Pool Party

We went to a pool party for our bible study group last night. It had been so hot all day that by 6pm we were ready for the water. It thundered and sprinkled for just a few minutes before we left the house and I started whining about not getting to swim but when we got there it was sunshine all around. Presley was nice and toasty right before Jared took her into the pool. I love this picture and think they look alike here!
Presley loved the water and I knew she would. Jared kept her in there forever and she splashed and clapped the whole time. She was a wrinkled little girl when she got out.

Presley liked the waterfall as long as it wasn't splahing in her eyes! The water felt great!

Presley's friend Conner was there. Conner always lets Presley play with his toys at bible study. He's such a sweet little guy. It was Conner's first time to swim too! This is him and his mom, Melissa hanging out in the pool.

It was a great evening and we enjoyed the fellowship, the pool and of course the food! We have plans for future swim dates for Conner and Presley when there's not such a crowd.

Splash Time

Today was so hot! We stayed around the house and would go out for a little bit and then come in to cool off. This afternoon about 4 I decided it I'd had it with the heat and I got out a little pool that I bought last summer on clearance for two dollars at Wal-Mart at the end of the season. I hadn't had Presley at that point but I was hoping she'd be a water baby!
I put it on the back porch in the shade and we put on the swimsuit our sweet friends Kate and Hudson got for Miss P at her baby shower. She looked so cute in it! I put her in the pool but she crawled out over and over. Finally I gave up trying to get her to stay in it. She seemed more interested in crawling out and then turning around and splashing with her hands in the pool. We are going to a real pool party tomorrow and I can't wait to get to really swim with Presley! I'm so happy summer is here!

8 months old

My sweet Presley Lynn! You were 8 months old this week. Time has gone so quickly and I still feel like we just brought you home from the hospital. You have been such a joy for me and Daddy! And each month only gets better!You had an ear infection this week. Luckily it's only the second time you have been sick! You didn't have fever but you just weren't yourself and you pulled at your ear non-stop. You weigh 18 lbs now! Your hair is really starting to grow and your personality is really starting to show. It was crazy trying to take your picture yesterday. Daddy tried to help but you still squirmed all over the place. I usually don't post all the extra pictures but I couldn't resist.

It was so hard to get you to sit up. It took you about 2 seconds to flop over to your tummy and to start squirming. I'm really starting to think you may be a climber!

You are such a happy baby! You will eat any kind of baby food and you love strawberry apple puffs. You also have started wanting to drink out of Daddy's cup and of course he lets you! You can say bye -bye, daddy, and momma. I never knew having you say momma would fill my heart with so much joy! You are a social little girl. You love attention. You love being outside and you are a great sleeper. You sleep from 8pm to about 6:30 each morning. We love you so much and we are so proud of you. You are such a blessing and Daddy and I love you so much!

Sick - part 2

We went back to the doctor today and I feel much better after visiting with him! Presley of course was a show off and smiled, laughed and talked to him like she felt like a million bucks. He said one of her ears was better but the other still looked bad. We have one day left of the antibiotic and he really believes it will kick the infection. But being the sweet man that he is, he went ahead and wrote me an additional prescription in case she gets worse over the weekend. He said he didn't want us in the ER over the holiday weekend. I am so thankful we chose him as a doctor! I snapped a few pictures of Miss P as we waited.

And if anyone ask what Presley wants for Christmas she sure loves the paper on the table!

When we got home Presley was super glad to see her Daddy. She wanted him right away and she laughed and clapped when she first saw him. I am so glad that Jared is crazy about her and he spends so much time with her. We are so blessed!

The Week So Far...

Crazy week so far. Sunday we stayed home from church because Presley was super cranky. She got happier in the afternoon so we went to see my sweet little grandpa for his 90th birthday! Presley seemed good the rest of the day and that night. Monday afternoon I ended up at the pediatrician's office because Presley was fussy and pulling at her ears. However she napped on the way over and when we got to the parking lot of the doctor's office, this was what she looked like. Happy and bright eyed.....
HAHA! Our doctor assured me that babies always seem great when they get to his office. And she did in fact have fluid on one ear and an infection in the other. So we started an antibiotic. Tuesday Miss P was great and back to herself. Wednesday Pepaw had a heart cath so I took Presley with me to the office because he and memaw were at the hospital. Let's just say she gets treated like a princess when she's in my office! This is Presley with Marla.

And she was actually pretty content hanging out in the floor. She played with toys, tried to crawl and here she's reading her favorite book. We had lunch at El Chico with a group from work but Presley slept through the whole lunch! Being at the office is just hard work!

She really liked the plastic mat under my chair. She slapped it all day long!

Wednesday night Miss P was back to pulling at her ears again so today we are going back to see the doctor. I know I'm probably being paranoid but I need to hear our sweet doctor say she's okay. And with it being a holiday weekend I do NOT want to end up in the ER! This morning I got up early because Presley woke up fussing so we had extra time to work on crawling before we lef the house. I think she looks like a big girl in these clothes! They are from Old Navy (clearance rack!) and I love them. We're so past onsies now...this girl likes outfits! (okay well it's really me but she will too).

The concrete is just a little too slick. She gets to close and then gives up because she has to fight not to slide.

And this is the reason I decided to go ahead and call the doctor. She's still pulling at her ears. And we've been without paci for close to 2 weeks now but this morning I couldn't take the fussing so I let her have it before we left. I know, I know....but sometimes you have to pick your battles!

Sick Baby

I know...I've still been behind at posting lately. This weekend we had a fussy little girl and yesterday I ended up taking her to see her pediatrician. Presley has an ear infection. No fever, just fussy and pulling at her ears. She still has been sleeping good and in this picture I sat her on our bed to finish her nap after getting out of the car. It's getting harder to carry her in without waking up. Hopefully she will be herself tonight and things will be back to normal.

Just a Swinging

Last night Jared and a friend worked on his suzuki so Miss Presley and I spent the evening alone. We are used to having Daddy with us every night but we manage to survive when he occassionally has something to do. And we went down to see him for a few minutes anyway. Presley and I spent a while outside. I stick her in the wagon and pull her around the yard while I pull weeds from the flower bed, water trees, and whatever else I find to do. She's happy as long as we're outside. We recently got her a swing and she LOVES it. We have a swing set but for now we hang the swing on the porch so it's in the shade.
I let her swing for a long time last night and she was so content. I love that you can see her little rolls in this picture. Her chubby legs are my favorite!

Jared was so bummed last night that Presley was already in bed when he got in. He said he wanted to hold her but I begged him not to get her back up so he said he'll just make up for it tonight. I'm ready to be at home.....great night ahead....Jared is going to be home, we're grilling, and it's the Grey's finale!!!!! WOOOOOHHHOOO!

Crazy Sleeper

Another busy week....which means no post. I'm sorry! Last night I put Presley to bed in her new jammies from Old Navy. I love them and will be getting her some more. She looks so big in them. These are 12-18 month size! I peeked in to check on her last night and I had to take a picture. She was all sprawled out. I always lay her down in the middle of the bed and every night she ends up against the rail. Oh well, she sleeps all night so I can't complain!

Jumparoo

Presley was super serious last night in her jumparoo. She has started to really check things out. I couldn't help but want to take a picture of all her faces!
It's been a busy week. We just hosted our biggest meeting of the year at work yesterday so I've not had much time to think about blogging. I promise to catch up soon. We have several things going on this weekend so I will take pictures and make up for my slacking!

Reflections

I'm feeling sappy today so let me apologize up front. Maybe it's because I just had my first Mother's Day or because Presley has been doing so many new things lately or maybe it's the bible study I just finished up that has me thinking about so many things. I looked back at some early blog post and found these pictures from when Presley was 2 weeks old. How tiny! These are my favorite pictures we've had so far and I owe Mylissa Glaser for capturing these precious moments. This picture of Jared and Presely's hands are my FAVORITE. She will never again be that tiny and I am so thankful for this photo. Jared is an amazing Daddy and this picture brings tears to my eyes when I see it!

Jared spent the entire Mother's Day telling me how great a mom I am and I am already thinking of things to do for him to make him feel the same on his day! Jared is the sweetest Dad and is so proud of Presley. I am proud to say he's changed as many poopy diapers as I have and has gotten up as many times at night that I have. He's the best!

To wrap up my sappiness...I'm going to start making myself list again like the bible study has been having me do. Here' s my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. I am thankful that Jared and I both have jobs we enjoy and that our schedules allow us to take off when we want and that each day Jared gets off at 3:30 and I get off at 4. This allows us to spend so much time together as a couple and plenty of time with Miss P!

2. I am thankful that we have joined a bible study group that is other young couples who are at the same place in their lives and are striving for the same spiritual relationship. It's so nice to have friends who are there to lift each other up and to provide encouragement.

3. I am thankful for the opportunity to start on my Master's degree this summer. This means I have a husband who's willing to support me, a job that is encouraging me, and that we are in a place in our lives where this is financially possible.

4. I am thankful for cousins that love my little cupcake. Landon, Jaden, Gavin, Amarah and Jewel are all so sweet with Presley. I know she's the little one but they all play with her and make her one happy little girl. I am thankful that Presley is blessed with cousins and that they are all part of her life.

5. I am thankful for the video camera I bought. I know this is a material thing but I am so excited that I will be able to capture so many moments of Presley growing up. I always think what if something happened to me or Jared...would Presley have enough pictures to help to understand how much we loved her and now with a video camera now I can tell her. I can tell her the things that I love about her and the things that make me smile. I pray that Jared and I will get to grow old and watch Presley grow into an amazing woman but if for some reason we don't, I want her to have pictures and videos of us laughing and smiling and loving on her. My ultimate goal is for me and Jared to make a video for her before her first birthday....one where we tell her everything that she is doing, her likes/dislikes and things like that but also one where Jared and I leave a message for her too. I want her to be able to watch it one day and know that we asked God for her, and that from the moment she was born, we have spent praising Him and loving her.

Blessed

Presley now sleeps until about 7 or 7:30 each morning so I could leave her while I showered but Jared hates to leave for work without getting to love on her. So most mornings I shower and then get Miss P up so she can tell Daddy bye. She is always so bright eyed when she wakes up. It makes everything in the world right to have a little angel to wake up to!
Now that she is so close to crawling, I put her in the pack and play while I dry my hair. I let her play in the floor but when I'm drying my hair I can't hear her and it's just less stressful on me if I know she's contained. She's so close to crawling....she can push up on all fours and then rocks back and forth. I'm going to buy a video camera today! She's going to blast off at any minute.

Craziness!

This week has been crazy. To make a really long story short....Jared had his appendix removed and was in the hospital from Monday evening until yesterday afternoon. He is at home today and resting but still really sore. I promise to catch up on the blog soon! For now I want to share how Miss Presley was sleeping when I checked on her last night. She looked so uncomfortable but she always has either an arm out or a leg. And a lot of the time she holds onto the rails and sleeps like that! My sweet little one.... And notice that her paci is on the floor. She uses it for a little bit to fall asleep and then it's always on the floor in the morning.