Transition Time

It seems like right when we have the routine down, it is time to switch to something new! Kailey is ready for all sorts of new things and I am attempting to start most of them this week, since I am home with her. We are moving from formula to real milk, from jar food to table foods, and we may even attempt the brusing of her teeth! She at her first meal last night (she has had some table foods before, but this was the first time with all table foods). She wasn't sure about it at first, but after a few minutes she really enjoyed feeding herself! She is not sure about the real milk thing yet. I think because she is used to her bottles being really warmed and it wasn't! We'll see how that goes! It is just hard to believe that my baby isn't a little baby anymore!

Christmas!

Hello all! It has been awhile. We were gone for a week and then it took a few days to recooperate! We had a great trip. We started out by going to Shreveport the 20-24 then to Kingwood the 24-27! We had a good time with both families and got lots of really great gifts! Kailey, especially, was spoiled beyond words, and was definitely showing signs of it by the time we got home! (She is doing much better now, thank heavens!)I am over trying to post pictures and put captions. My computer just does not cooperate on that end, so I am just going to post the pictures below and you can sort them out! Kailey got a rocking elephant from her Gran and Papa, a play Kitchen from her Grammy and PawPaw, a giant stuffed dog from Santa, and lots of other really cool things! (Pay close attention to the beautiful bow holder from her Aunt Kenya, and all the cute bows on it!) Kailey also got to spend some time with her cousin, Caden. Next year will be really fun because they will both be up and moving all over the place! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas also!

A Week Long Journey

Well, we are off in the morning on our week-long journey! We will be spending tommorow through Christmas Eve in Shreveport with Casey's Family. Then we will be spending Christmas Eve through next Saturday with my family in Houston. It is a daunting task packing a baby for a week away, let me tell you! Hopefully I didn't forget anything! I won't be able to blog while I am in Shreveport (they still have dial-up, can you believe it??)So, I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas!

Let me also give a shout out to my wonderful husband! Tommorow is our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I am truly blessed to be married to Casey, and I am so thankful for the first 5 years of our marriage. We have learned so much about life in these first years, and I am looking forward to all the ones in the future! I love you Casey!

Uncle Jim

**Update on 12/17**

My uncle passed away very early this morning. My aunt ended up having to decide to remove the respirator. He made it a few hours on his own, but there was obviously, already too much damage to his brain and other organs for him to live. Please keep my cousin, aunt, and grandparents in your prayers.

***Update on 12/16***

Things have been going pretty downhill today. His organs are pretty much shutting down and he isn't expected to live through the night. My grandparents have decided they don't want to see him like this, so they called and said their goodbyes over the phone. I'm definitely glad I wasn't in the room for that phone call! Anyway, please keep my extended family in your prayers.

*****
We are going through a sad time as a family right now, and I just wanted to ask for prayer. My dad's only brother was found by his wife (my only Aunt) yesterday in the middle of the night, in the kitchen. She doesn't know how long he was there before she found him. He was completely unconscious. She began trying to give him CPR, but was unable to revive him. The ambulance came and got him, and he is now in the ICU. They still can't figure out what happened to him. He is now 94% brain dead, and they are waiting to run some more tests, but pretty much know that they will have to pull the plug sometime this week.

My Uncle Jim has one daughter (my only cousin, Jamie) who has two small children. She is incredibly close to her dad, so please pray for her.

My dad is doing ok right now, he is mainly concerned about how my 90 year old grandparents will handle the situation when he dies. Please pray for them as they are about to have to deal with losing a child. My grandmother is the youngest of 12 children, and my grandfather of 6 (I think..) and as you can imagine, they have had to watch every single person around them die, and to have to face this too, is going to really affect them.

Also, obviously, please pray for my Aunt. She is going to have a tough road ahead of her.

Thanks for your prayers, and I will keep you posted.

Kailey's First Birthday Party!

Well, today was the big day! Well, actually Kailey's birthday was yesterday and her party was today! I have had so much fun planning this party, but I am definitely glad it is over! I can't believe that I actually have a one year old now! We just had a small party with our family and our best friends from Temple, Matt and Erin. Here are some pictures of the big event! (And...I don't know why but I have been having a lot of trouble posting pics lately, and for some reason it posted these all out of order. Sorry!)

The many wonderful gifts Kailey got! She especially loved the hangers for her clothes, and the teddy bear from her Aunt Allison! My sister also made this really cute book that has pictures of all her family in it. It is so cool!







Yummy Cake and Ice Cream time!!

I am completely insane

So, I did something crazy. I decided I was going to make Kailey's Birthday Cake for her party. That isn't the insane part. The insane part is that I decided I was going to try to make a fondant cake, having never used fondant, or seen it in person, in my life! So I started the cake on Thursday night. I baked all 3 tiers (yes..that is insane too..) and then I was going to ice the cake last night (the night before the party). To make matters worse, Casey's staff party was last night, so we didn't get home until 10:00. So I start icing it, and Casey comes up with the idea that I need to do the whole thing last night, instead of doing part of it this morning before the party. I definitely agreed with him, especially after I got started. It was so stressful using fondant! I was so scared I would mess it up! Needless to say, I began the cake at 10:30 and finished at 3:00am. Casey said "maybe you should start doing this for a living..." and I simply said "never again. never again will I do this". I am glad I did it, it was fun, but seriously. Never again. Here are the pics of my fun time last night/this morning!






Oh yeah, and I forgot to say that I had to dye some of the fondant, and my hands are now dyed pink and I can't get it off!!



Here is what I told Casey I had to have in order to accomplish the task!






The finished product!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, we took our photos for our Christmas Card! Here are some of the best ones!

My Due Date

December 1, 2007 was my due date with Kailey! It is so hard to believe that a year has already passed! I remember just waiting and wondering when she was going to be born. I was so excited on this day last year because I was finally able to stop working! I got to have a few days just to rest before she was finally born! This week is definitely going to be a very special one with Kailey as we celebrate her birthday at the end of the week.

I have tons of really great pictures to share, but I am soo exhausted from traveling for Thanksgiving, putting up Christmas Decorations, getting ready for Kailey's party, and beginning to wrap gifts! But hopefully tommorow I can post them! Hope ya'll are doing great and stay tuned..

Mommy's Robe

I have mentioned before that Kailey loves soft things. Whenever she finds something soft she always puts it to her face and then sucks her thumb. Especially if she is sleepy. It is the sweetest thing! I recently pulled out my robe again, which she hasn't seen since her newborn days, and she loves it. Everytime she sees it she gets soo excited. She drags it around with her, she rolls around on the ground with it, and she cuddles with it. It is so sweet. Here are some pictures of her with mommy's robe:

Gettin' ready to go on a trip!

Here are some cute pics of Kailey getting ready to go with her daddy to visit her Gran, Papa, Aunt Kenya, Uncle David, Cousin Caden, Mawmaw, and Mammaw a few weeks ago! She would NOT get out of the suitcase! Everytime I took her out and turned around she was right back in it.