The Quinns

Visitors!

2011-08-09T14:36:00.002-05:00

Some of Anders' first visitors...

Kate, who doesn't know it but is 16 days away from having her own baby burrito to hold!

Aunt Tilly

Ingrid aka E

ReRe

2011-08-09T14:23:00.001-05:00

Aunt KooKoo

Aunt WooWoo

Grandy, (aka John Anderson- where we got 'Anderson'

Honey-who has six daughters, 2 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. I wouldn'te balme her if she just started calling Anders, '#18' or better yet- 'hey you!'

SISTERS!

2011-08-08T21:20:00.001-05:00

This probably won't come as a surprise to anyone else with more than one child, but it did catch me off guard. I have been beboping along this whole pregnancy planning big girl room bedding and baby nursery colors, cleaning out car seats and making doctor appointments. I talked to Chesley all the time about her new baby brother or sister. She sang songs to the baby and prayed for the baby every night. So I was shocked when all it took was moving Chesley upstairs to her new big girl room (but still in her crib- she's happy in it and I'm thrilled she's happy in it- the longer she will gladly remain trapped the better!), to set off the biggest wave of guilt I've ever experienced. Percy and I both got pretty torn up about her moving out of her baby room and upstairs. And it was like I all of the sudden realized how much we were about to rock her world! The sensible part of me knew that the baby would only add to all of our lives and that giving Chesley a sibling was a wonderful gift. But everything in her life is all about her and that was about to change and I honestly just felt really bad about it! Thankfully, Chesley has been nothing but thrilled with her new sister and hasn't shown any jealousy- so far. She wants to love on Anders all of the time and asks to see her the second I go to get her up from her nap and in the morning. Mama isn't feeling quite so guilty anymore-just blessed.

The Big Sister.

As Percy brought her into the room there were 12 people staring at her with big goofy grins on their faces.

I think she was a little bit in shock!

2011-08-08T16:20:00.002-05:00

Melt my heart, the first thing my sweet girl did when Percy brought her in the room was scream, 'Mommy', and grab my cheeks for a big kiss.

And then she noticed Anders...

Almost my entire pregnancy Chesley said the baby would be a girl. When Chesley was looking at Anders for the very first time it went like this:

Us: Chesley, Mommy had the baby.

Chesley: What is it?

Us: What's it look like?

Chesley: A Boy!

Us: Nope, it's a girl.

Chesley: MY BABY! (and she dove in for the first of a thousand hugs she has given her little sister since their first meeting).

2011-08-08T16:00:00.001-05:00

Big sister fell in love as fast as we did.

It's a bit surreal.

2011-08-06T22:01:00.001-05:00

She's a fan.

Sweetest picture I may possess.

Who knows what she is saying her but she looks very passionate about it!

2011-08-06T21:03:00.001-05:00

Anders had a gift for Chesley...

It was a cradle for her baby doll, so far she has not succeeded in putting her sister in it-yet.

2011-08-05T22:22:00.001-05:00

Chesley gave Anders an outfit we picked out together a few weeks ago, (she picked a boy and girl outfit and the store owner who knew what I was having wrapped up the correct gender outfit for us to take with us for Chesley to give her new baby sister.)

Pretty sure she likes it.

Yep, I wasn't allowed anything but clear fluids all day long but my mom brings a burger into my room. Sweet.

2011-08-05T22:14:00.002-05:00

Chesley wanted to give her little sis a white chocolate covered Oreo that Ingrid brought us. Not sure how KooKoo convinced her Anders would not be eating it but I am fairly confident Anders had not yet tasted an Oreo.

Aunt Lindsey came by to cuddle with her newest niece!

2011-08-05T22:11:00.001-05:00

Chesley leaked through her diaper the first time Uncle Buck held her, thankfully Anders decided not to take a page out of her big sister's book!

They look so innocent holding my sweet baby, but that man has already given Chesley a BB gun and a live rabbit. Casey hasn't really participated in these acts but she doesn't really try and stop her husband either... They aren't to be trusted.

Chesley saw that Mama, Daddy, and baby Anders had on 'brace-wets' and she had to have one too! The nurses in the nursery made her her very own I.D. bracelet which she thought was beyond cool.

No clue what she's looking at but had to include this picture anyway.

2011-08-05T22:04:00.001-05:00

We had to file Anders' nails so she would quit slicing her face up. Kate brought us a baby nail file since we forgot ours, isn't she gonna be a good mama in a few weeks!- And I made Gammy file Chesley's nails and she bowed out this time so it fell to Annie to take care of the job. Aunt WooWoo held her while Mom took nail tech duties and then Chesley wanted in on the action.

She needed to give WooWoo a manicure too.

So helpful.

Percy's cousin D.J. and his wife Kristin, (not pictured, hmm), and thier little boy, Joseph, came by to meet the youngest cousin in the ever expanding Cox clan. How much fun does he look like he is??

Welcome to the World Miss Anders!

2011-07-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

40 weeks and 1 day pregnant (and just got to the hospital)

Prepped and ready to head to the O.R., (the nurse told me to lay on my side before I had even gotten in the bed, something about getting the best reading from the fetal heart monitor- all I know is it wasn't very comfy after a few minutes and I had to face the wall instead of the side of the room where the chairs for visitors, i.e. Percy, were- and it made me look goofy in the pictures!)

SHE'S here! Anders made her appearance at 9:52 am and was face up in the womb, Dr. Kellum said she was face up, aka sunny side up, with her eyes wide open when he got to her- ready to meet the world! Percy stood up and watched them pull her out and was the one to tell me, "Oh Babe, we got another girl!"

She refused to behave like a lady in any of the pictures of her on the scale, so a little clip art was required.
8 lbs 15.2 oz (love my chubby babies)

2011-07-19T21:16:00.002-05:00

Getting measured, 19 1/4inches

Getting her footprints made.

Aren't you finished with me yet?

2011-07-19T21:14:00.002-05:00

Bye bye belly, hello baby-- now the fun begins!

Swimming with Mama & Daddy

2011-07-16T21:09:00.002-05:00

Percy and I have started getting a little nervous about how much we are about to rock Chesley's world. We are feeling a little guilty about all the changes headed her way. We know that the baby will, of course, only add to our lives but- the baby will be shaking things up for Big Sister for a little while. So we have been spending a lot of family time and 'it's-all-about-you-Chesley' time with our first baby before #2 makes his/her appearance!

One of this weekend's 'All About Chesley' activities included a family day at the pool.

Now, swimming with Mama is nothing new because we have spent A LOT of time in the pool this summer (I don't feel pregnant in the pool so I'm a big fan!), but having Daddy there is a treat!

She was all about it!

Catch me Dada!

2011-07-16T21:02:00.002-05:00

My big girl LOVES to jump off of the diving board. We went through a period where she made me come out there and throw her off (and let me tell you I made everybody at the pool very very nervous when I waddled my way out to the end of the diving board- people thought they were about to watch a water birth!) Sometimes she would tell me to come help her and that was what she meant! Thankfully, she got past that and loves showing off her stuff!

Can't believe she's big enough for this...

2011-07-16T20:57:00.002-05:00

I think she was getting a little talking to...

But, it looks like all was forgiven. (Geez, the belly!)

Looking cool!

Baby Q #2, 39.5 Weeks

2011-07-14T14:18:00.001-05:00

In spite of my impressive girth, this kid is not ready to make his or her exit yet. We went to the doctor today, still no progression and the baby hasn't dropped. This last bit of information will come as a surprise to the 7 people who told me I had dropped on Monday. Two separate Kroger employees came up to me, unsolicited, and said I looked like I had dropped and was about to have that baby right there! My alterations lady, who is Asian but I am not sure which country, told me in her very thick accent that in her country you were to try and hide a pregnant belly, but with the styles today there wasn't no hiding and I had dropped! A lady who came to install curtains in Chesley's new room who has given birth to five children naturally and has four grandkids told me I looked like I had dropped since she saw me last Friday. And my friend Tatum's mom, Hillary, and my mom. But the dude with the MD disagrees. So I am scheduled to go in on Tuesday, July 19th. If anyone knows a rain dance type thing that they can do to make this child come out please start shakin' a tail feather for me!

P.S. No, I am not wearing a body suit in this lovely belly pic, it's capri leggings and a tunic top that I have pulled back so you can fully appreciate the profile view.

38 weeks and Shopping

2011-07-11T13:31:00.000-05:00

In case you ever wondered what mattress shopping at 38.5 weeks pregnant looks like, wonder no more.

We took Chesley with us, which did not turn out to be our brightest idea as she insisted on trying out each mattress as well, and bouncing, squirming, kicking, and squealing while she did so. Since this is not how we sleep at home, (with the squealing squirmer between us), the sales lady distracted her with stuffed teddy bears they had on display long enough for us to narrow it down to two. The two we were choosing between were all the way across the store from one another and let me just say I am not ashamed to admit I was worn out from climbing into and heave-ho-ing out of all those beds over and over and then waddling back and forth between the final two. On some of the softer options I had to either push off of Percy to exit the bed, or he had to roll me onto my side from my back like a beached whale, or I had to shimmy/rock back and forth a little while until I had enough momentum to rock onto my side. Laugh all you want, it was a lot of work. But we did get to try out the new millennium's version of the Craft-matic Adjustable Bed. My sister, Katie, and I begged and begged my parents to buy us one every time the infomercial came on. We didn't even share a bed or a room but we were willing to start if they would buy us the double or queen size, and it came with a free TV!! I mean come on! Alas, my parents never gave in and Katie and I had to make do with our normal boring, non-moving beds. But, wow, this thing is cool. Percy and I made a deal that we will buy one when our last child goes to college and I am not even kidding a little bit. Katie, it was everything we dreamed it would be...

Baby Q#2 Update:
We went last Thursday and there is still no progression whatsoever and the baby hasn't dropped, (although two Kroger workers, Hillary, and Tatum Goodman's mom all stopped me today to tell me I looked like I had dropped so maybe by now?) We had a sonogram that estimates the baby is around 8lb 4oz, Chesley was 8lb 6oz so this may actually be somewhat accurate. We took Chesley to the sonogram so she could see the baby but Baby had it's face turned towards my back and no matter how hard the sonographer tried I couldn't even ever see anything that looked like a baby. Chesley didn't know the difference but she was less than impressed. She was, however, very excited to be at 'da baby doctor.' She was pretty squirmy until Dr. Kellum came in the room, then she didn't make a peep and just stared at him the entire time. We, (minus Chesley), go back this again Thursday, I'll update when we know more!

Baby #2 36 weeks

2011-06-24T15:56:00.001-05:00

Since I was dressed up and had make-up on for dinner for Percy's birthday, I made him take a few belly shots. I just do not feel like these accurately represent the sheer size of my current girth. I KNOW they don't fully represent how heavy that thing is to carry around!

I will say this for a summer baby, Mama looks way better in belly pics with a tan than she did in December!!

This one was taken 3.5 weeks before Chesley was born, which is almost exactly how far away from my due date I was in the first two pictures.

Happy 31st Birthday, Daddy!

2011-06-24T15:46:00.001-05:00

Percy's birthday was Friday and Chesley was going to spend the night with Gammy so we celebrated on Friday afternoon with cupcakes and cards and 'pwesents'!

It was all I could do to get Chesley to look at the camera instead of the cupcakes for one second for a picture, she was ready for some sugar!

Daddy's little helper ready to help blow out the candles, (might be my new favorite picture of my the two of them.)

Good job!" Now give me a cupcake, pwease!" Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!

My Baby Sister, the Artist.

2011-06-23T16:28:00.002-05:00

My youngest sister, Alex aka Aunt A, has been really into these programs and apps on her computer and phone that let you do fun artistic things with your pictures. These are two she sent me from pictures she took of Chesley and our Dad with her phone.

Pretty cool, right? Well, look at the drawing she did below. She took a picture of Chesley goofing off in glasses and did a pencil drawing of it, and I am impressed. Who knew my baby sister would turn into such an artiste!?

I guess it helps that she had such a cute subject to inspire her...

Fat Lip

2011-06-21T22:06:00.004-05:00

Chesley got a bit of a bo bo the other day.

I was folding laundry in one room and heard a splat in the other room.

My mom got her to admit she wasn't just sitting in Daddy's chair like she told me, she was climbing Daddy's chair... It made me weak in the knees, it swelled up, (swoll up?), to that size in less than 5 seconds as I watched. And she likes to eat ice way more than let me hold it against her freshly busted lip so that wasn't helpful. But it's been a few days now and it looks lots better, but man it hurt to look at there at first.

2011-06-21T22:04:00.001-05:00

Now that it doesn't hurt her, it's kind of hard not to laugh when she talks to you.

Only good thing about bo bo's is when she lets me love on her.

I'm not hurting her here, I swear, I'm just kind of tilting her face forward so you can see the inside- promise!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T21:49:00.002-05:00

After breakfast in bed for Daddy, church, lunch with my parents, and nap Percy's sister and her husband and Percy's dad came over for a cookout. Percy cooked drunk chickens on his new Big Green Egg and they were delicious! I never took any pictures of Chesley and her daddy on Father's Day but we did get some of her with her Grandy.

Happy Father's Day to my daddy, Percy's daddy, and Chesley's daddy. Hope yall each had a great day! We love you so much!

A Fork! Mama, a Fork!

2011-06-18T15:53:00.003-05:00

One rainy afternoon I was at a loss as to what to do with my child for the hour and a half post-nap and pre-Daddy coming home, ( once he's home she's obsessed with him and thus his shadow- probem solved!) So I gave in to my better sense and told Chesley if she was a sweet girl and took a quick bath, we could build a fort. She still thinks it's called a fork, nothing I do can disuade her of this fact. So she was a sweet girl, we washed the grime off of her and set about building a fork. Now, my sister Katie and I are of the highest calibur fort builders. We know a lot about it, we know it takes 98% of your mother's clean and folded linens from the linen closet, (sheets, blankets, fitted sheets, quilts, beach towels, the 2% we didn't use were pillow cases,) we know that a high quality fort must be totally impenetrable by light-thus the need for so many linens, layers people layers. We know that any fort worth it's salt has a tunnel as it's entrance and that it's really sub-par if it doesn't go up onto furniture to provide your fort dwellers with a second story. We know that my four poster bed was the ideal foundation for a good fort and that there is really no reason to start building your fort until after 10pm on a Saturday night when you have Brynnen, Lacey, Kristen, Ginger, and Carolyn over to spend the night, bc it's the summer and we get to stay up as late as we want and we were playing nicely together with our friends so our parents may come in my room to tell us to keep it down and didn't we want to go to sleep already- but they weren't going to shut down our building site. Katie and I know that our friends are merely our worker bees but that we are the architects and this fort is gonna rule! But the thing we knew the most, the thing that we knew more than any other fact about fort building was this, Dierene was going to be sooo mad at us. (Dierene has worked for my mom since Katie was born and I was two, and still does- so while she may know all of our tricks, we could still get away with plenty!) She was going to come in and wake us up at the unholy summer time hour of 11:30 and yell at us to help her clean up this mess! She was going to drag us from our beds, (or pallets made inside the fort,) and spit fire at us until we were moving. She was going to make us take off all the ponytail holders, (structural supports), and help her re-fold all the linens that weren't laying on the floor or that hadn't had something spilled on it, and she was going to grumble the entire time until she finally told us to just leave and let her do it bc we were making a bigger mess of it and none of the linens we folded were going to fit back in the linen closet anyway. What Katie and I know about fort building is this: If you can take the wrath of Dierene, you can build a fort.

I totally wimped out and built a measely lean-to, not even a true fort- but then again, I am my own Dierene.

But I have no doubt that I will one day regret ever saying the word 'fort' to my child, bc sooner or later she's going to figure out it's a fort- and she's going to become a professional like her mama- and Dierene will laugh and laugh and laugh at me!

Every fort needs a guard dog, ours growing up was sweet old Cotton, but Weeza was a quick study.

While trying to take her picture in her fork, she tells me, "Mommy, you have to wear panties in my fork." Well, good to know there are some ground rules.

Rock Climbing in Heels

2011-06-15T21:49:00.001-05:00

Percy and Chesley were in the backyard grilling and playing one evening as I walked through the house. I glanced out the window and this is what I saw.

Yes, that's Chesley climbling the 'rock wall' of her playset. But what I noticed immediately that you may have to look closer for-is her footwear.

She is wearing the plastic dress up heels she got for Christmas.

She calls them her party shoes.

I guess there was a party at the top of her playset.

2011-06-15T21:45:00.001-05:00

I guess it's really only fair to mention that I was inside bc I was trying on a new swimsuit that had just come in the mail when I saw this spectacle outside. I grabbed my camera bc how could this not me documented?? And ran (35 weeks pregnant so interpret that loosely), outside to snap a few pictures before she got down. Percy laughed a lot when he oh so cleverly told Chesley, "Chesley, tell Mama to start on the other side of the yard and run towards us in slow motion, just like Baywatch." My new swimsuit is red, but the resemblence ends there unless there was a season when one of the Baywatch Babes was knocked up that I missed. But yeah, I can only imagine the sight I made as I ran in only a solid red one piece with a 35 week belly across the yard with a big black camera in my hand. Pregnant Baywatch or Pregnant Paparazzi? Either way, this picture will be on her senior video or rehearsal dinner video or a billboard when she turns 40, and it might not be possible if I had stopped to look for a cover up instead of thinking fast and moving kind of quickly.

She kinda looks perched and ready for flight right here.

Carrie Bradshaw would be so proud.

Memorial Day 2011

2011-05-28T16:21:00.001-05:00

Every year since we graduated, my college girlfriends and I go to Perdido/Orange Beach area for a girl's beach trip. So Percy and Chesley got to do a lot of father/daughter bonding!

I didn't even ask what she was wearing, but the title of this emailed picture was, "Good girls get ice cream for dessert." I couldn't agree more.

In this picture Daddy sent me Sunday morning he said she came in the den and told him she found her church shoes and was ready to go! They did go, but I'm pretty sure he changed the rest of her outfit as well-pretty sure.

Maybe Daddy was having pregnancy cravings for ice cream that weekend, not sure...

2011-05-28T16:18:00.001-05:00

I guess this picture Percy sent me was supposed to make up for all the ice cream pictures.

Chesley spent Monday night with my parents because Percy had to head back out of town for work. I taught Chesley to say, "Annie, I need a pool," every chance she gets but she added something to the end after her trip to Walnut Grove with Percy's sister and now says, "Annie, I need a pool and a swip'n'swide, pwease." So Annie got her a slip'n'slide. I was really hoping for the pool but...

I don't know if there was enough of a decline for much sliding but she loved playing in the water!

Last Day of Swim Lessons

2011-05-25T21:41:00.003-05:00

William and Lindsey had to go to Dallas for the second week of our two week swim lesson course, so William wasn't there for the picture I took the last day, but he was a fish just like his cousins for sure! Swim lessons were an adventure for sure. The adventure started with me trying to find a swimsuit to put on my 32 week pregnant self that not only fit but that my flailing two year old might not pull down every two seconds. Once that mission was accomplished, (sorry no pics!), we just had to make it there by 9 am. Once there, the real adventure began. Chesley loved the swimming part of it, she loved that her cousins and Hillary and Lindsey were there, she loved that her Gammy, Annie, Woo Woo, and Grandy all came to watch her on different days, she loved splashing everyone and throwing toys in the water from the side. She did not always love Mrs. Wu, aka Mrs. Lu. I would wonder if Mrs. Lu was at the parting of the Red Sea except for the fact that if she had been she would have just thrown the non-swimmers in the water, told them to hold their breath and pushed them across to 'bump' the other side-- in other words Moses wouldn't have needed to bother with all that parting business bc Lu could have taught them all to swim across the darn thing! She is one tough cookie, and she has to be to be able to put up with all the screaming and whining that comes her way- it doesn't seem to phase her. She told me one time that she really doesn't even hear it anymore. Chesley alternately liked and disliked Mrs. Wu depending on whose face she was putting in the water at the time. If it was Chesley's face she did not, in fact, care for Mrs. Wu and would tell her so. Pruet told Hillary he wanted to go swimming at the lake for Memorial day as long as Mrs. Lu wasn't there. But Mrs. Lu taught me what to do to practice with Chesley, taught Chesley where to go if she fell in, how to hold her breath (that one she teaches them pretty much by showing them how not fun it is to not hold your breath), and at the end I may not have left with a two year old who could join the swim team but I did leave with our bases covered, everything I needed to know to practice with her, a promise that sooner rather than later it would all click, and a child who still wanted to go swimming every day.

The first few times I took her swimming myself she wanted nothing to do with practicing or putting her face in the water. Then the next few times she was willing to practice a 'whittle bit mama, just a whittle.' And by the end of the first two weeks post Mrs. Wu I have a child who can swim without any flotation device as far as one breath will carry her. She still doesn't really swim on the very top of the water, so she isn't quite strong enough to get her head out and take a breath to keep going but if she has her safety seal (a body floatie thingy) on she can swim all day long with her face in bc she knows how to take a breath she just isn't strong enough to do it on her own yet. But I have a child who will jump off the side and swim to me, who will go down the slide at the country club (pictures coming soon) and who will jump off the diving board at the country club and swim to the ladder all by herself! In other words, I have a child who LOVES to swim, has no fear of it, but knows what she can and can't do with and without Mama. And I have Mrs. Wu to thank for that. She told us what to do, we did it, and I can't wait to see what kind of swimmer I will have on my hands by the end of this summer. Thanks Mrs. Lu!!

Mrs. Lu gives them cookies on the last day, looks like they must have been pretty tasty!

I'm pretty sure I made Hillary get in this picture just to hold their hands/cookies down so maybe they would look at the camera and smile-- Tilly gave me a big smile!

Skyping with Dada

2011-05-24T17:49:00.001-05:00

Percy was out of town for two weeks recently and we did a lot of Skyping with Daddy.

She woke up from her nap almost everyday asking to talk on the 'pooter to Dada!

Little Vanna White action.

Not yet Baby Girl, not yet!

2011-05-23T17:46:00.001-05:00

She wouldn't come in from the car one day when I was letting her do her new favorite thing, getting out by herself and closing the door all by herself. So when I went looking for her this is what I found. No it wasn't cranked, yes the keys were in the ignititon, I know I know I know.

First Haircut, kinda...

2011-05-16T17:43:00.001-05:00

The hair on top of Chesley's head is longer than the rest, like a lot. The hair on the back of her head grows in really tight adorable ringlets. When I pull the hair on top back into a ponytail holder it still hangs longer than the rest- it looks odd. So, one night I got Percy to distract her, Daddy's are good for that, and I got the kitchen scissors and clipped the offending 'longer than the rest' lock off. She never saw the scissors, never heard the word haircut, and never knew it happened. If you are familiar with my friend Harper and her precious 4 yr old Causey and her homemade haircut you will understand my trepidation at letting Chesley know that there is such a thing as cutting your hair. (Causey got out of her bed in the middle of the night and found her rounded end craft scissors and cut all her hair off, all over, put said hair in the kitchen garbage can and got back in bed, this is one of the things that now haunts my dreams. Causey is lucky bc she already looks like a little fairy so her new Tinkerbell haircut is not half bad- but I don't need Chesley chopping all her hair off and looking even more like her daddy!!) I decided this tiny little clip did constitute her first haircut so I saved it and documented it here for all eternity.

Lu Lee Swimming

2011-05-15T17:34:00.001-05:00

Mrs. Lu Lee taught me, Percy, and all of our sisters how to swim. And now it's Chesley's turn. This was her the morning of her first lesson. It was freezing outside, thus the pants. She was so excited and ready to go!

Miss Priss.

2011-05-12T17:27:00.002-05:00

Chesley likes to holler for me to come and get her up from naps and in the morning. Someone really should teach her some manners. She doesn't hesitate to scream, "Mama, open my door, turn on my light and get me up!!" or "Mama, open door, turn on light, is Dada here?" or "Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, MOMMY!!" So when I went to get her up one morning I was surprised to see that she had been screaming her lungs out at me from a prone position. Miss Priss was laid back, relaxing with her feet propped up waiting on Mama to hurry up. And this is at 2 years old.

I'm Mad.

2011-05-11T17:28:00.002-05:00

I'm really glad that Moose on Nick Jr. takes the time to teach my child about emotions and how to tell when others are sad, happy, mad, etc. But I'm not sure what to do when Chesley pulls this face, crosses her arms and tells me, without my asking- "I'm mad, Mama." At this point I just tell her ok well I don't talk to people when they are mad so I'll talk to you when you're sweet and happy again. She usually comes around pretty quick but if this is a sign of a budding drama phase, I hope it passes quickly!

Sweet Girl

2011-05-11T17:23:00.002-05:00

Chesley was playing outside one afternoon while I cooked supper, and she brought me a flower to put in my hair. I did, of course I did! How could I not?! My sweet girl.

Gymnastics!

2011-05-10T17:00:00.002-05:00

William, Pruet, and Chesley took gymnastics together, (which means Lindsey, Hillary, and I got a 30 minute cardio workout every Tuesday chasing them down!) They loved it, we may never watch them accept a medal at the Olympics-- but they loved it! And we loved Mrs. Amy, thanks for making it such a fun time!

Dora is a Bulldog.

2011-05-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

In case you ever wondered...

Dora is a Bulldog.

I found that horrific and so-terrible-I-knew-she-would-love-it-mask at Party City and included it in her Easter basket.

She loved it, Weeza was unsure.

It kind of freaked me out, but I got used to it.

2011-05-08T21:17:00.000-05:00

I asked her what she was doing and she looked at me like I was kind of slow and said,"I'm sittin and thinkin, Mama." Oh well, excuse me.

Guess she's finished thinkin.

Easter 2011

2011-05-07T21:15:00.002-05:00

Chesley had a BIG Easter this year. We had to wake her up really early so we could do the Easter bunny stuff before early church, (which our church only has on Easter so we don't usually have to get up so early for church, or anything that early!) Her Grandy had a fun surprise for her, he came really really early and put down bunny footprints in our driveway. It involved a stencil, an ice scoop, and several bags of flour. They were great! They were huge and she would stick her finger in it like it was fairy dust or something! They were so great that they almost--almost made up for the fact that he also brought a live rabbit. But he knew better so he claimed that Chesley's Uncle Buck sent it, (Buck's the one who bought her a pink bb gun for her birthday so I believed Grandy when he blamed Buck!) I had no intention of keeping a rabbit for my 2 year old and the newborn that's on it's way to enjoy so Percy found it a home that didn't involve a boiling pot of water... Thanks Grandy for the footprints, I'll let Chesley thank you for Peter. Yes she did name him Peter bc we have been reading Peter Rabbit and Peter Cottontail, plus her father named a pet goat Billy so really we shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, she liked the rabbit, liked looking at him and talking about him and holding him once or twice but that sucker had some sharp claws that didn't hurt but kinda scared you when you were holding it and they started moving 90 to nothing. So she didn't just have to hold him nonstop-thank goodness. Oh and sorry Uncle Buck for believing so easily that you would do such a thing but you are earning a rep with that pink gun...
After church we went to my parents and Percy's mom and Pops came over to watch Chesley hunt eggs. Then we ate and headed home for a long nap, did I mention we had to wake up really early?

Rise and Shine!!!

Chesley LOVED the bunny footprints!

My neighbor said her little girl was distraught that the Easter Bunny may not have come to their house bc she saw the footprints in our driveway but not hers!

Checking out what the Easter Bunny left and informing us that that pinwheel is a 'turnin wheel mama!'

2011-05-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

My sweet girl.

2011-05-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Opening her annual outfit from Dada.

He did good!

Um, wait what is that...

That is a live rabbit, for now...

2011-05-07T20:57:00.000-05:00

Yep, pet that bunny now baby girl- bc he will not be able to visit very long...

Putting our flowers in the flower cross at our church.

2011-05-07T20:53:00.000-05:00

We weren't getting very good smiles out of Chesley, so Annie went and found something to help her smile...

Mom made this hat for some hat party she had one year and has miraculously saved it since.

This is her 'say cheese' face, it's not a very good smile but I promise she was a lot happier than it appears!

Finally a good one of Chesley and her Gammy and Pops.

2011-05-07T20:47:00.000-05:00

My dad wanted us to take a picture of him in mom's hat to send to his mother, he just doesn't know I have also posted it on the www, but come on! That had to be preserved for posterity!

Chesley, inspecting the hunting grounds...

And she's off!

2011-05-07T20:45:00.000-05:00

She's 2, ok? And 24 is a lot of eggs, so they weren't all in the most creative of hiding spots...

It was like a celebrity Easter egg hunt since I followed her with the video camera and Percy followed her with the still camera and Alex carried her basket for her since it was getting kinda heavy...

2011-05-07T20:42:00.000-05:00

2011-05-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

"What? You mean there's something else? Good thing I'm not spoiled..."

ReRe hung a tire swing in the backyard for her.

2011-05-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

She kept sliding off, or...

looking like she might at any moment.

Chesley just never quite looked like she was actually going to stay on the swing, so we recruited A to help keep her on-- worked much better!

2011-05-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

2011-05-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

They tried for another solo ride but she still didn't look too steady.

2011-05-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

Already thinking about when she can get back on...

Thankfully the first thing she asked to see after her nap was the bunny footprints, not the rabbit.

This picture was taken on Monday while Percy was at work looking for a home for Peter, I walked in the laundry room to check on him and he wasn't in his box. He hadn't made it far but geez the last thing I want in my house is a rogue bunny on the run!

Easter Eve 2011

2011-05-06T20:24:00.001-05:00

We were putting Chesley's basket out for the Easter Bunny the night before Easter!

2011-05-06T20:23:00.001-05:00

Headed to show Daddy her basket.

It took some doing, but we were able to convince her that she did NOT need to take the fake paper grass out of her basket and scatter it everywhere!

Um, a little help?

2011-05-06T20:20:00.001-05:00

Trying for a picture of us but no luck.

Explaining to us who is coming tonight.

She got pretty excited about it.

She is finally accepting that she has to leave the basket there for the Easter Bunny to fill it.

Aunt A's Junior Prom

2011-05-06T20:16:00.001-05:00

Chesley wasn't giving us the smile we were looking for so...

Aunt A tickled one out of her and then...

Chesley was on to her and wouldn't get too close again bc she didn't trust her.

Chesley was our look out for Alex's date.

Candy Bandit

2011-05-06T20:09:00.001-05:00

Chesley had a Easter Egg Hunt at school and I had been doling out the candy from the plastic eggs a little bit at a time. I had no idea she even knew where I was keeping her stash but she not only found it one afternoon, she managed to pull the basket down off of the counter which is much taller than her, and have a little chocolate party. It's unclear at this time how much Weeza may have acted as an accomplice in this caper but Chesley had chocolate all over her lips and Weeza didn't get sick but did hide from me while Chesley was in time out...

Little Bunnies

2011-05-06T20:06:00.001-05:00

I headed up the Easter Egg Hunt at our church this year and I conned Hillary and Pruet into coming, thanks Tilly and Pruet!! We only got one picture of the little egg hunters but it sure is a cute one!!

This is from lunch one day, just needed to be included bc they look so sweet and innocent when I'm pretty sure they were both just running wild through the restaurant and screaming at each other because that's fun. At least they look sweet and their mama's didn't strangle them...

Naptime!

2011-05-06T20:02:00.001-05:00

Percy went turkey hunting all weekend, Chesley was a two year old all day...who is more tired?? (Probably mama...)

Hanging with Gammy and Pops

2011-05-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

Gammy and Pops celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary on April 6th and what did they want to do that weekend? Have Chesley spend the night, of course. Friday night Chesley spent the night with them per their request, I didn't pawn her off on them I swear! And they had a big time! I got her back on Saturday and then we met back up with them at a party in their honor at their friends' house. It was a big weekend for Baby Girl and she was worn out by Sunday morning! Hope it was a good anniversary Gammy and Pops!

Gammy sent me these pictures and I have no idea what Chesley is 'helping' Pops put together, but I have no doubt that the addition of a two year old and a grandmother with a camera could have only sped the process up!

Since she was taking care of my child on her anniversary I won't comment on Chesley's attire...

Let's go fly a kite!

2011-05-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

Later Chesley told me the kite went wheely wheely high Mama, higher dan da barn!

A night with Gammy and Pops wouldn't be complete without a trip to the boat, and they picked her up some new shades on the way!

Chesley was really into to hanging with her Uncle Buck at the anniversary party for Gammy and Pops.

Walnut Grove Chesley

2011-05-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

Percy's sister, Casey, and her husband, Buck, had Chesley come spend the night with them at their house in Walnut Grove. I am pretty sure she was in heaven. I mean, look at this child...

Aunt Woo Woo set up a slip and slide for Chesley to play on but I hadn't packed a swimsuit so she just put her in a t-shirt and panties. Well, that was not ok with Miss Priss. She told Woo Woo she could NOT get her bulldog shirt wet! So Casey told her that was fine just take it off. This was music to her ears, she doesn't have much experience running around naked, (I'm sure it's called necked when you're having that much fun!), outside, but she seems to have taken to it pretty quickly.

Yeah, I think she's ok without her bulldog shirt on.

2011-05-01T19:42:00.000-05:00

A necked Poppa, (Percy's grandfather), smile.

Just chillin' in the shade with a little juice--in her underwear.

I wonder who wore who out more? Thanks Uncle Buck and Aunt Woo Woo for a great time!!

Chic Fil A

2011-04-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

Percy went on a turkey hunting trip for four days with some buddies. So Chesley and I went shopping one afternoon and decided to have Chic Fil A for supper. I was so excited by these new ketchup packets that I took a picture with my phone and emailed it to Percy. I have been complaining about the need for these packets for so long it's ridiculous. I have never understood why they can't put ketchup in the same containers they put my Polynesian in??? I was excited.

Chesley was a very sweet girl and got the play in the play area for a while and since she came out when I asked her to she got to have some ice cream. But when I informed her that we would not be eating the ice cream until we got home she got very quiet. When I looked down at her to see if she had wandered off or something, this is what I saw. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm not happy, Mama, so I'm gonna sit here." Ok then, guess I'll take that over a tantrum.

Baby #2 28 Weeks

2011-04-26T16:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I've kinda been slacking ont this one but here is Baby #2 at 28 weeks.

I'm pretty sure I didn't look that pregnant with Chesley until around 35 weeks!

William's 2nd Birthday!

2011-04-02T19:28:00.000-05:00

William turned 2 on March 30 and we went over to his house for pizza and cake.

He looks a little hypnotized by the flame...

Chesley thought she would have a little taste!

We made her stop and William dug in! Happy Birthday, Will!

Phone Call

2011-03-29T19:26:00.000-05:00

She marched into our bathroom and said, "Scuse me mama, I need to tawk on da phone," and she propped her arm up on the counter, crossed one leg over the other and started mumbling a string of, "Mm-mh, uh-uh, yeah, no." Percy watched in amazement and then looked at me and said, "Wonder where she learned that?"

Chocolate Lover

2011-03-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Percy absolutely detests chocolate. I know, I'm pretty sure this makes him a communist as well. But I have debated about whether to try and teach Chesley to hate it too, bc come on wouldn't that come in handy? Or to not let her cross over to the dark side of non-chocolate loving with her father and keep her in the light with me. Well, I didn't really do anything to try and persuade her, genetics won out--my genetics! She may look like Daddy, but she talks like mama and likes chocolate like mama!

We were baking brownies for the baby, you know--the one in my tummy that makes me eat chocolate.

She's a fan.

Dixie Nationals 2011

2011-02-10T19:19:00.000-06:00

Percy grew up going to just about ever performance of every Dixie Nationals, every single year. So it was time to take Chesley this year. She loved it, not that this is surprising considering she also loves horses and her Gammy and Pops who took us!

Sorry Percy for putting this picture of you on here, but look at that smile- Chesley looks so cute I had to!

Much better, right?

And she's hooked!

Only picture I have of Gammy and Pops-not sure what Chesley is doing...

2011-02-10T19:15:00.000-06:00

Loving being with her Gammy.

She was kind of in a trance once there were horses on the scene!

She just kept staring at that man's hat, I could hear the mental debate going on in her head about whether or not she should touch it...

2011-02-10T19:11:00.000-06:00

She was so close to touching it, but I had to get a picture of her doing it before I went back into mom-mode and told her no ma'am!

Chesley does love her Uncle Dub!

She was cheering for someone here, probably the horses.

Children's Museum

2011-02-03T23:54:00.000-06:00

Chesley and I went with a couple friends from playgroup one day to the Children's Museum. It was everything we had heard it was and more!

She was much happier than this picture would lead you to believe, I promise!

She and Cash were cooking up a storm!

2011-02-03T23:52:00.001-06:00

Well, they almost fit.

Here's a shout out to our Belzoni friends in the Catfish capitol of the World!

I couldn't get her to stop eating the fake produce! Even Cash looks grossed out by it!

Painting with Annie

2011-02-01T23:50:00.000-06:00

My mom used to oil paint a lot and was really good. So I guess that's why she feels the need to nurture Chesley's creative leanings, and not restrain her with any rules like 'keep the paint on the paper'.

Chesley's creative talents are thriving under Annie's direction, and I bought an extra toothbrush to scrub under her fingernails and behind her ear (??)

Surprise Mama!

2011-01-30T18:55:00.000-06:00

Ok, it should be noted that my very sweet husband planned a surprise birthday dinner for me at the restaurant I am a tiny bit obsessed with, Parlor Market. So, my birthday wasn't quite as bleak as the picture I painted in my last post. But I was still pregnant, so I still want a do over, I'd like to be able to toast my aging self with something other than a Diet Coke. But since Percy planned such a great night for me this year, the do over doesn't have to be quite the blow out I was planning-we might be able to cancel the live music. But there will still be a do over. Pictures of this year to follow when a friend emails them to me. Thanks again, Babe!!

Happy 30th, Mama!

2011-01-25T23:48:00.001-06:00

I turned 30.

Pregnant.

So stay tuned.

Because next year there will be a do over.
(But Chesley seems to have enjoyed my birthday- it meant more singing and more cake!)

Potty training with Heels

2011-01-15T23:46:00.000-06:00

How can I not document this moment in my child's life? She did great with potty training! The week after her 2nd birthday I got a plastic potty and put her in panties and started asking her every five minutes if she needed to go. She had some accidents but all in all it was fairly painless- and she seems to have enjoyed it! I mean, she felt like going on the potty was something one dressed up for, so in the very least she has some respect for the dress code of the potty.

Happy SECOND Birthday, Chesley!

2011-01-05T23:32:00.003-06:00

Zero,

One,

TWO!

We had Chesley's cousins and their respective parents over for playtime on Chesley's new playset that she got for Christmas and supper and cupcakes for her birthday. And of course her Aunt A, Aunt Woo Woo, and all the grandparents were there as well. It sounds very low key, right? But it was like a zoo! It got too dark and too cold to play outside pretty quick and then it was just three two year olds going full speed ahead inside! Chesley was in heaven! Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

2011-01-05T23:31:00.002-06:00

Annie getting a little snuggle from the newest James, Charlie.

William was chowing down,

too busy for pictures!

2011-01-05T23:24:00.001-06:00

This whole everybody-singing-at-me thing is still kinda new, she's not all that sure about it.

This might be the first picture ever that I would say I kind of think she might look like me a tiny bit, and it's probably just because she looks confused, or aggravated-I'm not sure.

"So I blow them out?"

2011-01-05T23:21:00.001-06:00

She looks a little upset that the candles went out.

And she got shy for about two seconds.

Then she got to eat her cupcake and all was well again!

Picking the right flavor is serious business, (for Tilly too!)

2011-01-05T23:01:00.001-06:00

He's so sweet I needed a taste!

No clue what cracked her up, but she is standing in a chair over the cupcakes so maybe she thought that was so fabulous it was funny!

Her main present from her mama and daddy was a pink tricycle, Pruet thought he would give it a whirl with the birthday girl--it didn't work out well.

2011-01-05T23:00:00.001-06:00

Pruet thinks this thing is great!

Chesley thinks Pruet needs to exit the tricycle immediately.

Oh, maybe she's ok with a tricycle built for two?

Nope, she still boots him off!

Happy Birthday Chesley & Woo Woo!

2011-01-04T23:11:00.001-06:00

We went out to Gammy and Pops' to celebrate Chesley and Aunt Casey, aka Woo Woo's, birthday, January 5th.

Uncle Buck had a very special present for Chesley. I was told not to freak out when I saw the shape of the gift. He did to well with her cute rain boots and rain coat for Christmas that this really blindsided me. I think that might have been the point...

Yep, he got my baby girl a gun. A pink gun, to be correct.

She looks confused but she caught on that everyone thought it was funny pretty quick!

2011-01-04T23:06:00.001-06:00

Watch out for the glass coffee table!!

He sure looks proud of himself.

I really don't know if there are words for this picture. Every mother dreams of her little girl posing with a pink firearm on her second birthday.

2011-01-04T23:04:00.001-06:00

Yeah Uncle Buck, thanks a lot... Mama can't wait till he has kids, oh the payback!

Chesley is showing Woo Woo one of her presents.

Time for the cakes, (we did this kind of backwards). One for them to share and one for Casey to teach Chesley how to stick her finger in the icing and lick and repeat! Oh, and the mound-o-icing cake is a Dora cake, which was about the coolest thing in the world to my little girl- Gammy knew what she was doing with that thing! As she said, "It may not be pretty but she loves it!"

2011-01-04T23:00:00.001-06:00

Here comes another cake and she is still shoving purple frosting in her mouth!

Aunt Woo Woo helping Chesley out, as you can see by the numbers--she's had a little more practice with this birthday thing than Chesley has...

Happy Birthday Chesley and Casey!

2011-01-04T22:56:00.001-06:00

Everybody was welcome to take a lick!

"Want s'more? Or can I finish it off?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Uh-oh, looks like she's gonna blow! (But she didn't.)

Happy New Year! Go Bulldogs! Zzzz..

2011-01-03T21:34:00.000-06:00

We went to the Gator Bowl for New Years and watched the Bulldogs beat Michigan!! But I apparently didn't take a single picture. We had a blast, I swear! But it was kind of a whirlwind trip right after Christmas, so we were beat when we got home. It was no where near naptime yet but Percy was more than ready and had already taken position, so of course Chesley had to as well. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I take a nap like Dada."

Christmas Eve 2010, Roar!

2010-12-24T21:28:00.006-06:00

Ok, so I'm weird. When I was really little my grandfather, Chesley Pruet (get it?), showed up at some family holiday, Thanksgiving or Christmas I have no clue, with animal noses. They were just those rubbery ones that smell kinda sweet when you put them on and have an elastic band that goes around your head to hold it on. He had pigs, elephants, cats, who knows what all. And somewhere out there at my parent's or my aunt and uncle's houses there is a picture of the entire family, (Alex, sorry your weren't born yet), in our pj's and robes ready to get in the bed wearing these silly looking animal noses. I have no idea why he did this, if you had known my grandfather it would make perfect sense to you bc nothing he did had to have a reason. He also used to give my dad and uncle hand me down neck ties they neither wanted nor needed but he would show up with a garbage bag full and then use them to hog tie his grandchildren and tickle us without mercy then toss them all tangled up back into the garbage bag for 'the boys'. We don't know why but with him you just didn't ask. So I was Christmas shopping in some random kids toys catalogue and saw these animal faces that make animal noises. They were like the new millenium version of Papa's 1980's animal noses. So I had to have them. I bought them and kept them hidden until Christmas Eve when I planned to show them to my family at which point they would all go, "Oh yeah, I remember those things! What a great idea Liz!" I'll get there, but let it be stated that that is not really how it went down.
Pruet turned two on December 9th. At his birthday party his uncle Perry, (Hillary's youngest brother), gave him a walking gorilla. It's about a foot tall and it walks with it's hands dragging the ground and it's knees bent and it's made from hard plastic--oh and it growls. It scared the ever living daylight out of the birthday boy! He couldn't get away from it fast enough. William was trying to crawl over his grandmother's head in an attempt to actually crawl inside her I think, he wanted away! Pruet just kept clinging to his daddy and saying No! to that stupid gorilla. Now keep in mind these boys are not sissies. They wrestle and rough house and run wild most of the time, but this growling creature walking towards them was not their idea of fun. Give them a football and they will throw it, a golf club and they will hit the ball like big bad boys-just don't send that gorilla their way. My child on the other hand, is oddly immune to strange noises and has so far exhibited no fear of small creatures, (she will probably bring me a possum or raccoon she wants as a pet one day if she can ever catch one). We have really talked about this before, she has no fear. She loved it. She went after it. She tried to show Pruet and William how fun it was, they said no thanks. It was pretty funny bc Uncle Perry just kept egging her on to pick it up and take it to Pruet, which she did, and which he did not care for. All of this is to say, I decided the animal noises coming out of my animal faces might be problematic on Christmas Eve. So when I was showing them to everyone I stressed how important it was to NOT press in on the noses. For the most part we succeeded in not scarring the small children for life and even got them to wear them for a second or two, (Chesley still puts them on at home on a regular basis and I have to take them off of her to feed her), but it kind of put a damper on my whole sentimental idea. When memories come with a warning label, they kind of lose some of their effect. But we had a great Christmas Eve, and I know Lindsey would have liked to have been able to see her family since she couldn't travel for Thanksgiving (she was 9 mos preggo) and Charlie was too young to go to Dallas for Christmas- it was really nice to have all the kiddos together. And my addition of random animal faces was odd but kinda fun I think, I hope! So here are the pictures-there's a ton of them but this is my blog so I don't have to edit myself! Merry Christmas!

Everyone was expected to participate!

2010-12-24T20:59:00.001-06:00

Elephant?

Or horse?

William thinks she is crazy.

2010-12-24T20:55:00.001-06:00

Somebody made it make noise, once that happend Pruet decided he was done being an elephant.

2010-12-24T20:53:00.001-06:00

Not sure why she wanted to do this but my child got completely in the box that the animal faces came in.

Like totally in.

Good thing her aunts were there to help her out.

2010-12-24T20:51:00.001-06:00

So, we have all five great-grandchildren, (I still consider my sister and the James' boys the grandchildren), not only together but together and in matching pajamas with their names on them. A group picture is absolutely necessary. The logistics of how exactly this will occur is unclear at first but we just know we have to try. And so we do.

The sparkle in their eyes when they saw that big bed should have been our first clue that this might go badly.

How many adults does it take to wrangle three near-two yr olds, an infant, and a newborn? More than we had on hand.

2010-12-24T20:44:00.001-06:00

This is some kind of upside down 'Wave'...

Now he's got the smiling part down, let's just get the not-crushing-your-brother part down!

Pruet is just showing some love, Tilly!

Uncle Chesley doesn't look too confident in his older son's ability to keep his younger son upright and on the bed, I don't blame him. Sweet P looks equally concerned about that whole crushing-the-newborn thing.

2010-12-24T20:38:00.001-06:00

Chesley is taking her job very seriously.

The posed picture is starting to unravel, and since they did pretty well...

we tell them they can jump, but I'm not sure they believed us.

2010-12-24T20:37:00.001-06:00

still trying to figure out if this is a trick...

Looks like they've decided to go for it!!

They catch on quickly.

2010-12-24T20:36:00.001-06:00

William is so overwhelmed by how much fun this is, he can't even stand it!!

I'm pretty sure he landed on her about .5 seconds after I took this picture, and she loved it.