We have MOVED!!!

Over the last several months, our little family has undergone some changes and so has our blog! Complete with a new name! You can check us out now at The Princess and the Pork Chop!

(Credit goes to Mrs. Leigh for the adorable nickname!)

Coming Soon!!!

Check out our new blog on May 1st!!!

James and a Banana

Enjoy some photos of James eating his first real piece of banana. He wasn't so impressed (he only took a few bites/licks).

Circus Fun 3.27.10

So this past Saturday night, Gracie and I got to spend some time together while James stayed home with a friend from church. We got to go to the circus with my aunt Gail, Katylin, and my sister Kayla! When I ordered the tickets from ticketmaser, I totally felt like the tickets I bought were not too far from the stage, but a good distance off the floor.
Boy was I shocked to discover, upon our arrival to the Coliseum, that our "VIP POD" seats were DEAD FRONT ROW!! This was Gracie's second trip to the circus, but her first "big" circus, and we had a blast! Here are some pictures.

Random Dozen

Stolen from Amy...

1. How old is the oldest pair of shoes in your closet? I have a big chunky pair of black strappy shoes that I probably bought eight years ago or more...

2. Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? If so, what variety? I bought two boxes of Samoas. The only Girl Scout cookies worth buying. And unlike Amy, I do not price my cookies. Eating them is much more fun!


3. Do you know how to ballroom dance? If not, would you like to? No. But it might be fun!

4. Were you a responsible child/teenager? I didn't get into a lot of trouble until AFTER highschool. Which is a blur of alot of stupid mistakes, but that is all in the past!

5. How many of this year's Oscar-nominated movies did you see? It depends on what movies are Oscar-nominated...where is the list?

6. If you're going to have a medical procedure done, such as having blood drawn, is it easier for you to watch someone else having the procedure done or have it done yourself? I tend to flinch when they take blood, so I ask them to hold my arm down until they stick me. And then I'm okay to watch the blood.

7. What is your favorite day of the week and why? Sunday. I get to spend most of the day in God's house.

8. Do you miss anyone right now? My mom. Terribly.

9. Do hospitals make you queasy? Not at all.

10. At which store would you like to max-out your credit card. Target or Children's Place.

11. Are you true to the brand names of products/items? most of the time I buy generic, but certain name brands I tend to buy are certain cereals, toilet paper, and shampoo.

12. Which is more difficult: looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when he/she is telling you how he/she feels? Probably telling someone how I feel.

Fun Photos

James has two teeth. Because James has two teeth, he can tend to be fussy. What helps? Gerber biter biscuits. Just ask James. He'll tell you.

James also has to start learning to use a sippy cup, because his daycare will introduce one very soon. So in order to ease the transition, James received a NUK sippy cup - the spout is just like the nipples on his bottles. James seems to like it.

And award for silliest baby photo ever goes to Mr. James Edward Nelson!

Splish Splash, I was takin' a bath!

James discovered something besides his toys since he started sitting up in the bathtub! He figured out last night that he can splash the water!

Because of the problems I'm having with the herniated disc in my back, continuing to bathe him on the counter is easier. However, it leaves a huge mess of water when he gets excited and starts moving around! So we might have to work out alternative bathing methods..

Note: There is no baby nudity in this video, and the voice in the background is his big sister, "talking" to her toys in the big bathtub!

Jumping Bean

LOL

You might want to prepare yourself...in order to make James laugh, Gracie and were being pretty loud!

Baby James Trick #1

Boy, what a difference a few months makes!

Okay so it is very hard to look at this picture....

...and think that this is my little boy because....

THIS is what the little monster looks like now!!!

I can NOT believe that is the same child in both pictures. Because of his "little" size, Baby James has received numerous adorable nicknames: Pork Chop (thank you Mrs. Leigh), Fat Man (me and big sister), and Bubba J, as he's affectionately called by his Mawmaw.

And since I've been slacking on updates, be prepared for some videos coming soon that show you just how much my "Little" Monster has learned to do!

Snow Day 2010

Okay so the day we got snow I had to work until lunch time, but Tina stayed with Gracie and James and took some pictures of Gracie playing out in the snow!

Several updates coming!!

I PROMISE!!!

Look what the kids can do!

I've been MIA I know. Forgive me? I wanted to share some new pictures.


Gracie's new haircut!
I just got so sick of ponytails and ponytails and fly away hair and static, that I decided on something drastic. The picture I took was much different than the end result, but it gives her hair more body than it had and it also leaves room to still style, use barretts, or even ponytails if we want.
And we decided to do the haircut the morning of a very important day/event...

The day she was the flower girl in my friend,Brooke's, wedding!

And not to leave out James (AKA "Pork Chop") look what HE can do!


I apologize in advance for the snotty nose (it seems he's had it since birth!) and the upper body nudity. Hey, at least he's sporting a diaper!

Anyway, if you guessed he was sitting up - you'd be right! He only lasted long enough for me to snap these two pictures, but who cares?? He has also learned how to roll over! Now if someone would talk to him about kicking that 2AM bottle, we'd be set.

Happy Birthday, Tina!!

I just wanted to wish my baby sister (far left) a happy birthday today. I can NOT believe she is 18 already. Time has gone by so fast and she is so grown up now...I remember when she was still a little girl!

Tina is the "neglected" child (or so she tells it) because she only has TWO professional photos of herself from birth to age five, and we just recently found the only home video of her first year of existence. Sadly, her name is mispelled and she is given some terrible nicknames in the video. There is also evidence of my mom and I torturing her by feeding her cheerios! But we LOVE you Tina!

I'm not excited about her graduating this May because it's just means I'm getting older...but I love her very much and she'll always be Gracie's F.A.T. (Favorite Aunt Tina).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!!!

Baby James' dedication

I can't believe I'm saying this, but these are photos from James' dedication last year. That just sounds so strange.

Anyway, it was at our church on December 27th, and we had a whole pew full of family who came out to witness it. My favorite part of the baby dedications at our church done by our sweet, wonderful pastor are when he takes the child from the parents and walks down the middle aisle of the church. It's as if he's not only showing the baby off to the congregation as he talks, but letting the baby sort of "meet" or be introduced to the congregation. Although James is a familiar and very loved baby at our church.

I know that this simple act also means a lot of Brother Bruce, and did this particular Sunday because he had a minor accident over the holidays and injured his knee - so he was afraid he might not be able to carry James down the aisle. Thankfully, he was able to. And we were also blessed to have Lori Mercer with us to photograph the event!
(I promise to post more photos when I receive my disk from her).

Mama's boy

When Gracie was born, I could see some similarities in her that kind of reminded me of myself and of Bryan. We've had lots of people (over the last four years) who say she looks like me, or she looks like Bryan, or she's a really good combination of both of us. There are some first photos of James that there is no denying he is my son.

I just wanted to share some comparison shots of baby photos of me with photos of James. I really enjoyed flipping through old photo albums at my Granny's house during Christmas, and reminiscing with my sisters.

These first two look more alike than the second two...



But I love this picture of James anyways!



Do you have old baby photos of yourself you'd like to share on your blog? If so, here's my challenge: Show us how similar your own children are to your old photos, or how different!

Christmas Photos Part 2

Gracie with some books from Nana


Anniston opening a gift (she had a blast with the paper!)


Anniston in a box!


Nana's best gift! It says "Grandkids welcome (Parents by appointment)". Tara gave it to her!


Gracie, James, and Anniston