CHILDREN AND SUPPORT HER HUSBAND FROM THE HOME.  I understand that not all people share the same Christian view as my family, but I was literally screaming at the tv while the program was on.  It was so obvious which woman the station supported more (even the write up about it that I later read said nothing of the stay at home mom).  The woman wrote a book called "The Feminine Mistake".  The main subject is that women who chose to stay at home are depending too much on their husbands for financial support.  I fully understand that "bad things happen to good people" and you can not live in ignorance about your finances- but there are ways to plan for these things. Here is a piece of the article:

"But in 21st century America, it has never been more clear that choosing economic dependency as a lifestyle is the classic feminine mistake. No matter what the reasons, it’s simply too risky to count on a man to take care of you over the long haul.

Half of all marriages end in divorce; the average age of widowhood in America is 54; and by the time women reach 60, two-thirds of them no longer have partners. Even those in lasting marriages must contend with an insecure labor market in which many men lose their jobs at some point — a hardship that proves especially painful for families who rely on a single breadwinner.

Meanwhile women’s life spans have doubled in the last century. The result is that American women are now twice as likely to slide below the poverty line as men in their later years — and 80 percent of those women were not poor before they lost their breadwinners. And yet our culture continues to encourage the fairy-tale fantasy that women should devote themselves to marriage and family, in return for which Prince Charming will take care of them forever."

So- let me get this straight- at the off chance that my marriage should end in divorce (which it wont), at the off  chance that Ryan might die today or tomorrow (which very well could happen), and at the chance that I will out live my husband, I should hand my child, soon to be children, over to some daycare worker for them to raise, live in fear that my husband is going to leave me, and go back to work teaching. All while my child is being raised by a complete stranger. Well, as for me and my house we will continue to keep living the "fairy-tale fantasy" that we are called by our Lord to live.

If it's not one thing it's another...

So I have been broken out in whelps for three days now.  It all started Saturday night and they have been coming and going since then.  I took some pictures of my arms and legs to put up, but after viewing them blown up on the computer screen I did not want to induce vomit on any of my readers ;)  So I decided it was best that I kept them to myself.   

Please pray that we figure out why I keep breaking out.  I am about to itch to death!!!  The whelps will not effect the baby so that helps put my mind at ease.  But between the whelps, constant state of panic (you would think you wouldn't be that way with your second- but you are), and all the other pregnancy symptoms it is hard to sometimes remember why I put myself through this mess!  But I just keep telling myself, right after the nurse held Garrison up when he was born I forgot all about the hard times during his pregnancy.  So I will forget about all of this in 6, hopefully short, months.  Until then I will be pouring Calamine lotion all over myself and using some kind of lotion that smells like an old lady to hopefully make the itch go away!

Ryans first game as head coach

Ryan's first game as a head coach was yesterday! Well he is the co-head coach of the Freshman football team at MGM. Why they do it that way I will never understand. Anyway he is over defense.
So, me and Garrison got all decked out in our MGM appareal and headed to Semmes. It was soooooooo hot!  It was miserable. But it was exciting to see all of Ryan's hard work pay off and his dream of being a coach coming true!  He coached football last year, but this year he is in charge of his own team.  

It was so funny to see the boys, well I guess "young men" so intimidated by Ryan.  They really looked like that wanted to toss their cookies when he would get upset with them. So that was quite entertaining.

 GO VIKINGS!!!

P.S. That is not sweat on my sons outfit- it is juice :)

Rub a Dub Dub Garrisons too big for his tub!

In honor of the duckie tub being packed away (Garrison's legs are almost too long to allow him to sit in it) I thought I would post some precious pictures of Gar from bath time the other night. I cant wait until 25 years from now ;) when Gar brings a girl over and I can show her these pictures of him. Hehehe - sweet revenge for all the nights he kept me up!