Happy Anniversary, Happy 3/4 Birthday, and Merry Christmas!

There has been a lot going on since my last post. Happy anniversary to us~ Chris and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on Dec. 13! We went for some much needed time away to Gatlinburg, TN. We stayed at a bed and breakfast, and had a nice time not having to do anything! We even got to see snow~we left 70 degree weather here in Clemson and ended up in 40 degree weather there. It actually felt like Christmas! We did a little shopping, went to a petting zoo (see the alpaca below), went horseback riding, ate a lot, and enjoyed some time alone...We weren't used to the quiet.
Alli turned 9 months on Dec. 15. We took her to her check up on Friday. Dr. Wilson is quite impressed with her. She can now say "pretty tree"...it comes out as "petty shree," but, cute none the less. She's quite the ham. She loves to be the center of attention. I think the little bit of stranger anxiety she had is gone. She has quite the little personality...like me, she's a little on the inpatient side. We still haven't found anything she doesn't like. She's quite fond of salt water taffy too! She's really enjoyed the extended Christmas we have had (Christmas with Chris' sister Saturday and my extended family Sunday).
Here were her stats:
height: 28in (almost 75th percentile)
weight: 21lbs, 10.5oz (almost 90th percentile)
head circumference: 17.5in (almost 50th percentile)
We stood in line for an hour last Tues for Alli to sit on Santa's lap. She did really well...no crying or anything and even smiled. Although we did have to pay $20 for 2 5x7 pictures of creepy eyed Santa (see below), it was worth it.
We're ready for Christmas at our house. All the shopping is DONE, and mostly wrapped. I spent Friday at home baking...it's not Christmas until I have baked. We have cookies, toffee and haystacks galore. I ran out of chocolate to dip the oreos in, so will do those this week. The cake balls turned out even better than expected!
We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year~God Bless!

It's just been one of those weeks...

Ever have one of "those" weeks? If you have, you know what I'm talking about. Well, it's only Wednesday and it's one of "those." It seems like everything is either not going right or is just plain ticking me off! If you aren't already on the poop list, you best watch out! Come on lady in the silver VW Jetta with the "Women for Obama" sticker in the drop off lane at school, move your car up...your kid can walk the extra 5 feet to the door!!! Notice there were no expletives!! I'm trying.
CALGON TAKE ME AWAY~~~~~~~~
On the upside, I think...Alli has graduated from the carrier car seat to the convertible car seat...still rear-facing, of course. That carrier would give you a hernia trying to carry around, not to mention her feet were hanging off, and I'm not so sure she hadn't reached the weight limit...it at least felt like it. We had the new car seat waiting for us yesterday when we got home, and Chris promptly put it in, no thanks to the directions, which might as well have been in Chinese.
We had a nice Thanksgiving. We got to spend a lot of time with my family this year. Alli, was of course the center of attention. She's such a ham, and she loves "little people." My cousins Hannah, 10 and Blaine, 11 were there, and she just loved them! She spent Thurs. and Fri. nights with the grandparents, which gave Chis and I time to decorate the house, clean, shop, and even see a movie for the first time in about a year. We saw the new 007 flick...not bad.
Thanks mainly to online shopping, I have all of my Christmas shopping done! I'm just waiting for shipments! Then, on to wrapping. Thanks for the internet Al Gore!
How about those Tigers? The game was awesome...it could have only been better if it was a shut out, but I'm not complaining. We were as they call 'em"fair weather fans." It was miserably cold and raining, so we sold our tickets and watched in the warmth of HD. As Chris says: "Happy Maybe Next Year Day, Cocks!" I'm quite happy with the new coach selection. It's just fitting for Clemson to have a coach named Dabo. We'll see what he can do. Hopefully, CJ will stick around another year. Who would have thought after the crappy start, we'd be off to the New Year's Day Gator Bowl? I certainly didn't think they had it in them. I was pleasantly surprised. GO TIGERS! And for me, maybe next week will be better!

The heat's on and it's time to give thanks.

Brrrr! It's finally cold! I don't think our heat went off last night. 22 degrees...a new record! I love fall and winter. Sweaters and turning on the fireplace is the best!
I'm running on low today. Alli decided at 2:30 this morning that she just wasn't tired and was ready to play. So, it took us the next hour and a half to get her to go back to sleep. I love sleep and long for the day I get to sleep in again! By that time, the little monkey will have me trained to get up early.
We went to buy Alli some warm pants last night for these cold days. I went to put some on her this morning, and she's too big for them! I was holding Alli by the pants this morning trying to poke her little fat roles into them. Needless to say the pants won and they are going back.
Alli has finally mastered the walker. She went from going backwards one day to running forward the next...literally running. We played "keep away" the other night, and she did laps back-and-forth through the kitchen to get to a wrapper. Oh, the things that will amuse her! I took her for her flu shot last week, and she weighed...20.5lbs! Sometimes I think I can actually see her growing. It's time to get rid of the carrier. That thing will give you a hernia to pick up.

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. It's so easy to take things for granted, so it's nice to take some time to think of all the things God has blessed us with. And Boy, do I have a lot to be thankful to God for this year:
~being married almost 5 years to a wonderful husband, who even gets up at night with Alli, and loves me no matter what
~a healthy and happy baby girl, who I can't remember life before (except for the sleep thing),
~loving and helpful parents and in-laws who would drop anything for Alli or us,
~great friends (although I really miss my Memphis buddies),
~a nice house (with great neighbors...the next door neighbor's drinking garage is great. it's like we're on our own episode of King of the Hill),
~freedom,
~a job (although there's no job in the world like the one I had at St. Jude),
~great care for Alli,
~cars to get around in,
~being healthy,
~food on the table,
~a closet full of clothes and shoes
the list goes on and on.
I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving, and takes time to think of all the little things they are thankful for.

We did our civic duty and stood in line for two and a half hours!

Well, what's been going on recently in our lives??? The biggest news is that Alli FINALLY has a tooth (I know this because I was bitten by it, and you can actually see it)! Alli is now saying "da-da." She started saying it on Chris' birthday. What could have been a better birthday present? We learned that Alli likes guava...and it stinks! Alli had her first Halloween...see pictures below. She was a cute tiger. I was sad that we only had 5 trick-or-treaters. What happened to the days of when kids went out trick-or-treating? Chris wasn't too sad though. He got all the leftover candy. Chris and I both turned 31. The tigers actually won a game...who would have thought? Now, we'll see what happens with the rest of the season. The question now is will we get 6 wins and be bowl eligible? My bet is no. Basketball season starts soon...maybe they'll actually do well. We had Fall Break Mon and Tues. It was nice to have some days off. I had lunch with an old friend, Kay, and her sweet daughter, Violet. It was a good time. I'm glad for Alli to have a little friend around her age, and for me to have an old friend back, who's also a new mom. Chris and I stood in line two and a half hours to vote...unfortunately, not the outcome we had hoped for, but I guess we can say our vote contributed to SC being red. I wasn't all that excited about McCain, but was/am anxious about Obama's experince. No matter who is going to the White House, they have some big shoes to fill, and they definitely have our prayers. We did our civic duty. Now we'll see over the next 4 years what the outcome will be. At least the Congress and House didn't both go to the democrats, so there will still be "checks and balances."

Birthday Week is here!

Well, tomorrow I enter the era of the "early thirties," and Chris is soon to follow on Saturday. Until then, I consider myself "just thirty." I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't consider it old, but have noticed a few wrinkles popping up...
Alli turned 7 mos last week! Still no teeth yet. Her first word is officially "hey." She's definitely southern! We gave her a little "trim" on Sun. She looks so different, and all I did was trim the little hairs that get in her eyes! She's starting to get on her hands and knees and rock back an forth. She can go backwards, but hasn't figured out forwards. She's also pulling up, so she'll be mobile soon, one way or another! Lucky for us, the house is already childproofed.
Last week, Tommy Bowden bowed down as head football coach. Dabo Sweeney is now the interim. Don't know much about him, but do know it's a good change. I even bought a "yaba DABO doo" t-shirt! We'll see what he can do. Things are back to going in the right direction. Once we beat Carolina, all will be right with the world.

I can wear orange again!

I'm not sure many of the Clemson faithful were productive today...with new news constantly coming out about our changing coaching staff. First, Clemson let go of head coach Tommy Bowden or he "stepped down," (either way...hooray)! Now we are hearing our worst play caller in school history, the worst offensive coordinator ever, Rob Spence has been canned. I hate being happy that someone lost their job, but they've made enough money off of Clemson. Dabo Sweeney is now the interim head coach of Clemson, and his first order of business was to fire Spence. I like this guy already!
Usually, Fridays around here are "solid orange" days. After the Maryland loss, I just couldn't bring myself to wear the orange anymore. I know most would say I'm a fair weather fan, but it seemed that the whole team had given up. Why should I support that? I will however be sporting my orange this Friday and Saturday at the game. My expectations aren't high...afterall, they have less than a week to prepare, however, I 'm glad a change has been made.
On to more important things like Alli. We think/thought she's teething...but then again, we've thought that before. She's been waking up many times at night, had an upset tummy for over a week and in turn got a nasty diaper rash (we did find something for the diaper rash that works wonders...123 Paste from the Hubbard-Young Pharmacy. Dr. Young makes it himself). Unfortunately, she has no tooth to show for all of that! Now she has a cold! She probably got it from Chris or I. We were both under the weather last week. Once one of us gets something, we all get it. I'm not sure how that is...most who know me know I'm crazy with the Lysol and antibacterial wipes!! We're keeping our fingers crossed that a tooth is going to pop out any time now. It would be ashamed to go through all of that with nothing to show for it!
Tooth or no tooth, Alli and I will wear our orange this week!

Blah week

Chris and I were talking last night about which country we were going to move to since ours seems to be in shambles, but then, we had a reality check. We realized we couldn't get very far since the dollar isn't worth crap. Politicians are stupid...
We had an Alli-free weekend this past weekend. She stayed with Chris' parents while we went to the Clemson game...big mistake there, since they lost. The Clemson football coaching staff is stupid too...After the Clemson game, I was thinking about going and picking up Alli, and sending Chris to his parent's house (if you know what I mean).
You know how sometimes you get in a slump of eating the same old, same old? Chris and I are there. We have been trying to change up our menus, so have been trying new recipes. Last night was a big disappointment...it bombed. It was a potato sausage skillet. It sounded pretty tasty, but not so much. Any recipe ideas would be welcome.
I guess it's just one of those blah weeks. Hopefully, our good friend Richard and his wife Brea from Ala-bam will lighten the mood when they come this weekend.

The Chunky Monkey

Well, we went to the pediatrician friday. Alli is healthy as a horse and he was impressed with her skills! Here are her stats:
height: 26 3/4 in. (75th percentile)
weight: 17lbs 13oz (75th percentile)
head cir. 16 3/4 in (50th percentile)...she has a little pea head!

Wow, facebook!

Things have been crazy around here lately. Alli is now 6 mos old! We go back to the doctor friday for her checkup/shots. She had her first real sickness last week. It was so sad. She had a "rubella type" virus. She had a rash all over and a fever for 3 days. She slept most of the time. She's finally getting back to normal. Now, Chris and I are both sick. I have an ear infection and sinus infection and Chris' is just starting. Fun, fun! I knew Chris didn't feel good yesterday when he gave up the chance to raise hell at the homeowner's association meeting. Our president is a real piece of work!..one of those busy-bodies who have nothing better to do.
Alli was supposed to go to Gigi and Pappy's last weekend so we could go to the Clemson game, but since she was sick, we didn't send her. We watched on TV instead. They won, but it wasn't such a great performance. They just can't get it together! My parents (Papa and Mimi) are coming this weekend, so we can go to the game. At least the half time show should be good...we play SC State.
I can't say enough about facebook. I have really enjoyed finding old friends on facebook. I've been able to catch up with people I haven't seen/talked to in 13 years. It's crazy! What's even more crazy is the fact that most of them are still in South Carolina!

Un-Impressive Win Saturday

We had our first home game against The Citadel on Saturday...it was a family affair. My parents came up to watch Alli while we went to the game, and Chris' parents and brother came up to go to the game, (since John is a Citadel alum). Clint, Mel, and Jordan (Chris' sister, brother-in-law, and niece) came over for a bit to join us too. It was hot and sticky, but not as uncomfortable as last year's FSU-10hr tailgate while being pregnant!
We won 45-17, but I think it's going to be a LONG season. The offensive line was deplorable and where exactly was the defense? When Tommy finally decided to put in the second string, they did great...should have done it earlier (I know, spoken like a true fan)! With all the talent we have this year...what's going on? So much for such high expectations...It was good to see "Old, crotchety man" behind us is still there!
I joined the 21st century and joined Facebook last week. I always thought I was too old for that, but apparently not. I was suprised at how many people I was able to catch up with...mainly old high school friends. The drawback is that my in-box has been jam packed with Facebook messages. It's crazy to think I haven't seen most of them in 13 years. I can't believe it's been that long since I was out of high school. It's been fun to see where everyone is now.
On to Alli... She'll be 6 mos in a week. She's doing great! Sitting up perfectly well, eating stage 2 foods now, and lunging when on her tummy. I can't believe it's been almost 6mos. We're working on drinking water from the sippy cup now.

Tornado in Clemson, how crazy! A lesson learned.

With all of the much needed rain from Tropical Storm Fay, she also brought us a funnel cloud yesterday afternoon. After living in Memphis (aka Tornado Ally) for 6 years, I used to be pretty calm when dealing with bad storms, but that was before I became a mom. As I was working in the P&As Buliding yesterday, the power went off and the warning sirens blared all over campus telling us to take shelter immediately. We were told to get to the basement ASAP. I panicked. All I could think of was how I was going to get to Alli. I realized I didn't have me cell phone with me, so borrowed a students to call Chris to get a plan (of course, he never answered...some plan). Here's the lesson: you never know when an emergency will arise...always have your cell phone on your body. I decided to "risk it" to get back to my building to get to my cell phone and lap top. Sure enough a tornado had touched down in Clemson. Clemson has a good bit of damage, but were blessed that no one was injured. I finally got through to Alli's school to find out that they were alright. Then, another tornado warning came through...hadn't we had enough? I was figuring that I was going to be there all night with all this bad weather. No tornado with this one though. Luckily, a break came in the weather and I was able to go and get Alli. Boy was I happy and relieved to see her. She was fine...never knew what was going on. She and all her classmates and teachers were hunkered down in the men's bathroom at the church and had been there off and on for 2 hours during the 2 tornado warnings. What a day she had too...I can only imagine. I was really pleased with how the school handled the weather situation. I feel more secure since I know their emergency plans and that they were handled well. Hopefully, we won't have any more excitement like that for some time. We've had some week already...both Chris and I had a nasty stomach virus (I think we caught it from our little incubator, who never got sick), then this. I think I'm good for a while.
A link to tornado pic: http://www.wyff4.com/slideshow/17303169/detail.htmlindex.html?currentSlide=11&taf=gs

They're Ba-ack!

Well, the students are back this week. Classes started today. Parking and traffic are crazy on campus. I know it's a university and there is supposed to be students, but I'm ready for them to go home already! The summer was so nice and quiet! Hopefully, in a couple of weeks when a good many start cutting classes, it'll get a little better.
No cakes this week, so it hasn't been too busy. I am looking forwad to October though. I have a wedding cake then!
Alli is doing good. She's eating 3 "meals" a day now. And yes, unfortunately, she LOVES prunes! We did find out over the weekend that she's not a fan of oatmeal cereal, even with fruit...not a fan. She's still growing like a weed. Her carrier is getting heavier everyday. I don't need to go to the gym to left weights after toting her around everyday.

Whew, what a busy week!

Sorry it's been a little while. I had 3 cakes due by today, so haven't had any time for the computer. I'm glad though, I enjoy baking and decorating (see photos on opposite side)...it also gives Alli extra Daddy time.
Alli had a babysitter for the first time last weekend (Mrs. Barbara from her school). Everything went fine...I was a little anxious, but enjoyed Kimberly's wedding anyways. It was nice to get out...2 weekends in a row.
We've started Alli on cereal and first foods. So far, there isn't anything Alli doesn't like...suprise, suprise. The only first foods she hasn't had are peaches and prunes and she'll be trying both this week! We're hoping she's not a fan of the prunes...she poops enough as it is!! We probably won't be that lucky!
Besides that, just trying to keep up with work and daily household chores. I'm a neat-nick and it bothers m to no end that we've been too bust to clean in a week and a half! I have a new appreciation for single parents. I don't know how they get it all done!

Boy, is it quiet around here!

Alli is staying with my parents this weekend. It's her first weekend away. She's a big girl now!In the 16 hours she's been gone, it's been awful quiet around here! Chris and I haven't known what to do with ourselves. I kept waking up listening for her, but there were no peeps. We both woke up around 6:30am (her regular time) and laid in the bed until 9am...just because we could. She's got us trained well! With all this free time, I don't know what we'll do, but I do miss her and look forward to picking her up tomorrow. Even though she's only been here 4 1/2 months, it's just not quite the same without her!

Finally Friday!

Boy, has this week dragged on. Alli decided that she just wasn't up for taking naps this week, so she was a real bear every afternoon/evening until yesterday. I guess she was finally so tired that she took 2-2hr naps! She was quite pleasant last night as compared to the other nights this week...thank heaven!
I put Alli in the jumperoo yesterday, and she actually jumped. It was hysterical seeing how excited she got. Will post the video later.
I am trying to get back into doing cakes, so I did a cake last week, and 1 this week. I am really enjoying it. Hopefully, as I have the time, I'll get a chance to do more.
When's vacation again?...oh yeah, we already took it!

Alli's 4 month check up

I know, finally we (as in Hope) write a blog.
Alli went to the doctor Friday for her 4 month check up and shots. She did fine with the shots, and she's as healthy as a horse. We've started her on cereal. She's taking to it pretty good.
Alli's stats:
weight: 15.5lbs (75th percentile)
height: 25in (75th percentile)
head circumference: 16in (25th percentile)

The Tiger's Roar

First post on the new blog, Hello to all...