4 months old

My little Presley Lynn!

We could have never imagined how much fun you would bring into our lives! We love you more than you can imagine and our life is a brighter place because of you.

At 4 months you can blow bubbles non-stop with your mouth, you smile constantly, you sleep all night, hate cereal even though I've tried for over a week to get you to eat it, wear 6 month size clothes, and can sit supported!

We love you sweet baby girl!

Cousins Come to Visit

Presley had some visitors this weekend that we haven't seen in a while.....her cousins! I love when they come over....the house is so rowdy and full of energy. Presley of course, loves the entertainment and always crashes after they leave. Too much fun just wears her out!


Gavin always wants his picture made with Presley and he has such a great smile. He is so gentle with her and when he was climbing up in the couch for this picture he said "I want to love on baby Presley". He always has the sweetest things to say about her. Look how sweet they both look.....

And of course, Amarah always needs her picture with "baby cousin" too. It cracks me up that after four months, Amarah still calls her that. Presley will probably always be "baby cousin" to her I guess. So here is the picture.....Amarah has things pretty well under control. (Notice Presley is watching the tv!)

To wrap things up I wanted a picture of the whole crew. And what a GREAT one it is! Sara and Gavin are looking pretty and posed. And by this point Amarah is looking like she's done with the photo session and has loosened her grip on Presley....who is about to fall of the couch trying to look around Sara to see the tv!

But you can't get onto this sweet face....she tries her best with her "baby cousin".

And for the final picture....it looks like this was the point where we lost Gavin. Ha!

Still it was a great visit and I love having a house full of cousins!

Cereal

Presley's 4 month check up is next monday and our pediatrician told us we could start cereal shortly before then. So I thought we'd give it a whirl and then at her appointment I could tell him how great an eater she is!

Wrong....the little chica is NOT crazy about cereal at all. We've tried rice and oatmeal and she's not really a fan of either. She'll let me give her a few bites.....

Then she seems like she's thinking about what to do with it....

And then she freaks out......she doesn't seem to know to swallow it yet. We try to everything to make her close her mouth and swallow but she lets it set for a minute or two and then out it comes. So I guess I'm not going to get to wow the doctor with her super great eating skills...but we'll keep trying!

Busy Weekend

What a GREAT weekend! Three days at home with Jared and Presley...I couldn't want or ask for more. We got in a lot of family time and a lot of other fun too. Presley is becoming so much fun that I'm starting to forget that she screamed the first 6 weeks of her life. Haha!

Saturday was a big day because it was our first time to take Presley to a birthday party. I seriously was pumped about her big debut and couldn't have picked anyone better to celebrate with than our handome little friend Hudson! I even got Presley a new outfit to wear just for the party. (It of course is from Target...my favorite store in the whole world!)

This is us right before we left the house. It took about 10 takes to finally get a picture where we were both looking decent. I know...bless Jared's heart between me and a 3 month old he had to work for it!

Hudson was adorable as usual and was only still for a moment for me to snap this picture of him with his Mom, Kate. There were way too many balloons and people to watch!

Of course no first birthday would be complete without a little icing on the face!

And this picture.....Kate's mother-in-law took this picture and I LOVE IT! Presley has started to laugh out loud and this picture captures how sweet it is. I think I'm going to print it and frame it for Jared before he gets a chance to see it on here.

It melts my heart to look at this picture. There is no better feeling in the world than knowing that you had the right baby at the right time with the right guy. We waited 7 years to decide we were ready and now I can't imagine life without her. We sleep less, smile more, spend lots, and have been blessed beyond what we deserve.

This rainbow was over our house when we got home Saturday evening. After spending the day running around it was awesome to see a reminder of God's presence. I've been reading the book of James with a friend and I have been striving to live each day and to enjoy the blessings that come one day at a time. I'm a super planner so this concept has been hard for me. Now that I have Presley I feel it's more important that ever for me to put things into perspective. I want to learn to cherish the things that matter and to let go of the things that don't.

Great Grandpa John

This morning my mom told me that my Grandpa had a biopsy done at the dermatologist yesterday. Now this isn't anything new for this sweet little man. After a lifetime of farming, Grandpa has had his share of skin cancers removed and has even undergone treatments several times. And praise Jesus, he has always beaten it!

Today at work I happened to run across a folder with some pictures from Thanksgiving. I must have forgotten about them because when I saw this one it meltled my heart. I've always had a special place in my heart for my Grandpa and have said a million times that I really wanted a picture of him holding my babies. I have so many memories with him and am always saddened by the thought that he won't always be here. This picture means so much to me and I will always cherish it. He will be 91 in May and I am so blessed to have a picture of him with my little princess. Presley was 2 months old in this picture.
Please keep him in your prayers as he awaits his biopsy. He's beaten skin cancer before and I know that he can again if that's the case. But I know that as he continues to age such treatments would be more difficult for him. And I plan on Presley having a sibling, or two :-) and I want to have my amazing Grandpa around to hold those babies too.

Bath Time

Usually Jared entertains Presley when I'm trying to cook or clean which makes it much easier but Saturday night Jared had to run to the hardware store so I was left with an energetic 3 month old and supper. Usually not a big deal...

But after trying the floor gym, the bouncer and the swing I determined Presley was not interested in being alone and I couldn't hold her AND cook. She has gotten so energetic and playful that she now requires some entertaining most of the time. As long as she's got someone to make faces and talk to her...she's good. So I decided to try the high chair. This was a first and she LOVED it!
She looked so little in the high chair but she acted so big! She sat up great and played with the toys I gave her the whole time I cooked. I think she liked it because she was up high and could watch me.

I couldn't help but take pictures! She was a happy little girl and now I know that the high chair is a great assistant when Daddy isn't home to help me!

Later that night I had Jared come take some pictures during Presley's bath. I love how big her eyes look and I think this picture is hilarious. It's like she's saying "I love my bath but I don't want my toes to get wet!" She is always content during a bath and has started to splash with her hands.

She does cry when I get her out but once I get her dried off she's good. And man does a bath followed by a warm bottle knock her out! Jared and I have really been trying to get her into a routine and try to bathe her at 7:30, feed her and put her in her crib by 8pm. And she sleeps until 4 something every morning. It's so nice to have a baby that sleeps great. Jared and I can finally sit down and catch our breaths once she's down.

I love my little Princess! She's getting so big and growing up way too fast!

Visiting Friends

Friday night we made a long overdue visit to see our friends the Trainors. Amber and I keep up with each other via email and Facebook constantly but for some reason we find it hard to fit in actual visits. Couldn't be that both of our families are super busy could it?!! :-)

The best part is that their adorable kids think we're family. I think it all started with Hayden calling Jared "Uncle Jared" and well...once we had Presley of course she became their cousin. I tried to snap a few pics of the kids when we first got there but of course it was impossible to get 4 kids to all look the same direction! Regardless I think this picture is adorable and hope that we get opportunities to take many more.
Jared took Hayden some deer meat and they swapped hunting stories before we ate...

It was a great night and we have to start making time to see them more!

Miss Independent

When Presley was first born she wanted to be held all the time...probably because we DID hold her all the time. I know, I know...but we couldn't help it! But now that she's 15 weeks she has decided she likes a little alone time. I can put Presley in the floor on her little pink gym and she will entertain herself forever. It's currently her favorite thing. She kicks and wiggles around and pulls on the toys. Jared is a little worried that's she's obsessed with looking at herself in the mirror. I told him to chill out, she just knows a gorgeous girl when she sees one!


Presley has also discovered her voice and uses all the time. She cooed the whole time we were grocery shopping the other day and was loud! People were laughing but Presley was happy and it made my trip to Wal-Mart a little more fun. I definately think that she likes having people's attention.

Tutu Fun

Presley got a tutu for Christmas and I said I was going to take her to get her picture in it....but I never did. So I decided to take a few myself. I threw a blanket on the bouncer and took a whirl at photographing. Dang, now I wish I had taken her to a studio!

Her personality is starting to show and I love it. She's such a happy girl!

Christmas Morning

After all of the madness and running around....Christmas morning finally came! Presley's very first Christmas. I have been so excited about it finally getting here. I can't wait to teach her about the true meaning of Christmas and for her to understand that the greatest gift the world has ever received was Jesus. I want her to love the idea of Santa, and presents and shopping and lights and all of that but I want her to understand that those things are of the world and that the only gift she truly needs is Him.

Christmas morning she actually slept later than she usually does so after I couldn't stand it any longer I went to wake her up. Of course I took a picture because I thought she was cute all snuggled in her bed. Carter's fleece pajamas are the best and are a large part of her wardrobe these days! And let me say...the Carter's outlet is one of our favorite stores!

I decorated the tree this year with our usual ornaments because I'm a type A and like it all to match and bet spaced perfectly....and I know next year will be different with a baby on the move.

We sat Presley in her new Bumbo seat that Poppy and Grandma got her so that she could watch us open her presents. She was happy the whole time. I think the noise of the paper was keeping her entertained.

Jared and I both look so sleepy in these pics but I had to post them. This is a dress I got Presley from Canton. It has a cross with some bling...love it!

Presley also got a cute pink and brown stroller, several more dresses, hair bows and I don't even remember what else. She totally banked though....way too much stuff for such a little person but it was so hard to stop shopping for her.

And the best part of all....it was a White Christmas! I know it's cheesey but I thought it was super neat to have snow for her first Christmas. Jared bundled her up and pushed her outside in her new stroller so we could take a picture. Our Jack Russell, Katie, couldn't help but come check out what was going on.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

Then we headed down to Granny and Pop's and then Memaw and Pepaw's house. Presley wore a new outfit of course!

Presley got her cousin's Guitar Praise which is the Christian version of Guitar Hero but as you can see in this picture Jared was the one hogging the game!

And then Pepaw schooled Landon and Jaden in checkers....

Presley and her Daddy....

Pops letting Presley take a nap....

Christmas at Mamaw's

The tour of Christmas continues....

Christmas Eve we went to our church's Candle light service and then we went to Mamaw's for dinner and presents. Of course Gavin and Amarah provided entertainment yet again and I knew that if I wanted a picture of them I'd have to be crafty. So...I told them they had to hug before they could open presents. Of course....they complied because they are all about the presents this year. Amarah kept saying "This is the best Christmas ever because I'm bigger". I'm not sure where she got that but I though it was hilarious. Here's their quick hug before the presents began:

Gavin got a super cool Big Wheel. I'm jealous...way cooler than the one I had as a kid.

Presley wasn't big enough to really care about ripping open presents so she got passed around by the family. Here she is with her Poppy...

And the girls sat on the couch and watched the fun. This is my cousin Jeff's sweet girlfriend Ashley. If he doesn't marry her I seriously will disown him. She's super pretty and can hold her own with him...what else could we expect from her. And I'm not sure what's going on with Sara...she looks a little bit like she wasn't paying attention. Hahaha

Presley with Grandma....worn out from all the festivities.

Jeff of course took a turn with the Big Wheel.

My little man Gavin has grown up so much this year but I managed to snag him just long enough for a picture. He always has the best smile!

Jeff and Jared took over the kid's toys and had a "rock crawler" building competition. Nothing more amusing than boys and their toys.

And this one gets my favorite picture award. Presley really liked hanging out in Ashley's lap and they looked so cute together!