9 Month Pictures

We took Lottie for her 9 month pictures at Picture People! Despite the fact that we didn't love the photographer and Lottie fell last week and scratched her face, we still ended up with some fun pictures! Here is the link to the proofs! Luckily, they were able to photoshop the scratches before printing!!

http://www.picturepeople.com/sso/publishconfirm.sso?data=U1KBvDzYWEwNJOkCdg2VauGDMBpNMFpGejHsgOZnnRERZjWjhlGKZMjzL1kILBrzlauR%2bTAQDLUMuDrd3U%2bBWA%3d%3d

9 months old!

Hi! My name is Lottie and I am 9 months old today! My mommy can't even believe that I am such a big girl and is a little bit sad that I am growing up so fast! Here are some details about my life:

• I am a big girl now and no one could ever tell by looking at me that I started out at only 5 lbs! I went to the doctor today and weighed 19lbs and was 26 inches long! Those measurements put me in the 70th percentile for weight and the 20th percentile for length. Mommy and daddy love it that I am "squishy" and have lots of rolls!
  
• I am right on target with my clothes and I wear size 9 months (just like me)
• I wear size 3 diapers. Mommy and Daddy just started buying me the Target brand diapers and we like them a lot! They are cute and have polka dots on them and daddy say they save him lots of money!
  
• I am quite an active little girl these days! I army crawl all over the house and get into everything! My favorite thing right now is pulling everything out of my mommy's make up bag-I'm such a girly girl!
• I learned how to say "daddy" this week and completely forgot how to say "mommy"-this makes daddy happy and mommy sad!

• I go to school every day. Daddy usually takes me and picks me up! I hold his hand in the car and when he leaves me I wave "bye bye." I don't cry when he leaves but I sure do get excited, squeal, and smile when he comes back!
• I like school! I like to watch and try to play with the big kids! I'm still the only girl in my class so I get a little extra attention!
• Now that I am a big girl I get to eat off the big kids lunch menu at school! Last week I had tater tots for the first time!!
  
• I now prefer standing to sitting! I can pull up on just about anything. Daddy had to lower my mattress last week and mommy has found me standing up in my crib several mornings lately. The world looks better when you are standing up!
  
• I can walk now-well, if I'm pushing my toy or holding onto furniture! Mommy calls the "cruising" but it is walking to me! I like being able to walk and I push my toy all over my downstairs!
• Mommy still nurses me 3 times a day but the rest of the day I drink milk, apple juice, and water from a sippy cup! Bye bye bottles-I'm a big girl now!
• Mommy is trying to wean me, but I won't let her-I can throw quite a fit when she gets home to get what I want!
  
• I feed myself now and eat almost anything! Mommy says I am a messy eater and get food everywhere (my doggy sure does like my messes though). I eat vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cheese, bagels-well I really eat anything!! Last week my daddy gave me a Nilla Wafer and man was that good! Now when I see the yellow box I smile really big! Puffs are still my favorite and are always welcome in front of me!

• I sleep pretty good these days-I go to sleep at 9pm and usually sleep until 7am. Sometimes I get mommy up in the middle of the night because I talk in my sleep. I can't help it-she puts my paci in my mouth and I usually go right back to sleep. Sometimes I just want to be snuggled so I cry a little longer and then she lets me sleep with her and daddy for a little while! I sure do like that but daddy says we can't make a habit of it!
• My new favorite toy is my jack in the box! I have sort of learned how to turn the handle to make it go and I can help mommy put the rabbit back in so we can start over! I smile and squeal every time the rabbit pops out!
• I like books now and I have learned how to turn the pages!
  
• I had my first ear infection last week. I never cried and never ran a fever but mommy and daddy felt so sad for me! I actually liked having the ear infection because the doctor gave me some yummy medicine that I got to take two times everyday! I didn't have a problem taking it at all-I actually sucked it out of the syringe!
  
• Lately I get hurt a lot- I fall down and hit my head or accidentally hit myself with toys. I never hurt bad but sometimes I exaggerate and pretend cry so mommy will snuggle me a little longer!
• Last week, daddy let me stand in the shopping cart at Target! It was so fun! I held on tight and got to look at all the toys!
• By brother Ted the dog is still unsure of me and my brother Shadow the cat tolerates me so I can pet him, then I pull his hair and he runs from me! My animals make me laugh!

• I give kisses sometimes now! Big, wet, slobbery, open mouth kisses! Mommy says these are the best kisses in the world!
  
• I have the best attitude about life and I'm pretty much happy all the time! I smile a lot and laugh a lot!
  
• Mommy and Daddy sure are in love with me! I hear them say all the time that they never could have imagined how much they could love me and how special I would be! I am such a fun and happy girl and they are so proud of me!
  

Not Perfect!

I know, I know, I'm a terrible blogger-and I'm ok with that! I am learning to be ok with things! My entire life I have placed so much pressure on myself to be perfect and to do things perfectly. My dad and I always joked that we were perfectionists and drove ourselves (and each other) crazy! I guess I always knew this trait about myself but until recent days I didn't realize how crippling it can actually be. Being perfect isn't really attainable and if I spend all of my days working to be perfect in all that I do then I am only setting myself up to fail.

You see, I just can't do it all! Since the day we brought Lottie home from the hospital I have been overwhelmed and stressed. There is just too much to be done and not enough hours in the day! I guess, before Lottie was born I was able to fool myself and "make it work." I was always a good student-making excellent grades, a good employee-keeping up with all of my responsibilities, I have always prided myself in keeping a clean house and usually (not always) cooking decent meals for my husband, etc. But, throw a baby in the mix and it just isn't all possible! Believe me, I've tried!

I have been trying for nearly 9 months now to be a perfect mom (making my own baby food, breastfeeding, reading to Lottie every night, etc), be a perfect wife (cooking meals nightly, keeping a clean house, making quality time for Micah, etc) and be a perfect employee (working 40 hours a week). Well, I can't do it! None of these things are bad- I just can't be perfect at everything! I know I'm rambling, but it hit me a few weeks ago that I am trying so hard and the only place it gets me is exhausted! When I work to make all these roles happen flawlessly, I fail at all of them! I am no good to my daughter, my husband, or my patients if I'm tired, worn down, and depressed!

So, I quit! I quit trying to be perfect, I quit comparing myself to other moms and wives, I quit trying to live up to an unrealistic expectation that I've dreamed up for myself and I'll rest in the the grace of my Savior who really is perfect! I'll cast my burdens on Him and live daily in the joy of my salvation! Oh, and I'll hire someone to clean my house (that is my new gift to myself!) I'm working to make these things my new focus and free myself up to be just the person, mom, wife, and employee I was created to be-flawed but redeemed!

8 Months Old!

So, this post is a few weeks behind but hey, I'm doing my best these days!! Our sweet girl is 8 months old now! I can't even believe it! She is growing up so fast!! Her new tricks include:

• Crawling EVERYWHERE!
• Pulling up and cruising
• Climbing all over mommy and daddy
• Saying "mama" and "bye bye"
• Waving hello and bye bye
• Eating table foods
• Showing off her now SIX teeth
• Drinking exclusively out of a sippy cup (even her milk)
• Digging in bags and baskets and pulling everything out!
• Clinging to mommy and getting REALLY excited when she sees me (I love this!)
• Helping with dishes (she stands at the dishwasher and bangs on the silverware tray!)

Lottie is so much fun and such a joy these days! Micah said the other day, "Lottie, if everyone was as happy as you the world would be one great place!" Literally-she is happy ALL the time and enjoys each part of her days (especially bath time and her wagon rides)! We are so thankful for our precious girl!

The Isham Family!

Micah and I are so thankful to have Lindsey and JR Isham here with us in NC! The Lord has used this family to provide for us in so many ways so I thought they deserved a blog post!! It is amazing how the Lord orchestrates our lives so that we meet people and have experiences that will prepare us for his plans in the future.

Lindsey and I first met our freshmen year of college at a mission trip in Destin, FL. She was a student at UT and I was at Ole Miss. We were both involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and both in sororities at our respect universities. Through the ministry of Crusade and the Lord working in our lives, we both had desires to see our greek friends experience the gospel-this desire led us to a mission training called "Greek Summit." We lived together at the beach for 3 weeks as we took classes on sharing the gospel with our friends.

Two summers later we "met" again-this time at Camp Greystone! Camp Greystone is a christian summer camp for girls and Lindsey and I were both counselors-what a fun experience! After our summer at camp, Facebook became big and Lindsey and I kept up with each other through the online social network. Three years later, when Micah and I were praying about moving to NC for seminary I saw on facebook that Lindsey and her husband JR were in Wake Forest at the seminary. I was excited to at least have a contact in the area and emailed her for info on the area, seminary, etc. Before I knew it, we were here visiting, staying with the Isham's--they were super welcoming and helped us plan our move. It was through Lindsey and JR that we found a nice place to rent and make several friends! Micah got to know JR while we visited and when we finally moved JR helped Micah get a job at the seminary with him. The boys became almost instant best friends and our friendship with this family continued to be such a blessing!

We have had so much fun with Lindsey and JR. The boys are hilarious together and sometimes get each other in trouble! Moving to a new place is scary and Lindsey has been such a friend to me and helped me through the adjustment, welcoming me into her circle of friends! You can see from the pictures that we have so many fun memories with Lindsey and JR! Lindsey and I shared an 80's Birthday party together, we all visited the pumpkin patch, we dressed like fools at the tacky Christmas party, etc! What fun times!



We were able to be at the hospital when their son Griffin was born and they were among the first people that found out that we were pregnant with Lottie and then they stayed until well after midnight to meet her the night she was born!




























With babies and busy schedules we don't always get to spend as much time with the Isham's as we once did but we love the times we do get to be together and we are now enjoying watching Griffin and Lottie develop a fun relationship! We call them "boyfriend/girlfriend" and love to watch them play together!













So, we are thankful for the Isham's! Through this family, the Lord has provided housing, jobs, encouragement, friendship and so much more!!

Labor Day Weekend at "Home"

For Labor Day weekend we decided to go "home" to Scottsboro and visit our families. We took Friday off of work and actually drove down Thursday night after work. This plan to drive through the night worked perfectly with Lottie but was SO hard on Micah and I. I was nervous about making the 10 hour trip with a 7 month old strapped in her carseat but she fell right asleep and we hardly heard from her the entire trip--what a good girl! Micah and I were so tired though!! We tried to take turns driving but I wasn't very good at staying awake so Micah took one for the team and drove most of the way. We arrived in Scottsboro around 4 am and couldn't get to bed fast enough!

We had a great weekend at home! We hadn't been to Scottsboro since May so it was nice to be home, eat good food, and watch our families with Lottie! They savor every minute with her!! We pretty much did EVERYTHING this weekend--shopped, ate, hung out, ate, saw family, saw friends, watched football, ate and did I mention ate?! Here is a quick photo recap!


Lottie did a lot of "walking." Micah's mom and Aunt Linda held her chubby hands and she wobbled around the house pretty much all day on Saturday! "Walking" is her new trick and she is actually doing pretty well--I honestly wish she didn't enjoy it--she is too young and little to be learning to walk (at least in my mind) and I want her to stay a baby for as long as possible!

We watched football! We love college football and after eating pretty much all day we were happy to sit and watch Auburn kick off the season with a victory!

We actually didn't do much sleeping but how adorable is this picture! Lottie woke up at 5am one morning so I let her in the bed with us till morning. When I woke up, this is what I found!


I was so glad that my Gran was able to come up and visit with us on Sunday afternoon! She loved getting to see Lottie and we were so thankful that Lottie was in a good mood and let Gran see all of her tricks and of course get some good loving too!! I just love this picture of the two of them!



We went to Scottsboro's annual "Arts in the Park" and walked around. Lottie loved being in her umbrella stroller and getting to look around. She pretty much held her feet like this the entire time-I personally thought it was adorable! We didn't' really buy anything but we were able to run into several people we knew and show our girl off so that was fun!


Labor Day weekend might as well have been Christmas for Lottie!!! Mom and I went to the Gap and Oshkosh outlet and got her several outfits for fall (including the most adorable overalls!!!) and then mom had several toys waiting on Lottie when we arrived! Lottie has recently fallen in love with toys and playing! She is happier on the floor playing now then she is being held. One toy mom got her was this spinner toy-when you spin it, it sings a song about animals or letters- and Lottie LOVES it! She was so good at it and we pretty much all had the song memorized by the end of the weekend!




And lastly, here are a few sweet pictures of Lottie in her pack and play! She can't pull herself up yet but if you stand her up she will stand for quite awhile. One morning she would be happy unless she was standing and she stood like this then entire time I dried my hair!!


It was a great weekend!!! We don't get to go "home" very often so we soak up the time we have with our families! We are so glad that both families live in the same town so that we don't have to divide our "off" weekends between two places!

One thing though is that going "home" always makes being away harder. It is a lot harder to be away now that we have Lottie because we so want our parents to know and enjoy her! But, all we can do is be thankful for our families and enjoy the time we have together! This weekend was one of those times!! We had a blast with our parents and I know they enjoyed our sweet girl!!!

7 month pictures!

So, we took Lottie last weekend to the Picture People and had some 7 month pictures made. We surprised our parents with a few of our favorites when we went home this past weekend! Lottie is getting so fun to photograph because her personality is really starting to come through! We had so much fun watching her and I think the photographer thought she was pretty cute (who wouldn't!). Anyhow, here is a link to her pictures:

http://www.picturepeople.com/sso/publishconfirm.sso?data=U1KBvDzYWEwNJOkCdg2Var2AstRa2Fzpd7KjJ7hfRtuPBQpQWEnInsEYPSjrKrBn9kLh9ixNIq2z3KEdGO%2f%2flA%3d%3d

They will only be available for a few weeks! How adorable is she?!!